'Ted got himself fired': Guy leaves coworker stranded in the rain, ignores all his emails

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jun 19, 2023 5:00 PM EDT

When it comes to names, this man is not playing around. 

Nicknames come naturally to some people, especially if you have a formal name that's common to shorten, like how many Williams go by Billy. Other people gain nicknames that match their career, hobbies, or personality instead. 

The man in this story from r/AmItheA**hole actually really hates the nickname he's been given by his coworker, and he finally snapped one day. The workplace tale, told by u/notmyd***name, highlights the importance of mutual respect in a work environment. 

In the comments, people debated if the OP went too far with his plan, or if he was justified. One person said it was an ESH situation, which I tend to agree with, too. If the OP had brought it up to HR or insisted to their boss that the issue needed to be resolved, then Ted might not have lost his temper. But Ted also acted really unprofessionally — he wouldn't be the first person to lose their job over writing or saying inappropriate things to a coworker. 

Up next, click here to read about this waiter, who had a hilarious idea to stop a bunch of diners from dashing off without paying. 

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  • 01
    Font - 'Ted came to me and says "Hey, Jack, I'll be dropping the rental car off at 7 when I get back. See you there for a lift back to the office!" ...As promised, I ignored him.'
    via Max Bender on Unsplash
  • 02
    Font - AITA For ignoring a coworker who refused to use my actual name? Not the A-hole I've worked at my office for 8 years. I'm on good terms with management and most of my co- workers.
    via u/notmyd***name
  • 03
    Font - Five months ago, a new guy was hired on a 6-month probationary period. I'm not his supervisor, but I'm definitely a senior employee. I'll call the guy Ted Faro, because he's a di
    via u/notmyd***name
  • 04
    Font - Supervisor was going around introducing Ted to people, and when he got to me said "This is John" and described my job.
    via u/notmyd***name
  • 05
    Font - Ted: "Hi, Jack." Me: "It's John." Ted: "What?" Me: "My name's John, not Jack." Ted: "It's close enough for me." Supervisor: "His name's John, not Jack. Let's move on."
    via u/notmyd***name
  • 06
    Font - This continued for a few months. Despite reminders from supervisors (when he referred to me when I wasn't present) and myself, he continued to use the name Jack. I finally told him "You either use my name, or I ignore you completely, no matter what the situation is." His response was "Sure thing, Jackie boy."
    via u/notmyd***name
  • 07
    Font - Since I don't work directly with him, I figured "screw it" and that I'd ignore him. Recently he had a 2-day business trip that required car rental. I work late some nights, and Ted came to me and says "Hey, Jack, I'll be dropping the rental car off at 7 when I get back. See you there for a lift back to the office!"
    via u/notmyd***name
  • 08
    Font - (they closed at 6 and there's a drop box) As promised, I ignored him.
    via u/notmyd***name
  • 09
    Font - 7:15 rolls around on the night he's dropping off and I get a call. I recognize his number, so I ignored it. He called 7 more times, then starts e-mailing. The first one was along the lines of "Jack I'm at Enterprise. Come pick me up."
    via u/notmyd***name
  • 10
    Font - E-mails pour in every 5-10 minutes, addressing me as Jack, Jack-o, Jackie, and Jackie-boy. The emails also started being laced with profanity and a couple threats.
    via u/notmyd***name
  • 11
    Font - I signed out and went home. It was raining hard. Next morning, I saw that Ted had sent a few more e-mails. I printed them off. At 10am, he storms up to my desk and screams "Where the [f-bomb] were you? I told you when to pick me up! I HAD TO TAKE A CAB! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THAT COST ME?!" He goes on like that for a bit until his supervisor came and hauled him away and asked to speak to me.
    via u/notmyd***name
  • 12
    Font - Supervisor: "Ted tells me that you ignored his requests for a pickup when he dropped off the rental. He was caught out in the rain."
    via u/notmyd***name
  • 13
    Font - I relayed what happened, and showed him the printed e-mails. I'd highlighted the threats. Supervisor: "I can see why you wouldn't want to spend time around him. But it was still kind of inconsiderate to leave him stranded in the rain. That's not the greatest neighborhood and he could have been hurt." he sighed and said "With the threats and him being on probation, he no longer works here. Just try not to be an a- hole in retaliation to your coworkers."
    via u/notmyd***name
  • 14
    Font - A few people at the office have commented that I'm the jerk for ignoring Ted and getting him riled up, which got him fired. AM I the a-hole on this?
    via u/notmyd***name
  • 15
    Font - czechhoneybee Certified Proctologist [25] NTA what is that dudes problem? Why on earth would he think it's okay to not call you by your actual name? Especially when repeatedly asked! The dude sounds like a massive a-hole and I'm happy for you that he no longer works at your company.
    via u/czechhoneybee
  • 16
    Font - notmyd name OP. Management's pretty glad he's gone, too. An off-the-record conversation I had was that he was likely going to be let go at the end of the six months anyway, but this was a tipping point to ditch him early.
    via u/notmyd***name
  • 17
    Font - Lady_Smartie 2 S Parta ipant [4] ΝΤΑ OP: If you do X then I'll do Y Ted: *does X* OP: *does Y* Ted: *pikachu face*
    via u/Lady_Smartie
  • 18
    Font - dtimm18 Enthusiast [6] Obligatory "play stupid games, win stupid prizes." NTA. As
    via u/dtimm18
  • 19
    Font - [deleted] NTA Ted got himself fired. You didn't force him to swear/make threats and he could have asked the company for a reimbursement on the cab-fare. I don't know why people think they are entitled to favors (and what he was asking for was a personal favor, not something that's part of your job requirements) from people they're disrespectful to/
    via u/[deleted]
  • 20
    Smile - gwacemom (S) Certified Proctologist [23] NTA. Your name is John. Those emails were to Jack.
    via u/gwacemom
  • 21
    Font - jingleh tv Pooperintendant [55] NTA, your supervisors should have dealt with this properly to begin with before it escalated like this, but you shouldn't be expected to take that kind of harassment. You should have escalated it to begin with though.
    via u/jingleh
  • 22
    Font - [deleted] If OP went to HR over being called the wrong name, he would have it on file, but the HR person would consider them ad OP . handled it like an adult and Ted had to deal with the consequences. F Ted.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 23
    Font - [deleted] ESH, but i approve. r/pettyrevenge
    via u/[deleted]
  • 24
    Font - U4eeea Parta pant [1] I know right. I bet that if he had sent a single email saying "please John come pick me up" he would have. 325 Share notmyd name OP You got it. It's not too much to expect base-line courtesy.
    via u/U4eeea
  • 25
    Product - whatsthed point. People don't seem to understand you can be an a and someone deserve it.
    via u/whatsthed***point

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boss aita fired work stories toxic-workplace job work coworkers workplace nicknames nickname toxic-work-environment
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