OT: That's It, I Quit!

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throwittoblythe

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Aug 7, 2006
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I was talking to some friends recently about our best work quitting stories. I know there have to be some good ones on here.

My best personal experience was when I quit my first job out of college, my boss told me I was making the biggest mistake of my life, ruining my career, and would have no chance to redeem myself. Here I am 6 years later; still gainfully employed and breathing.

A friend of mine had a much better one. He was well thought of at his company, viewed as a rising star and future leader of the organization. When he found a better opportunity, he asked his boss to step into the conference room with him and broke the news that he was leaving. His bosses initial reaction was "F*** you." Let's just say that break-up was less than amicable.

Fellow CFers, what's your best quitting story?
 

moores2

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Nov 9, 2018
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So when I was working in Chicago, I knew we needed to move back to Iowa (my wife finally found a teaching position in the hometown where I grew up) but I wanted to wait until year end bonuses were given out since these were paid in arrears. Of course to formally put in my 2 weeks I needed to get this done and my boss was on vacation, so I had to go to the regional manager of Chicago big Tax firm to put in my 2 weeks. This guy basically told me I was ruining any chance of a successful career yada yada yada. Great fun. Then when talking to HR they asked if I could stay an extra month to help with 2nd busy season. When I told them my lease was up they were willing to put me up in a hotel for a month to keep me there. Didn't take that up as my other job was starting but definitely interesting.
 
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ruxCYtable

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About 30 years ago I was working as an assistant manager at a restaurant. I had dropped out of college and let's just say that life wasn't going very well. The store manager was a complete tyrant who everyone feared and hated and she had already ran most of the staff off, including the other assistant manager.

I was already kind of at my wit's end when I was scheduled to close on Friday at 2am and open the next morning at 8am. At 1:30am, she called me and said there was a problem with our inventory for that week, and I would have to do a complete inventory before I went home. I got done at 6am, went home, had time to throw my uniforms in the laundry and turn around and go right back to work.

Saturday was hell. We were inexplicably busy. She comes in mid-afternoon and starts ******** that the kitchen wasn't clean and what the hell had we been doing all day? Then, the entire night shift decided to rebel against her and they all called in sick. It was her, one waiter, a mentally-challenged dishwasher and me, in one of the busiest pizza joints in Iowa.

I decided ya know what, I'm not gonna let anything get to me tonight. I'm gonna put on a smile and control what I can control. But by mid-evening, 8pm or so, I was completely exhausted. I looked around and thought life should be better than this. It was at that moment I decided I was returning to THE Iowa State University and getting my **** together. I checked on all my tables on last time, asked them if they needed anything else because I was quitting. Walked over to the computer, signed out, took my shirt off, placed it neatly on the counter, and walked out. Ya know that saying about weight being lifted from your shoulders? I thought it was a cliche until that night.
 

throwittoblythe

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So when I was working in Chicago, I knew we needed to move back to Iowa (my wife finally found a teaching position in the hometown where I grew up) but I wanted to wait until year end bonuses were given out since these were paid in arrears. Of course to formally put in my 2 weeks I needed to get this done and my boss was on vacation, so I had to go to the regional manager of Chicago big Tax firm to put in my 2 weeks. This guy basically told me I was ruining any chance of a successful career yada yada yada. Great fun. Then when talking to HR they asked if I could stay an extra month to help with 2nd busy season. When I told them my lease was up they were willing to put me up in a hotel for a month to keep me there. Didn't take that up as my other job was starting but definitely interesting.

This was exactly my experience. I had worked at this place for almost 7 years and was on the fast track to leadership, had been given stock options, etc. The culture was horrid though, it was definitely a "company first" culture over family and personal lives and I was tired of it. My boss basically tried to scare me into staying. "You don't know how lucky you are to be here. You have the world in front of you and you're throwing that away." The best part was him saying "Don't think you'll just be able to come back here if it doesn't work out. It's not that easy."

Guess who has been hounding me to come back for the last 3 years?
 

moores2

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This was exactly my experience. I had worked at this place for almost 7 years and was on the fast track to leadership, had been given stock options, etc. The culture was horrid though, it was definitely a "company first" culture over family and personal lives and I was tired of it. My boss basically tried to scare me into staying. "You don't know how lucky you are to be here. You have the world in front of you and you're throwing that away." The best part was him saying "Don't think you'll just be able to come back here if it doesn't work out. It's not that easy."

Guess who has been hounding me to come back for the last 3 years?

