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“Customer Threw Their Hot Coffee At Me”: 30 People Share What Made Them Quit A Job The Fastest
When you start a new job, it’s important to know when it’s worth toughing it out and when best to jump ship and look for employment elsewhere. There might not be such a thing as a ‘perfect’ job, but that’s no excuse for bad management practices and a toxic workplace environment.
You’d be surprised how quickly it can become apparent that there’s something deeply wrong with a business. Members of the r/AskReddit online community were very open and honest about which jobs they quit as soon as possible and why. Scroll down for some of their stories.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I was hired on the spot to be a receptionist for an optometrist.
The first day i realized that the two other women I worked with looked very similar to me- slim, brunette, under 25.
The manager was the optometrists 40 year old son. He seemed to have fallen into that job and really let the power go to his head.
After about a week of overtly sexual comment on my body, and the other women’s bodies, along with bizarre power tripping (he’d tell me to do something one way, I’d do it and then he would say that I was wrong and make up a completely new process. It was clear he wanted to undermine me), and having to listen to graphic retellings of his sex life I’d finally had it.
I was young and broke and scared to speak up or leave a job. But then in front of a client he said I’d probably made a mistake because I was a looker not a thinker.
I said “okay. I’m done. I don’t work here.”
Got up.
Grabbed my bag.
Walked out.
Stormed down the street until I could turn the corner and cry my eyes out with fear, relief and pure exasperation.
SheamusFanFrom1987 11 months ago
Nepotism and sexism on the job pretty much mean GTFO ASAP. Thank goodness OP finally wised-up and walked out. SMH! -_-"
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#2
Dunkin Donuts. A customer threw their donuts and Hot Coffee at me (I dodged). My manager apologized to Them and gave them a discount. Couldn't leave that job fast enough.
Alijandro Asturias 11 months ago
I never understood the American way of customer is untouchable. I live in Germany and here the customer is not king, he is a guest.
#3
I was a debt collector for a couple of months.
I had no knowledge how debt collection worked prior to starting this job and to this day am shocked that it is legal.
Whenever you default on a loan and it goes to a third party debt collection agency, your debt is bought and sold for Pennie’s on the dollar.
On the screen when I would collect debt from a person would be a percentage of the total amount they owed that would indicate the absolute lowest I could settle their account for. However, most agents would never go that low because we would get commission on all of the debt we settled over that amount.
That’s right, we would get commission on debt we collected from people who were unable to pay and incentivized to make them pay more than they actually had to pay. I remember during my first week I was trying to collect on an account that was owed by a guy that lost everything because he had cancer and my heart dropped and I told him he owed the lowest amount I could settle the account for. I was written up the same day by my boss because I didn’t try to get him to pay more.
Anyways, I made it a little over a month with that company and most of that was spent in training. F**k that place.
There are lots of different factors that can make an employee want to stay at their job for a long time. Forbes states that caring management, an empathetic boss, and honest communication are some of the most important things that any company can do.
On top of that, management needs to provide new workers with good financial benefits, job security, and room for career growth. This leads to happier employees. Which, in turn, has positive effects on the entire company in terms of productivity, proactivity, and profits.
#4
Amazon delivery driver. Dead tired after trying to complete 71 stops with almost 200 packages. Still 5 hours before my 12-hour shift ends. They told me to go help other drivers. Then traffic occurred and I ended up doing a 14-hour shift. But they said they would only pay me for the 12 hours. I hadn't taken a lunch break the whole day, and had only gone for a few quick pisses in nasty porta-potties along the way, and this is what I got? After that one day, I called in and said I'm no longer interested.
After that, I kept hearing Amazon drivers are getting abused like how they have to deliver packages asap and aren't allowed breaks in between. I even met and talked to a driver in my local and he said it's getting worse; more packages and work but still the same pay. I have never been more grateful for the decision to quit I made that day.
#5
Kids soccer referee. The parents were just horrible. These kids were 6-8, they're not coordinated and they trip over each other constantly; but the parents would scream at me every time they fell over or kicked the ball at the kid picking flowers. I think I lasted 3 games.
Javelina Poppers 11 months ago
Obviously you didn't realize you had a pitch full of future David Beckhams, Lionel Messi's or Pele's and their parents knew instinctively that you were purposely ruining their budding careers.
