Leaving a place of work behind can be the best for everyone. When the exit is performed correctly, there can even be lasting relationships among former coworkers and employers.
But sometimes people want to go the petty route instead.
Andreas Flaten and Olivia Oxley realized how far Flaten's boss was willing to go to fulfill a petty revenge fantasy when they returned home on a Friday morning.
That morning, the pair discovered in their driveway a giant pile of oil-covered pennies, which Oxley depicted in a video on her Instagram the next day. The pile was completed with a note on top that said, "F**k you."
You can see the video here:
According to Oxley's detailed post, Flaten had put in his proper two-week notice at A OK Walker Autoworks in Fayetteville, Georgia clear back in November. Flaten submitted a written letter of resignation and was also willing to work for the following two weeks.
Oxley explained:
"First things first, when he (Flaten) quit, he gave a written resignation letter complete with a two weeks notice."
"After Miles Walker of AOK Walker auto works continued to be the a**hole he is and make a normal workday hell, making unnecessary comments about my boyfriend's daughter and just be an all around d*ck, that 2 weeks turned into 5 days."
Oxley also explained Walker's and Flaten's stories did not add up.
Despite Flaten and Oxley's account Flaten departed the workplace peacefully, Walker complained about "damages."
"My boyfriend respectfully delivered his uniforms washed and in a box complete with another letter as to why he was leaving early."
"Fast forward 3 months and he was refusing to send out the last paycheck claiming damages to the shop."
When three months went by without the arrival of a final paycheck, Flaten reached back out to his former employer and suggested getting a lawyer involved to obtain the rest of his earnings.
Oxley said in reference to her video:
"Once the word 'lawyer' was introduced, this is what he did."
But to make matters worse, it wasn't just a pile of pennies in the driveway.
The pile, which added up to the $915 missing paycheck, weighed over 500 pounds, and each coin was covered in oil.
Oxley went on to describe the struggles the couple had since then:
"1. We can't even get all the pennies up because they're covered in some type of oil."
"2. Who the hell knows how we're going to get them out of the driveway, up into the car, out of the car again, and into a bank or coin star. And that's if we can even do that because they're covered in oil."
Flaten also stated he was spending his evenings cleaning the pennies.
"If I've done my math correctly, 91,515 pennies should come out to be about, at two and a half grams each, about 504 pounds."
"I think that's going to be a lot of work for money I've already worked for."
When asked about the story, Walker brushed it off.
"I don't know if I did that or not. I don't really remember. It doesn't matter; he got paid, that's all that matters. He's a f**king weenie for even bringing it up."
Oxley also couldn't believe how petty Flaten's boss was.
"I'm not sure what's worse... the fact that this man is so miserable, he can't accept an employee leaving because he's the biggest a**hole I've seriously ever met, or the fact that he went through THAT much effort to get $915 worth of HEAVYYY pennies just to say 'f**k you'. I mean....couldn't he have just p*ssed on the check or something?"
Instagram couldn't believe it, either.
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Some also suggested how to make the most of the situation.
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It appears since the story went around, A OK Walker Autoworks received a series of negative reviews on Yelp and Google.
Fellow coworkers shared their thoughts on the workplace and agreed it was a toxic environment and not a place they would suggest working. They also mentioned instances of misogyny and even tearing up paystubs and publicly ridiculing employees in front of their coworkers.
On the one hand, at least Flaten finally received his money. But on the other hand, what a terrible ordeal to have to go through just to get the money you already earned.
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