Curious, how many have kids working fast food jobs

[Kim in Appalachia]

So my ds16 may be getting a job at the local McD's.  The thing is, there is a lot of drug activity there.  The shift managers and some employees push it, and there is pressure to mule for them.  The is an issue at every fast food place in town, so it's not just there and it's not new.  The main manager isn't involved but he hasn't been able to stop it. (and yes, the police know, but can't do anything either)

 

I'm wondering if anyone here has kids working fast food and if they've come across this issue.

 

We have talked to our son about it, and will talk some more.  It's so much the norm in this area, but my kids have never had to deal with it since they've been homeschooled.  

 

I'm not asking if you guys think he should take the job.  We're dealing with it, and we think it will be a learning experience, but what I'm wondering is how pervasive this is. 

[Anne in CA]

I have not heard of this here, and pot is the main cash crop where I live. A local restaurant owner was recently busted with four kilos of heroine but I don't think he was making his employees mule it or sell it. Here I think most fast food is simply what it is. And, as a restaurant owner, you absolutely can put a stop to this and I don't think it is good to work for someone who won't. Because, believe me, this is not a can't, no matter what the excuse, this is a won't. I have worked in this industry my whole adult life. No one has to employ druggies.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

So my ds16 may be getting a job at the local McD's.  The thing is, there is a lot of drug activity there.  The shift managers and some employees push it, and there is pressure to mule for them.  The is an issue at every fast food place in town, so it's not just there and it's not new.  The main manager isn't involved but he hasn't been able to stop it. (and yes, the police know, but can't do anything either)

 

I'm wondering if anyone here has kids working fast food and if they've come across this issue.

 

We have talked to our son about it, and will talk some more.  It's so much the norm in this area, but my kids have never had to deal with it since they've been homeschooled.  

 

I'm not asking if you guys think he should take the job.  We're dealing with it, and we think it will be a learning experience, but what I'm wondering is how pervasive this is. 

 

No way in hell would my kids work there.

 

I live in a rough part of the city that is a hot zone for drug activity, too, so I'm not just assuming that everybody lives in middle class Stepfordville and can turn their nose up at the only work available. :( I truly understand what you're facing here.

 

My sons work fast food, but only at one particular store. The manager there will fire anyone who uses or trafficks on site, or who fails to show up for their shift because of drugs -- and that goes for shift leaders, too. He knows that many of his employees use drugs regularly, but it's not to be discussed and not to happen at work.

 

So my kids know all about the culture. They see it. Because their store is by far the cheapest place to buy fast food in our township, they also have many, many strung out and high customers. That's an education in itself.

 

But what they don't have is the bolded, from your post: They don't have managers and shift leaders who are using drugs and trying to get kids involved. That really is a hill to die on. Better to have no work than to be in that environment. There really are limits.

 

I am constantly monitoring the situation where my sons work. If it ever flips over into what you're describing (which is also common in my locale), my minor children will not be there.

 

Other things my kids have done for money:

 

Babysitting

Yard work

Performing music

Online tasks

Tutoring

[Lang Syne Boardie]

A follow up about my "middle class Stepfordville" comment -- parents should know that this doesn't just happen in rural Appalachia or in the corners of cities. It's potentially everywhere. The biggest heroin hotspot in my area right now is a well-to-do bedroom community that once functioned as a wonderful little suburb/farm community. I grew up there. It was stable and good. Now heroin is threatening to destroy everything. You wouldn't see it yet, just driving through the pretty little town, but the police, the school, and the hospital will tell you.

[JumpyTheFrog]

Ugh, I guess I have to add this to the long list of stuff to teach my kids.

[gingersmom]

My daughter worked at a "fast casual" restaurant and there was absolutely nothing illegal going on. If there was I would never allow her to work there.

[redsquirrel]

I also agree that no way would my kid work there.  It would be far too dangerous.  All it takes is one junkie with a gun and everything changes in a very, very bad way.  I know that isn't the issue at hand, but just, nope.

 

I did work in a place that sold coke.  It was back in the late 1980s-early 1990s.  The difference was I didn't know about the side business. Looking back I was incredibly naive and should have known...but I didn't. Well, I knew a lot of people there used, but I didn't and that was about the end of it.