#6
Worked at dollar general for two days. On my last day a lady drops a jar of pickles and manager wants me to clean it up. I go find the mop. Inside the bucket is filled with what looks like vomit that must have been cleaned up weeks prior. I find no soap and no place to empty and refill the bucket. So I go ask the manager where to refill it. She gets annoyed, tells me there is nothing wrong with the water already in it. “I’ve been using it for weeks like that”. Nah I quit.
One survey by Flexjobs showed that most employees want to quit their jobs due to toxic company culture, low salary, poor management, a lack of a healthy work-life balance, and company policy not allowing for remote work.
Meanwhile, another study, this one conducted by ConsumerAffairs, showed that the main reasons why employees quit are mainly related to finances. Namely, that their workplace isn’t meeting their financial needs. That means that if there’s pay inequality and insufficient raises, workers aren’t shy about looking for higher pay and better benefits elsewhere.
Clearly, good management practices are very important, however, the financial foundation has to be solid as well.
#7
I was 19, in college. Responded to an ad "Make $1800+ per week. Fun and exciting. No experience required. We will train." Went to 3 separate interviews in a fancy office. 3rd interview they told me to wear a suit. They told me how much they liked me and not many people make it to the 3rd interview.
Nailed the interview and got the job. Must wear a suit. I thought this was an important job.
Day 1. We meet in a warehouse. Everyone dressed in business attire. Suddenly they start shouting and chanting. It's their morning hype routine. They're now practicing their sales pitches. I still don't know what my job is at this point.
We break into groups of 5 with one team leader. We're going to meet at a different location but we're told to leave our cars here. We can ride with our team leader.
They drove us 40 miles away to a shopping center. I still don't know wtf is going on. We start walking and go right into a barber shop. The team leader busts out some Mountain Mike's pizza coupons and starts making his pitch. "Do you like pizza?" Blah Blah Blah. $20 to buy this coupon book. In it contains 20 free pizzas. Buy one pizza get one free.
It still doesn't click. Why is our team leader trying to sell a Mountain Mike's coupon book to this barber shop owner? We continue to the next shop. Again, he repeats his pitch. The 4 of us new guys follow along until he finishes the entire strip. He sold one coupon.
We go back to his car where he pops the trunk and hands us 5 coupons each. He brings out a map of the city and tells us which blocks we are going to go through and to knock on doors and try to sell these coupons.
It finally hit me. We're door to door salesmen and these coupons are our product. Zero pay. Commission only. We get to keep $7 per coupon sold. We're 40 miles away from my car so I can't leave. I might as well try my luck and knocked on doors for 10 hrs. I'm exhausted and managed to sell one coupon, earning $7 for the day.
No call no show for me. I was gone the next day and didn't answer their calls.
#8
I worked ONE shift at an appliance delivery company. Talks about beating and killing "Ladyboys" and wishing that "sand***s should go back to their country". I told the manager at the end of my shift what I had heard and was told "if you can't handle it here, there's the door" said "sounds good to me" and left.
ॐBoyGanesh 11 months ago
Racist f***s! How about the manager create a healthy work environment and stand up to these bigoted pricks?
#9
I quit a job at The City - Circuit City's failed attempt to remain relevant and, y'know, *in business* - the day I received my first weekly schedule.
I was in college at the time. I had been very specific in the interview that my education would be my priority at all times. I had provided my availability, complete with leeway necessary to make the drive between work and school should the need arise.
The first schedule had me set to work during class - outside my availability - twice in the first week. I called the manager to get this addressed, and was told that they would fix it for the next week but that I should go ahead and show up for these shifts or else I would give the appearance that this job was not my priority.
I reminded them it *wasn't* my priority, and quit.
Money.com, reporting on a more recent Flexjobs poll, pointed out that poor work-life balance and unfair pay were among the top reasons for employees to quit. Other reasons for making people update their CVs and send out job applications include having to deal with toxic workplace culture, feeling undervalued, and facing limited advancement opportunities.
On top of that, many employees felt pushed to quit due to the amount of stress they faced, a lack of remote work options, inflexibility on the company’s part, as well as having a bad boss. Another point of friction is if the employees’ and management’s values are misaligned.
#10
I took a job at one of The Grotto locations in Houston. I was a bartender. EVERY glass behind the bar - even having come straight out of the washing machine, was filthy. The bartender training me was just like, 'ya that's just the way it is.' I went into the kitchen and saw that they were using bread that had been out to tables already to just rebuild bread baskets for new customers. Didn't matter that the bread had been touched and picked through. A guy dropped some of the bread on the floor and picked it back up to go into a basket. I said something about it and he was like, 'ya we don't waste anything here.' I noped the f**k out of that place right then. Didn't say a word to anyone. Just walked out. Don't think I had been there more than an hour.
