Grocery CEO Fired a Single Dad for Wanting Thanksgiving Off—By Sunrise, Her Whole Night Crew Quit — Transcript

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1. 0:01Let me make sure I've got this straight.
2. 0:04This store has kept a roof over your
3. 0:06family for 14 years, and one
4. 0:08Thanksgiving dinner comes first.
5. 0:11>> It was approved, Miss Gallagher.
6. 0:148 weeks ago.
7. 0:17My daughter's on the road home right
8. 0:19now. The handoff's written up. Otis is
9. 0:23covering. He's certified.
10. 0:26>> The freeze covers approved leave. You
11. 0:28read the email. I read it. I read the
12. 0:31one that approved this, too.
13. 0:32>> Then read this one. You're fired. Badge
14. 0:35on the counter. Go.
15. 0:47>> Night logs. Current through 10.
16. 0:48Overrides are tabbed in the back. And
17. 0:51cooler, too.
18. 0:52>> You honestly think this store stops
19. 0:54turning without you? I can have 10
20. 0:57people standing in your spot by morning.
21. 1:04>> I never once thought I mattered more
22. 1:05than anybody standing here. I just
23. 1:08thought all of us had earned a little
24. 1:09respect.
25. 1:21>> Ray, finish the night. Otis, 412
26. 1:24families are counting on those orders.
27. 1:30>> Show's over. Back to work.
28. 1:46>> Ray, it put 40 orders in bank C. Bank C
29. 1:48only has 12 lockers.
30. 1:50>> Yep. again. Pull them back on the cart.
31. 1:53I'll move them by hand.
32. 1:57>> Isn't the whole point that it runs
33. 1:58itself?
34. 2:00>> That's what the brochure says. It's
35. 2:02still got bugs. I've reported it more
36. 2:05than once.
37. 2:14Listen up. 412 holiday orders go out
38. 2:16tomorrow. Every bag gets a tag and
39. 2:19marker. Order number, last name, pickup
40. 2:21time, big letters. The system prints
41. 2:24labels. Ray screens glitch. A marker
42. 2:27doesn't
43. 2:41>> Hey, Dad. I'm gassing up outside
44. 2:43Pittsburgh. Then it's just me and 79.
45. 2:46>> How are the roads?
46. 2:47>> Flurries. I should beat the worst of it.
47. 2:50So, tomorrow, you're still off, right?
48. 2:54>> Approved eight weeks ago.
49. 2:56>> You said that two years ago, too. I'm
50. 2:59not mad. I just don't want to get my
51. 3:01hopes up again.
52. 3:03>> Lucy,
53. 3:04I'll be there.
54. 3:05>> Okay, I'll text you when I'm close.
55. 3:23Pria got a minute.
56. 3:26>> I got it, too. Every manager did.
57. 3:30>> My leave is tomorrow's restock. 300 p.m.
58. 3:33till sun up. Store closes at 2. We flip
59. 3:36the whole floor for Black Friday. That
60. 3:39shift is our whole Thanksgiving.
61. 3:44approval from eight weeks ago. Full
62. 3:46handoff. Otis covers. He's certified on
63. 3:49the cold chain. And every step of the
64. 3:52night written out.
65. 3:55>> It hit both certified leads, too. They
66. 3:58had tomorrow off. Now they're on that
67. 4:00restock with you.
68. 4:04>> The last two Thanksgivings, Lucy came
69. 4:06home to an empty house. Pria, both times
70. 4:08I got called in.
71. 4:12>> You've got everything here.
72. 4:14everything.
73. 4:16Look, Pennsylvania's at will. She can
74. 4:19let people go, but I've been in this
75. 4:21office 12 years, and I've never seen
76. 4:24anyone take back leave that was already
77. 4:26signed.
78. 4:28>> So, send it up.
79. 4:30>> I'm sending it up.
80. 4:36>> She wants to see you upstairs now.
81. 4:41Rey, sit.
82. 4:45Fine. Priya tells me you brought a
83. 4:47binder.
84. 4:48>> Approval, handoff, coverage, it's all in
85. 4:50there.
86. 4:56>> We pay you to run a night shift, not to
87. 4:58plan family dinners.
