Job Crunch

=><= Welcome to //''Job Crunch''//! --- We're experiencing a worldwide labor shortage, but what does that really mean? --- <div class="message">//[[Play the game to find out...|-Own a burger shop-]]//</div>

=><= First, pick your path. --- ''You:'' <div class="message">//[[-Work at a burger shop-]]//</div> <div class="message">//[[Own a burger shop|-Own a burger shop-]]//</div>

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Congratulations, you own a burger shop! Not just any shop, but Bocephus' Burgers - a chain of family-owned restaurants known for their chili fries and nonstop |tooltip>[[Hank Williams Junior-themed music and decor]|tooltiptext>[Note: This is a game, not an endorsement of Bocephus (Hank Williams Junior)]]. --- <div class="message">//[[ Hooray! ]]//</div> <div class="message">//[[ Hooray? |- Hooray? -]]//</div>

Well, your customers love it. You own seven restaurant locations throughout the western U.S. and have had 30 great years in business. Plus, sitting in your Salt Lake City office, you've got bigger issues right now. --- 1. You have 42 job positions open right now, and two more fry cooks just quit. 2. The manager of the Mesa Location is on the phone right now, yelling about a missing truck-load of frozen beef patties. --- As the great Hank Williams Jr. (Bocephus) sings, "I can't decide but I know now's the time." What do you choose to deal with? <div class="message">//[[Try to fill 42 positions]]//</div> <div class="message">//[[Solve the Mystery of the Missing Mesa Meat Patties]]//</div>

Yeah, it's a pretty good life. As the great Bocephus (Hank Williams Junior) says, "If you mind your own business, you'll stay busy all the time." And is that ever true of Bocephus' Burgers! You own seven locations across the western U.S. and have been in business for 30 years. Busy isn't always a good thing, though. Sitting at your desk at BB Headquarters in Salt Lake City, you're facing a couple of big challenges: --- 1. You have 42 job positions open right now, and two more fry-cooks just quit. 2. The manager of the Mesa Location is on the phone right now, yelling about a missing truck-load of frozen beef patties. --- What do you choose to deal with? <div class="message">//[[Try to fill 42 jobs|Try to fill 42 positions]]//</div> <div class="message">//[[Solve the Mystery of the Missing Mesa Meat Patties]]//</div>

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Today feels like a good day to try and fill 42 jobs. Well, 44 actually. Probably more by the end of the day. You think long and hard. You stare out the window as a snowstorm approaches the Salt Lake Valley. It feels like some sort of poetic metaphor in the making for what you're trying to do... About an hour later you've explored a number of famous poets on Wikipedia and you've printed out an illustrated copy of Shel Silverstein's poem "Gardener." You've tacked it to your handy corkboard next to drawings from your kids. //Wait, weren't you doing something?// Oh yeah, 42+ open job positions to fill. The more you think about it, the more it seems there are only two options: --- <div class="message">//[[Time to go undercover at a store location, figure out what's going on!]]//</div> <div class="message">//[[Time to walk down the hall and talk to your brother, the chief financial officer and see if he's got any ideas.]]//</div>

"All right, slow down," you say to Meghan, the Mesa manager, "what happened?" "The truck never showed up," she says. She sounds exhausted. "Maybe it's just late?" "Nope," says Meghan, "I called the driver. He's still in California." You hear a high pitched whine. You're not sure if it's your phone or an oncoming stroke. What's your next move? --- <div class="message">//[[Call the truck driver]]//</div> <div class="message">//[[Call your beef supplier]]//</div> <div class="message">//[[Tell Meghan to come up with a solution]]//</div>

