"I have to advise you of a decision that will affect you," says the slimy letter the company's corporate office sent out, one day before many employees were to lose their jobs at the teen clothing retailer around the country, according to Buzzfeed. The website's business reporter talked to former employees who told her the same story that Northgate manager Andrea Frisener told me: up until the last second, Wet Seal told them the stores weren't closing—that their jobs were safe. (Wet Seal didn't respond to my or Buzzfeed's requests for comment.)

I haven't been able to reach Friesner to confirm, but perhaps managers received same letter at Northgate, where over the past two days, employees shamed their company in their store's window with a handwritten poster, in a heartfelt protest that's since gone wildly viral.