Agreed, had I seen managers and above enjoying their lives I might have tried to stick around a lot harder than I did, but when the higher ups are seeing their families once or twice a week I knew I wanted out. Money is great, but I wasn't ready to sacrifice all of my hours for it. I was working 80+ billable hours a week, and those higher ups were doing more than that.
 

oldman

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Nov 5, 2009
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I was working in the field for a (now defunct) electrical contractor -- Dairy Industries building on campus. I was getting 1st year apprentice wages ($5.17/HR) and the foreman had put me in charge of hard piping the 2nd and 3rd floors with a couple journeymen under me. Still looking for jobs, I'd had a really good interview with another general construction company -- but no offer as yet.

One of the owners came to the jobsite and offered me a position in their office. I told him that I decided to take another job, and actually gave him a two week notice at that time.

He went to my foreman and told him to fire me that day. My foreman refused, saying I was his best worker. At the end of the second week, he took me to a hydraulic lunch at a little dive bar in Ames, and we took the afternoon off.
 

Buster28

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Dec 3, 2011
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At age 21, I was working at a music/video store in Petaluma, California. The manager had changed a couple times over the year I was there and the last one was just a horrible human being entirely. He'd yell at people for being gone 31 minutes for a half hour lunch break, but disappear for three hours himself when going to "lunch." He started blocking transfers for employees who were returning to college in the fall saying they were unreliable and couldn't be trusted.

I felt like I needed to get out of there before something bad happened - I'd already had a couple run-ins with him, but had assistant managers on my side. I contacted the manager of our largest store in Santa Rosa to explain the sitation and see if she had any hours available. She said she did, that she'd take care of the transfer so the guy in Petaluma couldn't block me, and that I could start the next week.

I never said anything to the horrible manager about leaving and one day, he comes storming out of the back to the front counter where I was working and in a really snotty tone says, "I guess I don't have to bother with scheduling you for next week, do I?!" He was obviously not happy that I'd caught him completely off-guard. I turned, looked him dead in the eye, and said, "nope." I may have had a slight smirk when I said it. He turned around and stomped off. Never had to talk to him again. Eventually (a couple years later, unfortunately), he got fired for something or other. I don't even remember what it was now. But that was a happy day when I heard the news. :D
 

cb1030

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Oct 6, 2017
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The only job I've ever quit without giving appropriate notice was a short stint in the kitchen at hickory park. I was assigned to the meat slicer station and given zero training. I was basically told to not cut my finger off and what depth to set the slicer at.

Hadn't had anyone complain about my work at all until about two weeks in when the owner suddenly started berating me like I had just committed some unforgivable sin. I tried to tell him that this was the first time I was being told any of what he was complaining about but he kept on literally screaming over me. I can't remember the exact wording he used but insinuated if I wasn't smart enough to grasp the training I had been given then maybe I wasn't cut out for the job. He told me to go take a break, to which I said, "sure, it's going to be a long one". I left my smelly hickory park shirt in the parking lot and never came back.

Within a three or four months I had quickly worked my way up to co-managing a kitchen at another well known ames restaurant and finished out my college years there being appreciated for my hard work.

I'm thankful for the experience. It taught me to not get taken advantage of at a job and that not everyone treats their workers poorly.
 

madguy30

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Nov 15, 2011
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Not really my own personal experience but basically just the environment that pushed me to leave and that's happened a couple of times. Generally I kept things professional even if I had some sour feelings toward the place.

Had a job at a restaurant once and I was put in charge as the expo. Considering I had never done anything like this and was put in the position after about 2 weeks of working there tells you how well this place was run.

There were several other things that had gone on that generally made it a toxic environment, but one particular night, a server who had previously been good to work with and was actually one of the few helpful people on the staff, all of the sudden had something odd going on with a guest in the front of house.

I never found out what exactly it was, but it sounded like there was some restraining order stuff going on (ex girlfriend?), and the guest had basically come to the restaurant to manipulate and put this server in a really bad spot.

Finally at one point, the server came in and started screaming at one of the managers that he could not be in the same room as whoever the guest was. This was just on the other side of the door out to the main room so all guests could likely hear the outburst.

I went in and was done the next day.
 
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throwittoblythe

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Finally at one point, the server came in and started screaming at one of the managers that he could not be in the same room as whoever the guest was. This was just on the other side of the door out to the main room so all guests could likely hear the outburst.

I went in and was done the next day.

