'I took off running and didn't come back': 30+ Times people quit their jobs ASAP

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jan 6, 2024 3:00 PM EST

Sometimes you just have a feeling that you can't ignore. A sixth sense or a premonition will creep into your mind, and you decide to listen to your gut. Maybe you have a strange feeling about going on a date with someone new, or perhaps you get a chill down your spine and decide to take a different route home just based off your feelings. These people shared their stories of times they had a feeling that their jobs weren't going to work out, so they just quit. No need to go through months of training and networking just to end up miserable. Instead, these folks had the good sense to quit while they were ahead. 

The best time to leave a job is when you're just starting to dislike it. If you start job hunting by the time you despise going to your current job, it's too late. It's not always easy to leave your current job, especially if you don't have anything lined up, or if you feel very loyal to your bosses. You're doing yourself a favor by finding a place to work that values you. Everyone below knew their worth, and took off when their jobs treated them poorly. Check out all the great responses below, from people who left after a few months, to folks who threw in the towel after 15 minutes. 

Next up, this photographer was fired from their job, and they took all of their supplies home with them, to the photo studio's surprise. 

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  • 01
    What's the fastest you ever quit a job and why?
    via u/FlintTheDad
  • 02
    JamesKPolk130 I was hired by a temp agency to file documents in a Paint Factory office - and when i showed up I was put on the assembly line with zero training or instruction and the cans came down the conveyor belt at 10,000 mph. i dont even know what i was supposed to do - i just let every can whiz by. i quit end of day 1.
    via u/JamesKPolk130
  • 03
    [deleted] At one of those quick- lube oil change places when I was about 18. The had me down in the pit (under the vehicles) draining the oil and I kept getting burned by hot oil and by hot exhaust pipes. On the second day, I said I had to use the bathroom and when I walked around to the side of the building I took off running and didn't come back.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 04
    silvanmorte 15 minutes. Applied for and accepted a job that was advertised as solely data entry, evening shifts. Got there, did the quick intro/meet and greet thing and was handed a mobile phone. No word of a lie, supervisor goes "It's actually a cold calling role, no-one would apply if we said that so we tell people it's data entry." I went sorry, what? He goes yeah, we cold call people for this idea my friend has asking for investors! You'll get a commission if you do well!
    via u/silvanmorte
  • 05
    At that point in time I was a salty, snarky young lady so I told him to shove it, that this was probably illegal in so many, many, ways, I applied for data entry not cold calling and swindling people, etc etc. Called my dad to come pick me up and never looked back - took a legit data entry offer the next day. So. Yeah. Uh... 15 minutes. Found out many years later that dude and the friend with the great idea both got done on some serious fraud charges shortly after my run in with them.
    via u/silvanmorte
  • 06
    Suougibma 15 minutes before I got there. I had a weird feeling about the job and how vague the hiring manager was being. Half way to my first day it dawned on my that it was some traveling door-to-door sales ...... The kind where they pack you in a van and drive you to some neighborhood to sell coupon books or whatever.
    via u/Suougibma
  • 07
    cheyonreddit Sandwich shop. Health inspector showed up. Found mop cleaning solution in the tub they were keeping the utensils they used make sandwiches with (get meatballs out for subs, spread tuna on sandwiches, etc). That explained the very odd, burning chemical smell from that area. The mop cleaner was mixing with the meatballs and sauce and just cooking all day in that pot. Owner argued that it was safe to use it that way. He made he dump it out in front of him. The second he left, she fille
    via u/cheyonreddit
  • 08
    ) 89fruits89 Worked at 24hr fitness when I was 17. Wanted to go skiing for a week and was told no it was impossible to schedule. Just walked out. Manager was fuming yelling about marking me as a no rehire or some . I found a job at LA fitness down the street that paid more after my ski trip. Good times.
    via u/ 89fruits89
  • 09
    Booster Read78 6 weeks. Got blamed for another delivery driver leaving the tank close to empty and not parked where it needed to be. I was: "huh?" A week after I left, they found out it was another driver and they were fired right afterwards.
