Mr Dumbass And the hero Onlooker

[TheHolyPossum]

Hello All! Been reading the stories here for awhile, but didn't register until recently. For the record this incident happened almost 4 years ago, and I no longer work there. This was a Tim Hortons. I was on graveyard shift which meant we got fairly busy between 5 and 7 as people were heading to work.

SC: Sure you know what this is
ME: uhhh... Me
JD: Justice Deliverer. I actually didn't recognize him at the time but he was actually my Computer Science teacher from High school, which I was heavily involved in.

Anyway, it started when SC came in... as any customer does, typically- and orders a coffee.
Me: *Standard spiel*
SC: *Very gruff* You're going to give me a Large Double Double.(Double double of course being 2 cream 2 sugar). Very common order. So I ring it through. Now I made a habit of repeating the order as I punched it in, both for my benefit as well as theres. So I did in fact say "Alright, One Large Double Double, that will be $1.54" I mention the price because it becomes relevant later somewhat. He pays with a 10. I go, make the coffee, and hand it to him. "here's your Large Double Double!"
SC: I didn't order a Double Double
ME: *Wondering how I could have screwed this up* Oh, I'm sorry.
SC: Now make it again, and this time, MAKE IT RIGHT
Me: Alright- I just need to know what it was you really wanted.
SC: It was 2 cream Three Sugar!
Me: OK! So I'll make you another 2 Cream Three Sugar. I said this purposely, because my jerkwad detector was going off.
SC: YES! Now Hurry up, I'm 15 minutes late for work already thanks to you!
*Right, you got a coffee 5 minutes ago while you were on your way to get to work on-time, and now, because the coffee was made wrong, you're suddenly 15 minutes late. Likely story.*

I make him is 2 cream three sugar coffee. He watches me intently the entire time. I finish and tell him "here's your large 2 cream three sugar!"

he FLIPS out.
SC: I didn't want a 2 Cream 3 Sugar, I wanted a LARGE,four, cream, Three Sugar! (speaking really slowly and patronizing)
Me: Oh, I'm sorry *No I'm not, you lying A-hole...* I can make it again
SC: FINE. But hurry up! I'm half an hour late for an appointment! *Jesus buddy make up your mind, at least stay consistent with what you are late for*
Me: So Finally I have his Large four cream Three Sugar, so I hand it to him.
SC:Is this a Large.
* Oh f*** I see where this is going*
Me: yes, That's a Large.
SC: What is wrong with you people? How stupid are you? I said EXTRA Large. I said it three times!
Me: No problem, I can make it again
SC: *In a booming voice* No. I WANT A REFUND
Me: OK, no problem. *I go over to the till, use the wholesale to open it slightly*

He continues going off on how useless I am, how stupid I am, how my mother must be proud to have such an incompetent shit for a son, etc. I'm just trying to stay composed and NOT give this guy a piece of my mind, because part of me is sure that's what he's trying to do to get some sort of sick pleasure.

Now recall the price and that he gave me a 10. Now, my thinking was that he would give me back the change I gave him so I could give him back his twenty, but after a few seconds, with no motion by him, I figured I would just give him the 1.54 in change. it's all money, after all. So I give him the 1.54.


This just sets him off even more *is there no pleasing this guy?*.
SC:What am I supposed to do with this?

Me: Uhh... Spend it?

SC: Are you STUPID? I gave you twenty dollars!

Me: No, you gave me a 10.

SC: You think I should believe you now?

Me: Well, let me put it this way. If you gave me a twenty, it either turned into a 5 or a ten because that's all I have in this register at the moment.

SC: If I gave you 10, why would you give me 8.46?
*Seriously? And you said I was stupid?*

I was about to respond, but Justice Deliverer started before I could. I instantly recognized his voice as the aforementioned Computer Science Teacher. He gave him a full dressing down Now, obviously it's been four years, so when I was drafting this I decided to check with him (we keep in touch somewhat) And when he figured out what I was talking about he said "Oh... I remember that... Boy did that feel good" and he helped me fill in the details I missed. For me at the time my big :O was when he started using curse words, because obviously I had never heard him use them before and he was a very religious guy, and I could tell that when kids or other teachers had used a word like that at school it made him uncomfortable.

