Stories edited for clarity. These employees had been either underappreciated or overworked and they're over it! It's finally time for them to put their foot down and walk right out the door.
“I Would Never Recommend To Others What I Did, But I Still Remember It With A Smile”
Terence Mendoza/Shutterstock
“I used to work at Amazing Jakes. If you live in the East Valley of Arizona, then you know that its customer base consists of suburban moms who bring in their nightmarish children.
The work environment was consistently insane and would rival any prison in Siberia. Add the fact that most of my managers were either power-crazed or lackadaisical. I dreaded going to work. After a year of working there, a new place, Fat Cats, which was similar to Amazing Jakes, had just opened closer to where I was living. I applied in secrecy since a couple of friends from school had gotten jobs there and told me how great it was to work there. I was hired within the day I had applied. I was excited to start working there and I didn’t have the patience to stick around at Amazing Jakes for my last two weeks. But I didn’t want to just quit, no, that wasn’t enough justice for all of the crap they had put me through. I needed it to sting when I left. So I withheld the information that I had gotten a new job and instead asked that they schedule me double shifts for the next two weeks because I needed the money.
As soon as the schedule went into effect, I peaced out of there, instantly. And yes, I know this is the worst way to end a job, but I absolutely hated working there as well as the management. Them scheduling me to come into work the night of my winter formal dance, even after I had requested the weekend off a month in advance, still hurt. This was all just my cute little way of flipping them off for that. In all seriousness though, I would never recommend to others what I did, it was immature of me to do, however, I still will remember every now and then, them blowing up my phone when I didn’t show up, with a smile.”
That Walmart Expected Him To Work In The Blistering Heat Without Something To Drink
“When I was 16, I worked at Walmart as a cart pusher in Arizona. I was told they would provide drinking water because it got HOT.
Anyway, my manager was under a lot of pressure to squeeze profits, so they stopped providing water without warning. I came to work and forgot my wallet in my mom’s car when she dropped me off. I had $0.35 in my pocket left over from my school lunch. I bought a twenty-five cent Sprite out of the soda machine because I was thirsty and I didn’t have time to run to the back of the store to use the drinking fountain. Normally, I would use the front water fountain, but it was out of order. My manager came out right as I cracked it open and she exclaimed, ‘THROW THAT OUT OR YOU ARE FIRED!’ I told her to go screw herself, took off my safety vest, called my mom, and slammed my drink while she was scolding me.
Seriously, screw Walmart.”
Dramatic DQ Exit
“I worked at DQ in high school. It was fine for a first job. I worked with a lot of school friends, but after a year or so, my two main friends had left. While I was on good terms with the remaining crew, we were far from close.
Also, they hired a total nightmare as a manager who seemed to have it out for me even though I never did anything out of line.
Anyway, I usually worked kitchen and on Sunday after church, we always got crazy-busy, even though the rest of the day was typically slow. We kept a small crew and just pushed through the lunch rush. 1 o’clock rolled around and suddenly my screen went from one order to completely full (8 orders) with 2 – 4 more pending. I was literally running around the kitchen making sandwiches, fries, chicken, staying on top as best I could. But hey, I’m only one guy.
The nightmare manager came into the kitchen entrance and stood there, leaning against the wall, making horrible comments like, ‘Wow, you’re slow today,’ and stuff like that. I was still hitting our speed goals without a partner in the kitchen, she just liked antagonizing me.
I asked her, ‘You think you can do better than me?’
She replied, ‘Of course I could.’
I told her, ‘Okay then, go screw yourself.’ I took my work hat/shirt off, tossed them on the counter, and walked out.
The look on her face is something I still proudly remember seven years after the fact.
Best. Feeling. Ever.”
They Didn’t Protect Her When She Needed It, So She Exposed The Store’s Secrets Online
Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock
“I was working in a large anchor store that is in dire financial straits for about the last decade now.
This store was one of the lowest performing stores in the district, almost always had horrible reputation due to the lack of quality associates or respect toward customers, always had bad reviews and many ‘homesteaders’ that would not act appropriately or would hide things they were doing wrong or illegally.
The night that broke the camel’s back for me was when a group of shoplifters came through our store. They broke the entrance door, stole items, and directly threatened me with physical harm. I called for security personnel and for management support, but no one came. I literally watched a manager hide behind a rack and just watch them harass me. So, I had enough and quit on the spot. I took off my lanyard and started walking to the back of the store to clock out and leave. The same manager saw me leaving and called the store lead manager about my actions.
