Thursday, February 10, 2005
The Show Must Go On!
Courtesy of 
Phil's Observations
Now this is a story of doing what you've gotta do! What a great story! How could anyone not be impressed?
Original Story:
Owner Quits, Employees Don't
Sunday, February 06, 2005
What would you do if your boss stopped coming in to work?
That's what happened to the employees of a Quiznos Sub sandwich franchise in Seattle when the store owners suddenly dropped out of the picture, reports the Seattle Times.
But instead of quitting, several employees carried on, keeping the shop open by themselves despite no paychecks, no food deliveries and increasingly irate customers.
"Due to bad owners, we are out of a lot of things. Please do not get mad at the employees and manager," read a note on the shop door this past Tuesday. "This [is] out of their control. We are so sorry for the problems. Thanks."
Things started going south in November, store manager Dawna Lentz said, when the owners of the month-old store went AWOL. She wouldn't be more specific.
So Lentz, 25, rallied the three other employees who didn't quit when the paychecks stopped coming.
Food supplies were bought with cash from the register, as was the special Quiznos bread, which she got from other local franchises.
Wages were also paid with what cash was available, with Lentz carefully tallying each worker's hours and how much he'd been paid (or not) on the back of his worthless last paycheck.
"I like working here," said employee James Zambrano, 26, even though he was still owed about $450. "Everybody gets along like family."
Nevertheless, the shortages started adding up. A list of what the store didn't have in stock was posted on the door, until it got to be three pages long and was replaced by the more general plea above.
When the Times reporter visited last Tuesday, there were no desserts and no chips except for jalapeño.
The soda machine had little Post-It notes reading "Out of Order" stuck on every self-serve spigot except for Vanilla Coke and lemonade.
"I'll have a large Out of Order," said one customer.
"Is that with ice or without?" replied Lentz.
"You're doing good for what you have to work with," said another customer, though Lentz said many others weren't so sympathetic.
"I've been called 'stupid,' 'incompetent,'" she said.
The Times got in touch with the Quiznos company, which sent people down last week to check out the situation.
On Thursday, food deliveries were resumed, staff was added and employees were paid back wages, according to Quiznos spokeswoman Stacie Lange.
Lange added that the franchise ownership was being transferred to a new set of owners.
As for Lentz, she had feared that she'd lose her job in the end, despite having worked 12-hour days and racking up $900 in unpaid wages, not including overtime, during the crisis.
But as of Thursday, she was still the manager, even though she wasn't allowed to talk to the media any more.
"The employees who were there yesterday are still there today," explained Lange.
Story Updated:
Plucky Manager Promoted, Not Fired
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
It's a happy ending for the can-do manager of an orphaned fast-food restaurant.
As earlier reported in Out There, Dawna Lentz, the manager of a Seattle Quiznos Sub franchise, kept things going on a shoestring budget for two months after the restaurant's owners dropped out of the picture, deliveries stopped coming and the bank account emptied out.
After the store's dire situation was reported in the Seattle Times last week, the Quiznos company restocked the shelves, paid back wages and began to find new owners.
Lentz, however, was sure she'd be fired for running the restaurant without supervision.
Instead, she's being given more management training in preparation for a promotion and is flying to Quiznos headquarters to meet the company president.
"She's shown loyalty to Quiznos like no other employee has," corporate spokeswoman Stacie Lange told the Times. "Her ability to keep that store afloat through a very difficult time needs to be commended."
She's even getting job offers from competing fast-food chains.
Phil's Observations
Now this is a story of doing what you've gotta do! What a great story! How could anyone not be impressed?
Original Story:
Owner Quits, Employees Don't
Sunday, February 06, 2005
What would you do if your boss stopped coming in to work?
That's what happened to the employees of a Quiznos Sub sandwich franchise in Seattle when the store owners suddenly dropped out of the picture, reports the Seattle Times.
But instead of quitting, several employees carried on, keeping the shop open by themselves despite no paychecks, no food deliveries and increasingly irate customers.
"Due to bad owners, we are out of a lot of things. Please do not get mad at the employees and manager," read a note on the shop door this past Tuesday. "This [is] out of their control. We are so sorry for the problems. Thanks."
Things started going south in November, store manager Dawna Lentz said, when the owners of the month-old store went AWOL. She wouldn't be more specific.
So Lentz, 25, rallied the three other employees who didn't quit when the paychecks stopped coming.
Food supplies were bought with cash from the register, as was the special Quiznos bread, which she got from other local franchises.
Wages were also paid with what cash was available, with Lentz carefully tallying each worker's hours and how much he'd been paid (or not) on the back of his worthless last paycheck.
"I like working here," said employee James Zambrano, 26, even though he was still owed about $450. "Everybody gets along like family."
Nevertheless, the shortages started adding up. A list of what the store didn't have in stock was posted on the door, until it got to be three pages long and was replaced by the more general plea above.
When the Times reporter visited last Tuesday, there were no desserts and no chips except for jalapeño.
The soda machine had little Post-It notes reading "Out of Order" stuck on every self-serve spigot except for Vanilla Coke and lemonade.
"I'll have a large Out of Order," said one customer.
"Is that with ice or without?" replied Lentz.
"You're doing good for what you have to work with," said another customer, though Lentz said many others weren't so sympathetic.
"I've been called 'stupid,' 'incompetent,'" she said.
The Times got in touch with the Quiznos company, which sent people down last week to check out the situation.
On Thursday, food deliveries were resumed, staff was added and employees were paid back wages, according to Quiznos spokeswoman Stacie Lange.
Lange added that the franchise ownership was being transferred to a new set of owners.
As for Lentz, she had feared that she'd lose her job in the end, despite having worked 12-hour days and racking up $900 in unpaid wages, not including overtime, during the crisis.
But as of Thursday, she was still the manager, even though she wasn't allowed to talk to the media any more.
"The employees who were there yesterday are still there today," explained Lange.
Story Updated:
Plucky Manager Promoted, Not Fired
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
It's a happy ending for the can-do manager of an orphaned fast-food restaurant.
As earlier reported in Out There, Dawna Lentz, the manager of a Seattle Quiznos Sub franchise, kept things going on a shoestring budget for two months after the restaurant's owners dropped out of the picture, deliveries stopped coming and the bank account emptied out.
After the store's dire situation was reported in the Seattle Times last week, the Quiznos company restocked the shelves, paid back wages and began to find new owners.
Lentz, however, was sure she'd be fired for running the restaurant without supervision.
Instead, she's being given more management training in preparation for a promotion and is flying to Quiznos headquarters to meet the company president.
"She's shown loyalty to Quiznos like no other employee has," corporate spokeswoman Stacie Lange told the Times. "Her ability to keep that store afloat through a very difficult time needs to be commended."
She's even getting job offers from competing fast-food chains.
Kicknit 2/10/2005