'Nobody else in the office could do what I was doing': Store owner refuses to hire a new HVAC dispatcher until the last minute because he thinks they're "bluffing"

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jun 19, 2024 11:00 AM EDT

This person found out how important they were at their job, just hours before leaving forever. 

Giving your employer two week's notice before you leave the job is standard. U/balles_de_acier actually gave their employer three weeks of notice, which was generous of them. That's plenty of time to seek out a new addition to the office, get them started at the job, and the old employee would even have time to show them the ropes. The more difficult route would be waiting until that original employee is due to leave, and then deciding to start the training process. 

Things were complicated even more because this person did quite a lot at their workplace. They were wearing multiple hats, so not only would they have had to show the new guy their own job, but also mention all the other little things they've been doing around the office. Now, instead of a well-trained employee who's ready to hit the ground running, the company is short of an employee who had plenty of expertise… all they've got is a clueless newcomer. 

Up next, read the hilarious tales of James the inept intern, as documented by a coworker who was stunned and amused by his office place antics. 

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  • 01
    'The owner was convinced I was bluffing, and was just hunting for a raise'
    via Jose Losada on Unsplash
  • 02
    Train My Replacement in a Matter of Hours? I Don't Think That's Gonna Work Out Well For You. A previous post reminds me of a situation a few years ago...
    via u/balles_de_acier
  • 03
    I was a Dispatcher for a Plumbing/HVAC/Basement Waterproofing company, but I was more of a coordinator. I handled customer bookings, scheduling, some parts ordering, dispatching, etc. As I used to say, "I have more hats than a hat rack".
    via u/balles_de_acier
  • 04
    Now my techs had their own tools, and I did my work on the computer. I kept bugging the boss for a better computer, and he never got me one, so I built a system at my own expense and brought it in to the office. My techs had "personal tools", so this was mine. As a matter of fact, 10 years later, it's the system I am typing on now. It has
    via u/balles_de_acier
  • 05
    a 4-core processor, and a graphics card capable of supporting 4 monitors. To give you a better idea of how long ago this was, I paid $350 for a 60gig SSD. I used 1 monitor for the Dispatch software, one monitor for Google Maps with traffic overlay, one monitor for Outlook, and one monitor for QuickBooks to issue invoices and purchase orders.
    via u/balles_de_acier
  • 06
    When I gave notice, My Boss, The Owner and I agreed on 3 weeks notice as an exit strategy. Unknown to me, The Owner was convinced I was bluffing, and was just hunting for a raise. He refused to hire a replacement. My Boss was more of a Field Supervisor, The Owner handled the office and Admin.
    via u/balles_de_acier
  • 07
    Finally, the DAY BEFORE my last day, at 2pm, I was introduced to the new hire. Seriously? You intend to have me train a guy for a complicated pivotal role in a few hours?
    via u/balles_de_acier
  • 08
    I was on a 44-hour schedule, 10 hours Mon-Thurs, and Friday I was off at 11am. I said my goodbyes and at 11am, began dismantling my computer. First thing I did was format the hard drive, as I told them I was going to do. Fortunately for them, the data was all backed up on the server...except for what had transpired that morning, despite my repeated warnings to trigger a backup into the server at 11am.
    via u/balles_de_acier
  • 09
    The Owner came out in a bit of a panic when he saw me taking apart the computer, as he had forgotten that it was me that owned it, and now his Dispatch station had no computer. He asked if I could leave the computer behind, and I declined.
    via u/balles_de_acier
  • 10
    He set my replacement up on an unused antique computer in a cubicle. It had a CRT monitor, was slow as molasses. The job was hard enough with 4 screens, I can't imagine doing it with one.
    via u/balles_de_acier
  • 11
    This guy wasn't a dummy, but there's no way I could have trained him in a few hours. He had the bare-bones of the processes, and that's it. By noon I was out the door.
    via u/balles_de_acier
  • 12
    My Boss spent the remainder of the day and most of the next week in the field, leaving The Owner to deal with the fallout, and it was legendary. Nobody could handle it. The replacement quit, just never showed up on the Tuesday, and nobody else in the office could do what I was doing.
    via u/balles_de_acier
  • 13
    He dumped PO generation into Accounting, which | them off with the extra workload. He tried to handle Scheduling and Dispatching himself, and off a lot of the techs. He stuck one of the CSRs into training for the role, and she wasn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier.
    via u/balles_de_acier
  • 14
    The best part? I used to handle after-hours on-call, and since there was nobody with enough experience, The Owner had to answer his phone at all hours of the night, 7 days a week.
    via u/balles_de_acier
  • 15
    That's when the exodus started. Over the next few weeks many of the good techs bailed, jobs were screwed up. I heard that he had 2 basement waterproofing jobs, each worth 5 figures, double- booked. The company hit the wall, hard.
    via u/balles_de_acier
  • 16
    How do I know? About 3 years ago I reached out to My Boss on Linkedin, and he had moved on to another employer. He offered me a job, and I took it. We get along famously, and he has told me all kinds of stories about the that hit the fan when I left.
    via u/balles_de_acier
  • 17
    ...and all they had to do was buy a new computer, and give me enough time to get the new guy in the groove. TL;DR - I gave you my notice. If you don't hire a replacement because you think I am bluffing, then watch me comply with my notice. The rest is YOUR problem.
    via u/balles_de_acier
  • 18
    jeffrey_f I mean, they could have offered to buy the computer. Just wow.
    via u/jeffrey_f
  • 19
    Omnissah The rare circumstance where you're *actually* holding the company together and are irreplaceable.
    via u/Omnissah
  • 20
    He... Sounds like the management at my my job. One of the analyst was studying to get a degree and she was about ro graduate. She had a lot of experience. She gave them her notice month before. Did they hire one so she can train them? No, the last day she showed some basics. But none of us was ready to take care of that extra work. They hired
    via u/HeroesRiseHeroesFall
  • 21
    one after few months later when everything has piled up. You would think they learned from this, but no. Another employee with great experience left after giving them 2 weeks notice. They didn't try to train somebody to fill that position. Now everything is a mess. Does the management act the same everywhere?
    via u/HeroesRiseHeroesFall
  • 22
    byjimini There's a certain kind of satisfaction I get when I learn previous workplaces, that smugly let me go, hit the wall soon after. I don't go wishing it on anyone as it drags innocent people down with it, but it's one stop short of turning up there again and saying "told you so".
    via u/byjimini

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boss workplace-stories jobs job malicious compliance bosses new hire work coworkers malicious-compliance-reddit workplace malicious compliance reddit
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