Crappy ways to get FIRED...

[XCashier]

I worked at the Drug Store From Hell when I was 19-20. I've posted stories about that place before, a wretched hive of scum and villainy and SCs and spineless brown-nosing managers who then turn around and lash out at the employees.

Anyway, it was a very busy afternoon, and none of the SCs understood the kindergarten concept of "stand in line and wait your turn." There were about six or seven clustered around my register, all shouting questions at or making demands of me. Another guy walks up in the midst of the melee and asks me where the batteries were located. "Aisle 18," I reply, then go back to the folks who were there first and try to untangle the problems.

Next day I go in, I'm called to the office. Seems Battery Boy was a Secret Shopper, and even though he mentioned in his report that I was busier than a one-legged man at a butt-kicking contest*, I didn't take the time to escort him to the battery aisle and inform him of the pros and cons of each kind of battery. The manager informed me that I could either resign or he'd let me go. Not knowing better, I resigned (if I'd known about unemployment insurance, I would've let the arsehole fire me). Nice ambush, jackasses. Bet you're still wondering why your store went under less than two years later.

Then there's the temp job story, but I already posted that. People really suck sometimes.


*This colorful phrase was posted a long time ago on this site by another member, whose name escapes me, but it made me laugh!

[bsaana]

My wife and I live in a small town, I have lived in this same town all but about 5-6 years of my life. My wife a total of 2 years now. Growing up I lived 2 houses away from the owners of the local grocery store, so my family does know them. My wife started working for them in the middle of June this year. She also decided to use her GI Bill to go to college (gets about $1300 a month for that - more than she would ever make at the store). The owners know of this and are OK with the days she said she could work. Tuesdays and Fridays they ALWAYS get a truck in so everyone is required to work (unless in school) and everyone has to do a weekend day. The wife of the owner always did the schedule getting it out 1 day before it started, and got upset that my wife was going to go to college. My wife made plans to take our daughter to Ames Iowa to meet her grandparents over labor day weekend. The owners wife gets upset and puts her on the schedule KNOWING she is unavailable and tells her to change her plans, my wife says NO and makes a deal with the owner.

We get back and she goes to check the schedule and is told "I did not put you on here because I do not like how you went behind my back to talk to (owner) just like our kids did". So my wife got fired, but it didn't matter since just for attending college she gets $500 a month more - TAX FREE, because she served in the US Navy for 6 years. (Just a note: for most to be eligible for the GI Bill, during the first year of service each member that wants to be able to use it must pay in $100 a month for the first year to help fund the program).

[MadMike]

I can think of two stories, thankfully neither of which are first hand.

Back when my ex was still with her parents, she took a job at a children's clothing store. She seemed to like the job, and the manager seemed really nice when I met her.

Then one day, my gf had to get her wisdom teeth removed. Naturally, she tried to arrange time off to recover, but they asked her to come in anyway.

The next day, this same manager who seemed so nice fired her. The customers were complaining she was acting like she was stoned (not suprising, since they had her on enough painkillers to take down an elephant), and spent most of her shift leaning on a stool.

Naturally, I took a great amount of sadistic pleasure when the place went out of business about a month later.

=================

The bar where I first tried karaoke was having their big New Year's Eve bash, and at the end of the night, the owner told everyone that as of the next day, the bar was no longer in business, and everyone was out of a job. It surprised me, because the place always seemed to be doing a decent amount of business. From what I heard, the new owner, who ran the place for just over a year, decided running a bar was too much trouble.

[PhotoChick]

Mike sorry reminded me.
I think I was still in high school. My friend worked at a restaurant in town. One night the owner gathers all the staff, tells them its their last night he's closing the place down (He ran the place into the ground). This place was owned by a family. Mother and two brothers. Mother buy a bar in a nearby town. Brother #1 ran it for a while, it was a great then. Brother #1 started a restaurant in different town. Really nice and classy place. Brother #2 (who closed the restauraunt) is now running the bar into the ground. Was their on saturday and it was dead, and the food was bad.

[blas]

This just happened on either Sunday or Monday. Very popular mom and pop chicken restaurant (it had a giant chicken on the roof...we always called it the Chicken Shack). Without any notice, the owners said "It's everyone's last night, we're closing, we're losing too much money because of the new freeway." and that was that.

I feel bad for everyone who lost their job that night.

