Worst manager I’ve ever worked for
Establishment: Holey Cream
Location: Hell’s Kitchen
The owner here clearly has never had to manage a staff, and has clearly never worked in the food industry before. Sure, he demands his staff to be NYC food sanitation-certified, but yet he has no problem leaving the dry toppings in here out and un-covered all day and night, and no problem sticking his dirty hands in the toppings for a treat, multiple times throughout his presence in the shop. He yells at his employees to clean whenever they have free time, but doesn’t seem to care when he makes giant messes everywhere and refuses to clean up after himself.
And as a manager, he’s just honest-to-God the worst. He yells at new employees because they don’t know what they’re doing (when he’s never trained them to do the thing he wants them to do), and fires people on the spot before even giving them a chance. He has security cameras all throughout the store and rumor has it that if he’s not in the store, he spends his free time watching the employees from his laptop… probably waiting for one of them to screw up so he can fire someone them. He is cheap and stingy, and doesn’t even let employees keep their tips. That’s right… all those tips that nice customers put in the tip jar go right back in the register, which is basically the owner’s pocket. I’m glad that the hard and friendly work the employees give are rewarded not in customer’s tips, but by being yelled at/berated by this terrible man.
One employee was recently fired and asked for his last paycheck, to which the owner said “no… sue me” right in front of customers in the store.
Don’t work at this awful place, and if possible, don’t come in here and support this terrible owner. Oh, and everything in the store is cheap and generic brand, but the owner will lie and tell customers it’s the creme de la creme.
Comments
Yeah, seriously, don’t do it. I’m a freshman in college and needed extra cash, and found this place on craigslist. The owner, Michael Frielander, seemed nice enough, and the staff (oh, right, the one girl working there at the time) seemed nice enough. My interview consisted of hanging out with the manager outside while he smoked, and I was hired on the spot, which worried me slightly.
I worked for this guy for five weeks, thinking, “I can deal with this for the money.” Yeah, I couldn’t. He has honestly never managed a store before and doesn’t try to hide that fact. He literally *screamed* at me in front of customers because I didn’t know what I was doing. Wait, whose fault is that? Not mine. Also, he treats his then-fiance, now-wife like an object. One night while I was working, he asked her for paper towels and she tried to give him napkins. He threw them on the floor and pouted like a child until she fetched him the paper towels. If that doesn’t give you an idea of his personality, I’m unsure as to what will.
Given, the stuff they serve is rather awesome. The peach frozen yogurt is freakin’ awesome. I gained an insane amount of weight while working there for only five weeks.
Okay, but past that. He also tried to get me to do all the store’s graphic design stuff (the labels on the ice creams? I made and applied those) for *free*, and then informed me that I wouldn’t be keeping my tips anymore. Really nice guy.
Oh, I almost forgot. I’m an eighteen-year-old girl, and I was left in the store *by myself* for eight-hour shifts. In midtown Manhattan, until 2am. Clearly he cares about his employees and not just raking in a profit.
Hi Katelyn, there is currently a legal issue between an employee and Michael. We could really use your help. Please contact me at coldcoffeecupstains@yahoo.com. Thank you very much, we would greatly appreciate it.
If any one is having a serious problem with this man go to an employment lawyer. If he ripped off your hours or pay you can get something like double what you were owed. Also probably sueing him with a decent lawyer is what he deserves. I wish any of you who end up working there (like i was going to before i saw all of this) the best of luck. Also it seems that Xabbyys friend (poster above me) is going to get replaced as i was told to call him for the manager position……………………
I WORK at Holey Cream and love it there! I have been there for months, and yes the management is demanding, but they are very fair. I am familiar with some of the Workers posting above and they are just ranting because they were dismissed for violating the store’s policies. One girl (Holly Seabury) was a manager in the store for the night shift and decided to close the store on a HOT Monday night at 7PM costing the store revenue. Another girl, Sarah Elkin suffered from severe depression, I think that she might have even been Bipolar. I was suprised that the owner kept her, but I think he had a soft spot in his heart for her. Anyway, she STOLE $20 from the cash register. When she was caught, she claimed that one of her coworkers authorized the THEFT telling her there was a new policy that allowed every worker to take a twenty for car fare home at the end of their shift. She was working in the store for a month and really thought that there was a new policy????
I love it at Holey Cream and PLEASE SUPPORT THIS MOM AND POP SHOP!!! I don’t want to have to look for employment elsewhere and I still have 2 more years of college.
I hope some of you people who are complaining do the right thing and notify the Department of Labor, the State Attorney General, as well as contacting a lawyer as I am sure if any of these allegations are true and can be proven all parties will be VERY interested in hearing about it. In addition, I think the investigative reporters on Fox 5 News and Channel 9 News might be interested in hearing about what’s going on here.
