Help-wanted sign was ‘way too harsh.’ California cafe apologizes after outcry

A California cafe has apologized for posting a sign seeking job applicants who, among other things, don’t cry, are “never late” and “smile no matter what.”

The sign, which the company says was posted without proper clearance, reflected frustration with difficulty filling open jobs, Los Angeles-based Kreation Organic said in a Twitter post.

“While their intentions with the sign were good and light-hearted, we absolutely agree that the wording on the signage was way too harsh,” the post said. The sign has been removed.

A photo of the sign posted Monday, Dec. 6, to Twitter by Jenson Titus sparked outcry over its seemingly rigorous requirements. The post had more than 35,000 likes as of Thursday, Dec. 9.

Titled “still looking for that special person,” the sign says the cafe seeks an employee who is “actually available, has an open schedule, doesn’t cry, is never late, has no excuses, works hard, has no bull----, smiles no matter what.”

“Think you might be the one?” the sign concludes. “We’re hiring.”

The post left other Twitter users incredulous.

“They want someone who does nothing but wait for the call to come in to work and has no voice when they get there,” read one response.

“I know your family died in a fire but I appreciate you working a double,” read another post.

“Openly admitting you have a toxic working environment and still blaming the workers is deeply diseased,” read another comment.

But others argued the expectations weren’t unreasonable.

“You want a person that is always late with lame excuses and cries every week?” read one comment. “A person who doesn’t do the job and let the others with more work to do?”

In its apology, Kreation Organic asked commenters to give the person who created the sign “the benefit of the doubt” for not following the company’s positive messaging practices.

“We want workers to do their best, of course, and we also understand that everyone has bad days and are sensitive to that fact,” the apology said.

The company said its managers laughed about the “doesn’t cry” requirement when the sign was brought to their attention.

“We are super-emotional and crying to each other at times,” the post read. “Many of us would not have been hired if no crying was really an expectation.”

Kreation Organic has cafes and juiceries throughout the Los Angeles area. It’s not clear where the help-wanted sign was posted.

This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 2:31 PM with the headline "Help-wanted sign was ‘way too harsh.’ California cafe apologizes after outcry."