For starters, this should be applicable to anyone who has the misfortune of owning anything by NordicTrack that has the ifit app installed. Ultimately, these are all powered by slightly different variants of the same android control board. So similar even, that if you crack open any of them, the boards have the same shape, mount points and locations of all the primary components and connectors. They all have the same design flaw.
All that being said, I've fixed a bike and two treadmill boards so far by re-flowing them. The problem wasn't the screen. It wasn't an issue of the board not getting power, etc. The issue was cold solder joints.
One of them had to be reflowed twice, but...again, I've got a pretty good track record going, and am now convinced that these are just cheaply made "not even half as good as an Amazon Fire" tablets with cold solder joints.
If you have a multi-meter, you can poke the 12v power header into the tablet to confirm that it's getting 11 to 13v power. If it is (and assuming it's also getting 2 amps then), you're probably looking at cold solder joints. If you don't have a multi-meter, but you're mechanically inclined, you can pick one up for under $10 USD. Takes about 10 minutes to learn how to use on on Youtube.
Anyway, fixing this is pretty much the same as what everyone used to do to XBOX 360's that had the red ring of death...cook the PCB until the solider melts again, but also try not to cook it so far that the components on the board literally burn and become unusable again.
To do this, you'll need to unplug the four cables going into the back of the tablet. On some machines, like my 9.5s, you might have to take a back cover off the whole unit to actually reach the back of the tablet, and its connectors. Once that's taken care of, you'll need to take out the (likely) 3 screws on each side that hold the tablet mount into the upper assembly that the tablet itself is mounted in. From here, the tablet should be freely removable from the unit.
Now you need to undo the screws in the back of the tablet to separate it from the touchscreen front. Warning: There are delicate ribbon cables going from the screen in front, to the board in the tablet. Damage one of them, and you may as well just buy a new tablet for the few hundred bucks NordicTrack will shake you down for.
Once you've exposed the board, you should be able to pull out the wire connectors and flip the pressure fit levers on the ribbon cable connectors for the tablet to remove the camera and touchscreen ribbon cables. Note that the wifi antenna is also relatively delicate, and should be pulled as upward as possible. You also need to be careful when reinstalling it, or you can crush the connector, and then....either you're good at incredibly small soldering by hand, or again, you're buying a new tablet with half the power and build quality of the cheapest Amazon Fire at quadruple the price.
Next, remove the screws securing the board to the inside of the tablet, and you should be able to freely remove it with ease. Now comes the Really delicate part.
***THE ACTUAL FIX ITSELF**
First of all, unplug the unit from the wall. The last thing you need is to end up electrocuting yourself or blowing something out on your machine because power was still being applied to it.
Ideally, you would be doing this in a precision controlled re-flow oven with a profile that walks the board through exact temperature changes....but you can get 90% of the way there, and have pretty excellent chances of fixing your board, nontheless. You just need an oven and a thermometer you can read from inside the oven.
Before prepping the board to go in the oven, remove the large metal RF shield covering the back of the board. Not the one that's postage stamps sized, but the one that's about the much larger one, about the size of two human thumbs. You can discard this - it's an RF shield and honestly it does nothing but trap heat that really shouldn't be trapped, in my opinion.
Using the "toaster oven method" to reflow a PCB, you will want to make a few loose (not very compacted) foil balls. Set them on a plate in a way where you can press the board into them, connectors side facing up. You should have the board be as level as possible - re-flowing a board at an angle can make the chips fall out of alignment, and then you pretty much have a dead, now-un-repairable board.
Once the board is level, put a thermometer you can read on the plate with the board and pop it in the oven. Set the oven to bake at 230C (About 445F) and once the oven has actually reached this temperature, count off two minutes. That is how long you want to let the board bake before you remove it. You don't have to be exact with this, but don't leave it in for only a minute and don't forget about it and come back after it's been cooking for 5 or 10 minutes. Try to be within a few seconds of that 2 minute mark. And the temperature gauge on the plate is so you can know that it really is within a few degrees of 230F. The temp gauge on stoves often lies, and if the board is below 220 it won't really re-flow, and above 240 you run the risk of cooking it to death.
