15+ Employees who got fired fast: 'You're not very good at customer service, are you?'

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jan 10, 2026 11:00 AM EST

From sneaking away with thousands of dollars to just missing work one too many times, these workers were fired quickly for some good reasons. 

Here's a reminder, for those who need to hear it, to always be cautious what you put in writing in the workplace. It's always astounding to me how many people will send outrageous messages to their fellow coworkers over Slack, email, or text, onlyto get singed by those fiery words just days later. Some of you have your texts synced up to your work computer; your personal emails arrive on workplace email servers; your personal calls get cheerfully answered on your work-assigned phones. You're all making me nervous! Stop that! Does it not make you anxious to sass-talk the boss on a Slack thread of your peers, knowing you're just one misclick away from making you lose your entire career? The work/life separation of having your conversations on different devices seems to be a win-win, but not everyone feels that way. Some workers behave as if no one is watching their actions, when that is usually far from the truth. 

This is especially true if your employer already has it out for you. Some bosses get fed up with their workers, but have trouble finding an actual reason for them to be let go. In many workspaces, it's customary for troublesome employees to be put on PIPs before they're actually let go. All the while, the bosses will still be on high alert for any mistakes, no matter how big or small, that could be turned into fireable offenses. 

These workers shared their stories of the most sensational, jaw-dropping reasons that their coworkers got fired. Some of these firings are well deserved. For example, if you can get away with sleeping on the job, that's super great for you. Stick it to the man! But don't expect your coworkers to ignore your absence. If they catch on to your sleepy-time ways, they're going to come up with a plan to catch you, or at least alert management to what you're doing. Maybe catch your zzz's at home if you want to continue having a roof over your head to sleep in in the first place! 

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  • 01

    'What's the craziest reason someone you work with was fired?'

    Woman in gray jacket speaks to man in black suit jacket holding iPad and woman in gray business attire in office setting
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

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

  • 02
    Youngblood519 I don't know why he was actually fired, but he broke the punch in clock on his way out and waited in the parking lot saying "Justice" when people asked what happened to it. The manager had to call the cops to get him to leave.
    via u/Youngblood519
  • 03
    C... A coworker got fired indirectly for giving two weeks notice. All his shifts were reassigned in a couple of days. Duly noted, when I quit it was by phone after the last shift I chose to work. Same supervisor, smile.
    via u/cwsjr22323
  • 04
    hunter-8eight Stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the company. The department head did this and our department was in charge of catching employees stealing. What a mess he made and completely annihilated the integrity of our whole team.
    via u/hunter-8eight
  • 05
    UnyieldingConst... The guy who hired me sent out a mass email to our massive company with all the ridiculous cover letters and CVs he had received over the year - just hilarious stuff, honestly. It was for a game testing company, and there were so many desperate letters from people who clearly knew nothing about gaming.
    via u/UnyieldingConstraint
  • 06
    Unfortunately, he didn't bother censoring any of the names or contact info. He was fired within an hour.
    via u/UnyieldingConstraint
  • 07
    ClownfishSoup Our after hours janitor walked up to my desk after work, while I was helping someone else at their desk, I looked over and he had picked up homemade cookies from my desk and started eating them. I asked him why he was taking things off my desk, he made up a lame excuse, he was later moved to another
    via u/ClownfishSoup
  • 08
    building after he was caught taking cases of "free drinks" from our break room. There was soda for employees, and he was free to take one, but every night he took a case home with him ... caught on camera. I changed jobs and then one day, I see him walking into my new company's office at 6pm...
    via u/ClownfishSoup
  • 09
    Bob Vilas Beard I worked with a guy who figured out that the website that was used to log everyone's time could be accessed on any computer. He would clock in from home at 7:00, mosey into the office at 10:00, leave a few hours later, and clock out sometime after that.
    via u/BobVilasBeard
  • 10
    This is not a good idea when you work in an open office environment and everyone can see if and when you're physically present.
    via u/BobVilasBeard
  • 11
    Gastricwarrior Knew someone who got fired because he "seemed to depr sed" he was in the middle of a horrible divorce but was still doing all his work he just understandingly looked sad.
    via u/Gastricwarrior
  • 12
    III_Be_Your_Dad Guy created a whole identity with degree, past job history, people that vouched for him. It was literally all just him though. He made the degree, was his own references. He couldn't do the job at all though and it was all investigated when they dug into him. He did have a 6 figure job for a couple weeks though. lol
    via u/III_Be_Your_Dad
  • 13
    Barista in apron holds phone to ear with her shoulder and smiles while holding iPad in other hand in coffee shop setting
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

