McDonalds Managers Lose Over $5,000 when I REFUSE to WORK DURING MY BREAK

0:00My entitled regional and district manager at McDonald's say that they will fire me if I don't leave my break time early and help out with a rush, but I decided to maliciously comply and get some petty revenge, as I instead threw these rules right back at their face in a way that would make them lose thousands of dollars all because of some stupid rules that they made. Here's what happened. So this happened a few years ago when I worked at McDonald's. The one I worked in was near a bunch of schools, so most of the staff was high school kids. As summer vacation started, we began having the trouble of an employee getting a break, and then spending their break eating their meal, and conversating with their friends who were still working in the kitchen. He was having a seriously bad effect on productivity, as well as posing quite a few health risks. So our manager finally initiated a rule that if you were on your break, you couldn't leave the break room until your break was over, and this went swimmingly until the kids went back to school. We then had a new problem. Short staffing during break cycles meant our ticket times would skyrocket during rushes. Management then lifted the rule so that employees on break could clock in early and help out with the rush. However, the district manager didn't like the implications of employees

1:04working shortened or no break shifts and forcefully reinstated the rule. They also doubled down by saying that employees who tried to work during their schedule break would be written up or even terminated for doing so. And so this is where our malicious compliance comes into play, and trust me, this is a good one. The date was 420, which is a day that nobody wants to be working at a fast food place, much less McDonald's. We had been getting slammed so hard from the open of the store that we called in extra help from other stores, including the regional and district managers, as the break cycle began. The management was pleased with the sub-two-minute ticket times that they had managed to maintain. We had a few breaks though, and we were managing well. Then came my break. As soon as I sat down to eat, someone came into the store and ordered 47 double-quarter powders, and then immediately after that order, someone in the drive-through ordered 75-20 piece nugget meals. The amount of panic in the kitchen was palpable. I was comfortably lounging in a chair, browsing my phone, and adjoining my meal while the kitchen struggled to keep up with the orders. As ticket times began to soar, the management did exactly as I expected.

2:07The district manager came into the break room and demanded me to end my break early and help in the kitchen. But my response was simple. I'm sorry, but according to the rules you made, I could be written up or terminated for completing your request. Then after I said that, I continued browsing my phone, trying to enjoy the last 10 minutes of my break. The regional manager then entered the room and said that he would personally terminate me if I didn't do the thing I wasn't supposed to do. The other employee who was on break with me immediately rose and clocked in, despite still having 10 minutes left on her break. She was then written up for breaking the rule after the shift was over, so I felt good sitting in my chair and continuing to ignore them. In the aftermath, the people who made the giant orders took what was made after half an hour and left with refunds for unmade food, and we're talking maybe $150 each, and customers who were waiting for smaller orders were compensated with gift cards for their patients, and yet many walked out without even getting their orders. In fact, we paid out nearly $1,500 in gift cards. Now, because customers were walking out on orders without collecting them, we had nearly $5,000

3:09in food wasted that night. All of the closers went home with nearly two bundle boxes of burgers, fries, and nuggets. Well, the regional and district manager were moved to a different region, and the rule was edited to say that you were able to clock back in early at the manager's discretion in the event of a rush. Because I was the only employee who held his ground against the regional and district managers during the rush, I was rewarded with free meals and drinks until I moved away from my hometown and simply couldn't eat at that McDonald's anymore, because this experience was truly exhausting. Wow, I love the double standards here because this is honestly so unbelievable. The district and regional manager, both are like, listen, I need you to break the rules or else I'm going to break the rules by firing you. And it's like, dude, instead of complaining to me, maybe pick up an apron and do the work yourself. Like, if these people actually cared about their job and getting these people through and getting their orders to them, then they would roll their sleeves up and help out. But instead, it's pretty obvious they'd rather drag you into it and be like, no, you do this. And that is really unfair, in my opinion, and I just don't blame you for being annoyed by this. So good for you for getting some petty revenge as well as like throwing this

4:12right back in their face. Because from the sounds of it, these people absolutely deserve it. If you like Am I the jerk, you're probably going to love Am I the Genius. Check it out linked down below in the description. Also, go to Am I the Jerk.com slash submit. If you would like to submit your own stories, my mom meddled in my first job and ruined our relationship. And I'm now at a breaking point and I seriously don't know what to do. Here's what happened. Months ago, I graduated college and I got my first job. For reference, I'm 22 years old and my mom is 60. I would tell my mom how miserable the job was making me, but she would ignore my pain and say that I should keep the job for at least a year so I don't look like a job hopper. She continued putting so much pressure on me to keep the job. That eventually I simply couldn't take it anymore. So I came up with a plan to do two weeks of work off the clock so that I could just quit and leave. My mom was happy about me doing that, which looking back I find absolutely repulsive. When I quit the job, my boss who was a 70-year-old female was super mad at me and demanded that I do more tasks and went as far as contacting my mom