[draftermatt]

I, thankfully (knock wood) haven't been fired. Worked for a place that went out of business, but that wasn't so bad. My wife was let go because a supervisor told her to do something. He got fired too though.

However my boss has been fired twice.

In 1980 my boss was a salesman/engineer for a company he'd been with since 1964. The company was struggling, losing money. So he went to the owner and said "Make me the President of the company and I'll turn this around"

And he did, by 1986 they were making $2 million a year. The owner of the company was in his 60's at this point, and thinking of retiring/selling. So my boss got some investors together and offered to buy the company. The owner said "he'd have to think about it"

In the meantime rumors started flying, my bosses investors started saying they never had any part of it. And one day my boss went to the bank, came back to find out he was fired.

Within 2 years the owner of that company was dead, and the company got swallowed by a larger company whom this company frequently beats out on work.

So my boss tried to run his own company for a while, but never made or lost any money.

He then moved to Richmond, VA in 1988 to run a new company for some people (same type of company though). He ran that company pretty successfully until 1990 when he was told that he wasn't needed anymore since he had shown them all they needed to know.

They went out of business around 1992.

Boss man moved back to Maryland, and "retired" doing consultant work for the industry until he was hired here in 1996.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

wanted to resurrect this thread because I have another story to share:

My buddy P used to work at a store and he really didn't get along with the Owner/GM, but he had a lot of loyal customers and his sales were always rock solid so GM grudgingly kept P around but they clashed all the time. P has told me stories and GM had some pretty stupid ideas about running a business.

So one day P goes to work and for some reason his key doesn't work anymore (this was not an electronic swipe, we are talking a physical metal key). He calls GM who tells him he should have taken the hint and realized he didn't have a job anymore!

Let me recap if you missed it: The GM hated P so much than rather than fire him straight up, he HAD THE LOCKS CHANGED on one of P's off days just to fire him in a really cruel way.

The story has a happy ending though: After P left the store went downhill FAST and was out of business in less than 2 years.

[spookysonata]

Ooooh, I have one.

Five years ago, I was hired as a manager for a local chain of hair salons. I trained for 3 months at some other locations, then was moved to the new day spa they were opening in the mall, which I would be running. During training everyone was so nice, and encouraging, and I was told what a great job I was doing, what a fast learner, etc.

Well...the spa wasn't really built yet. So my first several weeks there I was setting up the computer system, receiving and pricing stock, meeting with and scheduling stylists, etc. Most of these days I was entirely alone in the store, other than the contracters who were finishing the interior of the spa.

Fast forward to opening: it's crazy busy all the time. All the customers seem to like the new place and gave lots of positive feedback, and the stylists enjoy working there, but corporate has me working 12 hr shifts every day because they won't hire enough desk help. So one day my boss comes in, and hands me a 3 page typed document labeled "Affadavits Concerning the Work Habits of Spookysonata" basically filled with total lies, allegedy from everyone I ever came into contact with at the company. I didn't know how to do my job. I hid products. I threw tantrums in front of customers and staff. The only true thing in it was a note that I had once worn flip flops to work, which I readily admitted to.

So my boss took my keys and told me to go home, that maybe they'd find another position as a recptionist or something. After I got over the shock, I typed up a point-by-point rebuttal of all the lies, and sent it certified to the CEO. Unfortunately my lawyer said there was no case for WT, since it's a right to work state, but I think now that they just wanted me to do the scut work for the opening of the spa, and then dump me. Fuckers. It took me a LONG time to recover my self-confidence after that.

[Geek King]

Here's three ways I, fortunately, have heard about without being part of them:

Dial R for Russian Roulette
Workers were advised that the company was going to layoff about 20% of the work force. Employees were told to call a number on a certain day. The automated voice on the other end would tell you if you still had a job or not, reportedly decided randomly.

Call of Doom
Workers were told ahead of time that on a certain day the layoffs would be implemented by phone. Workers would receive an automated call telling them that their job was being eliminated. This led to several employees being so terrified of the phone that they would cry when it rang, and refused to answer it at all.

Poor Timing
During VP's speech at an annual company meeting, the VP brings a fellow on stage and announces him as the new Director of Marketing. Sounds standard, right? Well, the next presentation was by the old Director of Marketing, who was doing an excellent impression of a fish. No one had told him he was being replaced, see. I am told the presentation had a decidedly chilly tone.