    via u/Booster Read78
  • 10
    Irondaddy_29 First day. Got out of the Marines and got a job doing hardwood floors for 10/hr. Didn't tell me I had the job then called an asked where I was. Used a whole tank of gas driving from job to job. First thing boss asked me was "are you messed up from the war" (yes MFer I am). Every employee told me how much they hate the job and to run. Finished the day and quit
    via u/Irondaddy_29
  • 11
    LAGreggM Started telemarketing job at 8 am. Left at lunch because I couldn't stand how supervisor pushed us to lie to make sales.
    via u/LAGreggM
  • 12
    bzsbal I had an interview that was unlike any other interview I've ever had. It was a room full of other applicants and the "interviewer." The interviewer was telling us about the job, asked if anyone had any questions, then said we were all hired. I didn't fill any paperwork out thank goodness. After he said we were all hired, half the people including myself walked out. The job was to go door to door selling knives, and we would have to pay $2k for our demo set of knives. Nope! No thanks!
    via u/bzsbal
  • 13
    PewpyDewpdyPantz Dishwasher and I lasted 1 shift. I was 19. The owner/chef was a nice guy but I knew this wasn't the job for me maybe 1 hour into my shift. Finished the shift, told him I wasn't coming back and asked for $40 cash to call it even. He obliged. Even gave me a bowl of risotto.
    via u/PewpyDewpdyPantz
  • 14
    Jellybones52 About 5 minutes after being hired. Enough time to be shown around by the director of nursing and meet the admin. I introduced myself and he said "Why should I care?" I just went this and walked out.
    via u/Jellybones52
  • 15
    JohnnyDaBassSlapper. I worked in the call center for the university I attended. The job was to basically call alumni and get them to donate money to the school. There was a computer that would automatically call people for you. Most people simply did not answer the call because they had caller ID or didn't recognize the number. So most time was spent staring at a computer listening to a phone ringing with nobody answering it.
    via u/JohnnyDaBassSlapper
  • 16
    If somebody did answer the phone, there was a script we had to go by to try and get them to donate. We were required to ask at least 4 times and lower the amount each time before we could hang up. For example, maybe starting by asking for $200 and working down to $50. We couldn't take no for an answer no matter what the response was until we asked for money 4 times. If somebody said, "sorry I can't afford to donate my husband has cancer." We would be required to use the script and say, "I'm so s
    via u/JohnnyDaBassSlapper
  • 17
    Can I get you to donate $50?" Needless to say between the boredom of nobody answering and the terrible and awkward feeling of asking for somebody's else's money over and over if they did answer, I quit after my first 2 hours there. Just got up and told the supervisor it wasn't for me and left.
    via u/JohnnyDaBassSlapper
  • 18
    Bumpass It took me about 2 hours in telemarketing to realize what an I felt like, and then I left.
    via u/Bumpass
  • 19
    beek7419 A few weeks after at a retail job. Hired for holiday work. They offered to keep me on after the holiday. I said ok but I will need a week in January off because I'm visiting a friend. Already had plane tickets. They said ok and then put me on the schedule anyways. Screw that.
    via u/beek7419
  • 20
    KingBayley About two weeks. Applied for the university center's info desk. They hired me after they'd already trained the other new hires. It was something like 8-10 hours of training, but I got about half an hour of "here's where this is" hand waving. I was a new freshman so unable to answer most questions off the top of my head. And we were supposed to sell bus passes from a special register I never got trained to use. I did my absolute best but kept getting yelled at for not knowing how to do
    via u/KingBayley
  • 21
    Got sick of getting scolded and feeling lost and set up for failure and just told them I'm not coming back.
    via u/KingBayley
  • 22
    CANOV Random-Username7272. Two weeks. I was basically left to run an entire laboratory by myself with half a days training, and the lab manager was leaving for an overseas trip the next day. Would wake up with anxiety attacks after dreaming my bedroom was full of lab equipment.