JD: Excuse me, but I've been watching your conduct throughout this transaction and I have to say I am thoroughly disappointed

SC: This is none of your business, this is between me and this dipshit here *naturally, pointing at me*

Now this was long, and JD made sure NOT to let him get a word in edge wise. When he paused SC would try to say something, and JD would quickly say "I'm NOT FINISHED" very loudly, and then continue on, with a few variations of which the only one I remember may have alluded that he had a sexual affinity for swine.

JD: Well, actually, since every single word you've said during this transaction was made using the volume of a jet engine, No, I'm afraid this is my business because you are a loud obnoxious asshole. For example, I remember you ordering, at jet engine volume, your first drink, which was a large double double. When he made this for you, it suddenly changed to a large 2 cream 3 sugar. When he made that for you- and by this time I had taken notice and watched you watch him make it, without saying a word, and then, suddenly, it was 3 cream 4 sugar. And when he MADE THAT- suddenly the size changed. All of this under the guise that nothing was changing and it was in fact his fault, even though really, you are either stupid or an indecisive, blame-shifting fuck. And to add to this, you demand a refund, And try to say that you gave him a 20! And on top of that you flip your lid essentially because he won't give you money for free. And that's not all, Not only that, but during this hole escapade, you were constantly acting like a complete asshole and treating him like a person who couldn't tell his ass from a hole in the ground, and who was beneath you. I can tell you, however, that he is one of the brightest students I've had the pleasure to teach and that it won't be long before he is making a lot more money than you and putting a lot more skills on his resume, all of which will look a lot better as a bulletpoint than "Complete asshole, Unable to deal with social interaction on even the most basic level"

the guy kept trying to interrupt, to get a word in edgewise, as I said before and when my old teacher is done, the guy suddenly realizes that almost the entire store is on the edge of there seat waiting to see what spew he comes up with to this one. He puts the change I gave him in his pocket and says, again at his jet engine volume, "I'm never coming back here again!"

My teacher didn't miss a beat. "That's the first smart thing I've heard you say!"

So for a few minutes everybody was still as they let the events sink in, slowly other customers started to resume their conversations and things went back to normal. Somewhat related, a nice older woman who I had served before and who was a semi-regular there and was very pleasant came up to the counter. So I asked her what I could get her. "She said, Oh nothing dear, It's just that I used to work in a store much like this one and would have said I had nerves of steel and could handle anything a Customer threw at me, but the way that customer treated you and the way you handled it, I was astounded at your ability to not physically harm him. I think you deserve this." And with that she pushed a $50 tip towards me. (Thankfully, yes we are allowed to take tips, though it is exceedingly rare to get one).

Anyway this particular story came up when I was drafting an even longer post detailing events over time at that old job, but I figured this would make pretty good reading material on it's own. Even if (reading it back now) the entire thing seems hard to believe. I was there and I don't quite believe it myself.

[raudf]

Teacher rocks!

I get the feeling the idiot was trying to pull the "rattle the nerves" scam, where they try to get you to the point of "I won't question this asshat as long as it gets him to go away," or to the point of so confused that you have no idea what just happened. That way, you'd believe him when he said he handed you a twenty, instead of the ten he did hand you.

What's amusing is how obviously bad the guy is at it. He couldn't pull the subtle stuff that could just be passed off as "having bad day," or "oops." Nope, he went for batshit insane at a jet-engine volume with an ever-changing story. Actually, scratch that.. he was probably just being himself. Loud, inept and stupid.

Teach gave you the out from dealing with the inevitable confrontation, however. And served the guy a huge heaping helping of pwn while he was at it. What's funny? Teach never called him a scammer. Stupid or blame-shifting, yes. Scammer, no. Didn't need to. I'm sure everyone else in the shop assigned that label themselves

[depechemodefan]

Wow, that sc must enjoy getting his rocks off at abusing people. Glad there are people out there to stick up for us. And the older woman rocked with that tip!

