So yeah... Time for a work-related entry with a few specifics in it. If you're reading this and it includes you, sorry if it offends you; This is my place to vent.

WARNING: This entry contains some explicit profanity. Not for the faint of heart.

Okay... There are 5 of us who have been working at the shop here in town: Me, "Boss Dude", "Dude 1", "Dude 2", "Dude 3". The "Dude n" guys are all the non-management staff, and are ordered in terms of seniority.

Yesterday, Dude 1, Dude 2, and I were all working. Boss Dude and Dude 1 opened the shop, I came in at 11:00, and Dude 2 came in at noon. At 1:00, Boss Dude had been gone for a little while and had asked if we had been busy, and when I told him we had 3 cars since he left, he asked me if I sent Dude 1 home yet. At that point, I sent Dude 1 home, to which he had no argument.

Around 1:30 or 2:00, Dude 2 and I found ourselves getting swamped. Between 1:00 and 6:00, we had a total of 19 cars. Anyhow... I told Dude 2 that if it continued to be busy, I was going to call Dude 1 back in. At 3:51, I called Dude 1. I said, "What are you doing?" His response was, "Nothing. Just getting ready to sit down and eat dinner. Why?" I told him that we had gotten slammed with customers and that we needed help. He said, "Oh shit," in a suprised tone, but when I asked him if he could come in to help out, his response was, "No, I can't." He made absolutely no effort to say, "In a little bit," or, "I'm watching the kids," or, "I don't want to because you smell funny." Instead, he said, "No, I can't."

So lets rewind here... Ever since Dude 1 was hired, I have been there to cover for him if he needed to call off, or leave early, or take a different day off than what he was scheduled for. Not once have I refused to cover for him, even when he claimed he had to go see a doctor about his foot and came in the next day, not having seen a doctor, but covering up a bunch of fresh hickeys on his neck. Just this past week, Boss Dude worked the schedule so that Dude 1 could have Thursday, Friday, and Saturday off, essentially giving him a 4-day weekend.

So anyhow, this deal yesterday wasn't the first time Dude 1 refused to come in. Twice in the past I have called him to see if he can come help with minor things, such as running a tire to the tire shop for another employee. Each time he has given the same response, "No, I can't."

Well, Dude 2 and I made it through the rush of cars yesterday, even though he's still kinda new to some of the things around the shop (such as running the computer - he's doing good at it though!). The customers were very patient yesterday too, which helped immensely. After the day was over, "Boss Lady" called and asked if we were feeling allright after that rush. I told her that we were fine, but that I was a bit upset, and I explained the situation to her about Dude 1. She wasn't at all pleased with it, considering I had covered him so much in the past, that they have tried to be flexible for him, but he's not been willing to do anything more than what was convenient for him, and even then it was questionable.

This morning, Boss Lady informed me that she wrote up a memo to put in Dude 1's employee file about the situation. She summarized the situation, but still maintained pertinent details, and explained the "implied call-back" deal, as well as my frustration. In no way was it mentioned that he was being written up, docked pay, demoted, or whatever else one could conjur up. Still, when Boss Dude presented it to him this morning, Dude 1 got really upset. Through the course of the morning, he gathered his personal belongings from his basket (we use them like lockers), his file folder, and removed his shop key from his keychain. When Boss Dude asked him what it was all about, Dude 1 said something along the lines of, "I don't know how long you were planning on keeping me here." Boss Dude handed him a piece of paper and a pen and said, "Write 'I quit' on it, sign it, and date it." Dude 1 wrote (exactly as follows), "I Qit."

Somewhere around that same time, I got a nice message on my voicemail. It said, "I think it's really fucking shitty how you turn on your friend/co-worker. Have fun training somebody new."

Apparently I am the one at fault here.

About 75% of the people I've discussed this with, outside of work, have said they would have done the same thing as Dude 1, having been sent home and called back in. Well, you know what, screw all y'all: He lives about 5 minutes from the shop and he owed me anyhow. It's not like he wouldn't have been paid for his deeds. Instead, he took the "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" attitude, took his days off without so much as a "thanks", and spat in my face. I don't think anything that was asked of him was out of line, and I think that he's looking for someone else to blame for his laziness and inconsiderateness.

So yeah... I'm not at all upset that he's gone. I am upset that he's trying to make me look the part of the fool here, when it's his own selfish actions that brought this about. Not only did he make my day rough, he made Dude 2's day rough, he made Boss Dude and Dude 3's day rough today, as well as causing me to have to work on my day off...AGAIN!!!

In conclusion: I don't think what I asked of him was wrong. I think he was way out of line for refusing to come in and help out for a little bit.

I am working on a "Stress Hangover", thanks to this all being done and over with, so I'm going to get some sleep.