Just got fired at bennigans.

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 2:36 pm

So bennigans has the ridiculous test of 14 pages worth of menu junk. I tried learning it but i ended up going to an anime convention over the weekend. So i was going to ask for more time but they said, \"take the test and pass or go work somewhere else.\" So i cheated! Made sense right? Primed all 14 pages on 14 2.6x1.5\" cardstock cards.

It was perfect! I palmed the cards and i could have passed the test in no time!!! ... but then i told this guy I thought I befriended, about my secret, but i guess he didn't want me working there. Not a few minutes later, after telling him, they stuck a manager right in front of me. Now he couldn't see my cards, andi'm really good at palming. But i can't read my cards with him watching my every move. And my other problem was I couldn’t holster my card back up my sleeve with out making the small noise of paper. So I acted like I was stuck on one question and talked to the guy while the corners of the card started cutting into my hand. Other managers came by who were once very nice to me were acting very rude and it was my guess they also knew. In the end I had to go to

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 2:46 pm

Dumb, very dumb, you didn't deserve the job if you had to cheat.

Hope this is a lesson to you.

ccb056 · Post by **ccb056** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 3:05 pm

Darktalyn1 · Post by **Darktalyn1** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 3:53 pm

I have to agree - if you need to cheat to get through the test how do you expect to be able to do the job..?

Your first mistake was to blow off studying.

De Rigueur · Post by **De Rigueur** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 4:02 pm

Maybe get a job palming cards?

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 4:11 pm

there's more to what happend but because of this problem i can't upload a post with too many letters.

Dedman · Post by **Dedman** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 4:31 pm

Isaac wrote:there's more to what happend...

Nope. It sounds to me that you just learned a very good life lesson. Lie to your boss = fired. Just be thankful you learned it while at a crap job and not a career one. Learn that you need to make priorities and learn what they should be, then move on. Micky D's is ALWAYS hiring.

Foil · Post by **Foil** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 4:38 pm

Dedman wrote:Lie to your boss = fired.

Yep. You have absolutely no excuse, man.

Learn from it (i.e. the lesson is, "Study. Do what you gotta do. And don't be the guy who lies/cheats themselves into a position you're not prepared for."), and move on.

[Edit: As a former teacher, the idea that cheating "doesn't hurt anybody" is just ridiculous. If I let my Calculus students (heck, my Algebra students for that matter!) slide by with cheating, I wouldn't be helping them. In fact, I'd be setting them up for failure.
Same goes here, even if the stakes are lower. The reason for a test is to make sure you're prepared for the work. Isaac, if you hadn't been caught, you would certainly have appeared incompetent (or at the very least unprepared) when you couldn't answer questions about menu items.]

Sergeant Thorne · Post by **Sergeant Thorne** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 4:52 pm

Very foolish. Sorry to hear you lost your job. :\\

Capm · Post by **Capm** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 5:00 pm

Theres another lesson here as well, If you want to keep a secret, the only person you can trust with it is yourself - don't tell anyone even friends.

But yea, you deserved what you got - I'd leave that job off your resume as well.

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 5:54 pm

well in the end i had to go the restroom, he heard the paper being put back in my pocket and asked about it. I left the restaurant. walked over and got hired at a restaurant next door not five minutes later. I won’t be cheating this time… no anime cons this week

but as for cheating... only if there's no other choice. 1 rule: survive.

Topher · Post by **Topher** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 6:25 pm

As for one rule, I'd say:

Consider the risk.

Reward is you get a part time job, the risk is being caught and being fired.

Being fired is bad since they will ask you on all future jobs \"In the last 7 years have you ever been fired?\"

Kilarin · Post by **Kilarin** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 6:58 pm

Issac wrote:but as for cheating... only if there's no other choice. 1 rule: survive.

Rule one can't be absolute, or at least I hope it isn't. Let's take the most extreme example, would you kill to survive? And I don't mean self defense. You and another guy stranded on a desert island, not enough food for both of you. Would you kill him in order to survive? (assuming he was NOT trying to kill you)

So if you agree that there must be some limits on rule one, that there are things you would NOT do to survive, then you have to decide at what point cheating honest people is actually something you are willing to do just to survive.

Second issue, since you were able to go across the street and get a job, the choice wasn't really survival critical, was it.

And third, and perhaps most importantly, the choice wasn't between cheating and the job, it was between the anime convention and a job.

This is NOT meant as a personal attack on you, just some things for you to think about.

Jeff250 · Post by **Jeff250** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 7:33 pm

Kilarin wrote:Rule one can't be absolute, or at least I hope it isn't. Let's take the most extreme example, would you kill to survive?

Not a fair question, since everyone here has a different conception of death.

For you, the question is read, "Would you kill to postpone being ushered into an eternal life of blissfulness?"

For others, the question is read, "Would you kill to prevent your personal being from ceasing?"

So let's make sure we're all talking about the same thing here. I'm sure you can understand how critical the discrepancy is.

Duper · Post by **Duper** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 7:53 pm

lol.. lets convolute the issue here Jeff (and Kilarin) He cheated, he got caught. end of story.

