Love this Chick fil-A interview technique

[piccolopat]

Oops - sorry

But, I still think that requiring your employees to find a piece of garbage in the parking lot and having to find you to show it to you before you are allowed to start your shift, is wrong.

If it is one of their accountabilities, why is it wrong?

 

[Lilacs4Me]

If it is one of their accountabilities, why is it wrong?

I think it smacks of a power trip at a fast-food chain management level and is completely unneccessary. If a manager wants to make walking around and tidying the outside of the building/parking lot a job duty DURING an employee's shift, I think this is completely reasonable. I've had to scrub bathrooms, clean, mop floors, wash dishes, take out garbage, etc at various times during my 25 years of gainful employment and always did it with a willingness to do a good job at whatever my boss asked me to do. But traversing the parking lot looking for garbage and then having to FIND the manager and SHOW him (or her) that I actually have a piece of trash in my hand BEFORE I am ALLOWED to START work for him that day crosses a line that I am just not willing to cross. And I would be very curious to know what that manager's corporate HR department thinks of his antics as well. I cannot imagine it would be an accepted corporate practice or policy by Chic-Fil-A, although since I have never worked there, I cannot say for sure. But I do have a degree in HR Management, and since the directive is to perform the task BEFORE the start of the shift, I don't see how this would be globally accepted in any company.

ETA: And I want to add now that I am on my soapbox, that I also find this manager to be taking advantage of a class of workers who generally do not stand up for themselves. Most 16/17 year olds or young adults do not have the knowledge or experience to know that what that manager is making them do is wrong or power-tripping (for lack of a better word!), or if they have an idea that it might be, they are unlikely to complain up the chain (mostly because they have no idea how to go about doing it) So they either do what their manager tells them to do, or they quit. Managers of teens/young adults/uneducated workers often try to push the limits and end up getting away with things that they shouldn't - and PP's daughters manager seems to be one of them.

 

[sam_gordon]

Not sure what the issue is with this. Lots of businesses (including the federal government) do second round/final interviews remotely.

Maybe because we've asked all the questions we needed answers to in the "first" round? There were some people we conducted phone interviews with and decided whether they'd be worth an in person interview or not.

 

[gwynne]

Maybe because we've asked all the questions we needed answers to in the "first" round? There were some people we conducted phone interviews with and decided whether they'd be worth an in person interview or not.

Not every company needs an "in person" interview to make a job offer. Some like to and are happy to pay the travel costs. Others have found that it really isn't necessary.

 

[sam_gordon]

Not every company needs an "in person" interview to make a job offer. Some like to and are happy to pay the travel costs. Others have found that it really isn't necessary.

Agreed. But in my line of work, I wouldn't accept a job without seeing the location first hand and I wouldn't expect someone to accept without seeing the facility. You can tell a lot about a company (in my industry) by touring the facility.

 

[GaryDis]

If it is one of their accountabilities, why is it wrong?

It's questionable legality. Employees are required to be on the clock when working.

 

[luvsJack]

They are required to pick up on piece of trash before clocking in. Its not like they are required to scrub the toilets before clocking in. Bend over, pick up cup, napkin, whatever and throw it away. That anyone would even question it much less worry about it being a power trip or legal just boggles my mind. So the kid(s) learn that it won't kill them to go a tiny bit extra for their job? I don't see the big deal on this one either.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

They are required to pick up on piece of trash before clocking in. Its not like they are required to scrub the toilets before clocking in. Bend over, pick up cup, napkin, whatever and throw it away. That anyone would even question it much less worry about it being a power trip or legal just boggles my mind. So the kid(s) learn that it won't kill them to go a tiny bit extra for their job? I don't see the big deal on this one either.

Except the pp who mentioned the requirement also said the person often resorted to bringing trash from home as sometimes there wasn't trash in the parking lot and they had spent something like 20 minutes looking.

So I think in theory, yeah sure, no big deal but when the parking lot is clean and you start having to bring trash from home to turn in to your manager before being allowed to clock in (or spend 20 minutes on an off the clock garbage hunt)-there's something wrong with the policy in reality.

The PP made it seem like it happened often enough that it was problematic.