Anyway, the final, and arguably most delicate part, is removing the board. You want to be as gentle as possible. No bumps, no jerky motions, and setting it down with great care once it's out of the oven. Also, set it down *away* from the oven so that the board can cool off faster. Don't put it in the fridge or anything, but let it sit undisturbed for about 15 minutes before trying to do anything with it. After that amount of time, it should be cool enough to touch. Once all of this is done, screw the board back into the tablet shell, but ONLY put the screws in along the two sides that have connectors coming out of them. This means you should have three of the four corners screwed down, and one or two additional screws along those two sides. Leave the fourth corner undone since it gives the board some wiggle room without constant straining & flexing. (The best option would be making silicone bushings to mount the tablet board to, much like portable had drives have, but that's just me trying to get as much life out of my tablet & treadmill as I can).
Now, reattach all the connectors. My preferred order for ease is: Camera cable, microphone cable, touch screen cable, wifi antenna, display cable (the largest flat ribbon cable in there). Then close up the two halves of the tablet, pop a couple screws in the corners, and reattach the four external cables to the tablet. Don't bother screwing it all back in yet because we're just testing to make sure it works at this point. You should be able to lay the tablet down, plug the machine in, and have the tablet power up. It should respond to touch and work just like it used to. If it works again, congrats! Now unplug it once more and finish reinstalling the tablet, plastic pieces, and screws.
If it didn't work, there's no harm in trying to reflow the board again. In fact, if the issue happens again later on, you can just try reflowing the board once more. That said, there's only so many times you can re-melt the solder holding everything together before the board will just plain out be toast. Usually it's somewhere around 3 or 4 times, but you could be unlucky and have 0 or 1, or be incredibly lucky and get away with it a dozen times over many more years of life from your machine, if you even need to.
All that being said, if anyone needs help with this, just reply here. I'm not on Reddit often anymore, but I'll try to get back to you within a week, and I'm much more responsive once we've started on a conversation.
Again, to date, I've fixed three NordicTrack devices doing this, and many MANY other PCBs in similar fashion. What's alarming to me here is that the units I've fixed all have usage times of under 100 hours for the machines. Honestly, I'm amazed this hasn't come up yet and that NordicTrack hasn't been litigated into free replacements like Apple and Microsoft have from similar mass failures out of warranty due to poor build quality. (Xbox 360, iPhone battery & back glass issues, etc...) I'm even more amazed that they'll sell the tablet for most models, but *not* the PCB....though, I guess that just goes to show that whatever lowest-bidder factory cranked these out for them, NordicTrack as a company has never even seen component level parts like that - just finished tablets, so it's not even something they *can* offer their ~~hostages~~ customers.
OH! And final word of advice! Put your units on a smart outlet that turns off after whatever the max time you use your equipment would be! Not only will it prolong the equipment life, but it actually makes it easier to use! For example, instead of waiting for the treadmill to wake up, I just say "Alexa, turn on the treadmill" and by the time I'm at it, it's happily waiting for me to click my name and go. And then if I forget to turn it off, the smart plug is programmed to shut it down after 2 hours anyway, so it won't be sitting there idly chewing away at the new life ~~breathed~~ baked into it.
If you want to make sure the temp if your oven is hot enough, but not going to fry something, try taking an old remote that you know works but that you don't care about. Disassemble it, reflow it, and make sure it still works when you put it all back together again. Now do it again and see if, once it reached temp in the oven, you can scrape parts off the board with relative ease. This will destroy the remote, but it's a good way to get comfortable with baking boards.
Anyway, that's about all. I wish I'd though to record videos of this process, but I hope this guide is enough to get most people back in business. And if you've already been through swapping the whole tablet and have a dead one you'd like to donate to seeing if my theory continues to hold true, I'd be happy to pay shipping to get it from you, or have you pay shipping if you want me to just take a crack at fixing it and sending it back to you.
