Employees Describe The Worst On-The-Job Meltdowns

Redditor said this.u/properfoxes: said this.

I had my own meltdown. I worked as the electronics team lead at a Target store when the Nintendo Wii released. A woman came every day around 1 pm asking if we had any. I told her if she wanted one, she had to get up earlier because they sold out by 8:15. She always accused us of "stockpiling them in the back," saying things like, "Oh, I KNOW you have them! You're lying! Who are you holding them for?" As December approached and this woman still hadn't changed her approach or gotten a Wii, she finally broke me when she screamed, "You are going to ruin my kids' Christmas!"

I could not take it anymore. I was done with this woman.

I slammed my hands on the counter. I said, "You know what? I'm DONE. There is NOTHING IN THIS WORLD that I want more than to ruin Christmas for you and for your kids. I hate Christmas, I hate your children. I have a dream about building a fort out of Nintendo Wii's and hiding in it when I see you coming. Do you want to see the stockroom? It's right over there, and if you find a Wii console in it I WILL BUY IT FOR YOU."

I held out my magnet keys. She stood there with her mouth open for a moment, then turned and left without a word. I never saw her again. Miraculously, she did not say anything to anyone on her way out. I kept working there, and none of my coworkers knew what happened.

That would have definitely gotten me fired.

Redditor said this.u/devildunkard: said this.

I watched two stonemasons fight in a fistfight while I worked construction. One threw a hammer at the other, hitting him in the head and cracking his eye socket. The police arrived and took our statements. The man was taken into custody for assault.

Redditor said this.u/angrywords: said this.

I work in hospitality. Our old head of housekeeping refused to hire minorities or heavier women. She worked seven days a week, totaling at least 50 hours. She burned herself out. She was very paranoid and always feared someone was trying to take her job.

One morning, she fought with one of our best housekeepers. Then she came to the front desk, yelling and screaming, and fell to the floor like a toddler having a tantrum, kicking her arms and legs. This happened during a busy check-in window. She rolled on the ground, crying and yelling.

I looked at her and said, "Get your *ss to the office if you're going to have a meltdown."

She got up, then threw herself down in the office and finished her tantrum there. She was fired that day.

From a former said this.Redditor:

A waitress and the manager fought in the kitchen. She started screaming and cursing, audible from the dining room. The manager said something like, "As long as you are wearing that uniform you do things my way," or something similar. The waitress yelled, "That's f*cking fine!" and ripped off her uniform dress. She grabbed her purse, walked into the crowded dining room in her bra and panties, and left through the front door. She got into her car and drove away.

Redditor said this.u/nagyboh:

I worked in a building with a cafeteria. We saw one of the regular cashiers stop showing up. We found out she had passed away. A coworker asked who we meant. Finding out, she stood up from her desk, fell to the ground, and rolled back and forth crying loudly. We all panicked. We had customers on the phone we had to put on hold until we could help her get up and someone could take her somewhere to calm down.

She took the next few days off, including the service day. We asked her how she was after assuming she had gone to the service. She answered, "Huh? I didn't go; I barely knew her..."

From Redditoru/BoxBopChallenge:

The cashier they hired did not handle being fired well. After they fired her, she told the owner to leave and then hit his truck with her car as she left.

It is funny because it barely dented the owner's bumper, but her car got badly damaged. I do not think he pressed charges.

From Redditoru/21GEEKitty:

In middle school, a science teacher decided the class was not paying attention. She yelled, "What do you want?" She asked, "Do you need me to dance on my desk before you will pay attention to me? Is that what you need?" She climbed on the lab counter and danced, shocking everyone.

Then she went home for the day. I think she took the rest of the week off.

From Redditoru/harleypig:

I worked as a customer support rep. One coworker was always nice and polite to callers. One day, he finished a call, logged out, and unplugged the phone. He set the phone in the aisle outside his cubicle and started jumping on it, stamping it, and screaming nonsense. Then he politely asked the shift manager if he could leave early and take a couple of days off. She gave him a week and paid.

From Redditoru/WoldunTW:

This happened at a small internet start-up where I worked. Everyone planned to release software, but the CEO called from off-site and canceled due to hesitation. For various reasons, the people on site decided to release it anyway.

After the release, the CEO appears as software guys leave. His face is red; he is out of his mind from some substances. He grabs a pick-axe from his office and walks to the software room, waving the pick-axe while screaming and cursing. I foolishly tried to talk to him and calm him down; he was beyond reason or diplomacy.

His next move is breaking the software room door with the pick-axe. A coder remains inside and starts freaking out because the boss breaks through his door like Jack Nicholson.The Shining.

His arms grew tired, and we got out while he took a wheezy breath.

From Redditor.u/BecausePoopsIsFunny:

My first job was a summer job at Kroger. I bagged groceries and wrangled carts in the Atlanta heat.

Another kid worked with me; he was experienced before starting. One day, our manager told him, "I'm not firing you because I know that is what you want." The guy stared. He walked over, grabbed a rotisserie chicken, and ate it in front of the manager and customers.

From Redditor.u/Booner999:

As a teenager, I worked where the general manager's husband slept with the assistant manager. The assistant manager showed it off, saying things like, "No wonder your husband cheats. I would cheat if I were married to you!"

