Restaurant manager fired after savage message to staff goes viral

If you think your boss is tough, just wait till you see what one manager had to say to her staff.

The unnamed supervisor was sacked from a Kansas branch of Olive Garden after penning a blistering note to employees about taking time off.

Addressing the message to “ALL Team Members”, they began: “From now on, if you call off, you might as well go out and look for another job. We are no longer taking ANY excuse for calling off.

“If you’re sick, you need to come prove it to us. If your dog died, you need to bring him in and prove it to us. If it’s a ‘family emergency’ and you can’t say, too bad. Go work somewhere else.”

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They then warned that “from here on out”, anyone taking time off more than once in the next 30 days would find themselves without a job before highlighting their own commitment to their work.

“Do you know in my 11.5 years at Darden how many days I called off? Zero,” they ranted. “I came in sick. I got in a wreck literally on my way to work one time, airbags went off and my car was totalled, but you know what, I made it to work, ON TIME!”

They continued: “If you don’t want to work here, don’t. It’s as simple as that. If you’re here and want to work, then work. No more [complaining] about not being cut or not being able to leave early.

“You’re in the restaurant business. Do you think I want to be here until midnight on a Friday and Saturday? No. I’d much rather be at home with my husband and dog, going to the movies or seeing family. But I don’t I’m dedicated to being here. As should you. No more excuses or complaints.”

They ended their monologue: “I hope you choose to continue to work here and I think we (management) make it as easy as we can on ya’ll. Thank you for your time and thank you to those who come in every day on time and work hard. I wish there were more like you.”

And… breathe.

A screengrab of the staggering message has racked up more than 35,900 likes on Twitter since the account “F*** You I Quit” shared it on Wednesday.

Commentators asked how anyone could think it was a reasonable note to send, with one user writing: “What a hierarchical cesspool. If a coworker's pet dies, they wouldn't need to tell me ‘my dog died’. They would say ‘Ollie died’. Because I know who Ollie is. Because work shouldn't be some isolationist mill where we don't take the time to learn about what brings our peers joy.”

Another tweeted: “I’ve been a GM for years, still don’t understand how managers can’t grasp this. You fill in when your team is down. Someone on your team is sick, then grab an apron/register/whatever and get to work. Managers who are too good to do the work of their employees are not managers.”

A representative for Olive Garden has since confirmed that the manager in question had been fired.

They told local news outlet KCTV: “We strive to provide a caring and respectful work environment for our team members. This message is not aligned with our company’s values. We can confirm we have parted ways with this manager.”

At least they can now spend more time with their husband and dog...

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