I gotta ask people out there if I’m the jerk here, cause honestly, I don’t think I am, but my wife keeps saying I got no heart. She don’t understand business, though. She just sees one side of things, not the whole picture when you’re the one running the show.
I own this diner, been running it for going on twenty years. It ain’t fancy, but it makes an honest living. My employees, they got a good deal. I pay fair, I don’t mess with their tips, and I give them free food when they work. What more do you want? I expect them to show up on time and do their job. Simple as that.
So, I got this waitress, Sarah. She’s been with me maybe three, four years now. She’s okay. Not the best, not the worst. Problem is, she’s got a kid. A little boy. And that kid, he seems to be sick all the time or needs something. Doctors appointments, school stuff, you name it. It feels like every other week, she’s asking for time off or to leave early or to come in late. And it’s always on a busy day, you know? Like, Friday lunch, Saturday breakfast. Never a slow Tuesday morning.
I told her when I hired her, I said, “Look, I need reliable people. This isn’t a charity. We got customers to serve.” She nodded, said she understood. But then the calls started. “My kid has a fever.” “My son has an ear infection.” “My boy needs to see a specialist.” I always tried to work with her, at first. I’d swap shifts, get someone else to cover. But it started to be too much. It ain’t fair to the other employees, either. They gotta pick up her slack, and they don’t get paid extra for it. And I don’t pay them for not working, that’s just how it is.
About a month ago, she came to me. Said her son had a really important appointment, a specialist, and it was gonna take a whole day. Like, from 9 AM to 4 PM. She wanted the whole day off, two weeks from then. She said it was critical, something about her son needing a special kind of therapy or something. And it couldn’t be rescheduled, because the doctor only comes to town once a month. My immediate thought was, “Here we go again.”
Now, I looked at the schedule. That day she wanted off? It was a Thursday. And not just any Thursday, it was the first Thursday of the month. That’s when the factory workers come in for their payday lunch. It’s always packed. I need all hands on deck. I told her, “Sarah, I can’t do it. Not that day. We’ll be swamped. Can’t you get someone else to take him? Or your husband?”
She got all teary-eyed. Said her husband works two jobs and can’t take time off. Said her mom lives far away. Said there was no one else. She said, “Mr. Johnson, please. This is for my son’s health. It’s really important.”
I stood my ground. I said, “Sarah, I understand it’s important to you. But my business is important to me too. And this job is important to you, right? You need to figure out how to balance your personal life and your work life. I can’t run a diner with someone who’s constantly needing time off. I’ve been really understanding, but there comes a point where it’s just not practical.” I told her if she took the day, I would have to let her go. I don’t like doing it, but I have to think about the business.
She looked shocked. Like I was asking her to do something impossible. She said, “Are you serious? You’d really fire me over my son’s health?”
I said, “I’m not firing you over your son’s health. I’m telling you I need a reliable employee. If you can’t be here on a critical day, then I need to find someone who can.” I even offered her a different day off, a slower day, but she said that specific appointment was the only one they could get.
Well, the day came. And Sarah didn’t show up. She called me that morning, crying, saying she was with her son at the appointment. I told her I was sorry, but I had warned her. I said I had to let her go. She hung up on me. My other waitresses were mad. They had to work extra hard that day, and they were grumbling about it. But then later, a few of them started saying I was too harsh. That I should have given her the day. My wife heard about it and she’s furious, saying I’m a monster and I just ruined that poor woman’s life.
But what was I supposed to do? Let my business suffer? Let the other employees get mad because one person gets special treatment all the time? I have to be fair to everyone. And being fair means expecting people to do their job. If you can’t, you can’t. It’s just business. I’m a small business owner, I don’t have a big HR department or a dozen people I can call up to cover a shift. I’m barely making it as it is.
I feel like I’m being painted as the bad guy here, but I just don’t see it. I run a business, not a daycare. I gave her plenty of chances. I need reliable help. Was I wrong to stand my ground?
Am I The Jerk? Tell me what you think. I really need to hear if I’m missing something here, or if people understand that a business has to come first sometimes.
