I'm struggling with something.

[Patrickgay17]

Ok I'm 18 and as some of you know I work at McDonalds. There is this guy at work (Mike) who I wouldn't exactly call a friend but more of an peer that I can talk to and joke with it's a good relationship.

 

Well I was talking to Mike the other day on break over some burgers and he told me that he was taking food from McDonalds to his home and I'm not talking small quantities I mean big stuff, large bags of stuff, strawberries, crispy chickns, spicey chickens, ketchup ect...

 

I am on probation for things that I won't explain and I could loose my job for knowing about this and not saying anything and then they would throw me in jail (not fun) if I lost my job.

 

So after stewing about it for three days my manager came to me and was talking about food being missing. I was allready thinking about telling her and I did.

 

I was the only person Mike told and there is a chance that he could get fired. I have to put Mike before my job or I could get fired and him taking the food really hurts the store.

 

Do you think I did the right thing in telling my manager?

[DomLuka]

Definitely. You did the right thing. It

[Umbathri]

I never worked fast food, But I did work in the kitchen of a rest home. And 3 of my (too many) roommates worked fast food during college. They did bring home food occasionally but nothing like mass quantities. But going into the place and ordering a couple burgers and walking out with bags full did happen a couple times.

So they didnt abuse the workplace too much, but we did plenty of other ...unspeakable things.

 

From my perspective, doing it for the good of the store is not a valid reason... unless its like a family business. But doing it for yourself cause possibly loseing your job could have dire consequences, could be. I personally wouldnt have told, but that doesnt mean much.

 

He confided in you... be mindful of where that can lead... Its one of those circumstances where I would say telling Mike would do more harm then good. Even if he confronts you about it, you may NOT be the only person he told and even if you are, whos to say the manager didnt figure it out on her own?

 

~Umbathri

Ill take 2 tabs, the mask will take 3

[Crackerwriter]

Don't feel bad about this Patrick. He put you in an impossible position by telling you, so it's down to him not you. After all it wasn't you that was taking stuff was it?

 

If it was in the UK, he would definitely be getting the sack for what he's done. A few illict "perks" although still strictly speaking illegal are often overlooked with an accompanying bolocking.

 

If you're feeling uncomfortable about the whole thing then talk to your supervisor about it. She will at least appreciate your honesty and should hopefully have a sympathetic ear, if that will make things easier for you.

 

Just don't let your own concience bother you.

[dkstories]

Patrick, having gone through a bit of management training for different jobs, I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that you did the right thing. One thing I might have recommended is confronting Mike with the choice of coming forward himself or then you'd inform the manager.

 

That's just something for future reference.

 

 

Yes, what you did will likely ruin your friendship with Mike, but then do you really want to be friends with a thief? It'd be different if he was sorry about what he did, but that's neither here nor there. If you are really troubled about it, you might want to tell him why you told, and encourage to do the right thing from now on.

 

You mentioned probation, which makes the fact that you did tell the manager a very good thing. It's part of what probation is meant to be, a stick right behind you that you know there is there and will whap you if you mess up. It should be used to encourage 'proper' behavior to help you build GOOD habits instead of the bad ones that got you into trouble in the first place.

 

Here's a suggestion...contact your probation officer and talk to them about this incident, and ask them for advice on how you could have handled it better. Most often probation officers dont' hear this sort of thing from their charges, and it's something they should know about you. You really are making an effort to do the right things in your life, and you're succeeding.

 

Let them know that, so that if you do mess up, which can happen to anyone, they have something positive to balance it with. Encourage your PO to talk to your manager about the incident as well, to confirm your cooperation with the manager. From your post, it sounds like you volunteered the information to a manager on a basic fishing expedition, not on a witch hunt, which will work in your favor.

 

If it had been a hamburger here and there, I'd have encouraged you to talk to him about not doing it again and dropping it...but it was far more than that. Petty theft such as this really does cost companies money, and no matter how you try to shade it, it is wrong to steal company property for private use.

 

My kudos to you for making the right decision, not just for yourself but the right decision, period. Continue to learn these lessons in life and whatever trouble you had in the past, you can proudly hold you head up and say you learned from your mistakes.

 

That is all anyone can ever ask from you, to pay the price for your mistakes, and to learn from them.

[Patrickgay17]

The day that Mike told me we were on break and I did encourage him to not do it. I told him he shouldn't be doing it and they would fire his ssa if they found out.

 

Mike grew up in New York (not that I'm saying that is bad) but he has this kind of attitude chip on his shoulder that says that he can do what he wants to.

 

No I wasn't taking the food home. And now I never really called him a friend I guess we were a step up from co-workers and a step down from friends some where in the middle.

 

My manager was noticing a lot of food missing and it wasn't good.

 

When I talked to Jen about it (my manager) this is what I was feeling though it may sound bad.

 

I was feeling like if I did talk about it with her then it was my ssa because that makes me the nark and I hate the nark. But on the other hand if I didn't talk about it then if he was ever found out and I didn't come forward I was fired and back in jail.

 

When people steal from McDonalds it hurts the people working there.

 

Do you still think I did the right thing.

[moonspenders]

Patrick,

 

Morality is always a difficult thing to stew over. There are three perspectives to look at: his, yours, and the managers.

 

Overall, you made the wise choice in ther matter. You telling the manager is brownie point for yourself, since you were being honest in a situation where you could have been deceitful. It shows something about your character.

 

Of course, he may get mad if he does trace it back to you. But, so what? Honestly, if we all stopped worrying about what other people thought about what we did, half our daily stress would vanish. Sure, you may have lost a possible good friend, but is he really the sort of person you would want to have in your life?

 

I personally did my time at McDeath: two years in high school. Hated it. HATED it. Sure, i don't care much for the company, lthe same with Walmart. But overall, the company has no bearing on the situation. it's all about you and how you live your life.

 

I've been in similar circumstances, knowing secrets that risked other people (technically, the manager could have been fired over this as well... the chain is endless), and yes i had played the "nark" when it weighed too heavily on me. It was for the better from experience though.

 

Calm down and don't let it be your burden. He made the mistake, you were merely the soothsayer. The fact that you're on probation is even more reason to be honest. The less chances anyone has of catching you in a lie, the better the odds are that you won't end up going back.

 

Ken

[Aleric]

Hey Patrick,

 

that was definitely the right thing to do.

 

Don't worry about losing Mike as friend - you really don't want to have

friends that steal from their employer (or anyone else). I understand

that you feel bad about betraying "a friend" but there was simply nothing

else that you could do imho. Nothing saying something when you find

out about something that happened is one thing - but he was STILL

stealing and going to steal MORE in the future, and your manager was

ASKING you! That means you'd have to LIE !!!! No way. I'd have told

my manager for sure too, in your situation.

 

Aleric

[Patrickgay17]

Thanks guys I feel much better.