Bullied at a Restaurant

I was looking for a job and since I was back home at this time I wanted something local. I went around my area and put applications everywhere and ended up at a restaurant as a dishwasher.

I had never worked a manual labor job. I have nothing against it, I had just never done it.

So, my first day went well. I never saw any of the coworkers except the guy training me on how to do the job. He was going really quickly and kind of made it a point for me to just stay away from the machine? I figured I'd just do the other stuff like sort the dishes, forks, stack stuff, take out the trash, etc. The second day I came back and expected the same guy to be working along side me, but he wasn't there. I had to figure out how to work the machine, and fast.

The dishes started piling up and I started getting backed up, which now that I'm seeing all the snooty servers the impression is not a good one. I wasn't going to make excuses and tell them I didn't get any training I just said sorry and started working harder and faster. I figured out how to work the machine and things started going smoother.

Like most people on this site the bullying started as a drip-drip effect. One of the servers called me a loser for working in a restaurant (an exact quote. Not sure where he thought he was working?). I ignored it and kept working. Then another coworker called me a ni*#er and a monkey. And it just kept happening. I never had a term for it, but now thanks to this site I know it was mobbing.

The manager was standing right there watching it happen. Well, the night manager that is. The day manager was a White guy and he was really cool and professional, everyone seemed to go by the book while he was there. But at night there was a fat White lady in the manager's office. The only time I saw her is when she would go out back for a smoke by the dumpsters.

I stayed the entire shift, and never came back after that day. I didn't want the job, nor did I need it. I'm working in my field of study now but I did learn a lot from that experience.

1) The very second, the very millisecond a racist insult was hurled at me I should have stopped everything I was doing and gone straight to the manager and reported it.

You want me to do my job? Well then make sure you're not putting me in a hostile workplace.

2) I sure as hell wouldn't have quit. If for no other reason at all just to spite them and not let them chase me out.

If you think you have to put up with racism at the job, even for one second, you're wrong. Every single solitary instance you need to report it. After enough strikes the person making the racist comments will be fired. Make sure the manager keeps a record of every complaint, and that YOU keep a record of every complaint. If you feel enough complaints are going unheard then it's time to consider a lawsuit.

Best of luck and stay strong!