Pizza Employees Ordered to Work in Cold [King5 NBC]
]]>In all seriousness, Pizza Time is a horrible establishment. It is a chain and the pizza is inedible. There are some wonderful, locally owned pizza places in this area (try Vic's in Olympia, for example) to get good quality pizza. I hope people do boycott Pizza Time and hold this owner accountable. Good for King5 for taking on this piece.
]]>I'd be worried about eating at a place that was that penny pinching.
]]>Also, leaving the heat turned up is not NEARLY as bad as leaving a pizza oven turned on. THAT would actually cost a few $.
]]>That being said, it's still an unwise move to punish ALL your employees for the mistake of one employee.
]]>As a rule 550 Degrees. This will cook the Pizza in less then 5 mins.
]]>I think they're a franchisee and if they are they're likely to get hell from the company. The news said the story was harming business at other Pizza Time locations not owned by these two modern day scrooges. If anything they've done enough PR damage to their own business to shut it down.
]]>1 guy forgets to shut off the heat which probably cost the guy like $5 and he is punishing everyone? Screw him. Everyone there should call out sick on a Friday night when this guy is working. If he doesnt work then just call out anyways...in fact everyone on Friday morning should too.
]]>Muppet Christmas Carol Reference = Win
]]>Employees who hate their jobs usually don't do a very good one.
]]>How would the bookkeepers like to be suddenly...UNEMPLOYED?
HEAT WAVE! This is my island, in de sun...
]]>@Shadowman615: Well, they may not quite be warm bodies.
.
I was also wondering two things:
1) How much heat do the Pizza ovens give off?
2) Do they have a customer seating area or are they delivery/pick up only? I can see customers not liking their pizza when they need to bundle up to eat.
@smileboot: Has anybody got any Veras? Loooooooovely.
]]>@Craysh: Do you actually have something to back up your claim there, or is this another of those conservative delusion I seem to see so much of around here?
]]>@Scatter:
Energy costs are the cheapest they've been in over 4 years.
]]>@Daniel Lamin: Just hurt them during a busy rush and everyone should walk out at the same time. A friend of mine in high school worked at Pizza hut and the manager promoted a girl he was sleeping with. 9 people walked out on a friday night leaving just him and her to run the business. It was funny because one of them knew a district manager at at Papa Johns and anyone who wanted a job there got one.
]]>I wonder if the owner hangs out long enough at the end of the night to count de money (wink) why can't they switch off the heat?
]]>This is a situation when an employee quits a job but is still eligible for unemployment benefits because of the work situation. For example, if an employer makes a change in the working conditions that a reasonable person would not tolerate or which makes it difficult or impossible to perform one's job (like turning off the heat!), then an employee can quit and it's regarded as "constructive discharge" and benefits are awarded.
]]>In any event, this sounds like a real safety issue (besides being mean) and should be reported as Corporate-Shill points out. What happens when employees try to warm the place up by cranking up the ovens (I'm assuming they have gas, could be wrong) or when the space heater in the wife's office starts the carpet on fire?
]]>Ah... the stories people tell. Putting that on a board for the employees to see is still really stupid.
]]>That being said, it is still pretty douchy.
]]>If this Pizza Time place were worth saving...it would be time for a visit from "Kitchen Nightmares". Gordon has earned himself an owner that deserves a beating... ;-)
]]>@CharlieInSeattle: Right there the owners are losing money if they exhaust the vent heat versus recapturing it. Stoopid...
]]>And what are the angry employees doing in retaliation?
]]>@mizike: A lot of fast food employees get fired or forced to quit to save the employer benefit costs. It's cheaper to hire a new employee than pay for health insurance (even as crappy as they get).
]]>@TVarmy: I don't think you can legally dock their pay. You can, however, write them up, give them a day off without pay, etc.
]]>She is spending at least as much running that space heater as the more efficient furnace would be cranking out even a passable amount of heat to the place.
Don't they have hot pizza ovens?
]]>@mizike: All of the above is more or less true but let's not forget the staggering and lingering power of bad press. If this was picked up by any local media/fringe rags people will side with the employees if for nothing else than to organize. Turnover is one of the fundamental natures of business but negative press is always going to be more damaging in the long run. And yeah, the owner's a real asshole. Way to advertise your shitty management, prick.
