18-year-old retail employee gets scolded for being 6 minutes late to work, then takes their manager's demands literally as payback: ‘If you can’t be here on time, don't come in at all—so I didn't'

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Jun 13, 2025 1:00 PM EDT

Having a chill manager makes the workplace tolerable. While many of us dread heading into work on a Monday morning, knowing that we have a warmed-up coffee machine, our favorite coworker, and a relaxed, reliable manager waiting for us softens the blow of adulthood responsibilities. But as many jaded workers would expect, chill managers are hard to come by. 

Managing a gaggle of employees isn't always the easiest task, though, which is why many new managers or even well-versed leaders struggle to show their mellow side. As any good manager would note, life happens, and sometimes employees have legitimate reasons for their flakiness, their late arrival, or even their last-minute shift bailing. Usually, employees have good reason for their absence, but this manager in our next story didn't care about any sense of human leniency—they were simply furious they had to open the boutique themselves.

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  • Well, as requested, this 18-year-old retail employee took their manager's demands quite literally after getting yelled at for being a few minutes late for their shift, ensuring their manager would be stuck opening the store again and again until they realized that we're all just workers trying to do our best. 

  • Cheezburger Image 10515222784
    via max-kegfire

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

  • "If you can't be here on time, don't come in at all" - so i didn't.
    via cutiewillson
  • I (18F) worked at a small retail store. One day, i hit traffic and showed up 6 minutes late. My manager was already annoyed because she had to unlock the doors herself.
    via cutiewillson
  • She straight-up yelled at me the second I walked in - loud enough for everyone, including a customer, to hear.
    via cutiewillson
  • "If you can't show up on time, then don't come in at all! I mean it don't come in at all!!" - She repeated it twice, like I didn't hear her the first time. It was super aggressive and completely humiliating.
    via cutiewillson
  • So the next week, I was about to be 5 minutes late again. Instead of rushing in, I turned around and went home. I texted:
    via cutiewillson
  • "Per your instruction, I'm not coming in since I couldn't be on time." She freaked out and called me immediately. I ignored it.
    via cutiewillson
  • Next day she said I "misunderstood", and i just smiled and said, "I was just following directions." Since then, she's been a lot less dramatic about a few minutes.
    via cutiewillson
  • BowzersMom ⚫ Usually "don't come in at all" means "you're fired"! I admire your steel cajones and marvel at her idiocy
    via BowzersMom
  • throwaway_0x90 I absolutely expected you to be fired. That's the standard response to an employee doing what you did.
    via throwaway_0x90
  • OrganizationBusy3... Umm, next time make sure to get that instruction written somewhere instead of just worth of mouth.
    via OrganizationBusy3
  • one_dog_at_a_time. I would suggest texting or calling her to let her know you ran into an unexpected delay and will be x minutes late. This can be especially effective when you call in before you are scheduled to start.
    via one_dog_at_a_time
  • cryptkicker130 ⚫ As a boss myself, life happens and if I squeeze employees for minutes they will get hours out of me. The limiting factor is if it is abused.
    via cryptkicker130
  • promibro ⚫ I hate that crop. I teach and have colleagues who will lock the door, so late students can't get in until he makes a big deal out of them being late. I tell all my
    via promibro
  • classes that coming in late only feels r de to me if you do it all the time. If you walk in 5 minutes late every now and then, I don't care. If you come in 15 minutes late a couple times and you're
    via promibro
  • not disruptive. I don't really care. Chances are, if you're running late, something kinda crappy happened and might not be your fault at all. Plus, anyone who takes the bus is not in control of their transportation schedule. I get it.
    via promibro

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boss worker employee manager job retail work coworkers working ceo cashier employees supervisor workplace late company coworker business
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