Mohsie Supposie 11 months ago
Maybe the glasses came out filthy because the used a washing machine instead of a dishwasher? Just maybe...
#11
I worked as a cashier for three weeks when I was 18. That was over 20 years ago and it scarred me so much, I will never work retail again. I saw a side of humanity I never knew existed.
He's a nut 11 months ago (edited)
I just quit my job working in retail. Overly jealous and pretentious coworkers. Manager repeatedly telling everyone that the management is above correction and that whatever they do is good for the work environment. S****y pay that got slashed in half for so much as dropping a pen. Customers who think they rule the world. I'm turning 18 this year and I've never seen a more toxic environment than that.
#12
HR intern. They were devastated that I left for an actual paying job
Kaedyn Walsh 11 months ago
Unpaid internships need to be made illegal across the board (I'm in the usa. Unsure how they work in other countries, if others even have internships). The fact many expect the interns to be there full time and not get paid, it's just giving the company legal free labor. That's not right and not cool. Paid internships should be mandated everywhere. You want my time? Pay me.
#13
Graveyard shift at a 7-11 in a seedy neighborhood. Lasted one night. It was a store full of nope, especially at 3 am.
#14
Amazon warehouse...
#15
I was a line cook for a long time and the beauty of that is you're not married to any one restaurant. At the time I was single, not getting benefits, the pay is about the same and everybody was hiring so your b******t tolerance was allowed to be quite low. I worked at one place where the head chef was just a d**k. I had worked 10 days in a row because of a callouts and finally had a Saturday off. Phone rang early in the morning and I picked it up...that was my mistake. Back before cell phones were the norm you can just say "You tried calling? Oh, I was out all day. Sorry." and nobody would doubt you. Anyway, i answer. Somebody's grandmother died for the 4th time so he needed me. I was livid, but money is money and went in. No "thanks for helping me out". Just like it was expected and he started barking orders at me while he sat out in the dining room drinking coffee with the servers. No. If you're claiming to be shorthanded you don't get to do that stuff. I didn't come in to make your day easier. Took off my apron, said see you later and that was that. Got a job at another restaurant a couple days later.
Kate Jones 11 months ago
I don't know why restaurants get away with this behavior. They've elevated working in a restaurant to ..like.. being in the Army or something. As if it's this honor to be there. You're going to be there 20 hour days, you're weak and pathetic if you don't keep up. There's no crying in fine dining. You get paid nothing and that's the 'charm' of the job. If you're working directly with Wolfgang Puck or whatever, okay, I get it. You're getting an amazing opportunity to learn from someone who will get you to a much higher paying job and it's worth the struggle now. But even then, we need to stop normalizing this Army- attitude about work to justify the low pay and long hours.
#16
Not me, but a buddy of mine got a job blowing insulation into attics of commercial buildings. It was mid-july in the Midwest, so the attics were like 105 degrees.
Buddy shows up and is told he'd be getting paid $14 an hour instead of the $19 that was agreed upon.
He didn't come back after lunch on day 1.
Lew k 11 months ago
These guys are my heros. Them and ac repair guys in Arizona. I used to have to work in attics to but my work normally only saw me in the attic for 10-20 minutes at a time. I don’t even know how these dudes don’t die up there for hours or more when it’s 115 outside it’s literally 140-150 in the attic. It feels like an oven. My company had a policy that attic work gets rescheduled to a first in the am appointment. Air condition repair guys don’t get that luxury.
#17
Cold calling senior citizens to sell them overpriced insurance who had already been cold called previously.
#18
I worked at a movie theater for about 4 hours. I quit when someone threw a drink at me because it wasn't "carbonated enough"
Five Years 11 months ago
I had to deal with a problem of mine over the phone one time. After we finished I was thanked by the employee for being so nice. I thought it was just a normal engagement but, now that I think of it, they must have to deal with upset people and jerks all day but put forward a nice "face".
#19
A temp job at Wells Fargo, the worst company in the world.
I was 3rd string Quality Assurance for their mortgage branch. So what that means is I call people, and ask them to verify their personal information for the THIRD time in order to confirm the first two people got it right.
My day involved a lot of people yelling at me for my job being a pointless waste of time. I agreed. When my manager informed me he'd been doing it for 2 years and did the same thing as me despite being the manager, I noped out of there real fast. Went back to being a teacher's aide at a special needs school.