Meghan is more than happy to give you the driver's number. She hangs up without a goodbye. The number rings several times before he finally picks up. "This is Joe!" He seems to be shouting over a lot of background noise. "Hi Joe, I'm the owner of Bocephus' Burgers." "Yep!" "You're the one whose supposed to be delivering a truckload of patties to our Mesa location?" "Yep!" So far so good. "Joe, are you still in California?" "Yep!" Less good. "Do you have that shipment of beef patties?" "I'm looking at them." "That's good?" "I've been looking at them for about 8 hours." He explains that he's stuck waiting at the Long Beach port. You feel a headache coming on. "Joe, I'm sorry you've been waiting so long. That shipment was supposed to arrive in Mesa two days ago. Why are you still in Long Beach?" "Well," says Joe, "That depends. You want the long version or the short version?" --- <div class="message">//[[Short Version]]//</div> <div class="message">//[[Long Version]]//</div>

You call ''Meats-Fur-You'', the discount meat (and other animal products) provider that you contracted with when |tooltip>[[your former provider dropped you as the pandemic heated up]|tooltiptext>[In interviews The Tribune found that large food providers like Sysco did drop smaller independent restaurants during the pandemic, putting them at a disadvantage to larger chains]], supply chains became snarled, and demand disappeared. The phone rings for a very long time without answer. No phone tree. No option to leave a voicemail. What do you do? --- <div class="message">//[[Call Again]]//</div> <div class="message">//[[Brainstorm some solutions with Meghan]]//</div>

"Meghan, as the Mesa manager it's your job to fix this mess," you say. There's a long pause. "Fix it?" "Yeah," you say, "give me three choices and I'll tell you which one to pick." "How about one solution?" The whining in your ear goes away as hope rushes in. "I'll take what I can get." --- <div class="message">//[[Continue]]//</div>

Meghan takes a deep breath. "We're down three employees. I hired a new employee yesterday, he didn't show up today. Neither did our other two regulars. It's me and a kid who started last week who I'm pretty sure is high right now. He's taking orders at the window. "I'm talking to you while working the fryer, which works because all we can sell right now are fries and shakes, but does that sound safe to you? Working a fryer while talking to your boss and doing his thinking for him?" The whining sound is back. It's in the ear you don't have pressed to your phone this time. "But I do have a solution, boss." You don't want to ask, but... "What is it Meghan?" "We don't have burgers but I do have this amazing Huawei knock-off flip-phone you gave me |tooltip>[[instead of a bonus this year]|tooltiptext>[The Tribune found that smaller businesses struggle to offer bonuses and fringe benefits that can compete with those offered by larger businesses and chains]]." "Meghan..." "And I wonder what would happen if I just dropped it in this fryer?" "Meghan, wait--" But it's too late. You hear the splash and the sizzle as a poorly made Chinese phone boils to death. --- <div class="message">//[[Continue|Fried]]//</div>

So the case of the missing patties wound up in the deep fryer. So what? You can play again, or maybe you should go see a doctor about that increasingly high-pitched whine in your ear? (align:"=><=")+(box:"X=")[The End] --- <div class="message">//[[Play Again |-Own a burger shop-]]//</div> <div class="message">(link: "Read The Tribune's story on the Job Crunch")[(gotoURL: "http://www.sltrib.com/news/2021/12/15/should-utah-cut-aid")]</div> --- <div class="notice">''Score for this Game'' Your Morale: -2 (Bad) Company Morale: -2 (Poor) Company Profit: -2 (Bad) Employee Satisfaction: -4 (Terrible) </div>

--- <style> img { max-width:100%; max-height:100%; } </style> <img src=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/The-Salt-Lake-Tribune-Logo.svg/1593px-The-Salt-Lake-Tribune-Logo.svg.png> </div> <div class="stuff"><span class="external">(link: "//''Job Crunch ''//")[(gotoURL: "http://www.sltrib.com/news/2021/12/15/should-utah-cut-aid")]</span>| by <span class="external">(link: "Luke Peterson")[(gotoURL: "https://www.sltrib.com/staff/lpeterson/")]</span></div>