 

It was a bar/restaurant and sometimes I would get handed a very large bill (like 100$) for a 2$ beer.  I was told when that happened I was to call over the head bartender and he would handle the sale.  I never noticed the beer would go over the counter with a small package on the side.  And I also worked in the kitchen and was told that the big bowl of powder on top of the dishwasher was dish soap..but I found out later it was actually cocaine.  I didn't tell the guy that I had washed the dishes with it, when I was left to run the kitchen my myself because he was to 'sick' to come to work. 

 

In the end it got very messy and scary.  The DEA was staking out the bar, the owner killed himself rather than be taken in, and I saw a lot of friends lives go to hell.  Some of them ended up in rehab, but they had all dropped out of college never to go back etc etc.

 

It was very, very lucky that guns were never involved.  It would have been so bad if things go ugly like that.

 

If I had known, I would have been asked to to testify, been monitored by the DEA etc. I am so glad I avoided all of that. I am sure the DEA had asked at one point, but everyone they would have asked would have been able to say that I knew nothing.  a year later one of my former co-workers said that I was hired right when things started to get ugly and there seemed to be a general agreement that I was just too nice and sweet to get involved so it was best to just keep me excluded.  Fine with me! The truth is that by then, they prob didn't trust me or something, again, fine with me!

 

 

[iamonlyone]

My daughter, who was in a ballet trainee program in Chicago, worked at a Wendy's for about a year where she was the only one who didn't smoke marijuana at work. The managers loved her because she was the most dependable and most complimented employee, but it was a tough place to work.

 

We are all thankful that she is not working there anymore. She graduated from that program and accepted a contract in Connecticut where she is happily dancing and doing online work assessing websites.

 

ETA: I agree with others that these things happen in all types of places. This was not a restaurant in a questionable area of Chicago; it was in a nice southwestern suburb.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

Oh, my God, redsquirrel. :grouphug:

[Sarah CB]

So my ds16 may be getting a job at the local McD's.  The thing is, there is a lot of drug activity there.  The shift managers and some employees push it, and there is pressure to mule for them.  The is an issue at every fast food place in town, so it's not just there and it's not new.  The main manager isn't involved but he hasn't been able to stop it. (and yes, the police know, but can't do anything either)

 

I'm wondering if anyone here has kids working fast food and if they've come across this issue.

 

We have talked to our son about it, and will talk some more.  It's so much the norm in this area, but my kids have never had to deal with it since they've been homeschooled.  

 

I'm not asking if you guys think he should take the job.  We're dealing with it, and we think it will be a learning experience, but what I'm wondering is how pervasive this is. 

 

We haven't dealt with this, but I totally respect your decision for letting him take the job.  Dd went to high school for three semesters and one of the first things the principal told us was that there were a lot of drug users and dealers at the school.  Dd was warned that if someone was making a big effort to be friends with her and wanted to take her to the smoke pit then likely there would be drugs involved at some point.  I was ok with this because I knew that, in that respect anyway, dd had her head on her shoulders and already had some very nice friends at the school who she could hang out with.  Dd and her friends would walk to the far bus stop after school because the one closest to the school was full of people smoking pot.

 

Anyway, all that to say that I do think that sometimes the opportunities (school, work, etc.) can be worth the exposure.  And that the exposure in itself can be instructive.  It sounds like you have an open relationship and that there's a lot of talking going on.  That's good.  I'd be somewhat concerned about how much pressure would be coming from the managers, but if I felt my kid was strong enough to not be swayed then I'd be fine with them working there.  I'd just expect lots of conversations.

[JumpyTheFrog]

I would strongly discourage (or maybe forbid) my kids from working there. I don't want them near any bosses who would try to turn them into dealers. Getting in with these kind of people could ruin their lives.

[73349]

Oh, dear.

 

While letting him take the job, I might offer him an instant get-picked-up-free (if he wasn't driving) and reimbursement for what he would've made the rest of the week if the dealers would not take no for an answer and were making working there too hostile, or getting physical.

 

I think it's crummy that he doesn't have a better option there. Sorry. :sad:

[livetoread]

My son has been working at Chipotle's for a few months and hasn't mentioned anything, but then he wouldn't. I am well aware of the problems in the restaurant industry (one of the worst for drug use), but didn't think about fast food. Time for a conversation. I know his co-workers are all older (he's 17) which makes me nervous.

 

Edited to say he said, yeah, quite a few workers use out behind the restaurant when closing. He was unsure what, but figured it was pot. Sigh.