#20
This is probably slower than most people, but at one point I was working four part time jobs and one of them was a large men's clothing store. I was technically a keyholder but they didn't hire anyone beneath me so I was basically a glorified cashier/clerk. Alright whatever.
The assistant manager though. Holy smokes she was awful in the worst way. Said she'd dated an NFL player and had his kids but didn't know the team he played for when pressed for info. Would ruin my work I did after I closed and she opened just to criticize me. Lied to the manager that I told her I wanted to do things with her. Denied she ever said that to me. Would take my sales so she could get any bonuses.
It took me two months before I snapped. On a day I was supposed to work, I drove up in my street clothes, put my keys on the desk, looked her in the eyes and said "Have fun" before leaving and never returning.
Bogdan Chelariu 11 months ago
I had a team leader that was like that, lying about everything! He claimed to be rich, have multiple cars and showed us photos of said cars, which were clearly photos from the internet (including a downloaded DRAWING of a car and he claimed it was a photo he took of one of his cars)! Working off site, in a different country, the paychecks were late and he intentionally left a couple colleagues to starve when they ran out of money, not calling and informing the boss about it... I DID! One day, started the job at 7 AM, at 7:30 I had already informed them I have to be home in 3 days, bought a ticket and left without looking back!
#21
Private pain clinic after 3 months. This place was definitely committing insurance fraud actively and had a nearly 80 year old doc handing narcs. One day, after not getting paid on time for the 3rd period in a row, I walked out and threatened legal action for my money.
#22
Toys R' Us
I needed a part time job, and they sent me home early on my first day because they hadn't met the sales goals for the previous day. They told me they didn't make enough to pay me. I asked them if money was that tight, then why did they post that job and hire me? I quit on the spot.
The store isn't even there anymore, but it closed a while before the company itself fell apart.
ॐBoyGanesh 11 months ago
I distinctly remember my first trip to a Toys R’ Us. I had imagined it was going to be like the big FAO Swartz on Fifth Ave. A giant wonderland of all the toys I could ever want. All I remember was that it seemed like an extremely bright & grey warehouse with toys stacked to the ceiling, but so sterile and unwelcoming that I felt a sadness & ugliness just walking down the aisles. I didn’t fill excited or even motivated. I didn’t want to have to make a choice and explore my options and just grabbed the first eye-catching Hot Wheels box set that I saw. It wasn’t an adventure seeking out that specific coveted toy I’d had my ♡ set on. It was literally the worst way to entice a child to find glee in getting something they’d hoped to get.
#23
Worked att a mayo factory and realised I couldn't stand the smell... Not the most fun day I've had.
Abigail Strong 11 months ago
Ugfh no I couldn't have stood that either. Imagine the clouds of mayo vapor... x(
#24
I was 18 and fresh out of high school. The interview went well, with lots of promises for 'growth and earning potential.' The guy offered me the job, and we had a genuinely nice conversation. I showed up at the agreed-upon time the next morning, and the guy was standing outside next to his car. He told me to jump in. I asked where we were going. He simply said, 'The job site.'
I then realize that I have no idea what the job I've taken actually is. I refuse his ride as I start getting the feeling I've been had. So I follow him, driving for about 20 minutes. We pull into a Best Buy. I park next to him and ask why we're here. He tells me this is where we work. That's odd. I didn't know I'd be working at Best Buy.
"We walk in, and he grabs a clipboard and says, 'Follow me.' I follow him around as he corners people trying to sell them DirecTV. He now hands me the clipboard and points to a couple shopping and says, 'Go sell!' I ask him if it ever works. He says, 'If you want it bad enough, you can sell anything!'
"I hand him the clipboard, thank him for wasting my time, and walk out the door. Total time: less than an hour.
Bored something 11 months ago
This ones on the employee. Why would you accept a job you don't know what you are doing or who you are working for?
#25
I worked at a place for one day where we were supposed to trick people into signing up for magazines that they wouldn't ever be able to cancel I guess? Calling people and then trying to convince them to buy by giving us their credit card and telling them they were getting something free and then they had to call back and cancel. The person training me told me she would sell to anyone blind, old, stupid she didn't care that was her job.
I didn't go back the 2nd day.
Kate Jones 11 months ago
At least they were honest about what they wanted you to do. Unlike other places that try to convince you getting people into accounts is in their best interest when it's clearly just to make a sale or con people into getting something they don't need. I'd almost prefer working for the scumbags who come right out and admit they're scumbags.