He called me, told me that I was blowing everything out of proportion, and that I could not leave and that I had to finish my shift. After a few minutes of arguing and me explaining my situation, the state of the store (I had been working there for a total of about 5 years), and how he was one of the reasons the store was in turmoil, I clocked out. When I got home, I signed into the corporate website and wrote up every freaking secret about the store and its practices, and implored for corporate to do a check up on the store.
One year later, 80% of the associates working there were completely changed out. Four years later, the store was out of business.”
He Didn’t Need His Job At KFC Anyway!
“I was a teenager working at a KFC. I was the guy that would always pick up an extra shift for people. If they needed someone to cover, stay late, or come in early, I was your guy. I liked money…I liked not being at home…I liked being distracted
So then one Sunday comes and I was supposed to work a 12-6 shift. I woke up that morning with the flop sweats, I was freezing cold and then burning hot. I looked and felt like death. So I called up the manager and said I couldn’t make it in. The manager said that was not acceptable and I needed to be there.
We went back and forth a few times and I pleaded my case. I explained how I’d never been late, nor called in sick, nor left early. It fell on deaf ears. So I finally said, ‘Listen I don’t need this job this bad. I quit. I’ll be in on Friday to turn in my uniform and pick up my final paycheck.’
I then proceeded to projectile vomit some more in the bathroom and later pass out on the couch watching an episode of Reboot.”
The Shadiness Of Travel Companies
“I was working for a shady timeshare/travel club as a dispatcher/scheduler. Basically, the guys on the streets would call me to make the appointments for the tours. There only could be a certain amount of people or type of person per tour wave. I had requested a weekend off for a class reunion I was on the committee for. I’d requested off months in advance to make sure that I had the whole week off and had been approved for it. My normal shifts were always on weekend nights since I was quick and was able to handle the crazy guys on the streets booking the tours.
The week of my reunion came and the schedule comes out. Low and behold, I was on the schedule for the weekend. I talked to my manager and let her know I was able to work some of the scheduled days that were posted, but not the weekend nights. When I reminded her I had already been approved months before, she told me she’d completely forgotten and not to worry about it, she would cover me. I went to work on Friday morning, worked my shift, and thought everything was great.
I got a call from her that evening telling me that I needed to come in tomorrow because she was quitting and couldn’t cover my shift. I was livid, but I liked one of the owners, so I decided I would skip the reunion festivities for Saturday night and just make sure everything was set-up. When I went in on Saturday, there was a note about how I had been messing up with the number of people on tours (which I hadn’t), and that I better fix it. I also asked my coworker if our manager had actually quit and, of course, she hadn’t. She had just left the office to cover another desk 10 minutes before I got there! I called her up, screamed at her, told her I was leaving in 15 minutes, whether someone was there to answer the phones or not.
They sent in one of the owners (who was super shady) and he tried to talk me out of quitting, and I just yelled at him. I reminded him of the time my paycheck bounced, how they ‘suggested’ I take the phone with me when I went on breaks because I might miss an important opportunity to make money, and how our paydays always changed! He just stared at me, so I threw the phone down and as I was walked out, I called him by his real name, which he’d changed after he got arrested for giving a girl illegal substances without her knowledge.
Travel clubs are shady, don’t ever go on a travel club tour. When they tell you they aren’t timeshare, it’s not a good thing. Real timeshares are governed by real estate laws. Travel clubs are not.”
Quitting Over The Phone?
Mangostar/Shutterstock
“I worked at popular magazine publication two years ago. My boss, the Chief Revenue Officer, originally hired me. 3-4 months later, he hired his incompetent wife to be the ‘program manager’ and she became my direct boss. She never seemed to like me, for whatever reason. Rarely ever communicated with me and I was always out of the loop. Maybe I wasn’t a good worker to her, who knows. But I thought I did well, considering the absolute lack of training. I personally thought she was a racist, but I’m not too sure about that, either.
Anyways, four months after she was hired, she sent me an email after I had left the office. She didn’t have the balls to have a private discussion in person but just sent me an email, saying I’m always late, talking crap, etc. I was always on time and even responded to the email to ask the receptionist. A couple of things might have been somewhat true, but most of them were just lies and hyperboles. So I sent her an email asking if we could speak over the phone that night. So we spoke. I told her how she was lying and exaggerating so many things and during that conversation, I told her I quit. She was angry, rightfully so. I was supposed to go to our company’s event in California (I live in NYC) that Monday (this convo was on a Friday night) and help out with this event. I was important in dealing with booth vendors, signing them in and collecting unpaid money for those booths.