If you're already skilled in these areas, it should take about 20 minutes to do, excluding actual bake and cooling time. If you're totally new at this but you can follow instructions with care and precision, you can probably have it done in under 2 hours. And hey - short of burning or electrocuting yourself (again, unplug before working on the equipment!) ....if you already have a dead board, the only thing you really have to lose by trying this is some of your time. =)

I 23(F) worked for an 80(M) Dentist for about 3 years, and what I observed and endured as an employee during that time traumatized me and made me quit dental assisting in general, not because I didn't like it but because I loved it just not the dentist and I'm going to just break it down the best I can.
Starting off this specific dentist is really well known in my city, he has been practicing for 50 years now. However not much has changed in that 50 years. His office is so old that patients will come in from 1989 and say how not a single thing has been updated or changed. The floor is carpeted with rotting wood underneath and he just doesn't care. He has like creepy dolls all around the office and creepy clowns. I almost feel like he won't change anything because he wants to still feel like he's in his prime like it's the 80's/90's still.
He denies the fact that he's getting older, he says he is 44 years old when physically and literally he is not. So maybe this is some type of symptoms of a disorder. This is just some background so you can understand the full picture.
So he only hires women of lighter complexions, also certain body size, small not to skinny but curvy but not too big. You have to have long blown out hair that's always fixed, his old rule used to be that you could not wear your hair up bc it's not appealing to him. Also you can't wear glasses for the same reason. If you were trying to get a girl to work there he would have to see a picture of her first and she couldn't have tattoos or "bad teeth" even though he would put braces on staff members for free and I witnessed that, if it was "too much" the person would be a no for him. Even having a simple nose ring was against his rules.
I started working for him when I was 19 turning 20. So I was pretty young and didn't really realize until later that all of this was just so toxic and it gets worse.And so when I found out my pregnancy was healthy I announced it and they decided to not train me on patients for pretty much my entire pregnancy because they thought i would just have my baby and leave
After being post partum and working while also being a first time mom to a baby, I begin to lose a lot of weight because I guess I was stressed. I went from being my normal weight 135 to 116 pounds.
The doctor would comment on my body and say things about my weight loss in front of patients. It made me very insecure and uncomfortable two things I have never felt in my life at a job. I started to have body dysmorphia from working for this man. When he looked at me it felt as if he was staring through me and picking me apart. And no one should I have to feel like that in the work place.
I fell into a deep depression because feeling like I can't go find a new job because as terrible as it sounds, I was attached to the toxic abuse cycle there. He would love bomb and compliment you so heavily that you almost felt bad for thinking of leaving cuz he was so old. He would say things like how much he loved your personality, you were the best employee, best with patients. It was definitely creepy. Also I felt as if I were to try to leave he would be upset or it felt like I was breaking a trusted bond. So I continued working and things...got worse
Enough about my personal experience but now for the patients.The doctor treated each patient nothing more than a dollar sign. Unless they were a known person in the community, a family friend, he would give them treatment but if they had questions or concerns about their teeth he would be very dismissive, and if they argued back he would pretty much belittle them and make them feel like they were stupid for asking a question. Saying what they wanted was "impossible" because that's "the way their teeth were". I watched him take braces off of patients and their teeth were still not aligned properly, I watched him accidentally set a patient on fire, I watched him give a girl bone loss, she lost her tooth because of something he did incorrectly.
Not to mention his entire staff has not been to any type of dental school, every single person hired basically with no experience. I was told because he couldn't "afford it", yet the man has multiple million dollar homes and luxury cars....
To even scam us further he sent us to take a super lax unsupervised "test" that he said would make us certified assistants. Came to find out that was nothing more than a piece of paper.
Not to mention probably more things he has done, like practicing half blind, also urinating on himself daily and it being reported and nothing done about it.The sterilization was absolutely horrifying. Their method is not to use an autoclave but to throw all dirty instruments in a basket and throw them in an old machine that had sterilization and water and put them through an oven baking them.
Also cold sterile which was not monitored properly, and did not soak for 24 hours. Sometimes 5-10 minutes. I just got so tired of not only him being misogynistic, but not caring for health and safety of patients, or even staff members.
And the rest of the current staff members, my heart does hurt for them for them to be in this kind of abusive cycle for so long and not want to remove themselves and realize they deserve better. This kind of environment should not be normalized. And I've watch him say god awful things about every single one of them behind their back and it's honestly sad. Why would you stand by this especially for the incredibly low amounts of pay.
