So some of you may know some of you may not know , I'm a production manager at a fast food chain (I won't say exactly which fast food chain I work for)  but my job is just incredibly un-professional  and at times really ridiculous I swear we could have our own reality show, with that said here's a run down of my past two days at work 

First on Saturday at the store I work at we had three managers swearing and cussing getting ready to fight in front of the entire store just because one manager asked to other two to either do their jobs or just leave(go home) and mind you we had a lobby full of people the guest are watching and laughing  in amazement as they are waiting 20-30 minutes + for there food while this is going down and all the employees at this point are watching and egging them on like an episode of WWE  

Now come today(Sunday) I go to turn on and use the bun machine and guess what happens the right cooling fan on the machine fails and the buns all catch on fire upon coming out of the machine, now I've been said for months the bun machine needs to be replaced, and  the other bun steamer needs to be replaced but surprise it probably wont ever get done. Now  the bun machine, the bun steamer machine, the two right sides of the grill , and our computer systems all fail during the mid breakfast/lunch rush. So we were toasting buns on the grill , we couldn't take any orders or use the cash registers and we couldn't cook food on two out of the four grills. I think hands down these past two days have got to be the worst ever in fast food history but it gets better...

We have a quality and food safety inspection in two weeks! 

Divine Aurora : I think getting robbed automatically is worse than what you went through. At least you didn't have anyone hold guns up to your staff.

So, the question is: Where do you fit in the spectrum of responsibility and what do you actually do as manager of food production? Do you have authority? Can you bring disciplinary action to the managers or at least document their failure to be professional, especially in the front of the house where they can be seen? And why didn't you say something to take the discussion, argument, whatever, somewhere more private?

What's the next step? Are you thinking about moving to another store or is it like that no matter where you go?

What do you do to change the environment and make things work better?

Ghostbear1111 : The three managers arguing and fighting and swearing were all floor/shift managers  and I'm a production manager which is basically in charge of food safety and food quality. We are all basically at the same level of authority but they were already in charge when  I got promoted so they don't really listen and treat me as an equal. Since were all at the same level I can't write them up or take action myself but I talked to the supervisor about the incident (since he came in after the fact when the two that started it left) it was all documented though and the entire incident started up at the front of the store and then made its way into the office but you could still hear and see them from the front. I tried to say something along the lines of "come on girls we have customers up front and this needs to stop" but I was quickly brushed off and ignored

I have considered moving to another store but I doubt my supervisor will let me because I'm the only one that knows the correct procedures  
  and holding times for the food and food prep and I'm the only one that does certain things that involve the maintenance of the kitchen. I have considered getting another job, I want to work in a pharmacy  and do pharmaceutical work(which I'm going to school for) I could easily get an internship but I want to be paid to work.

To change the work environment there and make things work better I highly suggest firing certain people who obviously don't want to work or be there or come there and complain about work and generally stay on there phones and slow down everyone else but I don't necessarily 
have much of a say in the matter.

Isn't there an Owner/Boss of that place that can resolve what's going on?


I get that you wanna be paid there, but with all of the arguing, tech failures, fighting and stuff that's going on. I couldn't stand to work at a place like that.


From a business perspective; Every bit of feedback needs to be listened to and considered,     within two weeks If they dont get their stuff straight that place is gonna shut down.


It's sad..
Just plain sad.


If I got told to do my job, I wouldn't argue or do anything like that because It's what I came to do and get paid for..


I feel sorry for you in that regard. It must be difficult to deal with this situation.

Now I may not be a fast food restaurant employee or anything, but I do get what you're saying, I know as a customer that it takes ridiculous amounts of time for the head honchos to send in any kind of replacements or the like, particularly, in my experience at least, ice cream machines, which always seem to break down only in the 'twist' and 'chocolate' buttons. 

Sounds tough though. Can you fire those managers or anything, or do you not have that kind of authority? Because three managers getting in a fight is absolutely ridiculous, I'd raise hell if I was in there and that was going on and had to wait that long for my food, you know? 

I hope the company finds a way to fix that stuff though, and I hope you're making good money, enough that it's worth it to you, doing this, because that sounds like a very strenuous job, really.

Sorry to hear all that. I'm shocked that the managers would get into a fight in front of everyone. At least one of them started out doing the right thing by telling the others to get to work. It stinks that the customers had to wait so long, it's called fast food for a reason

Like Ghostbear said, this isn't the worst of what could happen. Try to make the most out of your situation. It sounds like they need you to still work there for a while if you're the only one doing things correctly. The bun machine probably isn't cheap but they should still invest money to buy a new one and do it before a more dangerous fire occurs. They'll likely lose business quite a bit if that happens.

The inspection is definitely necessary, I hope the inspectors see that you don't contribute to the issues so you don't get fired. Keep up the great work, good luck

If I were you,I would take this to your bosses or if need be,their bosses. It is unacceptable to have breakdowns like that,when it could have been fixed easier and cheaper then replacing it with a whole new unit. This is why everyone should know how to add or subtract in their heads so if your machines go down,you can at least still take cash orders. And as for the inspection,you might have to take a lump or two due to the higher ups inaction and incompetence.

As for the 'managers' getting ready to fight,I would suggest to your boss they be either fired or demoted and retrained. Because to get ready to brawl in front of customers is the apex of unprofessionalism. I do not care if they were just hired for their first day as a CSM or whatever term you guys use,you are supposed to be professional in all your dealings,whether you work a register,cook food,or run a shift. They were completely unprofessional and I will bet that may show up on You Tube. They deserve to be punished and made to do extra duties,maybe some menial stuff like scrub the baseboards,or get on their hands and knees and scrub the walk in. If you fail inspection,you all could lose your license to operate there and then you are in a world of crap.