I have worked at Holey Cream for 4 months and love it here. I am treated very fairly and have never been threatened or not been paid. I am familiar with the circumstances of the individual who posted ALL of the negative posts above. I know that they were ALL posted by one girl - Sarah Elkin - because she confided that in me. She was paid for all of her work at the store execpt for money she took from the register for a taxi ride home when she worked a shift ending at 2am. The owner confronteed her on the shortage and she explained that an $8/hour counterhelp told her it was ok. She was a manager and should have known better. She then quit and the amount was deducted from her last check. She was a depressed severly bipolar girl and her posts above (I KNOW THEY WERE ALL POSTED BY HER) should be ignored.
I find it interesting that both YL and Sunrise feel the need to put on the internet the full name of someone they say has a serious medical condition while not providing theirs. Their writing style seems very similar (same words, use of upper case) perhaps its the two of them who are the same person?
Um, Sarah Elkin didn’t confide in you about the posting I wrote on May 5th…clearly whomever is behind the “Sunrise” and “YL” postings are very ill people. If I call this place will there be a Sunrise and YL working there? I agree with the poster of this note - obviously the same person, obviously not very sane or smart, and clearly has several issues that need addressing.
I had an interview at Holey Cream today and was checking out this site to see past employee comments. I met with Sunrise, so he definitely exists and works there as a manager. he said that he likes it there alot and did mention the past troubles with some employees. He led me to believe that the owner was very fair and had to deal with some crazy employee issues in which he believed the employees were at fault. I also met with some other staff who all seemed to indicate that they are treated fairly well and like the place (Vasarey and Louis). Now I have to decide whether to persue the opportunity or not… decision, decisions, decisions….
Hello everyone. My name is Sarah and I am the girl that two “employees” apparently felt the need to make an attempt at informing the world that I am a severely depressed and bi polar person… For the record…. everyone and anyone who cares… which I am hoping are not many people…because honestly this is ridiculous…and greatly pathetic…and all on some stupid website I heard about via another old employee, no less…. Anyhow… I NEVER posted ANYTHING on Shameless restaurants until right now at this very moment. I did however attempt to get in contact with other past employees via craigslist at one point in time, if the Sunrise post is real perhaps that’s what he is talking about. I cant be held accountable for all the angry people in this city who take to the internet for their respective reasons. I never stole $20 dollars. I am neither depressed nor bi-polar, pretty happy even, especially when I am paid for the hours I put in working somewhere :). I have been at a new job for months now and have absolutely no problems there with anyone… management or otherwise… and its just peachy! I am not a liar nor am a crazy. I wish everyone at Holy Cream and anyone else who stumbles across this the best of luck in wherever they work and whatever they are doing.
I have an interview should I go or not? I heard a couple of bad reviews not only from this website and a couple of good reviews. ughhh what to do? what to do?
Lanelle,
RUN….run far and fast. The turnover is incredibly high and it’s an ice cream shop! My friend interviewed and she said the owner seemed - quote - “bat-shit crazy” and “apparently has a staring problem while treating his employees like crap.” Do a little research into how often employees are paid and what the conditions are; as I understand it from different sites there are a few legal issues in the works against the owner for lack of payment. If that is somewhere you want to work, good luck to you.
This manager has severe anger management problems which manifest themselves in inappropriate and dangerous behaviors. My teenage daughter worked for him for a few weeks. He spent the bulk of his time watching her on his video surveillance cameras, which he freely admitted to her. I find that well beyond creepy, as she is 17 years old and beautiful. He berated her and the other poor soul who worked there in front of customers and with extremely foul language. When he fired her, in front of customers, he told her that she would never get her last pay check. I have contaced the NY State Dept of Labor for resolution. I will also have out family attorney address the situation. I am thrilled that she is no longer employed by this man (Michael Freidlander). Please be very careful when interviewing for jobs - if you sense a personality problem with the person you’re interviewing with, go with your gut feeling! it’s usually correct. And pay attention to some of the previous “rants” - they are clearly based in fact.
Okay…So I JUST came across this website by typing in the manager’s name into Google… Haha… And NO, I will not disclose my relationship to Holey Cream. In fact, I will leave that up to all your imaginations… Haha, speaking of the Imagination, you have to one in order to appreciate Holey Cream by any degree… That is because it’s a DUMP… Haha.
#1- It ripped it’s idea off a real “ma&pa shop”-type-place called “Fractured Prune.” Fractured Prune first commercialized the ice-cream donut sandwich, or what was originally referred to as “Hole-In-One” . But who really cares?Everyone steals their ideas from someone else in the food industry, right? I just think you all should see the similarities between the two establishments… Go ahead, GOOGLE “Fractured Prune.” It’s quite remarkable. But, for the record, Fractured Prune was born first.