Making yourself look weak to him while he sits back and laughs. It's really sad and I pray for them. And I'm telling the truth and stand by it on everything I say. No I did not get fired, I quit the job. Because I couldn't take the negativity any longer. But the more I think about it the more it angers me for people that give their money to this man.
Im currently enrolled in the Dental Hygiene program at a college. I'm really excited to become a an RDH but the thing is I'm scared working for him and just cold quitting will ruin my career. Also My question is should I report him to OSHA?

I’m seeing around 700f/370c in the center of the stone after 30 mins of heating at max.
This oven has always performed like this. It’s a 2019 era Ooni Koda 12 (before there was a 16 even; I think I might have been one of the first Ooni customers vs Uuni), and back then I was so blown away by what it was able to do for me I wasn’t too worried about the lower-than-spec temp, so I never bothered reaching out to the company about this.
I’m using this oven again after taking a break for a couple years. In this time I’ve upleveled in so many other aspects of cooking that my standards are much more exacting and I now want to see what it’s like to bake a Neapolitan pizza in a properly heated Ooni.
I’m guessing this is fundamentally an issue with the hardware where a propane passing orifice is just a bit too small or something like that. Any known issues like this? Anyone have advice for what I can do to get the temp up?

I’m and incoming freshman and i missed the housing deadline by a week. I’m hoping to get on campus housing. How unbelievably oven baked burnt to a crisp am I going to be. Considering theres more space for frosh since Paseo is opening this fall term, fafsa being pushed back, and frosh being able to live off campus id assume they would be more leniency? (im coping) What are my chances of being able to live on campus? I may have or havent accepted my fate already.

Hi, do y’all recommend teflon baking sheets? I kinda want to ditch parchment paper and use something reusable.
Any tips with teflon baking sheets? Like do I have to bake the macarons longer or decrease my oven temp?
Also, when you use teflon sheets, can you cut it up to fit your pan?

Dragon eggs: cheese stuffed jalapeño, then wrapped in ham. Then pounded out and seasoned chicken breast wrapped around that. Then mmm thin cut bacon covered in honey hog, and holy gospel from meat church. Then finished with hot honey and bbq sauce. Followed by smoked gouda, garlic, time baby reds. Oh and smoked caned baked beans. It needs tweeking, any ideas?

right okay. so like, two weeks ago the manager who makes the schedule approached me. "hey, [caterer] needs off on the 15th, can you come in at 7 am instead of [normal time] to make and deliver the one catering order we have every wednesday?" i said yes, i can come in at 7 to do that one (1) catering order that we have every week, no problem! its literally just bagels, nbd.
tell me why i suddenly am expected to do 10 catering orders, deliver however many there are, and be in at 4 am so i have time to do them all? i didn't agree to do this, i never said i'd do this, but i literally don't have a choice. i can't lose this job bc due to having to share a car w/ several people, and this job is the only one that will allow me to be off before my mom goes into work at 5.
im not trained to be a caterer. this literally isn't my job. why am i expected to do all this and then still work a full shift after???? they really want me to work 4 am to 4 pm. not to mention the one order is 70 breakfast sandwiches. we currently don't actually have ovens that work, we have all our bread baked at another store and then shipped to ours. that means i have to make 70 eggs on the tiny crappy, half-broken egg cooker, and cook 70 breakfast sandwiches in the turbochef ovens, on top of whatever other sandwiches need to be cooked in the turbochefs.
what is my life :/ wish me luck. 3 and a half hours left before i need to leave. augh

BLUF: Half-baked buggy software ruins promising hardware.
Got an Onn Pro last night. Initially, it was great -- real pain points resolved, compared to the CCwGTV. I can plug in thumb drives full of media! :D
That's when I ran face-first into the software. Setup was fine, not great but fine. Wi-Fi setup on Android using "quick sharing" is a fucking mess, but that's just a Google thing.
No, what I hated was more blatant. For starters, that you can't add apps from the device itself. You click it, the panel pops over and the app description kinda wants to start loading, but then it drops back to the Google Play screen. No way around this.