So I basically quit over the phone and I did not board my flight to Cali to help them out.
I found a new job three weeks later and make more money.”
His Seasonal Job At Best Buy Was Nothing But Trouble
“I was working at Best Buy last fall as inventory/merch seasonal worker. I did not apply for this position, nor did I apply for seasonal work. When I was hired, they only offered me this position or appliance sales. I decided to choose it because I knew jack about appliances.
A few weeks went by, and one of the more senior guys in my department started to hate me, purely because I was new (so I performed like absolute crap, as I was trying to figure things out) and a seasonal. He got angry enough to report me to the department manager, who called me into the office one day to ‘let me go’ as he put it. I wasn’t even warned before. It just happened.
I decided to talk to the store manager and GM, and they told me I was still technically employed so they won’t ruin their seasonal turnover rate, but I would have no more shifts (and therefore wouldn’t get paid) or benefits (employee discount, medical, etc) until they terminate my employment after the holidays. I found out that night because I was still employed by BB, I could call HR and ask for a transfer. So I did. Right there, inside the freaking store. The managers have already retreated to the office by then, and the dude who reported me and had me let go was in the stockroom, so it wasn’t really like quitting on the spot. However, it still kinda was, considering I was in the store when I called.
I called. Asked to transfer to a regular part-time sales position. They, unfortunately, didn’t have any, but they did have an open part-time CEA (customer experience ambassador; might be exclusive to Canadian Best Buys) position available. I accepted it. As a bonus, it was at another store, where no one knew me (or knew about me) until I started working there.
I still work there as a CEA to this day, and because I’m now a regular part-timer, I can actually slack off sometimes (seasonals aren’t allowed to slack off at all) without managers giving a care.”
Escape From Chili’s
“I worked at Chili’s back in 1999 as a busboy, great money for what it was. I worked a 4-hour shift during the dinner rush, made $7 an hour, and was tipped out by the servers and bartenders. I averaged about $50 per shift, which came to almost $20 an hour. I loved it.
The manager asked me one night when I went in if I would wash dishes because someone didn’t show up. It only paid $8 an hour. I explained to him the problem with that. Not only does washing dishes suck, but I make way less money since I don’t get tipped out. He promised me it was a one-time thing and asked me to do him a favor, so I said yes. That night sucked. Well, a couple shifts later, he tried to put me on dishes again. After a long conversation about how that was not what I was hired for, blah blah blah, I reluctantly agreed to one more night of misery. He again promised that it wouldn’t happen again.
Guess what? You’ll be so surprised. It happened again the very next shift! I told him no that time. He said that I would wash dishes if I wished to keep the job. I lasted about 30 minutes and decided to walk out, I wasn’t going to put up with it. I made my way to the back exit by the bathrooms. Guess who came out of the bathroom? My manager. He asked where I was going with a suspicious look on his face. I wussed out and said the bathroom, then went to the bathroom.
Then, 15 minutes later, I took the trash out to the back where there was a fenced-in dumpster behind the restaurant, a big 15-foot tall red fence that was locked. Most Chili’s still have this red fence. I am reminded of that night every time I see one. I climbed the 15-foot fence and went home. There were customers in the parking lot when I got to the top of the fence. I smiled and waved, scaled down the fence, and walked to my car. I’m sure they got a kick out of that.
Less than a week later, I had another busboy job at Sticky Fingers, better atmosphere, better people to work with, and made even more money on a similar shift.
His Manager Tried To Ruin Their Honeymoon
“My husband used to work for one of the big electronic retailers and when he transferred stores, his new department was run by someone who hated men and was a lonely, bitter woman. She did a poor job managing on top of being a terrible person. Constantly messing up the schedule, poor hiring decisions after she was finally given that authority, micromanager, everything was her employee’s fault and never hers, etc.
We got engaged, set a date, and about six months beforehand, he put in writing his request for two weeks off for the wedding day plus honeymoon, with additional reminders over the next few months.
Finally, the month before our wedding is here and my husband was reminding Bitter Lady and she told him that she can’t give him two weeks off, but she could give him ‘the day of the wedding’ off because she’s being generous. He told her that was impossible because it’s out-of-town and he needed at least the day before and after off, too. They went back and forth and she agreed to just those three days and acted like she was doing him some huge favor. We were mad and had to cancel the hotel room, but we needed the money/job.