5:13and sending my mom the list of things that she wanted me to do. And you know what? My mom took my boss's side. My mom could have ignored my boss's text messages and could have let me be the adult and handle it myself, but she had to insert herself as the authority in the situation and monitor me and put as much pressure on me as possible so that I would obey her and my boss. My mom even threatened to erase my hard drives, which had all of my most important memories and projects on them. I then wrote my mom a letter to say how much she hurt me, which made her more rageful and she threatened to abandon me and make me pay her mortgage since she would be gone, but I'm used to her threats of abandonment. It's kind of typical. So eventually I gave in and I dropped it and we just moved on. Since then, she would bring up my first boss into any and all conversations, thinking that there weren't still any hurt feelings and we could just laugh about it. I would be tremendously triggered, but I'd hide it and just carry on. Eventually I couldn't take it anymore and I said I don't want you bringing up my first boss. I don't find it funny and she's sort of respected my wishes. In an ideal world, I wouldn't have to forbid my mom from speaking about

6:14certain topics because we'd have all our hardships resolved, but we never resolved this hardship and it was festering into a landmine that makes me bitter for days when she brings it up because she still has never acknowledged her wrongs or has shown any remorse for meddling and causing damage that I still have to live with. I want to talk to her about it, but it will cause a war, but I feel like I can only let go of my resentment by receiving closure and finally resolving the situation. What should I do? Oh man, if this was me, I would absolutely be looking to move out. The original poster clarified that yes, they do live with their mom still and that in my opinion is crazy. Like seriously, she meddled in your first job and literally like ruined everything for you. They also go on to explain that their forward boss found out about their mom by literally going to the emergency contact and contacting her that way and that is crazy toxic. Like you're already quit that job, you gave him two weeks notice, so the fact that your old boss and your mom all pretty much like teamed up against you is just so weird and she's now bringing it up all the time like it's some funny thing, but it's like no dude, you literally did not apologize for this.

7:15So I think if I was in your shoes, I would be trying to move out as soon as possible because what she did to you in my opinion is completely unacceptable. My entitled managers make my life a living nightmare after they make a big fuss out of me taking time off of work because of strep throat, but in reality, I find out I have cancer, putting them in their place in a way that they truly did not expect. Here's what happened. In 2010, I worked at a corner drug store as a department lead. I was 22, I did the bare minimum and I hated working Sundays, which were basically my Fridays. I will be the first to admit that I could have been a better employee, but I knew this wouldn't be my career and I was just coasting until I graduated. Sunday made the second rolls around and I felt awful. I had already not been feeling great and that Friday I was a bit under the weather. When Saturday came around, I felt pretty okay, but then Sunday hit like a stack of bricks. About two hours into my shift, I asked my manager who we would call Ryan if I could go home. The guys in management despised me so I was not surprised when this particular manager pretty much snarkly responded by saying, you need to get someone to come in and finish your shift.

8:15And it's like fine, okay, no problem. So I called one of my co-workers and she came in for me. My boyfriend at the time was working at a hotel down the street and we also shared a car so I went to his hotel to sleep until he got off of work. I slept in the lobby for nine hours straight, but when we made it home, I started coughing up blood. My boyfriend then forced me to go to the ER that night and it was there that I was diagnosed with strep and admitted to the hospital. That Monday on the third, one of the nurses informed me that I would be in the hospital for at least a week, so I called the store to let them know. The manager I spoke with, who we will call Brad, hated me more than anyone else at that store. I told him the news and he said to me, you'll be out for a week because a strep throat. I then said to him, yeah, I mean, do you want to talk to the nurse? She's right here. Brad responded by saying, no, we'll see you back when you get back. He was clearly irritated by the news, but there was nothing I could do about it. Now what I hadn't told him as I didn't know at the time is that I was admitted because the hospital suspected I had something much worse. I was visited by a doctor on Monday who explained that he'd like to perform a bone marrow biopsy. Now I had no idea what that was or why he would want to do one,

