Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Gabriel's first job was at Chick Fil-A in Alabama. He loved loved it and they loved him. When we moved here, we were excited that there was a Chick Fil-A within walking distance. He began working shortly after we were unpacked. Gabriel was the same energetic, enthusiastic employee but he came home day after day discouraged with his new work environment. He made friends easily and greatly admired the owner. The trouble came with some members of upper management whom he called Darth Vader and Darth Sidious. For whatever reason, these two individuals did not like him and made working there miserable. In spite of this hostile working environment, Gabe excelled. At the company Christmas party, his co-workers elected him to receive 3 out of the 5 awards. In January, he was promoted to trainer. The Dark Side was openly opposed to his promotion. Darth Sidious, the one in charge of scheduling, gave him very few hours and never scheduled him to train new employees. Gabriel asked to have a couple of Saturdays off (2 in a 5 month period) and he was penalized by not getting any hours for two solid weeks. He spoke with the owner who promised him the world but there was nothing gained. He attempted to speak with lord Vader and the Emperor but they refused to hear him. He watched as friends and managers on the Light Side quit on a regular basis. Gabriel stayed on, hoping for change. A change that did not come.

Two weeks ago, he decided to apply at a brand new Arbys. It's not within walking distance but still fairly close. He was skeptical about getting another job in the fast food industry but he had reached the point of desperation. He was also worried about the interview. How do you tell a potential employer that your reason for quitting your last job was because you had difficulty with some of the managers? He was completely surprised to find out that a former Chick Fil-A manager, one of the Jedi knights, is now a manager at Arbys. She told him right away, "Don't worry. We know all about Chick Fil-A." He was hired the next day.

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