"Stress," says the doctor. "Take some time off." You nod, but you know you can't take a break. Can't stop. You've got missing burger trucks, dozens of jobs to fill, and locations mysteriously shutting down in the middle of the day. You go home, try to relax, try to watch a movie. But in the back of your mind you know the problems are just piling deeper, slowly crunching you under their weight. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X=")[The End] --- <div class="message">//[[Play Again |-Own a burger shop-]]//</div> <span class="external">(link: "Read The Tribune's story on the Job Crunch")[(gotoURL: "https://www.sltrib.com/")]</span>

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"Well," says Joe, "the short version is I was told it had been unloaded from the ship and it was ready for pick up. Like I said, I can see it right now. It's just that it's at the bottom of a stack with six shipping containers on top of it." "Can't they just move the ones on top," you ask. "Well, this is one stack of containers |tooltip>[[in a forest of containers]|tooltiptext>[Harvard economist Willy Shih provided The Tribune with this detailed explanation of how global supply chain woes have compounded the labor shortage crisis]]. There's nowhere to put them down, so we're stuck until the six containers on top get picked up by their drivers." "And where are their drivers?" Joe makes a sound halfway between a cough and a laugh. "Probably in line behind me somewhere, or off delivering a container they picked up yesterday a week late." The scope of the problem dawns on you as your headache takes on new life, and you're glad you only got the short version. So, what do you want to do? --- <div class="message">//[[Call your beef supplier]]//</div> <div class="message">//[[Brainstorm some solutions with Meghan]]//</div>

"First off," says Joe, "we got a labor shortage in trucking same as you, so that doesn't help. "Second," it sounds like Joe is getting comfortable, "During the pandemic, folks got comfortable eating more meals at home." "Wait," you say, "what does that have to with us? Shouldn't that mean it's //easier// for a restaurant to get its supplies?" "I'm afraid not," says Joe, who seems to be enjoying this. "It's all the same supply chain. We all gotta line up at the same port. And on the other end of the supply chain, those same folks got used to having food delivered directly to their homes and that's a lot more complicated than delivering to a grocery story or a restaurant. So things get snarled on the pick up end and the delivery end." "I see," but you don't really. You have a mighraine forming and your vision has gone blurry. "And we haven't even talked about the pile up of ships all around the Pacific." "Let's not," you suggest. "Anyway," says Joe, "I was told the container had been unloaded and it was ready for pick up. Like I said, I can see it right now. It's just that it's at the bottom of a stack with six shipping containers on top of it." "Can't they just move the ones on top," you ask. "Well, this is one stack of containers |tooltip>[[in a forest of containers]|tooltiptext>[Harvard economist Willy Shih provided The Tribune with this detailed explanation of how global supply chain woes have compounded the labor shortage crisis]]. There's nowhere to put them down, so we're stuck until the six containers on top get picked up by their drivers." "And where are their drivers?" Joe makes a sound halfway between a cough and a laugh. "Probably in line behind me somewhere, or off delivering a container they picked up yesterday but a week late." The scope of the problem fills your skull to bursting. So, what do you want to do? --- <div class="message">//[[Call your beef supplier]]//</div> <div class="message">//[[Brainstorm some solutions with Meghan]]//</div>

Something about Meghan's tone when she answers convinces you diplomacy is the best approach. "Meghan, I realize things are crazy there, but it looks like that truck isn't coming anytime soon." "Uh huh," she says, barely audible over the sound of the deep fryer. "Do you have any ideas on how we could fix this? She sighs loudly into the phone. "Sure, but I don't think you'll like any of them. We could keep doing what we're doing, just fries and shakes and keep the dining room closed, but customers are already angry when they pull up and learn we don't have burgers." Your head hurts too much to talk so you nod to the telephone, but of course she doesn't see it. "Or," she continues, "we could shut down the location until the burgers arrive. We'll lose business, but your overworked manager would get a break and we wouldn't have people upset about the lack of burgers." You sense her hesitating. "Anything else, Meghan?" She sighs again. "We could shut down while I go and try to find a local source of beef. It'll cost more, and who knows if we'll be able to find enough." Three solutions, none of them great, but which do you choose? --- <div class="message">//[[Serve fries and shakes until the shipment comes in]]//</div> <div class="message">//[[Shut down until the beef arrives]]//</div> <div class="message">//[[Shut down, but send Meghan to find a local beef source]]//</div>