9:20except that my blood count looks really weird. I had the procedure done and continued recovering from strep and on Tuesday, May 4th, the doctor from the day before pays me another visit. They say that they got the results back and apparently I've got an aggressive form of leukemia that requires immediate treatment. They then said that they'll be sending me to a hospital in a big city to start chemo tonight. Well, my world was turned upside down. I called my best friends, all of whom I worked with, and I invited them to the hospital to share the news. One of my friends had a shift that afternoon and broke the news to the store. They said that I had cancer. I then spent 28 arduous days in the hospital fighting for my life. My mom had visited my store a few times during my hospital stay and talked with my store manager, letting her know what was going on. My manager was very understanding and supportive, but the other managers never said a word to me, my mom, or my friends about the situation. When I finally got out of the hospital, I went to my old store to pick up my maintenance cancer medications. As I made my way back towards the pharmacy, where I was bruised, bald, with a bright purple pick line sticking out of my arm,

10:20I turned down aisle 10, and who do I just so happen to see none other than Ryan stocking the vitamins? I say gleefully, oh hi Ryan, and trust me when I say this, the look on his face was priceless. Ryan says to me, oh my god are you okay? How are you feeling? I said to him, I'm great now, thank you. It's a good thing I left early that Sunday and ended up in the hospital, so they found the cancer. And you know what, the whole situation was absolutely delicious. Despite everything I went through, the feeling of complete vindication when they had to face my cancer ridden self was incredible. I never ended up going back to work there, and I had to file for disability because the next five months of my life were week long hospital stays, followed by constant transfusions, checkups, and even a case of sepsis that almost took me out, but either way I still remember Ryan's face, and it all still brings a smile to mine. Wow talk about like the best unintentional revenge you could possibly have. I think anybody who's worked a job can understand that sometimes you just have co-workers who suck, they hate you for no reason, and it really is so frustrating to deal with. And to that extent, I'm sure it felt really good to get back at Ryan and Brad, in a way that you

11:24probably did not expect. Like seriously, Brad was acting like, oh you're in the hospital for strep throat, it's like no dude, I've got cancer, I just don't know it yet. And what kind of manager would be like, oh wow whatever, we'll see you when you get back. Or even like wish you well and be like, oh I hope you get better soon. Like the both of them are giant pieces of garbage, and that is so uncalled for. So I'm glad you're better and I'm glad you got your revenge, because those two guys absolutely deserved it. My parents are so distant from me that it really breaks my heart that they weren't there for me in my time of need, and now I honestly don't know what to do. Okay, so my parents have always been very nausea lot when it came to me. Being the eldest of three siblings, I always got the least amount of love and attention, with the most amount of responsibility. I think I knew that growing up, but didn't really let it affect me too much. While my two siblings needed more attention, I was pretty sidelined. Again, I didn't recognize that too much, or rather suppressed it enough. I dorm for when I was 18, followed by living on my own, and then with my husband. My mother would only call me if I called her, never once visited my dorm or my apartment, and now only has been to my house two times. And you know what, I adored

12:28my family. My dad was in the military, so we were his luggage our whole lives, moving from six different countries and four states by the time I was a teenager. I mean, they are all that I have, just the five of us. I didn't bother making friends because what's the point? We were just going to be moving again. I didn't have any other family around me, so it was honestly just them. Now this next part is what made me realize that I needed to take a break from them. My husband and I recently started trying for a baby, and a couple of weeks ago got pregnant, and within a week had a miscarriage. Emotionally it was sad, but physically it was one of the worst pains I've ever been through. In fact, the miscarriage wasn't complete, so they had to intervene with medicine. So for the first three days, pre-medication, I had a lot of pain, some fever, some chills, followed by taking the medication for another four days, which was an absolute nightmare. I mean, my husband had to literally hold me down, as I screamed viscerally out of pain. When the miscarriage initially happened, I had let my mother know about it, and honestly I just don't know. I have expected her to maybe come and see me, or even help me with a little bit of food or something like that. For reference, we live about 17 minutes away from their house by car,

13:32but during those two weeks she only called me twice. When I texted her why she didn't stop by, when she told me that she would, in one of the calls, she said that I didn't call her back to confirm, and mind you, I had a fever of 102 degrees Fahrenheit. I've seen my mother make heaps of food and dishes when her friends are sick, or when her friend had just moved into a new house, and their kitchen had not been set up yet. And even still, there she was with multiple dishes at home. When her friend's daughter was too pregnant to do anything, she cooked a week's worth of food for her, but her own daughter was in pain, going through something emotionally and physically breaking. And yet still, I got nothing besides what, two calls. I know I have pretty much taken care of myself my entire life. I always said I don't need anybody else, and I live by myself for years. In fact, I've been through any heartache or life issues by myself, but this however, I honestly just don't know how to feel, because this feels so much more painful, this hurts a lot, and I'm not sure why. I cried so much, I mean maybe it's the hormones, not having any other family to rely on, no aunties or cousins, even my dad works a lot and is not

