The Double Fire

October 20, 2013

in Accident & Mishap Stories

It wasn’t a regular Thursday night; we were jammed. To make matters worse, Eric decided not to show up because he had a concert to go to that night, little fucker. You know the type of night I’m talking about – the managers are sweating from head to toe, bartender screaming, and all the servers were running around like chickens with their heads cut off. And there I was, standing in the middle of it, watching disasters happen in slow motion. I hurriedly grabbed all the dishes I could and ran into the dish pit to drop them off and take a breather. Even the dish boy was scrambling to clean the heaps of dishes. Shit.

I was still in my 3 month probation period at this restaurant, and had been written up twice already; last thing I needed was to mess up again. I went to the expo to go run some food and piled up plates trying desperately to remember all three tables I had to go to. Remembering 3 tables isn’t hard until you start piling on the requests that each table gives you – drink refills, more sauce, and more goddamn free bread. I hate free bread.

After dropping off the food I went to the bar to help run the drinks that were piling up; the bartender was having a meltdown. I put way too many drinks on the tray and grabbed a pitcher of beer with my other hand. I knew this wouldn’t end well, but I went ahead anyway. As I went to round the corner, another waitress barreled into me and sent me flying backwards down a small set of stairs. As my arms flew up in panic, I sent the drinks flying behind me; all of them. I sat on the floor looking up at the horrified expression on the waitress’s face.

I stood up to look at the damage I had caused to the table of businessmen where 8 pints and a pitcher crash-landed. I have never seen so many Blackberrys and Calvin Klein suits ruined in my entire life. The man at the head of the table slowly pushed his chair back and stood up to face me; I could see how red his face was before he even turned around. My heart stopped the second I saw his face – it was Earl – the manager of my other job. He wiped the beer off his face and then leaned in close and whispered, “Don’t even think about coming into the office tomorrow. You’re done!” I turned and ran into the back with the entire restaurant looking at me.

As I quickly went to escape to the bathroom, I slipped on some oil on the kitchen floor and tried to catch my fall but instead grabbed a pan of searing hot oil and sent it flying right over the grill, causing a huge flare up and ruining nearly everything on it. My manager had walked in just in time to see it all go down. I watched 30 different emotions go through his face as he tried to find something to say. “Are you okay?” he asked me through clenched teeth. “Yes, I am fine.” I was afraid of what would happen next. “Good. Go home; you’re fired.”

And that night I was fired from two jobs in less than a minute. Oh good.

– The Million Dollar Server
My blog: The Million Dollar Server

{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }

@hayharmony October 20, 2013 at 3:34 pm

#thatawkwardmoment when you get fired twice in the same day. Hahaha poor thing.

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Edward October 20, 2013 at 5:24 pm

That was dumb. It was your own fault you pretty much deserved it.

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mrsjamiecbaker October 22, 2013 at 9:05 am

Accidents happen… unsure how this is anyone's fault.

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Edward October 23, 2013 at 2:11 am

The OP admits, "I knew this wouldn't end well but I went ahead anyway". I don't see how it's NOT their entire fault. They totally deserved getting fired.

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Rich C October 23, 2013 at 8:28 pm

Well aren't you a negative Nancy

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RedHead0186 March 6, 2014 at 2:25 pm

Sorry, I agree with Edward on this one. She not only knew it was a bad idea, she admits she knew it was a bad idea and "went ahead anyway." That's terrible judgement.

Now, I don't think that alone should have gotten her fired, but it's clear that perhaps this just wasn't her calling, given all the mishaps she had.

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Annette Brauer October 20, 2013 at 5:44 pm

hilarious! Bad days happen

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Belle October 21, 2013 at 1:11 pm

You should post this on FML

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@mulatto_cro October 21, 2013 at 3:03 pm

Well I was having a bad day at work, until I read this!

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mrsjamiecbaker October 22, 2013 at 9:05 am

I feel so guilty for laughing at your misfortune 🙂 Try as I might, I can't find a silver lining to this story!

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Chas October 22, 2013 at 4:58 pm

Personally, I'd sue Earl as he clearly had no right to fire you.

=:~)

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James October 24, 2013 at 7:32 am

In a sane system, that would not be grounds for firing — but in most states in the US, employment is at will, and the employee has little or no recourse after termination.

Even in cases where employment laws are broken, such as various forms of discrimination, it is extremely difficult to successful prove your case, as it is your individual resources against the corporation, and most corporations can outlast you in court.. You'd need a "smoking gun" to have any chance. Wal-Mart v Dukes makes it even harder, effectively removing the tool of class action.

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Argan January 31, 2014 at 8:08 pm

This story sounds made up.

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theblonde March 11, 2014 at 2:44 pm

That was my first thought, but I guess stranger things have happened.

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Monica Rhodes May 5, 2016 at 1:34 pm

My thoughts exactly.

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TeeTee April 21, 2014 at 7:53 pm

This sounds so fake. I don't believe a word of it.

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meh August 25, 2015 at 1:53 am

I like the stories in this site and all but when I read the comments I get so shocked! I'm assuming most of y'all are waitresses or waiters because when something like this happens almost everyone says poor thing or accidents happen yet when a customer complains everyone finds a way to make it their fault and says they are horrible for not tipping when they got bad service. Smh.

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Amber May 9, 2016 at 4:05 pm

I agree. This server says she knew it wouldn't end well but she kept piling it on anyways, she'd already been written up multiple times in less then 3 months, clearly not her calling nor is she a very logical person.

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Mel November 1, 2016 at 3:46 pm

Either it's a fake story for laughs or this person had no business ever serving in a restaurant.

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