[ShadowTiger]

I really wish we could get the customer's desires in writing, as well as how much they pay. Why are they unable to pay after they get their drink, i.e. after the drink is made, but before it's handed to them?

[Sapphire Silk]

I get the feeling the idiot was trying to pull the "rattle the nerves" scam, where they try to get you to the point of "I won't question this asshat as long as it gets him to go away," or to the point of so confused that you have no idea what just happened. That way, you'd believe him when he said he handed you a twenty, instead of the ten he did hand you.

What's amusing is how obviously bad the guy is at it.

I'll bet he's good enough at it that he gets away with it more often than not. If Possum hadn't had such a handy defender, it might have eventually worked. Because if for not other reason, the manager would have been attracted to the scene and order Possum to give the SC a ten just to make him go away.

[blas]

I can't even describe how much I hated the "late" people at the gas station.

Hell, even some of my coworkers bitch about almost being late to punch in at work because it took too long at Kwik Trip on their way.

A normal person budgets their time, considers how long it could take, and goes from there.

Seeing as one coworker in particular lives right by me, leaves about the same time I do, and still tries to stop at the gas station before work for food that has to be microwaved and then stand in line to pay, it's no wonder she barely gets in on time to eat it quick before we have to clock in. If she'd leave even 5 minutes sooner, she'd be fine.

Hell, I (still) have several free McFrappes I got from the Monopoly game at McDonalds, and every day, I just can't leave in time to stop there on the way for a treat before work. So I just don't. Easy.

[raudf]

I'll bet he's good enough at it that he gets away with it more often than not. If Possum hadn't had such a handy defender, it might have eventually worked. Because if for not other reason, the manager would have been attracted to the scene and order Possum to give the SC a ten just to make him go away.

*facepalm* Of course, a spineless manager would cave and then blame the OP if the drawer was under by that exact amount. Here I keep thinking that all managers have spines or at least want to make a profit.. silly me

Of course what would have shut him up and wasted his time would be to call for a drawer count and apologize to the customers behind him that it needs to be done per corporate policy. (By then, he'd probably be an hour late to an emergency...)

[sms001]

Gotta go with raudf on this one, bet you dodged a scammer HolyPossum. I've seen a quick changer at work, and it's similar - rattle the person first, then move to money matters.

[XCashier]

Yeah, that guy was a scammer, a boor, and just plain asshole who gets off on making other people flustered. A great big to your teacher for giving him the Telling Off Of The Century (which is the very least that asshat deserved) and to that nice lady for giving you a hefty tip.

Hey Mister Bigmouth, you say you gave me a $100 for your extra small one cream one sugar coffee? Well, here's your refund, just step into the box here to get it -->

[Jetfire]

Did you really remake the drinks? Considering he was just adding to each one, it seems to me I would have taken back his double double and added the extra sugar and given it back to him. Ditto for the triple quadruple. Then dumped the mess in an XL cup with a splash of coffee (maybe) by that point.

Still, huge kudos for the teacher and the tipper at the end. Be nice if they could set up a camera with sound that can catch you both as you order.

"NO I SAID I WANTED A TRIPLE TRIPLE!"

"Let's go to the tape!... The Tape says... You're WRONG! Take your Double Double and don't let the door hit you on the way out."

[TheHolyPossum]

Responses and another story or two. remembering that other one brought up some other memories about that place. Some of them I'm not sure really put me in a positive light but hey we're all human. Quick info on the original circumstance:

Thankfully, there weren't any other customers behind him and it was oddly slow at the time- I think it must have been a Sunday morning, those were generally slow.

I get the feeling the idiot was trying to pull the "rattle the nerves" scam, where they try to get you to the point of "I won't question this asshat as long as it gets him to go away," or to the point of so confused that you have no idea what just happened. That way, you'd believe him when he said he handed you a twenty, instead of the ten he did hand you.

