So I’ve got this job here in San Antonio in a new district as the General Manager at Denny’s again. Now I know how to be a GM and I’m a damned good one at it too. I know because I’ve done the job before in a different area under a different district manager.
Now every district manager is going to have their own rules they want followed and their own methods they want everyone to use during the course of normal operations. I not only accept this, I expect it. It’s the way it should be and I knew going into this district that my boss had some very strict rules. Only problem was, no one has ever told me what these rules actually are, only that they are strict. Don’t get me wrong, I actually like my boss. She’s very smart and knows what’s going on in her district. But every time I break one of these rules that I don’t know about, she responds in a way that makes me wonder if she thinks I’m doing it intentionally.
So now I’m stressed out. I’ve got a restaurant that needs three managers but only has two because one keeps getting pulled out to cover other stores that only have one manager. I’ve got a staff that isn’t just lazy, they are actively antagonistic towards me. I’m not allowed to discipline the staff so I have no real control over them. I’ve got ways of doing things that have always worked for me in the past that I can no longer use and a boss that I’m worried is beginning to think she made a bad decision in placing me in this store. The only way I know of gaining control of the situation is to remove those elements in the restaurant that refuse to cooperate by enforcing all of the rules all of the time in perfect accordance with the employee handbook and the policy and procedures manual.
This is the way I know of running a restaurant so that all of the employees know exactly what to expect at all times. They can then choose to follow the rules or not, but they will know before hand the consequences of their actions. It also helps to improve morale in the restuarant if they can see everyone else being held accountable. If employees are not held accountable, then those who are following the rules become upset and disillusioned when they feel they are wasting time and energy obeying rules that don’t really mean anything. I know that when I follow rules and no one else does, I feel like I’m getting a raw deal and working harder and not being shown any appreciation for my troubles.
I don’t plan on being in this position forever, I want to move on in the company as opportunities present themselves. But the level of stress that this current position and set of situations is causing me is more stress than I had anticipated. The one thing I really, really hate in any situation is being told to do a job, and then not being given the power, authority, or tools to complete that job.