This was a few years ago, but I wanted to share it here because 1) I hope it helps people stay on guard for similar shenanigans, and 2) the company in question has had a bad week and I'm amused.
I worked for a company in the Georgetown area of Washington D.C., specializing in carpet/flooring sales to businesses and schools (which is as far as I'll go in identifying it). I was there for a year and a half, and while it was a busy job- taking orders, sending samples to clients, ordering stock, etc.- it was also nice in that the three sales-people were rarely in the office physically (I never actually met one of them, in fact, in person!), so I had the small office/showroom to myself most days. I kept it clean, humming along with product on-hand, and that was life for me- nothing fancy, but it paid the bills.
What they didn't do was give a lot of time off. Sick time was time that the showroom was closed (one person in the office, remember), so they REALLY didn't like when I wasn't there. I even worked the day of my wedding, closing up shop a couple of hours early (to the area manager's irritation) to head to the venue. I didn't take time off, and in fact worked a lot of extra time on weekends and such to make sure big orders (like for a then-new office complex south of downtown for military offices) had what they needed on-time.
So when I took a week and a half of vacation in August of 2019, having saved up my time off, it was CHAOS for them. Because it meant the office was going to have one of two things happen- one of the salespeople would have to be on-site there in my place to have the showroom open (and thus not be out making sales), or the showroom would have to be closed for that time period. They argued with me about it, asked me to be a team player, all of that, and… no, this is my time off, I'm spending it visiting family in New England, my dad is getting surgery and I'm going to head up to help out. End of story.
I got back to find that they'd come up with a third option- hiring a temp to come in and essentially open the office up and turn the lights on all day (orders were handled via the salespeople for a few days)- which was fine. Except for two things. First, no one told me- not one text, e-mail, etc. saying anyone was going to be there in the office. And two, this wasn't through a temp agency- this was the son of the company's CFO, who was going to school in the area.
He did such a great job in that week or so that his mom leaned on the area manager to promote him to full-time… and drop me. Again, I knew NONE of this until I got off the plane, grabbed a few hours of sleep, got to the office… to find some stranger there saying this was his office now and I should contact the area manager. I was furious, but without much I could do about it (to my knowledge- I know better NOW), I left my keys and headed out, feeling like a year and a half of my life had been wasted.
The phone rang halfway home on the Metro- the manager. He heard I'd been by, and wanted to talk to me about an opportunity- work as a temp for them for a few weeks, maybe a month, at the same pay rate I had been at, and train my new replacement. I wanted to laugh at him, I wanted to scream, I wanted to beat the little bastard to a bloody pulp… but I was a newlywed who had bills to pay, and unexpectedly was out of a job, so… okay, fine. It's a paycheck, doing the work I already know, while I look for something better. Fine.
That fucking kid… mom got him his job, and he knew he was untouchable as a result. He would sleep in the back of the showroom- he had a little hidden area that he put a 'mattress' of carpet samples in, and would doze back there. Show up 45 minutes late, leave without a word two hours early, no interest in learning a bit of the job, just two things he would say- that his mom ran the company so he got a great job (knowing who I am, mind you), and a whole slew of MAGA talking points- including putting a 'TRUMP 2020' flag on the wall above the desk, which… whatever your political leanings, there's a time and place for that, and the workplace ain't it.
I lasted a week, and just couldn't do more- I was training the untrainable, and the whole situation had me in deep depression. Since I was a temp now, there wasn't any recourse for the company when I tossed my keys on the desk the following Monday on my way out the door and left.
Fast forward three years, I work for a company now that handles union dues (and love it), the old showroom was closed during the pandemic but re-opened earlier this year, and I found out today that it was being closed down due to 'mismanagement', and the sales staff folded into the Richmond and Philadelphia offices. I know this because the same vapid dipshit dug my phone number up and called to ask if wherever I was working was hiring.
So, point to all this… be VERY careful when you leave town, because you're not there to spot any shenanigans going on- if you don't have a contract or something like that, you're replaceable, particularly if momma wants her son to have a job. No matter how secure you feel in your job, be wary- and be ready to figure out a Plan B if you suddenly need it, so you don't have to take temp work to train your replacement like I did.