'I quit. The look on his face was pure horror': 17-year-old leaves a huge mess at work for the chef that's antagonizing them

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jun 17, 2024 3:00 PM EDT

This person wasn't intending to quit their job… until their insane boss pushed them into it. 

Working back-of-house at a restaurant is a job for the toughest among us. Chefs cook meals in intense heat, under tight time constraints, and there's a lot of shouting that goes on in these tight quarters. If you've watched a show like "The Bear," or worked in a kitchen yourself, you know exactly how the power dynamics work. Chefs are the bosses, and everyone else is expected to listen to them. It might not seem fair, but it's a nearly universal way of running a kitchen. As a young person, it can be a valuable learning experience. But for this person, u/c0uldashouldawoulda, it was a trying time in their life instead. 

This story is a great example of that old adage that people quit jobs because of bad bosses. They might love their role otherwise, but spending 40+ hours each week with a toxic boss is enough to make anyone update their resume and walk. At least this dude did it in an absolutely legendary way, which you can check out below. 

Up next, this woman's husband has a really strange idea: he wants to open a restaurant where magicians are the only clientele, and he won't listen to any naysayers. 

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10361598976
    via Marek Studzinski on Unsplash
  • 02
    Teenage Pettiness T.L.D.R. below When I was 17 my cousin had helped me get a job washing dishes at the country club she worked at. The place was beautiful, had a great reputation, but the head chef was a complete and total
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda
  • 03
    He was a short, obnoxious, Midwest version of Gordon Ramsay... Minus the charm. He looked like a smaller version of Ricky from Trailer Park Boys. This man lived to torment others AND bask in the glow of compliments from customers.
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda
  • 04
    He was constantly hitting on my cousin and belittling me trying to impress her. I checked my schedule and he has me set to work on the busiest day of the year. It is absolute chaos from lunch until closing according to my cousin, and none of the other dishwashers were available.
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda
  • 05
    That busy day arrives, I'm dutifully working, just barely able to keep pace by myself. The chef is in a foul mood and kept screaming at me for anything that went wrong. Overheated pan, dishwashers fault, waitress not picking up orders, dishwashers fault, spilled food... You get the idea. I just kept working and, according to the wait staff, was doing great.
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda
  • 06
    After 4 hours straight, I needed a break and was absolutely starving. I grabbed a sandwich from the employee food area and was heading out the back door. The chef starts screaming that I can't take a 5 minute break, he runs after me then grabs my arm. Bad idea, I was overdue for a break and in no mood for his
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda
  • 07
    What he didn't know, while grabbing my arm, was the reason I could only work a few evenings some weeks... I was on the wrestling team, and had been since elementary school.
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda
  • 08
    As soon as he pulled on my arm, I pushed it into his arm then hooked his other arm and hip tossed him to the ground. I slid across his body and put my knees on his shoulders while looking down at him. I held him down for about 5 seconds or so to prove my point. My cousin was in shock and pleaded with me to stop.
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda
  • 09
    I let him up and heard all the macho insults you would expect from a grown man that was just rag dolled by a teenager. I picked up another sandwich and went outside to eat. Upon finishing my 5 minute break I walked back into the kitchen and I'm met with a string of insults from the chef and an absolute mountain of dishes. Apparently he decided to teach me a lesson.
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda
  • 10
    He took everything that wasn't being used by the cooks and dumped it into the sink, making a pile of greasy pans and trays in addition to the regular dishes. I smiled, walked to my area, picked up my car keys then turned and said goodbye to my cousin. I told the chef to shut the because I quit. The look on his face was pure horror.
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda
  • 11
    The last thing I saw of the chef was him trying to get the pans out of the sink as I put my jacket on and walked out. As I drove away I saw there were so many cars waiting for a parking spot that they would be buried for hours. I went home and ate Lucky Charms.
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda
  • 12
    T.L.D.R. chef was an assaulted me, got thrown around by a teenager and then I quit on the busiest day of the year.
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda
  • 13
    L437Dog I have a complete opposite story. I also was working as a dishwasher. The buffet restaurant I worked at was on the route from a major city with no MLB team to one that had such a team. We were about halfway through the journey between the two cities. The busses would call and let us know they were coming and an estimate of how many
    via u/L437Dog
  • 14
    were coming. This particular day, someone at the bus company forgot to call us. Needless to say, when the 17 tour buses of baseball fans showed up, we were unprepared. I ended up way behind, and it was time for my lunch break. The general manager of the restaurant came back after removing his tie and sent me to lunch. He washed dishes the entire time that I was eating. This was about 30+ years ago,
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda
  • 15
    and I still remember him. He was the greatest boss I ever worked for.
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda
  • 16
    Suprflyyy Everyone quits their first job. Might as well make it good.
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda
  • 17
    Icy-Letterhead-28... My first job was washing dishes at a country club type of place. But I was just unmotivated. 15 years old. My mother pulled a favor trying to get me to start making money. Worse, my mother wasn't going to give me rides and she would sign off on drivers ed until I was almost 18. I didn't want to wash dishes either, let alone work. I liked the kitchen
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda
  • 18
    environment though. The chefs were mostly nice to me. So about two weeks into the job, I get a phone call at 1pm. "Are you coming in?" "No, I quit." I was two hours late at that point.
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda
  • 19
    The irony, I went to culinary school and take clean dishes very seriously. Gordon Ramsay couldn't find fault in my cleanliness, lol. For a chef to blame anything other than a dirty dish or tool on a dishwasher is pure asinine . The dishwasher controls the kitchen. Glad you pinned his 1. I'd have thrown a pan at him, lol.
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda
  • 20
    [deleted] I am glad you quit. No one deserves to be treated like trash when washing dishes. Dish washers and busboys can be the unsung heroes of a busy night. I would have gone for Peanut Butter Puffs, though. God if I don't love Peanut Butter Puffs.
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda
  • 21
    Nakanostalgiabomb *throws chef into a hammerlock* "We are currently in the 'find out' phase of ' around and find out', you feel me?"
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda
  • 22
    Broad_Cable8673 Glad you did it. He needs to learn he can't treat people like that.
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda
  • 23
    GrumpySnarf What is the most satisfying about this is that you ate the sandwich, got your break and then quit. When I did dishes it was very physical work and I would be SUPER hungry by the time my break rolled around. I would never besmirch a worker from having a food break. What the is wrong with people.
    via u/c0uldashouldawoulda

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petty-revenge-reddit petty revenge petty boss dishwasher jobs employee work stories teenager teenagers work dishes
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