Past The Point Of No Returns

I work in a fast food place. [Coworker] had been working there for at least a couple of years before I started. I don’t know why he stayed, as he constantly complained and did as little as possible. That part kind of annoyed me, as everyone else had to do more work because he didn’t want to. I started to look forward to the shifts he wasn’t on.

Being a store in the middle of nowhere, I guess they struggled to find replacements. Most of [Coworker]’s petty rule-breaking was overlooked and he got away with what he wanted — starting late, taking extra breaks, not cleaning on his rota, etc. The only thing I saw him getting in trouble for was taking food.

The management didn’t care if you took the (cooked) leftovers. If an order was made wrong, they looked the other way, and part of the employee benefit was that you got some food free every day.

But this wasn’t good enough for [Coworker]. He had to push the boundaries. As soon as the manager’s back was turned, he would be cooking himself whatever he wanted.

One day, some senior guy was walking around. [Coworker] didn’t know or didn’t care. As usual, he did as little as possible, and right before his break, he made himself a burger, packaged it up, and walked past everyone to the break room.

Senior Guy: “Where are you going with that?”

Coworker: “It’s my lunch.”

Senior Guy: “Did you pay for it?”

Coworker: “No, it was a return. [Manager] lets us eat the returns.”

Senior Guy: “Okay, but you can’t have the return you process yourself. Who served the customer?”

Coworker: *Pauses* “Okay, fine, it’s not a return. But it’s only extra cheese and bacon. It’s basically the free one we get anyway.”

Senior Guy: “The policy is there for a reason. Please pay for the sandwich.”

Coworker: “It’s only a piece of cheese, and what? Two pieces of bacon?”

Senior Guy: “It’s not about the cost; it’s about the rules everyone follows.”

Coworker: “Screw this job. This whole place will fall down without me.”

He quit, and the place didn’t fall down. In fact, we didn’t really notice him gone. [Coworker], of course, thought he was the victim in this and acts like he was some star employee, fired only because of bureaucracy. I make sure to point this out as we are friends on Facebook.