Ok, I'm in my early 20's, and I dropped out of college a couple years ago. After a few months working and living out my apartment lease, I quit my fast food job and moved 200 miles back in with my folks. I was unemployed for about 3 months, living mainly off my security deposit an money from selling my lease (about $700 total). Well, by folks wanted more help with expenses and I was basically just leeching by that point so I went job hunting. Most of the 5 or so apps I put out weren't replied to, but I finally got an interview at a convenience store. Jumped through the hoops, did the questionaires, but was ultimately denied due to a failed credit report (about 15k in debt, lots of bills being ignored). But about a month later I ended up getting a part time job doing breakfast 'boards' (making sandwiches) at a major fast food franchise.
The first month was alright as far as hours, getting about 15 a week (enough $ for expenses, but not much else). Then they went through a 'cutting back' phase, and I was taken down to just 4 or 5 hours a week, if that. At one point I was taken off the schedule for a month with no cause. I kept calling and they'd say 'nothing yet'. I got tired of this and talked to the GM, and he moved me from boards to a 'porter' position that opened up, aka 'janitor'. The work was a few hours a week, very early in the morning (4/5am- 11am). I was only making about $200 per paycheck, but it was enough for $60 in living expenses/rent, cigarettes, and a little for weed, plus the work was simple and flexible. Well this was all well and good for about 8 months, but soon the $60 I was paying my mom wasn't enough (I owed her like $300 in back rent and some damage to the car), and she started getting on my case about finding a better job. I did apply to a few other places, but they fell out.
While this was all going on, I worked the early morning shift which only had 3-4 other people, and there was an unofficial policy of free sandwiches. All of the employees and about half the management just looked the other way if you'd make a sandwich, or snuck a pie. Plus in my capacity as janitor, I'd spend a lot of time outside or wandering back and forth from the coolers so it would go unoticed, and was actually pretty easy to do. Most of the managers would leave the henhouse to go smoke too, so I was often alone for 5 minutes at a time. This went on for about 6 months.
Around last fall though, my folks went out to a wedding for the weekend, and there wasn't all that much food in the house (mostly frozen/canned stuff, and boring at that). So I went to work on Saturday and made up a little 'care package' - mostly some day old salad(still good, but marked for trash), sausage, eggs, a few pie's, etc. all in a small box I could ride home with on the bus. I liked having nice fast food/snacks at home in my freezer on days off, and then having free breakfast at work. So about once or twice a week I'd do the same thing, waiting until about an hour before my shift ended to take a few items from the freezer/cooler and hiding them in empty boxes destined for the dumpster. Then, when I'd 'break down boxes', I'd collate it all into one box, and stash it outside til I left. Bear in mind that both the items I was taking and the quantity were very small, and went unnoticed. I valued the actual cost to the store to be roughly equivalent to a 50 cent / hour pay raise, and I'd often share some with the folks as a kind of 'fringe benefit'. (Yes I know it was wrong).
Well, about 3 months ago, I was doing my thing, and had opened a bag of sausage in the freezer, and moved about half a dozen patties and a matching set of egg squares to a separate plastic bag, then dropped it into a dustpan. But unlike the dozen or so other times I'd done this trick, the manager walked in just as I was about to leave, and looked right at my 'loot'. She then noticed the opened sausage bag, and I knew I was busted. I tried to brush it off, but she grabbed the loot, and fired me on the spot. I left my shirt and hat on the floor as I was leaving, clocked out, and drove home. Fuck.
So I've been unemployed since, and my mom's riding my ass again. But this time, I'm screwed. The store never called the cops or anything, and I had no problem getting my last checks (aside from the walk of shame and comments from ex-coworkers, but w/e). But now if I go to apply for a job at a retail chain, or anywhere else, I have to do the mandatory employment history/references. I learned my lesson about boosting stuff, and have no intention of repeating my little experiment. But now I have to either put the job on an app, and risk being branding thief; omit it from the app all together and lie that I've been unemployed for two years; or stretch out the employment dates so that It looks filled (of course once they find that my 'last' job is two years not 6 months, I'm screwed). What the hell can I do? There's not a lot of employment options around, and I'm basically unemployable. I just want to do an honest day's work for an honest day's pay, and take care of my self instead of leeching off my folks everyday. Now my mom "Want's to have a talk with me tonight", undoubtedly more nagging about getting a job (they do know what happened). Help!
