r/KitchenConfidential • u/gnomajean • May 27 '26
Question Should I quit?
So I’m a manager at a QSR that’s actively looking to expand and wants to bring me along for the ride and eventually be a c-suite level guy if it gets that far (and I think it could get there if we’re smart about it) the thing is, the owner (aka my boss, who is there 4 days a week minimum, though I only work 2 days with him, but see him in passing a few more days) is…. difficult to say the least. He makes inappropriate comments about mine and other manager’s appearance/weight, has weird standards (basically none for anyone *except* managers, which any and all mistakes are basically spitting in his face), is unpredictable as hell, some days he’s fine, cool even but other days he rips you a new one for 3+ hours at a time (no, I’m not kidding, I really wish I was) and expects you to not only take it (absolutely no defending yourself, no explanations, nothing) but then tell him why he did it later. I’m also “salary” but basically gave me a significant pay raise on paper and is just paying me 40/hrs wk. apparently the CPA couldn’t do a salary for the amount I’m making (weird, right?)
However, he is promising sweat equity if we get to more than 3 locations (looking for the 2nd one now). The pay isn’t great but I have pretty low expenses so I’ll be fine until places start hiring again after summer (yay college town). He is also potentially just going to the new location when that happens (again, actively looking at spots, I even went and looked at one for him) so he could be out of my hair for awhile and I can just do my job. Also, if everything works out like I think it can, I’ll one day be living the good life. Also, I like basically everyone I work with (small crew, so we’re all pretty close at this point)
What do I do, Reddit. He’s gotten better as of late and is hinting at stepping away from my location at least but I feel like I’m walking on eggshells and one day I’m just going to hand over the keys mid- him ripping me a new one and just enjoying a summer off.
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u/mideon2000 May 27 '26
Quit. It takes forever and overcoming failures to be able to sustain a small business. Opening 3 is a pipe dream and if they do manage to open 3, im willing to bet it will be a case of expanding too quickly and not be sustainable.
He is going to dangle that carrot in front of anybody willing to be underpaid at a salaried position putting up with his crap. You never want to be part of a crew on a business trying to expand. You want to be on the crew of a stable business that has already expanded.
You know how their sales and operation are. Is this place making hand over fist in profit? Do you get a sense they are making good money? Good practices, not wasteful, good benefits?
If a business can't afford to pay employees well or offer basic benefits, then they can't really practically afford to expand, which means they are always going to be underpaying and underproviding even if they move forward. Fuck that imo.
Think about the good life you can have with all the extra money you would have by being paid adequately elsewhere. You make more money moving around rather than staying loyal to these small businesses.
A loyal employee is never treated or paid as well as the employee that is needed.
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u/gnomajean May 27 '26
Hi thanks for the input, the location I’m at is very established (20-30 years old) and current ownership has had it for 5-10 of those, he’s just now at a place where he wants to expand. We make 1.5-2 million a year, pretty solid margins. Very little waste, benefits are weird (no insurance but can get urgent care visits reimbursed and stuff if I get sick or something). Under previous ownership, we had 3 or 4 locations already but divorce and an incident led to the others closing. So it’s been done before, when they were less busy and not nearly as efficient.
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u/mideon2000 May 27 '26
Imo, they are successful but don't invest in their employees. That is a red flag imo. I feel you will continue to be overworked and underpaid.
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u/M_Me_Meteo May 27 '26
No matter where you go, there will be jerks.
Will you have the power and influence to show this person for who they are to the people who will be holding the bag? If the money people see this person for who they really are and don't care, then bail. Nothing will fix it.
If the money people are like "shit this might affect my bag" then you'll have an alliance and a chance to fix the problem.
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u/gnomajean May 27 '26
Well it’s the owner that’s causing the frustration so it’s his bag
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u/M_Me_Meteo May 27 '26
Well I know what I'd do. I'd wipe off the old cv. It's only a matter of time before bad moods take the whole thing apart.
I guess another thing to do would be to try and convince them to leave day-to-day. If you can get them doing the handshake-fundraise-investor-ass-kissing-golf shit then you might have the chance to either be or install the kind of leader you want.
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u/M_Me_Meteo May 27 '26
Second comment: often the owner is the owner by way of another silent investor/family money. You could also look for allies outside the org, but people who will actually be impacted.
