20+ Employees who got fired from their jobs: 'Turns out they were a secret shopper'

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jan 4, 2025 11:00 AM EST

These employees revealed the odd reasons they got fired, from calling out sick at the very last minute to wearing the wrong color pants. At some workplaces that have high turnover, it's completely normal for there to be a revolving door of workers getting hired and fired. If you've ever spent time working a retail job, you know that some people will last for years, while others will stay just a few days before getting kicked to the curb. 

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  • Paradoxically, a lot of jobs will let their employees get away with just about anything before firing them. Be impolite to customers? Whatever. Get your friends to cover half your shifts for you? Ugh, ok fine. But do a no-call no-show? It's so over when that happens. Many places just fire people ASAP when they decide to go to a concert instead of showing up for their 8-hour shift. (I know a few people who have had this happen to them, and the ones who decided to work instead of jam out at the concert really regretted that choice. Just saying… choose that concert! Quit your job for it!)

    After that, read about this 25-year-old man who insisted on traveling solo after his girlfriend forgot her passport, saying that he "wasn't going to miss out on a trip just because she planned poorly."

  • 01
    'I phoned in sick and went to a Prince concert. Zero regrets.'
    via Melissa Askew on Unsplash+

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

  • 02
    How did you get fired?
    via u/s***tlebuffout
  • 03
    spiderman96 Working as a cashier I missed a case of water underneath someone's cart and turns out they were a secret shopper or something... I had a couple days off and I came back to look at the schedule and was told I was fired
    via u/spiderman96
  • 04
    [... I already had a new job lined up but it wasn't starting for another 2 months so I was just trying to lay low and then give a 2 week notice. My old a hole boss made one snarky comment too many and I couldn't help myself. I put him on blast over some of his nefarious activities in front of our CEO. He fired me at the end of that week, but he was
    via u/[deleted]
  • 05
    forced to retire a month later after everything I said was confirmed. I'm not exactly proud of it but...oh who am I kidding, that guy. f
    via u/[deleted]
  • 06
    Cheezburger Image 10449926656
    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.

