What to do now, after getting fired from my place of work for five years? It is very simple, find a job and stop complaining, right? But then that makes me just another guy who has been fired and being fired is not a desirable attribute on any resume. It is also the way in which I lost my job that I want...that I need to have more weight than maybe it does. I know I was a good worker, a hard worker. I know customers liked me and requested me and still ask about me. But wearing the title of "fired" has a stigma to it. Other employers are not a fan of that word no matter what the circumstances. They believe that whatever you did to get fired you might do at their establishment. I do not want to be the guy who was fired. That is why I keep coming back to the inane way in which I was let go. http://howtosucceedasafailure.blogspot.com/2009/08/ramifications.html
For a few days after the incident, I was filled with a righteous indignation. I had been wronged by Jane Adams and Barney's New York. I wanted the world to know. I wanted the powers that be to see the can of worms they had opened. So I wrote and rewrote on my blog, on Facebook, and on twitter. There was a response. My friends and friends of friends came out in support agreeing how f-ed up the situation was and how I was the victim. It was brought to my attention that Michelle Focarazzo, the VP of customer service for Barney's, had been following me on twitter (@MMF0607) and that she was the one, after Jane Adams complained, who requested my managers let me go. I had to delete and block my mangers, some of whom are good friends, from my Facebook page because they were continuing to "monitor" my pages after I was no longer employed. I found out that they are prohibited to talk to me or have any contact with me, again these are friends of mine, some of them. The situation was serious it impacted my life. I needed it to be serious so I tried to sell the story and when that failed, I tried to give it away for free. No response.
I then started getting messages from those who believed I was at fault. That I should expect to get fired for writing on twitter. That I should lay off Jane Adams and Barney's. They were only reacting in accordance to what I had done to them. I started feeling guilty. I was the bad guy. I was the asshole, fixated on this poor woman who felt like I infringed on her privacy. In lieu of the numerous urgings from friends and strangers alike to publicize the incident and seek legal recourse, I kept quiet and tried to go on with my life. The internet buzz fizzled out, my time for vengeance had passed and I returned to being a guy who has been fired. I searched online hoping someone else would keep the flame burning for me so that I wouldn't feel fully implicated but still know I was supported. There was nothing.
I sent out resumes, I enjoyed my free time with my daughter and I waited for whatever was going to be next. I couldn't get away from the story, though. Aside from constantly thinking about it, I had to retell it to those who hadn't heard. Everyone I would run into wanted to know, "What happened?" I felt pathetic retelling it, even when their sympathy and support would pour out after hearing. I felt like those closest to me wanted me to stop talking about it. I wanted to stop talking about it even though it had only been a week since my termination. The financial implications of not having a job started to set in. I lost my health benefits, I couldn't afford to eat out, I had to stop bills from being automatically withdrawn from my account. I signed up for unemployment not thinking I would be accepted because of being fired. I was embarrassed at my situation.
Three things reinvigorated me. The first was getting a call from a reporter from LATimes.com to interview me for their technology page. My righteous fire ignited and I explained the whole story. Surprisingly he was sympathetic. He saw, I think, the ridiculousness of her complaining to get me fired. He asked me if I would have written what I had again knowing what the outcome would be. Of course I would! If I could, I would complain about every cheap, or nasty customer whom I had the displeasure of waiting on. My fire was raging. The story was going to be published. The second thing that got me going was reading about NFL players tweeting and how a policy had to be put in place to prevent the players from tweeting during a game. I wasn't alone anymore. Chad OchoCinco and I had a common quest, to freely express our opinions on a public forum. Although my 52 followers (which is more than double what I had before getting fired) does not compare to his 100,000 plus, our voices are still heard. The third thing was a combination of things. I returned to my acting class this week, having a lot of free time, to find support from my teacher and fellow students. I found out that other students working in the food industry in Beverly Hills had to sign confidentiality agreements before being employed, I never did. I also heard a story of a student who got drunk at his place of employment on his birthday and showed his penis and got a warning? I couldn't believe it. How ridiculous that he got a warning for that and I was fired for writing about a $3 tip.
Now, instead of being just another guy who got the axe, I have re-become the guy who got axed with a bigger axe of his own to grind. Look out Barney's New York! Beware Jane Adams! Where is the number for my lawyer? Where is that LA Times article? Where is my unemployment check? Where is my retribution?
Don't worry folks, this roller coaster is not over for any of us. Not as long as I have a voice.