[Junie]

I worked in fast food when I was a teenager, and while there were issues with theft, I wasn't aware of drugs.  However, this many years later, it wouldn't surprise me if drugs were a part of most fast-food restaurants, just from the activity/atmosphere I've noticed when ordering food.

 

Chik-Fil-A seems to be different.  The staff seem to be much friendlier and quieter.  I think the management in these restaurants has a much tighter rein on their employees than in some of the other fast food restaurants.

 

Maybe some of the other higher-end places like Chipotle, Panera, or Starbucks might also work.  (I don't frequent these places, so I don't really know.  It's just a guess/idea.)

[Junie]

I also agree that no way would my kid work there.  It would be far too dangerous.  All it takes is one junkie with a gun and everything changes in a very, very bad way.  I know that isn't the issue at hand, but just, nope.

 

I did work in a place that sold coke.  It was back in the late 1980s-early 1990s.  The difference was I didn't know about the side business. Looking back I was incredibly naive and should have known...but I didn't. Well, I knew a lot of people there used, but I didn't and that was about the end of it.

 

It was a bar/restaurant and sometimes I would get handed a very large bill (like 100$) for a 2$ beer.  I was told when that happened I was to call over the head bartender and he would handle the sale.  I never noticed the beer would go over the counter with a small package on the side.  And I also worked in the kitchen and was told that the big bowl of powder on top of the dishwasher was dish soap..but I found out later it was actually cocaine.  I didn't tell the guy that I had washed the dishes with it, when I was left to run the kitchen my myself because he was to 'sick' to come to work. 

 

In the end it got very messy and scary.  The DEA was staking out the bar, the owner killed himself rather than be taken in, and I saw a lot of friends lives go to hell.  Some of them ended up in rehab, but they had all dropped out of college never to go back etc etc.

 

It was very, very lucky that guns were never involved.  It would have been so bad if things go ugly like that.

 

If I had known, I would have been asked to to testify, been monitored by the DEA etc. I am so glad I avoided all of that. I am sure the DEA had asked at one point, but everyone they would have asked would have been able to say that I knew nothing.  a year later one of my former co-workers said that I was hired right when things started to get ugly and there seemed to be a general agreement that I was just too nice and sweet to get involved so it was best to just keep me excluded.  Fine with me! The truth is that by then, they prob didn't trust me or something, again, fine with me!

 

I'm so glad that you came out of that situation unscathed.   I would have been just like you in that situation -- totally naive to what was going on all around me.

 

LOL about the dish soap.  Kind of scary, but in hindsight, it's kind of funny.  I wonder how much money you washed down the drain?

[Kim in Appalachia]

We do know that the main manager is not involved, and the others may leave my son alone because of his age and who his father is. This is a very small town.

 

As we look at it and mull it over, it really is a teaching opportunity. My kids are so green, which is not good. The drug problem is getting worse everywhere and they are going to have to know how to handle it.

 

There is no huge financial pressure, he will know he can walk away at anytime.

 

We've been talking it over with others whose kids have worked in town, and they seem to feel that the most important thing is to be aware of whats going on.

 

There are not other opportunities, and really, it is the same at every place in town. I know it's so sad,and I'm a bit nervous about it but my husband seems to think it's worth trying.

[Kim in Appalachia]

Have to add, that between 10:00 -12:00 today I've watched 4 people walking to a dealer's house down the road. Cops know him, but can't stop it. Very frustrating. The drugs in this town are incredible. I think the stats are 1 and 5 houses are dealing, and I believe that.

 

And if you drive around, it's such a sweet looking town, storybook looking. It's really so depressing.

[lllll]

nm

Edited December 2, 2015 by ^ 022

[marbel]

 16-year-old?   No.  

[amyx4]

Not much to contribute except my own personal experience. After college, I used my day job for living expenses and my weekend job to pay back student loans. I was hired in part, because I didn't know the names/faces of the local drug dealers. One shift a guy came in with a gun drawn looking for another guy. Someone yelled for them to "take it outside" and they did.  Very few of the customers even flinched. I sat on the floor. I was over 21 and no one pressured/offered/asked. I pretty quickly figured out why I had been hired.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

The "wrong place at the wrong time" angle cannot be over-emphasized. Whether an arrest or a shooting, something WILL happen, either to him or to someone he cares about at work.

