Starting a new job is a whirlwind. Not only are you most likely learning a new skill, but you’re also trying to quickly figure out who is your new office buddy and who is your new enemy (hint: the enemy is always the person training you).
But have you ever had the first day of work experience turn out so terrible that you immediately quit? Some things are so jarring and such huge job red flags, you can’t help but consider if it’s a good idea to keep working there.
Recently a question was posed to AskReddit:
People, who quit their jobs on the first day, what was your “I’m outta here” moment? – RedMambo_No6
The results were pretty interesting and some downright infuriating.
Here are the best stories:
1. Layers of red flags here
“Had two interviews to work housekeeping at a hospital. Got a call the night of the second interview at around midnight from the guy saying, ‘I was just so excited I wanted to call and tell you I’m gonna call you to offer you the job tomorrow.’ Should have taken that as the first red flag, but I needed the job. I go in for my first day of training and he has printouts of my Facebook wall and my boyfriends. He started asking me how long we had been together and made it clear he knew everything, so not to lie to him. It was so uncomfortable. After my first session of training, we break for lunch, and he sits with me in the cafeteria asking how it’s been going so far, etc. Then, tells me he expects to see me at his church Sunday. I haven’t gone to church in like 10 years at this point.”
—u/EmbalmMeDaddy
2. No need to fire me
“Salesman for Kirby vacuums. First sale call was to a single elderly woman who was supporting her son in hospital. The supervisor training me pushed and pushed to make the sale until this old woman was in tears. Just as she was about to sign the paperwork, I asked if she actually wanted the vacuum and she said it was lovely, but she couldn’t afford it. I took the paperwork away from her and said not to worry. Outside, I told the supervisor I quit, to which he replied I would’ve been fired anyway.”- Pokestralian
3. Upselling is really annoying
“Electronics store. My first day, we had to attend a class where they teach people how to upsell folks. Basically, they walked you through ignoring what customers ask you for and using their ignorance of the equipment against them. I thought that was really scuzzy.” —u/Knuckles316
4. I’ll take my free meal though.
“Worked in a hotel for a day. No one told me where anything was. Got chewed out for it. Guests enjoying their meals told me to pay no mind/I was doing a good job and that my boss is an ass.” —u/O5CR
5. Restaurants can be gross
“My very first job was at a buffet restaurant that was popular with senior citizens and known for their desserts. I was asked to get another coconut cream pie from the back and as I was getting it out of the fridge, another employee bumped into me and I dropped it on the floor, pie side down. This employee’s (someone who’d worked there for years) solution was to just scrape off all the whipped topping and replace it. I was horrified they served pie that had been on the extremely dirty floor and never went back.” –Shutinneedout
6. That’s not a good sign…
“When, at the daily meeting, a manager said they were looking for who put a paper bag with human excrement in an employee’s locker. –pakito1234
7. Hey I don’t like it either buddy
“I took a part-time job at Bath & Body Works during the holidays years ago. I made it through the videos and tried one shift. The store was freezing for some reason and the manager kept berating me for having my arms crossed. She also didn’t like my posture. –lauralei99
8. No free labor from me, sorry.
“It was around 10:30 p.m., and they told me it was time to clock out, despite not having finished closing. I was there ’til midnight.” –u/thelonecedar
9. Something isn’t adding up here
“My very first job was at a little drive-in restaurant close to my high school. I showed up to work the first day, the lady said I had to pay her $50 for training. –tlr92
10. I would love to help this investigation
“I was hired to be a waitress, which has a lower hourly wage due to tips. The entire shift, they had me wash dishes in the sink, but paid me waitress wages. A few months later, the restaurant was investigated for a number of fraud activity. –yellowchaitea
11. What a relaxing break!
On the first day of working at Amazon warehouse the managers broke down to Everyone how a 15 minute break works there. Walking to the break room is 2 1/2 minutes. 10 minutes of actual break and then 2 1/2 minutes to go back to your stations. It took me 2 1/2 minutes to walk to my car and I took a forever break. –teamfaysal
12. That seems pretty dishonest
“Young and naïve right out of college, I took a ‘marketing’ job. After four hours of training, my first day consisted of going door to door in a suburban town trying to sell cable to older people. We were told to dress for business, so I’m hiking around for miles in my best skirt, suit jacket, and heels. Hours were from ‘9-5,’ but we didn’t get back to the business until well after 10 p.m. Not to mention, the person I was shadowing was able to make a sale to an older gentleman, who seemed to have memory issues. I nope’d the fuck right out of there.” –Facetiously_Serious
13. No doubt the system was garbage
“It was a gas station, and the manager wanted me to work for free until I had learned their computer systems to what he deemed a satisfactory extent. After about an hour and a half without the manager showing up or anyone training me on anything, I decided that I wasn’t going to continue to be taken advantage of and told the cashier to pass on the message to the manager that I had quit. –existentialgoof
14. I’ll quit via carrier pigeon
“It was a small independent insurance agency in 2006. My first day there, the owner said email and fax were strictly forbidden as he only ‘believed in’ communication in person, by phone, or through mail. Left for lunch and never went back. I couldn’t imagine the inefficiency I’d have dealt with had I stayed. –uno_the_duno
15. BYOT
Summer job working for a landscape architect. Got to the job site and he asked me to dig a hole in some rocky dirt. I asked for a shovel. He didn’t have one. I asked for a hand spade. He didn’t have one. He told me to just dig the hole with my bare hands and then he drove off to another site leaving me completely alone. I dug for a little bit and then said ‘fuck this’ and left.
Had the job specified that I needed to supply my own tools I could’ve but it didn’t and I wasn’t going to work for somebody that expected folks to dig through hard, rocky soil with their hands. –csudebate
16. This can’t be real
“When the microwave in the lunch room was coin activated. –CaptainArsehole
17. Shout out to Mr. Sterly
I met a landscaping crew at a 50 acre cemetery at 8:00am. The pay was just $5/hr cash (in 2001), but my hours at Pizza Hut had been cut and I wanted to make a little money before going off to college.
After 3 hours straight of weedeating I couldn’t feel my hands. I was filthy and hot af. It was miserable. I was 18 and headed to a prestigious school in 2 months, the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze, as they say.
At lunch I told the guy “Hey man, I’m just gonna go home and I’m not coming back.” And he had a totally awesome response “No problem, I wouldn’t want to do this shit at your age either, I’ll pay you for the time you worked and drop it off at your house.” $20 showed up about a week later.
I hope life is going good Mr. Sterly. –LiquidDreamtime