Pandora has a different app for TV, and they don't make it easy to find in your search results. I tried sideloading the phone version, and it wouldn't log in. Lo and behold, Pandora for TV is suggested in an unrelated search, but not accessible when I type "Pandora" into the search box. WTF.
No Apple Music. Not Google's problem, but it sideloads nicely. Apple Classical isn't so elegant; it's fixed in portrait orientation. But new app, needs more time in the oven, no huge problem.
And wait, now we get back to software hell! This one's definitely a deliberate choice. You plug in an old Onn stick, and the Apps tab shows you a grid of installed apps in an easy-to-parse arrangement. You go to the same tab on the Onn Pro, and it shows you the Play store -- completely nonfunctional, remember -- and a 200 pixel high row of little round icons for your installed apps, with no way to actually see them all. On your "Home" tab, there's no longer a slot for directly launching favorite apps.
And just to piss in your Cheerios, the star button. You tell it to control inputs, it says it did, then pressing it again brings up the setup view.
You get curious and tell it to launch a favorite app. It tells you that this button can be adjusted in settings. You click it, the app launches. Yay! But I needed an input switcher, and at the very least, I want it to launch Apple Music, not YouTube music. First off, you can't set it to launch sideloaded apps. Second off, there's no place in Settings to actually adjust the behavior of the star key!
And at no point do the ambient mics work for Hey Google.
This thing is in DIRE need of some day-1 DLC, ffs.

I searched the sub already and didn't see this specific question answered. I'm looking for recommendations for a pair of shoes that will be able to handle oven temperatures in my trunk. We have weeks here that the temp will stay around 110f, and I've accidently baked very decent shoes. I'd like to keep something in my car as a just in case I have to walk home thing when I'm in non-walking shoes.
All leather handmade sandals or rope sandals maybe? I wouldn't usually have to walk more than 10 miles, but I would be carrying a toddler. When the weather cools back down, I'll put the hiking boots back in, but I would greatly appreciate the input you may have.

Mr. Steve Lewis
Mr. Patrick McKinney
Mr. Bryan Freiermuth
c/o Gideons 1898 LLC et al
1600 East Buena Vista Drive

A

Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
May 10th, 2024
Final Demand
Gentlemen,
There is an odor most foul in the Bakehouse. It is the stench of the fish rotting from the head.
To our proprietor Steve, and our managers Bryan and Patrick:
There is dissension within the ranks, and if the following items are not resolved as we outline
below, we’re prepared to drag this house of cards to the ground.
Before we proceed with our grievances, numerous and shocking, and the demands to resolve
them; allow us a moment for introductions.
We, are the Ghosts of Gideons, the poor and unfortunate souls upon whom you have built your
cookie empire. We are the many, the unseen, and as of the disastrous meeting May 6th, 2024, the
decidedly unheard.
Many of us have approached management and ownership multiple times with helpful hints,
strong suggestions, and desperate pleas to rectify a myriad of health, safety and operational
concerns- with nearly all of them being dismissed or ignored entirely.
Now, we, the collective, have banded together to deliver this tome- not as a warning of what is to
come, but as a final demand to resolve the issues outlined herein. You may dismiss us
individually, but you cannot ignore all of us together.
Make no mistake, if the following solutions are not implemented with immediate effect, we will
do everything in our power to topple this cookie castle permanently.
We should start by informing you, that, yes- we are but lowly workers for Gideons, however, we
are supported by families who hold prominent positions in the community as lawyers, labor
1
representatives, publicists, and county government workers. Families who love us, and want to
see us remain safely and fairly employed.
Through our vast, and well connected network the following steps have already been
implemented:
1) A lawsuit for your numerous unfair and unsafe labor practices and work conditions has
been drafted.
2) A press release, along with a copy of this letter, have been sent to local and national
media.
3) We have created social channels to connect directly with customers and inform them of
the reprehensible work conditions we are enduring.
4) We have filed health and safety reports with local government bodies detailing the
extensive issues we are faced with at the Springs location.
5) We have informed Disney Springs leadership of our position relating to the above, and
below in this letter.
