Chapter 177: Crazy Promises

"For the working-class people, we will partner with the Pearson City Government to provide you with basic skills training. Of course, this is free! However, you must first sign a contract with us."

"A completely standard employment contract, not an indenture! In the future, when you work in our company's stores, your store manager and your supervisors will be locals from Pearson, and your colleagues might even be your neighbors."

"Other than working in a different city, everything else will be just like your current work life!"

Looking at the sea of people in front of him, Carter felt relieved that no one had jeered when he got to this point. During a pause in his speech, Carter's gaze fell on the people in the front rows.

He saw that people were listening intently. Although there was no applause, the situation was not bad. It was better that they were truly listening to him rather than giving a perfunctory clap and then losing interest.

Feeling increasingly confident, Carter continued speaking into the microphone:

"As for the salary and benefits, the basic monthly salary is $300! This is regardless of your performance—whether you break ten plates in a day or currently know nothing and can't do anything. As long as you sign the contract with us, you will earn this salary!"

"In addition to the basic monthly salary, I have prepared skill-based pay and benefit bonuses for you! First, let's talk about skill-based pay. As the name implies, it increases your base salary according to the skills you acquire."

"Based on the needs of HT stores, I, together with your General Manager Mr. Ginas, have divided the store's job roles into six categories: front-end cleaning, front desk service, cashiering, and accounting; and back-end assistance, cooking, and kitchen management."

"Each time you master one of these skills and pass the store's assessment, your base salary will increase by $20! We are a standardized fast-food company, so these skills are not difficult to learn. I estimate that unless someone has a severe intellectual disability, it should take no more than a year to fully master these six job skills!"

"In other words, a year from now, you will be earning a base monthly salary of $420. Additionally, beyond the monthly salary, I have also prepared attendance bonuses, performance bonuses, and quarterly and annual store evaluation rewards for you."

By this point, the noise from the crowd had completely drowned out the loudspeakers by the stage. Seeing people whispering to each other, Carter had to pause his speech.

Carter knew what people were discussing—the fact that being a server is a low-level job. Emmm, not to criticize anyone personally, but in terms of job content, this role is easily replaceable, making it a typical low-wage job.

Nowadays, the basic salary for a restaurant server is usually less than $200. Even with tips amounting to 5%-25% of the food bill, a good month would barely bring in about $500. During a downturn like now, making even $400 is uncertain.

Fast food restaurants generally offer a higher base salary because there is typically no tip income. But even with a base salary of $420, even if it's paid a year later, it still made many people eager, even doubting whether Carter could actually deliver on his promises.

"Please remain quiet, ladies and gentlemen! My speech isn't over yet. The income and personal growth you can achieve at HT go beyond what I've mentioned so far. Please let me finish before you start discussing, okay?"

Gently tapping the microphone, Carter's expression remained calm and pleasant. With a neighborly smile, he softly reminded them.

In the face of benefits, even the faintest sound could mobilize the large crowd. Upon hearing Carter's reminder, the crowd quickly quieted down from the inside out.

At this moment, their serious faces began to show traces of eagerness.

"Regarding the attendance bonus, there's not much to say. It's a fixed $30. As long as you show up on time for your scheduled shifts every month, your total monthly income will be $450!"

"That's quite high, isn't it?"

With a playful wink, Carter noticed expressions of agreement on people's faces. Clearly, a monthly income of $450 in the fast-food industry might not be the ceiling, but it certainly outperformed 95% of independent restaurants.

"But that's still not enough! Such an income might allow you to live comfortably as an individual, but for those with families, it's hardly sufficient!"

"So, on top of the $450 salary, I've added a performance bonus. Each month, my partners and I will allocate 5% of the store's net profit as a performance bonus, distributed among all employees!"

"The store manager will receive 10% of this bonus, while the remaining 90% will be evenly distributed among the employees. Of course, to qualify for this bonus, you must have no absences and no major work errors. It's unfair for someone who does nothing but cause trouble to still receive a share of the bonus."

"And unfairness is something I cannot tolerate! It's also something HT Company cannot tolerate! At HT, everything is fair, just, and open! Job opportunities, promotion opportunities, and competitive evaluations are the same for everyone in every store! In my eyes, and in Mr. Ginas's eyes, everyone is treated equally!"

"To ensure fairness, we will have store managers conduct cross-regional mystery shopper evaluations. These managers, posing as mystery customers, will visit your stores, observe your hygiene standards, experience your service quality, and taste your food."

"They will then score various aspects of your store. This score, combined with the store's current quarterly or annual net profit, will determine the rankings. Let me be clear, the scores from mystery shoppers and manager inspectors will account for 70% of the weight, while store profits account for only 30%. Under this system, I believe that even small stores, if united and dedicated, can surpass larger stores!"

"The store ranked first each quarter will be awarded $10,000, the second $5,000, and the third $2,000. Stores ranked 4th to 10th will each receive $1,000. The store ranked first annually will receive $50,000, the second $20,000, the third $10,000, and stores ranked 4th to 10th will each receive $5,000!"

"Once the bonus is awarded to the store, it will be distributed equally among all employees! Let's do some ideal calculations. If your store has 20 employees and you achieve first place for four consecutive quarters and one annual ranking."

"Then just from this bonus, each person would receive an additional $4,500 annually! Without considering the monthly performance bonuses, your annual income would reach $9,900!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, an annual income of over $10,000 is rare for such jobs, isn't it?"