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‘People Who Quit Their Jobs On The First Day, What Was Your “I’m Outta Here” Moment?’: 30 People Respond
The first day at work basically means little sleep, dressing in your nicest shirt, and pulling off your very best self that often overpromises and underdelivers when looking at it in retrospective. When all eyes are on you and your eyes are trying to figure out what you just got yourself into, the first day comes and goes like it never happened and fast forward to today, you got yourself stuck in one place for almost a decade (yep, my fellow millennials, we’re getting old.)
Unless you just got yourself into big trouble. And we all know very well that some jobs are exactly that. So when someone asked “What was your 'I’m outta here' moment?” on r/AskReddit, people who quit their job on the very first day at work had a lot to say. Take notes, kids, ‘cause you may be thankful for these red flags later in life.
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#1
‘Salesman’ for Kirby vacuums. First sale call was to a single elderly woman who was supporting her son in hospital (they got us in the door by offering a free carpet clean as a demonstration). The supervisor training me pushed and pushed to make the sale until this old woman was in tears. Just as she was about to sign the paperwork I asked if she actually wanted to vacuum and she said it was lovely but she couldn’t afford it. I took the paperwork away from her and said not to worry. Outside I told the supervisor I quit to which he replied I would’ve been fired anyway. No love lost. I hung around for half an hour playing on my phone to make sure the supervisor left because he was a real piece of work.
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#2
On the first day of working at Amazon warehouse the managers broke down to Everyone how a 15 minute break works there. Walking to the break room is 2 1/2 minutes. 10 minutes of actual break and then 2 1/2 minutes to go back to your stations. It took me 2 1/2 minutes to walk to my car and I took a forever break.
#3
My very first job was at a little drive in restaurant close to my high school. I showed up to work the first day, the lady said I had to pay her $50 for training. She showed me around the place and said that my pay would be $4.50/hour as a carhop(this was in 2010), and all the tips I made went into a bucket with all the other girls’ tips. At the end of the night, she counted up tips, kept 20% for herself and split the rest up evenly among EVERY employee. Also, part of our job was one day a week we had to spend 4 hours cleaning her house. It seemed super shady.
I literally left after listening to her go over all these rules. My dad was pissed until I explained, and another girl confirmed and my dad agreed I did the right thing.
Dorothy Parker 3 years ago
Pay her for training, and all the rest? Sounds like she learned from ABC Baking Company.
#4
When the microwave in the lunch room was coin activated.
#5
This is gonna get buried, but walking into an Alzheimer's assisted living facility, and seeing my college philosophy professor (who was an inspiring individual for me and changed how l viewed things), sitting in a chair in the Day Room, drooling on himself. I checked with the Head on Duty, and yeah... It was him.
I avoided him as much as I could for the whole day, but when leaving, I told him that he inspired me and I probably wouldn't ever see him again. He was far gone and asked about his slippers.
I left, sat in my car, had a smoke and cried. I didn't go back and found another job.
#6
I went into orientation for a new job as truck driver. Obviously you know you will be away from home but this was shi*ty.
Out on the road 30 days at a time, then only 36 hours, or 1.5 days at home.
You only work 6 out of 7 days. So 4 of those days you just sit at the truck stop unable to move. And not getting paid.
Can't bring a pet of any type.
So I would only be home 18 days a year. On the road for 347 days a year, and unpaid for 52 of them. The no pets rule was the final straw for me. I will not be out 30 days alone with no little friend to keep me sane.
I noped out of there.
#7
Worked in a hotel for a day.
No one told me where anything was. Got chewed out for it.
Guests enjoying their meals told me to pay no mind/I was doing a good job and that my boss is a c**t.
I told the manager that I was quitting and wouldn't be doing the next shift.
I arrived the next day, returning a work uniform and my supervisor approached me and yelled at me for being late. I told her I already quit but if i was working, technically I was 5 hours early for my shift.
Absolute nutcases.
#8
I was hired at a chain restaurant to be a hostess. I was so excited because my last job was washing dishes and because of my eczema, I had to quit. It was too painful to do that job. So, I arrived at my new job dressed up to be a hostess and those mfers took me back to the kitchen to do dishes because the dishwasher just quit. I noped out of there real fast!