Yeah, I had that inkling. It would have worked flawlessly on anybody else on that shift, so for all I know he had done something similar before. I always love the "But I gave you a <larger denomination>" line. Sometimes they'd even pull that before I actually put the bill they gave me into the till at all:
Me:"uh... unlikely... the 5/10 you gave me is still sitting right there"
SC:"Are you calling me a Liar?"
me: "No, Not directly."

What's amusing is how obviously bad the guy is at it. He couldn't pull the subtle stuff that could just be passed off as "having bad day," or "oops." Nope, he went for batshit insane at a jet-engine volume with an ever-changing story. Actually, scratch that.. he was probably just being himself. Loud, inept and stupid.

I was on the verge of just bursting out laughing at how unbelievable it was. That's why when I think about it I can never decide what he was driving at. Even if it worked it seems like an awful lot of work to get 20 dollars.

Teach gave you the out from dealing with the inevitable confrontation, however.

I was pretty close to launching in a similar tirade, with the exception of the swearing, of course. Not sure how that would have gone down, since the place was one of those managed (at the time) by somebody who was a devout believer in the whole "the customer is always right" mantra.

And served the guy a huge heaping helping of pwn while he was at it.

he was always good at that; he'd frequently pwn the "gangbanger" students that chose CS because they figured it was "just playing on computers".

What's funny? Teach never called him a scammer. Stupid or blame-shifting, yes. Scammer, no. Didn't need to. I'm sure everyone else in the shop assigned that label themselves

If he was a scammer, like you said he wasn't very good at it... Pretty sure the best way to do that successfully is to be believably upset... the way he was you'd think that each coffee I had made "wrong" was me kicking a defenseless puppy. Then again, given his math capabilities it's possible he's a scammer, but not a very bright one, which pretty much explains it all.

Anyway: Further stories. I could tell a few stories involving me getting a formal complaint filed against be by a co-worker because I had to audacity to point out that Windex is glass cleaner, but glass cleaner is not <always> Windex. (What an odd thing to complain about), or the time two drunk kids tried to 'kick my ass' and I gave them both some injuries to explain later and threw them out, I certainly was not in my best shape, and the paramedics really wanted to take me to the hospital because they suspected a concussion, but I didn't think it was necessary (which was admittedly a stupid thing to allege since <they> were kind of in a better position to decide, but oh well). The reason I now think that might have been a good idea is because I can't actually remember anything that happened as a result of that.

The reason I don't work there anymore is very tangentially related; changes in staff, and firing random people with no real reason "We are moving in a new direction" was the reason they gave one employee that had been working there almost 11 years. Then they replaced them with people that would need constant supervision- I caught one new hire trying to sweep up spilled donut glaze with a broom, putting compost in the sugar, and other stupidities, which led me to conclude that their new direction was in fact "Straight down". When I started the typical staff on my shift (graveyard shift) was 2 out front, one on the back; when I left, it was one in the back (me), and one in the front, which even for the most capable employee meant I would have to come out front to help for the various nighttime rushes we had, which would set my baking work on hold to the point where I would frequently not take my breaks just to break even with what needed to be done and have enough time at the end of it to clean up for the next shift. Eventually I stopped that too. Sucky Customers are one thing, having to deal with Sucky co-workers on a frequent basis is quite another. One morning as I was trying to rush around and finish the last few items and clean up all the dishware the day shift sauntered in and instead of going into the employee break room and waiting for their shift to start, decided to plant themselves right in the center of the bakery. I managed to workaround them for a while (I didn't even have time to stop and quickly tell them to get out of the way, because I knew them and they were the type to make it a big issue)... That is until I went to put the muffin tins away, and discovered that they had now moved and planted themselves firmly in front of it. Leaving me no choice, I said "Excuse me" One of them broke the conversation, looked at me, saw the muffin tins- and I was thinking "Thank goodness" And...
went right back to the conversation! I tried it a few times, at which point it was clear they were ignoring me, so I just pushed them out of the way gently.
"OH you should have said something!" one of them said.
"Something!" I said angrily.
That also became a in-joke with my shift, to say "something" instead of excuse me, heh.