 

If he doesn't need the money and just needs some toughening up, exposure to real issues, street smarts, he could volunteer at a shelter or mission and learn everything he needs to know...with far less chance of death, a criminal record, or even succumbing to the culture himself. I don't know if you know this, but the second most likely place for kids to try/start using drugs is at work.

 

[bettyandbob]

Is this the only place a teen can work? Is it the only place he can work where you can work out transit? I realize lots of places have this kind of activity between coworkers, however, you added the expectation to mule. I could let my dc work places where coworkers are users. They do work with people like that, but no one is actively dealing or asking coworkers to mule. That goes into some dangerous territory. Exponentially more dangerous than "my child might smoke pot if he hangs out with coworkers".

[SparklyUnicorn]

That's awful.

 

I worked in fast food as a teen and not once did I encounter anything like that.

 

 

[Seasider]

A follow up about my "middle class Stepfordville" comment -- parents should know that this doesn't just happen in rural Appalachia or in the corners of cities. It's potentially everywhere. The biggest heroin hotspot in my area right now is a well-to-do bedroom community that once functioned as a wonderful little suburb/farm community. I grew up there. It was stable and good. Now heroin is threatening to destroy everything. You wouldn't see it yet, just driving through the pretty little town, but the police, the school, and the hospital will tell you.

Yes, it's heroine here. So so sad.

 

My kids have worked fast food and are now out on the other side with different jobs - and they gained an appreciation for those better jobs! None of them dealt with owners and managers being the source of the trouble. But they did learn a lot from the poor judgment of coworkers caught up in drugs.

 

I agree with Tibbie above. If what you describe is true of every fast food establishment in town, it's time to get creative with some entrepreneurial ways of making money instead of getting enmeshed the drug culture.

[MiMi 4under3]

I also agree that no way would my kid work there.  It would be far too dangerous.  All it takes is one junkie with a gun and everything changes in a very, very bad way.  I know that isn't the issue at hand, but just, nope.

 

I did work in a place that sold coke.  It was back in the late 1980s-early 1990s.  The difference was I didn't know about the side business. Looking back I was incredibly naive and should have known...but I didn't. Well, I knew a lot of people there used, but I didn't and that was about the end of it.

 

It was a bar/restaurant and sometimes I would get handed a very large bill (like 100$) for a 2$ beer.  I was told when that happened I was to call over the head bartender and he would handle the sale.  I never noticed the beer would go over the counter with a small package on the side.  And I also worked in the kitchen and was told that the big bowl of powder on top of the dishwasher was dish soap..but I found out later it was actually cocaine.  I didn't tell the guy that I had washed the dishes with it, when I was left to run the kitchen my myself because he was to 'sick' to come to work. 

 

In the end it got very messy and scary.  The DEA was staking out the bar, the owner killed himself rather than be taken in, and I saw a lot of friends lives go to hell.  Some of them ended up in rehab, but they had all dropped out of college never to go back etc etc.

 

It was very, very lucky that guns were never involved.  It would have been so bad if things go ugly like that.

 

If I had known, I would have been asked to to testify, been monitored by the DEA etc. I am so glad I avoided all of that. I am sure the DEA had asked at one point, but everyone they would have asked would have been able to say that I knew nothing.  a year later one of my former co-workers said that I was hired right when things started to get ugly and there seemed to be a general agreement that I was just too nice and sweet to get involved so it was best to just keep me excluded.  Fine with me! The truth is that by then, they prob didn't trust me or something, again, fine with me!

 

 

   :lol:  :lol:

 

Good thing you didn't get accused of stealing it!

[JumpyTheFrog]

Now I have to ask if the cocaine "soap" sudsed up nicely.

[Luanne]

My daughter turned down a job working at a gas station ... similar situation ... I backed her up when my mother thought she should have taken the job anyway.  My daughter is 27.  I didn't feel it would be safe for her to work there either.  It was also late at night.

[Catwoman]

There is no way my ds would be taking a job like that. There are many ways for a kid to get some life experience without placing himself in personal danger.

 

I don't know what your dh is thinking. This job seems like a terrible idea on all levels.

[Jean in Newcastle]

The issue with drugs in a workplace is not primarily the temptation to use.  It's the pressure to aid in the dealing by a superior, thus putting him at risk of criminal prosecution.  It's the risk of a drug deal gone wrong.  Or the risk of a drug bust (once it happens) gone wrong.  Or the risk of accidental exposure (like the "dish soap").  

