There is only so much someone can take before enough is enough, especially at their job. While they may have allowed a supervisor to abuse them over the years, there is always something that crosses the line and tempers flare. It's not pretty and it's not fun, but sometimes it has to be done.
A Reddit thread recently asked people to share their craziest "fire me, I dare ya" stories, and it's safe to say that we've all experienced something similar. It's crazy what some managers and supervisors will do to their employees in order to save themselves. All posts have been edited for clarity.
“Maybe We Should Evaluate Your Future At This Company”
“The first year at an old job, I essentially took over most of the tasks in my department which were previously held by other departments and was done badly because of it. This lead to a massive increase in productivity. I then found out I was paid significantly less than what others were making and others in my position across the industry were making. I went to my boss and told them I had done all this work increasing productivity and I would like to discuss a raise. They said no.
I worked there for another year, asking for a raise every now and again until I was offered a job that paid double. It didn’t start for a couple months so I held on to that job until I was set to submit my two weeks. I asked for a raise again, thinking ‘Why not?’
My boss went off, telling me I wouldn’t get a raise and said some very colorful things about it. It culminated with her telling me, ‘If you don’t like your pay, maybe we should evaluate your future at this company,’ to which I replied, ‘Already have, I took another job and this was your last chance to offer me what I deserve. I quit.’
Some friends later told me that my sudden departure caused a massive backup of work that ended with my manager losing her job.”
“I’m Sorry, I Didn’t Realize My Dog Was Going To Die”
“My dog became very ill quite suddenly and he needed to be put down. I was at work and I asked to leave half an hour early so I could be there for him.
When I asked my manager, she got annoyed and said there was ‘no way’ and that I should have told her earlier. I said, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t realize my dog was going to die,’ in the most sarcastic way possible then walked away knowing she’d follow me. I then stood at my desk and typed my resignation up in front of her.
She gave me the time off. No one was going to stop me from being there for my boy.”
“He Didn’t Know I Was Recording”
“A ‘manager’ threatened to fire me because I wouldn’t make some system changes that would have led the company very open to a cyber attack. I recorded a phone call with the manager where I explained the risk and that we needed someone more senior to sign off on that risk before I would make the change. He swore at me and told me just to do it, which was all captured on the recording. He didn’t know I was recording.
At the HR meeting where he was going to effectively fire me, I insisted on bringing representation and, at the time, the policy said I could bring whoever I wanted. So I chose his boss. The meeting started. The ‘manager’ cited insubordination and I just sat there. When they eventually said they were giving me formal notice, I just asked, ‘Are you sure?’ He replied yes. My representative (his boss) at this point had said nothing.
It was at this point I played the recording. I was asked to leave the room. I was called back 15 minutes later, apologized to, given a pay rise, and informed that the ‘manager’ would no longer be working on this client site. Or any client site we supported.”
“How Do You Plan On Making Up For Classes You’ve Missed”
“I was a summer teacher at one of those Korean SAT prep schools that hire U.S college students for a summer and then promptly work them to death (although, I will admit, the pay was pretty good). We taught from 8:30 am until 5:30 pm with an hour lunch but had homework to grade every evening. They were mainly focused on teaching English, but I was a math and physics major, so they had me teaching SAT math and college prep physics. No problem, or so I thought.
Then they decided, since I studied physics, I should also teach their chemistry class. I tried to tell them I didn’t know much chemistry, but they insisted. So I worked my tail off, refreshing myself on all of the stuff before I taught it, while still teaching another math and physics class.
One day, in the middle of this, I got legitimately sick. I called in the night before, per the rules, and told them I couldn’t come in. I took one day off, sleeping in my apartment, and then dragged myself in the next day. When I showed up, they pulled me aside and said, ‘So, how do you plan on making up the time for the classes you’ve missed?’
‘Excuse me?’ I asked
‘Well, we didn’t have anyone to teach your classes, so all the kids are behind now. You have to make up the time. We figured you could just extend your morning class an hour for the first week (a.k.a. teach over lunch) and your afternoon class could then start an hour early for the next week.’
‘Why didn’t you have a sub teach my class?’
Then they messed up when they said, ‘We don’t have a sub.’
‘Well, then, no,’ I said, ‘I’m not going to skip my lunch because of your poor planning.’
‘We’ll fire you, and then you won’t get your plane ticket reimbursed.’
‘Go ahead. First, I followed the rules and gave you notice I was going to be out. Second, you just told me you don’t have a sub for my classes. That means if I leave, you’re going to lose all of those students that I’m teaching. That will cost you a lot more than the plane ticket will cost me.’
They hired a sub.”
“Surely The Office Told Him He Needed To Adjust His Attitude”
“I’m sure everyone’s had that tyrannical boss who was so obsessed with power that everyone hated him and he felt like that was a sign that he was doing a good job, right?
