should screaming at work get me fired?

@Green Witch,

Green Witch wrote:

You can tell chefs and cooks by the scars on their hands and wrists. Even with good practices it's fairly common for kitchen workers to get burned and cut. I would think it might even be worse in a place where fast is considered a good thing.

Yep, I still sport burn scars from a two-year stint I did as kitchen manager of a residential hotel in San Francisco in the early 80's. If you see a bunch of horizontal scars looking like stripes on a person's biceps, ten to one they cook for a living. Heavy sheet pans full of hot food from the oven are notorious for sliding back and using the biceps as a stop gap and the wrists as a landing pad.

Looking at my arms now, I can still see several horizontal stripes on the biceps and a few splotches on the wrists where hot grease landed.

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this thread speaks volumes about the importance of a persons reputation. Once one gets the rep for being an out of control angry person all future behaviour is seen through that prism. Any behaviour that indicates a possibility of anger will be assumed to be anger. Any behaviour that indicates an inability to control ones actions will be assumed to be caused by the inability to control ones actions.

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@hawkeye10,

hawkeye10 wrote:

this thread speaks volumes about the importance of a persons reputation. Once one gets the rep for being an out of control angry person all future behaviour is seen through that prism. Any behaviour that indicates a possibility of anger will be assumed to be anger. Any behaviour that indicates an inability to control ones actions will be assumed to be caused by the inability to control ones actions.

That's not true.

I'm just saying she needs to get some oven mits.

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@dirrtydozen22,

steaming buns and screaming

not your first time

20 years old

you should be promoted

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@chai2,

Oven mitts and tongs won't help if you're dealing with steam - which can hurt and burn like the devil. You need to learn how to stand in back or to the side of the oven door as you open it toward you, and let the initial burst of heat or steam dissipate before you reach your arm and hand in to take the tray out.

I wouldn't have fired you or even reprimanded you - I'd have shown you how to avoid it next time- because it's not stupidity- most people who haven't worked in a commercial kitchen wouldn't be aware of how hot those steamers and ovens can get- and you're doing everything on a bigger scale than what you do in your own kitchen.

I got fired for laughing too much in the first commercial kitchen I worked in - we had to rinse the dishes with a big hose that came out of the wall and I pulled it too hard and the casing fell on my head and I yelled, 'Ow - oh ****'....and then I started laughing hysterically and one little mishap after another kept happening, and I'd always end up laughing to the point that my supervisor was like, 'Rebecca, every time I hear you laughing - I know something's gone wrong - I feel like I'm gonna look over next time you're laughing and say,' What's going on this time? and I'll see you standing there with your hair on fire or something.'
Anyway - she said, 'You make pretty french toast - but you're gonna get hurt in this kitchen,' and she let me go.

I was okay with that- because it was true.
But yeah - stand to the side of the oven with the door (of the oven) between you and the oven and open it back toward you - don't lean in for a couple of seconds until after the first burst of steam and/or heat dissipates.

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@hawkeye10,

My current employer knows nothing about this "anger" thing, which is why I got hired in the first place. They reprimended me bc it disrupted the store. Anyway, if they indeed shoulda fired me, then I'm glad they didn't and that I'm given another chance, even though I have to take getting my hours cut.

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@dirrtydozen22,

dirrtydozen22 wrote:

My current employer knows nothing about this "anger" thing, which is why I got hired in the first place. They reprimended me bc it disrupted the store. Anyway, if they indeed shoulda fired me, then I'm glad they didn't and that I'm given another chance, even though I have to take getting my hours cut.

This is offered in a spirit of helpfulness; I don 't mean to be critical
nor to be disrespectful in any way, but having read your posts and
EVERYTHING considered, I get the feeling that in these situations,
u intend to call attention to yourself -- that negative attention is better than none at all.
Possibly, this might be a function of your subconscious mind.

If that assessment is accurate, then
u might consider substituting good and positive ways
of calling attention to yourself. See if u can find something that u r good at,
maybe something a little uncommon (I don 't know what) and do uncommonly well at it.
Ideally, it shoud be something that u ENJOY; people do well at things that thay like
and people like things at which thay do well.

That does not necessarily have to happen in the environment of your work.

U might also try to make friends with your bosses and their bosses, if possible.
Maybe it might become possible for u to do favors for them ?
or just friendly gestures ?

Good Luck

David

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@OmSigDAVID,

I have often disagreed with David, and even roundly abused him on occasion, but I have to say that I think his suggestion is above is eminently sensible.

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Like Buttrfly said, getting burned (and cut) at work is an occupational hazard. I have worked in several kitchens over the years and have never heard anyone "scream". I currently have three fresh burns on my forearms and didn't scream once when I got them. So either you're using the wrong word or you are over-reacting. And get yourself some flammazine - takes the pain and heat out nearly immediately.

And I agree with GreenWitch - it's supremely inappropriate for customers to hear screams (or foul language or loud music) coming from the kitchen. You need to mature and control yourself. Customers in any setting (retail, restaurants, doctor's offices, whatever) do not want or need to know what goes on behind the scenes, so if you're creating a disturbance for them, you are a problem. I would probably consider letting you go, if it were my restaurant.

You have two issues - you are constantly getting burned and your reactions are over the top. Either watch what you're doing so that doesn't happen as frequently, or, as Chai recommended, get yourself some decent gear. Wear long sleeves, do things a little slower, be more safety conscious... or determine if there is, indeed, a safety issue in the way people work at that store. And I want to add that steam burns are the WORST so be more careful.

