The less power someone is granted the more they tend to let it get to their head. Some managers do their best to immediate petty tyrants, generally without any actual positive results. Often enough, employees find a way to make them regret it.
A woman was yelled at and “fired” by a manager who insisted that she buy him a new energy drink, only to learn that he actually couldn’t do that. But the damage was done, so she decided to let him manage the restaurant alone for a bit. We reached out to OP via Reddit and will update the story when she gets back to us.
Some managers try and stretch every last inch of the power they are given
Image credits: Bongals_2003 / reddit (not the actual photo)
But one employee discovered that she was “fired” by a manager who didn’t have the authority to do that
Image credits: Prostock-studio / envato (not the actual photo)
Image credits: HuffPuff92
Some managers feel like they can do and say what they want
Image credits: Craig Adderley / pexels (not the actual photo)
While it’s basically a cliche at this point, there is something about positions with the smallest amount of power, like a mall cop or “Robert” in this story, these same individuals will abuse this power as far as they can. At some point their delusions of grandeur and reality start to break down and they begin to indulge in fantasy. After all, “horrible management” is one of those things most people list as a reason to leave a job as soon as possible.
For example, firing someone when that is not something they were actually allowed to do. One has to really wonder about “Robert’s” mental state here. After all, he seems like an aggressive and volatile fellow, so OP can’t be the first person he has “fired.” One wonders what actually happened with these people. This combination of even the smallest amount of power, coupled with a complete and total inability to back down can lead to managers who end up going over the deep end.
Similarly, the general manager would have, no doubt, already informed “Robert” on where his authority ends. So there are two possibilities, one, that “Robert” lives in the delusion that he can fire people, or, two, that he simply says this in anger. Nothing screams “competent leader” like making threats you can’t carry out. If OP had decided to quit on the spot or refused to come back after “Jeremy’s” call, that would be entirely understandable.
As this story demonstrates, there can be consequences for poor behavior
Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio / pexels (not the actual photo)
Even worse, the only thing that changed was “Robert” having to do an entire shift alone, which does seem to be poetic justice for a move like that. It’s worth noting that OP was not asked to return to her shift even when it became clear that she was not actually fired. Either “Robert’s” outbursts were so well known that it was best to give her a break, or “Jeremy” decided that this was an apt punishment for him.
As OP later shares in the comments, some of which can be found below, “Robert” seems to have gotten his just deserts in a variety of other ways. Fortunately, he did at least get to see what it’s like when he is actually fired, when he himself was let go later. It seems like the general managers most likely got tired of having to manage “Robert” since there is no way this is the only time he attempted something like this.
It’s also worth noting that “Robert” didn’t just flip out in an inappropriate way, he did it over something quite meaningless. After all, firing a worker when you are somewhat understaffed over a can on Monster that you left out is downright absurd. Remember, OP was basically cleaning up after him. So, hopefully, stories like this can serve as a warning to other managers who think they can throw around the idea of firing someone willy-nilly.
OP shared some more details in the comments
Readers mocked the self-important manager