88. 5:00I'm not asking for a favor. I'm asking
89. 5:03the company to keep a promise it already
90. 5:05made.
91. 5:06>> The company is making a much bigger
92. 5:08promise this week to Crestline.
93. 5:11$80 million. rides on these holiday
94. 5:13numbers.
95. 5:17They're buying a store that runs on
96. 5:18software,
97. 5:20not on favors.
98. 5:23Then you should know the pickup system
99. 5:25sent 40 orders to the wrong bank tonight
100. 5:27again. Somebody needs to take a real
101. 5:29look at it before
102. 5:30>> the system is fine. The system is the
103. 5:33future of this store.
104. 5:34>> And 6 weeks ago, the whole night crew
105. 5:36sent you a letter. I brought it up here
106. 5:39myself.
107. 5:43I get a lot of letters, Ray.
108. 5:47That's all.
109. 5:49Get the whole night crew to the front
110. 5:51registers the minute we close.
111. 5:59Ray,
112. 6:01this isn't about a schedule anymore.
113. 6:21I'm not going to tell anybody what to
114. 6:22do. I'm just asking. Every promise this
115. 6:25company ever made us, how many did they
116. 6:28keep?
117. 6:31If you're done waiting for them to keep
118. 6:33one,
119. 6:34put a hand up.
120. 6:41Otis, some of us can't afford a gesture.
121. 6:44Then don't make one. Nobody's keeping
122. 6:46score, Danny. Not tonight. Not ever.
123. 6:51Okay. Nobody decides anything right now.
124. 6:54We finish the night first. Every shelf,
125. 6:57every bag, then we talk.
126. 7:06Drive safe, sweetheart. See you
127. 7:08tomorrow.
128. 7:19>> 3 hours. They moved my shift 3 hours
129. 7:22before I clocked in. I had to beg my
130. 7:25sister to take the kids tonight.
131. 7:26>> Cooler 2's door still sticks. I put a
132. 7:28ticket in twice.
133. 7:31Two tickets. That's cute. Six weeks ago,
134. 7:35every one of us signed that letter.
135. 7:37Anybody hear one word back?
136. 7:43Lakeshore Foods offered me days back in
137. 7:45October. I've been sitting on it.
138. 7:49I don't have anything lined up. I've got
139. 7:51student loans and a car with no heat.
140. 7:59>> Pria, it's Otis. Sorry about the hour.
141. 8:01Say somebody wanted to resign. End of
142. 8:03shift. How's the last paycheck work and
143. 8:06the insurance?
144. 8:07>> Otis, is this just you?
145. 8:09>> I only decide for me. But you're not
146. 8:11going to get just one tonight.
147. 8:17Listen to me. Whoever stays, you're not
148. 8:20a traitor. Whoever walks, you're not a
149. 8:23hero. Everybody does what their own
150. 8:26house can carry.
151. 8:28>> I love Rey. I owe that man a lot. But
152. 8:31being grateful doesn't make my mortgage
153. 8:32payment.
154. 8:34>> You're right. It doesn't.
155. 8:36>> I'm scared, Otis. I've got two kids at
156. 8:39home.
157. 8:40>> I know you are.
158. 9:09Carla. Yeah, I'm on break. I need to run
159. 9:12some numbers with you
160. 9:13>> now. Okay. Savings is 4,100. My check
161. 9:17covers groceries and the car. The
162. 9:19mortgage is the problem.
163. 9:21We dropped the cable, the gym. I could
164. 9:25pick up Saturdays at my cousin's body
165. 9:26shop.
166. 9:28>> That's three months, maybe four.
167. 9:31>> And they already sent me a letter, babe.
168. 9:34Streamlining review.
169. 9:37I've been working doubles, thinking if I
170. 9:38just work harder, they'll keep me.
171. 9:40>> Danny, I don't want you quitting because
172. 9:43you're angry.
173. 9:45>> I'm not angry. I'm
174. 9:47>> But I don't want you walking in there
175. 9:48scared every single day either. Whatever
176. 9:52you decide, I'm with you.
177. 10:09412. Everyone tagged.
