Cell Phone Store Employee Gets Manager and District Manager Fired for Defrauding the Company, Then Quits After Getting Passed Up for Their Manager’s Vacant Role, Leaving the Store With 2 Employees Remaining

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Aug 3, 2026 12:00 PM EDT

After helping expose years of mismanagement and expecting to inherit the vacant manager role, an employee discovered the promised promotion had been given to someone else, prompting their resignation, which left the already struggling store critically understaffed.

It's not often you come across a story like this on the internet anymore. Something about the way that this story was written makes me nostalgic for an era gone by. 

You used to see plenty of stories like this every day. Messy writing, messy characters, and a narrator that isn't overly concerned about making themselves look good. They're just laying it all out there on the table for strangers on the internet to read without worrying about the judgement. 

Just. Messy. 

To be completely honest, this is an era that I hadn't fully realized we had exited, but I guess it makes sense with everything that has changed around technology and social media. There have probably been other cultural shifts that have contributed besides. 

This employee shared their long-winded story with this online workplace community, detailing the history of their chaotic workplace. After helping clean up the problematic workplace by getting their manager and the district manager fired and being given assurances that the vacant manager role would become theirs

I mean, it kind of makes sense given the situation that management might want to steer clear of anyone involved in the mess. The employee proved instrumental in exposing problems in the organization, from their perspective, but they also proved themselves to be very much a part of that same problem from the perspective of senior leadership.

Keep reading to see the story below. If you get tired of reading and want a TL;DR (Too Long Didn't Read), I have included one at the end of the main story around Item #46. Yeah, this one is long. 

Like I said: Messy. 

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  • 01
    A cellphone store worker takes money from the till, representing the events of the article.
    via NSYS Group

    A cellphone store worker takes money from the till, representing the events of the article.

