To the Editor:
Glen Ellyn is a family-oriented community, and we attempt to model ethical and responsible behavior for our children.
Perhaps this is not a part of the business plan of Oberweis Dairy.
In May, a Glenbard South sophomore applied for a summer job with Oberweis Dairy – her first job. She was told to appear for an interview at the Roosevelt Road store in Glen Ellyn. She arrived on time, but the interviewer was more than an hour late.
The 16-year-old was hired and told to report to work on Saturday, June 1. She was glad for the opportunity and showed up prepared and on time. To her dismay, when she arrived, the store was permanently closed. She then checked out the future site of Oberweis on Roosevelt Road. It was under construction and nowhere near ready to open. She returned home, completely confused.
She telephoned the Oberweis store in Wheaton, and that store manager told her the Glen Ellyn manager would call her that night. He didn’t.
The parents of the Glen Ellyn teenager contacted the Oberweis Dairy corporate office. They were subsequently advised that, if their daughter still wanted the job, she should show up the next weekend at a parking lot to car pool with some other prospective employees to Skokie for training. Off-site training had never been mentioned in any previous discussion.
One wonders how Oberweis considers it a safe, business practice to suggest that a 16-year-old girl drive from Glen Ellyn to Skokie with an unknown driver and a car full of complete strangers. Her parents did not. However, now the Glen Ellyn teen had no summer job and had given up other job opportunities.
As an Illinois business that promotes family values and whose members ask for our political vote, Oberweis should care about their corporate ethics and practices at the community level. Maybe they don’t. But we do not have to frequent businesses nor vote for candidates that enter the community and treat our residents disrespectfully and unprofessionally.
We can buy ice cream elsewhere.
Sandra J. Branda
Glen Ellyn