'They lied about which shifts I'd have': 30+ People share why they quit a job on the first day

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Nov 27, 2023 7:00 AM EST

First impressions are important when establishing a working relationship, so important that people tend to read way too far into things during the first interview. It's not unheard of for interviewers to take one single harmless thing you said and extrapolate it into some wildly imaginative reason why you're a risk to hire. Tell the wrong interviewer you like baseball, and maybe they'll decide you're not fit for their team since baseball reminds them of their resentful father who tried to force them to take up the sport as a child. Similarly, the first impression that you get from an employer as soon as the interview process is over says a lot; an opportunity that might have seemed like the dream role during the interview process may soon unveil itself to be a nightmare.

That's what happened in a lot of these stories, which were shared by the workers who lived them to Reddit's r/askreddit community. Enjoy this collection of stories where people decided to cut their losses and walk. Next, see these 20+ candidates who walked out of job interviews.

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  • 01
    "People who quit a job on the first day, what happened?"
    via Jackson Simmer
  • 02
    r/AskReddit . Posted by u/KJ-The-Wise 14 hours ago People who quit a job on the first day, what happened?
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  • 03
    Clearyjim 11 hr. ago edited 7 hr. ago I was having a real tough time finding a job out of college in 2009 in a difficult economy and finally found an outside sales position selling copy machines and office equipment to small businesses. During the interview, the manager said it would be a salary position plus commission but when I showed up for my first day they said it was actually 100% commission and there was no salary.
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    I sat down at my new desk and my name was spelled wrong on my name plate. The training on my first day was riding along with my boss as he called on offices. He took me through a bikini barista drive thru stand for coffee and dropped a couple sleazy lines to the barista. Once the work started he proceeded to get shut down immediately by the receptionist at
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    every office we went in. The next day I told him I wouldn't be coming back in and wished him luck. 571 Reply Share Useuless 4 hr. ago . This is the most 2009 thing ever Reply Share 121
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    Lochan2468 13 hr. ago I worked at Home B and did my first shift on a Saturday, I was off on the Sunday originally, and they waited until 11pm on the Saturday to call me and not ask me but tell me to cover a Sunday but the conversation went as followed. "Hey we've changed the rota and you're working tomorrow 8am-5pm."
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    I was busy on the Sunday as I had family commitments since I assumed I was free being my day off. "Oh I can't work tomorrow I have plans." "Well that will go down as an unauthorised absence if you don't turn up." "Alright then I quit." "WHAT?!" I then hung up and never went back. ✩ 7.5k Reply Share
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    (D) mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm · 11 hr. ago I worked at for a while. Overall great job, but schedules were a shitshow. They only had printed schedules, hung in the break room. They would always come out 1-2 days before the upcoming week, so we could never make plans for days off ahead of time.
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    Also, they would constantly change the schedules and not notify anyone, even if you were not working and couldn't possibly see the revision without coming in on your day off. Multiple times I got angry calls from management asking where I am on a day I was off/didn't work til later. Also I showed up multiple times for morning shifts and was sent back home cause I was changed to afternoon for that day. Really gets your blood boiling. 853 Reply Share
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    Low-Whereas8182 14 hr. ago. edited 5 hr. ago Turned out the 'company' was not registered business and has no license to operate. They also threatened us we'd have to pay them an amount if we quit during the 60-day training period. Few months later, they were shut down. ↑ 3.4K ↓ Reply Share
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    Korncakes 11 hr. ago . I had a friend quit from a restaurant her first week out of training. Called before her shift and was like "yeah no I'm done, just figured I'd give a courtesy call." The manager called her back shortly after, screaming at her that they wasted something like $10,000 training her and that she could be sued if she didn't pay back. For a
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    server position. We were stod out of our minds and she had him on speaker with the microphone muted and we were hyperventilating laughing so hard at this idiot scream into nothing. When she finally composed herself, all she could muster was a half assed "good luck with that" and then hung up. 2.0k ↓ Reply Share ●●●
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    dma1965 12 hr. ago I took a phone sales job once. It was cold calling people to sell tickets to a country western show to supposedly benefit the local police department. The foreman had me sit next to somone named Joe and said " now you watch Joe for a bit, and see how he turns the no's into yes's " First call Joe starts his speech and then slams down the phone and shouts "...!"
