“Fire Me, I Dare You”: True Stories of Defying the Boss and Winning

The Tuna Standoff

I took my 1-hour lunch break at an old job. When I came back, I noticed a very strong tuna smell coming from my desk area. I really don’t like tuna and my coworkers know that. I didn’t think much of it because I didn’t eat any tuna and figured maybe someone ate some nearby.

10 or so minutes go by and the smell is still lingering very close to my desk. I look in my trash can underneath my desk and there is a can of open tuna spread all around my trash can. I look around and my boss is just dying laughing. You should know that I HATE him, he was such an a**h*le. So I say “F*ck it”.

I take the tuna can and walk towards him and his office. He tells me that I should go toss it in the trash in the kitchen. No way that’s happening. I go into his office and I dump the whole can in his trash in front of 10 or so coworkers and everyone goes quiet. I was so fed up at that point that I didn’t even care about the consequences. I walk out and go back to my seat.

I get a message later in the day from him saying to come into his office. He lectures me for 15 or so minutes about me undermining his authority and being disrespectful. Doesn’t ever mention that he shouldn’t have done it in the first place or apologize for his actions.

I quit a couple of months later because the environment was so toxic and moved into a better position at another company, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget about Bill and the tuna incident.

A Lesson In Leadership

I work at a small family business that has a high turnover rate for entry positions. The managers have tempers that tend to scare people away so they are constantly short-staffed.

One day my boss yelled at me for making a “mistake” (he literally yelled at everyone in the office every day of the week for making “mistakes”) and after he was done unloading all the stresses of his life on me he calmed down and tried to help me understand my shortcomings through a lesson.

He told me: “Glutenfreeloader, say you hire a landscaper to mow your lawn. And say after you pay him for a finished job you find out that he missed an entire section of your lawn. What would you do? You would go yell at him for not doing his job, right?”

I said, “No, I would explain to him what he did wrong and if he didn’t fix it I would hire someone else to do the job.”

He didn’t know what to say and I walked back to my desk. That was 3 months ago and I sit at the same desk while I look for another job.

Clash Of The Titans

I worked in a factory where I had every intention of having a nice long career.

Until the new General Manager was hired. To say we didn’t get along would be an insane understatement.

However, I was VERY good at my job, and without exaggeration, could fill every position in the plant from receiving, through production, to shipping and billing. (Remember, I intended to make a career here).

Well, our shift’s production and quality had been nosediving for a couple of months, and at review time, I didn’t get even a cost of living raise. I took it with good graces and doubled down on MY job, and record-keeping for our production records.

After another 30 days had passed, our numbers had been improving, so I gathered up the numbers and requested a meeting with the GM.

He flipped out when I pulled the records from my bag and started screaming at me that he knew exactly where the problem was on our shift. At the end of the screaming match he said, “Do you think this plant will shut down if you leave!!?”

To which I replied, “No! But it just might if YOU stay!!!”

And then slammed his own office door in his face.

I worked there for another 7 months, refusing any hours but my own shift, until I found another career path and left of my own volition.