A woman has told how she was criticised by her boss for only giving two hours notice that she could not work as she rushed off to see her dying sister.
Hillary Zinks, from New Mexico in the US, said she was furious with her supervisor at the restaurant where she worked for the “inhumane” text message.
She received a phone call that her sister was “in a coma, brain dead, could die at any moment in the hospital” while she was carrying out her other job as a makeup and effects artist on a film set - where her boss was far more understanding.
“She was like ‘please go home, be with your family because there’s no job in this world that’s worth missing life over’.” Ms Zinks said on TikTok.
She then began a 10-hour journey to Las Vegas to visit her sister and texted her restaurant supervisor en route, saying she couldn’t make her shift.
Her text message read: “I had to drive to Nevada because my sister is dying in the hospital there. I’ll let you know when I get back and when I can come back to work. I am so sorry to leave you hanging this weekend.”
But she said she was appalled by the response from her boss who allegedly wrote: “I do understand and I am sorry for what you are experiencing. I’m curious why you are letting me know two hours prior to your shift?”
Hillary said in her TikTok video how she could not predict what was going to happen and that “death does not have a timeline”.
But she said she replied politely that she was on a long road journey and was sorry she had not said anything sooner.
Then the supervisor wrote: “Like I said, I have great compassion and sorrow for what you are experiencing.
“Though, it is my job to create a positive work environment for all staff. We have 50 [diners] today and only two scheduled staff members are expected for the shift,” the boss wrote.
“We will make it work, we always do. It just makes it hard on the crew that do show up.”
That response though infuriated Ms Zinks who hit back: “I don’t give a damn about the 50 [diners] or how hard the other people will have to work today.
“If you’re so concerned, then put on a server’s outfit instead of telling me that other people will have it hard today. Jesus Christ, read the room.”
For Ms Zinks she felt that her boss either had no sympathy or just thought she was lying and after getting to the hospital she wrote again to say she was quitting her job.
“Call me crazy but after your comments this morning, I just got this crazy weird vibe from my comatose sister that you should eat s*** for what you said and that I should quit,” she wrote in the text to her supervisor.
“Sending love from Vegas.”
Hillary claimed she did then receive later an apology from a senior manager who also said that the supervisor was no longer working at the restaurant.
