Quiznos Subs ripoff, manipulative, lying, stealing, dirty, uncooperative, under handed, unorganized, childish....mm mm mm PETTY! Bowie Maryland
My story is a long and unbelievable one. For my first job I decided to apply at Quiznos Sub at my local shopping mall. At first everything was fine, and my boss seemed creditable. I was only 15 years old and we closed at 10:00. That means that the owner was breaking The Child Labor Laws of Maryland.
Later on in the job, there was always a problem with the schedule being made on time, so it was never known when you were supposed to work. A lot of Health Code laws were also being violated, such as leaving certain meats out all day and then putting them back in the "walk-in".
Something that makes this story a lot worse is that the owner was never in the store. And we were frequently out of certain items such as : lettuce, straws, bacon, Swiss cheese, pickles, mushrooms, bags, tops for the cups and things like that. There were plenty of customer plaints which could not be filled by anyone in the store when I was working there. Most of the time I was left in the store with people either my age or younger.
I was fired during my Spring Break week over a "food swap" that I was invovled in with Olive Garden. The deal seemed to be a good one because anything off of their menu we would get free and the same thing applied to us. I was not informed that the owner had told us "no" so I ended "swapping food" three times. He told us that there would be a punishment for doing that, which was fine I was ready to accept the punishment with no complaints. Later I found out that I was supposed to work for free all weekend. Im not exactly sure but there must be some type of law that he is breaking.
But I was fired because of something my mom had told him, not because of anything I did. And he said that exact phrase. Okay if he wanted to be petty that was fine. All I requested was that I receive my last checks for the hours that I had worked. I received my second to last check only because he ownwer wasnt there.
But today I went to get my final check and the owner decided that he was going to withhold it for no reason. Although I was not causing a disturbance he tried to call security on me. When my mom came into the store he started yelling and telling us that we were not welcome in his store anymore and that he was "not going" to grant me my last check. Im pretty sure that he cannot withhold my last check without proper grounds.
Can someone let me know if anything about this is right?
Lauren
bowie, Maryland
U.S.A.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Douglas
Gibsonia,Pennsylvania,
Virgin Islands (U.S.)
food swaping with out consent can be concidered theft
#4Consumer Comment
Mon, June 20, 2005
i happily own a major pizza delivery place.
1) food swapping with out consent can be concidered theft. it's like if a younger sibling traded your nintendo games for cash, you might make him responsible and he owes you cash values of what he traded. if your punishment was to work and repay the food you swapped, that is somewhat resonable if you accounted the hours you worked and how much food you swapped (owed). However there should be some documentation of such.
2) remember that labor laws change dependant on what day it is and if you have school the next day. if you had to stay late on "spring break" then the law may have allowed it. ( i don't know about MD, i live in Pennslyvania)
3) as an employee, it is ALSO your job to make sure the proper foodhandling techniques are being used.
tell your manager
tell the owner
tell another food business owner
tell the health dept
Do something other than tell people on a message board. people can become REALLY sick and it is important that someone does the right thing and gets the problem solved! i would hate if some meat at my pizza shop was left out and no one said anything to me!
it IS illegal to keep your last check with out having documents stating why. Demand these documents or complain to the headquarters of the company via registered mail.
Compain about the owner never being there also and about running out of product, etc.
good luck.
Douglas
Gibsonia,Pennsylvania,
Virgin Islands (U.S.)
food swaping with out consent can be concidered theft
#4Consumer Comment
Mon, June 20, 2005
i happily own a major pizza delivery place.
1) food swapping with out consent can be concidered theft. it's like if a younger sibling traded your nintendo games for cash, you might make him responsible and he owes you cash values of what he traded. if your punishment was to work and repay the food you swapped, that is somewhat resonable if you accounted the hours you worked and how much food you swapped (owed). However there should be some documentation of such.
2) remember that labor laws change dependant on what day it is and if you have school the next day. if you had to stay late on "spring break" then the law may have allowed it. ( i don't know about MD, i live in Pennslyvania)
3) as an employee, it is ALSO your job to make sure the proper foodhandling techniques are being used.
tell your manager
tell the owner
tell another food business owner
tell the health dept
Do something other than tell people on a message board. people can become REALLY sick and it is important that someone does the right thing and gets the problem solved! i would hate if some meat at my pizza shop was left out and no one said anything to me!
it IS illegal to keep your last check with out having documents stating why. Demand these documents or complain to the headquarters of the company via registered mail.
Compain about the owner never being there also and about running out of product, etc.
good luck.
Michael
Baltimore,Maryland,
U.S.A.
Here Is What To Do
#4Consumer Comment
Sun, May 22, 2005
Lauren, You seem to be in a bind here, but it is quite simple. You more or less answered most of your questions, but 'what to do?' With regards to his withholding your check, this may be relative to the food-swapping. I am not sure as to what food-swapping is (I worked in fast-foods many years ago, but never engaged in practices as such) but this may be the owner's 'fee'. You also mentioned that they had you working for free one weekend. In Maryland, this is a no-no, especially if you're only 15! Further, unless the laws have changed in recent years, 15 year olds cannot work night hours until 10PM. If you werre 16, OK, but no less. You also mentioned several potential health code violations -- hmmm. As for your mom's comments getting you fired, you were working on a work permit. So this is possible. All said, you have several complaints. First, copy & paste the original complaint you made here to a word document and send print several copies. Send one to the Maryland Labor Board in Annapolis, I am sure they will want to see that a fifteen year old was left alone to work with meat slicers, large ovens, and the public with other 15 year olds (and maybe younger). Send another copy to the Maryland Department of Health & Hygiene. They have offices in Annapolis and Baltimore. Lastly, send a copy to Mr. William Donald Schaffer, the state comptroller. If this guy (the owner) is bedazzling his employees with disappearing checks, he is probably juggling his books regarding taxes he pays. Good luck in your fight with this Lauren, GO GET EM'!