"Meghan, I need you to stay the course. Just keep slinging burgers and fries, maybe put up a big sign at the parking lot entrance telling people we're out of burgers, and we'll wait on that truck." "I will," she says, "on one condition - please stop calling. It's hard enough to work the deep fryer and make shakes without a phone clamped between my head and shoulder." You imagine everthing that can go wrong with what Meghan just described. You consider your insurance premiums and say, "It's a deal!" <div class="message">//[[Continue|ContinueFries]]//</div>

You close up shop in Mesa. Meghan seems both relieved and worried. You offer her an extra day of paid time-off, and her mood improves (slightly). It takes a week for the truck to finally arrive, and another day before the restaurant is stocked and ready to go. You took a hit on profits, and a Facebook group formed just to complain about the closed location. Still, you survived this ordeal and it was honestly one less thing to worry about for a week. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X=")[The End] //Note: The Mesa Mystery Highlights the plight of workers in the labor shortage. The Tribune found that those who continue to show up to work face angry customers (think flight attendants, but in restaurants, hotels, etc.). As one interviewee for The Tribune's story said, "“We seem to have lost respect for the front-line workers who go in every day, do their best, and help feed us and clothe us as a society.”// --- <div class="notice">''Your Score'' Your Morale: +2 (Good) Company Reputation: -1 (Poor) Company Profit: -5 (Terrible) Employee Satisfaction: +0 (Neutral) </div> --- <div class="message">//[[Play Again |-Own a burger shop-]]//</div> <div class="message">(link: "Read The Tribune's story on the Job Crunch")[(gotoURL: "http://www.sltrib.com/news/2021/12/15/should-utah-cut-aid")]</div>

Meghan shuts down at 11:30 and begins to scour the Phoenix-Mesa metro area for a beef provider. She encounters many dead-ends. It takes a day before locating a company, Mesa Meats, that can provide enough pre-formed patties to keep you in business for a few days. They are definitely more expensive and you calculate that you're loosing a little bit each time you sell a burger. After 36 hours, the Mesa location reopens. Meghan has the brilliant idea to contact the local media and let them know that you've sourced your hamburgers from a local company that provides beef from local ranchers. The Arizona Republic runs a short feature, "Bocephus' Burgers Buys Local Beef - No Bull." The missing truck finally arrives after a week. By this point, the Mesa location has noticed some new customers showing up just for the locally sourced beef. You add "The Mesa Burger: Made with local Beef" as a permanent item to the menu, and are happy to discover that a steady stream of customers are willing to pay more for it. Meghan |tooltip>[[demands a raise]|tooltiptext>[In interviews The Tribune found that female managers and executives are more likely to leave the current workforce]] for her above and beyond efforts, which you happily provide. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X=")[The End] //Note: The Mesa Mystery Highlights the plight of workers in the labor shortage. The Tribune found that those who continue to show up to work face angry customers (think flight attendants, but in restaurants, hotels, etc.). As one interviewee for The Tribune's story said, "“We seem to have lost respect for the front-line workers who go in every day, do their best, and help feed us and clothe us as a society.”// --- <div class="notice">''Your Score'' Your Morale: +3 (Good) Company Reputation: +4 (Good) Company Profit: +0 (Neutral) Employee Satisfaction: +1 (Fair) </div> --- <div class="message">//[[Play Again |-Own a burger shop-]]//</div> <div class="message">(link: "Read The Tribune's story on the Job Crunch")[(gotoURL: "http://www.sltrib.com/news/2021/12/15/should-utah-cut-aid")]</div>

