Family can come in all shapes and forms. And yes — sometimes, your fellow employees bond together like a family. That means that if something happens at the company in which you work together, you’re willing to bond in solidarity.
If you live in Ohio and noticed your local Sonic Drive-In was closed, that solidarity may have been the reason why.
A few locations were sold to new owners, and let’s just say that the big changes left a lot of employees feeling burned. Without much notice, SRI Operating Company, which is an affiliate of Sonic, suddenly took over spots in Grove City, Lancaster, and Circleville.
All three locations shut their doors with an employee walkout to protest some of the craziest changes they’ve ever seen.
One of the first changes that SRI made was letting go of managers, some who’ve been there for a long time. All the employees who were “spared” faced huge paycheck cuts.
After the change took place, Sonic employees reportedly went home with $4 an hour, plus tips.
That low wage makes more sense for people working at restaurants and diners, as tips are expected. But when was the last time you, as a customer, went to a fast food location and felt the need to tip the employees?
They cut workers pay from min wage to $4.00 USD + tips.
— BoredGeek 🏳️🌈 (@boredgeek) February 24, 2019
$4.00 USD. Plus tips. TIPS. AT A FAST FOOD JOINT.
Sonic’s model is slightly different.
Patrons wait for their food in their cars, and it’s brought out to them. But that’s not the same as sit-down service at all.
In fact, if people were told they’d be expected to tip employees at Sonic, you could imagine foot (er, car) traffic would go down tremendously.
The food there is delicious, but they offer the same sort of fare that other fast food places do. So, why pay a tip?
Sonic is apparently the only fast food chain where you're *supposed* to tip the workers... but no one who works there will tell you about it, which allows for awful shit like this.
— Tony KoЯnheiser (@Blatch0) February 25, 2019
The three locations that had walk-outs all left notes.
One wrote “Thank You, Next” on the door, meaning that Ariana Grande’s song goes beyond terrible exes.
It’s for bad part-time jobs, as well.
Since news of the walk-out hit, several other Sonic employees have admitted that it’s not a great place to work for.
Even though it likely varies by location, it seems like they’re not all that concerned with putting their employees first.
I used to be an assistant manager for a Sonic here in Virginia. I can't blame them and I'm 100% behind them Sonic is a HORRIBLE company to work for!!!! OMG I have SOOOO many stories.
— Rockin Lion 🦁 (@BerryUnusual) February 25, 2019
Even though they’re in the news for all the wrong reasons, Sonic reportedly stated that the new management will be a good thing.
They actually had the nerve to tell ABC6 that “changes like this can be difficult for employees to understand” and that “most current employees will have the opportunity to continue working at the drive-in.”
Seriously? We may not know all the details, but it sure seems fishy to us.
Why should Sonic employees stay if that almost guarantees that they’ll be making less pay?
Hopefully other companies will make sure to snap them up, especially since a lot of departing employees have a ton of fast food experience.
A year ago, a Sonic Car-Hop did an AMA on Reddit.
That’s where people can ask questions, and get real answers in return. Redditor AllHailGilbert was upfront about how much they made.
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It’s not really enough to live off. But as they commented, it’s good for a “first job.”
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But, the AMA also made it clear that the whole tip procedure was misunderstood. Some people tipped, while some people never knew they had to.
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The question is actually a popular one, which is probably why the employees knew the cut would be so severe.
A lot of people just had no clue if it’d be weird to tip.
Surely the employee would appreciate it, but some places discourage their workers from taking additional money.
So, is it worth the embarrassment?
are you supposed to tip the sonic workers? cause they always tryna make unnecessary conversation
— RACK (@oiamRACK) February 26, 2019
While the money was a big reason why employees left, many of their notes also contained a bit of vitriol towards the managers.
Namely the fact that employees were blindsided and that so many loyal workers were randomly cut with little explanation.
We’ve gotten tips from viewers about employee walk-outs & mass quitting at some Sonics, in protest of the new owner (SRI Management Company, a corporate arm of Sonic).
— Geoff Redick (@geoffredick) February 23, 2019
Haven’t been able to confirm w/ those workers, but Sonic says those at closed spots can get jobs at other ones. pic.twitter.com/Hqi8kR6H79
“The company has been sold to people that don’t give a f*ck about anyone but themselves,” the note on the Circleville Sonic stated. “We are off to better things.”
I'm telling you, people are NOT putting up with the stuff anymore. The corporate overlords are ignoring the stirrings at their peril.
— Keep your voting rights face on, America (@LEROPER1) February 24, 2019
It’s often scary to leave a job without having another one lined up.
But this protest shows that employees are putting their own mental health before all else, which is admirable.
Working a fast food job is harder than many think, so if someone is putting in countless hours and still can’t pay the bills, they’re quickly going to deteriorate.
I was a carhop at Sonic, a drive-in fast food restaurant. It taught me to work hard and take responsibility.
— Melinda Kinnaird (@MelindaKinnaird) May 30, 2018
The fact that the entire staff walked out is also impressive.
It shows that they were united, and valued the treatment of their coworkers over their own job.
haha hey tip your carhop at your local sonic drive in DONT COME IF YOU ARENT GONNA TIP even if it’s just a quarter. sonic is a hellish establishment and they pay us $6 an hour bc it’s presumed we’ll get the tips to make up for it. carhops work fucking hard please and thank u
— abby (@tinypuddle) April 5, 2018
At the very least, customers and employees have learned a lot based on what happened.
Employees know that they have a choice and a voice, even if it’s been silenced for some time.
And customers now know that Sonic employees really aren’t earning a lot…
So a few bucks can really make a big difference.
