Time To Replace The Replacement

I’m going back to college and, as such, the store needs to replace me on weekday opening shifts — 6:00 am to 2:00 pm. I let them know that I can open on Fridays as long as I’m out by noon to get to my single class from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. I’m able to give a solid month of notice.

My replacement is a new hire, and he starts off well. He’s a nice guy, he picks up on stuff at a reasonable pace, and all that. About a week into his training, some quirks start to appear. He talks to himself in a creepy way, and he gets oddly defensive over every single question he’s asked.

It’s about 10:00 am on a Friday and I get a frantic call from the opening manager.

Manager: “Can you come in for just a couple of hours? I know you have class today but [Replacement] vanished. We don’t know where he went.”

I say no problem and rush down. The new opener has indeed disappeared. Thankfully, he was competent enough at the job that I’m not far behind on anything.

I get through the rest of the prep and get ready to clock out. Then, I learn a bit more about what happened.

Turns out, the mid-shift manager came in at 9:00, saw a smaller amount of a product prepped than expected, and merely asked about why there was less. [Replacement] flew off the handle and said things like:

Replacement: “I just did what [Opening Manager] told me! It’s not my fault!”

He kept carrying on and swearing.

The mid-shift manager sent him on break since it was about time anyway and he needed to cool off. Turns out, he got on his bicycle and just rode off.

The manager, just wanting an explanation more than anything, sent him a text asking if he was okay and if he would be coming back. After hours with no response, she sent another message basically saying, “I’m taking this as your resignation.”