The Mesa location limps along for a week on fries and shakes until the missing meat patties finally arrive. Meghan starts forwarding angry customer voicemail messages to you. It's a little passive-aggressive, but you don't complain. You or your administrative assistant deal with the dozens of complaints directly. It takes time away from other tasks and emergencies, and the Mesa location sees a 30% drop in sales for that week. When the emergency is finally over, Meghan demands a raise or she'll quit. She took on a lot in those seven days. You agree to a raise and three bonus days of paid vacation - she takes them immediately. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X=")[The End] //Note: The Mesa Mystery Highlights the plight of workers in the labor shortage. The Tribune found that those who continue to show up to work face angry customers (think flight attendants, but in restaurants, hotels, etc.). As one interviewee for The Tribune's story said, "“We seem to have lost respect for the front-line workers who go in every day, do their best, and help feed us and clothe us as a society.”// --- <div class="notice">''Your Score'' Your Morale: 0 (Neutral) Company Morale: -1 (Poor) Company Profit: -3 (Bad) Employee Satisfaction: -1 (Poor) </div> --- <div class="message">//[[Play Again |-Own a burger shop-]]//</div> <div class="message">(link: "Read The Tribune's story on the Job Crunch")[(gotoURL: "http://www.sltrib.com/news/2021/12/15/should-utah-cut-aid")]</div>

After six of seven rings... "Yeah!" "Hi, is this Meats-Fur-You?" "Depends. Who's asking?" "This is the CEO of Bocephus Burgers." There's a long pause. You hear the sound of a landline phone being carefully placed back on its receiver. The line goes dead. You wonder if they would have hung up on you if you'd said you were a taxidermist. Well, no time to wonder now. Really no choice left but to... --- <div class="message">//[[Brainstorm some solutions with Meghan]]//</div>

That's right, go undercover! Pass yourself off as a new employee. Blend in with the front-line staff. Learn what's //really// going on. You make a quick call down to the Provo, Utah location, tell the manager your plan and swear her to secrecy, hop in your car and you're off! Provo is your busiest location due to its strategic location along a main road near Brigham Young University. Gina, the manager, nervously goes through the motions of pretending to interview and hire you, and then hands you a uniform. "Well," she says loudly, "You are now an employee here. Welcome to your first job - ever - at Bocephus Burgers." She claps loudly a few times. None of the employees join in. "Thank you, boss," you say, "where do you want me?" She says they're short-staffed and puts you at the cash register. This annoys you a little, because it doesn't offer a lot of opportunities to interact with the other employees, but you roll with it and find a way to strike up some subtle conversations. "So," you say to a young associate named Melanie, whose in charge of bagging burgers, "pretty great place to work, am I right?" Her eyes narrow. "Are you a cop?" "What, no! No! Just a regular guy, happy to be working at a great family restaurant." Melanie smirks, and motions for you to lean in. --- <div class="message">//[[Continue|Continue-Undercover]]//</div>

"I got nothing," your brother says before you've even asked the question. "It's hard out there. Too much competition, |tooltip>[[inflation driving the price of everything up]|tooltiptext>[Nate Seegert of the University of Utah said inflation is a contributor to the labor shortage, "Maybe you made $10 before and now you could make $15, but when you account for how much more everything costs with inflation, you might not be making much more.”]]. We can't compete. We're toast unless this labor shortage ends soon." You argue for a while, but he's not listening. He's not even sober you realize after a few minutes. So, what do you want to do? <div class="message">//[[Time to go undercover at a store location, figure out what's going on!]]//</div> <div class="message">//[[Join your brother. Wallow in despair.]]//</div>