Not a quitting story, but....One of my HS jobs was working at the Casey's in town. I mostly made pizzas and would work the register from time to time. One of my co-workers was a real piece of work. She was constantly pressuring me to look the other way while she either broke the rules or just flat-out stole stuff from the store. "I'm going to take this home and pay the store back when I get my paycheck, don't tell the manager" was a common thing that happened.

Anyway, because I was a hard worker and reliable (and she was not), I started to get the bulk of the hours on the schedule. I'm certain her and her husband had very little income, so this was a big issue for them. It wasn't my doing, I was simply just taking the hours scheduled for me by the manager.

So one day, I'm back making pizzas and this portly fellow comes up to the counter and accuses me of calling his wife a f***ing idiot. I explain that he's got the wrong guy and have no clue what he's talking about. He then threatens me by saying "If I hear about it again, you and I are gonna have to go at it." It's important to note that at this time, I'm 16 and he's probably 45, so a real neat person.

His wife got fired and he got banned from the store. Good times.
 

mj4cy

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Only ever quit a professional job once. Dreaded all weekend having to tell my boss Monday morning because I hate that kind of confrontation. He normally doesn't like to be bothered first thing Monday until our 9 AM staff meeting. So when I walk into his office and ask if he had a minute he barely gives me an acknowledgement. When I tell him I've accepted a position at another firm, then his mouth dropped and I had his attention.

I managed to close out projects I was working on the next couple weeks and left on good terms. I still hire that firm from time to time for overflow work I have.
 

ThePollinator

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In high school I got a job in the back room at target. There’s a reason I wanted this job, I was shy and didn’t want to deal with customers. I didn’t want to be on the floor or cashier. Anyways everyone had to get trained in cashiering and every couple weeks you might get asked to cashier a shift which i tolerated.

they began having a shortage of cashiers so every shift I was getting scheduled to cashier. I started calling in sick or just not showing up just decided I was quitting. three weeks later back room manager called and wondered where I was. So I came in for the back room shift, no one questioned where I was the last 3 weeks for cashiering I guess the departments didn’t communicate.

this continued to happen I would show up for back room shifts but skip cashiering.

anyways finally I was told I needed to cashier if scheduled so I quit. On the way out I stole a huge rubber band we used in the back room and had all kinds of fun with it at home.
 

throwittoblythe

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Aug 7, 2006
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Only ever quit a professional job once. Dreaded all weekend having to tell my boss Monday morning because I hate that kind of confrontation. He normally doesn't like to be bothered first thing Monday until our 9 AM staff meeting. So when I walk into his office and ask if he had a minute he barely gives me an acknowledgement. When I tell him I've accepted a position at another firm, then his mouth dropped and I had his attention.

I managed to close out projects I was working on the next couple weeks and left on good terms. I still hire that firm from time to time for overflow work I have.

I've worked at 4 places since graduating from ISU. I left the previous three on my terms, never asked to leave nor was I let go. However, I'm always fascinated by my boss/coworker reactions when they get the news. To me, it's quite revealing.

Examples that stuck out have been:

The aforementioned "You're making the biggest mistake of your life" (Managing by fear)

"Yeah, this makes sense, I figured you'd be quitting soon anyway" (So you knew I was struggling and did nothing to try and help me?)

"I get it, I totally understand and want to help you and your family be where you want to me. Let me know what I can do to make it as smooth as possible" (These are the best people)
 

CycloneErik

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I got to resign right after preaching. I told them "I have a letter I need to share with you," read the letter, we prayed and closed. No one shook my hand, but that was no surprise. We were not a cultural fit together, and they were already planning to close the church. I just took some advice and moved on before I got stuck trying to find a job out in small town Nebraska while divesting the church of its property.

When we got back to Iowa, I interviewed with a car dealership and took the job. They promised that training pay was straight pay, not a draw on future commissions. I asked this because a buddy had been caught by that the year before at a different dealership. So I did the week of video training, noticed all week that the only customers were from the long-established salesman, and noticed a leftover sheet from my predecessor showing how low his commissions had been. They scheduled a practice sale for Friday afternoon, gave me my paycheck before I went to lunch, and I went off to eat and see the check.

First thing, it's a draw on future commissions. Between the low commissions, the draw, and what looked like being set up to fail, I sent an e-mail over lunch that I wasn't coming back.

They've been closed for a long time now. I don't think it was going to go well.
 

throwittoblythe

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I sent an e-mail over lunch that I wasn't coming back.

