Guy Gets Hired at Store, Never Told to do Anything, Stays On for Months

Author image for Eric Lund
Eric Lund
Sep 8, 2019 4:00 PM EDT

This is surreal and the fact that this guy did what he did for this long before just walking away has sort of an air of triumph to it. First jobs can be really confusing, so when you're a dumb teenager who has no idea how jobs actually work, and are then given zero direction from an awful manager, you can get down some weird rabbit holes.

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  • 01
    Text - r/MaliciousCompliance Posted by u/heyimjason 13 hours ago 2 Dismissive? I'm not going to beg you to give me work to do. OC L This was a lotta years ago, when I was a teenager. I'd just gotten a job at a huge retail chain. From the start, it was a shit show. Paperwork had to be redone, nobody knew correct starting dates, etc. They eventually had me do orientation, then told me just to come in on Monday and ask for a manager.
    via heyimjason
  • 02
    Text - Ok. I put on my stupid little vest and go to work. I clock in. I walk up to the first manager I see, say I'm new, and ask where I should go. She's busy talking to a friend and says she'll find out where I'm supposed to be So I stand there. She walks off, and I figure she's going to the office to check on things. I stand there for 2 hours. I finally see her walking by again, so I step forward and open my mouth to speak but before I can get a word out, she says, "Not now!" and briskly walks
    via heyimjason
  • 03
    Text - Ok. I stand there for another hour. I don't care - I'm on the clock. I eventually see her pulling a large cart full of items (no clue what she was actually up to), so again, I ask her what I should do. She snaps her head my way, gives me a super angry stare, and quickly says, "Look, you're not a kid. Find. Something. To. Do." then continues on her merry way.
    via heyimjason
  • 04
    Text - Mind you, even as a teenager, I wasn't the type to be talked down to for no good reason. I shrug and make my way out to the parking lot to head to my car, because I was already done with that job. But as I stepped out of the double doors and into the boiling summer heat, it dawned on me that I had a unique opportunity here. I already didn't want the job any longer, and I was told to find something to do (though I had no clue where anything was or what things actually needed to be done). S
    via heyimjason
  • 05
    Text - For the rest of my shift, I walked through every single aisle and made a very detailed shopping list of things I'd need for my first apartment. I finished my shift and clocked out. The next morning, I clocked in shrugged, and started pacing again. This time, I made a huge list of foods to try, and copied down lots of recipes from boxes. I also made a wish-list of cool stuff from the toys and electronics sections (lava lamps, black lights, etc.). Halfway through the shift, the
    via heyimjason
  • 06
    Text - angry manager lady from the day before sees me purchase a candy bar, then marches up to me to ask if I'd clocked out for my lunch break. I had no idea I even got a lunch break, and I was going to remind her that I still had no idea what I was supposed to be doing, but the conversation only went like: "No, but I.." "No, no, NO! There are no "buts!" "I understand, but I..." "No "buts!" and she simply turns her back to me and walks away.
    via heyimjason
  • 07
    Text - Fine. So if I ever actually take a lunch, I'll be sure to clock out. I go back to pacing. The next day, I've already seen every aisle several times. I now have lists for gift ideas for friends and family. I have lists for movies and video games I want. I even have lists for shit to buy if I ever get into having fish as pets. I decide to see what's actually in the back rooms, as I've only seen the first one for orientation. Ok, mostly storage, a cool trash compactor, and.... a break room?
    via heyimjason
  • 08
    Text - sometimes shit like candy comes partially opened, or customers open the bags, and the company would simply inventory it as damaged and usually throw it away, but some of the cooler managers would inventory it as damaged, then toss it in the break room for whoever. Sweet. So I'm watching TV and eating free damaged candy. But it's not cable TV, and I hate daytime TV, so I only watch it for a few hours before I punch out and go home.
    via heyimjason
  • 09
    Text - The next week consists of me playing through almost all of the demo games on the demo Playstation (Im showing my age here). Now I'm just very bored. I spend my days walking around the store and eating damaged candy. I stop to bullshit with customers who have cool shirts or tattoos. If someone asks me where to find something, I try to find it with them.
    via heyimjason
  • 10
    Text - It's over a month in. I start counting my steps. Thousands of steps a day. It's cancelling out the calories of all the damaged candy I'm still eating. I'm getting tired of candy. Two months in. I start following people around to see how long it takes them to notice, and to see if they'll say anything. They always notice, and nobody is comfortable enough to say anything. "Jesus," I think, "is this serial killer shit? Is this how people become serial killers?"
    via heyimjason
  • 11
    Text - I go back to pacing the aisles. I just hear the squeaking of cart wheels and the "tap, tap, tap" of my shoes on the polished floors. The fluorescent lighting doesn't feel so friendly any longer. Now it feel... invasive. Pacing, pacing. I don't think people are supposed to feel this weird, this... disconnected. But I also don't think people should walk around indoors for 8 hours a day while eating damaged candy the entire time. Why am I even having this conversation with myself? I suddenly
    via heyimjason
  • 12
    Text - I got my final paycheck, as the rest of them, but nobody even called to see why I was missing my shifts. Was I even on a schedule? I have no idea. I found another job that actually required me to work, but that was ok. The time at that large store was just one surreal blur after the second week. But, the manager told me to find stuff to do, and that's exactly what I did. TL;DR The manager couldn't be bothered to actually place me, so I walked around a store for about 10 weeks and ate dama
    via heyimjason

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boss manager retail teenagers work surreal amazing story funny store
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