It always comes as a shock in the moment, but you’ve probably come across a person whose way of thinking is so outdated and plain old wrong that it’s difficult to comprehend that this is another human being.
Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that they’ll have a change of heart Disney movie style, but hopefully they’ll get what’s coming to them one day.
This story, shared by BW_Bird, is exactly about that. A coworker who was a truly garbage human being got into a heap of trouble after stealing from the workplace.
More info: Reddit
It's not nice to be happy because of a coworker's misfortunes, but with colleagues like this, who needs enemies
Image credits: Pixabay (not the actual photo)
Reddit user BW_Bird shared her story of a truly awful coworker in a "What’s the craziest reason you had to fire someone?" AskReddit post
Image credits: BW_Bird
She begins the story with a short description of all the things she's had to put up with during her 3 years at the gas station
Image credits: BW_Bird
The poster follows it up with a lengthy description of our antagonist, F**kwert, and all of the awful things he did
Image credits: BW_Bird
Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)
He was bigoted and backstabbing, thinking that if he got someone fired, he'd be promoted
Image credits: BW_Bird
Image credits: Pixabay (not the actual photo)
It all came to a head when he decided to take $15k from the gas station safe, which was accidentally left unlocked and refusing to return peacefully
Image credits: BW_Bird
The police was informed and a 17-hour manhunt later, the money was back, F**kwert was in prison and a newly minted felon
I’m not going to try to do justice to the original poster’s (OP) writing, but I’ll offer a brief summary of her story.
Over her 3 years working at a gas station, BW_Bird had seen some things, from dramatic to bizarre, drama, robbery attempts, bad management - you name it.
She has even shared another story from the place, about a day manager saying “OK Jill, I'm leaving. You're in charge of making sure BW_Bird doesn't slack off” to a coworker, who took it as proof that she had been promoted on the spot. It’s ridiculous and a great read if you want some more content from OP.
The thing she’ll never forget from the workplace is a coworker, charmingly dubbed F**kwert. I’m certain that you can fill in the blanks.
This guy was the whole 9 yards of awful, a racist, backstabbing, conniving jerk, for whom nothing was sacred, no matter what.
All of his antics were suddenly concluded when he saw that the station’s safe was unattended and opened (not very cool of the supervisor, if you ask me), and decided to help himself to all of $15k in it.
In full view of the camera, of course.
The supervisor was, naturally, livid. He rang F**kwert, but he denied having done anything at all.
This started a 17-hour-long police chase, the results of which were: the offender being fired, jailed, and getting a felony, as far as BW_Bird knows.
If you really needed something to put into perspective how bad F**kwert was, OP at that moment in her life considered it the bestest gift that she could have received.
Image credits: William Murphy (not the actual photo)\
Lucky for us here at Bored Panda, we managed to reach out to the wonderful BW_Bird, real name Jen, for an interview and she graciously responded!
The whole incident happened in 2006-2007, so Jen’s memory is somewhat hazy by now. She doesn’t really know what happened to everyone involved, as she got fired for a minor infraction about 6 months after the incident.
F**kwert is probably walking free, Jen mentions, as the penalty for stealing that amount is 20 years.
“I haven't bothered to check because, simply, I never cared enough. The story of that man's antics will live rent-free forever in my head but I have no desire to know more about him,” Jen says.
Predictably, the supervisor never forgot to lock the safe after the incident, but Jen says that he probably didn’t think much about it otherwise.
While this was the biggest theft the station experienced and by a lot, it wasn’t the only one. Jen wants to emphasize that gas stations don’t usually have the tightest hiring standards.
Personally, she has witnessed at least half a dozen coworkers get fired or arrested for stealing money or scratch off lotto tickets.
“The last thing I heard about the supervisor was ten years ago from a very apocryphal source that he had lost his job in a coup attempt by another employee so she could claim the position of manager.” And just in case you forgot - that’s not how promotions work in the company.
Asked about the positives of the job, Jen can’t really name any, besides the fact that it made her more resilient from all the trauma she experienced. The job was awful, with her feeling as if she was under a microscope the entire time.
People would only last for about 6 months, quitting soon after because of terrible conditions, getting fired for something miniscule, or just ceasing to come in.
“I somehow lasted three years and was fired for using a coupon incorrectly to take a dollar off a frozen pizza.”
Thanks to Jen for the sincere interview! She’s also told us that she may be working on a book, so if you enjoy her writing, you just may be in luck, just hold on to your hat!
Image credits: Natalie Dmay (not the actual photo)
We can all agree that working in a gas station has that je ne sais quoi about it, right? Especially night shift. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like it would be a really strange and otherworldly experience at times.
Just imagine, sitting there for hours with no customers until someone comes in - a person, living a life just as complex and vivid as your own - for you to only chat for a grand total of 30 seconds, never to see each other ever again.
But okay, I’ll stop romanticizing a gas station attendant’s job.
If you seek them out, people aren’t shy about sharing their experiences as attendants - and you wouldn’t be wrong to guess that a lot of the time it sucks.
I think the funniest quote from the thing is this one: “I feel that customers lose half their intelligence upon walking through the door. I have to wonder how these people make it through a day successfully.”
He goes on to say that he really doesn’t care for people who start telling them in great detail about their life’s problems or gruesome medical issues, which I totally agree with.
Some of the pros are meeting loads of people from different walks of life, time passing quickly on busy days, and becoming a sort of pillar of the community. Additionally, if you’re working at a 24/7 gas station, it’s likely to have a wide variety of shifts to fit your other commitments.
As for the negatives, people are often impolite, boredom, few if any tips, and having to do all of it alone, if you’re rolling the night shift solo.
So yeah, while working at a gas station may not be the most glamorous job, it’s certainly a necessary one. How else would you and I get our cheap, yet oddly delicious late night drive hotdogs, hm?!
Jen's creation, penned down in a comment of all places, collected 1.4k upvotes, with many people emphasizing how well she can write and how much they enjoyed the story.
Share your own odd gas station experiences or bad coworker stories in the comments below!
The comments shared how much they enjoyed BW_Bird's attitude and writing