14:33very emotionally available, and my siblings are too self-involved for me to even confide in them. I thought that my mom might want to be there for me, so that is why this hurts so bad. Since the two calls weeks ago, I haven't even bothered calling her. Today she called me, and you know what, I just didn't pick up. I think I just need a little break from her, and from all of them. This is going to sound insane, but I've been fantasizing about pulling a Julia Roberts character from sleeping with the enemy, and just relocate and leave everyone here behind. New name, new stories, new friends, everything. It's been a semi-toxic, disassociating cope, even though weirdly enough, it does put me at ease. What should I do? Okay, if I were to start a business in today's day and age, I honestly don't know how I would even start that process. Because for me at least, I would be riddled with so many questions of like, okay, well, what if this fails? Is this really the best decision for me right now in my life? Like, what if it all just falls apart? Like, there are so many things that would go wrong, and personally, I would just not know where to start. But if I were to start, I would look no further than Shopify. Seriously, Shopify isn't a class of their own. They've got to figure it out

15:34for people who are just starting out, and they are literally so beginner-friendly. Like, for example, you can build your own online store using like one of their hundreds of like ready-to-use templates right then and there. Also, Shopify is like the best place to tackle all of those important tasks like all in one place. Whether it's inventory or payments or analytics, Shopify has it all right there at your fingertips and it's super easy to use. Like, we're talking intuitive user interface and all the things you would expect as someone who's trying to build your business. And this is the part that I love because this is built for me specifically because they literally have 24-7 customer support that's also award-winning, by the way. That can quite literally give you the advice you need to keep your business going. And that's just one of many reasons why Shopify is simply the best at what they do. It's time to turn those what-ifs into... with Shopify today. Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at Shopify.com slash AITJ. Go to Shopify.com slash AITJ. That's Shopify.com slash AITJ.

17:01This episode is brought to you by FanDango. People say fans are too distracted these days, but the truth is, when a great movie hits the screen, you show up, you stay glued, invested, part of the story. And without fans like you, there'd be no cinema magic, no shared moments. So head to FanDango.com to get tickets, stream, or rent or buy top movies and series. FanDango loves fans. New spring arrivals are at Nordstrom Rack stores now. Get ready to save big with up to 60% off Ragnbonne, Mark Jacobs, Free People, and more. I didn't know no rack as a deed. Because there's always something new. Join the Nordic Club to unlock exclusive discounts, shop new arrivals first, and more. Plus, buy online and pick up at your favorite rack store for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack.

18:27Nobody else in the family even gave a crap to talk to you about it. And I can only imagine what that's like, and truly, from the bottom of my heart, I really am so sorry that you had to deal with that. So with all things considered, I don't blame you for taking a step away and trying to have some kind of distance. Because if I went through something even remotely close to that, which I don't think I ever will, and I had family who just didn't care and didn't reach out, I would be heartbroken as well. So your feelings are definitely justified and hopefully this all works out, because the way your mom treated you is completely unfair. Am I the jerk for not offering to split gas money on a road trip that I literally did not even want to go on? Because right now, I feel bad and I seriously am not sure if I'm in the wrong. Here's what happened. Okay, so last weekend, I, a 24-year-old female, got dragged into a spontaneous hiking trip with my friends who we will call Jason and Lily. And for reference, they are a couple. We were hanging out Friday night at their place, and I was already half dead from the work week, and I had way too much wine, so I just crashed on their couch. Saturday morning, I was super hungover, like dry mouth, hoodie over eyes level. All I wanted was some water, maybe a hash brown, and no human interaction. But Jason was already up and buzzing about this hike four hours away,

19:32and you know what, Lily was into it too. I said very clearly multiple times. I'm down to hang out, but I'm not hiking. I feel like crap. Well, they were like, oh come on, you'll feel better once you're out there. It's mostly all flat. Well, I didn't push back hard enough, I guess, and I wasn't trying to be a buskill, because the next thing I know were in Jason's car, and I'm wedged in the back with my hood up, and a bottle of Gatorade. Now, as a bit of a spoiler for the story, I never hiked. We got there, I walked to the trailhead, and then I just sat in the car with a windows cracked, reading a paperback I found in the back seat. They were gone for about three hours, and they came back very sweaty and glowing, and very into themselves. I clapped politely, and then we drove back. Then, on the drive home, Jason says as casual as possible, so if you guys could Venmo me 30 bucks for gas, that would be great. I then has dintily said, wait, are you serious? I told him that I didn't really feel comfortable paying for a trip that I didn't want to go on, and didn't even participate in. I said it as lightly as I could, like I even added a half laugh so it didn't sound rude, but neither of them responded. It then got weirdly quiet after that,

