Running a business is a tricky line to walk, especially when it comes to dealing with both customers and employees. I do think, though, that most people try their best.

OP runs a small vape shop, and after one of his employees had proven herself for a couple of years, he promoted her to manager.

I own a vape shop. We’re a small business, only 12 employees.

One of my employees, Peggy, was supposed to open yesterday. Peggy has recently been promoted to Manager, after 2 solid years of good work as a cashier.

I really thought she could handle the responsibility.

That should have been the (happy) end of the story, but then one day, not long into her new job, she didn’t show up for work.

So, I wake up, 3 hours after the place should be open, and I have 22 notifications on the store Facebook page. Customers have been trying to come shop, but the store is closed. Employees are showing up to work, but they’re locked out.

I call Peggy, and get no response. I text her, same thing.

So I go in and open the store. An hour before her shift was supposed to be over, she calls me back.

When he finally got ahold of her, she said she’d needed a mental health day and that she hadn’t had “enough spoons” to call him before not showing up.

I ask her if she’s ok, and she says she needed to “take a mental health day and do some self-care”.

I’m still pretty angry at this point, but I’m trying to be understanding, as I know how important mental health can be.

So I ask her why she didn’t call me as soon as she knew she needed the day off.

Her response: “I didn’t have enough spoons in my drawer for that.”.

Frankly, IDK what that means. But it seems to me like she’s saying she cannot be trusted to handle the responsibility of opening the store in the AM.

When he told her she could go back to her old position or be fired, she accused him of being racist (and other stuff).

So I told her that she had two choices:

Go back to her old position, with her old pay.

I fire her completely.

She’s calling me all sorts of “-ist” now, and says I’m discriminating against her due to her poor mental health and her gender.

OP tries to respect mental health but doesn’t think he’s wrong about someone picking up a phone if they’re going to miss work.

None of this would have been a problem if she simply took 2 minutes to call out. I would have got up and opened the store on time. But this no-call/no-show is not the way to run a successful business.

I think I might be the AH here, because I am taking away her promotion over something she really had no control over.

But at the same time, she really could have called me.

So, reddit, I leave it to you: Am I wrong?

Is Reddit on the once-manager’s side? I’m dying to know!

The top comment says OP is actually being more than fair.

This person says you live and you learn.

They say she might have been overwhelmed but that doesn’t excuse her attitude.

Other business owners have advice for OP going forward.

This person says that mental health is important, but so is being dependable at work.

Business owners can be sensitive to mental health needs, but they still have a business to run.

People who leave them high and dry without explanation aren’t going to last long.