Managing people in another culture is much harder than I (Curt) expected. We've had several staff members quit or be fired for different reasons. Here's the latest.
A waiter, who had worked for us for 2 months, started showing up late a lot, about 8 days out of 10 to be exact. His job upon arriving at the restaurant is to mop the floor before we open the doors. One day, he was late again, and so I was mopping the floor in his place. He showed up 20 minutes late, sat down at a table, and started eating some bread he brought in, while I continued mopping the floor. Wow. Watching your boss mop because you're late? Big mistake.
So I calmly said to him, "Hey, are you going to do your job today? Because if not, you may as well just go home." He got mad and said, "What? I can't have some breakfast before I start work?" I said, "Of course you can, before you arrive, at 10:30 like you are supposed to. If I have to do your job, then I don't need you working here. You can choose, do the job you agreed to do, or go home."
So really I didn't fire him, because he chose to go home. Haven't seen him since. Did he really expect to show up late 8 days out of 10, and then watch his boss mop the floor in his place while he sits and chills? I remember in high school when I worked at a restaurant, and I can't imagine doing that- my boss would've shown me the door in a heartbeat, and he was a pretty nice guy. Do your job or hit the road!
A waiter, who had worked for us for 2 months, started showing up late a lot, about 8 days out of 10 to be exact. His job upon arriving at the restaurant is to mop the floor before we open the doors. One day, he was late again, and so I was mopping the floor in his place. He showed up 20 minutes late, sat down at a table, and started eating some bread he brought in, while I continued mopping the floor. Wow. Watching your boss mop because you're late? Big mistake.
So I calmly said to him, "Hey, are you going to do your job today? Because if not, you may as well just go home." He got mad and said, "What? I can't have some breakfast before I start work?" I said, "Of course you can, before you arrive, at 10:30 like you are supposed to. If I have to do your job, then I don't need you working here. You can choose, do the job you agreed to do, or go home."
So really I didn't fire him, because he chose to go home. Haven't seen him since. Did he really expect to show up late 8 days out of 10, and then watch his boss mop the floor in his place while he sits and chills? I remember in high school when I worked at a restaurant, and I can't imagine doing that- my boss would've shown me the door in a heartbeat, and he was a pretty nice guy. Do your job or hit the road!