#26
I stayed three days at a place where the interviewer/supervisor said I would not have to answer phones. Guess what? That was actually 95% of the job.
LinkTheHylian 11 months ago
"Hello, City Morgue. You kill 'em, we chill 'em." is how you leave a call centre job.
#27
Worked one week at a movie theater. The pay was minimum wage. They promised you could also watch movies for free and get free popcorn. The free popcorn turned out to be a tiny cup full of popcorn. We had to count all of the cups and popcorn buckets at both the start and end of every shift.
Wes Ouzts 11 months ago
Profit on a movie theater cup of popcorn is astronomical! Internet research -Movie theater popcorn: 1,275% markup. Theaters know that viewers will pay more for movie snacks, so they hike the prices up: A bag of popcorn that costs 37 cents to make can easily sell for $5.
#28
I worked for 2 hours at a Burger King before I quit. I was only shceduled 11 hours of work after being promised at least 25, and they cut me half way through my first shift because it was slow.
Rinso the Red 11 months ago
Had a similar experience. Told them I needed at least X hours to pay the rent. Was promised hours would come after a couple weeks. Never did. Manager ask me what I was going to do about it, so I left. Got a MUCH better job a week later. About a month later, I got a letter in the mail saying I wasn't allowed to work at a BK again, anywhere, in the world.
#29
Books a Million. They require you to try and sell membership cards. I personally think it's a great deal, but after the manager lectured me for not asking someone who barely had enough change to pay for their one book, I knew it was time to leave.
Historyharlot93 11 months ago
I love Books A Million, but I’m fed up with being asked to sign up for a member card, then a discounted magazine subscription, then asked to buy a bag of coffee to Support The Troops. I just want to pay and leave please!! I feel so sorry for the staff because they’re required to hawk this stuff and it’s awkward at best and probably opens them to tons of abuse.
#30
I stocked grocery shelves at night the summer I graduated from High School. It was a 10pm-6am shift. I hated it right away, and my back hurt like hell. The folks I worked with were like no other people I had met, the sort of crazies that only come out at night. It was also weird watching everyone drive to work as I was driving home, and trying to fall asleep at 7am in the morning. I quit in under 2 weeks.
What do you think ?
Tobias Reaper 11 months ago
i got a job working in a call centre there was a week of training for job which was the worst first 2 days talking about customer service second 2 days talking about the company and only one day to learn the systems at the end of the last day i realised i had no idea what i was supposed to be doing so i emailed them to say its not for me
Sky Render 11 months ago
I made the mistake of signing up for a job once that was "customer retention" for a very poor phone provider. Turns out the job was to lie, cheat and bend over backwards to keep customers from leaving the service. I didn't even finish training, which was a freaking month long.
Gavin Johnson 11 months ago
My second job, Lifeguard. Arrived for my arranged first shift, discovered that the senior lifeguards had changed all of the schedule. I got a late (finishing at 2300) followed by an early (start at 0600) and then a selection of splits (0600-1000 and 1700-2300). Looked over the three month schedule and the seniors had every nice shift (0900-1700) and they’d switched all the weekend shifts to the newer staff. We got the c**p shifts and all of the splits. Spoke to a manager, got told ‘yeah, that sounds about right’, and I strolled straight out. Didn’t even put a pair of sliders on, didn’t see the pool. Went to a better pool, got better shifts and treated like a proper member of staff.
Tobias Reaper 11 months ago
i got a job working in a call centre there was a week of training for job which was the worst first 2 days talking about customer service second 2 days talking about the company and only one day to learn the systems at the end of the last day i realised i had no idea what i was supposed to be doing so i emailed them to say its not for me
Sky Render 11 months ago
I made the mistake of signing up for a job once that was "customer retention" for a very poor phone provider. Turns out the job was to lie, cheat and bend over backwards to keep customers from leaving the service. I didn't even finish training, which was a freaking month long.
Gavin Johnson 11 months ago
My second job, Lifeguard. Arrived for my arranged first shift, discovered that the senior lifeguards had changed all of the schedule. I got a late (finishing at 2300) followed by an early (start at 0600) and then a selection of splits (0600-1000 and 1700-2300). Looked over the three month schedule and the seniors had every nice shift (0900-1700) and they’d switched all the weekend shifts to the newer staff. We got the c**p shifts and all of the splits. Spoke to a manager, got told ‘yeah, that sounds about right’, and I strolled straight out. Didn’t even put a pair of sliders on, didn’t see the pool. Went to a better pool, got better shifts and treated like a proper member of staff.
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