    For illustrative purposes

  • 02
    My partner has always said that my job is like a soap-opera, so I decided to write it out and detail how denying me a promotion led to me quitting my current job and finding quite possibly my dream job.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 03
    So, I started my job at a phone sales place that was a franchised store for a big nationwide cell provider. I wanna keep this all kinda generic as a lot of people that work there I still like and care about as people and I don't want to risk them getting blowback or alike. Unlike my previous store manager: Alexis.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 04
    Alexis is a Grade-A -waffle. Childish, selfish, avert to responsibility, simultaneously a know-it-all and a moron that couldn't do her job right, the works.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 05
    I started towards the end of 2022 under her. She had been made manager on the grounds of seniority after the old manager quit or was fired, never really got a straight answer on that.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 06
    I joined her and she didn't like me from the get-go; I was a socially inept kid and made a joke about the person on her iPhone background, which turned out to be her de d brother who had k led himself, so yeah, fair. After apologizing and over the year and half we worked together, I did my best to better myself and grow as a person, a concept Alexis has never heard of.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 07
    Come the mid of 2023, I leave, mostly because of her. She had been generally combative and a b while trying to do anything she could to get me fired. I left and she told me, to my face, that the only reason I was re-hireable was because she hadn't had enough time to fire me.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 08
    Then comes early 2024, I'm asked to come back by my district manager, Darnell to come work at Store 3, when I was previously working at Store 1. I say: F know the work and I won't have to deal with Alexis and I need the money.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 09
    After a few months of working at Store 3, Darnell asks if I want to move back to Store 1 with Alexis, as it's a higher volume store and I make d In good sales. One issue: Alexis. I say yes, with one goal in mind: Get. This. B . Fired.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 10
    So I go back to Store 1 and instantly begin documenting. Pictures, emails to myself and HR, relaying everything to the assistant district manager, Kelly, whom I'm quite friendly with.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 11
    Kelly was done with Alexis' sh and wanted her gone. It had been consistent issues with money, inventory, personnel, etc. But Darnell kept covering for her; giving more time then is expected to fix the cash drawer if it's short, looking the other way when she doesn't follow protocol for handling inventory, on and on.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 12
    I didn't know why back then and still don't now. I think it's because Darnell saw Alexis as a sort of little sister or a mini-me, but the joke that it's because she could s chrome off a trailer hitch has floated around. k the
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 13
    Alexis then brings on her sister, Chrysler, whom I didn't really have a problem with, but don't really get to know her as I worked with her for only a few months and she kept it strictly work for the most part, aside from complaining about Alexis at home.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 14
    However, at work, Chrysler did exactly what Alexis did. Shady sh like slamming customers, adding features to customers accounts without asking or explaining, creating fake accounts and selling to herself, etc. All of which I documented. Speaking of shady sh, Darnell.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 15
    He loved some shady sh if it made him money. He'd use a website to buy phone numbers for cheap, then use those numbers to get the info required to transfer said numbers to our carrier, put them on fake accounts, get 4 iPhones for free, then sell them on the side for more than what he paid for the rate plan and activation.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 16
    He'd get 8 to 16 iPhones per run by going to 2 to 4 stores, and since the iPhones would ring up as free for any number that was ported in from another carrier and we're prepaid, all he'd have to pay to get 4 iPhones which typically retailed for around $600 per, would be service for 4 lines, the activation fee for each, and tax, which totaled out to be just under $400.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 17
    After some quick back of the napkin math, I estimated the retail value of the iPhones he laundered was nearly 300k USD because he had been doing it for so long. So yeah, he gets shitcanned... After he's reported by Alexis.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 18
    Alexis was the sales-person Darnell did his scheme with the most, and she 100% stood to gain from him doing this as it boosted her numbers.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 19
    And as for the reason why, before he got fired, Darnell was given something by Kelly he couldn't rug sweep or ignore: she stole 50 dollars from the drawer on camera to go buy w d** Yes, she stole fifty dollars, from her job, and her store, in uniform, to go buy w me so. d. She told
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 20
    So after I sent an email to HR, got the video from Kelly for safe keeping, Kelly got me on the phone with Darnell who seemed quite frustrated. I think at this point he was done with Alexis' too, but was using kiddy gloves with her so he could play both sides. He could tell Alexis: "I did my best to protect you! I like you! You're my best manager!" But to HR, he could say: "I was doing my best to build the strongest case I could before submitting it so we can get her gone quick!"
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 21
    She knew all this and knew she had to get him before he got her, so she reported him while lying through her teeth, pretending not to know what she was doing was wrong. She claiming no responsibility or guilt as she was "just doing what she was told." And more bulls like that. He did this more times with her then anyone else and she 100% knew what she was doing was violating several rules and should have reported it the first time he tried it.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 22
    Welp, with Darnell gone, Alexis thought there was no one left that could touch her. Wrong.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 23
    Kelly was put into training to be district manager after Darnell got the boot, and she came out swinging. Kelly waits for the drawer to get shorted again and it does, only 25 dollars, but still it's enough.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 24
    Kelly has to give her 48-hours to fix the drawer as a rule. This is above board and is meant to reduce the workload for the back office team and give people who made an honest mistake once or twice a chance to fix themselves without catching a write up. She wanted to skip it since this has been a repeated issue but can't as it was never really documented before, so oh well.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 25
    Of course, Alexis didn't fix it because she's hot sh and god's gift to Earth. Two days later, Kelly shows up, deduction form in hand. She came to the store at about 11:40 when Alexis was scheduled to come in a 12:00 and I was scheduled at 3. Alexis would set her schedule everyday to be 12 to 6, meaning she would come in after
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 26
    the opening procedures have been completed, and would leave before anyone had to start on the closing procedures, this is so she could sit around while the opener, typically scheduled from 9:30 to 3, and the closer, typically scheduled from 3 to 8:15, did all the work while she would sit around and collect a pay check.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 27
    The opener that day was Chrysler, but Alexis was already there with her, behind the counter, speaking to customers, out of uniform.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 28
    Kelly politely asked her to stop doing that as she was not on the clock and expressed concern if she was gonna have time to go home, get dressed and come back to work since he shift was in 20 minutes and she didn't clearly have a change of clothes with her. Cue drama!
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 29
    Alexis blew up on Kelly and words started to fly like burning doves. Alexis says she doesn't have to go home and get changed because she quits, hurling insults and ab e at Kelly, who's doing her best not to rock her sh, and it all ends with me getting a call from Kelly at 12 o'clock, asking me to come in early as Alexis quit and she [Kelly] just threw a cup of coffee at Chrysler's car, as this cantankerously white b at 25 years of age has no license, no car, had a managers salary, and still bums
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 30
    But it's done! She was gone and the manager position was open and waiting for me! So, excitedly, I start rearranging the whole store, bringing it up to code and fixing all the sh Alexis f ed up. For 3 days straight, I work back to back 11 hour shifts doing everything I need to. It was grueling, but I got it done.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 31
    So I make it in only to find that Alexis and Chrysler have already taken their leave, resulting in my store manned only by Kelly, who cries the second the customers that are in the store leave. She's not hurt per-say, just upset that Alexis could get her to that point, and that she: "Didn't hit the b "And frankly, yeah, I can't blame her. I wanted to at least get an elbow drop in myself.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 32
    Then, a group of people mob in 6- deep. I know them, they were in here about a week ago to get an iPhone 17 Pro Max on a payment plan and I can tell right away by their body language, they're not happy. Minor issue, they only really speak Spanish and I do not, but I do my best understand the issue, so I can resolve it. That issue being Chrysler added $300 dollars worth of sh onto their bill they never asked for and never gave them any of it.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 33
    Oh, but wait, it gets worse! =D To remove the fraudulent items that was added would require us to cancel the whole lease, take back the phone, accessories, and mail them to our leasing partner, leaving the customer with no phone, no lease, unable to get another lease, a picture of a middle finger and a sore bottom. Well, that's if they literately weren't one day past the return window.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 34
    Originally I was going to do my best to handle it on my own since I'm gonna be a manager and all, but I realize quickly this is all above my head by leaps and bounds, even if I was currently a manager, so I call Kelly. She drives the 20 minutes it takes to get to Store 1 from her house and she calls Ramirez, a dude who speaks Spanish fluently, but works about 40 minutes away at Store 4.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 35
    Ramirez talks them down, gets them to take the items they didn't get, and eat the extra 300 dollars on their lease. It's a sh show, but we manage it. And then, Kelly says to the customers: "He's gonna be coming to here as the manager." My heart drops into my a • 'She must just be saying that to capitulate to them, right? She would never renege on something that was promised to me and she was onboard with, right?' That was my thought process. So, I do what men on Reddit never do, I talked to her.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 36
    Here's the long and short of what she said: Yes, he's going to be manager, as he was apparently promised this store before me. This was news to me. Apparently he was never gonna come back until Alexis left, and now that she is, he's coming here come h || or high- water. And after Kelly becomes DM, in two months, I could totally like, maybe get to be manager at Store 2, since she's technically the manager of Store 2 and couldn't continue to be if she becomes DM.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 37
    Now, getting to being manager at Store 2 would be fine since it is closer to home, being about a 5 minute drive to it from my house,
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 38
    A man reads his notes on a tablet, representing the employee in the story.
    via Rodrigo Rodrigues | WOLF Λ R T