  • 07
    Edit: Didn't expect this much interest. I explained the nefarious activities in another comment below. Basically, my boss and a customer (his friend) were scamming the company to fund a side business.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 08
    fleetber Went to see Grateful De d at RFK stadium in DC. I told the manager not to schedule me that weekend but he did anyway. Told him I wouldn't be there. When I returned Monday I was fired. Worth it. Funny thing is my wife (gf at the time) was also scheduled and went with me to the show. She wasn't fired - but she quit when she found out I was fired.
    via u/fleetber
  • 09
    pullin2 Gave a spectacular demonstration of the top- heavy nature of a UPS truck. Rave reviews from locals, as the roadway was scattered with hundreds of packages. Management was unimpressed and suggested a different career.
    via u/pullin2
  • 10
    tenaciousDaniel I took on a role that was not fit for me. It was my second job as a software developer, and the role was dev #2 at an early stage startup. As in, the entire dev team was me and another engineer.
    via u/tenaciousDaniel
  • 11
    Startup life can vary greatly, but this was a financial tech firm near Wall Street. To say that it's a lot of responsibility is an understatement. There's no such thing as saying "that's not my job" or "I don't know how to do that". If the company needs it, you have to do it.
    via u/tenaciousDaniel
  • 12
    It was a good learning experience because I was pushed very far outside of my comfort zone, but it also gave me crippling anxiety and I got burnt out. I made a bunch of mistakes and was eventually fired over it. The job was so hard that I was actually relieved to get fired.
    via u/tenaciousDaniel
  • 13
    Glass_Chance9... Pretty sure they were just wanting to get rid of me. I was working at a meat market/deli store and I was called on my phone after work hours by the owner to tell me he was letting me go because I upset a customer that day. It was Saturday which were just half days but incredibly busy. An older man and his
    via u/Glass_Chance9800
  • 14
    wife had ordered something chicken so I wrapped it up, priced it, and gave it to them to take to the register. Well he tells me he wanted the breaded chicken whatever. I say, oh sorry she didn't specify breaded but I'll get you the correct chicken. I unwrapped what I gave them and put it back in the case, throw away the wrapping paper and do it all quickly because there were people waiting in line.
    via u/Glass_Chance9800
  • 15
    So I get the breaded chicken wrapped and priced and hand it back to them. The wife asks is this the chicken whatever and I say it's the breaded chicken whatever. I swear I didn't say it with nasty tone just affirming that it was breaded. Well the husband gave me a dirty look and they leave.
    via u/Glass_Chance9800
  • 16
    Well the owner calls me later that evening to fire me because he was pals with that old guy. I file unemployment, the owner fights and I guess he tells the agent what he thinks happened because when the agent called me I was telling him my side and the agent and he tells me Well the owner said you did this thing and that and I tell the agent the owner wasn't even
    via u/Glass_Chance9800
  • 17
    there that day and him and that customer were friends. I think that sealed it in my favor because I got approved.
    via u/Glass_Chance9800
  • 18
    eezgorriseadback I came back from holiday and was jet lagged due to the time difference, and therefore got tired towards the end of the working day. My tiredness was taken as an inability or unwillingness to do the job and I was marched off the premises
    via u/eezgorriseadback
  • 19
    SuperlativeSleep I wore dark gray pants instead of black pants.
    via u/SuperlativeSleep
  • 20
    MrRogersAE Got a summer job that required me to live onsite in a remote area. Told my part time job that I would be gone for the summer, and marked up the calendar accordingly, they told me it. wasn't a problem. About halfway thru the summer they fired me for not coming into work for the past month.
    via u/MrRogersAE
  • 21
    When the summer was over I showed them the calendar and reminded them how we had discussed this and I was reinstated. Just stupid tho
    via u/MrRogersAE
  • 22
    OneMore Potion I refused to lie to our biggest customer about a project that was costing them 80 millions, but just didn't work. I got the briefing for this while on my flight to that meeting. I said "I can not mention certain things, but I won't lie if they ask for specifics. The sh you want me to say to them doesn't even exist and probably will never exist because it's just
    via u/OneMore Potion
  • 23
    not possible." When I landed, I got a call from my boss telling me that I don't need to go to that meeting because he takes over. I should just go out and have a nice day in Calgary instead. I did, and the next day he fired me. (But asked right away if I could still fly out to Bangkok the week after and train the people over there. I didn't go to Bangkok.)
    via u/OneMore Potion
  • 24
    [deleted] Missed work for a whole week to be tested for cancer. Didn't have cancer it was an autoimmune disease but the manager at the store said I was "unreliable" and "distracted". Well yah I was being tested for CANCER
    via u/[deleted]
  • 25
    T….. I was overloaded with work and/so I was also put in charge of a new guy. Well, I taught the new guy everything and he did great for a while. Until he didn't, and he kept missing things. And I got blamed for it. The boss kept getting mad at me like it's my job to
    via u/TooYoungToBeThisOld1
  • 26
    manage... I had a job, it just so happens 1 person is not enough to pick/package and ship out 150+ separate orders a day. But apparently that's how they like it, because he wasn't hearing it. I bitched. him out about how it's not responsibility to watch over every move the guy makes, otherwise I wouldn't have time to work, and he'd get mad at me again.
    via u/TooYoungToBeThisOld1
  • 27
    So yeah, bitched him out then simultaneously quit and got fired Edit: thank you all for the upvotes! Never expected to get this many, and f you Rick you. shl needed that money back then.
    via u/TooYoungToBeThisOld1
  • 28
    MrSpindles I phoned in sick and went to a Prince concert. Zero regrets.
    via u/MrSpindles
  • 29
    8Legged Squirrel I was fried for "suspension of theft" I was a shopping cart pusher and someone left their bank bag. I didn't see it when I pushed it up and they said I was trying to steal it instead of just over looking it. Best part was they were "escorting me out so I didn't steal anything else" and an old woman came up to the
    via u/8Legged Squirrel
  • 30
    manager walking me out and said she lost her cane. Manger looks at me like "did you steal this too????" Since the whole thing was so crazy any way I just took the opportunity to look suspicious and sprinted out of the store like I was guilty. Because of his weight he couldn't really run after me and Mr. ManagerMan couldn't follow me into the parking lot for laws so I
    via u/8Legged Squirrel
  • 31
    walked to my car laughing. my a off. I'm ok with losing that job. I'm at a much better job now anyway. So it all worked out and I have a great story from it.
    via u/8Legged Squirrel
  • 32
    BunjaminFrnklin Laid off the week after I told my boss I was burned out and thinking about quitting. She told me not to quit, to wait it out a bit. I guess she knew lay offs were coming. It was great, I got a decent severance and unemployment benefits. I took a few months off and started doing stand up comedy. Found a new gig and I love it.
    via u/BunjaminFrnklin
  • 33
    First_Lingonber... Applied for time off to get married and supervisor said they would approve "Not a problem congrats!". Got a call the day before I was getting married "Where are you?" "Um getting married I talked to you about submitting this and that I was covered" "Well you aren't scheduled for time off, we need you to come in or we will have to discuss
    via u/First_Lingonberry923
  • 34
    other options". Wedding was 6 hours away so even if I wanted to come in I wouldn't make it. They called and said I was fired for "deciding" not to show up to my shift day before I was getting married. Good times
    via u/First_Lingonberry923
  • 35
    sstinch I refused to make up reasons to fire my employees. (I was told to "clean house"). I put this process off for a few weeks while looking for a new job. I got my new job the week after they let me go.
    via u/sstinch
  • 36
    Akkik-Maujaq I "wasn't a good fit" (after working at the company for 3 years). Was told a few days after getting fired that the head managers daughter was given my position. Because of getting fired for absolutely no reason, I had to go on welfare for 6 months and was almost homeless because I couldn't afford rent anymore. Also starved
    via u/Akkik-Maujaq
  • 37
    regularly, as welfare was only 700$ per month, and rent alone was 650$ (for a bedroom, had to leave my apartment because rent there was almost 1200)
    via u/Akkik-Maujaq
  • 38
    Wisdomlost I knew I was irreplaceable. I knew I could call in so l could stay home and play world of warcraft all I wanted. What were they going to do fire me? They couldn't fire me I was 20 years old and knew everything. They had a different opinion.
    via u/Wisdomlost

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getting fired boss firing story workplace-stories firing jobs fired job fired story bosses work coworkers laid off fired on spot workplace got fired
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