I’ve just been hired on as a security guard following a layoff, and I had this job recommended by a friend. I go into the office to get my new schedule.

Me: *Reviewing the sheet* “This doesn’t work.”

Receptionist: *Rolls her eyes* “You’re new; you don’t get the best assignments until we get to know you.”

Me: *Holds up the sheet* “You’ve got me working thirty-six hours in two days, with less than four hours total between shifts.”

Receptionist: “So? Like I said, you don’t get the best shifts right away.”

I’m starting to realize this job is a mistake.

Me: “You’re barely giving me time to drive from one job to the other, much less get food, shower, and sleep.”

Receptionist: “You’ve got your schedule.”

Me: “You’ve hired me on to protect our customers and their property, right?”

Receptionist: “That’s your job.”

Me: “How confident do you think they’ll feel about knowing that you’re assigning them a guard who’s been awake for two days straight?”

Receptionist: “FINE.”

The receptionist snatches the schedule back and goes in back, presumably to talk to whoever issued my assignment, before returning. She snaps, “HERE!” and throws the new schedule at me. Looking over the schedule, I notice another error.

Me: “Can I talk to the coordinator directly?”

Receptionist: “No! He’s busy. You’re lucky he changed your schedule at all.”

Me: “Did you tell him I was unsatisfied with my hours?”

Receptionist: *Eyes me* “Did you listen at the door?”

Me: “No. You just gave me the same schedule, with a fourth shift overlapping two of the others. You’re literally expecting me to be in two places at once now.”

Receptionist: “What is your problem? You want the overtime, don’t you?”

Me: “It’s no good to me if I fall asleep driving, and no good if you reprimand me for not being at one location because I’m still working another.”

The receptionist throws up her hands and walks into the back, not even taking the schedule this time. After a few minutes, another woman — the coordinator — storms out.

Coordinator: “Sign this. This is a written reprimand for insubordination.”

I silently show her the schedule. 

Coordinator: *Reads over it* “Oh. Uh, I’m sorry. I cut and pasted the wrong hours onto your schedule. Just a minute.” *Returns to the back*

The receptionist returns and wordlessly hands me a new schedule, one with long shifts but plenty of time to return home and rest between them.

Me: “Thank you.”

Receptionist: “Yeah.”

She waves me off without looking at me. I make a mental note to contact another shift manager about this behavior, but midway through my second shift, I get a phone call.

Receptionist: “Why aren’t you at [location #4, the overlapping shift from the second awful schedule]? You were supposed to be there two hours ago!”

I still had four hours to go on my current shift.

I hung up, and on the way home at the end of the current shift, I dropped off my uniform and explained that I quit, effective immediately. They kept calling me all week to demand to know why I was not at a shift, and I had to keep reminding them I’d quit.

A new coworker fresh out of school and with no experience starts at the worst possible time. We are swamped with work and have little to no time for her.

Me: “Welcome to your week in Hell. Unfortunately, I will have no time for you this week and will require you to do as I ask when I ask it. Next week, I will explain to you what you did this week and it won’t be the most interesting jobs, but rest assured, what I’ll ask you to do is necessary work.”

I don’t think she believes me. I notice her becoming unhappier and unhappier and regretting her life choices that brought her to this point every time I give her a routine, no-skills-necessary job — basically photocopying and filing. Finally, Friday noon brings much-needed relief.

Me: “[Coworker], let’s talk. I know you are unhappy, but I can assure you, the job is much more than what you did this week. I won’t deny that the tasks you did this week are a part of the job but it entails much more and more interesting things to do. We’ll make a fresh start on Monday and I’ll start your training properly. Trust me: weeks like this do happen but, luckily, not often, and next time you will be more prepared.”

I got the impression that she didn’t believe me this time, either, and I couldn’t blame her based on her experience, but she did show up the next Monday. It was a rough start of her career but she survived and worked through it and turned out to be a talented new member. I’ve moved on since, but I sometimes wonder if she remembers that first horrible week.

I’m on my day off and decide to swing by the bookstore where I work to get a new book that just came out. It’s a Saturday during the holidays, so I’m expecting it to be a bit busy, but when I get there, it’s actually not too bad.

I find the book that I’m looking for and start to head toward the front. When I pass customer service, I see one of our new hires, who we are all betting is not going to be here after the holidays, on his phone.

Usually, one or two of us will take a quick look at our phone as long as it’s dead and there aren’t any customers needing help, and we usually are pretty discreet about it. He’s standing on the floor, with his name badge on, headset on, and holding his phone up like he’s watching something.

A customer approaches him asking him for help. He holds out a hand and tells her she can wait and continues to tap out whatever he’s doing on the phone. I stop dead in my tracks and watch him. The customer looks at him in shock and then tries to ask him again for a book. 

He does the hand gesture again and I see red. I go up to the lady and tell her I’m off the clock but I ask how I can help. She is super sweet and just needs one book, and thankfully, I know where it is so I take her to it. 