Melanie eyes you suspiciously before saying, "How much are they paying you?" You weren't ready for this. You've raised starting wages several times across the company during the pandemic, but you can't remember the going rate just now. "Uh, twelve dollars?" She stares hard at you, frowning. "Twelve! Twelve?" "Yes?" "That's what I make, and I started //two months ago//." She manages to make two months ago sound like something that happened during the O.J. Trial. She draws your attention to the window. Pointing her finger like she's at a carnival shooting gallery, she works her way from one business to the next. "Bill's Burger Barn across the street, $12.50. Crock o' Burgers, $12.75. Mike's Vegan-Burger Salon," she winks at you over her imaginary BB gun, "$13.25." "Yeah," you say, "but, what about loyalty? Commitment." Melanie snorts a laugh. "Talk to me about loyalty and commitment after you've heard Bocephus sing 'All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight' for the thousandth time." You want to reply, especially to tell her how evil Bill of Bill's Burger Barn is, when she grabs your wrist. "Bocephus Burgers |tooltip>[[isn't raising pay fast enough]|tooltiptext>[Business leaders interviewed by The Tribune noted that everyone, regardless of what they sell, is now a competitor as they all desperately try to attract the same workers]]. A bunch of us are headed over to Mike's Vegan Burger Salon during break. You should come with us." "I've been working, like," you look at your watch, "twenty minutes?" She shrugs. "Up to you." It literally is up to you. What do you do? --- <div class="message">//[[Undercover means undercover - go with them to Mike's|Undercover means undercover - go along with them to apply for jobs at Mike's]]//</div> <div class="message">//[[Stay and finish your shift]]//</div>

The manager of Mike's Vegan Burger Salon is named Mike, but he's not "the" Mike. "The original Mike lives in New Hampshire," he says with a brilliant smile. "MVBS is a national chain and that means we take seriously the needs of our employees." "If you're a national chain," you ask, "how can you understand the needs of employees here in Utah?" Mike flashes that perfect smile again. It's getting annoying. "We survey our customers regularly," he says. "Plus, because we're national we can offer benefits to hourly employees that these little mom & pop places can't - gym memberships, tuition assistance, yoga classes." You laugh. "Yoga classes?" Mike frowns at you. "Every Mike's Vegan is also a yoga studio." "Oh." "And, of course," says Mike, "we pay better." So many benefits, you think. He's right. |tooltip>[[How can we compete]|tooltiptext>[One of The Tribune's principal finding was that small and independent businesses are at a significant disadvantage in the competition for workers because they lack the scale to offer extensive benefits to employees and new hires]]? You're head feels like it's going to cave in, possibly from the lofi, acoustic...dubstep(?) playing over the speakers. Is that a thing? No time to sort out the 'music' now, you've got to make a decision. You're bleeding employees to Mike's Vegan-whatever, and many other competitors. What are you going to do differently? --- <div class="message">//[[Let's learn what our employees want - do some surveys, focus groups]]//</div> <div class="message">//[[What if we opened a line-dancing studio/gym at each location?]]//</div>

You stick it out. Melanie and the vegan defectors don't return aft their break. As lunch time hits, the customers line up - a welcome sight until you realize just how hard it is to get those little rolls of coins in the cash register open. "Hey buddy," asks one patron, "is there maybe somebody here who knows how to count who could do this?" You smile apologetically, but the insults and problems keep mounting. You give a customer a double hamburger instead of a cheeseburger. -"What's wrong with you? My five year-old could do this." You spill a customer's tray of food on the floor. -"Wow, guy, you coming off a bad trip or something?" And on and on, meanwhile Bocephus sings once again about how all his rowdy friends are coming over tonight. "Could I get my change," the woman in front of you asks as if you're a very small, confused child. You smile. --- <div class="message">//[[Continue|Continue-Meltdown]]//</div>

