For about four months, from early August (Zozobra) of 2003 to late November, I was an employee at an Allsups convenience store. I decided upon employment there by recommendation of a Guatemalan acquaintance of mine who said that the pay was decent and the hours were relatively lax. As I was entering massage school that coming September, I decided that it would be beneficial for me to maintain an employment in order to have some extra money while working as a full-time student.
Well, it was within that month that I began to realize why so few people opt for employment at convenience stores.in my working hours — five-thirty in the evening to eleven o'clock at night — I was regularly bombarded with customers reeking of alcohol or marijuana who would regularly harrass my co-workers (most of whom did not speak English) and myself. This was accompanied by regular calls to the police.
Being payed weekly, I decided that the bother of the job was worth the pay of about one hundred twenty dollars per week (not too bad for a simple part-time job). However, in the last coming week of November, I losing all of my patiance with the establishment. I discovered that it would be impossible to maintain my sense of compassion and continue working at the store. To complete my week, I would call in sick.
The manager, a frumpy hispanic woman who had replaced all of the English-speaking employees with fresh Mexican immigrants, demanded that I come in to work. My need increased dramatically because I was the only fluently bilingual worker. That day, angry that I was forced to come to work despite my "sickness, " I abandoned my shift three hours early.
About one week later, without any paycheck delivered to my home, I returned to the Allsups. I spoke with the manager, who in Spanglish told me that she was not responsible for the paychecks, and that another woman (whose name was Lisa, if I recall correctly), was in control of the paychecks. She continued, telling me that I should expect my check within two weeks of the last pay week of my employment. I waited another week, and still no response. A month passed, and still nothing.
To date, I am owed en estimated eighty dollars in wages. I am concerned for the friendly relationships of my former co-workers as well as angry at the company heirarchy who still has yet to imburse my earned wages.
I am curious if this has occurred with other people in similar situations. I expect honesty from my employers, and this experience has left me severely doubtful if such companies possess such virtue. Perhaps I have entered into the exception, but my personal suspicion is that such shady business practices are commonplace, especially with establishments like convenience stores, fast food restaurants, and discount superstores.
Please send any rebuttals or continuing comments. I have personally decided to boycott all Allsups stations, and I have sufficient personal anecdotes about the obviously unhygienic and unsafe environment that makes Allsups "on the go."
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