A manager was left looking for work after an employee shared their heartless text messages.
Mom Crystal Reynolds Fisher was left reeling when she was faced with a stark ultimatum during a deeply distressing time, per The Independent.
An employee at PS Food Mart in Albion, Michigan, Fisher found herself in a dire situation as her then-18-year-old son, Jason, fell severely ill with a fever of 104 and was admitted to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor.
Placed on life support, Jason's condition was understandably a source of great concern for his mother, and other things - such as work - had to be put to the side.
In her time of crisis, she reached out to her manager, Dawn, to inform her that she would be unable to come to work while she stayed by her son's side during his medical emergency.
What followed was a text exchange that exposed the utter lack of compassion displayed by Crystal's manager.
In response to Crystal's message explaining her situation and her inability to work, Dawn coldly replied: "That isn't how we do things, so I'll accept that you're quitting."
Stunned and distressed, Crystal attempted to reason with her boss, asking: "Ok so how do we do things when my child is on life support? I never said I was quitting, so I take it that you're firing me?"
Dawn's reply was - once again - far from empathetic, as she responded: "If you can't come to work, that's you quitting."
Despite Crystal's attempts to communicate the gravity of her situation and the need to be with her son, Dawn remained uncompromising. She added: "I will not get into it with you on here, but I've been more than accommodating during this, allowing schedule changes and such... There is no reason you can't work, and I will not tolerate drama... End of conversation... If you aren't there to work your shift tomorrow, then I take that as you've quit."
In a final statement that exhibited a lack of understanding and empathy, Dawn indicated that she would indeed come to work if faced with a similar situation and expressed her focus on managing the store.
Crystal, disheartened by the exchange, shared the text messages on Facebook, where they quickly garnered widespread attention. The public's outrage led to over 53,000 reactions, more than 99,000 shares, and around 32,000 comments.
In response to the public backlash and mounting concern, PS Food Mart conducted an investigation into the matter. They promptly announced that the manager involved had been terminated from employment.
In an official statement, the company acknowledged the mishandling of the situation and the lack of compassion displayed.
"We investigated and have found that the situation was handled improperly and without the compassion that we value as a company," PS Food Mart stated, per Fox 2 Detroit. "For that, we are very sorry. As a result of this finding, we took quick action, and that manager is no longer employed by PS Food Mart.
"We have also reaffirmed to our employee that she will be able to take all the time off that she needs during this difficult period. We’d like to thank the public for their concern."
In a subsequent GoFundMe, Crystal explained that her son's father had died and she also had two other children to take care of. Fortunately, nearly $3,000 was raised to help her pay for gas so she could run between home and the hospital.
The mom later told Fox 17: "My concern is when my son does wake up and when he does open his eyes, he sees mommy there."
The incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of empathy and understanding, particularly when employees face personal crises that require compassionate support from their employers.