    via u/Random-Username7272
  • 23
    Sea-Woodpecker-610. One week. Worked as a delivery driver for a national pizza chain in high school. Got my first paycheck at the end of the week and it was stupidly low. I reported my tips. They deducted them from my hourly wage. Took off my shirt right in front of my manager, and literally walked across the parking lot to the Chinese place with a "drivers wanted" sign in the window. I started driving for them the next day.
    via u/Sea-Woodpecker-610
  • 24
    coldcoffeethrowaway I quit a babysitting job after two weeks I think. They were paying me 100 dollars for 40 hours a week. Nope, that's slave wages
    via u/coldcoffeethrowaway
  • 25
    stellievxx It was a small gas station owned by one person. During the interview she told me that if I came into the gas station not on my shift and I saw it was busy, I should help behind the register
    via u/stellievxx
  • 26
    LEAPSKing Within 30 min of finishing/filing all the HR paperwork. I sat down at my new desk, opened my backpack and started organizing all the books I brought when my new boss came over and made a comment that didn't sit well with me. He expressed his disappointment in me for not filling out the paperwork with a "sense of urgency" and said he hopes this isn't a habit. When he left to go back to his office, I opened up my email and wrote a brief paragraph to the effect of "I can see you run a tig
    via u/LEAPSKing
  • 27
    I packed up my books and walked out the front door. Again, literally 30 min. Turns out, this was the best decision I could have made, as I almost immediately found a new job that paid 40% more. The job I walked out on paid $58k as an IT Field Engineer. I went on to work as an Infrastructure Engineer, my job until this day. $81K start, 100% WFH.
    via u/LEAPSKing
  • 28
    BeeesInTheTrap gas station starbucks, 2 months. manager was incredibly passive aggressive and stole our tips and input them as sales. she was tight with the owner so nothing we said mattered. they also charged for every little thing, including water. when it was said and done a regular beverage was like $9 or $10
    via u/BeeesInTheTrap
  • 29
    TrappedinTX 2 days. I worked at Walmart before and quit to start a gig in trucking. Got about a year into the trucking before I decided maybe I wanted to be home more. So I quit my job and got hired at Walmart within a week. Which was perfect, it was for a deli position which was cool, never worked deli before, I was always an overnight stocker. First day was mostly computer work, second day was partial computer work followed by a half day on the job. I you not, the first hour I was in the deli
    via u/TrappedinTX
  • 30
    Cheezburger Image 9861274880
    via u/TrappedinTX
  • 31
    I didn't launch the ham slice at her I did throw it on the counter and told the old woman where she could shove that ham. Walked into the backroom, clocked out, threw the assistant manager my best and told them today was my last day. And that some old hag needs help in deli. I called my trucking company the next days and within two weeks they had me in a truck and down the road. I'll NEVER do customer service again. Kudos to everyone whose stuck it out this long. I did it for 10+ years and once
    via u/TrappedinTX
  • 32
    nosfeii I left 2 months after being hired. I tried to be patient and understanding through the crew but they kept treating me like I had a big argument with my boss' mother (who worked with us too) and obviously she sided with her. A lot of happened, and on my last day I was supposed to have a code for some new gate that my boss didn't give me (I think she did that to annoy me) so in my head I was like « I go to work today and if the gate's actually closed, I'm leaving my post and never come bac
    via u/nosfeii
  • 33
    Cheezburger Image 9861275904
    via u/nosfeii
  • 34
    Illustrious-Link-407. An hour maybe, I sat in on their staff meeting before I had even started on the schedule. I'm a massage therapist and found out I would only be paid for the minutes of service, not any add ons. So, a 60 min deep tissue with cupping paid me the same as 60 min Swedish or body treatment. No incentive to sell their add ons they of course expect of you. Told them I made hundreds per check selling add on at the place I already worked therefore not worth leaving and they offered m
    via u/Illustrious-Link-407
  • 35
    D Shelby71 8 hours/1 shift. I was working for a temp agency and they were very specific about what we could and couldn't do for light industrial work. The big one was ladders; we were not to go higher than 8 feet. The agency also set our hours for us, and any changes would need to go through them.
