Hello besties,
I’m a 20F who was working at a call center. The job was honestly pretty easy and chill. I’m a very creative person, so I was always coming up with ideas to make work easier for everyone. A few of my projects were actually approved and put into action, and they even replaced some old procedures with new ones because of those ideas. I was friends with most people in the office, and I was even looking forward to becoming a manager. My team lead and some of the trainers had talked about giving me that opportunity.
However, there was an old lady at work who got hired and, for some reason, she didn’t like me. Mind you, I had never even spoken to her. We sat in completely different areas of the office you couldn’t even see her from where I sat.
I started hearing rumors from my friends that she was talking badly about me and trying to turn people against me. On top of that, she was reporting me to management, saying I was rude and that I called someone stupid. None of that ever happened. I’m someone who takes accountability for my actions. If I say or do something wrong, I’ll own it because I’m an adult and I know actions have consequences. But these were things I never did, and it really bothered me because I was hoping to move into a management position. I didn’t want people believing things that weren’t true.
So I spoke to my team lead about it, and he said he would take care of it. That was last week. I even saw the team leads talking to her, so I thought everything had been handled.
It hadn’t.
Today I was called into the management office, and the worst happened, I got fired.
I have a video of the meeting. You’ll hear me getting fired. This is the first time I’ve ever been fired in my life, and I was in complete shock. All I could say was “okay” because I knew if I tried to explain myself, I would start crying. I was trying so hard to hold myself together. They didn’t even let me grab my things before walking me out.
The crazy part is that this wasn’t the first accusation. Last month, this same lady and one of her friends claimed they heard me talking badly about someone. The truth is, I was joking around with my friends about other friends. It was just normal conversation, nothing mean. She somehow changed the story and said I was talking about someone in the company. The thing is, I never even mentioned anyone’s name, so I don’t know how she came to that conclusion. I still got written up, and as far as I know, there was never any real investigation and again no choice but signed it.
I live in Utah, where jobs don’t pay very well, so this has been devastating. I was finally getting close to moving out of my parents’ house, and now I have to stay longer because I suddenly have no job.
I honestly still can’t believe this happened
FIRST EDIT:I love all of your comments, questions, kindness, and advice. ❤️ I noticed a lot of people were asking for more information, so here’s a shorter explanation now that I’ve had time to calm down.
An older woman in her 60s was hired last month. I never really spoke to her because we didn’t have much in common. I was actually away from work for about four weeks, and when I came back, several coworkers warned me that she liked to gossip.
Not long after, she reported me, claiming she heard me badmouthing another agent. That never happened. I was talking with three friends about mutual friends, and we weren’t saying anything negative. She sits far away from us, so I don’t even know how she could have heard what she claimed.
Then six different coworkers told me she had been talking badly about me. I reported the situation to a team lead, making it clear I wasn’t trying to get anyone fired. After that, she reported me to HR for allegedly bullying her and other people. I have six witnesses who can back up my side of the story.
Also, when an adjuster at work harassed me by calling me a baby and saying he would kiss me, I reported it because it made me uncomfortable. Other women said they were scared of him too. HR simply told him not to do it again, and he still works there.
SECOND EDIT: Hey guys, I’m back with a few clarifications now that I’ve had time to think everything through.
As much as I appreciate everyone suggesting unemployment, I won’t be applying. In my opinion, those benefits should go to people who are really struggling financially. I’m fortunate enough to live with my parents and have a good amount in savings.
The “joking” everyone keeps asking about was simply me talking with my friends about my friend’s baby, who has a ton of hair. I joked that I wanted a baby with that much hair too. That’s it.
Unfortunately, in Utah this isn’t illegal, so there’s not much I can do besides accept it and move forward.
I included the reason for my first write-up. I had worked there for a long time without ever receiving one. Then, within the first month of this older woman being hired, I got my very first write-up because of her report.