178. 10:13[sighs]
179. 10:16Floor's done. Every shelf
180. 10:22[music]
181. 10:31>> 20
182. 10:58Shouldn't we leave a note or something?
183. 11:00>> The work's the note. Drive careful.
184. 11:02Roads are bad.
185. 11:24Joanne, it's Pria. I'm sorry. I know
186. 11:27it's Thanksgiving. The night crew at the
187. 11:29flagship just walked out. All 20.
188. 11:33I told her at 2 a.m. She said it could
189. 11:35wait till morning.
190. 11:36>> I'm on my way.
191. 12:09It's a pressure play. They want a raise.
192. 12:11Post the openings, all 20, today.
193. 12:14>> Miss Gallagher, it's Thanksgiving.
194. 12:17>> Then post them twice.
195. 12:23Joanne, I don't need my COO down here on
196. 12:26Thanksgiving. You can hire bodies,
197. 12:28Sloan. You can't hire 14 years or a cold
198. 12:32chain certification by 7 a.m. Nobody on
199. 12:35my payroll gets to make themselves
200. 12:37irreplaceable. They never said they
201. 12:39were. We just never trained anyone to
202. 12:41take their place. And Priya warned you
203. 12:44at 2 this morning. You told her it could
204. 12:46wait till morning.
205. 12:49It was 2:00 a.m. Joanne. They were still
206. 12:52here at 2. You could have picked up the
207. 12:54phone.
208. 13:04My phone says locker 14. Locker 14 has a
209. 13:08ham. I ordered a turkey for 11 people.
210. 13:14>> Mom, I know. 12 people at 2:00 and I'm
211. 13:17standing here with no bird.
212. 13:23>> I can scan it. It won't let me move. It
213. 13:25says it needs a supervisor override.
214. 13:31>> Don't sign that. You're not certified.
215. 13:34If somebody ends up in the hospital from
216. 13:36a turkey held at the wrong temperature,
217. 13:38that's not a staffing problem. That's a
218. 13:40lawsuit.
219. 13:46Then fix it. Reboot the whole system. If
220. 13:49we reboot before the data syncs, all 412
221. 13:52orders could scramble. Then nobody knows
222. 13:54whose dinner is whose.
223. 14:01>> Yeah,
224. 14:02>> it's Joanne Reyes. Our night crew's gone
225. 14:04and pickup's down. I need somebody
226. 14:07certified with an override code here by
227. 14:108.
228. 14:13I know the freeze already put you on the
229. 14:153:00 restock. You can tell me no.
230. 14:20>> It's Joanne Reyes at the flagship.
231. 14:22Pickup's down and I need a certified
232. 14:23lead here by 8. You can tell me no.
233. 14:36>> Joanne Sloan, Helen Mercer, your
234. 14:39customers are posting videos of your
235. 14:41pickup lockers. We sign Monday. Before
236. 14:44we do, I want the truth about your
237. 14:45flagship this morning, not the polished
238. 14:48version.
239. 14:48>> Helen, we're in great shape. A little
240. 14:51holiday rush. We lost our night crew
241. 14:54overnight and pickup is down. We're
242. 14:56working it. We're not going to promise
243. 14:58you anything we can't stand behind.
244. 15:00>> Thank you, Joanne. Call me when you know
245. 15:02more.
246. 15:17We're here for those folks in line, not
247. 15:19for the company.
248. 15:21>> So, how does the night shift handle
249. 15:22this? His binder's still on the counter.
250. 15:25I went through every page last night.
251. 15:33Lift the handle, then push. Wait for the
252. 15:37green light before you log.
253. 15:3914 years of knights. And he wrote it
254. 15:41down for whoever had to stand here
255. 15:42without him.
256. 15:50Order one. Halvorson.
257. 16:01Folks, your name's on the bag and
258. 16:03marker. Show me an ID and you're going
259. 16:06home.
260. 16:08>> That's my turkey. Who wrote this? The
261. 16:11night crew. Every bag. Well, you tell
262. 16:14them thank you from Dy Halvorson. 11
263. 16:17people are going to eat because of that
264. 16:19marker.