It feels a little crazy at first. But you start organizing |tooltip>[[focus groups]|tooltiptext>[One suprising finding from our reporting is that even small manufacturers and restaurants are getting serious about gathering data for insights into what their employees value]]. It turns out that anyone still employed with Bocephus' Burgers is there because they want to be, but that doesn't mean they'll stay or that you can fill all those empty positions. You learn that |tooltip>[[a few simple changes]|tooltiptext>[For more examples of innovative employee benefits, see The Tribune's story on the labor shortage]] would go a long way: 1. Switch up the music! Even expanding to Hank Williams, Sr., and Hank Williams III would go a long way. 2. Find ways to regularly celebrate victories. If no one fails to show up for a shift that week, gift cards for the team. Parties and celebrations when you meet your sales goals. 3. Prioritize the mental and physical health of your employees. Allow managers to shut down a location for the day if they feel they can't continue to provide excellent service when customers become aggressive and impatient. With these changes in place, you start to see some significant improvements. You're losing fewer employees and you're starting to fill positions. It's still a brutal market out there for employees, but things are improving. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X=")[The End] --- <div class="notice">''Your Score'' Your Morale: +3 (Good) Company Morale: +2 (Fair) Company Profit: +1 (Fair) Employee Satisfaction: +4 (Great) </div> --- <div class="message">//[[Play Again |-Own a burger shop-]]//</div> <div class="message">(link: "Read The Tribune's story on the Job Crunch")[(gotoURL: "http://www.sltrib.com/news/2021/12/15/should-utah-cut-aid")]</div>

The family likes the idea. You don't have any research to back it up, and you're not sure where you'd get money for renovation, rebranding, and advertising, but you're all in. You're able to secure a large loan and soon line-dancing studios attached to each restaurant location are under construction. Six months later, you're in tremendous debt, you've lost most of your original employees, but you've got a place to dance! As the country music offerings gets diversified beyond Bocephus, you start to see an uptick in customers. But it's slow, and whether you can survive to 2023 is very much in doubt. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X=")[The End] --- <div class="notice">''Your Score'' Your Morale: +1 (Fair) Company Morale: 0 (Neutral) Company Profit: -4 (Very Bad) Employee Satisfaction: -2 (Poor) </div> --- <div class="message">//[[Play Again |-Own a burger shop-]]//</div> <div class="message">(link: "Read The Tribune's story on the Job Crunch")[(gotoURL: "http://www.sltrib.com/news/2021/12/15/should-utah-cut-aid")]</div>

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You look the customer in the eyes, smile harder, and take a steadying breath. "Could I get you to shut the hell up?" You ask in the same condescending tone she used. "Excuse me!" The rest is a blur. You swear. A lot. You make sounds that fall somewhere between screaming and crying. You do a lot of furious jumping up and down. More than one cell phone captures your epic meltdown. As the video makes the rounds on social media, It doesn't take people long to realize that this is the CEO of Bocephus' Burgers flipping out. And within a week, your tenure as CEO is over. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X=")[The End] //Your meltdown here may seem dramatic, but what was described here is mild compared to some of the verbal abuse The Tribune found is faced by employees in service roles. As one interviewee for The Tribune's story said, "“We seem to have lost respect for the front-line workers who go in every day, do their best, and help feed us and clothe us as a society.”// --- <div class="notice">''Your Score'' Your Morale: -5 (Terrible) Company Morale: -5 (Terrible) Company Profit: -3 (Bad) Employee Satisfaction: -1 (Poor) </div> --- <div class="message">//[[Play Again |-Own a burger shop-]]//</div> <div class="message">(link: "Read The Tribune's story on the Job Crunch")[(gotoURL: "http://www.sltrib.com/news/2021/12/15/should-utah-cut-aid")]</div>

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Between the two of you you plan how best to sell off the company. A hedge fund came sniffing around a few months ago. You hope they're still interested. You try not to think about the family legacy or the 223 employees who are about to lose their jobs. (align:"=><=")+(box:"X=")[The End] --- <div class="notice">''Your Score'' Your Morale: -5 (Terrible) Company Morale: -5 (Terrible) Company Profit: +0 (Neutral) Employee Satisfaction: -4 (Very Bad) </div> --- <div class="message">//[[Play Again |-Own a burger shop-]]//</div> <div class="message">(link: "Read The Tribune's story on the Job Crunch")[(gotoURL: "https://www.sltrib.com/")]</div>

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