The Big Bang Theory: 10 Times Penny Should Have Been Fired

Penny never intended her job at the Cheesecake Factory to be a permanent one, as she was only doing it to support herself while she was waiting to be discovered and become a famous actress. Of course, that didn’t quite happen the way she expected, and instead, Penny went into pharmaceutical sales, and eventually carved out a whole new career for herself.

However, during her time as a waitress on The Big Bang Theory, it was clear that she didn’t want to be there, and she often did things that would get a normal server fired. Even after she moved on in the world, she wasn’t always the best employee – and there were a few times that she probably should have been fired.

10 Giving A Customer Alcohol When They Asked For Non-Alcoholic

After a while, Penny started working as a bartender, as well as a waitress, at the Cheesecake Factory. This was a great opportunity for her, but she definitely should have been fired when she gave Sheldon alcohol after he asked for non-alcoholic drinks. It was played off as a joke, as Sheldon drunk becomes extremely gregarious and started performing on the piano, but this is absolutely not ok. Admittedly, she was going to make sure he was ok, and he doesn’t drive, but still.

9 Letting Sheldon Keep Bussing Tables

When Sheldon was stuck at work, he decided to emulate Einstein by getting a ‘menial’ job – so he decided to start working at the Cheesecake Factory. Of course, he didn’t actually need to get hired, because he didn’t want to get paid, so he just started showing up and bussing tables, and everyone pretty much accepted it. Most of the other people working there probably assumed he was a new hire, but Penny knew that he wasn’t, and just let it go, even though it could have potentially caused issues for her employer.

8 Leaving Work To Take A Friend Home

This was definitely a really sweet gesture, when Sheldon was sick and came in, Penny left her shift to take him home and take care of him.

And perhaps she somehow cleared it with her manager, passed her tables on to someone else, and there were enough staff on anyway that it all worked out… but if she actually just walked out with her friend, that would be completely unacceptable.

7 Being Late To Work (A Lot)

As well as walking out with a friend, and somehow always being free in the evenings, Penny was also routinely late to work. Sometimes, this was because of her own disorganization, but of course, this was also occasionally due to things out of her control – like when Leonard’s Time Machine blocked her, and by the time she actually got to work, they had given her shift away. Of course, it does beg the question of why she didn’t just… call… but either way, consistent lateness would be a solid reason to be let go.

6 Ignored Customers To Talk To Her Friends

While Penny was a truly devoted waitress to her friends, when they were at the restaurant, she basically ignored other customers. At points, she would be standing talking to the guys for extended periods of time, totally ignoring her other tables. In one scene, she actually waves away a customer asking for help because she’s so involved in a conversation with her friends. A manager seeing that would be seriously unimpressed.

5 Just Didn’t Care About Being A Waitress

All in all, Penny just doesn’t care about being a Cheesecake Factory waitress – and while it’s hard to blame her, as she was just doing it to make ends meet, it definitely meant that she was terrible at her job.

She admits it, too, although she does also say that she memorized the entire menu, which is something. However, it’s still impressive that she wasn’t fired long ago.

4 The Penny Blossoms Fiasco

Outside of the Cheesecake Factory, there are a few other instances where Penny should really have been fired – although in this case, it’s not really a case of firing, as she was attempting to work for herself. However, when she tried to start a business selling hair accessories shaped like flowers, she continually messed up – first, she didn’t know how to price them to make a profit, then she got her friends to work for her for free, then she offered things that she couldn’t deliver on – like next-day shipping and no limit on bulk orders. No wonder this one failed.

3 Was A Terrible Actress

Fans feel for Penny on this one, but there’s no denying that for all the years she was attempting to be an actress, she was just plain bad at it. Frankly, it was surprising that she managed to get the jobs that she did, and keep them. Ironically enough, the one acting job that she did get fired from was the sequel to her ape movie – where she was fired for taking it too seriously, and trying to improve her role. The decision to leave acting behind was definitely a good one.

2 Complaining About Bernadette At Work

When Bernadette offers Penny a job with her company, she’s unsure – and has no experience in the field (although she turns out to be surprisingly good at it). However, she ends up bonding with management at the company over how terrifying Bernadette can be. It may have got her an ‘in’ with them, but gossiping and making mean comments about a co-worker is just not ok.

1 Yelling At Her Team And Making Them Scared Of Her

In the end, Penny is doing extremely well in pharmaceuticals, managing a sales team and coming up with slogans. However, she takes some terrible advice from Bernadette, and decides to manage by fear, leaving her poor team terrified of her. This may be played for laughs, but in reality, creating such a toxic work environment would likely lead to her losing her job – not being praised for her successes.

About The Author

Rose Graceling-Moore
(1516 Articles Published)

Rose Graceling-Moore has been writing about film, TV and comics since 2013, when she began writing for a local print magazine in Vancouver, BC. Since then, Rose has written for Horror Honeys, Moviepilot and Quirkbooks as well as Screenrant, increasingly focusing on comic books and live-action comic adaptations, as well as diversity and representation on screen. Rose also co-hosted the DC Movies Podcast, and has guested on other nerd and entertainment podcasts over the past five years.

Rose’s love of comics began all the way back in the early ‘90s, when she discovered the X-Men while living in Africa (where there wasn’t a whole lot to do but read!), and since then has had an on-again, off-again love affair with not just Marvel, but DC and indie comics as well. You can follow her on Twitter: RoseMooreWrites for tweets about comics, movies, and more.

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