For nearly 2 years, Baked Bingo has been one of the projects we have been most proud of.
What started as an event built around cannabis, community, and having a genuinely good time grew into something much bigger. We sold out event after event, built a community around it, worked with businesses and brands, and continued finding ways to make each Baked Bingo better than the last.
But behind the scenes, my experience with the company that we were hosting these events with became a very different story.
After spending years building experience in the cannabis industry, I reached a point where I no longer saw a realistic path for growth within the company. I made the decision to resign peacefully and on my own terms. There was no dramatic walkout, no confrontation, and no attempt to burn bridges.
I simply decided it was time to move on.
Part of that decision came from what I viewed as a lack of meaningful opportunity for advancement. During my time there, I watched management positions become available while some employees appeared to receive opportunities that were not openly communicated to everyone. From my perspective, it became increasingly difficult to understand what the path toward advancement actually looked like.
That was frustrating, especially when you are putting in the work and trying to build a career.
After leaving, I continued talking openly about my experience. I discussed workplace conditions, the promotion process, and my frustrations with what I had personally witnessed. I did not expect everyone to agree with me. I also understood that people would have their own perspectives on what happened.
Then, approximately two weeks after my resignation, I received a formal notice from the company’s attorneys informing me that I was no longer welcome at any of their three properties and that I could be trespassed if I entered.
The timing was certainly interesting.
I had peacefully resigned. I had left the workplace. I had returned what belonged to the company. And then, during the period between leaving and receiving the notice, I had publicly discussed my experiences and concerns regarding the workplace.
Two weeks later, suddenly, I was banned from three locations.
Was the timing connected to what I had been saying? I cannot speak for the company’s intentions. What I can say is that the sequence of events was difficult not to notice.
And that raises a bigger question:
What happens when an employee leaves a company peacefully but then speaks honestly about their experience?
There is an important distinction between criticizing a workplace based on your own experiences and making accusations that cannot be substantiated. This article is about my experience and my perspective. Other people involved may tell the story differently.
But employees should be able to question workplace practices. They should be able to discuss their experiences. And they should be able to say that they felt passed over for opportunities without automatically being treated like a threat simply because they became critical after leaving.
For us, this situation has been particularly strange because Baked Bingo itself had become such a successful part of the relationship.
We had spent almost a year helping create sold-out events, building an audience, bringing people through the doors, and contributing to an experience that benefited everyone involved.
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Then, seemingly overnight, one of the people behind that success was told he was no longer welcome on the premises.
That is a pretty bizarre way for a business relationship to end.
I’m not writing this because I want sympathy. I’m writing it because there is a larger conversation worth having about workplace culture, advancement, transparency, and what happens when employees decide to move on.
Sometimes leaving a company isn’t about failure.
Sometimes it is about recognizing that you have reached the ceiling.
And sometimes the most telling part of a workplace isn’t how you’re treated while you’re there, but what happens after you decide to leave.
Couch Lock’d will continue.
And we’ll continue building things with people who value the work we put into creating them.
As for the rest?
We’ll let the record speak for itself.
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