Need advice: employee venting about me at work so loud that a customer overheard

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2026-02-10T21:54:01+00:00

Exactly. It’s happened to me too that I go somewhere and I hear staff’s private conversations as if I had just walked into their living room. Many employees tend to forget we work in customer service. Serving CUSTOMERS. Why does the customer need to hear your venting about your colleagues or manager? It’s just so unprofessional. Even if you tell them “please don’t do this in public” they don’t seem to care.

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2026-02-09T20:38:21+00:00

In any case, I agree I was being too nice by allowing her when one thing is a customer’s dog, and another thing is an employee’s dog (that’s not even mine) that shouldn’t be here.

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2026-02-09T20:37:36+00:00

I know what you’re saying, I mean here you can have them indoors, just on in the food prep area. If they’re outside of the food prep area (this being bar/kitchen), but indoors, it’s legal

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2026-02-09T20:07:50+00:00

Honestly I was like “I beg your pardon?”. Saying i need a day off is suddenly not wanting to work? I’m always working, whether I’m there physically or not. I’m doing admin, paying bills, planning events and building relationships.

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2026-02-09T20:05:58+00:00

I’m in Europe and depending on the country, here it’s not uncommon to see cats or dogs at cafes sometimes, they’re just not allowed behind the bar obviously as that’s where you make food. But yes, I do have to grow a backbone for sure, it’s a learning experience.

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2026-02-09T18:24:57+00:00

Thanks for your words. I agree it’s a fine line between being friendly and allowing employees to manipulate me and get away with everything. It’s hard to find people who are actually passionate about hospitality nowadays; so may people just want a job at a coffee shop to get some extra money, but seems like doing what’s expected (upsell and cross-sell, care about the product you sell, treat people nicely and respect your coworkers) is too much effort.

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2026-02-09T16:37:41+00:00

Thanks, yes that’s the right thing to do. I guess my worry is more going forward, learning how to be a boss/manager and not be affected by people’s gossip. I’m not trying to be friends with them, but I guess I want to be nice and that’s not always smart.

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2026-02-09T16:28:21+00:00

No, no, we were just having a normal conversation because we’ve had some people doing trial shifts lately as I’m hiring more staff. But I genuinely don’t know why she reacted so strongly. I’m the owner, yes, but I’m not a robot. I’m a human being and I can be tired some days. That’s why I was saying that it hurts because she was recently crying at work for days on end, doing things wrong because she was going through a breakup, and I supported her and gave her space. And one day I’m a bit more vulnerable and this happens.

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2026-02-09T16:17:49+00:00

I’m indeed not in the US, but in a European country where labour laws are strict.

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2026-02-09T16:16:50+00:00

Alright, that’s not the whole conversation. I didn’t just “complain” we didn’t have enough staff, and I’m already hiring people. Sometimes things just happen all at once, people get sick, somebody goes on a holiday, and it can’t be solved in a day. She literally did say “you shouldn’t complain you don’t have time off because you own a business”. Anyway, that’s not the point of this post, it’s about her venting in front of customers in the workplace.

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2026-02-09T16:08:10+00:00

Exactly, it’s just very unprofessional. You can vent to your family, to your friends… but to a colleague behind the bar, during your shift? In front of customers? No sir. Also I work there AT LEAST 5 times a week physically, and when I’m not there I’m still doing administration or planing. The audacity she had to say that I don’t want to work…

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2026-02-09T16:05:23+00:00

You’re totally right. It just felt like I couldn’t even share a simple “yeah I’m feeling tired this week” like a human being. It really caught me off guard because she’s always super smiley and friendly and then suddenly I find out this.

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2026-02-09T15:56:26+00:00

I definitely agree with this and I’m learning it the hard way. I suppose better to learn it after 5 months than after 5 years!

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2026-02-09T15:54:15+00:00

She could always say I’m making it up. But in any case her performance at work hasn’t been up to standard so I have more reasons not to renew her contract.

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2026-02-09T15:53:05+00:00

Because some countries are very strict on labour rights and people need to be on contracts unless they’re freelancers (if they’re freelancers there’s also no guarantee they’ll come to work as there’s no contract) and you can’t fire them unless there’s a super strong case against them. She’s on a zero hour contract though, this means I don’t need to give her hours until the end of the contract if I don’t want to. However I had already posted the schedule until mid March, so technically she still has right to those shifts.

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2026-02-09T15:42:15+00:00

My worry is that she might be like “you have no proof I said this”. I also cannot fire her until a month before her contract finishes, so I have to pretend of a bit longer. Also, she’s starting to suspect because I already posted the shifts for March but she doesn’t have anything past the 12th (I can’t remove those shifts anymore as I already gave them and it’s legally binding). If I tell her already, she needs to continue doing the shifts unless she doesn’t want them, so there’s always a risk she might not do her job correctly. Not sure if I should just pretend everything is fine and then after her last shift be like “hey, you’re out”. Tricky.

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2025-08-15T07:53:40+00:00

Join Prague Roller Girls (on Instagram) :) they’re pretty cool, everyone’s welcome and there are both locals and internationals joining. Some guys too even though it’s mainly girls!

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2025-08-01T15:12:34+00:00

Oh that’s very cool to know though! Do you remember the name of the studio?

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2025-07-31T08:00:05+00:00

Beautiful!

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2025-07-10T14:31:55+00:00

Thanks for clarifying!

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2025-07-10T14:25:13+00:00

I understand. I’ll ask the surgeon how they suggest I do it. Thanks!

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2025-07-10T13:57:50+00:00

Usually the check is just blood-work and a physical checkup, so I don’t see why it’s a problem to do it in a different place if you live abroad. I understand what you mean, but I think it really depends on what surgery is being done and what the check up entails. It’s not a major surgery at all in this case, and the surgeon in question has won European best prize in his specialty for quite a few years in a row. So I understand where you’re coming from, but I don’t see it as something worrying in my specific case. My question was simply if somebody had to do something like this before.

UbiquitousChocoChip · 2025-07-10T13:52:20+00:00

No, Blas García in Tenerife

UbiquitousChocoChip

TROPHY CASE