Hotel quiet fires porter over scheduling conflicts, they refuse to return their uniform when their boss demands it back: 'You want your uniform back? Come and get it'

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Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Feb 16, 2025 12:00 PM EST

This part-time hotel porter held no quarter for their terrible boss's out-of-pocket demands that violated existing agreements they had jointly made about their scheduling. Their boss tried to lock them into a weekend shift that conflicted with their other job, causing a conflict that neither was willing to back down from. Why their boss just couldn't honor a long-standing agreement is a point of confusion in this post. Still, unfortunately, many people are capable and willing to conveniently forget arrangements that have been made as soon as they have other needs or desires that make it inconvenient for them.

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  • This part-time hotel porter worked shifts at a hotel, also holding a job at the local post office part-time, which was sort of their primary gig. The deal they had with both jobs was that whoever scheduled them first would be the shift that they would be working. This worked well for some time before the hotel scheduled them for a conflicting shift, insisting that they work it despite the arrangement due to a massive wedding that had been scheduled at the last minute. Their boss began bringing up all sorts of accusations, calling their commitment and work ethic into question—which the worker brushed off and dismissed as ridiculous.

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    Cheezburger Image 10468238592
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    "You want your uniform back? Come and get it."

    I used to work in a hotel as a porter. We had to wear white shirts and black pants, and they provided us with a "uniform", which was just a nondescript black vest.
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    I worked there part time, but also had another part time job at the post office. I told them about the 2nd job before they hired me. They asked me what I'd do about conflicting shifts, and I said I would work for whichever company booked my time first. So
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    if the post office said they wanted me next week on Wed-Sat, and then later the hotel asked me to work that time I'd have to say I was unavailable. I would also naturally do the same thing if the situations were reversed.
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    I honoured that agreement the entire time I worked for them, and it wasn't a problem for over a year. Then one day I get told by the hotel that I have to work an upcoming weekend. I said I couldn't accept the shift because I had already booked one at my second place of work.
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    My hotel boss said, "Well, this is a huge contract, we have a massive wedding taking place on the same weekend as a large conference, and we need all hands on deck". I reminded them, once again, that I couldn't accept a shift if it conflicted with one I had previously booked. Boss
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    got real annoyed and pushy, and tried the "We have to be able to rely on you" bulls spiel. I reminded him that they could rely on me doing exactly what I promised in my interview, and that they had been able to rely on me for over a year. I also pointed out that it's
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    not reasonable to demand that I work a shift that I hadn't agreed to work. Boss was still pissy when he hung up. They don't fire me, but over the next month I couldn't help but notice I never got any shift offers.
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    It became obvious I was being "fired", but without actually being told I was fired. I called several times and asked if there were any shifts, but always was told, "We have nothing for you at this time" in a cold tone. I checked with my friends. who worked at the hotel and they all said that
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    business was normal, and they could see no reason why I wasn't being offered shifts. No worries, I just picked up more shifts at the post office, and they paid almost twice as much, so cool by me.
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    Another couple of weeks go by, and my direct supervisor at the hotel called me to ask for my uniform vest back. I asked why, saying that I hadn't been fired so as far as I know I still worked there. My boss just kept sidestepping my
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    question, and refused to answer, and refused to admit that I had been fired. He just kept saying, "We need that uniform, you have to give it back".
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    I said no problem. He starts saying, "You can drop it off any time-" and I interrupted him to say, "No, I won't be dropping it off". He stopped for a moment, flustered, then said, "But you have to, it's part of your employment contract".
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    "Yes, I know," I replied, read the contract. It merely states that I have to return the uniform when requested. It doesn't say I have to deliver it to you, so I won't. You can send someone to pick it up at a time that is convenient to me". The hotel was in a
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    different city from my home town, so it was about a half hour to 45 minute drive to my place. My ex-boss tried to bu y me, but funny how losing his ability to deny me work had shifted our power balance. He sputtered and stammered
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    as he tried to figure out some way to goad or coerce me into driving the vest to him, but finally gave up. He said he'd send someone, "Some time, so be ready for whenever that is" and I told him no, that he'd have to contact me to pre-arrange a time that was convenient. I said I'd
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    check my calendar and he could call me back in a couple of days to make arrangements. Petty, I know, but hearing the exasperation and annoyance his tone as we spoke was very, very enjoyable. He never did send anyone to pick up
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    the vest, so I ended up using it as part of a Hallowe'en costume (zombie hotel porter).
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    "But you have to, it's part of your employment contract"

    cambio exch gerem
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    Ambitio... 13h ago It never ceases to amaze me that AHs like this that are so quick to jettison a contract are the very first weasels to state the contract says... You can't ignore a contract and then seek to invoke it DB! Good on you!
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    Gadgetman_1 • 13h ago . Conferences and even large weddings are always planned a long time in advance because so much needs to be organised around the event.
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    Most likely they knew about this months in advance. So why didn't they set up the schedules a month before to be certain they had all available staff? 'Your failure to plan is not my emergency.'
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    F1XXOR 13h ago • If it wasn't for the second job you had I would also have filed for unemployment for the loss of wages due to undocumented reduction of wage hours. Many places do have employee protections in place for
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    situations like this. On the other hand though many people paces do not. All in all though good job standing up for yourself and moving forward.
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    UnlimitedEl... 12h ago • All that drama was not about the uniform; it's not like it was somehow a valuable item on their inventory. It's about their desire to get revenge for you daring to stand your ground on the previous agreement and making
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    their poor planning stick out as their failure. And somehow they imagined that they can get one last moment of satisfaction for snapping their fingers and see you jumping through hoops.
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    RudeOrSar... . 11h ago Good for you, I have dealt with employers like that. Once you figure out that 1. You don't have to conform to their sh if it is an inconvenience and you are not insubordinate, and 2. For most places,
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    the worst they can do is fire you. Sometimes, getting fired is a blessing in disguise. I once quit a very toxic workplace, and still received unemployment long enough to find another job. During the appeal (3 way phone call),
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    they said no use of speaker phone during the appeal review. Boss used speaker phone, got caught when his wife shot off her fat mouth, and the state elected to give me full unemployment benefits.
    via Icy-Computer-Poop

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