Dude.. really. next time skip the anime con and study.

TigerRaptor · Post by **TigerRaptor** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 8:10 pm

Lazy and cheating isn't the kind of image you want. I hope in your case this was a one time thing.

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 8:17 pm

TigerRaptorFX wrote:Lazy and cheating isn't the kind of image you want. I hope in your case this was a one time thing.

No im active. 2 jobs and a video game project along with doing helping/playing with friends = my life.

I need to figure out how to fit my aikido classes back in... i just went to an anime con and my scheduling overloaded.

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 8:26 pm

Maybe you need to take a \"time management\" course. If you can't study, then you need to quit one of your jobs. I don't understand why you need two jobs at your age. IIRC, you are just a teenager in HS right? I worked one job while in HS and it was enough. Your priority right now is education. You can party all you want after you get an education.

But if you don't learn from this, you will cheat at everything, including relationships which will cost you dearly.

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:00 pm

lol no im a college grad. i have an ASS in 3d animation.

Genghis · Post by **Genghis** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 10:37 pm

That's OK, you wouldn't have worn enough pieces of flash at Bennigans to express yourself anyway.

ccb056 · Post by **ccb056** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 10:47 pm

Office Space ++

De Rigueur · Post by **De Rigueur** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 11:11 pm

Wasn't it flair?

Foil · Post by **Foil** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 12:18 am

Flair++ !

Nirvana · Post by **Nirvana** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 5:05 am

De Rigueur wrote:Maybe get a job palming cards?

He was obviously ★■◆● at this too. Dr. Nirvana suggests suicide.

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 5:13 am

Nirvana wrote:
De Rigueur wrote:Maybe get a job palming cards?
He was obviously ***** at this too. Dr. Nirvana suggests suicide.

or you could try READING my post. them fancy letters says things.

Kiran · Post by **Kiran** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 5:51 am

Important thing is, Issac, if you got in the same scenario, would you choose to cheat again to go to an anime convention? If you absolutely have no time to study for it, would you go or choose to stay?

Dedman · Post by **Dedman** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 5:57 am

Wait, college grads are allowed to work at Bennigans?

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 6:27 am

Important thing is, Issac, if you got in the same scenario, would you choose to cheat again to go to an anime convention? If you absolutely have no time to study for it, would you go or choose to stay?

I would skip ikkicon.... at the time i did think i had time for both.

Dedman wrote:Wait, college grads are allowed to work at Bennigans?

Austin texas has the most educated servers in the country. Most people who are waiters are people with degrees trying to get better jobs. many med students work at bennigans. So as a result they make it hard to wait tables with stupid tests.

Kilarin · Post by **Kilarin** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 7:04 am

Not trying to hijack the thread here, but:

Jeff250 wrote:For you, the question is read, "Would you kill to postpone being ushered into an eternal life of blissfulness?"
For others, the question is read, "Would you kill to prevent your personal being from ceasing?"
So let's make sure we're all talking about the same thing here. I'm sure you can understand how critical the discrepancy is.

it's not critical to me, my decision would be the same even if I believed that death meant ceasing to exist for eternity. I would not take an innocent life just to preserve my own. (At least I hope I would not, and not in the circumstances described)

The problem is, I feel that way because I believe that there really IS such a thing as right and wrong outside of my own opinion, which IS tied to my conception of the universe and the question of what happens after death, of course. So on that level your objection is reasonable.

Nirvana · Post by **Nirvana** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 2:08 pm

Isaac wrote:
Nirvana wrote:
De Rigueur wrote:Maybe get a job palming cards?
He was obviously ***** at this too. Dr. Nirvana suggests suicide.
or you could try READING my post. them fancy letters says things.

Silly monkey, if you were any good you'd be able to do it even if they knew. JUST LIKE A FINELY TUNED CRYPTOGRAPHIC ALGORITHM. Doctors orders are still suicide!

Canuck · Post by **Canuck** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 6:40 pm

Isaac wrote:
Important thing is, Issac, if you got in the same scenario, would you choose to cheat again to go to an anime convention? If you absolutely have no time to study for it, would you go or choose to stay?
I would skip ikkicon.... at the time i did think i had time for both.

Dedman wrote:Wait, college grads are allowed to work at Bennigans?
Austin texas has the most educated servers in the country. Most people who are waiters are people with degrees trying to get better jobs. many med students work at bennigans. So as a result they make it hard to wait tables with stupid tests.

Umm every restaurant I've worked in has these evil menus and all the Staff including Managers were given these same stupid tests, and we all had to memorize them. Gads they even changed them quite a bit ... especially every season.

And you know what Isaac... as one of the Cooks I had to know them best.
As a waiter all you have to do is follow your Pavlovian responses to the "order up" sound and carry the food from the kitchen to the table like a good chimp, without spilling hot coffee on laps or messing up orders. And last but not least, when a patron of a Restaurant comes in and asks the waiter for menu choices they kinda expect the wait staff to know it.

Thumbs down dude.

Mobius · Post by **Mobius** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 1:38 am

Give the kid a break. I mean, Isaac is like 16 years old - yeah? And you tools never made a mistake when you were 16? Yeah - right. You were out being young and stupid, just like every other 16 year old.