 

 

[Lang Syne Boardie]

There is no way my ds would be taking a job like that. There are many ways for a kid to get some life experience without placing himself in personal danger.

 

I don't know what your dh is thinking. This job seems like a terrible idea on all levels.

 

I have not been able to stop thinking about this thread all day.

 

The kid does not need the money.

 

Teens working in drug dens because they have no choice and need the money -- I know those kids. They live in the neighborhood across the street from me, or sometimes on my very street. They NEED those jobs (anything they can get) because their parents don't make enough money for their trailer park/apartment/shack rent, or their parents are drunk or stoned and always forget to buy food for the little siblings. So the big brother or big sister will go to work, try to stay in school, try to hold it all together a little while.

 

Someone choosing this for their child for "life lessons" -- I am always about hard work, keeping it real, avoiding raising children in a bubble. Definitely. But actually endangering him on principle? No way. What are parents for? If he needs to know something, teach him. Of course...

 

but why not volunteer to serve children who are the victims of this drug culture, instead of immersing oneself in it as a naive young person whose naivete will paint a bullseye on his back? And if he's not that naive, why is he taking a job that he does not need when his community has plenty of people who have no choice but a job like that?

 

Homeless missions, children's bureaus, domestic violence shelters, literacy programs, backpack ministries and food drives -- these groups are always crying out for more workers. He could volunteer in any one of these areas and learn everything he needs to know about the seamy side of life, while making a difference instead of becoming another child at risk.

 

I would see this as my hill to die on. Shift managers who are trafficking on the job site, using minor employees as mules, if that's not the limit then what is?

[Catwoman]

I have not been able to stop thinking about this thread all day.

 

The kid does not need the money.

 

Teens working in drug dens because they have no choice and need the money -- I know those kids. They live in the neighborhood across the street from me, or sometimes on my very street. They NEED those jobs (anything they can get) because their parents don't make enough money for their trailer park/apartment/shack rent, or their parents are drunk or stoned and always forget to buy food for the little siblings. So the big brother or big sister will go to work, try to stay in school, try to hold it all together a little while.

 

Someone choosing this for their child for "life lessons" -- I am always about hard work, keeping it real, avoiding raising children in a bubble. Definitely. But actually endangering him on principle? No way. What are parents for? If he needs to know something, teach him. Of course...

 

but why not volunteer to serve children who are the victims of this drug culture, instead of immersing oneself in it as a naive young person whose naivete will paint a bullseye on his back? And if he's not that naive, why is he taking a job that he does not need when his community has plenty of people who have no choice but a job like that?

 

Homeless missions, children's bureaus, domestic violence shelters, literacy programs, backpack ministries and food drives -- these groups are always crying out for more workers. He could volunteer in any one of these areas and learn everything he needs to know about the seamy side of life, while making a difference instead of becoming another child at risk.

 

I would see this as my hill to die on. Shift managers who are trafficking on the job site, using minor employees as mules, if that's not the limit then what is?

:iagree:

 

I agree completely. I can't imagine why anyone would allow their teen to take a job in what they already know is a dangerous environment. It makes no sense to me at all.

[unsinkable]

Who keeps cocoaine in a bowl on top of a dishwasher?

 

:confused:

[katilac]

 

It was a bar/restaurant and sometimes I would get handed a very large bill (like 100$) for a 2$ beer.  I was told when that happened I was to call over the head bartender and he would handle the sale.  I never noticed the beer would go over the counter with a small package on the side.  And I also worked in the kitchen and was told that the big bowl of powder on top of the dishwasher was dish soap..but I found out later it was actually cocaine.  I didn't tell the guy that I had washed the dishes with it, when I was left to run the kitchen my myself because he was to 'sick' to come to work. 

 

 

I don't doubt that the bartenders were selling coke, but I think someone was kidding you about it being stored in a bowl on top of the dishwasher. It's a bit too valuable for that, lol. 

[Garga]

I wouldn't send my kid into that situation willingly. It would only be if we needed his salary to keep us from starving. Can he volunteer at the local library or somewhere like that to get some experience working outside of the home?

 

I'd be terribly concerned about the mule thing and him getting caught by police. Would they send him to a juvenile detention center? That would be shattering. He could be terribly abused in a place like that.