Two months later, my husband accepted a job offer for a totally new company and told them he could start in two weeks. He was scheduled to work the next day and he was the only person scheduled for the department that morning. He decided to turn off his phone and then about three hours after his shift started he casually walked in wearing civilian clothing, quit to Bitter Lady who was quite mad that he was a no-call/no-show, and we finally went on our honeymoon.”
Condescending Customers At Apple Can Drive A Man To Quit
“After seven years of working at Apple as a Genius (yes, we hated the name as much as people love to hate on it), I was repairing a computer and the part was bad. I called the customer to let them know it was going to be a few more days since we had to order the part again. The man on the phone wasn’t happy but wasn’t a jerk about it. I think he understood.
Well, his wife wasn’t so pleasant. She grabbed the phone from him and began to just berate me. Insults were flying, she was cussing me out, and taking digs at my intelligence. She even had this sad story about how I was ruining their Thanksgiving plans because they couldn’t use the computer to book things. This was after she played the ‘We’ve spent so much money at Apple. We’ve bought iPads, phones, and computers,’ bit. The computer being repaired was five years old at the time, by the way. I apologized for the delay, tried to politely ask her to stop swearing at me and that I’d hang up if she didn’t. She got one more dig in, in a really condescending way saying: ‘I bet you’re really proud of your life, I bet your parents are too!’
To which I just said: ‘You know, they are.’ Then hung up. I walked up to my manager and said, ‘Screw this, I quit.'”
His Boss Really Screwed Him Over!
“An old boss of mine called me on a Saturday morning around 10 am and asked if I could take over a wedding gig he couldn’t do because he double-booked himself (sound engineer). He said all the gear was packed and loaded in the truck, all I had to do was drive it to the spot and set it up. The wedding was at 3 pm.
I picked up the truck at 11 am. I followed the directions he gave me to the place, but the directions were wrong. He wasn’t answering his phone, texts, or emails. I called his business partner, who had to take his boat in and drive back to the office to open the company email and get the actual address.
I got to the place at 1:30 pm, very much behind schedule. I scrambled to get everything set up, except there was a problem — there wasn’t even sort-of enough gear there to do the gig. Not enough microphones, not enough speakers, not enough anything. Even the venue-owner was asking, ‘Where is he, who are you, and why don’t you have (pieces of gear I specifically requested)?’
I couldn’t answer any of these questions because my options were either taking the blame myself and risking my own reputation or blaming my boss and getting fired and my reputation getting ruined anyway.
The wedding went horribly. As soon as everybody stood up, I started to break everything down and load everything out; I needed to bail before I got Bridezilla’d.
Cut to the following Monday when I showed up to the shop for an entirely different gig. My boss was on the phone with the wedding venue, and it was not a pleasant conversation. The venue (and the people who paid for the wedding) were super mad because I basically ruined their wedding by being late and bringing the wrong/not enough gear.
Rather than accept the blame himself and apologize, or do anything that someone could consider the right thing, I overheard my boss encourage the venue owner to take me, personally, to small-claims court.
So I emailed the venue owner the correspondence between me and my boss from that morning. The 10 am email asking me to cover his double-booked 3 pm wedding. The numerous texts, calls, and voicemails in an effort to get the correct address. The texts between me and the other boss who had to interrupt his vacation.
I made sure to highlight the part in the emails where I asked my boss, ‘So all the gear I need is already loaded into the truck and ready to go? I don’t need to grab extra mics or mic stands?’
‘Nope, I loaded everything last night!'”
Drama At The Mom And Pop Store
“I was working in a small mom and pop store. Well, Pop really had a taste for streetwalkers, apparently. He came in about two hours from closing one day with a woman who was very clearly a streetwalker.
He proceeded to tell me to shut the heck up (I didn’t say anything) and watch the door. If his wife came in looking for him, tell her he was in the warehouse. When she went there looking for him, run into the office and warn him so he could get himself together.
Screw this all over the place.
Sure enough, the wife walked in. ‘Have you seen Pop?’
‘Sure have, Ma. He’s in the office with some lady.’
I was already packing my stuff when Pop rushed out, still pulling up his pants, chased by the streetwalker and wife alike, screaming at me to get out. No problem, Pop. No problem at all.
I never even got my last check…”