In all cases, these competent bodies are awaiting our word. If the demands listed herein are not
satisfied immediately, we will, in tandem with the above, begin a campaign to inform the world
of your numerous transgressions, filing lawsuits and media coverages exposing you and the
Company for the shill that it is, and we will not stop until the Bakehouse bakes no more.
We should also mention that should any attempt be made to retaliate against us, including
termination, reducing our hours, benefits, or taking other pervasive actions against any Gideons
employee, will promptly result in our bringing legal class-action.
The time has come for you, our leaders, to actually lead. This means spending money where
money must be spent, and making the following operational changes, so that we can all continue
to exist in harmony, and not feel like we’re trapped on an 1800’s plantation- working for the big
house.
1) Communication- How dare you drag the entire workforce to a 9AM meeting,
demanding our presence, and then talk directly at us with the most mundane drivel we’ve
ever heard. Everything dictated today could have been very well sent as an email-
especially when you did not allow for any discussion between us, the workers who
actually make your business run, and the disconnected upper-management who are hell
bent on implementing misguided and inefficient policies. Do not call us in for a
mandatory meeting again when the points can be covered in an email, unless you intend
to open the floor for actual conversation and listen to what we have to say.
2
To that end, since our voices were silenced this morning, we demand the following:
● Cold Brew- We will not adopt the ‘bartender’ shaking style of preparing the cold
brew drinks. When we have 10+ beverages queuing to be made, shaking each
drink 10 times will severely impact our ability to be efficient. This is but one
example of Steve’s desire to have ‘form over function’. We understand there may
be a ‘look’ you’re going for, but when it compromises our ability to efficiently
perform our function, we refuse. We demand to be allowed to resume our ‘stir
stick’ preparation immediately.
● Point System/ Order Accuracy- Under no circumstance should Management take
the side of the Guest over the word of the employee. Too often we see guests
complain that an order was incorrect, and Management issues a point to an
employee. This must stop immediately. We demand you implement a ‘please
check your screen for order accuracy’ procedure where the guest confirms their
order before they pay, and remove the ‘point’ system. If the guest confirms the
order, it reduces the possibility for an inaccurate order.
● Inconsistent/ Inaccurate menu boards and Social Postings- The inside Menu
Board has been outdated for nearly two years. It must be updated immediately to
remove items we no longer sell (IE Coke Products) and ingredient offerings (IE
Banana WALNUT). By correctly labeling the items, it reduces the stress on us in
having to confirm that certain items have nuts, or not being yelled at by guests
who are disgruntled that we no longer sell Coke products. Further, there are
multiple social media inaccuracies when describing new products (IE peanut
butter buttercream, VS the actual peanut butter cream cheese). These inaccurate
product descriptions hurt the brand, and cause confusion with the guests when
they come to order these products. Also the new umbrellas are not UV resistant;
therefore any mention of them ‘protecting you from the sun’ is false, and may
result in legal action from guests. We demand you only post accurate descriptions
to the website/ social media to avoid further guest/ employee confrontation.
● HR- Given the fact that Cynthia engaged in using racial slurs during the May 6th
meeting, referring to guests as gypsies and hoodlums, we demand her firing and
removal immediately. Multiple members of staff were deeply offended by the
hurtful stereotypes that Cynthia perpetuated, and we no longer have any trust in
her ability to lead this organization, especially from a HR perspective, when she
herself seems to harbor unfair and demeaning racial views.
● Management- We cannot express with limited words the level of dissatisfaction
we maintain for Drew. The staff, in our entirety, have never dealt with such
incompetent, slothful, and wasteful behavior. Drew consistently stays on his
phone, refusing to help the team accomplish any of their tasks, and barely exudes
a modicum of effort through his rare action of helping build cake boxes or taking
out trash before disembarking on a break (which none us other managers/leads are
3
cookie king, bringing in circa $40,000 per day, affording you a life of luxury, and not
fairly compensate the employees that are making Gideons everything that it is. The
cookies are good, but make no mistake, as was stated during the May 6th meeting, the
customers come for us. I can’t imagine what they’ll say when they learn about the
slave-like conditions in which we work, especially with Auntie Anne’s earning $18 per
hour + tips.
