Pretty crappy of this manager....

[Broncos6482]

You're missing the point, and your example isn't pertinent to this story. The point is, the kid shouldn't have been sent home in the first place. The manager created a temporary policy change to allow jerseys. He should have considered the possibility that some Broncos jerseys would come into play. It was a stupid move on the part of the manager/boss, and just shows he isn't very good at his job. If I were this manager's direct supervisor, I'd be calling him into a meeting right about now.

I'm not missing the point, just trying to give a little context.

Regardless, you say he shouldn't have been sent home in the first place. But who are you to say that? You're not his manager. And how do you know all of the details? Maybe the owner made the policy. Regardless, it's the managers call, and he said, go home and change.

Again, at that point, the kid can do one of two things: he can tell the manager to pound sand and stay home, or he can change and go back to work. He chose stay home.

 

[Morpheus]

I don't know, that sounds like exactly the same thing to me. They made a dress code decision and his jersey did not meet the standards.



And then he says, "I meant Chiefs ties, go home and change it"? I'd change it.



I don't know, I think my Broncos tie looks pretty sharp. That orange and blue looks really good together, and the logo is small enough that you can't even tell what it is until you get close.

Cool. I would probably like that tie. The ones I have seen are gaudy ugly with huge logos and bright loud colors. I would not be caught dead in them.

 

[Morpheus]

Not really. I just think actions have consequences.



I have no idea.



And that's my point. So why is this an issue?



Ok, but you're not his boss.



Maybe because it wasn't dress code? Maybe because the company just doesn't want to promote anything other than the Seahawks?

I don't know; it's not my call. Is it kind of silly? Sure. But at the same time, people take sports VERY seriously, and that's pretty silly too when you think about it. So I don't blame the manager for what he did.



Really. Why should I feel sorry for him? He can get a similar job tomorrow if he wants, and in the meantime, he gets to be on the news. Why in the world would I feel sorry for him?

Ok, if you are just going to play devils advocate, this is pointless.

You really think that him being sent home to change because he wore a jersey of a team his manager did not like isn't petty?

It's a family fun center that employs a bunch of teenagers and the manager is probably 24 with 2 years worth of credits at a community college they have been going to for 6 years. It isn't JP Morgan Chase and the dress code policy was e-mailed to everyone by HR after the legal department approved it.

Really?

WOW.

 

[Broncos6482]

Ok, if you are just going to play devils advocate, this is pointless.

You really think that him being sent home to change because he wore a jersey of a team his manager did not like isn't petty?

It's a family fun center that employs a bunch of teenagers and the manager is probably 24 with 2 years worth of credits at a community college they have been going to for 6 years. It isn't JP Morgan Chase and the dress code policy was e-mailed to everyone by HR after the legal department approved it.

Really?

WOW.

I'm not trying to play devil's advocate, I just think this is a stupid non-story. Who cares where he was working? His boss told him to do something, he didn't like it so he didn't show up for work, he was fired.

I doubt the kid even really cares: he can get a similar job as soon as he wants it.

 

[Morpheus]

Answer a direct question based on a hypothetical.

If we knew for fact that this was just a last minute call by the manager and he said, "Big game is on Sunday. Everyone can wear football jerseys if they want to. Not required, optional."

No specific team was specified.

You show up wearing a jersey other than the local team.

You are told to go home and change because your manager does not like the Broncos.

You don't have any problem with it whatsoever?

Remember, you are 17. Think back to how you acted and felt at 17.

 

[Morpheus]

I'm not trying to play devil's advocate, I just think this is a stupid non-story. Who cares where he was working? His boss told him to do something, he didn't like it so he didn't show up for work, he was fired.

I doubt the kid even really cares: he can get a similar job as soon as he wants it.

It's not about him being fired. It's about the manager being petty and immature over the choice of team the kid supports.

Why else would I bring this up on a sports message board?

 

[Broncos6482]

Answer a direct question based on a hypothetical.

If we knew for fact that this was just a last minute call by the manager and he said, "Big game is on Sunday. Everyone can wear football jerseys if they want to. Not required, optional."

No specific team was specified.

You show up wearing a jersey other than the local team.

You are told to go home and change because your manager does not like the Broncos.

You don't have any problem with it whatsoever?

Remember, you are 17. Think back to how you acted and felt at 17.

I'd probably be pissed. And at that point, I'd have to decide what's more important to me, this job or wearing the jersey? Just like this kid did.

 

[WalkerBoh]

Not really. I just think actions have consequences.

And the manager's poor decision should also have consequences.

Maybe because it wasn't dress code? Maybe because the company just
doesn't want to promote anything other than the Seahawks?