 

No, just reading your post makes me feel anxious and sick to my stomach at the thought of an innocent kid being caught up in that. Getting work experience isn't worth the risks to me. I'd rather let him stay innocent and green a little longer. I'd also tell him why he couldn't work there so he starts to realize the risks. He'll run into drug stuff in college (and I'd lecture him about it in college as well) and then hopefully he can get a job in an industry that isn't fast food with drug dealers and their mules. Yikes.

[NorthwestMom]

What?!?!?!

 

NO.

 

And I'm not naive. That's why I say NO.

[Garga]

The question was "How pervasive is this?"

 

I contacted my nephew who most certainly 100% does NOT work in a cute little town. He works in a busy, impersonal, tired suburb of Baltimore. He's 16 and has been around people who do drugs (his public school is not nice in the slightest), and says he's never dealt with this at all at work.

 

Hang on while I ask the other person I know who works at fast food, in this case in a sleepy little town.

 

Edited: why can't I SPELL?

[Garga]

Ok--asked the other friend I have who worked in fast food and whose son works in ff. She said, quote, "Noooooooo! That's crazy!!!!!" when I asked if her coworkers or manager used or dealt drugs at work.

 

She works in a little town in PA.

 

So, it's not necessarily EVERYwhere. But maybe it is everywhere in your area.

[redsquirrel]

I don't doubt that the bartenders were selling coke, but I think someone was kidding you about it being stored in a bowl on top of the dishwasher. It's a bit too valuable for that, lol. 

 

Nope.  It was a tearful confession by the kitchen manager.  I saw him after rehab and he told me that he thought I had caught him using coke.  He said, "There was that time you walked in to the kitchen and I was standing on a stool getting stuff from that bowl we kept on top of the dishwasher. I figured you must know why I was always standing on that stool".  I had no idea.  I had seen it, but I didn't really think about it. I ran into the kitchen, got what I needed and ran out. I didn't care if the cook/manager was standing on a chair near some equipment.  It was one of those kitchen industrial sanitizers, where there is a hood that you pull down over a rack of dishes. When the dishwasher isn't being used the hood is up.  We didn't have a huge amount of dishes to wash because we served on paper plates (it was only pizza and wings).  On top of the dishwasher, but hidden from view by the raised hood was the big bowl.  I figured he was getting soap for the dishwasher. I couldn't reach up there without standing on a chair.

 

You don't  have to believe me, but there was no reason for him to lie.  He had just got out of rehab and was feeling very apologetic and sorry for what he had done. He didn't have to tell me anything about where it was or what he was doing.  It wasn't what was for sale. It was the 'use at work' coke for the staff that was selling.  There was a LOT of coke moving through that place. What was in the kitchen was there to keep the staff from stealing what was for sale.

 

I didn't usually have to run the dishwasher, only that one time.  I just tossed a spoonful inside. I had used restaurant sanizers before, just not that one. They usually just have a scoop of powder tossed on the bottom. I do remember thinking that it didn't look like any dishwasher or sanitizing powder I had seen before, but it was in the right place so I didn't question it.  I am glad I didn't smell it to make sure.

[Garga]

Oh hey, I just thought that even though my tiny sample of 2 people say that there isn't using/dealing in their fast food restaurants, I just realized that it could be going on and they aren't aware of it.

 

They're both people who aren't totally naive about drugs, though. It could go either way I suppose: that it's there and they are unaware, or that it's not there at all.

[Catwoman]

Oh hey, I just thought that even though my tiny sample of 2 people say that there isn't using/dealing in their fast food restaurants, I just realized that it could be going on and they aren't aware of it.

 

They're both people who aren't totally naive about drugs, though. It could go either way I suppose: that it's there and they are unaware, or that it's not there at all.

Well, possibly being a little naive is one thing, but in the OP's case, it sounds like anyone but a complete moron would know exactly what is going on at that McDonald's -- apparently it is public knowledge, not a big secret. I mean, her ds doesn't even work there yet, but Kim already knows all the details. That is why I find it so amazing that she and her dh are allowing their son to take a job there. I can't understand that mentality at all. :confused:

[meena]

When I was growing up my best friend's dad owned a food stand in our small town. Because it was only their family and a few very close friends, there was nothing illicit going on other than my friend's mom sneaking a $20 out of the till occasionally.

