'All the cakes melted and I was fired': 16-year-old mercifully fired from a toxic frozen sweets shop after following the contradictory orders of 2 bickering managers

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
May 24, 2025 5:00 PM EDT

Your first job is a crash course in the workforce, and usually by "crash," I mean you're doomed to crash and burn somehow. No teenager is just born with the work ethic and the business perspective of their older counterparts, so when company drama unfolds, it's their first time navigating this type of thing. 

This teenager learned quickly how important it is to communicate with both your schedule manager and the owner of the company. After getting caught in the crosshairs of a nightmarish communication scuffle, this teenager was spared the continued employment under inefficient and under-qualified managers. Lucky for them, they were taught a valuable lesson in the workforce before getting set free to find a new job under better managers. 

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  • My first job was at an ice cream shop, too. I was 15-years-old, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and I scored the job because my best friend worked there first. I was allowed to eat one ice cream per shift, which I happily did, but I learned that I could lure groups of other high school friends into the shop under the guise of handing out 1 free ice cream to the gang. Sure, I was giving away my company's comped snack, but I was selling 5 more ice creams in the process! My boss didn't like my marketing tactic and fired me on the spot, but I know in my heart that he missed out on an excellent employee.

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    BEBIDAS FRAS CHAIL FRIO $70 LAITE RO PATCHA FRIO $70 -AMERICANO FRIO 440 -FRAPPUCCINO SENCILLO 150 DOBLE $75 NT
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    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    "I'm TELLING YOU that freezer has been fixed, put everything back in it"
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    So this happened when I was about 16 and working at a TCBY. I was about to get off work when the store manager told me to take all of the display ice cream
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    cakes and put them into the back freezer because the front freezer wasn't working. She then left for the day. About an hour after I did this, the store owner walks in
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    yelling "why are all the display cakes not in the front freezer???? We just had it fixed!" I told him that I literally just got
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    done taking them out and putting them in the back per the manager's request. Some back and forth went on until I just
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    shrugged and put all the cakes back into the broken front freezer and left. All the cakes melted and I was fired. Oh well lol
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    Cheezburger Image 10509386496
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    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    fireduck. I guess they haven't invented this amazing tool called a thermometer.
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    Future_Direction lol, love this! I was drafted in to help a nearby store by the area manager. Basically working to clear the warehouse, make sure stock had been rotated and OOD stock was wasted.
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    I had cleared the chiller, the back up freezers, the basic shelves and spotted a freezer being used as a work surface (kettle, mugs, instant coffee on top). I cleared off the top and opened the freezer,then quickly shut it again.
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    I went to the store manager - "how long has that freezer been unplugged?" M "No idea, why?" Me "Because it's full of out of date, defrosted meat"....
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    I refused to touch THAT freezer. Apparently the Manager and the Assistant Manager ended up having to empty that freezer, count the stock (to waste it) then clean it themselves.
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    Not my job, not my freezer... That Manager ended up being transferred to "Training", a whole new management team was installed (I was given third in charge) and we doubled
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    weekly trade within 3 months. I had previously been just a part- time cashier so this was a major boost to my income. That freezer ended up being written
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    off and served as our staff worktop until I left 5 years later. Well we still needed something to put the kettle etc on.
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    georgiomoorlord Missed connunication between them. That's why i've stressed with our service managers the importance of a clear consistent message
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    NightTarot ⚫ communication so bad between these people you could throw a verbal hand grenade between them and the place would implode.
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    These people deserve an employee purposely sabotaging their communications, or really lack thereof:
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    "Hey [store owner], I just heard [manager] say they broke the freezer on purpose"
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    "Hey [manager], I was sent by [store manager] to inform you that you can take the rest of the day off."
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    "What? Where's [manager]? They said they were leaving work early like they usually do, did you not know about this?"
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    In meeting with both after they finally figure out what's going on. "Now that we're all here together, I can leave so you two
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    can communicate with each other like functioning adults, might I also recommend exchanging phone numbers? That might help, too. What's
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    that you say? You already have each other's phone numbers? Is one of your phones broken? Do you feel too shy to text each other? Would a fax machine help? Perhaps a carrier pigeon if thats too tech savy for you?"
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    Cheezburger Image 10509394176
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    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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cake boss worker frozen yogurt employee bakery manager job teenagers work coworkers working ceo employees cupcakes supervisor workplace company coworker business first job
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