Leaver’s Remorse
(I have been working at my current job for five years. I have been in my office for over an hour, when someone I have never seen before comes in and tries staring me down.)
Me: “Can I help you?”
Man: “You’re at my desk.”
Me: “Your desk?”
Man: “Yes. MY desk!”
Me: “Who told you it was yours?”
Man: “[Manager].”
Me: “He hasn’t told me about any change. Are you sure you have the right office?”
Man: “That is my desk. I work HERE!”
(I decide to call my manager to resolve the situation. He sounds just as confused as I feel and agrees to come over. He recognises the man instantly.)
Manager: “[Man], what you are doing here?”
Man: “Finally! [Manager], what’s this a**hole doing in my office?”
Manager: *looking between us* “What?”
Man: “What is this p****—” *pointing accusingly* “—doing at my desk?”
Manager: “[Man], you haven’t worked here for a year. You just disappeared one morning, leaving the rest of us to pick up the pieces.”
Man: “What are you talking about?”
Manager: “You left in February; [My Name] replaced you in June. I just thought you had found something else, and didn’t want to stick it here for another month. You don’t work here anymore.”
Man: “So, you just decided to fire me without warning?! That’s illegal. I’ll be chatting with [Senior Manager] about this. Your a** is cooked!”
(The man rushes out, screaming at the top of his lungs about the injustices he’s faced, calling my manager a crook and waste of a human being.)
Manager: “I don’t know what to say. I tried everything to get in touch with him. He didn’t even return his work laptop or phone, and the department was charged because of it.”
(I later heard that the man did, in fact, try to contact the senior manager, by barging into his office about 30 miles away. They had to call the police to have him removed. The work laptop and phone were found in his car, both in states of disrepair. We’ve all agreed he was rather stupidly trying to sneak them back in, but when he saw me he panicked and decided he was in too deep to admit what he was trying to do.)
Question of the Week
Tell us your story about a customer who couldn't understand the most simple concept.
