Did I have reason to quit my job?

[TxDieselKid]

I work at Sears, and I drive 25 miles to work, or I did at least untill tonight. At about 8:30, 30 minutes before we close, I was called into the office, and was asked if I was takeing money from the register, giving away stuff, and what not. Now I did admit that we give discounts on a REGULAR basis, but this was common by EVERYBODY there. I was honest. They went on to say that all the evidence pointed to me of taking money. Also they implyed that the only reason I drove 25 miles to work was to take money, and steal tools(I worked in hardware).



Long story, I got hot, and said that if this is the way you treat the workers here then I quit. Ask ANYBODY in that store of their opninion of me and they will say he is an honest, hard worker.



Now I know that you all do not know me, and I am not asking you if you think I did it because I KNOW I didn't. My question is would you have quit too?



Andrew

 

[Don M]

Andrew,



I would have made them prove it first before I quit. It was prolly just a little pressure to see if anyone would pop and admit it.





I was wondering what all those tools were doing in the back of your truck at the dyno event

How did you get that table saw in yer pocket anyway?



Screw Sears Andrew... . you will look back and laugh one day Buddy.



Don~

 

[The patriot]

I woulda made them fire me, that way I could collect unemployment. :-laf :-laf

Just my . 02

Eric

 

[milehiscott]

I'm not real big on lawsuits, but this might be a time for one. Like Don said, they need to have proof. You might go to to the HR people and threaten a lawsuit and cause a big stink. You might just say forget it and don't loose any sleep.

Jobs come and jobs go. None of them are worth your integrity and dignity.

Just my 2C.

Scott

 

[TxDieselKid]

To be honest, I was so pi$$ed when they were talking, it was all I could do to tell them how backa$$ the store, and whole town are.



Still pretty ticked,

Andrew

 

[WDaniels]

I believe that once that they accuse you such as the manager did by stating the all the evedience pointed to you, they had to prove that it did. You might think about consulting legal advice about this accusation. Was anybody else there? Just by the fact that they did not do anything says that they had no proof. If they did they would have called the police. They wanted you to quit with out having to prove their case. Sorry that happened to you. There is always someone out there to PI** on your cheerios.

And yes, I probably would have quit.

WD

 

[juicedcummins]

Thats sucks Andrew,Id have quit too!

Next time you drive by the store you will probably see a case of what we call relative syndrome.

He or she had to make room for a relative so they sqeezed you out.

 

[rrausch]

Question: Did they want someone in your dept. to quit? Some managers will do things like this to attempt to get guys to quit so that they don't have to pay them unemployment.



I know Sears. I know they way they run their Security. If they really thought you were stealing they would have set you up and had a couple of guys from Sears Security watching and then busted you VERY PUBLICLY, in the store, and led you out in handcuffs, in order to discourage anybody else from stealing. I have seen them do this with my own 2 eyes!

 

[BFC]

Does that mean I don't get free tools no more?



Life's too short dude, **** 'em



Glenn

 

[TxDieselKid]

There was only this lady who was a regional person from Oklahoma(I think), and the local AP(asset protection) manager. What kills me is that I think that they had a point to proove about how NO BODY has job secerity there. They never showed me proof, really they said I had made some "discounts" that were just unacceptable, when it was really just 10% to some GOOD repeat customers, just call it the Piers syndrome I guess. That was where it was headed and so i said well if you don't like me getting repeat bussiness from loyal customers, and you think I'm stealing then **** off, I quit.



I am thankfull in a way because now I can concentrate more on school which I need to do. Down side is no more $$$ for truck, or Munice. I got to get another job FAST!!!



Andrew

 

[TxDieselKid]

Why are you people voteing "No, I wouldn't quit?" Would you really want to work for someone that called you a theif, just not in so many words?



Andrew

 

[illflem]

Quitting is almost like admitting guilt. I would want to vindicate myself first then quit.

 

[TxDieselKid]

I didn't even care what they said, I KNOW there was a LOT more behind this then what they said. I have NEVER stole a thing in my life! That's the reason that I got so ticked. Anybody who knows me will tell you that I am as honest as young George Washington who chopped down the cherry tree(not saying I'm as good a person, just honest).



1) New assisent boss got left by her husband a couple of months back. Now keeping in mind that I am VERY professional, my girlfriend works there as well, and we NEVER do the touchy feelly stuff at work, not even a hug! I know she is jealous so she had something to do with it I know because she talks bad behind our backs.



2) I live in the dorms on campus. Certin times of the year, the dorms close and I HAVE to go somewhere else. Spring Break, Easter, Christmas. I had notified my boss in JANUARY that I could not work during spring break, and Easter for this reason. Guess who started doing the "No Call/No Show" on my name on the schudle in the office even though I reminded my boss 4 TIMES last week that I was not going to be there.