3) Hours- Part time is up to 30 hours per week, full time is 30 hours or more. We must have
a guaranteed number of hours per week, pending our availability. For example, if a
full-time employee has open availability, they must be scheduled for 40 hours. If a
part-time person has open availability, they must be scheduled for up to 30 hours per
week. This is to ensure we have a stable and uniform weekly income, guaranteed by our
base pay and consistent hours.
4) On Call- All shifts that are ‘on- call’ must be guaranteed a full 8 hour shift, regardless if
the employee is called into work or not. We clear our day and make ourselves available to
cover the Company, and we demand to be compensated a full 8 hours ($16 per hour) for
the flexibility to suit the Company’s needs.
5) Pay Protection- In the event that the store is closed for any reason, employees currently
scheduled to be working during the closure must receive all payment for the shifts they
were scheduled for. If the AC goes out again, and we’re down for several days, those of
us scheduled must receive full compensation for shifts as scheduled.
3) Health & Safety- While it seems that Gideon’s is based primarily on the ‘cool factor’ in how
our processes look from a customer perspective, we are still a fully functioning kitchen and retail
location with a haphazard health and safety process, at best.
To ensure a properly safe workplace and customer experience, we demand the following changes
immediately:
1) Shorts/ Heat Safety Prevention- We’ve been told time and time again that the ‘Disney
Contract’ we cannot wear shorts. After having multiple conversations with Disney
Springs leadership and the Unite Here 362 representatives, we have come to understand
that a change in uniform can be initiated by amendment. No longer can the ‘look’ of
something overpower the safety of us. In terms of being outside in the sunlight and heat,
we demand that the contract be amended immediately to account for a uniform change,
thus allowing us to wear shorts within the next five days. It is dangerous for us to be
outside in the heat and sunlight during high-heat (more than 70 degrees fahrenheit) days,
wearing all black and long pants. We are unwilling to compromise our personal health
and safety to appease your ‘style guide’ insisting on long pants, but we’re happy to
maintain a look via style guide for shorts. In addition, we have seen multiple large/
battery operated fans in use around Disney property, keeping other Cast cool during these
heat waves. We demand that large fans are procured and placed in strategic outside
5
locations within the next 5 days, so that we may have respite during high temp days. The
cooling towels and neck fans you have provided are ineffective.
2) Egress- We bakers are trapped. There is no second means of fire egress from the kitchen,
and should a fire or other disaster occur with the ovens, we would be trapped and unable
to escape. We demand you add in additional egress from the bakery, into the outside
alley. We understand this will require planning and stairs, however, planning must be
commenced immediately. We will not work in an unsafe environment, and with no place
to escape in the event of an emergency, we will be burned alive.
3) Handicap accessibility- Our retail location does not comply with ADA mobility
standards. The counters must be moved to allow an employee who utilizes a wheelchair
or other mobility device the proper space to move behind the counters and throughout the
kitchen. While yes, a wheelchair will ‘fit’, they will be unable to properly move. We are
discriminating against hiring ADA employees due to the way the store is currently
overcrowded and built. We demand proper spacing be added within the next 90 days.
4) Safety Training & Procedures- As of right now Operations have not developed any safety
or training procedures relating to fire, bomb threat, active shooter, lighting/ rain, accident
or other hazard. We are provided with no training in the event of any of these
emergencies, and we are all woefully unprepared with a common knowledge of how to
address emergency situations. We demand that a safety plan be developed and provided
to each of us in writing, and that we receive sufficient training of the new procedures
within 14 days.
5) Sanitation- Our baking sheets never get cleaned. We demand that you hire an outside
vendor to pick up used equipment nightly at close, and deliver a clean set at the same
time, so that we may rotate clean equipment daily. It is too large a task for us to wash in
house, and this needs to be automated for us. Our current sanitation procedure is
inadequate to ensure proper health and safety standards.
6) Bathroom breaks- Many of us suffer from various biological disabilities that force
frequent trips to the restroom. We simply cannot ‘hold it’ until we’re on break. IF we
need to go to the restroom, we must be immediately accommodated to do so without
repercussions. While this is not common, it does happen, and must be allowed.
