I manage a pizza place and I absolutely LOVE my job. I've built a dedicated staff that enjoys what they do, I make the work environment fun for them and I have little contests every now and again. Half the time, I pay for the prizes out of my own pocket because I want them to enjoy a treat and have something to show for the work that they do. Especially when they have to put up with people who think that we are retarded because we don't work in an office.

sorry, I got off on a rant there. Kudos to this guy. Although, I probably won't be getting a pizza tattoo any time soon. :)

Then try this one:

I think it will all become clear then...

I am in the WRONG retail business!

@bossco:

@trujunglist: Not necessarily; most fast-food joints are owned by the same entity, which means that it shouldn't matter if he works two different locations--it's still the same employer.

If there is someone here totally familiar with Texas labor laws/regulations, please chime in and tell us if this is correct or not. I personally know employers in the state who swear to me it is, but I cannot find a cite as reference.

Hey, he's passionate at what he does and he's loyal to his company. i just hope Jack in the Box shows him the same amount of respect and loyalty.

@exploded: Hell, I wish I could get those kind of hours at work--our overtime just got cut.

2 different locations, 2 different employers. Lots of people have 2 jobs.

Now I'm hungry for JBX.

Damn you Consumerist, damn you all to hell!

Okay, everyone is in awe of the number of hours this guy works.

Now let me throw a monkey wrench into the adulation machine.

Unless Blake is an exempt, salaried worker, it has always been my understanding that Texas has regulations that are designed to prevent an employer from working someone seven straight days a week--whether the employee wishes to do so or not.

This may be little enforced, but it supposedly is on the books in the Lone Star State.

I suppose all someone needs to do is find out where to file the greivance.

"I can't help but wonder where he would be if there had been someone in his life telling him that he should devote that enormous effort to somthing else."

What? Should Blake have been a greedy, corrupt banker?

awesome... love the job that you have.

@SJActress: Well, that was needlessly hostile.

@idip: I'm with you on this one. I love my job also, I'm just not a fan of being yelled at all the time for things I can't control, like company policy. The odd thing is that when I was in college, I'd always assumed I'd be teaching music to junior high kids, rather than working in the cell phone industry. Life's ironic like that.

As for Blake, hey, I'm a fan. I'm serious, kudos to him for being that die hard about what he's doing. You gotta admire someone who takes what their doing, regardless of how it looks to others on the outside, and does it with all the heart and all the gusto they can manage. I'll say it again, I'm a fan.

BTW: 60 hours a week nearly killed me. I can't imagine 72. Blake owns me.

@unobservant: I think the question on everyone's minds is... is he single?

No reason to mess up a good thing.

and yes, I shamelessly made friends with their kids. they always had the coolest stuff.

@Josh_G: +1

I worked at Dominos and there was a guy like this. One time I went to his place to help him fix his car and his apartment smelled exactly like the restaurant.

@Chumas: I want the mini sirloin burgers with a side order of mozarella sticks. Yumm.

My parents live down the street from a fellow who runs several JBXes (Jacks-In-the-Box?) and he seems to do ok finacially, though he has enough horror stories to scare me away from ever contemplating it as a career.

Were you drunk when you wrote this?

Dudes, that guy should be made into a manager immediately.

Who wants to sign a petition for that to happen?

Also dammit, I want jack in the box now.

@1234tu: He may not even have been working tons of hours for the first few years at JITB, and only recently has begun working toward a higher position.

I have mixed feelings about this. There are positive aspects to this, but part of me wonders what this young man could accomplish with a bit of guidence. If those hours are typical for him, I can't help but wonder where he would be if there had been someone in his life telling him that he should devote that enormous effort to somthing else. It seems like he is hard working, loyal, and has expressed some ambition. I'm not sure I would hire someone into a corporate management position based just on that. Even if he has all the skills, the fact that he is attempting to take the "path of greatest" resistance (working at jack-in-the-box for 8 years hoping to break into corp mgt) says somthing about him that I would have to understand before even thinking of putting him into a real management position. He would probably be great at running a few locations, but running a location and playing a part in running the company are totally differant, and involve totally differant skill sets. Someone should have realized what this guy was bringing to the table and mentored him. Have to wonder what makes him tick.

