Taco Bell manager claims she was fired for closing the store to clean it: 'I just kept finding things that were disturbing'

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A Taco Bell manager claims that she was fired for closing the restaurant to perform a deep clean on the kitchen and lobby, which she described as “disturbing.”

Crystal Connors reportedly locked the doors of the Yreka, Calif., in the middle of a business day to perform the deep clean. Despite only recently being hired, she was apparently terminated later that same day.

Connors only lasted as the general manager for six days, News 10 reports. Based on her Facebook page, she appeared to be determined to restore the Taco Bell’s reputation among locals. In one of her Facebook posts, she described the restaurant as having long wait times for food and employees who were disrespectful.

In another post, she stated, “I’ll have that place clean before a week.”

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On Monday, she decided that the restaurant was too dirty to stay open. “I just kept finding things that were disturbing, and as I found one drain was the source of a smell I had been looking for," Connors told News 10. "When the insects started crawling up my arm, it alarmed me to the extent that I asked the employees to lock the lobby doors so that no one could come in. I asked if they were comfortable cleaning the lobby and making it safe, and I would deal with the consequences."

"When the insects started crawling up my arm, it alarmed me to the extent that I asked the employees to lock the lobby doors so that no one could come in."

— Crystal Connors, former manager

Unfortunately for her, management apparently felt the situation wasn’t as bad as she did. Later that day, Connors claims that she was told to call the restaurant’s owner (this particular location is a Taco Bell franchise). The restaurant was reopened and Connors was sent home.

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She claims that she received a text message the next day informing her that she was terminated. She posted screenshots of segments of the conversation to her Facebook page, where it shows that she argued over how many hours she was getting paid for.

In a statement to Fox News, a spokesperson for Taco Bell said, “The franchise owner and operator of this location take this very seriously.  The local health department came into the restaurant yesterday and confirmed it has been and still is in compliance with their standards. While the owner does not typically comment on such matters, it considers the allegations to be without merit and has confirmed that the individual in question was not terminated for cleaning.”

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A representative for the Siskiyou County Environmental Health Division confirmed that the restaurant was inspected.

Connors once again took to Facebook to share videos and images of the kitchen. These videos allegedly show equipment covered in grime, slippery puddles of liquid on the floor, broken floor tiles and discarded food and garbage strewn about.

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Connors told Fox News that she plans on moving and that the only reason she posted the videos and pictures was to explain to everyone why she locked the doors. She claimed that on the morning that she closed the store, her employers called someone else instead of her to find out what was going on.

Connors told Fox News, "First thing they said is you cannot close the store, and I said I understand that it's policy. They asked how long do you plan on keeping it closed? I said only until the fecal matter smell and the cloud of flies clears the lobby."

"In the moment, they showed no concern for dealing with the gross problem in the building," Connors continued. "I knew I'd made the right decision and never looked back."