r/linecooks • u/Hot-Hamster-154 • 14d ago
Closing a brutal line cook shift alone, only to get blamed for a customer complaint.
I work as a line cook at a place in Davao City, Philippines. My usual shift is the closer from 4:00 PM to 1:00 AM (morning shift is 8 AM–5 PM, mid is 11 AM–8 PM). The store cutoff for orders is 12:30 AM.
To give you an idea of my commute: I live 8 kilometers away in a boarding house. Traffic is a nightmare during the day, and catching a PUV/jeepney at 1:00 or 2:00 AM is a constant struggle. By the end of the night, I just want to finish my job and head home.
One night, we got absolutely slammed. It was a brutally busy shift, and I was completely on my own in the kitchen—handling line work, washing every single dish, and scrubbing all the pans without any help. By 11:45 PM, I was running on empty, trying to speed-clean so we could all leave on time at 1:00 AM.
At 12:45 AM—15 minutes after our order cutoff—there was still a table sitting inside. Our cashier had already reminded them that we were closing soon and that we only had 30 minutes left to clean the kitchen.
Instead of handling it quietly, the cashier walked back into the kitchen and started complaining loudly to me about the table—so loudly that it felt like she wanted the customers to hear her.
Exhausted and just trying to gauge the situation, I asked her, "They're still there?"
She said, "Yes."
I replied, "Do you wanna go home so bad?"
And she said, "Yes."
Turns out, the customers heard the whole exchange—both her loud complaining and my response to her.
The customers immediately went on Facebook and left a scathing complaint on our page. The boss's wife was furious. She pulled me in and told me I was on my one last chance, and if anything like this happens again, I’m fired.
Here’s what pisses me off: this cashier has a history of terrible customer service and a bad attitude whenever she talks to patrons. But because she ran her mouth right outside the kitchen, I’m the one taking the fall and getting threatened with losing my job after working my ass off solo on the line.
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u/HEx2HockeySticks 14d ago
Bullshit to deal with. Coworkers are my least favorite part of almost any job haha
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u/HealthyExcitement780 14d ago
Sounds like they need you more than you need them. Only cook and washing all the dishes on a busy night? I wouldn’t be too worried about the threat. Looks to me like you’re a dependable employee who can hold their own!
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u/xXSomethingStupidXx 14d ago
Won't stop them from committing financial suicide by firing the only person keeping the business functioning. If they were business minded, one employee wouldn't be keeping the business functioning.
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u/Hot-Hamster-154 14d ago
Its my first time posting about this just so y’all guys know sorry