About 20 years ago, I was working as a delivery driver at a Pizza Hut and they brought in a manager who couldn’t seem to get along with anyone. The area supervisor point blank told me that he was on his last leg and if he caused any problems, they were going to let him go. I was kind of the lead driver, no title or extra pay, but I was the one who trained new drivers, and for some reason, this guy decided I needed to be taken down a notch. He just harassed me and was on my case constantly. Surely the office told him he needed to adjust his attitude, but I’m not sure if this guy was capable.
One day, I told him to get lost, I was more valuable to the store than he was, and if he really wanted to show ‘who’s in charge,’ he should learn how to do his job better. He flew into a rage, swept a big stack of lids off of a shelf and ordered me to rewash them and put them away. I just punched out and went home. It was the middle of the afternoon and I was the only driver at the time.
About 30 minutes later, I got a call from the supervisor telling me to come back because they were ‘taking care of things.’ Got back just in time to see him sulking off with his termination papers. I don’t typically take pleasure in other people’s pain, but it actually felt pretty good. I hope he learned his lesson, but somehow I doubt it.”
“If You Can’t Fix It In The Next Half Hour, You’re Fired”
“I was elbows deep in an AT&T Unix machine that should have been replaced a decade before. There were parts strewn all over a desk when the client came in to see what was taking me so long.
ME: ‘You’ve got three dead fans, one of the power supplies has failed, there’s a bad CMOS battery and the video card is glitchy and refusing to allow the machine to POST sometimes.’
Client: ‘So how long is that going to take? Fifteen minutes?’
Me, laughing: ‘I can patch things up in a couple hours, but I’m going to have to come back in a few days with new parts.’
Client: ‘If you can’t fix it in the next half hour, you’re fired. I’ll find someone that knows what they’re doing.’
I stood up, grabbed my tools, and started walking.
Client: ‘Where are you going?’
Me: ‘I told you how long it would take, and that’s longer than a half hour, so I guess I’m fired.’
My firing lasted about three more steps toward the door.”
“You Need Me, Call Me, But I’m Done Dealing With You”
“I was working at a grocery store and this one manager was lazy as could be. She did nothing and was generally a jerk. Our head manager said we could have our phones out and on, as long as he approved. I talked to the head manager and asked if I could have my phone on. My dad was in the hospital due to some heart issues, and he said he’d text me when we learned what was going on. I was at a register because a co-worker was in the bathroom. I was supposed to be on the floor stocking the shelves.
I got the text from my dad and she demanded my phone. I hadn’t even opened it, it literally just vibrated. Keep in mind, this is a small town grocery store and it was really slow that day. She really didn’t need me. She was just being lazy as always. I told her the head manager said I could keep it and check it because my dad had heart problems.
Her response? ‘I don’t care if he’s on his death bed. If it’s that important, they can call the store.’
So, I didn’t give her my phone. She threatened to fire me, so I said, ‘Y’know what? I’m done.’
I went and clocked out and said, ‘I’m going to see my dad,’ I put my badge on the counter and said, ‘You need me, call me, but I’m done dealing with you.’
My head manager called me while I was on the road and told me he needed me back and said I still got a spot on the crew. I turned around and came back. He was chewing her out and sent her home darn near five hours early.
I kept having issues with her until she got fired for stealing money, general laziness, false write-ups, not showing up to work, and being rude to customers and employees. I hate to say it, but I’m happy I don’t have to deal with her anymore. New managers are better. New head manager is better.”
“People Get Sick, But Are Forced To Come In Anyway In Fear Of A Write Up”
“I’ve worked at a Panera Bread since it opened, so about two and a half years. I can basically do everything a manager does there, but don’t want the extra responsibility of becoming one. We’re really understaffed and the new General Manager of the month is pushing his limited staff to its limits. People get sick, but are forced to come in anyway in fear of a write up. I’ve felt bad for them, so when they ask me to work extra hours and do things he should be doing, I agree because I care about the place and my co-workers.
One day, I got guilt tripped to close even though I was about to finish a nine hour shift. I came back for my one and only break that day (one hour) and it was super busy, so I didn’t put on my apron, which is mandatory, but since I’m a senior, it shouldn’t have been a problem if I’m genuinely busy with work.
General manager came out and started yelling at me in front of a customer I was helping about how I was not wearing an apron. I was so freaking tired and peeved, I went right up to him (im 6’4″ hes 5’2″) and I said, ‘There are a million things you could be doing, but ranting about my apron is most important to you!? I’m freaking done. Have fun, man,’ and I walked out and didn’t look back.
I wasn’t fired because the two other managers talked sense into the idiot and he’s been nice as can be ever since.”
“Give Me A Raise Or I Won’t Be Back”
“A few years ago, I was the second in charge of our shipping department, making $11 an hour. The head of shipping had a mental breakdown, so I took over while he got help. About three weeks after he returned, the company released him because they didn’t like him and I could do the job.