    via u/Shelby71
  • 36
    So they send me to a warehouse that makes plastic frames for windows. It's August in the south, and the place has no AC. The entire space reeks from the furnace that melts the plastic and extrudes it into the various molds. My job was to do an updated inventory count. I was contracted to do first shift (7 am-3 pm). My supervisor starts off by saying that starting tomorrow, I should come in at 2 am to start that day's count because it is so much easier to do when it is cool. I told him that he'd
    via u/Shelby71
  • 37
    bump because that's technically 3rd shift, and those workers get paid more. He immediately changed the subject. As the shift goes on, I'm partnered with a veteran, and we have to count everything on the shelves. The shelves go up to @ 20 feet, so he drives over a scissor lift. No straps, no safety harness. I look at him and tell him that the temp agency only lets me go up on ladders no taller than 8 feet. He told me to get on and just not tell them. He wants me to lean waaaaay out over the edge
    via u/Shelby71
  • 38
    I finished the shift, drove home, and called the temp agency. I told them about the unauthorized change in schedule and the unsafe working conditions and told them I would not be returning.
    via u/Shelby71
  • 39
    Jacko411 When I was 21 years old (nearly 25 years ago) I was working for an IT consulting firm and sent to a job to support the network for a large tech company in near Boston. Their campus was spread over several blocks in Cambridge and they had several thousand users. When I arrived, I was brought directly into a full staff meeting of the network team.
    via u/Jacko411
  • 40
    The team lead explained that he had been hired somewhere else and when he told the company we worked for that he was leaving, there was some dispute about who leadership of the team of about 8 people should fall to - basically everybody wanted to be the boss. In their infinite, Solomonesque wisdom, the agency that staffed this team decided that if they couldn't agree then they didn't get any say, and had sent me, still wet behind the ears, to lead the team instead. Consequently, today was all of
    via u/Jacko411
  • 41
    I was a dumb kid but I wasn't a I called the recruiter immediately, told him I wanted no part of this , that it was unprofessional as to put me in this position, that I would never work for his company again and I would advise everyone I ever came into contact with that they shouldn't either, and that I am quitting right now, and walked out of there at 9:22am. Jidiot, so
    via u/Jacko411
  • 42
    Sirchiefsalot2020. 1 day thru a temp agency. They had me 15+ feet high, up on a cherry picker with no harness loading 60 pound pales of reflective roofing paint onto the picker. I would have refused but I was broke and needed gas money to keep looking for another job. Anxiety was thru the roof even after I had ended the day. I reported them to OSHA.
    via u/Sirchiefsalot2020
  • 43
    FabulousCallsIAnswer. This was almost 20 years ago in Dallas. It's a long story, but I was hired at a call center and I made it to the first training. The people I was with were super nice, the supervisor was pleasant, and I even took a couple of practice calls. But as I was driving home, I got this enormous sense of dread thinking about going back. I could barely sleep. When I woke up the next morning, I turned off my alarm, went back to bed, and never went in again.
    via u/FabulousCallsIAnswer
  • 44
    Frytang I worked for a furniture renting company for people with horrible credit. I was the delivery driver and had to inspect the truck to make sure it passed DOT regulations. This was my first day at a new store and their truck failed with 4 infractions, one was that the dipstick had 0 oil on it. I told them I wouldn't drive the truck and the manager tried her best to pressure me into it. I told her that I didn't feel safe working for someone so willing to put myself and others in harms way an
    via u/Frytang
  • 45
    W notanotherkrazychik. I quit Tim's because I had no idea where to go. I went to my first day, and they told me I was at the wrong location, so I walked to the one they sent me to, and I was told that there were no new people starting. Then I tried calling the person who hired me, so they gave me a number to call to find out the right Tim's. I get to the one I'm told to go to, but they don't have anyone starting that day either. I get a call from the Tim's I'm "supposed" to be at, asking where I
    via u/notanotherkrazychik
  • 46
    that they aren't the one either. I'm just standing there with a stupid look on my face, so I left to go to the park and sit on my phone, calling, texting, emailing for a couple hours, just to be told to go to the one that sent me away twice already. My shortest time "working" was the four hours I spent playing hide and go seek with Tim Hortons.
