Remember the scene from Jerry Maguire right after Tom Cruise’s title character learns he’s been fired?
He makes a big production out of the whole affair. He scoops out that poor goldfish to take with him. He asks for others to join him on the way out only to be greeted by blank stares, bowed heads, and the sound of silence.
It is a great scene. It is traumatizing, humiliating and awkward all at the same time. It also is Hollywood so, of course, Renee Zellweger’s character joins him just before he leaves, and they go on to form a winning duo in business and in life. (Yup. Spoiler alert on a 26-year-old movie!)
Anyway, the point is, getting fired from a job is a traumatic experience. Firing someone can be a traumatic experience. Heck, even watching someone get fired is no one’s idea of a grand time. (Unless, of course, you really didn’t like that guy.)
But traumatic experiences often are the fodder of compelling stories. So, what better way to kick off the unveiling of The Big Survey 2022 results than with some compelling stories?
We posed this question: “What is the most epic way you’ve seen someone quit or be fired?” We got some real doozies for responses. Here’s a curated list of some of the best. Anything sound familiar?
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That Escalated Quickly
- “Threw their keys at me as I gave a performance review.”
“A guy brought a real gun to an in-store Halloween party.”
- “Had one throw shoes at the doctor/owner — me — and scream profanities then quit and leave.”
Touché
- “When I was younger, I was downsized from a sales job. When I left the meeting with my manager, I told him: “You’re making a terrible mistake,” and maybe a few other not so polite words. On my way out of his office, I slammed the door for dramatic effect, and several pictures from the walls came crashing down and shattered everywhere. It was pretty epic. I heard that story was told for years afterwards.”
- “I fired an employee and escorted him out of the store. I was called shortly after as this former employee was spotted walking around the store with a big hole in his shirt where the (company) logo had been!”
If You Say So
- “When he quit, he backed into a fence on the way out. And then he returned the next day because he had left a sandwich in the fridge.”
“Made up story about being in a horse accident.”
- “I left town because of an abusive boyfriend and those texts you received from me were actually him making things up.”
- “Had an employee tell me her tire ‘bust’ so she had to quit work.”
If It Talks Like a Duck…
- “I watched one of my co-workers explain to a doctor how much of a f*@cking asshole he is. It didn’t surprise me that in a one-year period, four women quit. They all said he is a f*@king asshole very loudly on their way out. I always found humor when they quit. And no, I do not work for that asshole anymore, either.”
Quiet Quitting (?)
“Staff just walked off after having an issue with a patient.”
- “We had an employee write her resignation on a sticky note and go to lunch and never come back.”
Not so Quiet Quitting
- “After being let go, a gal went off on everyone. HUGE rant while gathering her things and stomped out still yelling with an insulting, dramatic parting shot. Had to skulk back three minutes later because she forgot her phone…”
“Told me to F*@k off in front of a patient.”
- Screaming that we are backstabbing bitches because no one invited her to lunch (since she never pays anyone back) and she stormed out.
- “A girl who slammed her store key on the counter and just left.”
Totally Classy
- “My former employer doesn’t like conflict or awkward situations. So I sent her flowers to her home on a Saturday with my letter of resignation. I (asked) her to call me when she was ready. It gave her time to process. It was easier to talk about why and when I was leaving.”
- “Someone quit (after) telling the owner they had seven days to respond to their. On the eighth day, the employee sent a letter of resignation. When the owner contacted the employee to see if they could work it out, the employee simply said, ‘No. You had a week to contact me on my concerns and I was not important enough. I will work to the best of my abilities until the last date on my resignation letter.’ The employee worked until the final day and did a great job. She found a new job quickly and recruited several employees from the previous company. The old company went out of business. The former employee (then) started their own business and became very successful doing the right thing and putting people first.”
Not so Classy
- “Yelling profanities on the way out and threatening the previous manager. The police were called.”
“Arriving to work high on drugs and trying to act normal… Quick fire on that one.”
- “An acquaintance got drunk on his last day at work.”
- “Stormed out, like it was impromptu, but spouse’s car was sitting in parking lot. They planned on quitting prior to the start of the day.”
Well … That Didn’t Go as Expected
- “I was 27 years old being verbally abused by the owner of the restaurant I worked at. I took a 25-pound container of burgers and flipped it over onto the hot grill and said, ‘You’d better start flippin’ cause I quit!’ I then sauntered out to my car, only to find my battery was dead. I had to walk to a 7-11 to use their pay phone.”
“Not really epic, per se, but I was fired from a job on the same day that I purchased a new car.”
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- “Left for lunch on a very busy day and never got full. Still eating I suppose.”
- “We all liked the new girl. But then she never showed up for her first day after training. Claimed she hit a deer and couldn’t get to the store. Never saw her again. Sooo bizarre.”
Classic
- “I once had a disgruntled patient tell my staff, ‘I’ll have your job.’ My manager told her to step behind the counter so she could show her how our phone system worked.”
“Streaked through the store. (Not ours.)”
More from The Big Survey
The upcoming Nov./Dec. edition of INVISION Magazine will be chock full of Big Survey information.
In the meantime, we’ll have a few more of these online-only posts to whet your appetite. Until the next one drops, enjoy the videos of these classic quitting and getting fired scenes below.
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