'Everything's down, like everything, the whole system crashed': Computer tech paid $85,000 to save the company after a smug boss fires him, implodes the client database, and begs him to fix it

Author image for Jesse Kessenheimer
Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Dec 13, 2025 1:00 PM EST

Oh, to have the confidence of a 50-something-year-old boss with literally zero qualifications! 

Boss-types have a nasty habit of assuming they know how to do everyone's job better than them, but oftentimes, they have no idea what they're talking about. Ideamen at heart, they love to imagine they know more about servers, databases, and system admin protocols than their computer engineers, but just because you listen to one podcast about tech, it doesn't make you proficient in computer science.

Alas, this smug boss thought he knew better than his computer engineer, firing him when a complicated server transfer was taking too long. However, only three hours after his termination, the boss came crawling back, begging for help... Except this computer tech wasn't so interested in bailing him out.

It took 12 hours of groveling, 2 lost clients, a personal call from the CEO, a senior job offer, and $85,000 up front for this computer wiz to come in and fix the problem. 

Oh, and he got his old, snooty boss fired in the process.

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  • Server tech working on the computers when the company database is crashing.
    via Ann in the UK

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • AITA for ignoring my ex- boss's desperate calls after he fired me and their systems immediately collapsed?
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  • My boss fired me with a smile on his face, and three hours later their entire company database was gone.
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  • I'm a systems admin. Was. I worked at a mid-sized marketing firm for four years. My boss is 52, one of those guys who thinks he's a tech genius because he can reset his own password. I'm 29 and I've been keeping their servers running since before he got promoted.
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  • Two months ago he started talking about "upgrading our infrastructure." I told him we needed to wait, that I had to migrate everything properly, that rushing it would cause problems. He cut me off. "I've been reading about this. I know what I'm doing."
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  • He didn't know what he was doing. Last week he announced he'd already bought new server equipment and hired some contractor to install it over the weekend. Without telling me. I
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  • found out Monday morning when I couldn't access half our systems. The contractor had moved critical databases without backing anything up first.
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  • I spent three days fixing his mess. Worked until 2am every night getting client data back online. My girlfriend barely saw me. I was exhausted.
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  • Thursday afternoon he called me into his office. I thought maybe he'd apologize. Instead he leaned back in his chair and said, "You're taking too long on this server project. Honestly, I think you're just not fast enough for where this company is headed."
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  • I stared at him. "The project you started without me?" "I gave you a simple task. Fix the systems. You've had almost a week." He was smirking. Actually smirking. "I need someone who can keep up. You're fired. Effective immediately."
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  • My hands went numb. Four years. I'd trained two junior admins, set up every security protocol, documented everything. "You're serious."
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  • "Completely. Hand over your access keys and building badge. I'll have someone box up your desk."
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  • I should have argued. Should have reminded him about the lawsuit two years ago that I prevented, the ransomware attack I stopped, the hundred fires I'd put out. Instead I just pulled my key ring off my belt, took my badge out of my wallet, and set them on his desk. "Good luck," I said.
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  • He was already looking at his phone. "Sarah will escort you out."
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  • I grabbed my personal stuff and left. My girlfriend picked me up because I was too angry to drive. That night I ate leftover pizza and updated my resume while she rubbed my back.
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  • Around 11pm my phone started buzzing. Unknown number. I ignored it. It called again. And again. Finally I answered. "What?"
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  • "This is Derek from IT support, I got your number from employee records, listen, everything's down, like everything, the whole system crashed during the backup cycle and I can't get it back online, do you know where the recovery protocols are?"
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  • "I don't work there anymore." "I know but this is an emergency, all the client databases are showing corruption errors and I can't, I don't, I need help, please."
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  • I hung up. My girlfriend looked at me. "Was that them?" "Yeah." "What did they want?" "Help fixing what they broke."
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  • She smiled. "Good for you." I turned my phone off and went to bed.
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  • The next morning I woke up to fourteen missed calls and six voicemails. All from the office. I listened to one. It was my boss, and he didn't sound smug anymore. "We need to talk. This is urgent. Call me back immediately."
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  • Then I checked LinkedIn. He'd sent me a message at 3am. "I may have been hasty yesterday. We're experiencing technical difficulties and your expertise would be valuable. Please call me as soon as possible. We can discuss terms."
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  • I screenshotted it and sent it to my girlfriend. She sent back three laughing emojis. An hour later he messaged again. "We're prepared to offer you consultant rates. Name your price. We need you today."
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  • I didn't reply. Around noon his boss, the actual CEO, called me directly. "I heard what happened yesterday," she said. She sounded tired. "That should not have happened. We've lost two major
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  • clients this morning because we can't access their campaign data. We have presentations this afternoon we can't prepare for. I understand you're angry but we need your help."
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  • "I don't work there." "I'm aware. I'm offering you a consulting contract. Triple your previous salary, paid as a lump sum regardless of how long the fix takes. And an apology. A real one."
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  • I thought about it. "I want it in writing. The contract. And I want confirmation he's being demoted." "He's being let go." "When?"
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  • "Today. I'm handling his termination as soon as we're off this call. We promoted him too fast and this proved it."
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  • I went in that afternoon. The office was chaos. People everywhere looking panicked, phones ringing constantly. My boss, my ex-boss, was cleaning out his desk. He wouldn't look at me.
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  • It took me six hours to recover most of their data. The contractor had overwritten backup cycles without understanding what he was doing. Some stuff was just gone. Three clients had already jumped ship.
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  • The CEO paid me $85,000 for one day's work and offered me my job back as senior director of IT at twice my old salary. I told her I'd think about it. I'm still thinking.
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  • My girlfriend says I should take it because the money's incredible and the CEO seems decent. My brother says I should walk away and let the place burn. He thinks I'm being a pushover for even fixing their systems.
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  • Now I'm wondering if I gave them too easy an out. Maybe I should have let them suffer more. AITAH?
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  • PandaLady582 IMO the CEO fixed what the man who fired you did... the toxin is gone and the money is better! Go for it!
    via PandaLady582

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