When they told me they had released him, I asked if they were going to be interviewing for a replacement, or was the job just mine since I was number two. I was told they were looking, but I would have a chance to interview once that process started.
About six months later, I was still doing the guy’s job that paid around $50,000 for only $11 an hour. We had some issues with staff turnover and process changes because the warehouse manager thought he knew best. On top of that, they then told me there is no longer a shipping manager, just a shipping lead, which would be an hourly position. I asked about a raise, got told my review was in two months, and told to just wait it out.
I waited for three, four months before I decided to act. Then, one day, after a 14-hour night shift, I got a call from the warehouse manager telling me I had to come in RIGHT THEN. When I got there, he UNLOADED on me for things that were beyond my control and mistakes other people made. We started yelling, and that’s when I told him, ‘I make $11 an hour doing this job. My former boss told me he got paid $50,000 a year to do. I don’t need this. Give me a raise or I won’t be back.’
I then went home and back to sleep. When I went back to work, I was met by the warehouse manager and operations manager. They said they appreciated the hard work I had been doing, and were putting me on a salary starting at $45,000. I negotiated up to $48,000.”
Most Of Us Would Have Acted Like That After Working Three Months Straight
“I was in the military and was trying to take my vacation time before I lost the days. They denied my requests four different times and I hadn’t had a day off in two months after working 12-to-16-hour shifts most days. I was beyond done.
I was teaching some new guys part of the tasks for one job. Everything was fine, I went somewhere else in the hanger to do something else on the plane. This Quality Assurance guy that everyone knew was a pain came in. I did my stuff good and he never bothered me so I didn’t pay him any attention. He started talking to one of the new dudes.
He then asked to talk to me and pulled me aside. He then asked why I hadn’t told the new guy about some super obscure caution about water under a grate in the hangar floor. This was something that had nothing to do with our job, so it didn’t matter, he was just being a pain.
I was over the job and him, so I told him, ‘Listen Sergent QA, I’ve been denied my leave four separate times and I’ve been working for three months straight, so if you have a problem with the way I taught them, write me up. I don’t care, you can shove it. And you can tell my boss I said that.’
It was a little extreme, but I was pushed to the point. When I went back in, I knew I was in deep because the guy walked out of my shop head’s office and I got called right in. When I went in there, the shop head said, ‘I heard what happened out there, submit the days you want to take leave right now and ill approve it for you.’
That’s all I heard about it, I was shocked.”
There Was Fear And Pain But It Led To Something Greater
“I worked at a terrible retail boutique in college where I was able to work my way up to management. Their pay policies were illegal, and the idiot district director they hired staffed terribly. I worked open to close by myself multiple times.
I was swamped one day and finally had a chance to lock up and take a short break for lunch. But then I got caught and was told if I did it again, I’d be fired. I simply told them to fix their staffing issues.
Then they did it again. I locked up again and a customer called corporate. I was fired. I had the last laugh though because I threatened to sue them for violating employment law. And I did just that. It eventually turned into a class action lawsuit with more than 1,000 employees across multiple states received a multi-million dollar settlement for back wages.
This was what led to a complete life change for me, and I wouldn’t be as successful now had I just let them continue to abuse me.”
A Nightmare At The Halloween Store
“I took a job at a Halloween pop-up store as a floor supervisor. Our store manager was lazy, rude, and had incredibly poor hygiene. Paychecks were late, she lost the code to the safe, schedules were done so late I had to call employees to tell them when they worked the same day, shoplifting was rampant, she would have her boyfriend confront suspects on the floor, she would fire my floor employees behind my back, and she kept giving herself raises behind the franchise manager’s back as well.
I once worked for 6+ hours without a break because she no called no showed for her shift. When I called her, she said she was on her way and didn’t show up for 45 minutes. She lived in an RV in the parking lot. When I finally broke down and dragged a chair behind the registers to sit down and eat while I watched the store, she finally showed up, then complained to another floor supervisor about me behind my back for my supposed unprofessionalism.
She smelled like urine, her skin was crusty and dirty to the point where it looked orange, if that makes sense? Her hair was greasy, her breath smelled like a dead animal, and she would frequently have wet dreams about me, then gossip about it to my poor employees, who had to come and tell me.
It got to a point where employees were quitting on the spot and we were hiring anyone who walked in the door, but we were running out of bodies as our reputation proceeded us. I finally gathered all my employees up, got statements from each of them, and sat down with the franchise manager to basically tell him it was either her or us.
For some reason, which I will never understand, he sided with the manager despite me trying to tell him that more than half the staff was prepared to walk if she wasn’t replaced, including myself. I think he just didn’t want to have to bother training someone else when we were only open for a few more weeks. I came in the next morning to find out that not only was she still there, but she had fired the only other floor supervisor we had. I later found out through the rumor mill that she thought THAT floor manager was conspiring against her, and she wouldn’t fire me because she had that huge, awkward crush on me and would never have suspected me. I was now expected to manage the entire store by myself, while she backed off and pretended to do the schedules or whatever she did in the back office.
