Boss fires top-performing employee because their customer reviews weren't 90%

JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor

Jul 27, 2026 9:00 PM EDT

Can you measure an employee's work based on one metric alone?

An employee is more than just a number. An employee is a person that you work with. If you can't see them with the full breadth of humanity that they deserve, then you shouldn't be employing them. Sure you have to keep track of performance in someway, but you should have faith in your employees beyond just one metric of their output. You can't measure everything one way. You need to look at something holistically to get a full picture of what's going on. But it can be hard to do that when feedback is over-prioritized. That's what happened to this employee who was, by every other account, a great employee, but got caught up in a few numbers gone wrong. You hope as an employee that your employer sees you for who you are. They see what you bring to the table, and if things are going wrong, you hope that they'll check in with you and make sure that you're doing OK. You don't want to feel like if you make one mistake, you'll end up on the chopping block. This can be a difficult thing, though, when your employer is looking at numbers to make their decisions. Numbers are useful in quantifying the things that we feel about each other. But they're not everything.

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*A man takes his belongings out of an office after being let go*

I was fired despite being a top performer. Reason? Customer Reviews weren't 90%

I felt targeted as if I had done something horribly wrong. For a while I was just told to ignore warnings. I was placed on a performance improvement plan with no initial support or coaching. I didn't even know I was on a performance improvement plan.

I am just angry we have a system that exploits workers like this with low wages, and intimidation. Ironically I was rated a top performer but fired while having all my bonuses withheld.

The team lead who fired me insisted it was "with cause." The problem with that terminology in my region is it is only applied. when you have done something egregious like stole money, or lied. It was over customer reviews criticizing their refund policies, not my work.

The firing manager refused to let me explain my side and my experience of working for the company. They said they supported me. They only seemed to provide feedback relative to my pip once they had prepared to fire me.

I was on a pip and never spoke to my previous supervisor about it. He told me to ignore them and said I was doing a great job. Then I virtually never spoke to him. I often felt isolated on the job and was especially made to feel isolated after coming back from a medical leave of absence. Virtually no one spoke to me, until two weeks after I came back. I felt left to "sink or swim."

Commenters weighed in with their opinions.

Jimmy90081 Some manager the other day posted they would do reviews based on being nice to customers, reach out to them.

Cultural-Answer-321 Companies are always shooting themselves in the foot. I posted this somewhere else, but still relevant, Company: "Why are our sales falling?"

Employee: "Your customer service sks." Customer: "Your customer service sks." Company: "No, it's the employee and customer who are wrong!"

*A person carries their belongings out of an office in a container*

Numbers, just like humans, can be flawed and wrong. Not every way of quantifying success is equal. And you would hate to be punished for something that was somewhat out of your control. Sometimes you can't help when the business is flailing, and you suffer because of it, no matter how good the work you were doing was. But you can help your boss by being overly concerned with the wrong thing. You don't wanna end up feeling like you've been betrayed by your workplace because of something random. But that's what started to happen here, to this employee who found themselves without a job for a pretty insignificant reason. Keep scrolling to find out what happened here.

ParticularSeat4917 They wanted to fire you due to the medical leave of absence. It is and illegal, but would be hard to prove, especially due to the PIP

limlwl Time to lawyer up. After all, there's no going back there. And make sure you name the person who fired you

BAFUdaGreat I didn't even know I was on a performance improvement plan...I was on a pip So which 1 was it? And the moment you heard the word PIP you should have realized that the end was coming regardless of your performance.

If you're in the US you can retain a labor attorney to fight for your rights and take them to court for unfair dismissal.

_borT As a customer service manager, it's surprising the company doesn't distinguish negative CSAT that is just a complaint about product vs. the actual agents service. Sounds like some inept management. People will often vent dissatisfaction in CSAT surveys that have nothing to do with the customer service being given.

green_dotter being marked a top performer then fired for a number you dont control is peak workplace scoreboard nonsense

rushmc1 You had a bad employer. It's not like it's a shock or a rarity or anything.

Sure_Acanthaceae_348 This is a crazy idea, but if you have these customers' contact info, look into a free consultation with an attorney over a defamation lawsuit against the customer. Yes I know it's a long shot but it might be worth looking into.

eroi49 It's simply about setting your boundaries, sticking to them and turning off your electric tethers when you're off the clock.

jodrellbank_pants That wasn't the only reason, just forget and move on, top performer means nothing, brown noser on the other hand means everything.

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