 

When my nieces were teens, they worked at two different fast food places in that same small town. It was terrible for both of them. Both of them got mixed up with the wrong crowd and have really followed a rough path since then. I don't know if drugs were a part of working there, but I suspect so. Even if there weren't drugs, there was an excess of negative peer pressure. That's can be hard for any kid to withstand, and I think it would especially hard for homeschoolers who haven't had to be around that regularly.

 

Now that my kids are getting closer to working age, I've already told them the only fast food place I'd even remotely consider would be Chick-Fil-a. Thankfully we live in a suburb within walking distance of many possible non-fast food job prospects and a short drive to community opportunities such as lifeguard, Y counselor, etc.

[Tsuga]

Ugh. Nope, and where I worked, it was mainly family places (so, adults there at all times, like, responsible, business-owning, upstanding adults). Plus Starbucks. Nobody at this Starbucks was pushing anything though. I'd have known. Really.

 

I do want my kids to have jobs but I wouldn't ask them to work where I wouldn't work myself and I wouldn't work where they could be a shootout over a drug deal!

 

OTOH... we don't live in Appalachia so we have opportunities that do not involve working for a coke dealer. I'm sorry you face that.

[momof4babes]

I don't doubt that the bartenders were selling coke, but I think someone was kidding you about it being stored in a bowl on top of the dishwasher. It's a bit too valuable for that, lol.

I would also imagine that the heat, and moisture of a kitchen would not make a good storage place for an expensive powdered substance.

[DawnM]

I have no idea if it is a problem here.  I haven't heard anything near my area.

[unsinkable]

Well, possibly being a little naive is one thing, but in the OP's case, it sounds like anyone but a complete moron would know exactly what is going on at that McDonald's -- apparently it is public knowledge, not a big secret. d:

There's probably some standing order that gets the drugs, like fries with a side of Big Mac sauce.

[Tammyla]

One of our local Taco B#ll's was closed for a few weeks this summer due to employees cooking m#th in the kitchen.  It was on the news and two employees were arrested and let go.

 

I wouldn't want my adult children working or eating in a place that was dealing.

[unsinkable]

After reading this thread I realize how incredibly naive I truly am. I have never seen anything like this at all anywhere...

Drug use among bars and restaurant workers has been an industry thing/problem forever. some places it is more entrenched than others.

 

One could usually figure out who could get stuff pretty quickly. He's usually the guy who wanted to party after every close. Kidding/not kidding.

[Shawn On the Border]

I guess this is a common problem in fast food. Ds got a job when he was 17 at a locally owned fast food restaurant. Some of the employees smoked pot after work. I found out later that one of the shift managers was transporting drugs from out of state and selling them in the parking lot (and no doubt elsewhere). He would hire the young employees to sell the drugs (not my son, thankfully).

 

My son stayed away from drugs (as far as I know), but he was still influenced by the people he worked with. They were young people with difficult pasts just trying to survive. Some people were fresh out of jail. Others were kicked out of the house as teens. One girl was afraid to go home to her alcoholic father. Tough, sad stories that often lead to drug use and wild behavior. Few of them were going to college or had any plans to. Ds has changed in many ways. You can't hang out with people and not have them affect you. Keep in mind, that your son could be influenced in many ways- their language, their ways of thinking. I would not recommend a fast food job for a teenager.

[J-rap]

All I can think of is the fast-food restaurant in Breaking Bad!  There was one fast-food restaurant in my town growing up, conveniently right across the street from the high school, that everyone knew was the druggie restaurant.  But we have only worked at "slow-food" restaurants in our family.  So, I don't have any advice, except that I agree with others that I would not feel comfortable with my child working there, especially because your son is so green and innocent.  I'd rather just talk very candidly about it with him at home.  So far my kids have had the opportunity to learn at least a little about that world and street smarts just by living life and talking about it openly.

 

It'd be different if you absolutely needed the money and it was absolutely the only place to work.  But it sounds like it isn't.  And given that this is an on-going situation there that everyone knows about means that someone at the top isn't doing anything about it, and that's even scarier.  And if the police know as well?  Maybe they're in on it too then.

[Cinder]

Ds1 works in fast food but has never mentioned a drug problem. He knows several of his co-workers smoke pot (not sure about using other stuff) but it hasn't been pushed on him. His co-workers are mostly other college students; this chain doesn't hire minors (at least not in our local area).

 

I would not be comfortable with my son taking a job where there is a known drug problem.