The first month was alright as far as hours, getting about 15 a week (enough $ for expenses, but not much else). Then they went through a 'cutting back' phase, and I was taken down to just 4 or 5 hours a week, if that. At one point I was taken off the schedule for a month with no cause. I kept calling and they'd say 'nothing yet'. I got tired of this and talked to the GM, and he moved me from boards to a 'porter' position that opened up, aka 'janitor'. The work was a few hours a week, very early in the morning (4/5am- 11am). I was only making about $200 per paycheck, but it was enough for $60 in living expenses/rent, cigarettes, and a little for weed, plus the work was simple and flexible. Well this was all well and good for about 8 months, but soon the $60 I was paying my mom wasn't enough (I owed her like $300 in back rent and some damage to the car), and she started getting on my case about finding a better job. I did apply to a few other places, but they fell out.
While this was all going on, I worked the early morning shift which only had 3-4 other people, and there was an unofficial policy of free sandwiches. All of the employees and about half the management just looked the other way if you'd make a sandwich, or snuck a pie. Plus in my capacity as janitor, I'd spend a lot of time outside or wandering back and forth from the coolers so it would go unoticed, and was actually pretty easy to do. Most of the managers would leave the henhouse to go smoke too, so I was often alone for 5 minutes at a time. This went on for about 6 months.
Around last fall though, my folks went out to a wedding for the weekend, and there wasn't all that much food in the house (mostly frozen/canned stuff, and boring at that). So I went to work on Saturday and made up a little 'care package' - mostly some day old salad(still good, but marked for trash), sausage, eggs, a few pie's, etc. all in a small box I could ride home with on the bus. I liked having nice fast food/snacks at home in my freezer on days off, and then having free breakfast at work. So about once or twice a week I'd do the same thing, waiting until about an hour before my shift ended to take a few items from the freezer/cooler and hiding them in empty boxes destined for the dumpster. Then, when I'd 'break down boxes', I'd collate it all into one box, and stash it outside til I left. Bear in mind that both the items I was taking and the quantity were very small, and went unnoticed. I valued the actual cost to the store to be roughly equivalent to a 50 cent / hour pay raise, and I'd often share some with the folks as a kind of 'fringe benefit'. (Yes I know it was wrong).
Well, about 3 months ago, I was doing my thing, and had opened a bag of sausage in the freezer, and moved about half a dozen patties and a matching set of egg squares to a separate plastic bag, then dropped it into a dustpan. But unlike the dozen or so other times I'd done this trick, the manager walked in just as I was about to leave, and looked right at my 'loot'. She then noticed the opened sausage bag, and I knew I was busted. I tried to brush it off, but she grabbed the loot, and fired me on the spot. I left my shirt and hat on the floor as I was leaving, clocked out, and drove home. Fuck.
So I've been unemployed since, and my mom's riding my ass again. But this time, I'm screwed. The store never called the cops or anything, and I had no problem getting my last checks (aside from the walk of shame and comments from ex-coworkers, but w/e). But now if I go to apply for a job at a retail chain, or anywhere else, I have to do the mandatory employment history/references. I learned my lesson about boosting stuff, and have no intention of repeating my little experiment. But now I have to either put the job on an app, and risk being branding thief; omit it from the app all together and lie that I've been unemployed for two years; or stretch out the employment dates so that It looks filled (of course once they find that my 'last' job is two years not 6 months, I'm screwed). What the hell can I do? There's not a lot of employment options around, and I'm basically unemployable. I just want to do an honest day's work for an honest day's pay, and take care of my self instead of leeching off my folks everyday. Now my mom "Want's to have a talk with me tonight", undoubtedly more nagging about getting a job (they do know what happened). Help!
