Fast food worker fired by manager for throwing his half-filled soda away, gets immediately reinstated by his manager's boss: 'He asked why I was back since he fired me'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jul 20, 2025 2:00 PM EDT

Hot-headed managers really think they can get away with anything. However, regardless of how impassioned, frustrated, and even justified they may be, there is always a limit to what they can do or say, and this fast food manager definitely reached his limit.

There are, of course, plenty of valid reasons to fire someone on your team. If they're actively undermining authority and refusing to complete their tasks and responsibilities, those are grounds for dismissal. If they make unprofessional remarks to other coworkers or customers, those are grounds for dismissal as well. But if they make a simple mistake—like accidentally throwing away a manager's snack or soda—that's not exactly worth firing someone. And yet, this manager decided to throw an entire temper tantrum over this innocent mixup.

Thankfully, the employee stood his ground and refused to apologize, given the fact that he had asked his manager if the drink belonged to him and was ignored. Furthermore, the tantrum simply does not match the act itself. Everyone knew this, and so the manager didn't just lose an employee that day (albeit temporarily); he also lost a ton of support from everyone else.

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    Cheezburger Image 10531728384
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    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Stay tuned for the second half of the story, where the general manager swooped in and made the correction, insisting that the author's supervisor had zero authority to fire someone just like that. Not only did the author come back into work the next day, but he was thrilled to be the person to break to the news to his supervisor that he had been reinstated. 

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    I used to work at sonic as a carhop. I usually worked 4/5 to close. One day I was cleaning up all the drinks the day shift left around,
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    and I found a can of monster. I grabbed it, and walked around and asked everybody who was working. The manager, Robert (like normal) was talking to his girlfriend on the phone (assuming based off all the s talk).
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    When I asked if it was his, he looked right at me, shook his head and turned away without saying anything. After I finished asking everybody else, I dumped it out and threw it away.
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    30-45 minutes later he comes up front and went to throw away his trash and seen it in the trash. He. Was. LIVID.
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    Started screaming, grabbed it out of the trash and started shoving it in people face asking if they threw it away.
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    I told him they didn't, I did. He cornered me against the wall and screamed in my face that I was going to leave and go buy him a new one.
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    Two things. The monster was probably half full (if that), and I HATE being yelled at. And I asked him!
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    We got into this huge fight about it, him demanding I replace it, me telling him to off. This went on for two hours. It was slow because it was winter, so he sent everybody else home (he was cooking).
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    Finally he told me I was either going to go buy a new one, or I was going to go home. It was 7 at this point, we closed at midnight.
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    I grabbed my stuff and went and clocked out. He said if I didn't go get him a new drink, I was fired. I said okay, see you never.
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    Cheezburger Image 10531728128
    via Unsplash+ (Karolina Grabowska)

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

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    Not even five minutes after I left, the gm, Jeremy, called me asking why I left, so I told him what happened. He said the other manager can't fire me as only the
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    gm can and asked me to go back and finish the shift. I told him that I couldn't do that with Robert yelling in my face like that, that I'd go back tomorrow.
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    So Robert was f ed the rest of the night. Nobody else (not even Jeremy) would come in. He had to cook and run orders for 5 hours by himself. Ped a lot of customers off.
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    And when I went in the next night he asked why I was back since he fired me and it was a joy to tell him he couldn't do that. He held a grudge for three whole months.
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    violentpancakes_ · 1 day ago How toddlers become managers is beyond me...
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    Prof1959 +2.1 day ago Can't believe the GM didn't have a chat with Robert about it, saving you the months of grudges, but OK.
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    Bearmancartoons 1 day ago Should have gone a bought a new one then right before handing it to him drank half of it. You replaced a half a monster drink that you tossed.
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    Geminii27 +3.21 hr. ago he asked why I was back "Because it was only you firing me, not anyone actually important."
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    RealUltimatePapo +1.1 day ago I think deep down, he knew he made a mistake about the drink, but wasn't man enough to admit that he was wrong Shoulda spent the $2 to replace the drink, Robbie
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    . Doc_k-9 1 day ago anyway if Robert would still fired you for that you could counter-sue or demand for unemployment because it was without cause/retaliation (even if it is an at will state, there is that they can't fire you just for that)
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getting fired workplace-stories fired work stories toxic-workplace malicious compliance fired story work restaurant restaurant work fast food toxic-work-environment
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