'Don't know, don't care. This is my last day': General manager tells employee to start searching for jobs, no one realizes employee gave one week notice

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jan 3, 2024 3:00 PM EST

Working your life away for a company that doesn't value you is enough to make any employee walk away. And good for them! There are so many jobs in the world. At some of them, you might be valued for what you bring to the table. 

This employee was working their "most challenging job" ever as an assistant general manager. While working at an event venue, they took on a role with long hours, and often worked 50-60 hours every week. But since the OP, u/tokyoflex, enjoyed the work and liked their bosses, they didn't mind the tough hours. Then, the company's GM advised them to get out of the job, and the OP agreed. If a company is trying to push you out, there's no reason to stay, no matter how much you like the gig. 

The OP got an especially satisfying ending to their time at that company, and best of all, they didn't even do anything wrong. They did everything exactly as their company outlined, making for some impressive malicious compliance. 

You can check out the entire story below. And after that, read about this teacher who was so annoyed with his HOA's plan to remove his pecan tree that he hired a lawyer to defend it. 

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  • 01
    Shocked Pikachu Boss LOC I worked at a restaurant-slash- events venue some years back. Essentially I was AGM of the place, and it was my job to coordinate service in the dining room, private event spaces, and music venue. Service, concerts, private events, weddings, you name it, I coordinate and execute it with staff. This was the most challenging job I'd ever had at the time, but after a while I'd found a groove and was doing the work of two or three people.
    via u/tokyoflex
  • 02
    New GM gets hired. I like her, she likes me. She recognizes my hard work and is glad to have me. I work put in 50-60 hours a week, regularly there until two or three in the morning wrapping things up, last person in the building. I have a good relationship with the CEO and the COO/HR of the company as we were one of six large franchises across the country. They like me and we have a good rapport (when I see them). I'm working my off but really having fun too.
    via u/tokyoflex
  • 03
    Fast forward a few months and the relationship between me and GM sours. She is colder and more hostile toward me every day. I'm not sure what's going on, so ask her if we can talk. She calls a closed-door meeting and arrives with a folder with some papers in it. She pulls out her cell and asks my permission to record. Yeah, sure, have fun. She then proceeds to lay out papers in front of me documenting all my shortcomings.
    via u/tokyoflex
  • 04
    SEVEN MINUTES LATE-TIME STAMP VERIFIED (There was a blizzard that day, and I wasn't late -I volunteered to come in early as other employees refused to drive, and so was technically 53 minutes early). INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE IN FRONT OF TEAM MEMBERS (Managers were joking and doing Sam Jackson "Motherf***er" impressions and I used the S-word -no one else got written up).
    via u/tokyoflex
  • 05
    COMPLAINT FROM REHEARSAL DINNER 9/12 (The bride in a sleeveless dress was cold-we turned the heat up.) And on and on, like fifteen total completely fabricated "charges" against me. At this point it's clear she's out to get me, but I have no clue why. She tells me I should probably think about putting in my two weeks' notice.
    via u/tokyoflex
  • 06
    Okay. I immediately start looking for another job, and actually nail one shortly with a better title and pay. Yay!
    via u/tokyoflex
  • 07
    Important to know, we always had these big weekly meetings on what was usually my day off. So I'd have to come in on my day off and sit in a meeting with a bunch of other managers, events directors, and chefs. These meetings were mandatory. I was never happy about it, but I complied as everyone else relied on me to coordinate service and events.
    via u/tokyoflex
  • 08
    After one of these meetings I went out for a quick beer with a co- worker who was a Captain (essentially an event manager for us who would run smaller events). We got to talking and she told me that GM was afraid I was going to take her job and wants to get rid of me GM had let it slip to Chef during set-up of an event and Captain overheard while working. Wild. I don't want your job, I'm too busy already.
    via u/tokyoflex
  • 09
    So Malicious Compliance. Our HR policies were a bit wonky as COO/HR didn't really have experience with HR stuff. He was a great guy, but had cobbled together some awkward policies. In our official handbook, it was stated that the company prefers a three-week notice-accepts a two- week notice as industry standard- and in cases where the employee feels "wronged, threatened, or
    via u/tokyoflex
  • 10
    unfairly targeted", a one-week notice is acceptable. ALSO, if the employee feels "wronged, threatened, or unfairly targeted", it is acceptable for said employee to go over the head of their wronging, threatening, unfairly targeting BOSS directly to HR to submit their notice.
    via u/tokyoflex
  • 11
    So I follow company policy. I send COO/HR an e-mail giving my resignation. I briefly outline my reasons, thank him for all his wisdom and help, and give my one-week, 168-hour notice effective immediately as of noon CST, the exact time I'm submitting notice. I don't get a response from COO/HR. That's because he's on vacation in Greece.
    via u/tokyoflex
  • 12
    A week later, I cheerily show up for the mandatory meeting at noon on my day off. The meeting commences and GM is making a show of trying to call me out in front of the group for answers about the 300-person wedding event I'm due to run tomorrow, trying to cement my incompetence to them. She tells me we're out of a certain Brut Champagne (no we're
    via u/tokyoflex
  • 13
    not) and asks me what we're going to sub for the party's toast (intending to catch me caught in the cold as it's too late to order an appropriate substitute). My response: "Don't know, don't care. This is my last day, and I finished work fifteen minutes ago. Good luck with the wedding." And I walked out.
    via u/tokyoflex
  • 14
    Cue Shocked Pikachu Boss. The entire table was O-faced. There was a volley of e-mails after that between GM and COO/HR trying to deny my sick/vacation payouts, but I had technically followed all company policies. She had to put her signature on my final check. Sweet.
    via u/tokyoflex
  • 15
    EDIT: Thanks for all the wi-fives, everyone. And thanks for the awards. Other commenters have asked me to edit in the fallout. So here's what happened: Apparently she got an earful from COO/HR when he got back from vacation. He didn't buy the laundry list of "charges" against me and could tell she was angling to get me canned. He was more that if she was going to get rid of me, why didn't she have my replacement lined up? She lost a great manager, put the business in a horrible position, and he
    via u/tokyoflex
  • 16
    They promoted a server who had no experience but would work sixty hours a week on a minimal salary. That went how you'd expect. GM too busy/lazy to oversee service and events, new manager failing to direct and execute, events tanking, service tanking, clients I, etc. Did I mention seven of their best employees followed me to my new place? Cuz they did. Staff started quitting as they got understaffed, overworked, scheduled doubles four days in a row... Morale went to
    via u/tokyoflex
  • 17
    they had to start cancelling events that were long-booked and paid for, they had to issue tens of thousands of dollars in refunds back to clients for shoddily- executed events. They had to (try to) hire and train tons of new staff during a national F&B worker shortage. GM was gone not two months later.
    via u/tokyoflex

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