#9
I was a cashier at this cafeteria for a large company in my town. The people that worked at the company would put their tips in a bucket and the people made a lot of money so there was like 10s and 20s. The manager of the cafe wouldn’t let me have any of tips because she said that cashiers couldn’t be trusted so she would ship the tip money to a church in El Paso. I immediately knew that this was a load of bullsh*t and I just never went back. It’s also illegal (I think) to collect money for one thing but do something else with it without disclosing who/what it is for.
Billy The Kid 3 years ago
There was a scam going on here in the UK where tips were collected but the managers kept it. This went viral on the news.
#10
Gas station. The manager gave me a weird vibe. I made it through the first day but didn't go back.. Found out later he cornered another girl in the back of the store and she had to fight her way out. Trust your gut.
Billy The Kid 3 years ago (edited)
Fkn w**nker. Pour petrol over him and set fire. But then no smoking in the gas station.
#11
A long time ago, not long after getting my papers as a chef I had an interview at a hotel for a position in the kitchen. The Executive Chef and I chatted in his office for about 20 mins, at the time I remember him coming off as very arrogant which is quite common in this field, I didn't think much of it at the time as the pay was decent and the shift was what I wanted. As I was leaving his office I turned to leave through the dining room (the way I had come in) which was closed at the time it was another hour or so before service started and he says to me "No not that way, go through the kitchen, you're not good enough to go through the dining room." I was so surprised by what he said, I just did what he asked without a word. Later on after I had got home I phoned him up and said that after having a close look I decided that his menu wasn't good enough and that I wouldn't be accepting his offer.
#12
Applied for a job at my longtime favorite restaurant(celebrated my birthday there every year).
Owner asks me to come in for basically a try out, as I communicated i was looking at other job possibilities. I come in and they just stick me on dishwashing for an hour, no biggie. Then there dishwasher doesnt show up, so the kitchen manager asks me to stay one for their lunch rush, saya I'll get paid for the hours. I do, kitchen staff was nice so I was happy to help out even though i figured i'd be taking a different job. I fill out a time card at the end of the shift and tell the manager I probably wouldnt be back, he understands and thanks me for the help.
Fast forward a couple weeks and he tells me to email the owner after I ask him if i should pick up my measly paycheck. I do, she basically tells me to f**k off over text. Tells me it was "staging" and that she told me i wouldnt be paid, I respond that I understand that but that I stayed an extra 3 hours which I WAS told i'd be paid for. She stops responding, I decide I want to be petty over the 40 bucks so I get the statw labor department involved, dude goes in there and makes her pay me for the hours including the first "staging" hour. Couple weeks later I got my 40 bucks, never went back to that restaurant.
Firstly, "petty" is not how I see it two years later. Im VERY glad I did this and sharing the story with others in my city I learned this practice was very common with local restaurants. Hopefully others learned to stand up for their labor too from my small experience.
Secondly, this restaurant closed down a couple weeks after I got that paycheck. The owner made a long winded complaint on the FB page about how the food culture had "changed" in the city and her restaurant didnt fit in anymore (total bullsh*t, they were ALWAYS popular. Most people theorized the terrible mismanagement and employee abuse had caught up to her).
Billy The Kid 3 years ago
1- its not about pettiness its about principle. 2- if she/he didn't pay up then i would of ordered 40 bucks of goods then just walk out without paying.
#13
I technically quit before my first day. I got hired at a well known gift store. I was hired with the understanding that I would work Saturdays, Sundays , and a grand total of 8 hours a week (so two 4 hour shifts). Also at minimum wage. Not a problem with me, done that before, I would just pick up a part time job for rest of the week. Nope, apparently that wasn't allowed. The manager thought that was a horrible thing and "disrespectful" to her. I should only work for them and only them and I should have better control over my money if I can't survive on $64 a week before taxes..... Yeah, didn't show up cause f**k that noise. She called pissed off that I wouldn't show up to such a opportunity.
#14
They hired me to work full time. I had interviewed to work full time. I was trying to quit a horrible job, and this job was on the other end of town. I needed enough money for the bus pass, and to make up the difference and more of quitting my old job. They hired me and showed me my schedule. I showed up for my first day, things are going good, then my manager called me in, sat me down, and explained that they'd have to cut me down to 15 hours a week because they'd hired too many f**king people. I explained, painfully, that I had to take a bus an hour each way and wouldn't be able to pay rent or food after that. He said I could always hold out and hope people quit. I told him he could start with me, took off my apron and stormed out in tears.
