Teen called 'petty' for refusing to work for free at family ice cream shop. AITA?
She screams for ice cream but not in the fun way.
One 17-year-old daughter wrote to Reddit about her frustration about the double standard her family has for her and her brother. Her parents recently bough an ice cream shop and hired her brother to work there. She already had a job, but she wanted to support. She brought friends in to help the business. When she did, she was immediately expected to pick up an apron and start working. But, unlike her older brother, she was expected to do it for free because she 'already has a job.' When she refused, she was called 'petty' and 'lazy' and now she is worried if her parents may be right.
'AITA for not helping my family’s restaurant because my brother was being paid and I wasn’t?'
So my (17f) parents recently came into a fair bit of money (inheritance from one of my mom’s elderly relatives I think) and decided to buy out a local ice cream shop that was going out of business.
They love that place because it’s where they met and so it has tons of sentimental meaning to them. They also hired my 18-year-old brother to work there because they want him to have job experience before going off to college. They didn’t offer to hire me, and I didn’t ask because I already have a fast food job.
Anyway, my house is pretty close to the shop, and my friends and I decided to meet up there yesterday for ice cream and to hang out. For reference, we’re a group of four high schoolers.
It was pretty busy, so we got in line. About a minute in, my brother came out of the back and waved me over. He handed me an apron and asked me to help out his coworker in the back because they had to clean the machines ASAP but my brother had to open a second register because of how busy it was.
I refused on the grounds that I wasn’t being paid, and he said that I had to help out because it’s the “family business” and because of how swamped the place was and how panicked his coworker was.
He even offered to let my friends skip the line if I helped out for ten minutes to give his coworker a hand, and said I owed it to him to help out because I “brought such a big group in”.
I decided that that would cause a scene in a packed shop, and refused again. He huffed and waved me off, then went to open the second register.
I went back to my friends and the rest of our meet up went well, but my brother kept giving me dirty looks until we got our cones and left.
Later that night, my parents confronted me and said that what I did was petty. They told me to work a shift the next day to make up for it, but backed off once I reminded them that I have an actual job that I was scheduled to work pretty much all day the next day.
I ended up getting off scot free, however my whole family maintains that I’m petty and lazy, and now I’m wondering if they’re right. So, AITA?
Here were the top rated comments from readers:
NTA!!!! Holy f*ck this is one of the most black and white situations I've ever seen. If brother was just working to support the business (not taking salary) then I can see how your family could expect you to step up and contribute. But he gets paid and your family expect you to work for free? I think slavery was abolished what, 200 years ago?
I don’t understand why he didn’t just say he would pay you for the 10 minutes help. Feels like an obvious solution! You still wouldn’t have to - you were with friends, and also it wasn’t really an emergency just busy. It doesn’t sound like something unexpected happened.
NTA. Bottom line is, you don’t have to work if you’re not getting paid. You’re not an employee, you have no obligation to that shop. If your parents wanted someone to help your brother, they could have come in themselves.
NTA. Why can't your parents come in a help out when needed?
Why have they bought a business and think they don't need to work in the business?
No pay = no work!
They just taught you not to go to that shop or you will get commandeered. Your brother had no business telling you to get to work when you are with your friends on your free time. If they need more help they can hire it.