That same day though I realized something before I was leaving; First, the people who took over for me were complaining about everything- which actually was not atypical. But in the meantime, they hadn't actually really done anything; for 20 minutes they just sauntered about complaining about things I "hadn't done" (which ironically weren't even on my task list)... I even heard one of them complain that the freezer was cold, as if they expected otherwise, oe in any way my fault. So after that, I made sure I took my breaks and just did what I was able to do. I didn't get paid to skip breaks anyway, and I found it didn't really have a massive impact on what I actually finished anyway.

Gobbles is a name I gave to the unbelievably stupid co-worker I had there. Really the night-shift consisted mostly of Me, Gobbles, and the Supervisor. Me and the Supervisor Got along perfectly fine; we had very similar sense of humour and she <usually> liked my work ethic (Obviously we all have off days). Gobbles was... well, "special". Honestly I think she should be a warning to all the teenage girls that think they can drop out of high-school and coast through life on their looks, because evidently that's what she used to be. The only contest of looks she would have run would probably have been "most realistic Jack-O-Lantern"

A few years ago (2008/2009, I think) we had a Massive dump of snow; Normally I rode my bike to work, since it was some distance (by bicycle it took about 45 minutes or so). The few days of snow were manageable, but then we got the huge dump of snow (about knee high) Which made it virtually impossible to ride a bike through; and there was no way I was riding on a highway so I hoofed it. meanwhile, Gobbles decided to phone in complaining that they "couldn't get out of their driveways", (though they weren't disabled by any means so the 5 minute walk shouldn't have been a problem for them...) So For 13 days straight I left home at 9:30 to walk to work to get there just before 11 (when I started); worked for 8 hours having to do bake as well as storefront while Gobbles hung out at Drive-Thru and did nothing else, left at 7AM and got home around 9AM, leaving me 3-4 hours to do anything I needed to do before I tried to get 8 hours of sleep and repeated the cycle. By the end of that first 13-day stint (and I was still on schedule for another 4 after that) I just could do it. Most of the time I was so tired by the time I got home I just went straight to sleep, and woke up for my alarm and had to force myself out of bed to repeat the process. On the 13th day I just said hell with it. The schedule had 4 people on so arguably it wouldn't have been pretty easy but I was just so tired, so I phoned in well. No management was on around the time I phoned (8PM) so this was with a supervisor.

Me: Hi *name*... I'm not coming in tonight"
Them: Who's this
me: TheHolyPossum
Them: Oh, you should have phoned in earlier, because Gobbles Can't make it because of the snow.
Me: That's nice. I'm not asking. I'm telling you.
Them: You can't do that!
Me: Just did! Bye. *click*

Of course a few minutes later the Manager phones and tries to demand that I go to work. He was one of those crafty types that doesn't fire people but tries to get them to quit, or goads them into saying something that implies they quit.
Them: You have to come to work tonight!
Me: Oh? And why is that?
Them: Because we have nobody else!
Me: well, first, that isn't my problem, second, You could always get Gobbles to come in, she was scheduled, and she's already missed 4 days this week, whereas I've been working the last 13 days. If you really want those details to get to Labor relations, go ahead and fire me right now, and we'll see what happens, but don't for a second think me not going to work today constitutes me quitting.

he was pretty pissed off and kept trying to make threats on my job (And to be fair I did take those half-seriously, but I also knew they were probably empty and doing so would probably be a lot more trouble for him in the long run. Not to mention my supervisor would be furious.. The next thing I heard was when I went back the next day (after sleeping for like 15 hours... ahhh much better) and Gobbles tried to yell and me.
Gobbles: You made me have to work yesterday!
Me: You made me have to work my last 3 days off, so you still owe me 2, right? In fact, wait- you were scheduled yesterday anyway, so that doesn't really count as you covering, so in fact it appears to be 3-0 in my favour anyway.

That shut her up. Though she kept trying to say it was "totally unfair".

over time we lost staff and got new ones, some good, some incompetent.