]]>Sorry for feeding the troll, but I just had to say that "Vote with your wallets!" is not universally applicable.
]]>Actually it looks like the one he has is a programmable thermostat. He's probably too much of an idiot to use it. There are ways to get him, and I hope someone does. The health dept is a good way to go about it. I believe there are food safety issues in storing hot food in too cold a place. Forcing your employees to work in sub-freezing temperatures for a full shift is not safe, especially when they have to have exposed hands to work.
Personally, if I lived in the area, I'd so never buy there. Another thought, if he skimps on heat for his employees, what else does he skimp on?
]]>@corbyz: And yet you assume that anyone would appreciate reading an uninformed comment that may have nothing to do with the actual situation.
]]>@InThrees: Really? De-drafting the building to drive home the point, MAYBE. But if you RTA, the normal temp maintained there was 55 degrees. Hardly warm and comfy. The owner is clearly cheap, but leaving the furnace set for 55 overnight for one night? Cry me a damn river, that's not going to cost much. Giving them a week off would be massive overkill.
]]>@yevarechecha: You're exactly right, thanks. He doesn't need to be deliberately trying to tank his business; he only needs to act like it.
His competitors should be happy. Remember what they say about wars... they aren't won so much as they are lost (due to mistakes and missteps on the losing side).
]]>@Ryan Duff: It's transcribed from a picture of the board. Nice job belittling the employees who work for this asshat.
]]>OK, two things I have to say...
1) He's the *owner*, and his wife is the *manager*, but she's his boss? Outside the obvious marital joke here, how the HELL does that work? I'm pretty sure if you own the place, you trump the manager when it comes to decisions.
Also, who wants to bet that franchisee also has the universal standard clauses in their employment contracts forbidding nepotism? Double standard, anyone?
2) There has to be a violation of health and safety laws going on here...
]]>A few things I'd mention:
My bulky jacket gets in the dough while I put on toppings.
25 degrees (as said in the article) is below freezing. The frost on the floor is creating a safety hazard for employees and customers.
Lower immune systems due to cold are causing employees to work more often while sick, creating a further health hazard.
My employer _knowingly_ created these violations and is threatening me with financial hardship should I report them.
What say you health dept.?
Easy enough.
*Dept. of labor may not see a violation, but I bet the health dept. does.*
Should get protection via Whistleblowers Act since these are all violations.
I'm sure if you dig, there are many more. Managers like this are chronic. They don't break a few codes, they break them all.
Personally... I wouldn't eat in a place like that. Managers with that little regard for safety... who the hell knows what's in the food.
]]>A real pizza place has an oven that can reach 800 degrees. This being a place called Pizza Time in Arizona, I suspect it's instead making a bready, Domino's-style pizza. Still, you can't keep that heat inside. The carbon monoxide alone would hurt the employees.
I'm wondering how customers feel about this. If they used to have seating and people ate inside, that's going to stop quickly.
]]>That being said not providing heat is likely illegal, the owner is setting themselves up for trouble down the line either through fines or (unlikely in this case as we're talking about low paying jobs at a pizza place) constructive dismissal claims.
]]>At worst the heat should have only stayed off for one day to make up for the night it was left on.
]]>I'm pretty sure they're not OSHA-regulated, as they'd be too small a business (must have 11 employees or more at any time during the calendar year).
]]>@Scatter: You're not sure, you're guessing. According to the employee interviewed leaving the heat on only happened once.
This IS a pizza pallor isn't it? Last I knew Pizza ovens put out a decent amount of heat.
"When it's really, really cold, like when it's 19 (degrees) outside, it will be 25 in the store," said Baxter.]]>
Two words...Programmable Thermostat. If turning down the heat at closing time is so important to the bottom line, invest $50 into a programmable thermostat that would tun on and off the heat at appropriate times throughout the day.
]]>We will put this asshole out of business.
That'll help the employees.
]]>2. Good luck building a united front in such an environment. The instigator will leave and everyone else will pretend to chicken out (when they had no intentions of following in the first place).
No, better that this get the media exposure, so that the customers can shame the owner. Further, better that someone call the state labour board.
