U.K. store worker fired by text message

**Jared Moya** · August 7th, 2006, 11:49 PM

LONDON — Katy Tanner's cellphone beeped with a startling message — you're fired. The 21-year-old had a migraine headache and took a sick day last week from her job at Blue Banana, a chain body-piercing studio in Cardiff, Wales, she said Monday. She turned on her cellphone the next day to discover she'd been terminated from her sales position.

"We've reviewed your sales figures and they're not really up to the level we need," shop manager Alex Barlett wrote in the message. "As a result, we will not require your services any more. Thank you for your time with us."

Ian Bisbie, a Blue Banana director said the company does not usually fire employees by text message, but had no other alternative after phoning Tanner five or six times and calling her boyfriend.

The company also defended the sacking-by-text message as a way to keep modern.

"We are a youth business and our staff are all part of the youth culture that uses (text) messaging as a major means of communication," Bisbie said in a statement e-mailed to the South Wales Echo newspaper. "Therefore as we wished to spare Miss Tanner the embarrassment and expense of coming into the store only to be sent straight home again, it was decided this was the best course of action to take."

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/20...ge-fired_x.htm

**Auggie2k** · August 8th, 2006, 01:35 AM

Big deal, people get dumped by text all the time so why not fired.

**shawners** · August 8th, 2006, 03:45 AM

Whats the difference between leaving a message on a VOICE mail or answering machine at home?

**Signa** · August 8th, 2006, 04:18 AM

i got fired once where i had to come in. it was a pain in the ass. i wish they just did it over the phone. it was my day off, i was sleeping when they asked me to come in

**cjules13** · August 8th, 2006, 06:06 AM

Yeah, I got fired once at the end of my shift. Pissed me off, they used me for the whole day 1st then kick me out, even though they knew they were going to do it beforehand.

**RACKnRAIL** · August 8th, 2006, 06:59 AM

Originally Posted by cjules13

Yeah, I got fired once at the end of my shift. Pissed me off, they used me for the whole day 1st then kick me out, even though they knew they were going to do it beforehand.

That happened to me too. I was a bartender, years ago, and I had a customer dine & dash. The Hotel wanted me to foot the bill, which I refused. The next day, I finished my shift and was then promptly fired, but not for the dine & dash. They said it was because I over served the patron and jepordized the hotel license, which of course was bullshit. However, it covered their asses, as it would not have been just cause to fire me for a d & d.

To be honest, I would prefer a text message than to be called into a small office and told your fired for complete bullshit. I wanted to strangle the prick right there. It was all I could do to stop from punching the asshole in the kisser. It still makes me angry thinking back on it.

**Potato** · August 8th, 2006, 09:41 AM

There are other options.

Leave a flipping message saying, "We need to talk to you blah blah blah."

Firing by text message is pretty damn tacky.

**rainbowdemon** · August 8th, 2006, 06:10 PM

Originally Posted by cjules13

Yeah, I got fired once at the end of my shift. Pissed me off, they used me for the whole day 1st then kick me out, even though they knew they were going to do it beforehand.

I understand. I used to work at a place that did that on a regular basis.