265. 16:28This isn't Ray's private notebook. Every
266. 16:31page is dated. The whole night crew's
267. 16:33been working off it, which means the
268. 16:36system's been leaning on them. 90 days
269. 16:38of raw logs. 342 manual overrides. Then
270. 16:44help me understand something. The report
271. 16:46Sloan sent your board and sent us says
272. 16:4999.1%
273. 16:50order accuracy. automation a total
274. 16:54success. Not one word about people
275. 16:58fixing it by hand.
276. 17:01Every override is in the raw logs. They
277. 17:04just never made it into the summary.
278. 17:08I stocked shelves on nights for six
279. 17:10years before I ever sat in an office.
280. 17:14You think you built a system that runs
281. 17:17without people?
282. 17:20The people you're planning to cut are
283. 17:22the only reason your numbers look that
284. 17:24clean. There's a piece nobody wrote
285. 17:27down. Every one of those overrides was
286. 17:30paid out of night payroll. None of it
287. 17:32was counted as automation cost. Count it
288. 17:35and the savings shrink by a lot. Who
289. 17:38signed off on the cost analysis?
290. 17:44Sloan did.
291. 17:46Those are preliminary numbers. You sent
292. 17:49them to a buyer Sloan
293. 17:58here. Three weeks ago, Ray to Sloan.
294. 18:01Accuracy alone isn't enough. We need to
295. 18:04count override hours, training, and a
296. 18:06backup plan for when it fails. And her
297. 18:09answer, keep the report to efficiency.
298. 18:12Put exceptions in an appendix. The
299. 18:14version that went to the board has no
300. 18:16appendix.
301. 18:22six weeks ago. The same week he walked
302. 18:24that letter upstairs.
303. 18:34>> You're digging through old files on a
304. 18:35holiday
305. 18:37because the board is going to ask. I'd
306. 18:40rather we tell them first than let a
307. 18:41buyer tell them for us. Every decision I
308. 18:45made was for this company's future. Then
309. 18:47the files will back you up.
310. 18:52>> The store is now closed. Happy
311. 18:54Thanksgiving.
312. 18:59>> Joanne, it's Arthur. Crest Line just
313. 19:01paused the deal. I'm calling an
314. 19:03emergency board meeting Friday, 9:00
315. 19:05a.m. We need an answer before Monday.
316. 19:07Bring everything you've got.
317. 19:09>> I'll be there.
318. 19:20>> [music]
319. 19:24>> Rey, I think last night got out of hand.
320. 19:27A misunderstanding on both sides. I'd
321. 19:30like you back. Double your pay and a new
322. 19:32title, regional operations director.
323. 19:37>> And the 20
324. 19:38>> we'll hire. That's not your concern.
325. 19:48If you want your night crew back, fix
326. 19:49what they asked you to fix. The
327. 19:51scheduling. Cooler, too. That letter
328. 19:54nobody answered. And the way you treat
329. 19:56people.
330. 19:56>> I'm not going to negotiate with someone
331. 19:58I fired yesterday.
332. 20:00>> Then my answer's no.
333. 20:02Happy Thanksgiving, Miss Gallagher.
334. 20:10Dad, roads were awful, but I made it.
335. 20:20You set two plates.
336. 20:22>> Told you I'd be here.
337. 20:24>> You made mom's stuffing.
338. 20:27>> I tried. Her card says some sage.
339. 20:31How much is some?
340. 20:33>> More than you think. Always more than
341. 20:36you think.
342. 20:42I have to tell you something.
343. 20:44I got fired last night.
344. 20:46>> What? Why?
345. 20:48>> For being here.
346. 20:51I keep thinking I made things harder for
347. 20:53both of us over one dinner.
348. 20:57>> Dad,
349. 20:59you worked yourself into the ground so
350. 21:01I'd never go without anything.
351. 21:03But a lot of nights, all I wanted was
352. 21:06you home.
353. 21:08>> After your mom, I kept picking up
354. 21:10shifts. It was easier than sitting in
355. 21:13this kitchen. I can't give you those
356. 21:16years back.
357. 21:18>> You don't have to. You're here tonight.
358. 21:23[laughter and snorts]
359. 21:26>> Remember the year you burned the pie
360. 21:28crust and told me it was rustic?
