‘Do you know who I am’: Teenager gets retail employee fired for following company policy, leaving him jobless

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    REAL MADRID CHIVAS HAFA Californe C AAM 675 SURFER 2ST MICHIGAN GEPBP623 "I followed company policy Coca-Cola and got fired." SMOKING BULLE Super SHELL SHELL TOTAL SALE CO GALLONS
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    When DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM goes terribly wrong
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    A few years ago, I was working at a used videogame store. I was behind the counter, doing morning inventory, when a teenager came in. TC: Teenage Customer Me: Me TC: Hey, I preordered a copy of INSERT NAME OF GAME HERE last week. Is it in yet? Me: Let me check for you. Do you have an ID?
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    Check his ID, and he is only 16. The game he preordered was rated M, so I couldn't sell it to him. Me: Sorry buddy, looks like this game is rated M. I can't sell it to you because you are under the age of 18. Is one of your parents in the car? TC: NO! I PAID FOR THE GAME! I WANT IT! Me: Believe me, I want nothing more to give it to you. You are right, you are paid on it. Company policy restricts me from selling it to you.
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    TC: DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? DO YOU KNOW WHO MY FATHER IS? Me: Buddy, I'm on your side. I want to sell the game to you, but my hands are tied. Just come in with your parents or a big brother or even an older friend. I can give it to you then. TC: Enjoy the unemployment line. He exits. And I think nothing more about it. This happens once a week.
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    The next day, my boss calls me and asks to meet me at the coffee shop next door before my shift. He commonly does this to go over monthly numbers. Manager: Thanks for meeting me. Me: Sure thing. Manager: Yesterday, did you have a kid come in asking to purchase a game that he preordered?
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    Me: Sure did, he was underage so I didn't sell it to him. Then I go over the conversation with my boss. Manager: I know you followed policy, but that kid's father is a well respected businessman in the area. The boy's father called my boss's boss, which in turn called me. I'm sorry, I have to let you go. Me: ARE YOU SERIOUS? For following company policy?
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    Manager: Yeah, it sucks, but the father is influential in town and he suggested we let you go, and here I am. But you get two weeks severance. Don't worry about your shift today, I'm covering for you. I need your keys and your badge. Just like that I was unemployed. All because I followed corporate policy.
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    dipdac Oh, I know what happened next: the kid then drank a lot, climbed into a car and proceeded to I 'I four people on the highway, only to be sentenced to probation. 1.1k Share Fgame He suffers from Affluenza 282 Share
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    dankine time to sue 6.1k Share PM_ME_UR_DIPLOMA OP If I thought it about the time, then sure. But it has been several years ago. Not worth it now. 2.8k Share Qanaesin ⚫ Time to find out where his son works and give him the grief of his life. 2.2k Share
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    rakubunny "I need your keys and your badge" Did he actually say it like that cause he made it sound like he's firing you from his police force. 373 Share
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    GiddyGiraffes That is pathetic! And if you had backed down with every customer who said that, then you would be fired for not following company policy. 1.4k Share IAmGoingTo He also would have gotten fired if he'd sold it to the kid and the father complained about selling a game with m e content to a minor. 87 Share
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    All_Nighter_Long No Free Fridges No words can describe how angry I am. If this were to happen to me, I would gone over my managers head and contacted the district HR manager or employee complaint line, and got him fired. Edit: at the most, when ever the policy was different then written for the store I was at, the manager would simply tell me do this action from now on. Not fire me! This is the kind of store I'd love to see on the news. 677 Share
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    YouWantALime. Unoriginal flair is unoriginal. Anybody else concerned where that kid's head is that he would rather ruin someone's life than wait a day to get someone older to help him get the game? Money practically makes people so hs. 271 Share
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    avenlanze You were given reason, the reason was for following company policy. Wrongful termination lawsuit here you come. 207 Share
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    bonafidebob · I think the real reason was because a prominent local businessman wanted him fired. They weren't persuaded by his argument that he should be fired for cause, they were firing OP "merely" as a favor to the kid's dad. If anyone should be held accountable it's the dad for some kind of t. If he's really that prominent, he'd probably settle out of court... and if not, dragging the dad (and his kid) into court to explain to a judge would probably be a valuable lesson for them as well. ha
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    sdobbs23 DON'T YOU DARE LET THIS GO! Get ahold of HR, contact a lawyer and get this ball rolling. I'm so angry for you. 519 Share TehSavior "a few years ago i" he already let it go 516 Share ...
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    emeraldus "Well respected businessman" indeed. 51 Share Follygagger Disrespectful, well "respected", black mailing, self righteous piece of business man 21 Share
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    SereneLloydBraun Aaaannnnnddddd now I am in a bad mood. Sorry that happened, OP. Karma will eat that kid alive one day. Who was the father? How or why did he have such an impact? 170 Share
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    Tappanga Something similar happened to me years ago. I worked for a rental car company. The general manager didn't want "sketchy types" renting luxury vehicles, so she made a policy that everyone renting a luxury vehicle had to show proof of insurance. Fast forward a couple of years. A well dressed young couple flies into my city and comes to pick up their luxury car. I ask for proof of insurance. The husband protests. I show him the memo from our manager, where she's highlighted the line about
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    outraged. I realize it isn't worth it for as little as I make. I relent and offer to personally bring his car curbside and help load his luggage. That calms him down somewhat. Fast forward a few weeks. I'm called into the manager's office. It seems the enraged man was actually a VP for a major car manufacturer, and he's threatening to not only sue for discrimination, but pull his manufacturers entire fleet from our entire company. I'm asked lots of questions (including did I highlight the line a
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    I see the writing on the wall that I'm about to be a sacrificial goat, and GFTO of there as fast as possible. Opened the want ads and got a new job. Heard that manager was fired not long after. Hated that .ch anyway. 19 Share
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    rasafrasit Time to visit r/legaladvice that's likely wrongful termination 108 Share PM_ME_UR_DIPLOMA OP Not if you are in an At Will state. They can terminate you for any reason as long as it is not interfere with a "protected class" 92 Share
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    DubiousVirtue That sounds like the beginning of a movie. I do hope the subsequent chapter followed the Disney/Pixar formula and your now head of Big Corporation and have a beautiful wife and kids. 11 Share
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    [deleted] Wow, his father was a well respected businessman and got you fired for following company policy. I really hate when well respected businessmen can get anyone fired for doing stuff. 22 Share

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