(I’ve quit my job, but tell my boss that I’m willing to be available in an emergency or for extra coverage. I’ve therefore been taken off the regular weekly schedule. However, one day my phone rings about five minutes after the daily shift change.)

Me: “Hello?”

Manager: “Hey, are you on your way?”

Me: “On my way?”

Manager: “Yeah, you’re scheduled to work today.”

Me: “I am?”

Manager: “Yeah… didn’t [assistant manager] tell you?”

Me: “No. I’m in [town 45 minutes away] right now.”

Manager: “Oh man… you’re kidding.”

Me: “I was just leaving, though. I guess I could be there in like an hour.”

Manager: “Oh, great!”

(A few minutes later my phone rings again.)

Manager: “Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I called [assistant manager] and told her the importance of letting you know when you’re scheduled to work!”

(I’ve submitted my notice on December 1 that my last day will be December 21st. On the 21st, I come by to turn in my uniform and collect my paycheck. As I do so, I happen to glance at the work schedule for the next week.)

Me: “Hey [boss], why do you have me scheduled to work Christmas Eve?  And Christmas day? And…” *flips page* “….New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day!?”

Boss: “You didn’t ask off!”

Me: “You’re right, I didn’t. Because I quit.”

Boss: “Hey if you don’t want to work a holiday you have to submit your off-time requests EARLY, you KNOW this.”

Me: “No I don’t… because I don’t work here anymore.”

Boss: “Look, if you don’t want to work your shifts, you need to find someone to cover for you!”

Me: “Or what? You’ll fire me?”

Boss: “You bet your butt!”

Me: “I DO NOT WORK HERE ANYMORE!”

Boss: “Find someone to cover your shifts if you want to skip work on a holiday. Good luck!”

(I turn to a customer who has been listening.)

Me: “Excuse me sir, will you cover my shift on Christmas Eve?”

Boss: “He doesn’t work here!”

Me: “NEITHER DO I!”

(I then left. She called me, furious, each and every day I was supposed to work, and ended up forcing one of her assistant managers to work the store alone on New Year’s Eve, promising I would be there. The assistant manager called me in tears and begged me to come in. That three hours of work screwed up my taxes for two years because the store manager reported it wrong.)

(I’m waiting at a store’s photo counter to make some corrections. After a few minutes nobody shows up, so I speak to an employee stocking shelves in another department.)

Me: “Excuse me, do you know if there’s anyone who can help me at the photo desk?”

Employee: “I think [name] just went on break. Let me see if there’s anyone else who is photo trained.”

(He makes a call on his radio, and I go back to the photo counter to wait. Ten minutes later, I approach the same employee…)

Me: “Hi, I’m still waiting at the photo desk and nobody’s come to help me. Do you think you could call again?”

Employee: “Yeah, sorry about that. I called [name] to come help, and she said she was on her way.”

(He makes another radio call and I go back to wait at the photo desk. Ten minutes later, I still haven’t seen anyone. I find another employee and ask to speak to a manager. Ten minutes later, a very aggravated manager comes over to me.)

Manager: “Are you the one who demanded to speak to me?”

Me:  ”Well, ‘demanded’ is kind of a strong word, but yeah, I did ask to talk to a manager.”

Manager: “What do you want?”

Me: “Well, I’ve been waiting over half an hour to correct an error I had made previously.”

Manager: “What do you want me to do? I can’t do photos.”

Me: “Well, at this point I was just hoping that you, as a manager, could track down one of your employees who’s trained on the photo desk to take care of this for me.”

Manager: *rolls her eyes* “If you just go to the photo desk, somebody should be there.”

Me: “I’ve tried that already. I’ve spent half an hour just trying to get someone to help me.”

Manager: “Fine. You don’t need to be so mouthy with me, young lady.”

Me: “Wha—?”

(She picks up a phone and tells the photo employee to get off of his lunch break.)

Manager: “[Name] will be at the photo desk to help you when you go back there.” *very sarcastically* “Is there anything else I can help you with today, ma’am?”

Me: “Isn’t it legally required for your employees to have certain amounts of time for their lunch breaks?”

Manager: *rolls her eyes and walks away*

(I go back to the photo desk and find an elderly man waiting for me. He couldn’t have been sweeter and I apologized for causing him to get his lunch break shorted.)

Related:
Mismanaged Expectations, Part 8
Mismanaged Expectations, Part 7
Mismanaged Expectations, Part 6
Mismanaged Expectations, Part 5
Mismanaged Expectations, Part 4
Mismanaged Expectations, Part 3
Mismanaged Expectations, Part 2
Mismanaged Expectations (Not Always Right)

(I’m running late due to the local bus breaking down in the middle of the highway. I call ahead to let the company know I’ll be late, but apparently the message never makes it to the manager. I arrive to find him upset.)

Manager: “I sincerely hope you have a good reason for taking your sweet time to get here. I was on the verge of calling you up and firing you!”

(I apologize and explain what happened.)

Manager: “Well, you should have anticipated that and left home earlier. Because you weren’t here at the right time, we don’t have anyone to train you, so you’re going to have to come back tomorrow and accept we’re docking your pay for today.”

Me: “Um… look again. I’m sorry, but I’m pretty sure you can’t do that.”

Manager: “Excuse me? How do you imagine that?”

Me: “Because you haven’t hired me yet. I’m here for my initial interview so you can find out if I’m a good fit for your company.”

(The manager looks at me, then at my resume, and then at the receptionist.)

Manager: “Well, still, can you come back tomorrow? Everyone else is out on assignment now and I don’t feel like dealing with any more new recruits.”

(He tosses my resume back at the receptionist and walks away. I decided to seek employment elsewhere.)

(This happens right after my aunt had died unexpectedly at age 62. I have taken the week off to be with my family.)

Manager: “Hey, [my name], can you cover my shift tomorrow night?”

Me: “No, I’m off the rest of the week. Remember?”

Manager: “Yeah, I know, but I really need you to come in tomorrow night and cover the store.”

Me: “I can’t. Tomorrow is my aunt’s funeral.”

Manager: “Yeah, I know, but that’s in the morning, isn’t it?”

Me: “Yes, but I really don’t think I’ll be in any shape to work after my aunt’s funeral.”

Manager: “Well look, I have a date tomorrow night with this really hot guy, but I’m supposed to be here to cover the store and process shipment and no one else can cover, so I really need you to come in from 4 until close. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t an emergency ’cause no one else can come in!”

Me: “Wait, you want me to come in, process the entire shipment, and cover the store by myself after my aunt’s funeral so you can go on a date?!”

Manager: “Yeah, what’s the big deal? They’ll have buried her by then anyway, so it’s not like you’ll miss anything.”

Me: “Seriously?! Okay, tell you what: I’ll come in tomorrow, but only to turn in my keys and name tag. Good luck on your date.”

(I ended up getting a work study job through school that paid much better and even helped me earned credit towards my major. My manager was fired a few months after I quit for drinking in the store and sexually harassing an employee.)