361. 21:30>> It was rustic. [laughter]
362. 21:38Who's that?
363. 21:41>> The board. They want me there Friday.
364. 21:45>> Everything in here has been verified.
365. 21:47Override logs, the cost analysis, the
366. 21:50emails, the restructuring list.
367. 21:52>> And council,
368. 21:54>> council's view, the whole crew signs a
369. 21:56complaint. Ray carries it upstairs. And
370. 21:58six weeks later, he's fired in front of
371. 22:00them. That could look like retaliation.
372. 22:03Crestide doesn't run your board, but we
373. 22:06won't move forward without a remediation
374. 22:08plan we can actually believe. Growth
375. 22:10takes hard calls. What happened
376. 22:12Wednesday night was an organized
377. 22:14betrayal. There's no evidence anyone
378. 22:16organized anything. They finished every
379. 22:18job before they left. Every shelf, every
380. 22:21bag.
381. 22:26Sloan
382. 22:27Ray Novak asked you to count the
383. 22:29override hours.
384. 22:31Your reply says, "Put exceptions in an
385. 22:34appendix." The report we got had no
386. 22:37appendix. Where did it go?
387. 22:39>> The board wanted a clear story. It read
388. 22:41cleaner without it.
389. 22:43>> It read cleaner. It wasn't true.
390. 22:48>> Sloan, that letter from the night crew,
391. 22:51did you read it?
392. 22:54>> I I was aware of it.
393. 22:57>> Ask Mr. Novak to come in.
394. 23:01Rey, in front of the whole board, double
395. 23:05your pay. Director title. Come back,
396. 23:09hire, build us a new team.
397. 23:11>> Mr. Novak, you still think this is about
398. 23:14what one man is worth. That's the whole
399. 23:17reason 20 people walked out. I never
400. 23:19wanted this store to need me. I wrote
401. 23:21everything down. I trained people. When
402. 23:24I saw a problem, I reported it. All I
403. 23:27ever asked for was that somebody listen
404. 23:29when the people doing the work speak up.
405. 23:45By a vote of 4 to one, Sloan's operating
406. 23:48authority is suspended. Effective now,
407. 23:50pending a full review. Joanne will serve
408. 23:53as acting CEO.
409. 24:02[music]
410. 24:07>> [music]
411. 24:14>> Whoever sits in that seat next, I hope
412. 24:16they listen to the folks on the floor.
413. 24:18We've got a lot to say.
414. 24:31Rey, thank you for coming. Yesterday,
415. 24:35the board asked me to find out what it
416. 24:36would take to bring you back. Money,
417. 24:39title, name it.
418. 24:46>> Sign this, then ask them back. Whether
419. 24:50they come is their call.
420. 24:53>> And you
421. 24:55days. Same pay, home by 6.
422. 25:056 weeks late. I'm sorry. Your jobs are
423. 25:08here if you want them. And from now on,
424. 25:11somebody answers.
425. 25:22Well, somebody's got to show the new
426. 25:24kids the cooler door. [laughter]
427. 25:30>> Carla said if you turn down the money, I
428. 25:31had to come back just to tell you you're
429. 25:33crazy.
430. 25:34>> Tell her she's right.
431. 25:35>> Two weeks notice on schedules. I can
432. 25:38plan around my kids with that.
433. 25:47Lakeshore's still holding that day job
434. 25:49for me. I'm going to take it, Ray. Good.
435. 25:52You earned it.
436. 25:58>> That counts as a win, too.
437. 26:06>> Lift the handle, then push. Wait for the
438. 26:08green light.
439. 26:14>> Why not just fix the door?
440. 26:16>> It's getting fixed Monday. Took a while,
441. 26:19but it's on the list now.
442. 26:25It's official.
443. 26:27>> Three weeks of review and the board let
444. 26:29Sloan go and Crestline knocked down the
445. 26:31price, but they wrote the night crew
446. 26:33into the contract. Every job.
447. 26:36>> Every job.
448. 26:46>> See you tomorrow.
449. 26:57Six on the dot.
450. 26:59>> Told you
451. 27:01>> the night she fired you. Any regrets?
452. 27:08>> Just one. I should have started coming
453. 27:10home years ago.