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Good on ya! shout it from the rooftops. this really is an injustice. You did not deserve to be fired for having an opinion and having a voice.
ReplyDeletewell, not that it can help you, but i`m sorry you got fired for such a thing. it`s not fair at all.
ReplyDeleteThat she didn't even come back in to explain she couldn't pay but would send someone.... she should be arrested for dine-and-dash, not lauded for getting fucked off that her miserly tipping (and lackadaisical concern for PAYING for what she CONSUMES) was exposed to the public.
ReplyDeleteI swear, restaurants should have to put up a sign in huge bold letters reading: "We only pay our servers $2.13/hr because your tips are supposed to make up the rest. They get taxed on those tips whether or not you leave them; accordingly, if you don't tip, you will probably be talked about." Or something. Grrr!
(I've waited tables. I was good at it. I wanted to commit murder on a daily basis.)
Best of luck to you. I think Ms. Adams will have found herself with a lot fewer fans. Perhaps you should get in contact with the folk at Bitter Waitress? (bitterwaitress.com)
You should not have been fired. I see your story was retold on CNET ysterday. Your formal employer and Ms Adams will get all the press they deserve.
ReplyDeleteYou should have been fired. By posting this incident you bring negative feddback to your place of work. Anybody, famous or not, would think about it twice before go in that eatery. They will think that should anything "embarrassing" happen, while they're there, may get out to the public. You blew it, dude. What happens at the job, stays at the job.
ReplyDeleteI do not think you have done anything wrong. I feel like your company should have said "no, we are not letting anyone go. As a matter of fact this actress is not allowed back in our business because of her horrid behavior." They are just being a doormat like everyone else putting up with celebrity b.s. Best of luck to you and congrats on your baby girl.
ReplyDeleteYou should have been fired. After all you told the truth. I mean why shouldn't you get fired for telling the truth. Sports stars lie and get big bucks. Whistleblowers tell the truth and they get fired, pulled through the muck. I'm surprised Barney's hasn't tried finding every negative piece of info on you they could. Miss a day or work, call in sick when you are not, they'll expose you for the hack you are. What is the world coming to when you can't communicate without some blogo bullying corporate hatchet attacking you? Fuck Jane Adams. She lied. She cheated. She committed a crime. She broke the rules and you get fired. The police in LA would have Rodney King'ed anyone else if that occurred but because she is a quasi-star she reaps the benefits of committing crimes. Why should you feel victimized for her criminal activity and then revictimized when you complained about it? This was a crime like any other crime and you deserve better. My question is would you get fired if she decided she liked your "package" and decided to feel you up at the restaurant? Would we look at this different? It's still a criminal act. And your only role was being the victim. People need to get over the idea that corporations are gods or have god like powers or need protection from their workers. Your only role as a worker is to provide the labor, you shouldn't have to provide good advertisement, they hire firms for that. Good on you and keep up the fight.
ReplyDeleteKeep your head up. You are an excellent writer. I'm sure your day will come. You did nothing wrong. It is freedom of speech. She did something wrong, and so did BNY for firing you. I wish you the best of luck, and congrats on the baby. Things are hard everywhere, I hope you get a break soon.
ReplyDeleteI'll tell you what, you should write a sitcom...this would be a perfect episode for Larry David's show.
ReplyDeleteOh, for pity's sake, enough with the melodrama. You write as though you've been wronged by the world, as though you're at the center of a tragedy of epic proportions. A crappy thing happened at work, and yes, Ms. Adams behaved terribly, but you responded unprofessionally and you got fired. It's unfortunate, but it's not like you were martyred for speaking out against social injustice.
ReplyDeleteYou'd do better to concentrate on finding a new job and stop acting like your search for retribution makes you a spokesperson for all wronged peoples of the world. "Where is that LA Times article? Where is my unemployment check? Where is my retribution?" Dude, it's a little much.
Fuck you, you rotten cunt. You've obviously never worked a day in your life.
DeleteI rarely read celeb news but this loaded on my main page and I was a bit curious lol
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, don't feel bad. I saw something breifly a couple weeks ago about hospital staff who post about there patients on social networking sites, celebs post about people, normal people post about people. It's what we do. People get so offended when their laundry is aired but in all reality we need to accept that in accordance with the direction the world is going in, privacy is a thing of the past
and thats okay. Unless it's explicitly written in your contract that under no circumstances are you to mention anything on social networking sites about "celebrities" then I don't think there was any justified reason for you getting fired.
