Love this Chick fil-A interview technique

[luvsJack]

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.

I realize what labor laws are for, thanks. And as usual, things get taken way beyond their original intent.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

I realize what labor laws are for, thanks. And as usual, things get taken way beyond their original intent.

It was always my intent to communicate that I thought the guy was wrong. I was contradicted and told it was laughable. I'm not looking for a fight with anyone.

 

[luvsJack]

I didn't mean you were laughable and I didn't mean you had taken anything wrong. I just find it amazing that HR would take something as simple as picking up a piece of paper so seriously or that they have to take it seriously. If the guy is wrong, I am sure his company will fix it when they need to.

 

[TLSnell1981]

From what I've seen, Chik-Fil-A hires a different caliber of employee - the type that generally takes pride in a job well done, goes above & beyond the listed "job duties," is polite & helpful, & will take initiative. W/ the little trash test, it's just a way for them to help weed out the "not my job" types.

Yep!

 

[kamik86]

I didn't mean you were laughable and I didn't mean you had taken anything wrong. I just find it amazing that HR would take something as simple as picking up a piece of paper so seriously or that they have to take it seriously. If the guy is wrong, I am sure his company will fix it when they need to.

The reason HR would is that we live in a society where people sue for the smallest thing. All it would take is for one of those young employees to have a lawyer parent, aunt/uncle etc that they just innocently mention or complain about this because it frustrates them. A case like this would be high profile think of how much you hear whenever walmart or McDonalds is sued for labor issues. This would be spun into a company having no regard for their employees and trying to force them to clean the parking lot off the clock. Even if that wasn't the intent of the manager given that the student that sued while I was in college won and quite a sum of money I can understand why HR would take it seriously. Half of HRs job seems to be trying to ensure the company doesn't get sued.

 

[sunshinehighway]

With the parking lot thing, it's not really going above and beyond if it's required. I think at this point it just becomes part of the job.
Technically that manager is making people work off the clock. It might seem silly but that's what it is. If someone gets hurt, there could be an insurance issue and who is responsible for paying. Also, if the person is out of work due to that injury, there could be problem with that as well.
It's easy to look at something and on the surface think it's not a big deal but scratch down a little and it might be more than it seems.

 

[sam_gordon]

With the parking lot thing, it's not really going above and beyond if it's required. I think at this point it just becomes part of the job.
Technically that manager is making people work off the clock. It might seem silly but that's what it is. If someone gets hurt, there could be an insurance issue and who is responsible for paying. Also, if the person is out of work due to that injury, there could be problem with that as well.
It's easy to look at something and on the surface think it's not a big deal but scratch down a little and it might be more than it seems.

I wonder how their time punch system is set up. If someone's shift starts at 11, can he say "pick up trash on your way in and write in your start time as 10:55"? At my work, clocking in at 10:55 would be the same as clocking in at 11 (no added time). However, clocking in at 10:52 would be the same as clocking in at 10:45.

 

[L&Lfan]

I'm a little confused.....is this picking up trash in the parking lot off the clock a universal Chick fil A store policy.....or the practice of one manager at one particular store? Thanks...

 

[mamamary]

I wonder how their time punch system is set up. If someone's shift starts at 11, can he say "pick up trash on your way in and write in your start time as 10:55"? At my work, clocking in at 10:55 would be the same as clocking in at 11 (no added time). However, clocking in at 10:52 would be the same as clocking in at 10:45.

I'm the one whose daughter had to pick up trash in the parking lot. Their time punch system was sort of odd. Everyone (lots of employees would start the same shift times) would line up around two minutes or so before their punch in time. You had to punch in right on time. So I have no idea what would happen if it took more than one minute for say six employees to sign in. They signed in on what looked like a cash register right behind the regular cash registers. So no added time was given to picking up trash. Now I know it takes seconds to just pick something up on your way in but like everyone says they are so clean that literally a few times I got out of the car to see if I could spot something. We laugh when we go to say McDonalds and see trash in the parking lot because CFA was NEVER like that.

Now as for other CFAs and if they have to do this I have no idea. The owner of where my dd worked also owned another one a few miles away so I assume they do it there also.

Just wanted to add that most managers you just had to say you picked up trash but the "main" manager you needed to show her. It really wasn't such a big deal doing the trash since you just got used to doing it. Like I said upthread sometimes there just wasn't anything to pick up. It really was a clean restaurant.

 

[dollarmite]

I would question why a manager wants prospective employees' first impression of his restaurant to be that it's dirty. If I was the interviewee I'd wonder why the manager and/or staff wasn't more on top of keeping the entryway (or wherever) clean.

 

[dollarmite]

Ya'll are making an awful lot of fuss about a straw paper or a clean napkin on the floor. He wants to see how they react. Its not that complicated or is it even that unusual.

A child care center is going to want to see how a applicant interacts with children.

An office manager--how a secretary answers the phone or produces and proofs a document

A sales manager wants to know he is hiring a people person.

My work background is mainly in admin. I have never been asked to demonstrate my skills during an interview, nor has anyone else I know. I've hired people in the past within a few different industries. Doing an on the spot skills demo has never once been part of the criteria.

Any "manager" who is using the rubbish collection test as criteria is a very poor manager IMO.

So what happens after you get hired, when it's "not your job" to fill the milkshake machine? Say it's Susie's job, but Susie is running late today. Do you fill the milkshake machine, or wait for Susie to do it because it's "not your job".

In the manager's mind, the same people who will pick up the trash will fill the milkshake machine.

Then that manager is a fool. During my paid hours I will do whatever is required of me, whether it's technically my job or not. If I was hired to serve at the counter but the drink machine needed filling I'd do that too (assuming I knew how to).

Not picking up rubbish on the way into an interview is most definitely not an indication of whether or not I'll fill the milkshake machine if Susie was running late. If it needed doing, then yes I'd do it, but that has no bearing whatsoever on rubbish collection at the interview.

 

[Hikergirl]

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.

When I worked in retail I would have done the same, however when I became a manager I definitely would not have required any of the employees to pick up the trash outside of the store and show it to me before they clocked in. That is ridiculous and screams power trip to me, I had more respect for my employees than to treat them like that.

 

[Keli]

I would probably have picked the trash up. I tend to do that anyway. I'm not a neat freak (wish I was at times) but it feels like being courteous to others to pick up a piece of trash and throw it away. Now if there is trash all over the floor then I'm not cleaning it all up but if I notice something in the floor at a restaurant then I pick it up and throw it away. I do it at work all the time too.

 

[smadath]

Now, I'm going to be really honest with you.

If I was the manager asking the question and that was the answer given to me, I would consider it a pretty nervy response and it would really make me think twice about hiring you. Of course, there might be some people out there who would love that response; I'm just not one of them.

As a 16 yo, I probably would have explained that I was focusing on the interview that was about to take place, was nervous, and (probably) didn't even notice the piece of trash.

As an adult, I would have found it pretty nervy to expect me to pick up trash when I'm not an employee. I would wonder how many other silly tricks and mind games management pulls on a regular basis, and would thank the interviewer for their time and leave. There are plenty of other low skill jobs out there that don't entail a bunch of nonsense.

A good interviewer can tell from how the potential employee answers questions and presents themselves if they are worthwhile. Resorting to gotcha tests reflects more on the interviewer's failings than the person being interviewed.