AN outspoken worker has shared online the “evidence” for her sacking – including a tweet in which she wished death on all customers.
Former Homebase employee Kayleigh Mcghee posted the string of offending messages on Twitter with the caption: “When you get fired from your job and this is the evidence.”
Kayleigh, from Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, has now gone viral with over 21,000 retweets and 91,000 likes for her string of colourful messages.
She posted an image of what appears to be a print-out featuring at the top a post of hers from January 5 in which she stated: “Hate customers hopefully they all die.”
There are two posts from August 16 last year which suggest Kayleigh was not the most approachable of Homebase workers.
She first tweeted that day: “How annoying when customers ask how much something is. Why don’t you take it to the f****** till and you’ll find out, because I don’t f****** know.”
Kayleigh tweeted later that day: “Also how rude when customers ask for help. Do I look like a f****** plumber or electrician to you? F*** off it’s a DIY store get out my face.”
A further outburst came a month later, on September 7.
After a post where she admitted to taking an hour break when she was only supposed to have half an hour, she went on the offensive against customers again.
The first tweet said: “When the card reader literally says ready and the customer stares at it for five minutes then asks if it’s ready…you ugly f***s.”
She added: “And you tell customers it’s not contactless and they’re all ‘oh so behind with the times’. You’re so funny I haven’t heard that 60 times today already.”
Kayleigh’s dad, Ray, has posted a string of tweets since January defending his daughter and being heavily critical of Homebase.
Initially he said: “So daughter was told to resign or attend a disciplinary meeting and be sacked. Perhaps @Homebase_uk could show me where on their disciplinary flowchart that option appears.”
He later added: “Customer is always right is commendable, but sometimes you have to look after your staff instead of throwing them under the bus. #justsaying.”
And: “Big businesses these days. Walking over young people’s rights with not a care in the world. #ANGRY doesn’t even come close.”
However he did also seem to concede that the posts may have been ill-judged, saying: “I’ve said it before and will say it again. In my opinion there should be a maturity test before people get access to any form of social media.”
Social media users sent in replies in their hundreds, with many slamming Kayleigh for her outbursts.
One user perhaps stated the obvious when they said: “Customer service position probably not best suited for yourself.”
Jayde Hartley said: “Almost every company has a social media policy in this day and age. She should’ve known better.”
Another said: “Got what you deserve in my opinion. You’re paid to service the customer, there must be a level of professionalism and respect.”
Philip Nolan added: “I’m pretty astonished people here are suggesting union representation, legal representation, or even citing social media impersonation. Best advice to Kayleigh is simple – don’t work in retail, or in any job in which you have to daily deal with, you know, actual people.”
However, there were some who had sympathy with the now jobless woman.
One said: “You don’t mention who you work for in the tweet. Nor does it state this in your profile. They have no grounds to dismiss you. Requesting you resign could be seen as bullying. If you resign it could be viewed as constructive dismissal.”
Another said: “I feel like this isn’t even that bad though. Like if you took a pic of your job or something it would be different, but nobody reading this would know where you worked. Sorry you got sacked.”
Nick Daniels admitted that he had been in a similar predicament .
He added: “Done a similar thing before and I got fired. I should have handed in notice before they fired me. It’s was on Facebook and I had the company name as a place where I work. Damn it.”
21-year-old Kayleigh’s dad, Ray, 48, today (mon) defended his daughter and revealed she was a recipient of Homebase’s customer service excellence badge.
He said: “There was no way to make the connection between Kayleigh and Homebase at the time she was “resigned”, therefore she believes it was harsh.
“Especially since the decision was made by head office based on Twitter use and not her Homebase work or ethic. She was actually given a customer service excellence badge whilst in her customer-facing role.”
He added: “Twitter is a way for people to vent, especially the youngsters.
“Kayleigh was reduced to tears on many an occasion by aggressive men, with no backing from management, so took to Twitter to let off steam. No customers were harmed in the process and neither Bunnings nor Homebase were mentioned.
“Kayleigh was told if she attended the meeting she would be fired so she resigned. She was never warned about social media posts.”