Barneys may want to maintain a "safe" environment for their customers or better yet as this situation shows: there celebrity list. Ethically speaking I believe what they did was wrong, had you posted about someone who wasn't of "celebrity status" everything would have been different. But because you got on the wrong side of someone whose financially better endowed you got shafted. Plain and simple it's discrimination. And personally I think you have every reason to vent because it's a very unfair situation the little guy always gets picked on by corporate mongrals.
You may have "violated" her privacy but wasn't the same thing done to you when her managers contacted yours upon viewing your twitter without your knowledge. What position were they in to justify the tone of your online "rant". It could have been a joke? I didn't know we need to censor our opinions of people-specifically celebrities to comply with what it seems to be unspoken rules so there feelings don't get hurt?
Had they fired you for letting her walk out on the bill would be more understanding, but because you spoke freely on your own network which was origionally never intended to be a source of gossip or something, doesn't make sense.
But thats life and the world we live in, in the end of the day it's meaningless to Barneys and good old cheap Janie.
Now in terms of another one of my own opinions, which is in no way related to some sort of technicalities. Personally, I think Jane should feel like a jackass. She skipped out on the bill and didn't bother to even follow through. Just because a person has money doesn't mean they need to be jerks especially right now when the economys is so terrible. Step outside your C list bubble to understand that while it may be fine in your land to skip out on a bill and pay no attention to it because you'll capitalize on the lucrative entertainment industry. Some people are struggling to get by and 13.15 makes a big difference. I cant believe she really had the nerve to be insulted, if I was her i'd be embarassed. And then she had the audactiy to come back to you with a 3$ tip like she's been so wronged. You helped her out the least she could have been was appreciative. Fine the bill eventually got paid to come back and throw comments to someone whose working hard to take care of his family is in my opinion really low. A real celebrity who deserves to be loved and admired by the public has class and not only understands but gives back to those they meet not because they want to but just because they can.
in the end of the day jane something or another got an honest working person fired for bashing on her because she walked out on a bill and didnt even bother to show any sort of appreciation for a favor.
You expect compassion from celebrities who not only respect but understand that not everyone has the priviledge of living there lifestyles
real celebrities have class
http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/06/hey-big-tipper-johnny-depp-tips-waiter-4000#
I won't be watching anything with the stupid bitch in it.
ReplyDeleteBeing fired is not the end of the world! It happens to LOTS of people, and they still manage to make something of themselves! It's all about what you do with your opportunities! I think you can turn a NEGATIVE into a POSITIVE PICTURE, if you allow me to use an almost antiquated clique. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to link up with you. I'm not with the media, I'm just a regular person revving up for causes to get JUSTICE FOR EVERYBODY!
One day my GENIUS won't be DEFERRED! That's a promise! I'm sure it'll be the same for you! :)
You know, I think Jane Adams' is just pissed because this is the biggest press she's received. I felt bad for her character on Hung, but who knew it wasn't such a stretch from the character she plays in reality. I think you'll be the one getting real success from this; Good luck with everything...good things to good people.
ReplyDeleteALLIE its people like you that makes us, well me, sick. You think its has to be a civil rights movement for a person to have a voice when they're done wrong.
ReplyDeleteWell, i beg to differ an obviously hundreds of others. I bet you're the type that sit on the side lines and just let Sh-- happen, ohhhhh but once everyone rallies to March on Washington you're right there in the crowd, hidden among the masses. Heck, You probably wouldn't even carry a sign stating what the cause is. If you had a sign you'd probably hide behind it.
As he stated he's looking for job, not just sitting around twiddling his thumbs
Oh by the way he's doing exactly what he should be doing getting all the publicity he can get & hopefully retribution. "SHOW ME THE MONEY HONEY". I wish you well, dude.
Allie, Please keep hiding until you're able to stand for something. (bring it!)
Publicity, revenge, and money? Those are the lofty ideals you're standing up for? Pathetic.
ReplyDeleteThis incident was unfortunate, but it was an incident for which the writer was partially to blame. Ms. Adams behaved terribly, but you don't get to whine about your job in a public forum and expect them to be delighted to keep employing you. It's terrible that he was fired, but this isn't a social justice issue and framing it as such will only make you sound like a jackass. If he said, "This shitty thing happened to me and I was kind of bitchy but can you believe this actress's behavior?" I would have been on board. But this is just ridiculous.