So- eventually we get a "new hire" who isn't actually a new hire at all- but somebody who has:

-Walked off the job because he wanted to party on a Saturday night
-After that simply didn't show up on Saturdays at all, or phoned in with lame excuses
-Quit inexplicably
-Missed work 5 days in a row without telling anybody, causing him to be fired.
-gotten re-hired again, and within a month getting fired again for his constant absenteeism. That happened twice.

He was on another shift so we just sort of shook our heads. Then he came onto our shift. Continued his absenteeism, constantly didn't show up at all. Thankfully it only happened when we had three people on staff so while it was a pain it was workable.

Then I saw him scheduled on a Friday, with only me. Friday, of course, being the day that he "mysteriously" didn't show up on, or made up some excuse to not show up. Obviously because he was partying. I raised this concern. "Oh he'll show up don't worry" And I told her, I said "if he doesn't show up, I'm going to leave". One of those half-threat things that you don't actually think you would ever do.

So Saturday rolls around... guess who doesn't show up. Surprise! So I try to phone management, who doesn't answer the phone at all. Which honestly was partly a relief because the last time we phoned management at that hour, which was when some kid emptied an entire container of bear mace in the store- she said "Oh it can't be that bad"... really? Ok, you come down here... we can barely breathe properly let alone work the way it is now. Then she tries to complain that we phoned her at all. "You've woken everybody in the house up!" Like it's some crime against humanity or something. Good thing the supervisor phoned and not me, I would have asked her why she thought her job title was Manager if it evidently didn't involve managing any situations.


So back to the story- By this time I'm the only one in the store, and I'm trying to deal with a crapload of customers, try to get storefront closed, Drive/Thru, prepare stuff in the back, clean up the messes the previous shift always leaves, etc. meanwhile, I'm trying to mentally figure out how the hell I'm going to deal with the Freezer/Fridge product delivery that comes in around 5AM.

Shortly afterward I notice that in addition to this there is a rather large Order for donuts to be filled out for 7AM (10 dozen donuts and a few dozen muffins). That's when I decide to close it all down, because otherwise I wasn't going to have anything but coffee to sell anyway; and if I missed that order it would be particularly bad; and if I don't get it closed by the time 5 rolls around I had no idea how I'd deal with the truck delivery, which would otherwise monopolize all my time (on account of always having to check all the expiry dates since the truck delivery that came on wednesdays was never rotated by whomever put it away)

Then I got to thinking about the bigger picture. When I started the job it was supposed to just be a quick one- a stairstep to something that used my IT/Programming skills in some fashion. I kept saying to myself I would look for another Job while I had that one, but I never bothered; so I decided the only way to do so was if I forced myself by not having this Job at all. I was thinking about this for a few hours, in something of an internal argument. Around 2AM I had decided. I finished that product that I had already made (muffins, Danishes, etc); made sure everything was secured, shut off all the ovens (to prevent any fire hazard, etc. Locked all the doors (well I had already locked them when I closed the lobby, but I double-checked anyway), and made sure the Drive-Thru window was locked- sighing heavily when I remember that for the last year the lock had actually been partially broken and management refused to fix it, presumably because that would mean spending money. I changed, and I left out the back door, which locks itself. At which point, there was no turning back on my decision.

As I walked away I had absolutely no intention of ever going back there. That chapter was done. Finished. Was what I did a mistake? Was it wrong? I might capitulate to the latter, but never the former. With more free time than I needed, I pored myself into my website and Software development, getting several clients and working with them on Software projects. Because they were so far between I didn't make quite as much as I was making there, but it was still a lot better, because at least it was the correct field.

I did eventually learn about what happened after I had left. Mostly as a result me attempting to apply for EI, not really caring if it went through but just doing so because eh you never know.

Apparently, after I left, some teenagers opened the drive thru window and... did nothing else. maybe they couldn't figure out how to open the till or something. Regardless that wouldn't have been an issue if the lock was working. of course at 5 when the delivery driver (great guy, I do regret if I made that day a pain in the butt for him) - I actually heard it straight from him because he stopped his truck on the side of the road when I was on my way to an interview and was like "Dude what happened that night"... apparently he got there, nobody was around, so he scratched his head and had no choice but to move on to the next destination (so I don't think it was that much of an annoyance for him). The best part was in the morning when the lethargic day-shifters came in to start.... and couldn't get inside This meant that one of them had to phone management (who normally decided to only work maybe an hour around lunchtime before going home, which made sense to them since they made a monthly salary rather than a wage) and they had to come in to work at the RIDICULOUS hour of 7:30, at the very least to unlock the store.