One day, the general manager finally snapped, and they fought like cats and dogs in front of the whole store. We had to call the police to separate them.

From Redditor.u/BromanJenkins:

Suit guy.

We worked in a business casual office. Most of us wore button-up shirts, decent pants, and dress shoes daily. Suit Guy started as a new hire. He wore the same tan suit every day for three months, earning him the nickname.

He drank a large coffee, a Monster Energy drink, and a can of Mountain Dew, in that order, between eight AM and noon. He was going through a messy divorce. The caffeine and rage pushed him past his limit one morning; he screamed at his phone at his desk and then smashed the cell phone in half. This was 2012; it was a full-screen smartphone he somehow bent until it broke. My friends and I tried to copy the action days later using an old phone, and we could bend it, but not break it.

The next day, he arrived with a new phone and acted like nothing happened the day before.

From Redditor.u/zombatart:

A guy got torn down by his manager. The manager ripped into him while he cleaned a broken jar of jam. The manager asked, "Do you know how long this mess has been here? Why does it seem like I'm always leading you around like a dog just to get you to work? Do you know how many people would kill to have your job?"

The worker, a skinny guy around 17 or 18, gritted his teeth and stayed cool against the insults. Ten minutes later, checking out, I saw the manager publicly attack the same guy for not being upfront and bagging for customers "despite repeated calls." He bags as best he can under this pressure, then muttered, "I'm doing the best I can, man."

The manager got angry. He stated his best work wasn't good enough and he was not representing the brand.

The kid stopped working and stared at the manager. He grabbed his shirt, his arms shaking with rage. He yelled, silencing the checkout area, andripped the shirt off his chest like Hulk HoganHe threw the shirt in the manager's face and then left the store calmly. Everyone was shocked. The manager walked away speechless with the shirt pieces.

Someone on the intercom cut the silence, saying, "Cleanup, aisle seven," and items were checked out again.

From Redditoru/Yeah_Mr_Jesus:

In high school, I bussed at a fancy steak place, like Ruth's Chris but more casual. A kid who bussed with me moved out of state and gave no two weeks' notice. On his last day, he walked up to two or three tables and ripped the nastiest toots I had ever heard.

I entered the back while the manager fired him. The manager asked, "Why would you do that instead of telling me you quit?" My friend replied, "I f*cking hate this place." He then farted again and walked out.

From Redditoru/cpqarray:

I worked in a major airline's operations office. The environment was stressful, with bad management, and everyone seemed to dislike each other.

An operations manager tore across the office, confronting a dispatcher and saying, "I'm trying to help you, motherf*cker don't hang up on me!" Many others joined the confrontation.

From Redditoru/paper92:

As a fast-food manager, a customer told the store the dumpster was on fire. I went outside and saw a fire burning where we threw trash.andour grease...

The general manager was fired for being irresponsible and incompetent. He did little good for himself by causing a real dumpster fire on his already bad day.

Former employee.Redditor:

He worked with a sales rep about to lose his job for faking expense reports. He knew it was coming. He took his company car, a Saab 9000 CD, and left it in a bad spot in town with the keys inside, hoping someone would take it. That was pure spite.

He did not plan how he would leave that area. He got beaten. An ambulance took him to the ER.

After the doctor let him go, he returned to work. The legal team and police were waiting for him.

From Redditor u/stevieracine:

My wife and I walked downtown Chicago last summer. We saw two furniture movers argue. We slowed down to watch. One guy used a floor lamp like a baseball bat. The other guy used a bird bath as his weapon.

From Redditor u/5sweaty_obesity:

I was getting a sub at Publix. Then I heard this:

Manager: "What are you doing?! I have to fire you for doing this again."

Worker: "What is the problem? I did nothing wrong."

Manager: "You can get food on your break. Don't eat while you pack."

Worker: "I had some chicken wings. It is not a big deal."

Manager: "There are 50 wings in the bottom of that trash can!"

The manager did not say anything else. He escorted the wing-eater out. The guy made wing baskets. He ate them, taking one for the basket and one for himself. The two people making subs started laughing. One said, "If the manager knew how many wings that guy ate in two weeks, he would lose his mind." Another day, he sat eating a whole container of potato salad while working the fryer.

From Redditor u/pjjtlc:

Working for a big, known company... they decided to lay off over 700 employees.

I watched one storm leave the meeting room. The manager tried to grab them exiting. He grabbed random items and threw them. He threw monitors, laptops, phones, and chairs. One friend tackled him. He got escorted out the stairs from the 14th floor.

The next day, I walked into the building. Half a dozen police officers stood behind the security gate, waiting. I went to the 14th floor. Another officer stood outside the elevators. They had officers on every floor where layoffs would happen.

From Redditor u/4Leumas_:

I worked in a video store when this happened. A coworker showed up very high. He came for a four-hour shift. He stood in the middle of our checkout registers and ate chips. He ate six bags of chips back-to-back.slowlyHe ate every bite, savoring each one. His face showed no expression. It looked like a dull stare from a chewing dairy cow.

After three hours, he calmly turned to me. "I can't do this anymore," he said. He set his bag of chips down gently and walked out. We never saw him in the store again.