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

  • 14
    sum1sdaughter This girl, on her second shift at orange julius, fell asleep in the supply room. She was the only one on shift and she was out for a good couple of hours lol.
    via u/sum1sdaughter
  • 15
    chesterlola2014 My boss just told us this story the other day of how someone got fired for an insane reason I work for a call center, a lady called in and had a very thick accent. The guy who answered was getting really frustrated because he was having a hard time understanding what she was saying so he was kind of a
    via u/chesterlola2014
  • 16
    dick to her (which is obviously unwarranted and really inappropriate). At the end of the call she said "you're not very good at customer service, are you?" And he replied with "at least I know how to speak English like someone who lives in America". What the hell?? Who says that at all, let alone at work where all of our calls are recorded?? He
    via u/chesterlola2014
  • 17
    was fired very quickly because she called back and filed a complaint which triggered a supervisor to pull the call and listen to it right away.
    via u/chesterlola2014
  • 18
    TheAcmeAnvil I was a construction foreman and after warnings had to fire someone I found working without the hard hat and hearing and eye protection issued to him. Three strikes you're out!
    via u/TheAcmeAnvil
  • 19
    laich68 I was an usher in a movie theater when I was 19 in 1989. We hired a guy that looked just like RDJ who got fired for tearing tickets and saying, "Enjoy your movie or burn in h |"
    via u/laich68
  • 20
    elphaba00 He took the identity of someone else and basically took the person's visa to perform overseas work. It took a few years for both governments and the employer to catch on.
    via u/elphaba00
  • 21
    I guess he told everyone to call him by a certain nickname instead of the name on his documentation. The nickname was his real name. It was his plan to make the ruse more natural.
    via u/elphaba00
  • 22
    a... Stole travelers checks from her coworker and when caught, ran to a waiting car in the parking lot and tried to sicc her boyfriend's two pitbulls on her boss and site security.
    via u/alwaysboopthesnoot
  • 23
    One-Shirt4570 A warehouse worker got fired for stealing Christmas presents that were meant for raffle prizes. He totally denied he took them while also realizing there was a video camera that captured him entering the quarantine area and stealing them.
    via u/One-Shirt4570
  • 24
    TBF his coworker was fired after "finding" a missing document that she showed an auditor. It was still warm from the laser jet printer. That firing took about 10 seconds.
    via u/One-Shirt4570
  • 25
    NosDarkly Dude was manager and didn't make deposits or distribute the pooled tips for over three weeks before running off with the money. He was also sleeping in the office for a couple months (was sleeping in storage space before becoming manager)' and living off the breakfast sandwiches.
    via u/NosDarkl
  • 26
    Early-Target370 My coworker asked for her pay stub because she knew they were messing with her pay. They fired her the next day, saying that she wasn't working hard. I also left the job a month later.
    via u/Early-Target370
  • 27
    IndependenceSt... Running over a cone. They were looking for reasons to get rid of this person and made a file of things this person done that violated the safety rules. Running over a safety cone was somehow the straw that broke the camel's back.
    via u/IndependenceStock417
  • 28
    CptUnderpants- Guy I know got fired for going above and beyond during a major outage, sort of. Employed at an internet provider and was on their way in when everything fell apart, most customers having major issues. They worked remotely on the bus
    via u/cptUnderpants
  • 29
    until they arrived. Thought they would put that time spent working on their time sheet. Nope, denied and fired.
    via u/cptUnderpants

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management getting fired workplace-stories bosses retail worker service industry
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