 

[luvsJack]

Its still not that big of a deal. Keep a couple of gum wrappers in your car or napkins or whatever. Or just tell the manager there is no trash in the parking lot. Take him out to see--maybe the pp's kid tried this one but I didn't see where she did--I am guessing that the guy wasn't a total tyrant and could be reasoned with. The fact that there was no trash in the parking lot is a good thing, it means it was working. How many fast food places have any of us gone to lately that had a spotless parking lot? Chick-fil-a is the only one around here.

 

[L&Lfan]

Our Chick Fil A's parking lot is spotless. I really can't say the same about any other fast food place.

 

[gwynne]

Its still not that big of a deal. Keep a couple of gum wrappers in your car or napkins or whatever. Or just tell the manager there is no trash in the parking lot. Take him out to see--maybe the pp's kid tried this one but I didn't see where she did--I am guessing that the guy wasn't a total tyrant and could be reasoned with. The fact that there was no trash in the parking lot is a good thing, it means it was working. How many fast food places have any of us gone to lately that had a spotless parking lot? Chick-fil-a is the only one around here.

It's nice the lot is clean, that's a plus. Some are going to think it's unwise for managers to require off the clock work. I'm sure there are plenty of localities where it would be seen as no big deal. That said, it still could be actionable.

There is a middle ground should a manager want to stay safely within the law. Allow the employee to clock in and then start trash detail.

 

[kamik86]

Not every company needs an "in person" interview to make a job offer. Some like to and are happy to pay the travel costs. Others have found that it really isn't necessary.

My company likes to have an in person interview with everyone and generally even at the facility. So if they do interviews say at a college career fair that would take the place of their phone interview and if we like them they will still be brought in for an in person.

I think the in person is more for selling the company to the employee then the other way around though. It is to allow them to tour, to see the area, and meet more people.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

However or Chick fli a does its hiring, I am happy with the result. They have a better caliber of customer service than any other fast food place in town. the restaurants and grounds are cleaner. We travel a lot for CP's sport and tend to look for Chick fil a first when grabbing a quick meal because the overwhelming majoirty of the mare run the same way. I don't have a problem with higher standards.

 

[luvsJack]

It's nice the lot is clean, that's a plus. Some are going to think it's unwise for managers to require off the clock work. I'm sure there are plenty of localities where it would be seen as no big deal. That said, it still could be actionable.

There is a middle ground should a manager want to stay safely within the law. Allow the employee to clock in and then start trash detail.

So they should go in, clock in, turn around go back out and pick up that piece of trash. LOL ok. Most would probably just as soon pick it up on the way in. Its a less than 10 second "job". Its not even enough to call "work". I really would hope if someone wanted to "take action" over this that whomever they "took action" with would be more concerned with having their time wasted than someone having to actually bend over and pick something up. Its really is laughable that anyone would get bent out of shape about it.

 

[kamik86]

They are required to pick up on piece of trash before clocking in. Its not like they are required to scrub the toilets before clocking in. Bend over, pick up cup, napkin, whatever and throw it away. That anyone would even question it much less worry about it being a power trip or legal just boggles my mind. So the kid(s) learn that it won't kill them to go a tiny bit extra for their job? I don't see the big deal on this one either.

The biggest thing is that it is illegal. Companies have tried in the past to get away with requiring employees to do more and more off the clock. So there are now a set of laws that dictate what can and can not be considered off the clock. For example walking to your work area at the start of the day does not have to be considered on the clock so a company could put the time clock for an employee near their work area and not near the door from the parking lot and that is ok.

Cleaning up a job site or putting away company tools does need to be considered part of the job though so you can't require workers to work right until they are supposed to leave for the day and then clock out before cleaning up. You either have to let them clean up and have overtime or let them stop early enough to finish the cleaning.

When I was in college there was a big deal made over these types of things because a nearby college was sued by an employee for things like:
* They would clock in early like at 8:50 for a 9:00 shift. The school like ours would allow this but would only start paying you at 9. We were not required to clock in early. He sued for all these small times.
* He worked in a computer lab and many schools had a policy that a perk of working there is you could use the lab on off hours but if you did this and someone else wanted to use the lab you had to let them because you opened it. You weren't paid for this though. He sued for this optional time he had spent in the lab.