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
Sounds like a bait and switch. He never intended for any new hires to be full time, so he could get out of paying benefits.
#15
It was a waitress gig for a local restaurant. I finished my first day, then was told that training would continue for six weeks. While I was in training, all of the tips I got had to be given to my trainer. I was being paid less than $2 an hour.
I called the next day and said it wasn't gonna work out.
#16
I was a waitress, the only waitress, at a just opened diner. The boss didn't have me sign any paperwork. Everything was under the table. But that wasn't what made me quit at the end of the night. In order to get me where he wanted me to go, he would pinch my skirt at my upper thigh, not quite the butt but very close, and pull me around like it was a leash. Needed me in the kitchen? Rather than call me. He would come out, pinch my skirt and pull to the kitchen. Needed me at the cash machine? Again, come over to where ever I was, didn't matter if I was serving a customer, and would grab my skirt to pull me. That act in itself, made some customers uncomfortable. Mind you, one couple left an almost 50% tip in the end. But I think it was more out of pity and embarrassment on my behalf. I was supposed to come in the next day but I called that night and said the job wasn't for me. I came in a couple days later to turn in my apron and he just took a wad of cash out of his pocket and paid me then and there. God, he was creepy. I think it was a smart move to quit.
KombatBunni 3 years ago
Anyone pinch me like that would soon be with broken fingers. That’s awful
#17
Went into an Italian restaurant for my first day of work and I got 3 red flags on the very first day.
1- The manager said he had lots of hours for me and getting shifts would be no problem. Every single other employee told me that they were struggling for hours and that they had no idea why they hired me.
2- Everyone said the manager was an assh*le. Even the customers.
3- It was my first day there, and I actually had to teach the woman training me how to do one or two things.
#18
Had an orientation for an alarm company. Next day manager calls and says don't worry about going into the office and to meet at "Planet Hollywood" they like to get to know the employees better over lunch.
Next day I go into the office and another employee whom I had not met says "You must be "Scandal929." I was like "ha"?
They responded "Light skinned, pretty boy” is how the manager described me.
In same conversation I found out no one else had ever been invited for a "get to know you" lunch.
I'm out!
#19
Not my first day, but my second. Fellow coworker touched me and I said "please don't touch me, it makes me uncomfortable" and he proceeded to step closer and said to our manager "hey, Joey, touch her she doesn't like it" Managers eyes got so big and he told the idiot that he could be fired and sued for sexual harassment. I didn't go back. It was my first job, I was 15.
Billy The Kid 3 years ago (edited)
Elbow to the face. BAM!!! To say that to the manager too he must of been a right muppet!
#20
I met a landscaping crew at a 50 acre cemetery at 8:00am. The pay was just $5/hr cash (in 2001), but my hours at Pizza Hut had been cut and I wanted to make a little money before going off to college.
After 3 hours straight of weedeating I couldn’t feel my hands. I was filthy and hot af. It was miserable. I was 18 and headed to a prestigious school in 2 months, the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze, as they say.
At lunch I told the guy “Hey man, I’m just gonna go home and I’m not coming back.” And he had a totally awesome response “No problem, I wouldn’t want to do this sh*t at your age either, I’ll pay you for the time you worked and drop it off at your house.” $20 showed up about a week later.
I hope life is going good Mr. Sterly.
$5/hr was still not very much in 2001. It’s probably like $7.50/hr now.
Billy The Kid 3 years ago
At least he had the decency to address you properly but in your shoes i would be dying to get out of there too. Sounded like a dead end job.
#21
I interviewed for a “professional marketing assistant” and got the job straight away. I was under the impression that I would be an assistant to the man I was interviewed by. When I showed up for my first day, the same waiting room I was in the previous day was FULL of people. I quickly learned that we were all hired, and that I would be a door to door salesperson selling some pretty useless s**t.
I spent my entire day inside a Starbucks applying for other jobs and went home, got paid, but never went back.
#22
Fast food chain: I was 17.
I found out during training that the place had been robbed 3 times in the past month and 1 employee was seriously injured.
Not worth the $5/hr.