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    Second call is pretty much the same and he instead shouts " |!" while slamming down the phone. This goes on for about 3 more calls and then the manager comes over and says "Ok, so you see how it's done? Let's get you started." I made about 4 calls and then asked if I could take a smoke break (even though I didn't smoke), and left and never returned. ↑ 2.5k ↓ Reply Share ●●●
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    ncprogmmr 10 hr. ago LMAO. Your experience is almost exactly like mine, except for what they were selling. When I was like 21 (this was back in 2000), I was looking for a part time job just to make some extra money. I had an interview for a "data entry" job that was in a office in a strip mall. They were very vague on what I'd be doing, but the hours and pay was alright.
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    I showed up two days later for my first day and found out I was selling newspaper subscriptions over the phone. Basically the computer would just auto dial from a list. I "trained' with someone for like an hour, then was put on my own. No one really yelled at me but most people just hung up on me. I did the same thing you did - I told them I was going outside to smoke and just left 353 Reply Share ●●●
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    kylegilliscomedy. 12 hr. ago I was hired as a cook at a Hu ! On my first day I learned that they lied about which shifts I'd have in the interview, I'd be expected to basically run the restaurant alone on graveyard shift after only a week of training, and this place was violating health codes left and right. 2.2k ↓ Reply Share
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    Robbie-R 12 hr. ago When I was around 14 I worked for DOIcecream (think Canadian Good Humor) for ONE DAY riding a bicycle/cooler. You were paid a commission based on what you sold, but you had to pay for your dry ice. Long story short, you had to ride that thing all day in blazing heat to make virtually no money. This was the in the mid 80s, I hope this is illegal now. ↑ 3.0k ↓ Reply Share
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    Surviving2 12 hr. ago I figured there was a reason we never see them anymore. Reminds me of my brother's paper-route. He had to collect all the money and if people didn't pay it came out of his profits. Also something that's gone away. 940 ↓ Reply Share
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    bigfatgeekboy 13 hr. ago. 2nd day: sweating my off in the kitchen on a hot summer day. Asked for a glass of water and the owner made me pay for it. Finished my shift and never went back. 2.3k Reply Share ✩ 1.2k ●●● climatelurker . 11 hr. ago That was probably illegal, what the owner did. Reply Share
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    Teacher Patti 11 hr. ago Back in the early 90s, I needed a summer job. Applied and got hired at TAO. My first shift was something Ta like 5-10 which got me the usual 15 minute break. No problem. Then I find out that we can't leave until everyone has cleaned their area of the store. When you finished your area, you had to help others. There were two people who were slow as (likely to get the extra few hours of pay) and we all ended up "helping" them. I didn't get out until almost 2am. Of course,
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    BaseTensMachine 13 hr. ago. edited 11 hr. ago · I was working at ZO. They didn't do advertising at the time and instead are very particular about how they set up the store. My last hour was being screamed at by the woman in charge of the store's appearance for not folding clothes fast enough (she was screaming at all of
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    us. Imagine an hour of a woman standing on the top floor alternating between "Let's go, people!" And shouted insults). We finished 15 minutes early. Which means we got paid less for doing what the screaming lady wanted. Then we were asked to clock out for a "team meeting". We did and the woman screamed at us so much she drove herself to tears.
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    The woman who hired me apologized on my way out and I told her I wouldn't be back. I didn't even pick up my check. Nor have I ever, ever, ever bought anything from za ever again. Even secondhand, I won't do it. I have like a PTSD reaction to that store. 5.9k Reply Share
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    coffeeandfadeddreams 11 hr. ago If you haven't already should check the unclaimed property website for your state. If you never picked up your check, those funds should show up there and you can claim it and get it back! I know it's not much but it's yours ✩ 2.6k ↓ Reply Share
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    MackAttk123 11 hr. ago Not a job, but a first time interview. They disguised the job as just a normal sales position but when I got to the interview it was a group interview no one told me about and there was basically about 15 of us young kids in there that basically had to fight for this job. Mind you it turned out to be one of those door to door salesman jobs
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    selling who knows what, but I left in the middle of the interview because I immediately knew it wasn't for me and the receptionist at the front got out of her chair to stop me from leaving and said "you're going to be throwing away your life if you leave kid" to which I didn't reply and I continued walking out. That company no longer exists to this day. 824 Reply Share
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    im_not_bovvered 10 hr. ago The attorney I was supposed to be working for didn't want to give me the employment paperwork and kept delaying. Finally he asked me how I felt about being a 1099 employee instead (I was supposed to have a w4, salary, full benefits) and he tried to "sell" me on why it would be better for me.