As a result everyone that used the labs were no longer allowed to open it accept at posted hours, we could not punch in until 5 min before our shift started without a manager override code, etc.

 

[kamik86]

So they should go in, clock in, turn around go back out and pick up that piece of trash. LOL ok. Most would probably just as soon pick it up on the way in. Its a less than 10 second "job". Its not even enough to call "work". I really would hope if someone wanted to "take action" over this that whomever they "took action" with would be more concerned with having their time wasted than someone having to actually bend over and pick something up. Its really is laughable that anyone would get bent out of shape about it.

Well I thought it was laughable that someone would sue to get paid for what the school was allowing us a a privilege. The labs had expensive software that we could use for free any time we wanted as a perk until this guy went and sued.

 

[L&Lfan]

When I worked at Baskin-Robbins back in the stone age (the late '70s/early '80s) I wouldn't have hesitated to pick up trash (cups, napkins, those pink spoons, etc) from the parking lot on my way in. It wasn't a requirement; I just had pride in my workplace and parents who reared me that way. That this thread has gone on for 8 pages kind of boggles my mind, but as some have noted, we live in a different world today.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

So they should go in, clock in, turn around go back out and pick up that piece of trash. LOL ok. Most would probably just as soon pick it up on the way in. Its a less than 10 second "job". Its not even enough to call "work". I really would hope if someone wanted to "take action" over this that whomever they "took action" with would be more concerned with having their time wasted than someone having to actually bend over and pick something up. Its really is laughable that anyone would get bent out of shape about it.

I'm glad you think it's funny....but labor laws were created for a reason. Sure, this guy is just a guy who likes a clean parking lot and found a way to get his employees to "go above and beyond" and "just bend down and pick up a piece of garbage" before being allowed to start their shift with him. Great for him....until someone gets hurt doing "whatever it takes" to make him happy and keep him satisfied. Then all of the sudden, his corporate officers are crawling all over his store inquiring as to why they are getting sued for Workman's Comp when his employee was not on the clock, and it comes out that they weren't allowed to punch in because they didn't have a piece of garbage in hand (and got hurt while trying to get one). The potential for a nightmare situation of the company far outweighs the Teaching Moment for our little snowflakes to just pick the darn trash up for less than 10 seconds, which all circles back to why Labor Laws were created in the first place and I can almost certainly guarantee (with the information that was presented) that corporate would NOT be on this manager's side.

I can assure you beyond a doubt that most if not all HR personnel would not think their time is wasted looking into a matter such as this that an employee "took action" on. They would take it very seriously and more than likely put a quick stop to it. 10 seconds....10 minutes....10 hours - the time doesn't matter. The action does. It only takes a 1/2 second to get hurt on the job.

That being said, to answer your question of "So they should go in, clock in, turn around go back out and pick up that piece of trash." - my answer is a resounding YES. That is EXACTLY what the manager should do. That way, he covers the company, the employee, and protects himself. And, I personally feel as though doing it this way makes him look less like a pompous a**, but that is just my own opinion. We can agree to disagree about that one if you like.

ETA: And before anyone wants to respond with the "I can't believe people would sue for this....", let me tell you that my opinion on THAT has no bearing on knowing what the Labor Laws are. Bottom line is - people sue for stupid stuff all the time. That's not going to change. It's up to the company and mangers to protect themselves against it, which this manager in question clearly is not. He is in the wrong.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

When I worked at Baskin-Robbins back in the stone age (the late '70s/early '80s) I wouldn't have hesitated to pick up trash (cups, napkins, those pink spoons, etc) from the parking lot on my way in. It wasn't a requirement; I just had pride in my workplace and parents who reared me that way. That this thread has gone on for 8 pages kind of boggles my mind, but as some have noted, we live in a different world today.

Picking up trash on the way into work because you feel like it is not the same thing as a manager issuing a directive that you may not clock in until he sees a piece of garbage in your hand from the parking lot each day, but kudo's to you for being such an amazing employee and citizen! The world needs more people like you out there - and then maybe every parking lot would be clean and Mr. CFA Manager wouldn't have to set himself (and his company) up for a potential labor dispute down the line.

 

[L&Lfan]

Thanks, Lilacs! B-R was a great place to work and I stayed with them all through high school and college.