You just reminded me of another great quitting story from a friend. He had been working his job at a tech company for several years. He decided to try something different, so he took a job with another tech company, but left on good terms. Without going into the weeds, he was an iOS guy, and was hired to help this new company develop iOS apps.

One hour into his first day, his new boss says "I know you were hired to do iOS, but that's really not something we're interested in. You'll be re-designing our website." He explained that he wasn't interested in that and that it wasn't even his area of expertise, but the new boss didn't care. They needed a new website, so snap to it.

He called his old boss and got his job back over his lunch break. Put in his notice like 6 hours into his new job. They asked him to finish the week, which he did, and went back to his old gig.
 

CycloneErik

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You just reminded me of another great quitting story from a friend. He had been working his job at a tech company for several years. He decided to try something different, so he took a job with another tech company, but left on good terms. Without going into the weeds, he was an iOS guy, and was hired to help this new company develop iOS apps.

One hour into his first day, his new boss says "I know you were hired to do iOS, but that's really not something we're interested in. You'll be re-designing our website." He explained that he wasn't interested in that and that it wasn't even his area of expertise, but the new boss didn't care. They needed a new website, so snap to it.

He called his old boss and got his job back over his lunch break. Put in his notice like 6 hours into his new job. They asked him to finish the week, which he did, and went back to his old gig.

I turned down a ministry position during this same time for those reasons. I was just lucky enough to catch it ahead of time.
It was a church in Des Moines of (by their account) 12 members. They were talking of leaving their denomination and starting over, and were involved in a lawsuit with their denomination over the property. That case was pending somehow with the Iowa Supreme Court when they reached out to me.

I traded e-mails with the prof who gave them my name. Turned out they had been through "a few splits" and changed their denomination a few times. I decided that a group who doesn't know what they believe but knows how to fight wasn't for me. I told them that I had a one-year commitment to something in Ames. They called back exactly one year later and I turned them down for good.

They lost their case and merged with a West Des Moines church from the same denomination. They were just looking for someone enthusiastic to either bring in a crowd or take the fall when it didn't happen. With their background, it wasn't gonna happen.
 
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Beernuts

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First job out of college was at a large regional bank. The person who was to train me was a challenging person and offered no help. He asked me to quit (8 months later) when he didn't reach his loan volume goal - threw me under the bus.

On my last day, all the employees got together for a good bye coffee. I gave a "top ten things I will miss about _____ bank". My number one on the list was " Watching "Chad" (my supervisor) stuff cash in stipper's g-strings while on company lunch outings". The entire bank broke down in laughter.

Find out later that "Chad" was also sleeping with bank loan secretary (both married) and was asked to leave.
 

mj4cy

Asst. Regional Manager
Staff member
Mar 28, 2006
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Iowa
I've worked at 4 places since graduating from ISU. I left the previous three on my terms, never asked to leave nor was I let go. However, I'm always fascinated by my boss/coworker reactions when they get the news. To me, it's quite revealing.

Examples that stuck out have been:

The aforementioned "You're making the biggest mistake of your life" (Managing by fear)

"Yeah, this makes sense, I figured you'd be quitting soon anyway" (So you knew I was struggling and did nothing to try and help me?)

"I get it, I totally understand and want to help you and your family be where you want to me. Let me know what I can do to make it as smooth as possible" (These are the best people)

It helped my old boss when I told him it was to pursue a little bit different type of work and that I would never leave for another company to do the same thing. You could kind of tell from there he let his guard down and was happy for me.
 
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madguy30

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Nov 15, 2011
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Not a quitting story but a funny shift in position and maybe being honest helping me out.

I had been hired at a restaurant to serve, with no serving experience. A majority of the people that served there had vast experience and knew food, etc. So I had several training shifts and then maybe two-three solo shifts. Screwed up orders, timing, everything. Just terrible and it was iirc on the slowest shifts.

At the end of the shift, back of house and front of house manager sat me down, and I think were going to let me go, which I totally understood. One asked me, 'So how do you think you're doing?' and I flat out said, 'Awful'.

We talked about the process of serving, restaurants, etc., and one mentioned that they DID just have a busser leave. So I just asked if I could do that. Ended up doing that, which was a way better fit for me.

I ended up working there for 2 years but did leave as I saw some people get let go unfairly, and I experienced some things where it felt like they were trying to get rid of me to save money; they had given me a raise, and seemed to be cutting my hours anyway.
 
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