Worst Boss Ever Seeks Advice, Wants To Make Things Worse

I work for an employee owned company called Gardener's Supply in Vermont.

One of the worst bosses in the world just wrote
in for advice. My advice to her? Quit. 

I genuinely like to work there, and I'm not saying that to win Brownie Points from my supervisors.

Among my tasks is handling customer service issues and dealing with telephone sales.

We're expected to work hard there and be on top of things, but everybody from the CEO on down is totally fair about what they expect out of us, and it's a good atmosphere.

The supervisors are great.

I bring this up because I read about another call center/customer service operation that couldn't be more polar opposite than where I work.

There's a web site called Ask The Manager where people seek advice with workplace issues.

One manager wrote in with this note about an employee quit on the spot with no notice. Read what the manager writes and I'll bet you'll think the employee did the right thing, even though quitting without advance notice is almost always a no-no:

Here's a good chunk of what this manager wrote:

"One employee asked to come in two hours after start time due to her college graduation ceremony being that same day. (she was taking night classes part time in order to earn her degree.)

I was unable to grant her request because she was the employee with the lowest seniority and we need coverage for that day."

The manager told the employee if she could find somebody to sub for her, then coming in two hours late would be OK. Otherwise, no dice.

The manager said she could not make an exception for this employee, but admitted to making an exception for another employee because they had concert tickets and that involves a monetary cost.

And college doesn't involve a cost?

Anyway, the manager writes on:

"I told this team member that she could not start two hours late and that she would have to skip the ceremony. An hour later, she handed me her work ID and a list of all the times she had worked late/come in early/worked overtime for each and every one of her coworkers. Then she quit on the spot."

Hurray for that employee!

Especially when we learn the employee's back story from what turns out to be this hideous manager.

"She was raised in a few dozen foster homes and has no living family. She was homeless for a bit after she turned 18 and besides us she doesn't have anyone in her life that has ever had professional employment. This is the only job she had."

The manager tells us this not out of empathy, but because she's miffed this hard-working employee would leave like that and the manager would like to reach out and "counsel" the former employee that it's not cool to quit on the spot.

She writes:

"I'm a bit upset because she was my best employee by far. Her work was excellent, she never missed a day of work in the six years she worked here, and she was my go-to person for weekends and holidays.

Even though she doesn't work here any longer, I want to reach out and tell her that quitting without notice because she didn't get her way isn't exactly professional"

Frankly, I don't think the former employee needs much in the way of advice. The former employee's only mistake was not leaving that hideous workplace long before she did.

I hope that woman, with her college degree in hand, becomes the supervisor for the manager in this story.

Because karma's a bitch.