Working for a corporation can be a rewarding and fulfilling career. However, this is one company that falls below par, way below par. Between constant menu changes, lack of employee benefits (unless the employee pays for them themselves), morally corrupted management, lack of promotion and pay raise no matter what length of time one is with the company, insurance that is not usable in most areas by most physicians (and it cannot be cancelled until the next year.
So that's money being thrown away every week out of your paycheck that you can't do anything about) new ways for the servers to pick up the tab because the company doesn't feel the need to pay the hostess, salad bar attendant, bartender or if there is a new promotion on the table saying that "if your server doesn't recommend this appetizer or entree then it's free" and making the server pay for it out of their own pocket.
I find that this company spends more time finding new ways to make money by opening stores in afghanistan (literally) or wherever, to actually concentrate on fixing what's wrong with the existing stores.
Our company has received countless complaints and emails to the corporate offices in knoxville, tn and nothing is ever done. "Oh we'll just send out a gift certificate". That's is how issues are resolved or they're not resolved at all. We ourselves, employees current and past, have gotten in touch with district managers, corporate big-wigs, personel, nothing is ever done.
I have worked for this company for too many years, I'm embarrassed to say, and more often than not I have to have a second job. Each year, I have to buy new uniform because it changes almost as much as the menu. The company will decide that there is something else I have to pay for or take a paycut on.
For instance, the new curbside to go system - employees have to drive around and pass out to go menus to local businesses to boost to go sales. And yet, we do not get reinbursed for gas. I mean sure we are clocked in for whatever low hourly pay rate that particular store is paying their to go persons, but that doesn't make up for 2 to 2.50 a gallon in gas. And do we get a kickback or bonuses for all of our efforts? No. That is reserved for management, just like direct deposit. So if checks don't come in or if management doesn't feel the need to give us our checks, then thats too bad.
Yes, all of this and more is going on at your local ruby tuesdays. Employees walk out or do not show up to work because of this treatment that we all receive. Neighboring restaurants are constantly trying to get us to work for them. Ruby's is going under. It is not the same food it used to be, the clientel has left and is now frequenting other establishments. And just because they keep raising prices and lowering our pay to make the store more money, yeilds a sales increase but only at the expense of the few patrons still hanging on. I used to make twice as much when I first started with this company and actually enjoyed my job and the people. Those days are long gone and will not be back.
This company has ran itself into the ground. I don't care about the number stores a restaurant can open. People will go to a horribly wretched restaurant just because its new, it has nothing to do with the actual restaurant itself. That's why the parking lot is always booming when it first opens and then nobody comes back. Am I the only one that sees this? I mean for marketing majors, these corporate people are a little naive. I guess I wouldn't care if I had a workout gym, massage therapists, bonuses, vacation packages, yearly pay raise.
It must be nice but I'm one voice of the many worker bees for the big queen bee. We do all the work, they drive around in their new beamers and volvos. We take pay cuts, they get raises and bonuses. We sweat our asses off in a hot kitchen and they have nice air conditioned offices. We deal directly with the customers (the ones that pay our salaries) and they hide behind their cubicles and office secretaries. Yeah, it really seems fair.
When it comes down to it, the employees should boycott for better treatment, better wages, and less bullshit from the so-called marketing genuises that keep pissing off the customers by taking away staple menu items and replacing them with bastardized versions of Thai, low-carb, tex-mex, and Italian. Take it from a real cook, none of this tastes like it is supposed to.
So in conclusion, Ruby tuesday proves itself to be a rip off to its employees and customers time and time again. I honestly don't know why I still work there. If it wasn't for having a sense of loyalty that is lost on this company or constant begging of management for me to stay, I probably would leave. I just hope that someday, I can be one of the hated corporate people. The difference would be that I would have actually been there and know the real in the situation not just what is smoothed over by some middle manager. Thanks for listening to me rant. It felt cathartic to get this off my chest for once.
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