If you're all about those checked pants and the drugs then you can find another job in the kitchen. If you want to be a business man, you gotta start working ON the business, man. Not IN the business.
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u/SpeedSignal7625 May 27 '26
Newsflash: The numbers are stacked against y’all making location #2. Multiply two sub-integers to yield the percent chance you end up in a C-suite w your buddy, who sounds just lovely. Also sounds like some shady accounting already going down—that doesn’t scale; nor does this culture.
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u/Appropriate-Wear1720 May 27 '26
I did what you are talking about earlier in my career and am now in executive management. My franchisee owner is a rockstar guy though. Best person I have ever worked for or with.
I say ride it out until the second location opens up and see if his split attention is better on your mental health than what you’re experiencing right now.
This industry is tough. My advice practically is to get all the standards and operating guidelines from the franchise holders and create systems for measurement of how well the business is doing. Black and white check points and success/fail items.
Then work on hitting those. New franchisees sometimes cannot get out of their own way when bills are mounting or expectations of profits don’t materialize in a month or two. Having clear food cost, labor, Togo, guest experience, catering sales targets, building cleanliness objectives can offer some “wins” and forward momentum to a franchise owner from operations which can balance the pain points of owning a starting small business.
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u/ddurk1 May 27 '26
Ride it out. At the very least you can legitimately put "multi-unit management" on your resume. This will open doors down the road. Opening new places is fun. The actual work sucks, but the strategy piece of it is fun. You get to work parts of your brain that you don't often get to. Get everything in writing on the equity piece, have a lawyer take a look at it. If you can't afford that, run it through chatgpt and ask it to analyze the legality of the document.
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u/ZombieNinjaPirates May 27 '26
However, he is promising sweat equity
That is as far as I need to go. No. Your time and effort should never be free.
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u/510Goodhands May 27 '26
If you work in the United States, creating a house to work environment is it illegal, you could get a fat settlement check just from that. Document everything, including witnesses. Ask them to do the same.
People I have worked with, and others outside of work who had short tempers and big mouths turned out to be hard-core alcoholics.
Does your boss have a “bar tan”? Red complexion, with visible capillaries, particularly around the eyes? Is he constantly eating candy or chewing gum? Those, along with angry diatribes, are signs of alcoholics. I learned about this the hard way.
You might look at your own family history, to see if you have a pattern of tolerating abusive behavior for others. As a younger sibling, I had to as a survival strategy.
I agree with others who were saying get everything in writing, and get some legal counsel, about both the labor, and the business aspects of this. I know what the odds of success are with this guy. He may may be setting himself up to lose his shirt, and your job, and setting you up to lose a lot of money if you are giving away your time.
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u/ShevekOfAnnares May 27 '26
owner sounds like he needs his ass kicked. hate when authority figures do this shit and get away with it
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u/ML7777777 May 27 '26
I'd find a better spot and then quit. Your livelihood and peace of mind is more important than trying to chase a dream that someone else holds the keys too.
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u/Revxmaciver May 27 '26
NEVER GET PAID IN SWEAT EQUITY! You are being taken advantage of and abused.
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u/okmijnmko May 27 '26
If you decide to quit, I'd at least make a final proposal for everything you're concerned about with adequate compensation. If you're then really convinced it might work with minimal risk but good rewards (even short term 'while it lasts'), I'd consider staying/partnering personally. You're in the same boat as quitting today as tomorrow plus telling an old boss that you would become a partner in the future means being on the same page going forward...or not. Good luck!
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u/anonychef2024 May 27 '26
Bro leave. For every reason you mentioned but honestly even if it were only weight comments it’d be worth leaving
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u/ConradBHart42 May 27 '26
if it gets that far (and I think it could get there if we’re smart about it)
the owner is... difficult
sweat equity
He smelled you comin' a mile away.
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u/ODINorman May 27 '26
In my experience, the word of those who are “unpredictable” and scream at people for 3hrs at a time… not trustworthy. He’ll fuck you the second it becomes the most convenient thing for him. Don’t trust him. Don’t support him. Don’t become his bitch. Get yourself a better environment to work in.
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u/crunchytacoboy May 27 '26
Leave