Dorothy Parker 3 years ago
Unless it was Fatburger, please do not use Fatburger in the photo. It is a sacred institution. Fat Fries Forever! Extra extra crisp!
#23
I answered an ad for a baby sitting job. I was already working on a casual basis but it was sporadic so I thought some after hours baby sitting would be welcome extra cash. The couple were both in the military and proceeded to tell me that I would be staying in the spare room and looking after their 6 mth old child around the clock as well as doing the housework. I would have one day off every two weeks. They said it is cash in hand so I could sign onto the dole (unemployment benifit) to make up the rest of the money. I left on the spot. They wanted a live in housemaid and nanny not a baby sitter and they were not able to pay for one. Why they thought it was up to me to illegally collect the dole to subsidise them I don't know.
#24
Started a new job unloading shipping containers and was told they had to be empty by midday, this was imperative because a new one was going to arrive in the early afternoon
It was a two man job if we both worked our asses off to get it done
Boss says 'uh also your offsider is off work today, you will need to get this cleared'
I just walked out.
#25
I got a job at a Build A Bear knockoff at the end of a mall that wasn't very busy. My interview with the owners was interesting. They were an older couple who said that they had wanted to open a Chick Fil A, but you need about a million dollars to do that. My first day, one other girl was working, and she didn't really talk to me. I had basically no training and she disappeared into the back. I was standing at the register area, which was underneath a giant storybook mushroom. A mother and her young son walk in and start to look at the bear skin options. I greeted them and left them to look around. They ended up leaving after a couple minutes and my coworker reappeared from the back with the cordless phone and handed it to me. It was my boss. He told me that when a customer walks in, he wants me to come out from under the mushroom to them ("come OUT! from the mushroom!"). After he finished speaking to me, I hung up and went to my coworker and asked about the phone call. She said the place has cameras set up and the owners watch them from their house and call in a lot. I did not come back to work after that day.
Phil Boswell 3 years ago
If they have the time to be watching you on camera, they have time to train you properly…
#26
It was a petrol station and the manager wanted me to work for free until I had learned their computer systems to what he deemed a satisfactory extent. I agreed to do it, because I needed a job, and he brought me in at 7am on my first day, however he was not present to go through the training with me, so I was just standing around kind of helping out on the forecourt but not really knowing what I should be doing. Not learning anything. After about an hour and a half without the manager showing up or anyone training me on anything, I decided that I wasn't going to continue to be taken advantage of and told the cashier to pass on the message to the manager that I had quit.
Billy The Kid 3 years ago
I think that was the plan. You go in do a bit of work for free then leave. How many other people has he done this to?
#27
Not me but I was training a new lifeguard. After our shift was mandatory staff training for our entire crew, where we practice rescues. Once she found out we actually had to practice and go in the water, she just...walked out. Not really sure what kind of job she thought she had signed up for.
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
Evidently she just thought she’d sit on the lifeguard stand and get paid for sunbathing, not rescuing people who were drowning.
#28
Young and naïve right out of college took a “marketing” job. My interview was great, nothing shady seemed to be going on and no immediate red flags. After 4 hours of training, my first day consisted of going door to door in a suburban town trying to sell cable to older people. We were told to dress for business, so I’m hiking around for miles in my best skirt, suit jacket and heels. Hours were from “9-5” but we didn’t get back to the business until well after 10pm. Not to mention, the person I was shadowing was able to make a sale to an older gentleman who seemed to have memory issues. I noped the f**k right out of there.
Billy The Kid 3 years ago (edited)
Damn right. Good for you! Its amazing if people break company rules they are punished. If the company breaks the rules you don't even get an apology.
#29
It was my first day at five guys, it was around 10:30 PM and they told me it was time to clock out, despite not having finished closing. I then worked until almost midnight. I did not return.
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago (edited)
It’s called time theft, and many employers have ended up having to reimburse their employees for every unpaid second—-all the way back to the first time it happened, no matter how long ago it was.
#30
Took a summer job at a textile plant and the trainer said, "Forget about taking a break if you want to stay caught up."
What do you think ?
