Waitress Says Her Boss Accused Her Of Being On Drugs After He Searched Her Bag And Found An Insulin Syringe
She was bewildered that her boss would make such accusations, even after she tried to explain that she had a chronic illness.
@thegebos / TikTok A woman revealed the reason why she suddenly quit her waitressing job once she heard the rude accusation made by her boss.
In a TikTok video, Abby Gebo explained that her manager had wrongfully rifled through her personal belongings while she was at work one day, and made an outrageous comment about a chronic illness that Gebo has.
Her boss accused her of being on drugs after finding an insulin syringe in her bag.
"Storytime: when my manager almost called the cops on me for having a chronic illness," Gebo began in her video. Acting out the interaction between her and her boss, Gebo explained that her boss had gone through her personal backpack and stumbled across an insulin syringe.
Not understanding what it was at first, her boss pulled one of the hosts at the restaurant aside and told them to call the cops and have them on standby while he confronted Gebo on why she had it in her bag and was bringing it to work. When he made an announcement of whose backpack it was, Gebo told him that it was hers.
"You know, Abby, I really expected better from you," her boss told her. "Are you just holding these for someone? Because you don't look like you'd have these."
Confused, Gebo asked him to explain what he meant by that question, to which her boss outright accused her of being on drugs.
When Gebo denied that she was using anything, her boss told her that she needed to tell him why she had syringes in her backpack. "I have diabetes," she informed him. "You know that, I don't know why you're asking me about it."
Her boss didn't believe her and tried to point out that someone he knows with diabetes doesn't use a syringe.
Gebo's boss refused to believe her and tried to point out that his niece, who is also diabetic, doesn't use an insulin syringe but an insulin pump.
"Some people can't afford pumps and they have to use vials and syringes," Gebo told her boss.
At that point, her manager tried to make her "prove" that she used vials and syringes. Gebo insisted that she didn't have to "prove" anything to him, but followed his instructions and showed him the stuff she uses to treat her diabetes.
"You're lucky," Gebo recalled her boss saying to her. "But I'm watching you. I'm just making sure none of my staff does drugs."
After that entire interaction, Gebo explained that she didn't think twice about quitting on the spot.
Many people in the comments section were quick to point out how disrespectful it was for Gebo's boss to not only dig through her personal belongings, but to jump to the conclusion that she was on drugs, instead of listening to her as she explained that it was her insulin syringes.
In any workplace, it's important that management respect their employees' privacy and personal space, and this act was a complete invasion and breach of that boundary.
If finding the syringe did pique his interest and set off warning bells, Gebo's boss could have approached the entire ordeal calmly and with respect instead of outright accusing her. His behavior was not only unprofessional but also displayed a lack of empathy and understanding of chronic illnesses like diabetes.
The knee-jerk reaction from her boss not only displays a lack of professionalism but also a lack of trust in an employee, and Gebo's decision to promptly quit is an adequate response to the blatant mistreatment.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.