A server is calling out the hypocrisy of a hiring manager after he stressed the importance of punctuality after being 15 minutes late to an interview himself.
“Tell me that you don’t care about your employees or value their time but expect blind loyalty in return without telling me,” TikToker user Sam (@samcheeky) said.
While Sam didn’t name the restaurant she was interviewing at, she did say it was at a local sports bar.
Sam said she arrived to the interview at 1:15pm for the 1:30pm interview. “I’m just sitting there, checking out the menu, getting a vibe for the place, and time is just lagging,” she said. She said the interviewer didn’t show up until 1:45pm—15 minutes after their scheduled interview.
“He was very customer servicey. … He seemed kind of anal,” she said of the hiring manager, repeating that he gave off a “corporate vibe.”
Sam said he kept emphasizing the rules and how strict the workplace is, so she asked him if there were any “specific rules or protocols that would differ from your average restaurant.”
“’We are very strict on punctuality,’” Sam recalled the hiring manager responding. “’If you are not 10 minutes early, you are late. If you’re on time, you’re late. Actually, if someone shows up late for an interview, I won’t even talk to them. I tell them to turn around and go home. I won’t interview someone if they’re late.’”
Sam looked into the camera, bewildered. “This man was 15 minutes late after asking me to be 10 to 15 minutes early, kept me waiting for a total of a half an hour,” she said. Sam pointed out the audacity of the hiring manager who wouldn’t have given her the time of day if the roles were reversed. “That was too big of a red flag for me,” Sam said.
Sam ended her video by announcing she wouldn’t be taking the call back from the establishment.
@samcheeky For context this was for a local sports bar chain… am I being dramatic or is this a big? 🚩 #serviceindustry #servingjob #serviceworkers #customerservicebelike #customerserviceproblems #corporateculture #corporatecultureshift #micromanager ♬ nintendo wii (mii channel) song – julie on the internet
Viewers in the comments section urged her to let the restaurant know why she won’t be moving forward with working there. “I beg of you to take the call and explain why you’re rejecting their offer,” one said. “No, take the call but explain why you won’t take the job otherwise they won’t even get a hint,” another said.
In a follow-up video, Sam revealed why she is hesitant to do this. She did end up receiving a job offer but said “the people who called me were in HR.” “And it felt a little snitchy to share,” she said.
One viewer pointed out another unintended consequence of interviews that leave a sour taste in the mouths of applicants. “They forget they’re offending a potential customer FOR LIFE. The number of places I avoid bc of terrible interviews when I was younger,” they wrote.
Sam agreed. “I have zero desire to go back there now just cuz my memory of that place is now so ick,” she responded.
According to Restaurant Engine, another reason customers stay away from restaurants is negative word of mouth. Sam has 37,000 followers, and her video was viewed nearly 1 million times. Luckily for the restaurant, while she had the potential to, Sam didn’t name the restaurant.
The Daily Dot reached out to Sam via Instagram direct message and TikTok comment.