All that being said, I think, from your other posts, that you are inappropriate in the workplace and might want to think about how you could behave in a more professional manner.

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@OmSigDAVID,

This time, I'm really not trying to draw any attention to myself. Believe me, I would love to be able to refrain from screaming. At any rate, I know how to be careful now. I only regret having learned AFTER my hours got cut as opposed to before.

1 Reply

@dirrtydozen22,

dirrtydozen22 wrote:

actually, it wasn't my first time screaming. They warned me a few times before already before they cut my hours.

Sounds to me that they've been more than generous with you. I don't blame them for cutting your hours; I would have let you go. Grow up and stop the screaming. Curse silently, stomp your foot, find another way of dealing with it.

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@dirrtydozen22,

dirrtydozen22 wrote:

I ... screamed loud enough to be heard in the lobby.

This is ridiculous. I've been burned plenty and never screamed. Get some Flammazine and get a hold of yourself.

1 Reply

@dirrtydozen22,

dirrtydozen22 wrote:

ok this isn't what it looks like. I got canned from Wal-Mart for anger problems, but that got resolved for good a few months ago. I now work at McDonald's for almost 3 months now and another problem came up. A few weeks ago, I burned myself making steamed buns for Filet 'o Fish and screamed, causing them to cut my hours from full time to one day a week. My counselor said I'm lucky not to get fired for that and so did Yahoo Answers esp since it's a serious offense and it's not my first time screaming. Customers could hear it for God's sake. The thing is, I would love to be able to refrain from screaming, but I'm more sensitive to pain than my coworkers, who gets burned just as frequently but never scream.

If you were the manager, would you have fired me outright instead of giving me another chance? They warned me on that before and siad it disrupts the restaurant. What kind of consequences do I deserve? btw, I'm so glad they didn't can me, but I'm worried about burning myself again. My counselor said if I do it again, they WILL can me.

lol!

jesus christ.

poor thing, welcome to retardville, i mean society.

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@OGIONIK,

i used to work making pretzels, the manager said i was the best workers hes ever seen hands down by the way, everytime hed tell me to get/do something, id point at it already done and at first he got mad but later on he would laugh.

anyways, off on a tangent...

They have these ovens, and the design of the place made the corners or the doors and of the sides easy to touch, on my left arm anyway.

the ovens were so ******* HOT! i mean if u touched it and let gon as fast as possible u still got third degree burns..

on days i slipped on grease/water/soaps or something, and the thing i balanced on was the ******* oven.

so i sat there for like 3 seconds getting my balance, oh my lord.

wasnt the pain that got me, was the tissue damage.

Sad

my left arm has bald patches now ROFLMFAO LMFFAO

**** that ****.

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@dirrtydozen22,

dirrtydozen22 wrote:

This time, I'm really not trying to draw any attention to myself.
Believe me, I would love to be able to refrain from screaming.
At any rate, I know how to be careful now. I only regret having
learned AFTER my hours got cut as opposed to before.

After some time of your rendering good service to them,
thay will probably be happy with u and treat u accordingly.

Eventually, u can become the manager.
Then YOU will be making personnel decisions like the ones that u have posted about.

In the meantime, if u get the urge to yield to any exhibitionism,
u might consider getting roles in the theater. Some people like that.

If u don 't demand to get paid for it, maybe it will be ez to get a role, as a hobby.

Maybe it 'll be fun.

Good Luck.

David

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@Mame,

Mame wrote:

dirrtydozen22 wrote:

I ... screamed loud enough to be heard in the lobby.

This is ridiculous. I've been burned plenty and never screamed. Get some Flammazine and get a hold of yourself.

OOOooowwww. . . burned and naked . . . that must sting.

`

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@chai2,

chai2 wrote:

hawkeye10 wrote:

this thread speaks volumes about the importance of a persons reputation. Once one gets the rep for being an out of control angry person all future behaviour is seen through that prism. Any behaviour that indicates a possibility of anger will be assumed to be anger. Any behaviour that indicates an inability to control ones actions will be assumed to be caused by the inability to control ones actions.

That's not true.

I'm just saying she needs to get some oven mits.

it is true.

its called first impressions.

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@OGIONIK,

the sad fact is she always comes around showing the same first impressions, she could have titled this thread "how to learn to cope with burns at work" or something similar

instead she jumps in with a title that suggests that life is unfair and people are mean to me

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@djjd62,

lol. true.

i feel for her though.

the first time i burned myself omfg, i never had a burn that felt so ******* INTENSE? SHARP? it was ludiciris to me the ovens were like 700 degrees or someshit hahaha.

i mean its one thing to be tough and get burnt,( like me idgaf about physical pain, i care about the damge incurred by whatever gave me the pain lol) , but another for females, yeah, thats sexist, "some" girls are tough i know that much for sure though.

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@OGIONIK,

I have worked in kitchens, and other demanding environments, both as a lower level worker and as a supervisor. What strikes me amiss about this story is that the OP has been warned, and presumably burned, before, and does not seem to have learned from these things. Everybody makes mistakes, but one thing that does not endear a person to management is not learning from them. Life isn't fair, and if a manager can find plenty of people who learn quickly and don't scream like banshees, they will prefer them. Feeling that you are somehow "special" and feel pain more than other people so that it should be OK to scream is a big pointer that the person has personality issues.

2 Replies

should screaming at work get me fired?

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