Now I had no plans of returning, but I wasn't vindictive; I didn't finish much of the product, but I did make sure everything was ready to have the remaining product prepared- once the ovens were turned back on (again, I turned them off for safety reasons). And there is no debating that locking all the doors was a hell of a lot better than leaving them open so anybody could waltz in and scoff the till floats. Heck if I was a real jerk I could have changed the PIN entry number on the store safe, and I had, for the previous year or so, had complete control over all the computer systems remotely to the tune of being able to even change salaries and wages and clocked time. I never did that, of course. I even outright told them that I had complete control over all the tills, but they said "Oh you aren't smart enough to be able to do that." Another annoyance is that the guy who didn't show up at all wasn't fired as a result of, you know, not showing up. The end result was that they wouldn't give me my cheque on the following Friday until I turned in my Uniform (They managed to "fire" even though I quit) So I did that. What I don't get is that they didn't actually do anything to the guy that didn't show up and had a habit of not doing so; the logic escapes me: "Let's 'fire' the guy that did show up but left after a few hours, and had an almost perfect attendance for 5 years, rather than the guy who didn't show up at all, and made a habit of it"

So then my EI claim eventually comes back- by this time I'm doing OK working with C# and programming, just like I did in my spare time before but this time I'm making something from it- So they get me to phone them. OK. So I do that, And apparently they've denied my claim because it was "purposeful neglect". I don't recall the entire call but this was something like it:

(EIL: EI lady)

EIL: We've denied your claim because it was purposeful neglect
me: Ok
*Silence I guess as EIL waits for me to rant, or something*
EIL: See, we actually call employers when you apply for EI (she uses a very accusing tone here)
me: And?
EIL: Well apparently you left the store
Me: Well that's an expert bit of detective work. I did write that down on the form.
EIL: And also, apparently you left the Drive-Thru window unlocked
Me: No, I didn't. I locked it. The lock was partly broken.
EIL: They have you on tape leaving the store
*a pause*
Me: uh.. is there something I'm not understanding here? That's not a huge revelation or discovery since I did say exactly that on the application form.
EIL: Are you going to appeal your claim? *wtf?*
Me: Nope. Then I hung up.

I just didn't understand the entire thing- She treated me like some sort of criminal. She said "You left the premises" as if it was some huge revelation that I didn't want anybody to find out, but if that was the case I wouldn't have put it on the EI application form. More to the point, I don't really understand the entire thing; looking over my pay stubs and T4's I find that I've given the EI program over 5 thousand dollars during the time I was working there. While I can understand claims being rejected if you didn't work for very long or whatever, when you pay in over 5 grand to that system I don't think it's completely inappropriate to expect some of it back, regardless of the circumstances of how you left. Particularly since the entire point is so that you have a fallback. If I didn't have my freelancing to fallback on I probably would have been furious. Maybe I just don't understand the system... but then again, I don't think anybody really does :P

So finally that was over, and in the meantime I actually managed to win a Microsoft MVP award for my work with C#. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have had the time to win that award if I hadn't left my old job; and with that award on my resume I've taken to looking for more permanent, full-time (and stable) job oppurtunities in Software or web development.

I've been tempted to return to my old workplace and gloat. "Oh this piece of 3 pound crystal? bah that's nothing, just my AWESOME moustache MVP Award!

[Sleepwalker]

Eh, most insurance expects you to fight with them. It's like how some cultures expect haggling for goods.

[TheHolyPossum]

Eh, most insurance expects you to fight with them. It's like how some cultures expect haggling for goods.

yeah makes sense to me. I just thought it was funny how she was repeating things that I had told them specifically in the original filing as if it was some shocking revelation.