Locals Divided Over Restaurant's Desperate Plea for New Employees: 'You Couldn't Pay People Enough to Put Up With This Place' One pizza joint in Alabama is catching eyes for posting a disheartening plea for new workers on their Facebook page.
By Emily Rella
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Desperate times call for desperate measures amid labor shortages facing the restaurant and hospitality industries brought on by the pandemic.
Many chains have gone through leaps and bounds in an effort to attract and retain employees, especially after the trend of storewide employee walkouts have been making headlines recently.
One pizza joint in Alabama is catching eyes for posting a disheartening plea for new workers on their Facebook page in a post that has garnered hundreds of likes and shares.
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"We will hire literally anyone," says the text posted by Dave's Pizza, located in Homewood, Alabama. "If you're on unemployment and can't find a job, call us; we'll hire you."
However, customers went off in the comment section slamming the storefront and accusing the restaurant of underpaying its staff.
"Yall have had a 'now hiring' banner up for years before the pandemic - so even in like 2018 you couldn't pay people enough to put up with this place and it's customers," wrote Morgaine Stubsten.
The shop quickly replied by explaining that the banner is "permanent" and was put up "long before 2018."
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Others pointed out the lack of "transparency" when asking what the pay and wage base would be, saying that the owner does not pay workers "enough."
But many locals quickly jumped to defend the pizza and its owners.
"I've worked at Dave's two separate times and both were amazing experiences," wrote Tommy Cox. "Aside from having great pizza, Brett [the owner] goes out of his way to hire those who might not find work otherwise. He's literally given dozens of women from Lovelady an opportunity to get on the right foot for taking back their lives."
"This was my favorite job- worked summers and Xmas break while home from Auburn," Jennifer Wilson said. "THE best boss and pizza ever. I was treated rad and literally loved my job."
Others simply posted words of encouragement for the business.
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"I get you," said Sydney Carter. "Hope you find help soon!"
Dave's isn't the first Alabama restaurant to turn to social media for help this month.
Last weekend, a Chick-fil-A located in Madison, Alabama announced it would be shuttering its doors amid worker shortages, calling for applications online and offering in-person open interviews weekly.
