9.
I got hired at K-mart to work in sporting goods. Was told to wear the traditional black pants and red polo.
Day 1 – “Sorry, we can’t train you for sporting goods today, we need you to help unload trucks.”
It’s summer in SC. It’s 100 degrees and 80% humidity. I’m wearing black pants and a thick polo. No change of clothes.
End of Day – “Sorry about today. We’ll start training you tomorrow. Come to work in uniform again.”
Day 2 – same thing
Day 3 – same thing
Day 4 – same thing
Day 5 – same thing
Day 6 – same thing
Day 7 – I came in on my day off to quit.
If I wasn’t dumb and 17 I probably would have just wised up and brought a change of clothes. I didn’t mind unloading the truck, although the sweat drenched clothes weren’t ideal. The real reason I quit was the obvious lack of planning and management.
8.
I once worked as an air quality monitor. We would primarily get involved with sewage contractors. One day, we’re on a job and there’s these huge cylindrical “digestion” tanks with tons and tons of human shit inside of them. They were each around 30 ft tall. One of the contractors had to perform work on the roof of one of these tanks. I was to be harnessed and standing beside the guy monitoring for any VOC’s. There were concerns that the roof would collapse, and even though I was harnessed, I would literally fall into a huge pile of boiling *bubbling shit. I said “fuck this, I quit”.
7.
Was working 70 hour weeks alongside two other people at a video game gig in California. The other two people quit because of the work hours.
I was working 110 hours a week for several months to keep things going.
I was told there was a hiring freeze, which was why they couldn’t backfill my two coworkers.
Eventually they moved two junior people in under me, and gave me a promotion on paper only (no raise) to manage them. I quit when i found out that each of them was making $20k more than I was.
6.
I was working at a company for only a few months when things started to get bad. I had direct deposit set up and I was away on vacation when payday came around.
My paycheck didn’t drop in my bank account. Ok, interesting. I texted a co-worker and the boss said that the new assistant forget to “approve it”. This happened for the next 3 pay periods.
I had to go to my boss every payday to try and get her to cut my check. Some days she would leave early and tell us she totally “forgot”.
That following Monday, she comes in and is showing off a new car she bought over the weekend. Right there I told her I will not be coming back into work and I would like my final pay. I didn’t say “f*ck this, I quit” but I sure as hell should have!!!
No way was I even going to give her the decency of two weeks notice, either. Who the hell buys a new car when you’re struggling to pay your employees????? Arggh still gets me mad! lol
5.
Made me clean, dryed out moldy milk that was turning black and icy, without gloves and paper towels. Did 5 mins my hands had ice all over them, told my boss I need gloves otherwise I can’t do any more. He told me to get back to work and quit wining… F**k you Tesco, find someone else to clean your nasty milk…
4.
I asked month in advance for time off during a Friday. I was approved. The fateful Friday came around and everybody I worked with (4 of us) we’re also approved for time off (We all had the same event to attend).
The manager calls me the night before and tells me that I need to come in. I told him I had already made the plans and that I was approved months ago with emails to show for it. He responded by telling me if I didn’t show I’d be fired. I just didn’t go.
3.
HR wouldn’t deal with a woman that started to hit me at work, It was a call center and this one woman just took issue with me because I had social anxiety and would kick me under our workstation, My leg was bruised pretty badly. HR did nothing and didn’t take me seriously and thought I was “emotional” I walked out and was told never to come back.
2.
I used to work as a some kind of “aid worker/rescuer” in events with large gathering of people (concerts, festivals, etc)
The boss/owner always put her head down for the clients, and allowed them to exploits us. One of the regular clients was the event manager of a popular stadium. They would ask us to be in the stadium 3 hours prior the event to clean (yup) and stay afterwards to clean (yup). The manager wasn’t paying more money for it, but the boss didn’t want to lose the client so we just have to do it.
So, there would be events with that took 16 hours to complete, with a menial pay, no food or beverage AND with the client expecting us to do more work for free (note: I’ve never did that, and always encouraged my partners to leave, it wasn’t our job to clean).
But the moment that made me say “fuck this shit”, was when the boss called me saying that the client emailed her with a complaint about me. I thought it would be about me and my team always leaving after the job was done and not staying for cleaning, but no: “they told me that they always see you chatting with your partner, and with a smile.
They don’t want the attendance to see their workers distracted and/or laughing, they want to show that only professionals work with them. So they are asking that you turn down a notch your positive attitude and keep a poker face all the time”.
1.
Ooooh boy strap in.
I used to work at IHOP as a server, our manager was wildly incompetent. She would leave with the manager card (which was the only way to correct an order, refund something etc.) she was spiteful and stupid, a deadly combination. So I was poor, and had a raggedy pair of the non-slip shoes you’re supposed to wear in food service. I also had a pair of doc marten work shoes that were slip/oil/electric proof. Same color and all. She made a big stink about me not wearing the correct shoes, I explained they were on their last leg, and that even though the docs were technically not regulation, that they fit the criteria. They even said it on the sole.
So she threatens to fire me over these fucking shoes and I cave and wear the shitty shoes to work. Saturday night, packed to the gills. Not a seat in the house. Halfway into my nightmare understaffed shift, as I’m carrying an appetizer sampler and a tray of drinks to a table, the sole rips from the upper and I TRIP AND SPILL THE WHOLE FUCKING SAMPLER ON THE TABLE. Ranch. Honey mustard. Marinara. 4 dr peppers. All over me and a couple. Face and all. I freak out and apologize, explain I’ll comp the food and and go to find the manager. Guess who went home?
With that almighty card you need to void checks or discount them. I also had about 5 other tables suffering who saw all this happen. I call her, she’s at home. Lives 15 mins away. I told her not to bother, asked her how she could be so fucking stupid to go home with the card for the 10000th time,screamed about the damn shoes etc. and told her to go fuck herself.
Took my tips out of the cash I had, told all my customers their meals were on the house, and stripped down to my underwear right there in the parking lot. Walked to my car and changed my clothes. Never looked back.
This post first appeared on Pleated-Jeans.