After I help her, I head back to the customer service prepared to rip the new hire to shreds for not doing his job. I notice the customer I was helping is standing next to my general manager, who does random Saturday checks to see how we are performing. 

I see the customer nodding and pointing to him and then pointing over to me, and our GM has this look on his face. He walks over to me first and asks me if I helped someone off the clock.

I nod and tell him I am on my day off, but since the new hire couldn’t be bothered to help someone because he was on the phone, and since I knew where the book was, it was no big deal. 

He nods and then goes over to the new hire and asks if he could help him find something. The new hire, still on his phone, holds up his hand and continues to look at his phone. 

The GM taps his shoulder again. Finally, the new hire looks up and asks, with the most sarcastic attitude I’ve ever heard, what he can be bothered helping him with. 

The GM laughs and then tells the new hire to go home and not come back. The new hire begins to sass our GM. Our manager comes up from the backroom and greets the GM, and the GM tells them that he is firing our new hire, effective immediately.

Then, when the new hire begins to whine and fuss, our GM points out that I, on my day off, managed to not only help a customer but do it to the best of my ability, while he was on the clock and couldn’t be bothered.

That’s the story of the worst new hire I’ve ever met and how I got a raise and a letter of recommendation from my GM.

This story has been included in our June 2020 roundup as one of that month’s most memorable stories!

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I work in HR at a nursing home that fingerprints employees when they’re hired. We use a local agency and provide paperwork and a check to pay for the fingerprinting, which the new employee is given to take with them. A newly-hired employee comes in to pick up her paperwork this morning.

Employee: *To the receptionist* “I need to pick up my fingerprinting paperwork.”

[Receptionist] momentarily forgets I gave her the paperwork and motions the new employee over to me.

Receptionist: “She’s got it for you.”

Me: “[Receptionist] you have the paperwork, remember?”

We all laugh a little and [Receptionist] gives the employee the envelope with her paperwork in it. The phone then rings and [Receptionist] answers it.

The employee comes over to my desk with the clearly labeled envelope in hand.

Employee: “I need to pick up my fingerprinting paperwork.”

Trying desperately not to roll my eyes, I just motion to the envelope in her hand.

Employee: “Oh, this is it?”

Me: *Nodding* “Yes.”

We all have another chuckle and the new employee goes on her way.

An hour later, [Receptionist] answers the phone and starts saying something about the caller picking up the wrong check. Our payday is on Friday, and this is Wednesday. There’s no way someone has just picked up a paycheck, and how would it take so long to notice it wasn’t theirs if they picked it up days ago?

Receptionist: “I’ll have you talk to [My Name].”

I answer the phone after [Receptionist] transfers it. It’s the new employee who picked up her paperwork earlier.

Employee: “I think you gave me the wrong check. It has [Fingerprinting Company] on it.”

I roll my eyes and shake my head at [Receptionist] as I answer the new employee.

Me: “Yes, that’s the name of the fingerprinting company.”

Employee: “Oh! This is the check to pay them?!”

Me: “Yes, it is.”

Seriously?! And to top it off, just two weeks ago we had another new employee who didn’t get her fingerprints done because “they wouldn’t let me or my mom pay for it.” Ugh… I just wonder what these people think we included a check for? Did they think we were paying THEM $101 to get their fingerprints done?

The pool I work at hired a new employee who previously worked at a famous water park in our area. Since she had that background, we assumed she’d be a great employee. When I first met her, she was caked in makeup with eyelashes up to her forehead, and she was about to teach a swimming lesson. Surprisingly, none of it came off, so I asked her where she got her mascara. She then tried to play it off like her eyelashes were natural, which was warning number one. 

She has a shift on Saturdays from four to eight, but a month into working, she advertises that she wants the shift covered because she recently had a concussion and her grandma is sick.

Legitimate reasons, and I’m sure if she had talked to our boss, it would’ve been covered no problem. She didn’t, though, because she only wanted the six-to-eight part covered. No one wants to only work two hours on a Saturday night, but I’m already working noon to four, so I offer to work the entire four-to-eight shift. I hear nothing later and just assume she’s changed her mind.

A week or so passes until I’m working with the girl and she brings up the topic of her Saturday night coverage.

Girl: “It’s just been a hard decision for me because I don’t feel well, but I need the hours. So I’m trying to just get rid of two hours of my shift, so I can just have a break because it’s hard with my concussion.”

Me: “I understand, and I really want to help out. What if I worked four to six? It’s more convenient for me and you would still get those two hours.”

Girl: *Pauses* “Mmm, I have to think about that.”

I was stunned by this response because that was as good as she was going to get. I didn’t live nearby at all and didn’t want to work noon to four, have two hours off, and then be back from six to eight. I decided to drop it and cover someone’s opening on the next Saturday, instead.

On Friday night, around 11:00 pm, I was lying in bed and I just got a feeling to check our work’s email. I opened it up and, sure enough, that girl replied to my old email recently with, “Thanks, [My Name], you’re the best.”

So, I basically had to work a 6:30 am to 8:00 pm shift, and I was not happy. Luckily, she didn’t last long.