Seriously though, I'm bothered by an awesome employee whose shown tremendous loyalty and creativity, worked for eight years in an industry with high turnover rates seven days a week at different drive-thru windows so "he could hopefully move up in the company some day."

That's bullshit!

WTF does it take to get promoted at Jack in the Box? Is "Jack" just Mr. Krabs in disguise? Does he wears that clown head to hide the fact that he's a crustacean?

/I remember P.O.O.P. but I am still a Squidward.

/Bring back the monster tacos, damn it!

However, they do run managers into the ground and work them to the bone. Managers and Assistant Managers are salaried (exempt) so they can be called upon to work tons of hours without making more money. It's not unusual to get a phone call at the end of a double shift to inform you that your restaurant is now 24 hours.. and guess who's working the graveyard shift if you can't get any of your hourly employees to come in?

@Acolyte:
I don't think you know the world of franchises. He could end up owning Jack in the Box stores or working in the corporate offices. A chain around me has been advertising a regional manager position that has a six figure salary plus full benefits. This is the type of industry is where you can really take charge and be your own boss with a little coin. I the OP passes this story to both the store owner and the Jack in the Box corporate offices.

Also, I wonder if he ACTUALLY works those 72 hours, or if he does happen to get a day or two off a week, but those are the hours he tends to work when he IS working? It's possible he has a pretty set schedule.

I LOVE my job so much, it's amazing... but unfortunately I tell people things that they don't want to hear and get yelled at lots and just not to nice stuff said, rude attitudes, etc.

I think people in general need to be nicer and stop assuming that yelling at me is going to make me do something for you that I'm not allowed... that's totally not worth my job.

@Lo-Pan: I dunno what they pay, but after 8 years, even if you started at min. wage, as long as you are getting regular raises, you wouldn't being TOO bad. For fast food.

@exploded: It's not any way for YOU to live, nor me, but not everyone is the same. Some people LIKE working a lot. Are they insane? Yes. But they exist.

@exploded:
I don't feel bad, he's probablly pulling more than me in my office job

I guarantee that guy drinks like there's no tomorrow when he goes home.

Plus a striking resemblance to Bill Haverchuck from "Freaks and Geeks."

@Skunky: If someone has been at a company with such high turnover, like a fast food chain has, there has to be a reason why he hasn't up.

Maybe he has just finished school and is just going full time. Still, there is more to the story as to why he's working 72 hours. Maybe it's his decision, but that's still not any way to live.

You know what, this guy will keep busting his hump and end up either running a region or owning a lot of stores.

Possibly corporate level and when he can slow down to have a family his kids will only know dad pulls a mill+ a year and they love life.

I work at a car dealer where the now GM and former GM (who went to a brand new Mercedes store to GM) both started as friggin lot porters. 40 years later and they pull 6 figures up from minimum wage.

@nakedscience: He could have a few roomies and be saving money up to start his own franchise. Or he could be dead broke, I don't know what they pay at jack.

Two thumbs up to Blake. You go on with your bad self, purveyor of fast food glee!

@pecan 3.14159265: If he's been with the company long enough, he might be making okay money (for fast food). I mean, the In 'n Outs here start at something insane like $10/hr, even.

I bet he has roommates, anyway.

@Acolyte: It's not that limited! Maybe some day he can own his own franchise :)

@exploded: I suspect it's his decision to do that. And he looks damn happy in that picture!

@Skunky: And just look how well that worked out for Michael Scott.

Also, dude works 7 days a week. That's some no bullshit dedication.

@pb5000: Hopefully he wasn't let go when his manager found out he was giving away food to drunk people.

But as long as it's what makes him happy.

Has no one noticed that he's working a 72 hour work week? I feel bad for the guy....

@Chumas: JITB? I think you mean JBX

I remembered his name and asked about him the next time I was at that Jack in the box location a few months later. I found out he had been let go, it was a sad day.

Even though this really isn't relevant, it's still a cool story.

The guy bought a "SeaFry" for $1.79. What is that? And should part of the story be that someone actually buys "SeaFries" from Jack in the Box?

Blake ftw!

Blake FTW!

We should all be so lucky!