The Manager Doth Protest Too Much, Methinks

My first ever job was working the doors — greeting customers and checking receipts — at a large clothing superstore. I was a bit young and naïve, but I took pride in my first job.

A man walked out the front doors with an armload of coats, stuffed them in his car (which he had parked in a disabled parking spot), and started driving off. I walked outside to get his license plate number and wrote it down on a random piece of paper.

I went upstairs to inform my managers.

Me: “There was a shoplifter, but I got his plate number.”

Manager: “How did you get his plate number?”

Me: “I went outside and wrote it down as he drove off.”

Manager: “You went outside?! You’re not supposed to go outside!”

Me: “I understand if you don’t want me to risk getting hurt chasing after a shoplifter, but all I did was stand there and write down—”

Manager: “No! You left your post! That’s unacceptable!”

I held up the paper with the plate number.

Me: “But it was to get this plate number. Now we can—”

[Manager] grabbed the paper and crumpled it up.

Manager: “Ignore it!”

I was dismissed, confused, and a little angry. I cared about this. Nothing would have happened to me money-wise; I just thought I was doing a good deed. Not to mention that I was incredibly annoyed as I was in charge of the doors; the shoplifter walked right through when I was distracted, and the whole line of customers at checkout saw, so I was super embarrassed.

The following Saturday, [Manager] called me up to write a statement for the police.

Police: “Did you manage to catch the license plate of the vehicle?”

Me: “Well, I—”

Manager: “No, Officer. She’s not meant to leave her post and go outside.”

Police: “Well, these things happen. Try to be more vigilant next time.”

Me: “But I—”

Manager: *Glaring at me* “She will, Officer. Thank you for your time.”

I put in my notice, and on my last day, I was talking about this incident with my supervisor.

Supervisor: “Yeah, that’s a classic insurance fraud scheme. They needed the police report for an insurance claim but weren’t about to get that person caught. No plate number, no arrest, everyone in the scheme is clear.”

I was shocked, but that day, I learned a bit more about how the world works. Next time, I won’t let a shifty manager steamroll me, and I will keep everything I write down!