Remember that?

Flabby Chick · Post by **Flabby Chick** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 1:42 am

Finally.

Sirius · Post by **Sirius** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 1:44 am

I missed out on my social life, sadly. So that's a no.

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 2:08 am

Canuck wrote: Umm every restaurant I've worked in has these evil menus and all the Staff including Managers were given these same stupid tests, and we all had to memorize them.
As a waiter all you have to do is follow your Pavlovian responses to the "order up" sound and carry the food from the kitchen to the table like a good chimp, without spilling hot coffee on laps or messing up orders. And last but not least, when a patron of a Restaurant comes in and asks the waiter for menu choices they kinda expect the wait staff to know it.

Like i said it was a big test with things a cook should know. Easily over 200 questions. I know i'm just dumb mussel but i'm sure that a waiter can do his job with out knowing the things on that test.

Thanks Mobius im 24

But since i have you guys attention, what should I do, aside from what doctor Nirvana orders are. They never fired me, i walked out after i was asked if i was cheating. What should i do? Call up and officialy quit? Pretend it never happend (i was only there for 3 days)?

Canuck · Post by **Canuck** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 2:33 am

Mobius wrote:Give the kid a break. I mean, Isaac is like 16 years old - yeah? And you tools never made a mistake when you were 16? Yeah - right. You were out being young and stupid, just like every other 16 year old.

Remember that?

I was kicked out of the house at 16 and was paying rent, working, and going to school. I paid $50.00 a month, (70's $$) to the old Man since I was 12 for room and board. Allowance schmallowance... you worked in my family.

In two years your supposed to be an Adult?

Phhht 24, hmmm I bet you still live at your Parent's home right? Sorry no sympathy here.

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 2:57 am

Canuck wrote: Phhht 24, hmmm I bet you still live at your Parent's home right?

You have the worst mental picture of me!

TIGERassault · Post by **TIGERassault** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 8:11 am

Mobius wrote:Give the kid a break. I mean, Isaac is like 16 years old - yeah? And you tools never made a mistake when you were 16? Yeah - right. You were out being young and stupid, just like every other 16 year old.

Remember that?

Yeah, I remember it like it was yesterday!

Or today, for that matter.
And I can honestly say that the only stupid thing I did recently was browse this forum.

Nirvana · Post by **Nirvana** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 8:31 am

Mobius wrote:Give the kid a break. I mean, Isaac is like 16 years old - yeah? And you tools never made a mistake when you were 16? Yeah - right. You were out being young and stupid, just like every other 16 year old.

Remember that?

Isaac wrote: Thanks Mobius im 24

LOL

Oh, and Mr Strip, I never fucked up when I was 16. I never even ★■◆● up now (well, only cuz I haven't been caught)

Sergeant Thorne · Post by **Sergeant Thorne** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 8:52 am

Isaac wrote:Like i said it was a big test with things a cook should know. Easily over 200 questions. I know i'm just dumb mussel but i'm sure that a waiter can do his job with out knowing the things on that test.

Thanks Mobius im 24

But since i have you guys attention, what should I do, aside from what doctor Nirvana orders are. They never fired me, i walked out after i was asked if i was cheating. What should i do? Call up and officialy quit? Pretend it never happend (i was only there for 3 days)?

It's "muscle", a "mussel" is a kind of shellfish.

While I don't think you should pretend like it never happened (you made the mistake, you need to own up), I'm willing to bet that, under the circumstances, they consider you to be out'a there. I would suggest an apology (in person > phone), but from my experience, even if you were sincere they'd probably still hate your guts; You tried to take advantage of them, and that has a way of pissing people off. Not to grind you, Isaac, but this isn't just one of life's little mistakes, it was a major screw up; the major screw-up didn't start with the con, in my estimation, though we can label that as a job-threatening mistake (20-20 hindsight)--no, the big screw-up started at the test. Honesty really is the best policy, it's not just a quaint saying. There's a very important policy that has to follow after that, though: Don't screw up (this one won't help you now, but it the future it will sure make honest an easier policy)--always stay on top of what you're doing, especially when it comes to your job. If you'd have told them that you couldn't do it, or even just given it your best shot (personally I would have recommended both in that order--admit that you screwed up and hadn't had/taken time to study, but try anyway if they'll let you), you may only have been let go. They wouldn't hate you, they just wouldn't have much use for you.

Anyway, the fact of the matter is that you deserved to be fired, but you still did 3 days of work for them. I would recommend going to them, sincerely apologizing, and then getting your pay for work you did (not on the basis of the apology, but on the basis of the work). They don't owe you a job, but they certainly owe you for the work. It will probably be painful--it takes courage--but it's alway best to face a situation instead of hiding from it.

On a side note, knowing the menu cover-to-cover is very important, IMO. If I'm at a resturant and a waiter knows the answer to all of my questions about the menu, it reflects really well on them and the resturant. "I don't know"/"I'm not sure" doesn't do anybody any good.

Good luck!

Just got fired at bennigans.

Just got fired at bennigans.

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