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    He was a solo atty and I was going to be his para/everything. This guy had no idea how the computer or printer worked, was using an old system, didn't know what to tell me as far as passwords went and said I was smart and could figure it out.
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    He had an intern who was in college working for him and she was there the day I started, and she was trying to be polite but during the day she opened up a bit and told me she'd been working for him for 3 weeks and he still hadn't paid her anything, and wouldn't have the convo when she tried. I asked her candidly if I should run and she said yes, leave and don't come back.
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    I had another offer on the table that I had declined to take this job. So I did something super uncharacteristic of me and called the other job from the bathroom, asked if they'd filled it, and begged for the job and told them I made a mistake. They re-extended the offer and I finished the day and never went back. She texted me the next day and said she also didn't go back and wasn't planning to. 278 ↓ Reply Share
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    juliekitzes 13 hr. ago Jo fabrics - first day an old lady slapped me for cutting her fabric too slow. I was like "peace. This isn't the job for me". 2.7k ↓ Reply Share tobythedemOn - 11 hr. ago I worked at a Mics while I was in school. It sucked so much! Old rich ladies who just loved treating staff poorly and a manager who catered to them.
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    pay. management. customers. I could deal with two at that time, but not all three. I was so excited when I quit. 799 Reply Share
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    GlitterTrashUnicorn 9 hr. ago I worked there for 6 years. My first holiday season, a customer was going OFF that a vase was placed in the wrong spot by another customer, and she should get it at the lower price. I just stared at her with my Emotionless Retail Robot Face while the floor people and managers were trying to
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    appease her and explain what had happened. When she finally left, another cashier commented how amazed she was I kept my cool the entire time, how she would have decked the lady. I said, "dude... I worked at a gas station for a decade. I've dealt with crackheads and people who somehow thought I controlled that gas prices. Crazy craft people are nothin'" 375 Reply Share
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    nannerbananers 11 hr. ago edited 6 hr. ago I worked at a daycare for one day. They put me in the 3 year old room with two other staff members. The staff members were so mean to the kids. They yelled at one child for "being late", as if she had any control over that. They made another child cry by telling her she was going to be sent to the directors office for asking to use the bathroom during outside time.
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    They also bragged to me multiple times about how the daycare didn't have cameras and "never will". Then they both fell asleep at nap time. I never went back and told my sister in law to pull her baby from that place. Edit: for everyone concerned- this daycare closed a few years ago. Reply Share 986
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    Monstrous Ella 12 hr. ago edited 4 hr. ago Technically didn't quit the first day, but I was forgotten. Worked at a famous Dutch theme park and was scheduled for 1 day. Showed up that day, worked the whole day no problem and had quite a bit of fun. Waited to be called in again and 4 years later I still haven't been called in once. I still have the uniform and guide book.
