‘I didn’t give him a dime of our business after what he did': Catering company unjustly fires their office manager, decades later, that ex-employee's daughter makes them lose out on a six-figure contract

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Jan 21, 2026 12:00 PM EST

Karma comes in many forms, and in this case, it came in the form of a loving daughter. 

When you hit the workforce, one of the first tips people share is, "Don't burn any bridges." You never know when you will meet with another person again along your career path. 

Unfortunately, some people get too engulfed in their own hubris, and their entitlement sets them up directly in front of our good lady Karma. Here we see it with a catering company. 

This company claimed to treat their employees like "family" (red flag number one), and cared about their "family." Surprise, surprise, that was a lie. The woman they had working for them, for years, as their office manager got fired unjustly one day after a superficial argument. She was devasted and her daughter saw this hardship in real time. 

This daughter then grew up and continued to work in a career path that coincided with catering companies. She worked her way up to becoming the catering booker for a very well-accomplished venue. Their list of caterers for hire was prestigious and any company on it was basically guaranteed six-figures a year. 

And low and behold, this company came to her to get on that list… 

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  • Cheezburger Image 10598676224
    via Unsplash+ (and Ruben Ramirez)

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

  • The now-grown daughter could not believe what she was seeing. It was the same man who fired her mother, coming to pitch his company to her. She was witnessing karma in action. 

    After his pitch, she asked if her remembered an office manager they had decades ago. A woman, who was unjustly fired on the spot… He hesitated and acted like he only “vaguely” remembered. Well, she sure did remind him! She told him that was her mother and that their caterer list was full. His face was enough to show that he understood karma had finally caught up with him.

  • "AITJ for denying a contract to the guy who fired my mom years ago"

    Back in 2015 my mom was the office manager at a catering company. She got me a summer job there during college doing delivery and setup for events.
    via Accomplished_Gap1456
  • I ended up liking the work and stayed on part time through school. About six months in the owner and my mom got into it over something stupid I dont even remember what it was and he fired her on the spot.
    via Accomplished_Gap1456
  • No warning no severance nothing. She was devastated because shed been there for years and really cared about the place.
    via Accomplished_Gap1456
  • I have a different last name than my mom so nobody connected us. I stayed for another year or so because I needed the money but I had my own problems with how they ran things.
    via Accomplished_Gap1456
  • Paychecks were late all the time and they kept promising benefits that never materialized. Eventually I left and got hired by an event venue that we had done some work for.
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  • Fast forward to now and Ive worked my way up at the venue to where I handle vendor contracts.
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  • I decide which caterers get on our approved list and we do a lot of corporate events and weddings so being on that list is a big deal for these companies.
    via Accomplished_Gap1456
  • Were talking six figures worth of business annually for the ones we use regularly. A few months ago I get a call from someone wanting to set up a meeting about getting on our vendor list.
    via Accomplished_Gap1456
  • The company name sounded familiar but I didnt think much of it. We scheduled lunch at a nice place downtown.
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  • The guy shows up and its him. The same owner who fired my mom. Hes older now but I recognized him immediately.
    via Accomplished_Gap1456
  • He clearly had no idea who I was. He did his whole pitch. Talked about his companys capabilities and how much he values his employees and treats them like family.
    via Accomplished_Gap1456
  • Went on about quality and reliability and all that. I just sat there nodding and eating my food.
    via Accomplished_Gap1456
  • Cheezburger Image 10598676480
    via Unsplash+ (and Getty Images)

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

  • Now, she's wondering if that was a petty move as a professional for her to make. But c'est la vie. If you are willing to dish it out, you have to be willing to take it back. It all comes back to that first tip you made when you started your career: “Don't burn any bridges.” 

    We bet that guy is wishing he had listened back then. Now, he's six-figures less and basically black-listed from one of the best venues in town. We love a daughter standing up for her mother! 

  • When he finished I asked if he remembered a woman who used to work for him as office manager about ten years back.
    via Accomplished_Gap1456
  • He said yeah vaguely. I told him thats my mom. He knew exactly who I was talking about and probably remembered how he treated her.
    via Accomplished_Gap1456
  • I thanked him for lunch and told him unfortunately our vendor list was full of more established partners but Id keep his company in mind if anything changed.
    via Accomplished_Gap1456
  • Shook his hand and left. He never followed up and I never reached out. My vendor list isnt actually full I just didnt want to give him a dime of our business after what he did.
    via Accomplished_Gap1456
  • AITJ for turning him down because of what he did to my mom?
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  • Soars With Eagles You could justify blacklisting him just for the "late paychecks" issue; you don't want to rely on someone who stiffs his own employees. When they fail, you fail.
    via Accomplished_Gap1456
  • Tiny_Note8134 He fired your mom over something petty and now hes out here talking about how he values his employees and treats them like family.
    via Accomplished_Gap1456
  • Goodadvice1976 Karma’s a bitch. NTJ.
    via Accomplished_Gap1456

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fired office manager catering job workplace family venue coordinator daughter mom karma
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