15-year-old pizza employee closes restaurant for 2 days after manager puts him on weekend shifts despite his request: 'I sat around and did absolutely nothing'

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Dec 17, 2025 9:00 AM EST

The first place you work can sometimes be one of the toughest places to work.

As a teenager in a paid role, there are a lot of things working against you; you have the least experience you'll ever have, and you are one of the youngest people on the payroll, both of which make you more vulnerable to mistreatment. It could be argued that it is all part of the big learning curve, one that comes with teaching yourself to be an employee on terms that don't make you miserable. However, that doesn't mean that it's fair.

When it comes to the workplace, ageism can go both ways, and there are far too many managers who enjoy making young recruits do things that they shouldn't have to. It isn't often that somebody who is put in this position gets the opportunity to teach them a lesson, but it makes it all the sweeter on the occasion that it does happen.

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  • a young man sprinkles grated cheese on a pizza base in a professional kitchen
    via Jonathan Castañeda (Unsplash+)

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

  • In this story, a 15-year-old working at a popular pizza restaurant felt maligned at his job, where his college-aged managers seemed to enjoy making fun of him. He was required to learn how to make dough, but he didn't want to do every weekend dough shift, as this meant an early start, and he preferred the job on weeknights. They initially agreed, then put him and his similarly aged coworker on this shift every single weekend.

    As luck would have it, he got a job offer from another business not long after this happened. This gave him and his colleague the opportunity to get back at the way that other employees had treated them during their time at the restaurant, with some spectacular results.

  • Closed a popular pizza place for 2 days

    When I was 15 I worked at a very popular pizza place in Canada rhymes with nut. It was run and managed by a couple college kids that thought they were big stuff running a pizza joint. Congratulations. I was in-between work and didn't want to work a fast food place but my first choice at the local arena fell through because I had to be 16 to work with certain chemicals and stuff they had for the pool.
    via Drafixo
  • Months away but it was a no go. So I bit the bullet and applied. I got the job and was hired for working in the kitchen. Within a month they wanted me to learn how to make dough. I wasn't for it because that meant I had to come in every weekend at 6am to have dough ready for when they opened at noon. I said fine I'd learn but I don't want to do it every weekend. I was a kid. I enjoyed my weekend time and was much happier working weeknights. They assured me I would only have to work 1 weekend dou
    via Drafixo
  • They got my partner in crime we'll call Scott to agree to the same thing. We both learned and nailed it. Within 2 weeks of learning we were back to back weekend shifts I worked every Saturday Scott every Sunday going forward. I went to my boss told her and she laughed. Said too bad. They all thought it was hilarious the group of them. All servers in their 20's, we were the joke of the pizza joint. They knew we needed jobs and wouldn't quit. Then I went
    via Drafixo
  • a man wipes his hands together above a floured kitchen surface
    via Jonathan Castañeda (Unsplash+)

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

  • home one Saturday and my parents said the arena had called and wanted me to come in for another interview. I went and was told I would be offered the job in 2 weeks the day after my birthday. I asked if they needed anyone else and they said yes and I told them about my friend Scott and how he worked. He said to hand in his resume and he'd get it set up.
    via Drafixo
  • Time for petty revenge. The next Saturday I went into work and sat around and did absolutely nothing. I drank chocolate milk and hung out in the boths of the restaurant twirling my thumbs. They showed up for open and I was standing there apron and name tag in hand. I quit I said. My boss laughed and said whatever we were going to fire you anyways. Then commented that if it were her she wouldn't have showed up at all and screwed her over not making any dough. Idiot. I
    via Drafixo
  • laughed and said nah I hung out all morning and made no dough so you still need to pay me for my shift. Later. The look on her face was gold. She ended up having to close the store for the day because they had no dough made. Then to top it off Scott repeated my quitting method the following day. We worked together at the arena for the rest of highschool and told that story fondly.
    via Drafixo
  • a man holds an uncooked cheese pizza on a pizza peel
    via Jonathan Castañeda (Unsplash+)

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

  • Effective_Clue_5435 Only problem with this story is that dough needs to be made at least 24 hours ahead of time to ferment in a cold box. I know. I made a lot of it in high school.
    via Effective_Clue_5435
  • OP Drafixo Dough could be ready within an hour. But it's a constant 6 hour stretch of time needed to get enough for the day and they wouldn't have had the people on hand to do it and we're barely capable to begin with. Teach stupid kids and laugh at them.
    via Drafixo
  • the_blacksmythe Isn't their dough frozen? I call bull.
    via the_blacksmythe
  • OP Drafixo Wasn't when I worked there. Haven't been ate it since!
    via Drafixo
  • Playful_Study_6290 Chocolate milk 000000
    via Playful_Study_6290
  • OP Drafixo Yo, I was a 15 year old fat kid. They're lucky I didn't make one batch of dough and just have myself a pizza party >>>
    via Drafixo
  • HempusMaximus Those machines for making dough were no joke. I always marveled at how they let young kids work that machine when it could literally tear your arm off in half a second.
    via HempusMaximus
  • OP Drafixo It was pretty intimidating when I first started
    via Drafixo
  • SeaGiraffe915 People really celebrating this story. U sound like a bratty teen with no work ethic, good luck to ya
    via SeaGiraffe915
  • OP Drafixo The problem was I was treated like a bratty teen with no work ethic and I had a very good work ethic and was lied to. But cheers!
    via Drafixo
  • Red-Salute- Hats off dude. Also, looks like your petty ex-boss already downvoted this, so I'll vote it back up.
    via Red-Salute-
  • fallguy19 Best part is the the yuk-it-up gang has to argue over who is doing the 6am weekend shit shift now
    via fallguy19
  • Alexis_J_M D'oh!
    via Alexis_J_M

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Tags

employee teenager manager pizza hut pizza revenge work restaurant food service quitting
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