MY WORST PT JOB EXPERIENCE

i’m only sharing this experience because i feel like there’s little to no support for part timers in Singapore especially those who are teenagers looking to earn some cash after graduation.

I started my first part time job at 15 at a very popular ice cream shop after graduating from secondary school in 2020. I went for the interview, got placed at one of their outlets & then started working. as i previously mentioned, this was my FIRST part time job, & i had also stated very clearly in my application and during the interview that i had no experience.

I struggled a lot to actually learn how to use the eftpos machine, scoop ice cream & to make the drinks. thankfully there was this really kind soul, who was my secondary manager who taught me how to do these things very patiently. by my third shift i felt that i had gotten the basics down, but needed some reminders here and there. especially for drinks & the eftpos machine, as i had to remember how they were made, & some customers would want a refund or use their membership which i was unfamiliar with. as the crowd came in and the shop grew busier, my main manager got really easily frustrated at me for not knowing certain things.

During one shift I was badly scolded as i had ‘talked back’ to my main manager. he chased me out from doing the eftpos machine after i had struggled with it (keep in mind this was my third/fourth shift) & i asked ‘so what can i do now?’. he got mad and said i had an attitude and called me stupid, incapable & dumb in front of the customers & my coworkers. i was really embarrassed & felt upset that i was treated this way, & a customer even came to tell my manager not to scold their staff in front of the whole shop, as it reflected badly on himself & the business. after getting told off, my manager brought me to the back and continued scolding me.

the last three slides are the text messages exchanged between my manager & i, where i submitted my availability but had to change it because of some unforeseen circumstances. I informed him in advance I could only work until 2 pm instead of the normal 4pm, but did not receive a reply, so i did not turn up to work that day. that day comes and i receive tons of missed calls from one my co workers and when i picked up, she scolded me for not coming to work. i explained that because i didn’t receive a reply, i presumed that i didn’t have to come in that day. she then raised her voice and scolded me (once more) & then said i was fired. that leads to the last few slides, where i received a text from my manager saying that i was fired & so i asked why i was treated this way (bc i genuinely wanted to know). he mentioned that they were not blaming me, but over the phone it was really clear that i was blamed for not turning up and this whole miscom… i even mentioned on the phone that i would come to work asap, but that was when my coworker fired me & hung up. I still feel upset thinking about this experience because i was just so young & new, i really didn’t know how to stand up for myself or where/ who to go to in situations like this where i was verbally abused.

to address the last line of his text, i arrived on time/ a few minutes late to work, and apologised saying that i didn’t know we had to show up 15 minutes before our shift because nobody told me. yes this is my bad though, and i made sure i turned up earlier the next few shifts. many of these exchanges can be classified as miscommunication, but i don’t think berating me was ever justified. there were other incidents of me feeling mistreated like the ic incident i mentioned in my text, as my manager got angry at me that i couldn’t send my ic on the day he asked because i was working a shift from 5-11pm. i worked until 11pm at night, so i couldn’t get home and take a picture of my ic before that day ended.

all in all, i feel that for teenagers especially first timers, staff should be more understanding and patient. and ofc, calling someone dumb/ stupid is never right, as we all deserve to be treated with respect. not once did i retaliate, because that would never result in a pleasant outcome. also how i was spoken to over text and irl was vastly different, because in person i was treated with no respect and subjected to insults almost every shift. I must say that every coworker treated me kindly besides my manager and another coworker, but most of my shifts were with these two people so it was miserable lol.

I hope that nobody is ever called stupid, berated or humiliated like that at work. i also hope that Singapore decides to really enforce workplace protection for all workers. Please be kind in the comments, i don’t hate these people i just hope i never see them again.

#Postin3 #jobexperiences #singapore #cafesg #icecream #Parttime #workplaceculture