Like WTF!? "Starving? You can't afford 'good' food working here, but you can afford the food you're already making!"
Also, I worked in a lot of kitchens before and never once paid for a meal. "Damn son, didn't mean to put cheese on that! Guess I'll have to make another one."
Never pay a company for your food if you're the one making it.
Not that this is shock, but a lot of the people who the "superiors" at these restaurants often go on power trips.
I remember that I worked at a Dairy Queen, where I was often given vague instructions about something and it was like playing a game of 20 Questions, meaning I would often misinterpret the directions.
There was also the expectation that a meal needed to be prepared within about two minutes. I was a bit slower, as I felt it was more important to do job fairly well, rather than rush through it.