20:34like not just, oh, we're tired quiet, but stiff polite quiet. Lily scrolled through Instagram the rest of the ride, Jason turned the music up, and didn't really talk to me again until they dropped me off. I texted later that night just to say thanks for driving anyways, and Lily replied with a thumbs up emoji, not even like a no problem or anything like that, but literally just a thumbs up. I've been replaying it in my head because I do get that gas isn't free, but also I didn't want to go, and I said that, and I barely even left the car. I felt like I'd been held financially hostage for a vibe I wasn't part of. So seriously, am I the jerk for not paying gas money for a trip I got peer pressured into, and didn't even get a chance to enjoy, because right now I'm not sure what to do. No, you are definitely not the jerk this honestly, and my opinion is so toxic. You mean to tell me that they drag you along on this trip, leave you in the car with like nothing but like a cracked window and a book to read, and then when they're driving back, expect you to pay for gas? Like no, I don't think so, that's not happening. That sounds like an awful plan, and I can't believe they tried to like guilt trip you into doing that. I think of a long run, it would be good to like set boundaries

21:34more firmly, and tell them, hey, if I don't want to do something, I'm not going to do it. And that probably could have helped you avoid this situation entirely, but in my opinion, these guys are absolutely the jerks, because they literally went on this hike and left you alone, and the fact that you didn't even participate in it, and you were basically just like an unwilling accomplice, in my opinion is the biggest indication that this is nothing that you need to pay for. An entitled college student gets her laptop prepared, but then she never picks it up, forcing my brother to sell the item off, as his policy pretty much dictates that he has to do so. Resulting in this lady demanding $2,000 from my brother, even though she abandoned the product at his store. Here's what happened. Okay, so my brother Nate runs a shop in our small town that offers electronic repairs. Last year around June or July, this girl came into his shop needing her laptop prepared. It was an Alienware gaming laptop, and it looked relatively new. The girl said that the battery wasn't charging anymore, and Nate said it looked like something was inserted into the charging port that shouldn't have been, and the port had been damaged. Nate told her that he would have to order parts, and it might take a week or more before it's fixed.

22:36Now, she said it was fine, and started filling out all the paperwork. She then mentioned that she wouldn't be in town to pick it up, so the phone number was for her mother, and she could come and get the laptop when it was ready. Nate said that that was fine, and he would put a note in the system. Well, fast forward three weeks, and it was finally fixed. Nate then goes to call the number, and it says that the number has been disconnected. We live in a small town, but neither of us recognize this girl to try and track down her folks, so it is sad for a few months. Nate also has a policy in the contract that basically says that any repaired item not picked up within 90 days of completed service will be put up for sale by the business and can be sold. Well, Nate was generous and gave her an additional month before putting it up for sale. He then got an offer the same day he put it on the shelf, and it was sold as a refurbished item. Well, fast forward to last Thursday, and the girl finally showed up to get the laptop. She left to go to college and was in town for a long weekend, and found out her mom never got the laptop. It turns out the girl wrote down the wrong number, and obviously she was pissed off that it got sold, and is now demanding my brother to pay her $2,000 so that she can buy a new one,

23:40and we're honestly still blown away by her entitlement because this is truly ridiculous. Yeah, the lady in this story is a complete moron. Like, there's no way she didn't know about this policy, and the fact that she didn't follow up with her mom and be like, hey, did you pick up my laptop? Instead of waiting, oh, I don't know, several months later. To me, it shows how irresponsible she is and how dumb she is. Because I don't know about you, but there's no way I would ever let a $2,000 laptop sit there and not have anybody pick it up, or at least account for it in some kind of way. I would be calling my mom constantly and be like, hey, can you check on that laptop or something like that? And it's also stupid that she completely wrote down the wrong number. It's like, my god, how is Nate or anybody at that store supposed to get anything to your mom? So yeah, that lady's a complete moron for doing this this way, and she has no right to try and claim $2,000 from your brother, because this literally is her own fault since she's the one who put down the wrong phone number. When you subscribe, make sure to hit the bell to turn on notifications. To finish listening to all the stories, check out the playlist at the top of the description. And if you want some chill music to put on in the background, check out easymo.com.

24:43If you like Am I the Jerk, subscribe to Am I the Genius. Everything will be linked down below in the description.