3) Sears is going through a HUGE problem right now, and is probly going to go bankrupt in the next year. They just adopted a new "system" of doing things around there and it starts by getting rid of people at the bottem.



Just have to get this off my chest yall cause I am P. O. ed



Anderw

 

[Sled Puller]

Never quit when your blood is boiling, chill out, regroup, and decide where to go from there.

Who knows, the fool who was messin with you may hav ebeen stealing, and was trying to get the blame shifted.



Always leverage for the lay-off, no questions asked.

 

[Fireman Dave]

I agree with Bill. I think quiting could be interpreted as an admission of guilt - kind of like you just wanted to get out of there to get the heat off.



Also, I don't think there's any legal recourse since you quit. Had they fired you unjustly, then you'd have something to look at.



Now, I'm not saying you didn't do the right thing, Andrew. I'm just looking at it from the outside and giving an opinion on what it could look like to them - not what it really is. I believe you when you say you didn't steal from them, and it does sound like there's a lot more to the story. If you had stolen from them, you wouldn't have posted this - unless you're some kind of psycho cleptomaniac who isn't aware he's stealing. Gene is right about not wanting to make a decision like this when you're emotional about it. But sometimes you just do what's in your heart, and that's not a bad thing.



When I was your age, I worked in a garage. I started there in HS and stayed on full time after graduating. I was told I'd get a week of paid vacation. The day before my vacation, they told me I wasn't getting the pay because I had been fulltime less than a year (even though I'd worked there almost 2 years total). That really sucked because I had this trip planned for months. I took my vacation and thought about it. Then the day before I was due back I called them and quit. I was going to quit later that summer anyway - to go to tech school, so it wasn't too hard of a decision. So I know how you feel. But it did work out for me in the long run, and I'm sure this will be a good life experience for you as well. I think I'm a better boss today because of that incident. I know how to treat my employees as well as how not to treat them.



Hang in there Andrew!

 

[MDW]

If you stand behind your decision with your head up and accept the consequences you did the right thing. Don't let things like that get you down. I do admit though I probably would have stuck around just to drive them nuts until I found another job... . LOL.



Whats your schedule?? I could probably give you some work during your breaks and I could put you up (housing).

Give me a call 281-960-3497 Michael

 

[moparguy]

Andrew, sorry to hear about the trouble. Now a few thoughts from a guy who was in management for a long time. Since you said you quit, you've kinda limited your options, but you've still got some.



As Bill pointed out, quitting will be seen as an admission of guilt by management. If a sizeable amount of money was involved (I know, not the case), Sears would file charges. But it aint't gonna happen here because it's just to much trouble.



Since this job had served your needs to this point I'd make a run at keeping/regaining it. First thing I'd do is try and remove the emotion from things and work up a short letter detailing how shocked and distrught you were to be accused of stealing and how your only interest is and was in helping to increase sales and customer satisfaction. That "if" you had been out of bounds by giving discounts to good customers as a way to insure there continued support of Sears, then ask that those guidelines be reviewed for both your and Sears benefit.



Know that there have by now been reams of documentation created relating to what was said at your last meeting, you need to quickly act to make sure that things are corrected. Once you've hand delivered your letter (yes it needs to be in writting) and you're back on the payroll, you can re-evulate things and if a job change is best, do so at your timing and without the possibility of a bad reference that could cost you your next opportunity.



Good luck, Ronnie

 

[jwdeeming]

Andrew,

I don't know what you're majoring in at school, but I'm gonna guess a career at Sears isn't your objective. Move on, and don't look back. Seems to me you were in a situation that was bound to go sour. If you were allowed to give discounts at your discretion, and there weren't clear guidelines for doing so, all it takes is one manager having a bad day and you're sunk.

Might be a chance for you to look around and find a job somewhat related to your degree. Good luck.

JimD

 

[Okie-Go]

I know you and don't think you would steal anything. First I think you should have hung around to find the real thief. Don't they have cameras? By quitting in their eyes you may have admitted your guilt in their eyes only. Also I don't think I would quit a job till I found another one. My opinion only.

 

[Straight6Jeff]

You handled it better than I did when I quit an auto parts store I used to work at. The managers (not owner) son who worked there was stealing on a weekly basis. The son knew I saw him so he lied and told his father he saw me stealing from the register. To make a long story short, after a half hour of being grilled and having two morons in my face, I hauled off and cold-cocked them both.



I know violence sometimes settles things, but this time wasn't one of them.