Don’t Screw People Over In A Small Town

About a decade ago, after graduating high school, I was in a new town and on the search for my first full-time job. I had worked part-time since I was fourteen and always had glowing reports from all of my former bosses, so my resume and references were great.

After attending a job fair, I accepted a job offer at a brand-new department store that was set to open in a couple of months. The position was in the seasonal section of the store, and I would be part of the group to finish setting up and stocking that section in preparation for the store opening soon, and then I would remain in that section afterward.

The interviewer said my great references were exactly what he was looking for. He raved about how, even though the position paid minimum wage to start with, they were very keen to regularly give, and I quote, “fantastic raises,” to employees who showed good work ethics and were punctual, solid employees, and that they would give the first raise three months in. I was excited to start!

For the next three months, I and the other half-dozen ladies in the same section were pumped about the promised “big raise”, and we were all determined to work our butts off and really make management proud so we could earn it.

None of us were ever late, we never clocked out early, we shortchanged our breaks and lunches so we worked more, we took great attention to detail in what we did, etc. Basically, we completed every task ahead of time and to perfection, and the management couldn’t say enough good things about what we accomplished, always grinning and talking about how we were definitely going to be shoo-ins for that big raise. The way they kept talking about it and how much they pushed it, we were all sure the raise would surely be several dollars more, at least. We were excited!

The three months passed and our manager scheduled a meeting with all of us from the seasonal section. She praised our work and went on and on about how we had excelled, how we should be so proud of ourselves, and how they were so thrilled to reward our hard work.

She handed us all our new pay stubs which reflected our raises. Every single face fell from joy to anger, confusion, and frustration. We had worked our butts off for a “spectacular raise” of twenty-five cents an hour, a whopping approximately forty-two dollars a month.

The manager saw how upset we all were and tried to make it sound as though we should be oh-so-grateful; this was more than other departments had gotten, etc. We didn’t care. It was a complete insult to go on like they had and give us a measly twenty-five cents an hour after we had done so much, above and beyond.

One lady quit right there and then and, according to local labor laws, since it had been only three months, she didn’t have to give her two weeks’ notice.

I came in the next morning to find that another two people had sent in their notice overnight. Our department was down to half-staffed. The same thing happened in every department in the store. They tried to hire more people quickly, but in a small town, news travels fast, and almost no one wanted to work for jerks like that.

I had expenses and was unable to just quit, but I began looking elsewhere immediately. The whole sense of morale in the store dropped, and the managers started to treat us all like garbage, even those like me who continued to do a good job and maintain work ethic. My mental health was taking a hit, but I couldn’t find another job.

My parents took pity on me and said that they were proud of how I had handled things and they would gift me the money I needed for my few expenses for three months, and I would be free to quit. I happily took them up on it.

The next morning, I handed in my two weeks’ notice, which by now I had to give. My manager flipped out! She ranted and raved about how ungrateful I was and how I wouldn’t find a better job, and she called me all kinds of names.

I didn’t care. I finished out my two weeks and left them terribly understaffed right at the beginning of December heading into the Christmas rush. It was glorious!

I enjoyed a long Christmas break and then found a really great new job in January, making twice what I had previously. In the best case of sweet Karma, I was shopping in the old store a month later and my former manager saw me.

Former Manager: “How’s the job hunt going? If you’re willing to forego your raise, I might consider hiring you back.

She was so condescending and snotty about it. I had the great pleasure of telling her:

Me: “I have a new job with twice the pay, and I have the best new boss I could ask for.” *Smiles* “I hope you enjoy your day.”

Then, I turned around and walked away.