When I first left high school I worked as a supermarket shelf-stacker at my local independent grocer. It was my job to do inventory, re-stock shelves and move shelves around in order to market products in the most efficient way.
I can’t say I loved my job — as a teenager I had never dreamt of being immersed in such monotonous, brain-dead work on a daily basis. But for the first few months of life after high school, I figured I was at least earning a living until I figured out a grander plan. And I did get to talk to interesting people who came into the shop everyday, cruising the aisles that I was stacking, so there were definitely benefits.
But there was also a massive downside. I’d been working at the supermarket for three months when Helen arrived. Helen was the new head of produce, and I very quickly found that there were two ways of doing the tasks I’d been performing: her way, and the wrong way. Apparently, everything single thing I did was the wrong way.
I was too short, I didn’t stack symmetrically enough, the soups were in the wrong order, and when I took her directions they were still in the wrong order. I was always somehow redundant in my duties. Helen found the most absurd things to single me out for, and she always did it in front of as many people as she could. I began to despair going into work, wondering what she was going to find out of place with my performance.
After four more months of being constantly embarrassed, I decided enough was enough. I wanted to quit, but I wasn’t going anywhere without teaching her a lesson!
But how do you humiliate someone who always manages to make you look like a fool first? As it happened, Helen gave me the idea herself.
It was almost the end of another work day, when Helen demanded to know why I hadn’t finished putting the dog food bags onto the shelves. I wanted to explain to her, quite reasonably I thought, that I had a deal with the night stockperson to do it. I couldn’t reach the top shelves they belonged on while straining to lift the heavy bags, but the night stockperson was taller. For Helen, however, this was simply not good enough.
“I guess I’ll have to do it myself, like I eventually end up doing everything you’re supposed to do,” she fumed, before flouncing away. This was my opportunity!
As she was angrily shuffling some papers in the office, no doubt wondering how she could get me back for the great crime of being too short, I went to the step ladder and loosened the screw on one of the steps. It was my intention for her step on it and, being quite a heavy woman, put too much weight on it, causing the loose step to break and give her a fright. She was always poking fun at me for my supposed clumsiness, now it was her turn.
So you can imagine my shock when, just as I was about to leave the store Helen gave a piercing scream followed by an almighty crash. Helen had fallen quite hard as it turned out, and had broken both her ankle and her arm! I looked on guiltily, suddenly very much aware of what I had done.
Helen was off work for six weeks, and I made sure that I had quit before she came back. Nobody every suspected that the faulty step ladder was actually tampered with, but I still to this day can’t go into that supermarket, wondering what might happen if anyone ever suspected that I was responsible for her injuries!
*All names in this story have been changed.
Picture: Getty Images.*
Your say: Did the employee go too far to get revenge on her boss? Should she have owned up to what she did? Have your say about this true confession below…
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