by Matthew Notch » Sat Jul 11, 2015 11:33 am
Dude, funny you should mention that, because yesterday I went to haul away a built in fridge, something to the tune of five hundred pounds and about eighty four inches tall. We had another guy meeting us there, but he and my helper couldn't tip the top low enough on the dolly to clear the doorways. There's a good chance the house was built around that fridge, but I digress. A fourth guy had to come out, and the four of us grunted it out of this insanely nice home. Well the son of the homeowner gave all four of us twenty bucks each.
I just found out, from the quality control lady following us today (long story short nobody can be trusted, at least not if you manage the store we deliver for), that we aren't supposed to accept tips. Why she even said she's had to FIRE installers for taking tips. First off... why. I can understand if you work in retail, because it could skew close to a bribe or something, like trying to get a hefty discount. But if I'm heaving a fridge into someone's basement and dude says, "Tonight the beer's on me, guys," then yes, I'll gladly take his money. The way salary works out, I get paid LESS than minimum wage most days. Second, what am I supposed to do, fight the customer on it? In their house? With no one from corporate around to fight for me? Third, when I was training, people would drop tips on the trainer and me, and he said not word one about it. I could have feigned ignorance the whole time if it had ever come to that, and dishonest as it may be I still might, because I really don't see why anyone would make such a rule, except to be a dick.
What really gets me is that the company that makes this rule DOESN'T EVEN WRITE MY CHECKS. See, there's the store, and then they hire out a third party contract, who then contracts the actual labor to do the job. It's... sort of really backwards. Point is, they can fire me but they aren't even paying me, the labor contractor is. In fact the new contract I'm supposed to take over* isn't even that company's, it's the labor contractor's contract. I'll be glad to put those jokers behind me.
My point in all this is that if you didn't ask for the tip, which believe it or not my old helper had the audacity to do once, you can't control what other people do. Although I personally would have found a way to split the tip with the other guy, I think taking it in general is one of those things that was sort of foisted upon you. At least that's your story and you're sticking to it.
*By the way, sorry to make this even more ranty, but the other day the new guy who was supposed to replace me was with me, driving, when we went on the Air Force base. At the checkpoint there we discovered that his effing license had been suspended. He was lucky as shit the citation warrant wasn't issued until the following day, or he'd have been detained right there on base. Apparently he'd gotten a speeding ticket, not a huge one but still. When I asked him why he didn't pay it he said, "Pshh, I don't have that kind of money." Like... Are you for effing real? Did he think it would just disappear if he believed hard enough? So the fun thing is, even if my helper hadn't gotten his dumb ass fired for being racist, I'd STILL be stuck at this job until the 15th, when Junior over here finally gets paid and can reinstate his license. I know it's terrible but I'm sort of hoping he does have to go to jail, because I might get a day off out of it.
Do you see how mean this job is making me? What is happening to the balance of the Universe?
It's Dangerous to Go Alone
"I desperately want Jiggery Pokery now."-- Pikajew
"I do feel that if she happens to favour attractive, successful, intelligent men I will be at a disadvantage."--Anglerphobe
"I have a beautiful sphincter and Mexico is gonna pay for it."--Kate