Technicians throw a 'you're gone' party after strict boss gets demoted and later fired for ignoring safety procedures: 'We are celebrating you not being around anymore'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jul 12, 2024 8:00 AM EDT

Imagine thinking everyone was about to throw you a nice going away party after your resignation was announced, only to learn that the party is really a celebration of everyone not having to deal with you anymore. 

That's what this boss dealt with after he was demoted and later fired for a variety of reasons, one of which involved ignoring serious safety procedures. He was, at one point, the manager of a national sewer and drain company, and he was known for making his team members' lives a nightmare if he felt like it. 

This Redditor asked for time off after he felt like chemicals from the sewer were making him light-headed. The manager, whom the Original Poster refers to as Billy, refused to grant him the night off and even pushed for him to receive a disciplinary hearing. Well, thankfully, the Redditor knew his employee rights and called Billy out for violating an important safety rule in the employee handbook. That lapse of judgment led to Billy's demotion, and Billy's subsequent inability to perform the tasks he used to assign to his team members ultimately led to his resignation.

Keep scrolling below for the full saga and to learn what happened when Billy heard about this "you're gone" party. For more stories like this, check out this post about a boss who denied his employee's PTO request despite the unlimited PTO in their contract. 

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  • 01
    "It's not a 'going away' party, it's a 'you're gone' party"
    via Adi Goldstein
  • 02
    boss mistreats new guys so new guys get boss demoted and then fired
    via u/spartan1008
  • 03
    So back in my 20's I worked for a large national sewer and drain company called roto rooter, a great job, and a great place to work where I was lucky enough
    via u/spartan1008
  • 04
    to be trained by some of the most skilled technicians in the industry. There was however one supervisor lets call him Billy, now billy was your typical kiss up, who spent most of his time trying to please any one who he thought held any influence (the senior techs) or power (the branch and regional manager), and loved to lord his power (he made the shift schedules and scheduled time
    via u/spartan1008
  • 05
    off) over any one who he thought he could push around. A typical interaction with one of the big earners (this is a commission job) would be something like "hey you need a day off? sure just let me know when and I will be happy to help you.". While if he was dealing with a new hire, or a low earner you were lucky if he would pick up the phone or take a second to hear you out.
    via u/spartan1008
  • 06
    So one night around my third month on the job I was sent to a mortuary to do some work, and while it was gross, hazard jobs like that payed really well (maybe 200 dollars in your pocket for an hours work) when it was done, I called and told him I was taking the rest of the night off due to some chemicals in their sewer
    via u/spartan1008
  • 07
    making me feel a little woozy and I didn't think it would be safe for me to operate heavy machinery, he flipped out and told me that if I didn't get back on the road I would have a disciplinary hearing the next day, to which I said "sure can't wait to see you there".
    via u/spartan1008
  • 08
    As soon as I walked in I requested some one from HR be present as well as our assigned safety officer. The safety officer position in the company is very important, as the company self- insures and any safety violation
    via u/spartan1008
  • 09
    can get you fired on the spot. I let Billy go first and he says "you can't leave whenever you want from your shift, you are getting a warning and next time I am going to fire you". I calmly reach into my bag and pull out our employee handbook and begin to read, while I don't remember the exact phrasing it goes something like this "if you feel at any time
    via u/spartan1008
  • 10
    that the situation or job you are in/on is dangerous, or may lead to a dangerous situation you are to stop immediately." there was another section about being inebriated, exposed to methane gas from the sewer, being light headed etc. and how you should go home and not operate any equipment under those
    via u/spartan1008
  • 11
    conditions, it even went so far as to say that transportation would be paid for by the company if you didn't feel safe driving (they were very big on safety since any insurance claims would be paid by them directly). I asked the safety manager if I did any thing
    via u/spartan1008
  • 12
    wrong and he supported me 100%, then I asked HR what they thought and they said, if its a safety issue you go home and don't worry about your shift... at this point the regional manager
    via u/spartan1008
  • 13
    asked me to leave the office and i hear him rip into billy like a ☐ kid into cake. That should have been enough for me, but I am petty... I never forgive and I am very patient
    via u/spartan1008
  • 14
    As time goes on I become one of the top earners in my city, get rookie of the year my first year and salesman of the year my second, and billy gets a reputation of being lazy, and irresponsible. My second year at the company billy is put on probation and this is where I go
    via u/spartan1008
  • 15
    into pro revenge mode, I gather up all the new guys and some of my buddies from my shift and I organize them so at least once or twice a week some one goes in there to complain about billy, we never lied, we just knew what buttons to push to get him to self
    via u/spartan1008
  • 16
    destruct, new guys would ask for a day off, or some one would take a sick day during a busy shift etc. finally the branch manager snaps and calls billy into his office, he demotes him to salesman and puts him on my shift (at a company like this the shifts become very close, we all talk in our trucks through our radios while waiting for jobs, and we all help each other when needed). during billy's first few weeks on the road, our
    via u/spartan1008
  • 17
    supervisor makes sure he gets all the fun jobs.... flooded basements, tight spaces, and generally any thing that will get him absolutely covered in p[ PD
    via u/spartan1008
  • 18
    and of course as all this was happening I had every single person I was friends with at the company call him and ask him for scheduling changes so he had to explain to about 30 people how he was demoted and no longer a manager. Eventually billy broke,
    via u/spartan1008
  • 19
    he started crying to the dispatcher about how he couldn't take it any more and quit. The next day me and two other guys threw a billy's gone party with cake and pizza at a neighborhood bar, put up signs in the office and made a general announcement in the morning
    via u/spartan1008
  • 20
    when we went in to hand in paperwork when we knew billy would be there to give in his two weeks notice, he actually came up to us to thank us, and I got the pleasure of informing him. that he's not invited... its not a going away party, its a your gone party... it wouldn't make sense
    via u/spartan1008
  • 21
    for you to be at a party where we are celebrating you not being around any more. In the end only about 20 of the 50 employees at the branch showed up, but it was still a great party.
    via u/spartan1008
  • 22
    Thanks for the gold guys. So people wanted to know more about what Billy did to be despised, I did not want to give any one else's stories without permission so I made a few calls and here goes.
    via u/spartan1008
  • 23
    So I said me and 2 other guys threw the party, guy one had his 12 year old did of cancer about a year before Billy left, Billy tried to have him fired twice for excessive absences.
    via u/spartan1008
  • 24
    Guy two landed a 64 thousand dollar contract with a large well known hotel chain, and Billy had the contract assigned to another tech saying he was not experienced enough for it against his supervisors advice.
    via u/spartan1008
  • 25
    Billy had a new guy written up for having a messy van, most of our Van's were disasters so it was just being an a
    via u/spartan1008
  • 26
    He would grant some people's vacation requests with the caviot that he may need them if it gets too busy, so they couldn't travel. If you were a low earner he would essentially cancel your vacation and put you on call against company policies
    via u/spartan1008
  • 27
    Tnn there are a million more, but I feel like the more I say the easier it is to find out personal info.
    via u/spartan1008

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pro revenge workplace-stories work stories toxic-workplace job revenge work revenge-stories Horrible Bosses reddit thread Reddit company toxic-work-environment
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