    A man reads his notes on a tablet, representing the employee in the story.

  • 39
    which is also the same for Ramirez by the way, if not for a few reasons: 1. It's slow in terms of sales, but the location definitely has a lot of potential in fairness 2. I'd have to wait 2 months to even hear anything about get the job. 3. I WAS PROMISED STORE 1 MONTHS AGO 4. How do I know if I'm actually gonna get Store 2 when I was promised Store 1 and got a big middle finger salute for my hard work? 5. I have bills to pay and I'm working for poverty wages currently
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 40
    It was months dealing with this deep-fried, double wide, corn fed, inbred, cousin- meth-snorting, brain-melted, mouth-breathing, logic-allergic, thumb-lookin', GED-flunkin', TikTok- educated, microwave-minded, conspiracy-gargling, synapse- skipping, bug-eyed, zero-thought- having human tire fire communist f knuckle whilst single handily building the case for her termination for HR with the hope, then guarantee I was gonna be manager. So, I quit.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 41
    Put in my two week notice when Store 1 only has exactly 2 employees working at it: Me and Sydney, who actually works at Store 2, but has been coming to work at Store 1 because her and Kelly but heads too much for them to work together.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 42
    I'd honestly just up and leave as the job I'm starting is leagues better for me if it wasn't for Sydney, who is just wonderful both as a person and co-worker.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 43
    Where I'm going is a gin store and with that being one of my hyper- fixations, I know guns like a mechanic knows cars. It starts at $2.85 higher then what I was working for, and even with my current pay being so low, I could almost make it with it.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 44
    But not only do I get a pay rise to the point I might actually be able to enjoy my life and not be constantly broke and eating ramen noodles every night, I get: health insurance, dental, A 401k, a membership to a nearby range, employee discounts, and more.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 45
    No more quotas. No more dead- lines. No more being unable to sleep at night worried if I'm gonna be able to make bills, or get fired because I could sell enough of this or that.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 46
    I'm so hopeful for my future, but it S ks because I've built up a lot of goodwill with the regulars that come to Store 1, to the point they ask for me by name, and for the most part, I actually like but job. But maybe it's just the fear of switching jobs speaking. I'll be on a 90 day probationary period so I might update as my new job progresses.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 47
    A man purchases a cell phone.
    via NSYS Group

    A man purchases a cell phone. 

  • TL;DR:

    The employee who shared this story worked at a franchised cell phone store where an incompetent manager, Alexis, spent years mistreating staff while engaging in questionable business practices. After returning to the company, the employee deliberately documented Alexis's misconduct, helping build the case that eventually led to both her and the district manager being forced out. 

    Believing they had been promised Alexis's vacant manager position, the employee spent days repairing the neglected store and preparing to take over. Instead, management handed the promotion to someone else who had supposedly been promised it earlier, while telling OP to wait a few more months for a different opportunity that wasn't guaranteed. 

    Feeling betrayed after months of extra effort and loyalty, the employee, instead, resigned. This left the already understaffed store with only one remaining employee, and the now-former employee accepted a better-paying job that matched their interests and offered significantly better pay and benefits.

  • 48
    Reverend Dogpants How embarassing, for everybody involved.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 49
    TwoMoreSkipTheLast Thank goodness I stopped reading this pretty early on after seeing how long the post is. OP you sound just as as the coworkers you're complaining about
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 50
    Marine_0311 Yeah... I didnt make it past the first few paragraphs before I decided OP was the a hle here.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 51
    ironbite4 Jesus this is Not Always Working level of Everyone's the Ah le
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 52
    ARONDH Your behaviour isn't any better than anyone else's. Your attitude isn't any better either. Not surprising if drama follows you.
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 53
    BAFUdaGreat Can I get a TL, DR please
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 54
    ScrotFrottington Yeah I ain't reading all that. Good luck tho
    via Raven_Drakeaurd
  • 55
    locklear24 I stopped at the "made fun of the person on her phone background". Like, why?
    via Raven_Drakeaurd

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getting fired antiwork fired promotions reddit workplace stories internet culture workplace issues
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