    via u/notanotherkrazychik
  • 47
    kathelim Worked at sonic for 3 hours. They made us wear skates and i fell and and busted my quit immediately. I was a teenager and thought I'd master skating day 1 lol.
    via u/kathelim
  • 48
    shortyjizzle 4 hours. Took a job working as a computer operator at a casino only to be told after orientation that I would be working a split shift twice a day, every holiday, and every weekend. I went home called back and quit. They threw a fit and asked who would cover that weekend as they all had vacation and I said I didn't know because I didn't work there anymore. Years later someone I worked with at another job and who had worked at the casino found out I had worked there and said "YOURE T
    via u/shortyjizzle
  • 49
    PhoneEquivalent7682. Like 3 months. Every time my boss gave me my pay check he would not let go of it until I snapped it out of his hand, sometimes he would even pull back like he was taking it back. He would only do that to me. I found it boring and unamusing.
    via u/PhoneEquivalent7682
  • 50
    I got a job at a local coffee shop and the staff didn't talk to each other hardly at all. The register was an old one with every key (like 50 at least) labeled with an item, it didn't automatically calculate change, and I was using Canadian coins (I'm American). I was so overwhelmed after one 2 hour training shift that I just told the owner I wasn't gonna come back for the next one
    via r/AskReddit
  • 51
    Cheekygirl97 Second day. Firstly, the first day I worked there, the owner was cold and she yelled at me in front of a customer just for being polite and friendly towards him (he was having a fun day out with his disabled child. I just told him how sweet I thought that was and hoped he had a good time. Told him these memories mean a lot). The establishment was filthy, she touched ice cream bare handed and I gave it to a customer, dropped a spoon on the ground, she dirty didn't wash it. She also w
    via u/Cheekygirl97
  • 52
    Cheezburger Image 9861281024
    via u/Cheekygirl97
  • 53
    Cananbaum I quit before I even started. Typical New England fried clam stand opening for the summer. Not only was it 3 interviews for a minimum wage cashier job, I was given one start date only to eventually get an angry email from one owner asking why I never showed up. So it was a husband and wife team who owned the stand, but they apparently weren't good with communicating. The wife hired me and gave me a start date for two weeks. The husband emailed me from a separate email than the one I'd
    via u/Cananbaum
  • 54
    which went to my spam folder, and just assumed I got it instead of, you know, calling me..? I just called him and left a voicemail basically saying that if he and his wife couldn't communicate I didn't want to be put in that kind of environment
    via u/Cananbaum
  • 55
    [deleted] I worked for Buc-ees in Texas for 2 days. During the interview they told me that if I had exposed tattoos I would have to wear compression sleeves to cover them or wear a long sleeve. On my first day of training I showed up in compression sleeves. Everytime I would reach across the counter to check someone out the compression sleeve would come down on my arm a little revealing a portion of the tattoo I had on my elbow. Eventually the manager noticed this and gave me a verbal warning fo
    via u/[deleted]
  • 56
    and the manager came through the break room, saw that I had my sleeves off and gave me a written warning. The next day I came in in a long sleeve shirt, hoping to avoid the same issues. I reached across the counter and the tattoo on my wrist poked out. The manager then told me that she thinks I'm an idiot for getting tattoos on my arms and that if I couldn't manage to keep them covered 100% during my duties she would fire me. I left that night and never went back.
    via u/[deleted]

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