Daniel (ShadowDrakken) 3 years ago
To the young folk here in the USA: know that you have rights as an employee, no matter your age or the job. The Department of Labor (DOL) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are there to protect you, and in most cases they will if there's a legitimate concern. DO NOT let the employer decide what's legitimate, contact OSHA or the DOL and ask them when you experience a problem. If your employer is pooling and splitting tips, unfortunately this is legal in many places, but double check. If your employer is taking a cut of the tips for themselves, or outright taking the tips, this is ILLEGAL in all areas (to the best of my knowledge). If you're paid Alternate Minimum Wage, and your tips do not make up the difference to get you to full minimum wage, then your employer is legally REQUIRED to make up the difference. If your employer expects you to do work off the clock, this is ILLEGAL. DEFEND YOURSELVES, BECAUSE IT HELPS EVERYONE
Jess-a-men 3 years ago
A few years ago, I got a side job restocking the shelves at a large grocery store nearby. About two weeks in, my boss informed me that a different store was low on employees and asked if I'd mind helping out over there. Sure, no problem. So we made a schedule for me: I'd work at the other store from 10 to 2, then return to my regular one and stay there till 11. I agreed and turned at on the other store at 10 o'clock. I worked until about 1:30, then informed the guy in charge that I'd have to leave soon. Since there was still a lot of work to do, he decided to call my boss and asked if I could stay a little longer. Sure enough, he comes back and informs me that I can stay in the other store and work there until 11. I did, and after my work was over, I fetched my stuff, looked at my phone... and found a bunch of angry messages from my boss. There hadn't been a phone call. The guy literally pretended to call my boss and lied to me so I'd finish his work for him.
Crochet lady 3 years ago
I didn't quit but took my complaint to my union. I was 22 and working for the Dept. of Labor in DC and was a data entry clerk. Our office had those low cubicles, just a computer on your desk, not even a phone, one phone was in the middle of the room for us all to share. Bosses decided that Nate was abusing the phone to call his girlfriend so put a lock on it where you had to ask for a key to use it. This felt juvenile and disrespectful. Took it to the union and that and many other abusive behaviors (timing our bathroom usage) were stopped. Bosses didn't like me after that, what did I care? I was 22 and didn't give a f.
Daniel (ShadowDrakken) 3 years ago
To the young folk here in the USA: know that you have rights as an employee, no matter your age or the job. The Department of Labor (DOL) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are there to protect you, and in most cases they will if there's a legitimate concern. DO NOT let the employer decide what's legitimate, contact OSHA or the DOL and ask them when you experience a problem. If your employer is pooling and splitting tips, unfortunately this is legal in many places, but double check. If your employer is taking a cut of the tips for themselves, or outright taking the tips, this is ILLEGAL in all areas (to the best of my knowledge). If you're paid Alternate Minimum Wage, and your tips do not make up the difference to get you to full minimum wage, then your employer is legally REQUIRED to make up the difference. If your employer expects you to do work off the clock, this is ILLEGAL. DEFEND YOURSELVES, BECAUSE IT HELPS EVERYONE
Jess-a-men 3 years ago
A few years ago, I got a side job restocking the shelves at a large grocery store nearby. About two weeks in, my boss informed me that a different store was low on employees and asked if I'd mind helping out over there. Sure, no problem. So we made a schedule for me: I'd work at the other store from 10 to 2, then return to my regular one and stay there till 11. I agreed and turned at on the other store at 10 o'clock. I worked until about 1:30, then informed the guy in charge that I'd have to leave soon. Since there was still a lot of work to do, he decided to call my boss and asked if I could stay a little longer. Sure enough, he comes back and informs me that I can stay in the other store and work there until 11. I did, and after my work was over, I fetched my stuff, looked at my phone... and found a bunch of angry messages from my boss. There hadn't been a phone call. The guy literally pretended to call my boss and lied to me so I'd finish his work for him.
Crochet lady 3 years ago
I didn't quit but took my complaint to my union. I was 22 and working for the Dept. of Labor in DC and was a data entry clerk. Our office had those low cubicles, just a computer on your desk, not even a phone, one phone was in the middle of the room for us all to share. Bosses decided that Nate was abusing the phone to call his girlfriend so put a lock on it where you had to ask for a key to use it. This felt juvenile and disrespectful. Took it to the union and that and many other abusive behaviors (timing our bathroom usage) were stopped. Bosses didn't like me after that, what did I care? I was 22 and didn't give a f.
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