'My boss wanted me to train my replacement, but I didn't work there anymore': 16-year-old employee gets back at retail boss who unfairly suspended them

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Oct 23, 2024 3:00 PM EDT

Many stores have cameras to keep an eye on their employees, but their workplace's surveillance system totally failed this grocery store worker. 

You'd think if your boss falsely accused you of stealing, the workplace cameras would be enough to exonerate you of any wrongdoing. After all, the bosses want to protect their precious merchandise from thieving customers and employees alike. They'll often position the cameras above the cash register tills and in corners where the camera has a great view of everything going on in the nearby vicinity. Customers are known to pilfer small items, but this manager accused his employee of stealing something that was both rather bulky and pretty cheap (not really worth stealing in the first place!). 

For u/xgnexistence, being surveilled didn't help their case at all. Their grocery store boss decided to accuse them of stealing, but he went about it all in the wrong order. He probably should've had this employee train their replacement before suspending them… keep reading below to see if this boss learned his lesson and how this clever teen employee got the last laugh. 

Up next, read about these hilarious group chats gone off the rails, like one person who shared, "My vegetarian sister discovered we were all in a separate group chat... called Secret Meat Up."

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    Cheezburger Image 10419210496
    via Getty Images for Unsplash+

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    My boss wanted me to train my replacement but i didnt work there anymore Hey reddit! Not 100% sure this counts but i want to share my story I used to work in a Grocery store back in 2016, I was 16-17 at the time, (I don't work retail anymore) but i wanted to share this story i still remember to this day.
    via u/xgnexistence
  • 03
    It was a pretty normal night right before the end of my shift (I was one of the few closers at my store) so it was just me, my supervisor, and a cashier (i worked the self checkout/customer service desk). My supervisor had just collected the tills and was in the back counting, and I was starting my rounds to take back the non- perishables that were left at the registers. (i also might add that our store had terrible camera
    via u/xgnexistence
  • 04
    placement, basically it showed all the registers, and the supervisors office door which is where the safe was, this is important later). After putting up all the items that were left at the registers, I did my final checks of the store to make sure there were no misplaced/damaged item on the floor, I find a case of beer that was leaking in our beer/wine section and since i wasn't sure how damaged the bottom of the cardboard case was i had to drag
    via u/xgnexistence
  • 05
    it to the front so i could inform my supervisor about the damaged item before taking it to the back (we kept a cart(s) full of damaged items to be taken out by the morning crew). Since the supervisors office is locked while they are counting the tills i call over to her and let her know that there was a damaged case of beer and i was taking it to the back. She responds with an absent "Ok, sounds good."
    via u/xgnexistence
  • 06
    So I take it to the back place it with the rest of the damaged items, and go back to the front to see if there is anything else my supervisor needs me to do before I clock out, there isn't. Next couple days are fine as I finish up the week and wait for the next weeks schedule to be posted, and I find out that I'm not scheduled for the next week, I figure there must have been a mistake as there was someone working at the same Grocery
    via u/xgnexistence
  • 07
    store who shared my first name. I go upstairs to my managers. office and ask him about the schedule and why I wasn't scheduled. He responds with a "Oh, My bad I forgot to tell you that you are suspended until the investigation is over, by the way can you train "your replacement" today on the self checkout/customer service desk?"
    via u/xgnexistence
  • 08
    Me confused and annoyed at the moment don't really pay attention to the second part of his comment ask him what he was talking about. My Manager: "We caught you STEALING that case of beer that you took to the back, and until the police investigation is complete you won't be working here anymore. Please turn in your uniform, name tag, and badge."
    via u/xgnexistence
  • 09
    I AM FURIOUS, but I decide that I would just go with bit of MC in this situation. "Well "bossman" | took the DAMAGED case of beer to the back to be thrown out in the morning as per procedure, but since I won't be working here anymore I guess you will just have to find someone else to train "my replacement", since I clearly CANT be trusted." (I was the only person who could train someone for the Customer service desk other than him)
    via u/xgnexistence
  • 10
    His. Jaw. Dropped. The look on his face was priceless as I took off my uniform and handed him my name tag, and override card. I then proceeded to walk out get in my car and drive home. About 2 years later I join the army, and I'm going for a job that required a Security Clearance, Guess what shows up? That suspension with an unfinished police report and the tapes from
    via u/xgnexistence
  • 11
    the security camera. I sit there with my interviewer as we watch the tape together clearly showing that I did not steal ANYTHING (needless to say I was approved for my clearance). I ask if I can get a copy of the tape, and my interviewer agrees, it took 2 years but I finally had the evidence I needed to sue for wrongful termination, but as the time is well over the statute of limitation, I am unable to actually do anything about it.
    via u/xgnexistence
  • 12
    Either way I decide to go pay my old workplace a visit over my Christmas block leave and a couple people recognize me (including my old boss). He tells me that thieves like me aren't welcome in HIS store, and that I need to leave or he would be calling the police, I told him to call them, and that his claim would surely hold up when I showed them the copy of the video footage of me "stealing". (the store had one of my favorite
    via u/xgnexistence
  • 13
    muffins and honestly I really wanted one since they are only made there) The police got called and did nothing and I got 3 muffins free of charge thanks to my favorite supervisor! WORTH IT!
    via u/xgnexistence
  • 14
    MyPopeSmokes... Something similar happened to me once; I got laid off suddenly along with a lot of the rest of the team. Two days later, I get a call from one of the folks left in the office asking me to train them on one of my tasks. I said sure, since I no longer work for the company, here's my consulting rate.
    via u/MyPopeSmokes****
  • 15
    They were angry over my response, and I lost a friend over it.
    via u/MyPopeSmokes****
  • 16
    SCMegatron The length of that statute of limitations is kind of a head scratcher.
    via u/SCMegatron
  • 17
    nessrhill So neither the store nor the police ever watched the video? Crazy!
    via u/nessrhill
  • 18
    SM_DEV OP's old boss just rendered the statute of limitations moot when he renewed his slander against OP's good name. Further, if he actually put those accusations in writing, when the video evidence clearly exonerates OP, then he is guilty of libel as well.
    via u/SM_DEV

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replacement teens boss workplace-stories jobs teen job teenagers bosses work coworkers replaced workplace training grocery store
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