8 years ago, my uncle helped get me a job at his old place of work. They had asked him if he knew anyone looking for a job and it just so happened that I was, so he sent me their way. It was a lot of work but paid $5/hr more than most places in my little city so I was more than happy to start. I looked forward to the small crew (one manager and 3 coworkers in total if we aren't counting the owner) I truly wish I hadn't. The owner lived in a different state and spent his entire day watching the security cameras, looking for any excuse to call and yell at us. I was scheduled for 10 or 12 hr shifts but they always kept me there for at least 15. I was expected to show up 10 minutes early but clock in on time, just to name a few reasons I should have quit sooner but what really got my panties in a twist was when my brother died.
About 3 months into the job, I got some not so great news. The first call was to tell me that my grandma had a rare birth defect and had to have emergency surgery on her heart. The earliest they could get her in was that Thursday, only 3 days away. The second call came a few hours after the first. What had started out as an eye exam turned into and emergency visit to the ER. The eye doc took one good look at my brothers eyes and sent him on his way, refusing to elaborate. Well, the visit to the ER let us know that he had lesions on his brain and one of them was leaking fluid onto his brain stem. He needed emergency surgery and, wouldn't you know it, the earliest they could get him in was that thursday. The kicker? Both surgeries had a 50/50 survival rate.
I went into work early the next morning to let my manager know what was happening; 2 people I love were having very risky surgeries on the same day and the odds were not ideal. I let him know that I would keep him in the loop and if the worst were to happen, he could count on a phone call but I would not be in. He genuinely seemed concerned and told me he understood. What a load of bull.
So, sooner than I'd hoped, thursday had arrived. I had a hard time focusing on work but I was there and got the job done. It wasn't long after my shift that I got the news that my grandma was out of surgery, awake and alert. It was quite a few hours after that before I got any updates on my little brother. Surgery took longer than they thought it would but they expected a full recovery. He was awake an alert, walking around. But shit happened and my brother died unexpectedly a few hours later.
I sat on my kitchen floor crying for I don't know how long before it occurred to me that I should probably call my boss. It was 4am but I knew he would be awake and my shift was supposed to start in an hour and a half so I picked up my phone and made the call. I was surprised he didn't answer but because I had forewarned him, I figured a voicemail would suffice. I wasn't sure he would understand me through my sobbing but I told him what had happened, that I wouldn't be in that day but he could expect me to be there for my next scheduled shift and, since he never called back, I assumed all was well on that front and that I could grieve without worry. As promised, I showed up 2 days later for my shift. I didn't want to go but I figured 12+hours of physical labor might distract me a bit and sucked it up.
The SECOND I walked through the doors, my manager asked to speak with me in his office. Stupid me thought that he wanted to give me his sorries and maybe send me home for the day but I wouldn't be posting this if that were the case. Instead, the man yelled at me for a half hour straight. I was screamed at about how unprofessional it was to pull a no call no show, how he had missed his own mother's funeral not so long ago because he had to go in on his day off and there was no excusing my behavior. I reminded him that I had given him notice that this might happen and then another notice when I left him a voicemail but apparently none of that mattered. I was a bad employee. I couldn't wrap my head around it; he had been so understanding before, what changed? I guess I'll never know. I'd like to say I walked out right then and there but I didn't. I stayed for another 4 hours before I decided that I deserved more respect than I was getting and walked off the job. I felt so stupid to believe that a company that scheduled you for 12 hours but always kept you for 15 would have any sympathy for its employees. What an idiot I was.