6
Demand Timeline:
May 11th- Cold Brew BartendeShaking preparation is disbanded, stir stick preparation is
reimplemented.
May 11th- Cynthia is terminated immediately for using racial slurs during a company meeting.
May 11th- Drew is demoted as manager immediately for failure to act as a leader, and help his
team, undergoing an immense retraining before he is reinstated.
May 12th- All employees earn a base rate of $16 + tip share.
May 12th- An automatic/ mandatory 7.5% gratuity is placed on all guest orders.
May 12th- All ‘on call’ shifts will be guaranteed a full 8 hours ($16 p/h), regardless of working
or not.
May 12th- Lead/ Trainer pay to increase to at least $19 per hour when training, and $18 per hour
at all other times + tip share.
May 11th- Planning for additional egress to begin. Must be fully installed and operational no
later than June 20th, 2024.
May 17th- A $1,200 bonus is paid to all employees who worked during the last three pay
periods. This bonus covers the lower wages suffered from the ‘no tip’ asking policy.
May 13th- Schedules to be created, guaranteeing all ‘part-time’ employees up to 30 hours per
week based on employee availability, and ‘full-time’ employees at least 40 hours per week,
based on employee availability.
May 14th- Commercial grade fans outside submitted for approval to Disney, installed upon
approval.
May 15th- Shorts implemented for all workers, all shifts, when the outside temperature is more
than 70 degrees fahrenheit.
May 14th- Sanitation company must be contracted to pick up used baking sheets nightly, and a
second set of baking sheets to be procured to ensure sufficient sanitation of products in direct
contact with food.
May 24th- All health & safety procedures will be drafted and provided to all employees in
writing, with in-person training to occur with all employees. New hires shall receive the new
procedures and same in person training as a part of their onboarding.
August 4th- Handicap/ADA compliance. The store and kitchen must be rearranged/ decluttered
to allow for the hiring of mobility device users, including wheelchairs, to comply with ADA
layout requirements.
7
While the above demands only scratch a portion of the hazardous operational procedures, we are
confident that should they all be addressed and the solutions we have demanded are implemented
within the allotted timelines, we can avoid a disastrous fallout and continue to work together to
ensure Gideons remains a successful operation.
We understand that this will most likely come as a shock, not less because ownership and
operations seem to be blissfully unaware of the vast deterioration, but moreover, the inane
procedural overhauls implemented in today’s meeting simply reek of disconnection to the reality
of the process, and will only serve to further delay and complicate the already struggling
operation.
It is time to see beyond all of the narcissistic ‘it looks cool, so we’re going to do it my way’
absurdity, and recognize that the above demands come from your soldiers on the frontlines. A
tough pill to swallow, but it is medicine critical to survival, nevertheless. We further recommend
that all upper management leadership work at least one eight hour, front of house shift per six
months, to ensure they remain fully connected and relevant.
We must issue a final word of warning: should this letter be ignored, or any of the above
demands are not implemented, or any retaliatory action be taken, it will be met with the most
severe consequences.
We know that you are amassing a fortune, and all we Ghosts ask for is a fair wage, a safe and
comfortable working environment, and to be treated with dignity and respect.
We’d hate for the adoring public to learn of any other reality. This is your one, final, opportunity
to make it right.
We look forward to your prompt email reply confirming your plan of action to comply with our
demands herein.
In Solidarity,
The Ghosts of Gideons.

I have worked at four different restaurants in the past three years and for the longest time I always thought I had an issue with an acidic stomach, but I was tested for acid reflux specifically and was told that I do not have it. Is it possible? I am getting gluten through things that are being cooked? There is not even loose flour in these restaurants and one of them only had oven baked cookies that came preformed and frozen and the rest of the restaurant was entirely gluten-free. Is it possible that I am just one of the most sensitive celiacs? I find this hard to believe because I eat out at many many many different restaurants. TLDR if you have experience working in restaurants that have gluten cooking items, please share your story. I am concerned that I can no longer work in the industry because there are no restaurants near me that are 100% gluten-free.

The fish is blackened char with vegetable flavoured rice and oven baked vegetables