Domino’s Managers Quit and Close Store Mid-Shift on TikTok Due to "Constant Understaffing"
Updated Sept. 17 2023, 10:11 a.m. ET
High-volume fast-food franchises are difficult to run. Sure, the fact that there is a clear kitchen protocol for creating menu items and training programs for workers to show them how to best operate in the kitchen helps to ameliorate things, but when there are only a couple of people working during a ridiculously busy time period and you're understaffed, there's only so much you can do.
This is especially true when you've got mounting orders and not enough hands to get them done in a timely manner, things can get very stressful very quickly when a ton of hungry and irate customers are calling up wondering just where their food is.
As an employee, things get even more infuriating when you're dealing with an owner who won't listen when you explain what your store needs to operate more effectively during working hours.
For two Dominos managers, they decided to extricate themselves from the situation entirely and filmed the exact moment they both tendered their resignations.
The timing of when they decided to do so, however, sparked a debate on TikTok.
In a now-viral clip, user @mikaylaprindevill states, "This is the end, final moments. We're leaving it just how we f------ found it. F--- this job."
The managers stated that they were the only two workers at the particular franchise location, which relies heavily on delivery drivers, during the busy shift.
After the clip garnered a ton of views on TikTok, the duo explained what happened in a separate video that ultimately lead them to relieving themselves of their pizza-making duties.
"It was just Cody and I inside and one delivery driver. Our delivery zone spans across about six towns. So unless orders come in perfectly where we can do nice doubles and triples that are quick, the driver can be on the road for up to an hour per run," Mikayla said.
She continued, "With that being said, we had about 15 deliveries on the board, maybe a little more, and then like five or six on the heat rack waiting for him."
According to the TikToker, the Dominos typically needs many more employees to make sure it can handle the load of orders coming in.
A minimum of five delivery drivers to get food out and four folks working inside to fulfill orders in a timely fashion during a busy rush is necessary, Mikayla says.
She went on to indicate that the location has been "problematic" for quite some time now and that owners have clearly stopped caring about the franchise.
"We were never going to catch up, the delivery times were like five to six hours, and this was at nine o’clock so we’re closing in four hours, so any deliveries on top of what we already had were definitely not getting delivered that night," she said.
Mikayla said that this particular Saturday night was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back and that this had been going on for quite some time.
Many TikTokers applauded her decision and began sending messages to Dominos to take note of the former employees' gripes.
There were some, however, who expressed that they could've at least finished out the rest of their shift and stopped taking orders at a specific time, and informed backlogged customers that they wouldn't be able to fulfill their orders.
What do you think? Did they do what they needed to do in order to send a message to upper management and understaffed businesses in general? Or should they have at least closed out their shifts?