I don't know; it's not my call. Is it kind of silly? Sure. But at the same
time, people take sports VERY seriously, and that's pretty silly too when you
think about it. So I don't blame the manager for what he did.

But the manager had put in place an exception to the dress code. So there should have been no violation to sent the kid home over. So basically he was sent home because he wore a Broncos jersey, and that was a poor decision on the part of the manager. Good, effective managers don't make those kinds of petty choices. As for the kid, hopefully he finds a job where he can work under a manager who knows how to effectively manage people.

 

[Broncos6482]

It's not about him being fired. It's about the manager being petty and immature over the choice of team the kid supports.

Why else would I bring this up on a sports message board?

And you know that how? Since the store hasn't responded, for all we know this came down from the store manager.

 

[Morpheus]

I'd probably be pissed. And at that point, I'd have to decide what's more important to me, this job or wearing the jersey? Just like this kid did.

That is the only point I was making. Now if he was 35 and quit a job at JP Morgan Chase over this, he's an idiot.

But he is a 17 year old kid.

In my opinion, the manager was out of line.

Apparently, you don't think he was.

Agree to disagree on that one.

 

[Broncos6482]

And the manager's poor decision should also have consequences.

How do you know the owner doesn't support the manager?

But the manager had put in place an exception to the dress code. So there should have been no violation to sent the kid home over. So basically he was sent home because he wore a Broncos jersey, and that was a poor decision on the part of the manager. Good, effective managers don't make those kinds of petty choices. As for the kid, hopefully he finds a job where he can work under a manager who knows how to effectively manage people.

Yes, because the Broncos jersey wasn't in line with the dress code.

There are a lot of assumptions going on, but really we don't know very much. Maybe the decision to allow jersey's didn't come from just a shift manager but the store manager, or even the owner. Maybe they mentioned only Seahawks jerseys and the kid didn't hear it or didn't care? I mean, we just don't know these things, and until we do you can't just say "this manager was petty and stupid for what he did!"

 

[WalkerBoh]

I'm not missing the point, just trying to give a little context.

Regardless, you say he shouldn't have been sent home in the first place. But who are you to say that? You're not his manager. And how do you know all of the details? Maybe the owner made the policy. Regardless, it's the managers call, and he said, go home and change.

Again, at that point, the kid can do one of two things: he can tell the manager to pound sand and stay home, or he can change and go back to work. He chose stay home.

Just because a manager has the ability to make a bad business decision doesn't make it a good business decision. Managers don't get to just do what the heck they want off whims and such. Businesses suffer when that happens. If it were the owner/franchisee who told the kid to go home, then he deserves all the bad publicity and PR nightmares that are coming his way, because again, it was a stupid business decision. If I were the owner/franchisee and this were a manager under me, I'd be repremanding him for making such a poor decision.

Just because someone is a manager, doesn't mean they can act like a dictator. Effective managers don't do that. They don't need to, and as a result, the businesses they work for tend to have more success.

 

[Broncos6482]

That is the only point I was making. Now if he was 35 and quit a job at JP Morgan Chase over this, he's an idiot.

But he is a 17 year old kid.

In my opinion, the manager was out of line.

Apparently, you don't think he was.

Agree to disagree on that one.

I have no idea if the manager was out of line or not. I mean, we only have this kid's side of the story. Who knows if the decision came down from a shift manager, or the store manager, or an owner? I just don't think it's right to jump all over this manager when he might not have even made the decision.

 

[Broncos6482]

Just because a manager has the ability to make a bad business decision doesn't make it a good business decision. Managers don't get to just do what the heck they want off whims and such. Businesses suffer when that happens. If it were the owner/franchisee who told the kid to go home, then he deserves all the bad publicity and PR nightmares that are coming his way, because again, it was a stupid business decision. If I were the owner/franchisee and this were a manager under me, I'd be repremanding him for making such a poor decision.

Just because someone is a manager, doesn't mean they can act like a dictator. Effective managers don't do that. They don't need to, and as a result, the businesses they work for tend to have more success.

And awfully big assumption. Maybe people in the area, who obviously most are Seahawks fans, will like the fact that they support the Seahawks and business will grow because of this. Maybe they'll get some kind of deal with the Seahawks.

Personally I don't think this will affect their business one way or the other. Like I said, why this is even news I don't understand.

 

[Morpheus]

And you know that how? Since the store hasn't responded, for all we know this came down from the store manager.

I am making a logical assumption that they did not specify what team when they said they could wear jerseys. Of course I do not know the specifics. But I seriously doubt they said "You can only wear Seahawks jerseys".


They probably assumed that everyone was a Seahawks fan. Flawed policy and I am also pretty sure that the spirit of it was intended to be fun. To let their employees have a little fun.