It also strikes me as quite mercenary that the writer was willing to praise Ms. Adams' talent even after this incident and beg for her appearance in his web series. It's only when his employer discovered his twitter stream and he was fired that Ms. Adams suddenly becomes Satan incarnate and he's a crusader for social justice. Oh, and he'd LOVE a book deal. Whatever. Nobody (with the ability to reason logically) is buying it and you shouldn't be selling it.
Allie get real, have you followed the blog carefully, like uhh reading all the details.
ReplyDeleteDUH? Of course he praise her, he isn't tripping about her acting skills, but her attidude. That actually attributeS to his character showing that the guy had no intent for this to blow up as it has. He simply twitter a few followers. It was when she acted like a crab that showed her true character. So she's still the blame for the negative publicity.
By the way, you wrote in his favor. He did almost exactly what you wrote with the exception of the bitchy part. If being bitchy is allowing someone to go to their car to get money to pay for a check, then a lot of waiters need to be bithchy, dear.
Moreover she possibly committed a crime "THEFT OF SERVICE" and you're rooting for her OMG do you also support Charles Manson, he's practically a celeb to. Since your on board for celebrity criminals or criminals that became celeb, whatever. Anywhoo.....
At the end of the day Jane Adams was wrong as 2 left shoes on the right foot on a Sunday morning.
Facts: 1. She left the restaurant without
paying. "THEFT OF SERVICE"
2. She sent her agent back to pay the
bill "TRANSFERANCE OF PERSONAL OBLIGATION" who cares that she's an actress come back and tack responsibilty for your actions. It took them over 48hrs to come up with $13.75, sad.
4. Adams gets pissed at the guy for twittering to a measely 20 followers how badly he was treated instead of apologizing and giving him a decent tip. Which makes her a "LOOSER"
Crusader for social justice? Get real.
Jane Adams had the un-mitigated gall, PROBABLY BECAUSE SHE'S A CELEB, to get upset after she openly commits in most cities crime and then feels justified because she sent her agent in to pay for the check. She took advantage of the waiters trust and literally left the restaurant without ASKING him or the manager can she come back to pay, PROBABLY BECAUSE SHE'S JUST SOOOOOOOOOOOO BUSY.
I digress, OMG, I cant help it, I'm laughing so hard I could cry this is too hilarious, SHE LITERALLY LEFT TOWN LIKE SHE'S SO FAR REMOVED FROM NOT PAYING THAT CHECK. " HER NEW NAME IS EAT & RUN, LITERALLY.
Allie, I'm appalled at your REASONING. It appears that in your reasoning, LOGIC has nothing to do with it. You fail to see that she did all of this because she felt she had a right to.
Cease and Desist - Define your true cause in a six word or less phrase. Determine what the ideal outcome would be. Look at the effort you are, have and will put into it. Decide if that time and effort is worth the cause, or could you still be unemployed and put that effort into quality time with your daughter. If you're not gonna get a job, your not gonna get a job. Take it from someone who has been there, it's OK to stand up and fight, and if you can get the support, create a revolution, but there are so many more enjoyable things that can be done. Don't give up, but don't put unnecessary effort into it. Peace.
ReplyDeleteOh one more thing I'd like to point out. In your version of the story, you are Judge, Jury and Executioner when it comes to Jane Adams. Her side of the story is never told. Based upon her actions after the fact, you assume she was guilty of the crime you have accused her of, FIRST skipping out on her bill, which appears to be the case. NEXT of having people that are bad tippers on her behalf.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of you, Barney's has taken a similar role, although, they did have your own version of the story to hang you with.
If you truly want to have a righteous blog and want to name your victims, you might consider giving them a voice. Or change the names of the people and places to protect the Innocent Until Proven Guilty. It will still have as much power, and will be less likely to get you fired in the future.
Unfortunately, anyone who calls to confirm your employment with Barney's is going to get one response to the question, WOULD YOU REHIRE, and the answer that will plague you and your PERMANENT RECORD will be NO.
FYI John; Barney's, Jane Adams, & HBO declined to comment. So guess that puts an end to your "consider giving them a voice" comment. They DECLINED TO VOICE THEIR VERSION OF WHAT HAPPEN! SOOOOOOO, oh well.
ReplyDeleteYou probably want to follow the story more closely.
(BRING IT)