]]>And his comment about "lots of jobs" is laughable. The state itself is on a hiring freeze for state jobs, and we're about to have budget cuts, which means more qualified people are flooding the already crappy economy. And most of the folks I know who work there are doing it to pay for college or because they don't have the experience to work elsewhere. So yeah, find other jobs. Right.
]]>Today it's been in the 30s all day. Oops.
]]>A driver or cook... not ALL drivers and ALL cooks.
If I was the owner I would have gone and bought some weatherstripping and silicone caulk and had the forgetful employee de-draft the building, and then given him a week off if it was warranted.
]]>*thumbs up*
eyhhhhhhhh!
The owner is a jackass and Pizza Time is crappy pizza.
]]>2) This IS a pizza pallor isn't it? Last I knew Pizza ovens put out a decent amount of heat.
3) If it was really that cold he wouldn't get customers in his store.
]]>*watched video,
If the heat was only ever at 55 and it's at 55 when the news walked in (a space heater that small was not heating up the whole place) than the guy complaining is just dumb. 55 is ok to begin with.
I used to unload tractor trailers and in the summer time they can be upwards of 100 degrees in those trucks and the winter as cold as it is outside ( i worked in Mass. at the time). He's not violating any laws they should shut and work or just quit.
Not a lot of jobs out but somebody is always hiring.
]]>If any boss tried to pull this stunt in the rest of the western world, there would be all kinds of legal recource without even needing to tell the consumerist.
]]>Oh wait...
]]>This is just wrong wrong wrong.
If we don't like the owner's behavior he can just go out of business.
Join this facebook group
Boycott Pizza Time
The ovens are at least 300 degrees so it's cold in the morning wear a sweater.
They should have turned off the heat before they left. I'm sick of people shucking the responsibility of their actions. They should quit so people who want responsibility can take over.
]]>My, how times have changed.
]]>Maybe this idiot should realize that if he's just listening to what his wife says then *his* store will (hopefully) be out of business soon?
]]>I'd also be on the phone to any local TV station that runs one of those consumer protection shows, see if they want a chilly exclusive.
]]>With any luck, the place will go out of business and the resulting increase in business for competitors will result in some new jobs opening up in the other pizza shops.
Pathetic little Napoleon.
]]>And what is all this "Well those employees should quit" nonsense? Why isn't anybody saying "Hey, this is a great idea for the guy to save some dough, 'cuz we're not gonna buy anything from him"? Vote with your wallets or shut the hell up.
]]>Time to call the department of public health. Yes the good ole state agency.
DPH is usually reporting agency to OSHA. Which means DPH can perform an inspection and report to OSHA.
When I was a wet behind the ear teen I had an employer that pulled the same kind of crap.... a cold work place but we (the employees) were not allowed to wear appropriate clothing to protect us from the cold.
The business manager was more than pissed when he was visited by the agency manager seeking business contact information to complete the OSHA reporting forms.
Had heat within the hour.
]]>@crazyasianman:
oh wow it's the one right by me... definitely never going there.
No laws are being broken.
]]>hmmm... well I know it was barely above freezing and snowing earlier here in my part of WA south of Tacoma, sure as heck isn't how I'd want to be working. The owner's "lesson" seems to morph from a reckless attempt at somehow educating his employees to simply abusing them when considering the managing wife has her own heater. plus, I've never frequented any pizza time locations here as there seems to be a plague of shady looking food joints around here with "time" in their name like taco time, pizza time, burger time, etc.
just doesn't seem too appealing... especially now.
]]>Ahhh Pizza Time. When I went to college in Tacoma 15 years ago their pizza was like cardboard. The only saving grace was that they were the cheapest. And being college students that was the only thing that mattered.
]]>Manager was such a jackass he desperately tried to run the store all by himself and failed miserably. Corp. replaced him the day after Christmas.
]]>Is he deliberately trying to tank his business? If the workers all quit and word gets around so that nobody else wants the job and no customers want the pizza, what else is he going to do?
]]>i am assuming there is no pizza-worker union.
]]>Bottom line: Owner is a Jackass. Quit, work for another pizza place if you're able.
]]>/me dances off
]]>Ebeneezer.....Ebeneezer...
]]>