#2- The owner is a MAN-CHILD; Half-man and half-child. It is astonishing, actually. Okay, okay… IMAGINE a grown-man who doesn’t clean up after himself; eats sweets all day because as a grown man he can make ALL the adult decisions he wants!!!-ie: what to eat!, just remember…he’s half-child; provokes peers for personal pleasure; throws tantrums; assumes everyone knows what’s on his mind when he speaks, failing to eloquently and adequately explain his thoughts… think of a 5 year-old describing his day; disregards social etiquette; sticks his ENTIRE hand in the sprinkles; And fails to sustain steady eye contact in conversation. MAN-CHILD… Another pertinent piece of information to know about the MAN-CHILD, is that the man-child often attempts to compensate for his lack of endowment. He lacks endowment because he lacks the natural abilities and qualities as a human being, a man [baby-penis?], a member of society, a business investor, and more notably as a manager. Whether it’s yelling at the smaller guy to feel bigger; or taking financial and social advantage over the socio-economically challenged individual, he attempts to compensate for his lack of endowment, and miserably… because he is a miserable, pathetic MAN-CHILD.
#3 $$$-Prices are too high! Too high! You pay TOO MUCH. Because the ice-cream is bought from a very cheap and unreliable source, so the business profits soar at an unethical level; The tips go to the the manager’s pocket; The staff is underpaid, if paid at all; The customer service sucks; And the manager is RACIST- Why encourage racism with your naive dollar bills?
But… Then again… I guess who am I to judge the quality of an ice-cream shop just trying start up. It’s probably okay that the manager openly slams the integrity of his hispanic employees-he’s got opinions!, takes advantage of newly hired workers and refuses to pay them-certainly saves money!, cuts corners by avoiding food-safety regulations enforced by the State.-the ice cream still tastes good!, verbally assaults employees-I mean it just makes them work harder, right?, and it’s okay that this store totally stole it’s idea from another place-that’s competition! Boy, what was I thinking, right? This place is totally legit, and totally doesn’t deserve an inspection. It totally makes people happy with their mouths shut! Because the mouths of its customers are naive and fully of delicious ice cream!
I worked at Holey cream for 3 months and can shed some light on the real truth. The owner, Michael, is very demanding and expects alot. So, if you want to work there, be rpepared to work hard if you want to be treated well. I worked with a few of the posters abobve who did not like the job. the reason, they (as am I) are kids in their late teens or early 20s. Our generation does not have the ambition or work ethic that michael the boss wants us to have. He let’s us know that it is unacceptable to be 20 minuts late (come on - what is 20 minutes… really), he gets upset when we spend a half hour texting with our friends or watching you tube videos on our iphones (there were no customers and who wants to clean the place and stock the shelves), he gets agitated when we serve 5 our friends free ice cream (come on dude it is only $35 worth of stuff and we are poor kids). those above are my experiences when i upset the boss and i know at least each of them applies to one or two others who worked there when i did. oh yeah, he really got pissde off when i forgot to wear gloves (for the 3rd time) and touched a customers food with my bare hands (shoudl he threaten to fire me for violating the health code, i am a clean guy and shower daily…)
i worked with dee’s daughter Sasha who posted above. it bothered the owner that she was consistenly late and would tell all of the coworkers and some customers that her father molested her and her mother was waiting for her to turn 18 in order to leave the father, (shold a boss really care that she wanted everyone to knwo)… it is kind of amusing.
all in all if you want to work then it could be a good place, but if you want to slack off and still get paid, look for a job somewhere else like mickey dees.
peace out.
I am not surprised by any of these comments whatsoever. I too WORKED (no longer) at Holey Cream. It really should be called HOLEY CRAP! The owner is a nightmare. I think he is married because he wears a wedding ring but I never see his wife and frankly I see he tries to sleep with the staff and customers! Um, no thanks.
Long story short. Don’t go to HOLEY CRAP! WORK THERE AT YOUR OWN RISK! I should’ve read these reviews before I met the Owner/Ogre named MICHAEL FRIEDLANDER.
BUYER BEWARE
I worked for holey cream and was the worst experience in my life..But knowing that a lawsuit is underway for wrongfully getting an employee arrested for claiming she broke the register while asking Jerk mike for her money after being fired for no reason..He will get what he deserves since there is more than 6 ppl willing to testify against him for 1)Letting ppl work off the books 2)Not giving their tips 3)Taking money out of peoples pay saying that the register was short 4)Taking the delivery boys tips and not handing them at the end of the day 5)Not paying ppl their money 6)Racist abuse on some of the employees…It is clear that SUNRISE AND YL is mike himself..Nobody liked working their when i was working and he didnt pay me my last check basically saying to forget about it…MIKE I KNOW YOU ARE READING THIS SO F U:) SEE YOU IN COURT….
Even if you’re desperate for a job, don’t do it. It’s not worth your time because you will NOT receive compensation! I put in my two weeks’ notice like a good employee and worked my last two weeks as I was supposed to. I deposited my last paycheck and was shocked to see that the check returned a few days later. When I asked the owner about it (Michael Friedlander), he accused me of stealing from the cash register the last night I worked, though I know this to be a lie. I called the store to see how short the drawer was the morning after I worked, and it was under $1, and not under $190 as the owner claimed it was. Owner said it was the end of the story, and wished me goodbye.
Thanks for stealing my last $350 paycheck and 43 hours of work from me! Could of being doing a whole lot of other nice things in those 43 hours than sweating my butt off working in this ice cream shop.