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    Edit: just realized this happened twice to me actually. Also worked voluntarily at a ranch once. Was excited about it and asked if I could keep working there. Never heard from them again (I wasn't rejected, they wanted me to send them a mail so they could have my contact details). 1.2k Reply Share ●●●
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    us Faw 3shotsb4breakfast 14 hr. ago Landscaping guy wanted me to do cold calling of customers who all had bad experiences and try to convince them to pay for services they didn't need or have, like aerating a zeroscaped lawn. He also wanted me to do all of his accounting in Quicken. 1.5k Reply Share honeyhamilton 10 hr. ago · edited 8 hr. ago "When I Put Everything Into The Quicken, Nothing Flashed Red, So That's Gotta Mean It's Ok, Right?" Reply Share 577
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    No_Significance6785 12 hr. ago I got hired for the local Taco B. On my first day it was a busy Thursday night and everyone was stressed and yelling at each other. I was asked to come in at 3 but never told when I was supposed to leave so I asked, because if I was going to be there for a long time I also wanted a break. The person in charge wasn't even a manager and they told me they didn't know what to tell me because they don't have a manager right now to make
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  • 42
    schedules. She mentioned they were open until 3 am and asked me how long I would stay. I got really sketched out so my next question was about how they were counting for my labor since I was new and wasn't in the computer yet, and there was no manager on site to input my labor manually. She had no idea what I was talking about. I never walked out of somewhere so fast in my life Reply Share 1.3k ●●●
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    Rokhnal 13 hr. ago I took a part-time 3rd-shift (night audit) position at a hotel. I had worked in hotels for over a decade by then but at the time I was in another industry and just wanted a side gig. I showed up, started my computer training (which I had been through several times before with the same brand) and ended up looking over the schedule while taking a break.
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    They had ONE full time 3rd-shifter and three other employees for the front desk for the other two shifts. 4 people total, plus the manager. That's a huge red flag for as large of a hotel as it was, I could already see 7am rolling around and my relief not showing up, making me late for my full-time job. I texted the manager right then, 3am, and said this wasn't going to work out. ↑ 635 ↓ Reply Share
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    That KinkyLady . 12 hr. ago It was a start-up advertising agency. My first day I came in and they asked me where my laptop was. They had never told me to bring it and I thought it was very odd they wanted me to work on a personal device. Luckily I did have it on me due to my classes I was taking nearby.They didn't have me sign any employment paperwork and my direct supervisor was nowhere to be found. Another employee seemed confused
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    about what to do with me so she had me go on the company website to review it and learn about some of the work they'd done. So I did that, expecting someone to come eventually and give me some actual training or direction. An hour or so goes by and no one did. I asked other employees who again just looked confused and said they didn't know. I waited for another 2 hours and when lunch time came I just took my stuff and left. I never got paid for that day but I didn't care. It was just so weird. 4
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    _phish_ - 14 hr. ago It was the second day on the job not the first but close enough. I had left another job to go to this new company with the promise that I wouldn't have to stay late. I was told I would be working basically a 9-5 which I was perfectly happy with. That day I didn't get off until 10 PM. I texted my boss as I got off and said I they wouldn't be seeing me again. Reply Share 881
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    NurseSweet210 · 11 hr. ago Worked at a nursing home where they charged the elderly residents extra on their bill to have a bath as opposed to a shower. Quit on the spot ↑ 188 ↓ Reply Share ●●●
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    whiteknight0111. 11 hr. ago Was sent by a time company from Berlin to Austria for a job. On arrival, they told us to build staircases. I'm a painter. ↑ 159 ↓ Reply Share sufferpuppet 10 hr. ago Paint them a staircase. 110 Reply Share ●●●
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    starryvelvetsky. 11 hr. ago K-Mart back in the late 90s. I showed up to my first day and they had no idea who I was or why I was asking for my assignment, or someone to shadow, or you know, anything that a normal first day person would have done, having never done it before. Turns out they forgot to schedule me, then when I didn't show up to the store after the computer training (because my
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  • 51
    schedule was blank), they did my separation because I guess I was a no call no show to a no shift? They told me to go back to the office so I could get "rehired" but I declined. I didn't want to work somewhere so disorganized. ↑ 130 ↓ Reply Share
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  • 52
    Cynidaria 14 hr. ago Data entry- I was temping and I had specifically said "NO data entry". The second assignment I got was all & only data entry. (I'm dyslexic, me doing data entry is bad for everyone) Reply Share 381 climatelurker . 11 hr. ago They never hear the 'no' part at the beginning, only the 'data entry' part at the end. ↑ 87 ↓ Reply Share
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    Dull-Objective3967 11 hr. ago Went to HR to sign the contract, notified that the hourly wage and benefit where different that we had had talked about. Asked why and then she told me that I must have missunderstood the offer when I had my interview. So I got up, said thank you for wasting
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    my time and walked out. I later received a letter in the mail banning from the property for 6 months. It was at a hotel and the position was for maintenance Manager. 102 Reply Share
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