The next day, I came in before both her and the franchise manager. I turned in my apron, my lanyard, and my keys, and thanked my staff for working so hard under these ridiculous conditions. Then, I wrote down my personal info, handed it out to them and told them if they ever wanted to use me as a reference to get out of here, I would sing their praises. I gave them tasks to do until the store manager got there, and then told them I quit. They were disheartened, but they understood.
When I got home, I called the other floor supervisor and we went out to get food. We found out later that day that after we both left, seven other employees also walked out, and left the store barely a skeleton crew less than a week away from Halloween. When that day hit, they had maybe two employees left, and ran out of candy an hour into kids swarming the store. It was a total disaster and the best part was that the local news crew showed up to harass them about selling clown masks halfway through (they had already been there a couple times but legally we were only allowed to tell them to eff off) and captured all the chaos for the world to see.
That store manager’s actions ended up costing the franchise dearly. That particular pop-up chain now has a horrible reputation in my town, and people pretty much just go in to make fun of it, and it barely makes enough money to cover operation costs. It hasn’t made a real profit in years, and they ended up having to move to a smaller building to cover the difference. The franchise manager and store manager were both replaced by the franchise owner the following year, and the last I heard, the store manager had burned too many bridges, and ended up moving out of town. I hope she finally took a freaking shower.”
“If I Didn’t Step Up, I Would Be Fired As They Had Manuals”
“I worked a job where I was the only one who knew how to take apart, clean, fix, and put all the equipment back together, as well as complete all of the weekly and monthly maintenance.
One day, I had a boss tell me that I was doing a poor job and not doing enough and that anyone could do my job. If I didn’t step up, I would be fired as they had manuals for each piece of equipment. That night, I took apart all the equipment (weekly and monthly stuff too), cleaned them, and then just left it apart for them to figure out that morning. Then I turned off my phone after getting home as I had the next day off.
When I turned it back on the next day I saw that I had initially received angry texts ordering me to return and put everything back together. This lasted an hour. Then came the texts saying I risked being fired. Then texts begging me to return. Then more texts trying to compromise with OT. Then an apology before nothing else for the rest of the day other than that the head boss wanted to see me as soon as I came in the next day.
When I came in the next day, most of the equipment was still not put together and what had been put together was put together haphazardly and would need to be taken out again then put back together again. I was immediately asked to be seen by my boss and their boss to explain myself the moment I was seen entering.
Once in the office, I told them that if they weren’t there to apologize then just fire me then and there or drop it and let me put all the stuff back together. They looked at each other and then told me that I could get back to work. My boss never called me lazy again.”
“Dad Lasted A Week Before He Lost His Mind”
“My dad worked the same warehouse job for nine years. He was always telling me how morale was getting worse and worse. The company didn’t care about its workers anymore, etc. But it paid well, and he liked money.
So they bought this forklift for really cheap. Turns out it was so cheap because it would beep extremely loudly while it was on. You know the backup noise construction vehicles make? This forklift made that noise at all times. So, in fairness, my dad lasted a week before he lost his freaking mind. He went to the floor manager, who told him to get back to work. Forget that noise, he went to upper management.
‘I’m going home,’ he told them. ‘Fire me if you want, I don’t care. I can’t stand that noise anymore. Either you get rid of that forklift by tomorrow, or you’re out one of your best workers.’
‘Well,’ management said, ‘nobody else seems to mind.’
‘Of course they do! They hate the freaking thing.’
‘Then, why is this the first we’re hearing about it?’
‘Because all of those kids think they have a future in this crap chute! They don’t, but they think they do.’
Surprisingly, he wasn’t fired, and they did get rid of the forklift.”
“They Set Impossible Deadlines And Berated Me For Not Meeting Them”
“Worked for a newspaper – editing and actually putting the paper together, arranging it all, placing stories and pictures where they need to be, titling, quoting, and sourcing everything. I was a one man team and used an overly complicated system that I figured out how to use really effectively. They treated me like crap, set impossible deadlines and berated me for not meeting them.
One day, the boss told me to fully put a paper down by the end of the day. Gave me no warning, I had no articles from the journalists, and no photos from photographers. It was my job to collect it all from everyone and he wanted me to do it in a single day? I told him no, if he wanted it done, he had to give me more time. He told me if I didn’t have it done by the end of the day, I’d be fired.
I told him that this paper could not function without me. He told me I needed to take the day off and cool my temper and that he would do my job for me. I got a call an hour after I got home that he needed me to come in and do it and I could have as much time as I need. I promptly quit on that prick.
Forget you and your crappy newspaper.”