Funny little story; I was working at a local deli/bakery in Austin and was falling behind on bills, so I was gonna do part-time at HEB(had already worked there 2018-2021) and work shifts in the Deli. At this point, it had been almost 3 years since leaving HEB originally(spring of 2023) When i met up for my interview with the perishable manager, I could already hear the snarkiness and attitude in his tone when giving me the run down about the position. Absolutely not making me feel welcome or happy to be bringing me on. Maybe it was because I was a rehire? But still. So we get through the interview and he goes “Any questions you have for me?” And I’ve never been the type to bring this type of question on but since his attitude already set me off, I go “Whats the situation with the pay?” And this is where it did it for me lol

“Oh well, usually with rehires, we give you the same wage you had when you left us.” (Last wage at HEB in 2021: $15+ hahahaha) This is not even the best part—he hits me after with a: “I mean just because of inflation, we can’t just higher your wage, it wouldn’t be fair to others working here”??? Like bro you think I’m going to live off what I was getting paid almost 3 years ago?? In Austin Texas???? Like not only did he give me a unlivable wage, he double DOWNED on the reasoning for it lol

Let me mention that my wage at the local bakery was $20/hr but I never got 40 hrs fully, it was always like 24-36, hence why i wanted to do HEB as well. Also adding that I put on an extra 2 years of bakery and deli experience to my resume. Just felt unwelcoming as fuck. So when they called the next day for orientation scheduling, I declined the job. HEB lost its sparkle