The incident backfired on the manager because he did not think it through.

The kid was immature about it after the fact, quitting instead of changing and going back to work. If I were his dad, I would explain how that was a bad decision.

But the manager also handled the situation in an immature an unprofessional manner.

And that I am not assuming. He didn't think through a relaxed dress code policy ( I saw the photos on the website, their dress code is a company t-shirt and jeans) and made a business decision based on is own personal bias.

If he was enforcing the policy of the store manager then he also based it on bias.

My opinion would be the same even if he was not a Bronco fan.

 

[WalkerBoh]

Yes, because the Broncos jersey wasn't in line with the dress code.

Ahhh, but it WAS in line with what is known of the temporary exception that was made. What we DO know is employees were told they could wear jerseys.

There are a lot of assumptions going on, but really we don't know very much. Maybe the decision to allow jersey's didn't come from just a shift manager but the store manager, or even the owner. Maybe they mentioned only Seahawks jerseys and the kid didn't hear it or didn't care? I mean, we just don't know these things, and until we do you can't just say "this manager was petty and stupid for what he did!"

Based on the information available, it was a stupid decision. No responsible business owner would want a ton of negative publicity heaped onto their establishment. Look no further than the car dealership incident. The dealership who fired the sales rep lost sales, and a competitor gained those sales. All because the manager of the first dealership made a stupid decision to fire the employee in the first place.

 

[Broncos6482]

So, to flip this, how do YOU know the jersey wasn't in line with the dress code? Didn't see the copy of the HR manual attached to the news story. Maybe I missed it? What we DO know is employees were told they could wear jerseys.

Because his manager said it wasn't.

Based on the information available, it was a stupid decision. No responsible business owner would want a ton of negative publicity heaped onto their establishment. Look no further than the car dealership incident. The dealership who fired the sales rep lost sales, and a competitor gained those sales. All because the manager of the first dealership made a stupid decision to fire the employee in the first place.

Again, maybe, maybe not. Ever heard that any publicity is good publicity? I seriously doubt that this place is going to lose business because of this.

 

[Morpheus]

Because his manager said it wasn't.




Again, maybe, maybe not. Ever heard that any publicity is good publicity? I seriously doubt that this place is going to lose business because of this.

The company updated their FB page to cover their ass.

This statement was posted to their FB page 17 hours ago. That is after the incident. What a bunch of bullshit.

"To show support for The Seattle Seahawks on game day, our employees may choose to wear a Seahawks Jersey in place of our standard uniform, which is required. To prevent any possible conflicts, the option of wearing other teams’ jerseys is not allowed. The employee reported to work in an unauthorized uniform and was asked to change into a standard uniform. Soon after he left to change into an accepted uniform, we received a phone call stating that he was not returning to work, leaving his position unfilled and creating extra stress for the staff covering his job on a busy weekend day."

 

[WalkerBoh]

Because his manager said it wasn't.




Again, maybe, maybe not. Ever heard that any publicity is good publicity? I seriously doubt that this place is going to lose business because of this.

That works a lot in show business, but not so much with small business. Again, look no further than the car dealership who LOST business because they made a similar poor decision. But hey! All that negative publicity was worth it, right? (Well, it helped a competing dealership at least).

I've expended enough energy on this.

 

[Broncos6482]

I am making a logical assumption that they did not specify what team when they said they could wear jerseys. Of course I do not know the specifics. But I seriously doubt they said "You can only wear Seahawks jerseys".

Why do you doubt that? I don't find it hard to believe.

They probably assumed that everyone was a Seahawks fan. Flawed policy and I am also pretty sure that the spirit of it was intended to be fun. To let their employees have a little fun.

I agree it was intended to be fun.

The kid was immature about it after the fact, quitting instead of changing and going back to work. If I were his dad, I would explain how that was a bad decision.

This we agree on.

But the manager also handled the situation in an immature an unprofessional manner.

And that I am not assuming. He didn't think through a relaxed dress code policy ( I saw the photos on the website, their dress code is a company t-shirt and jeans) and made a business decision based on is own personal bias.

If he was enforcing the policy of the store manager then he also based it on bias.

Again, you are making assumptions. You don't know exactly what the relaxed dress code policy was. Unless we know that, making any judgments on the actions of the manager is flawed.

But ultimately, even if the manager just said jersey, and even if he did that assuming everyone was a Seahawks fan, and even if he was shocked to see a Broncos jersey there because he hadn't thought it all the way through, I still don't blame him for pulling the kid aside and saying that's not what I really mean, I need you to change it. I just don't view that as some horrible decision.

My opinion would be the same even if he wasn't a Broncos fan.

I don't doubt that for a second.