For legal reasons, I can't disclose the exact location, purely because the team I worked with were cool guys and our boss fucked over corporate really hard without them noticing.
This took place in 2012
Part 1: The Fire Marshall
I worked at a smaller chain electronic store that sold top-of-the-line Video Cameras, PCs, Cell Phones, Photo-Cameras, and this new thing called “4K Televisions.”
For context we were located at an expensive outlet mall, we were literally the only electronic store in the mall, and the only place for fifty miles that sold high-end electronics. Logic dictates that this in itself would make our location prime real estate and we would have record sales every year.
Spoiler alert: That's exactly what happened and we basically killed it five years in a row.
Furthermore, I got hired because I came into the store looking for some video equipment. The store manager was caught off guard by my advanced technical knowledge of camera technology because I kept asking him specific technical questions on certain models. (NOTE This piece of information is relevant for the end of the story)
So with that preamble out of the way, let's get into the heart of the story.
While working the camera counter, the mall fire marshal came in and asked to see the store manager.
Since I had no customers at that moment, I decided to take him to the back to meet my manager.
This verbatim is what I can remember.
ME: *Hey the Fire Marshal here?
Manager: Why?
ME: Don't know, want me to let him in the office?
Manager: Sure, give me a moment.
Marshal: Ok, mall management wanted me to ask when you want me to bring in the construction foreman.
Me: What are we building something? (Looking at my rather baffled boss)
Manager: No? I didn't ask for a construction foreman.
Marshal: Well aren't you aware of the new (OVER PRICED CLOTHING STORE) that's going to be built here?
At that exact moment, I and the store manager looked at each other, then looked at the fire marshal. Who handed my manager the work order on the brand new (OVER PRICED CLOTHING STORE) that was going to be built at our exact location. Thus permanently ending the only high-end electronic store miles around.
Part 2: Money Talks
A few days later, the manager held a store meeting with me and the rest of the team. Prior to this meeting, the manager gave me permission to tell the rest of our 12-person team, about the incident with the Fire Marshal.
So the manager confronted corporate about what was going on, and after some skillful verbal gymnastics, we got the whole story.
Manager:
“So I called corporate, to ask what's happening and I'll tell you straight. (OVER PRICED CLOTHING STORE) has been trying for ten years to get a spot at this outlet mall, they
went to every store with a buy-out offer for the storefront. The CEO of this electronic chain was approached by (OVER PRICED CLOTHING STORE) with a massive check in the millions, to break
our lease and hand over the storefront to them. We weren't supposed to know any of this, corporate wanted us to be in the dark right up until the last day 2 weeks from today.”
YEP, everyone was fucking pissed, in fact, we were so angry that all of us did the absolute bare minimum, this included the manager.
In one week, we tanked our own sales by 70%, corporate freaked out and sent a hatchet man to talk to the store.
This doofus was confused why we weren't giving it a 110% and was surprised we got visibly angry when he informed us, that we wouldn't be getting severance pay or a letter of recommendation.
My manager very politely told him to leave and that he would take care of the situation himself.
Part 3: OOPS my finger slipped.
After the hatchet man was banished from our store, the manager took a close look at the management handbook and noticed a little snafu that was written into the book in regards to discretionary discounts.
Mainly that the store manager has permission to discount ANY PRODUCT in the store up to 90% off. And the offset of the cost will be absorbed at the end of the year discretionary cost analysis.
Yes, you read that last sentence correctly, and the wonderful part of the story is that the store was being shut down by the end of February.
So another store meeting was held, the manager told us that 2 days before our last day we were having a secret 90% off sale just for the employees and their family.
When I heard this I ask the question everyone was thinking.
Me: So let me get this straight, this includes every single item in this store?
Manager: Yep, in fact, what you guys can do is pick out everything you want now, and set up a little pile in the backroom. Make sure you guys labeled everything and I'll include the premium service warranties for free.
Well, I decided to do some shopping, new-fangled 240 hertz 4K TV, 4K Camera system, 3 x 5hr spare batteries, 5 x 128 GB SD cards, Shotgun XLR Microphone, Laptop, 2 x 1TB external portable drives, a tripod, car tripod, under-water camera housing, an action camera, a large capacity camera bag, and custom shoulder strap camera plate system.
But wait there's more, the manager told me I could have any of the HDMI and Mini Display port cables that are currently attached to the show-room TV/Computer displays.
On the day of the secret 90% off sale, we all showed up 2 hours early from the back entrance and bought our items.
With tax, I paid about $1,153.69 for about $13,000 dollars worth of brand-new electronics and in essence, gave me the necessary tools to start my own media business.
As one final fuck you to corporate, the manager gave all of us a phone number to a caseworker at the local unemployment office who was sympathetic to our cause.
Part 4: I have never seen this man before in my life.
Well, flash forward to March 2013, and I'm carefully navigating my freelance media company into a nice stream of steady work. I get an unknown phone call from a law firm representing the electronics company. Apparently, $400,000 worth of electronics, were “mistakenly” sold at a 90% discount and they wanted to know if I had any information on where I could find my manager.
The following conversation is what I can recall to the best of my memory:
ME: May I ask why you need to know this information?
Law Firm: Well we believed that he woefully miss used his discount privileges.
ME: Okay, but could you answer a question for me first?
Law Firm: Sure?
ME: Why did your client the CEO of an electronic chain, take a multi-million dollar check to break a lease on his own business and not properly informed the store staff of it's impending closer?
(DEAD SILENCE)
ME: Hello?
Law Firm: Sorry to bother you, sir.
And that was it, the moral of the story, DON'T FUCK OVER your employees.
P.S.- Boss if you reading this, take comfort in the fact that non of us has sold you out and I hope you're living a wondrous life.