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View Full Version : I Finally Drew A Line In The Sand!



SiouzQ.
5-6-12, 10:14am
Each week I remain at my job gets harder and harder and I care less and less. "J" will be leaving on May 20th. The owner did hire a new person who may (?) turn into the manager/key holder. He's worked two days so far and is already wondering what the he** he got himself into. The 81 year old owner's treatment of the other new guy "G" (he's been there about six weeks now) has been terrible; the owner's modus operandi is to find a scapegoat to constantly pick on (in front of customers, no less). They got into an argument on Friday right on the sales floor in front of people because the owner pushed "G" too far about something so stupid as to be unbelievable and "G" responded in anger at the owner and they started arguing right next to me as I am trying to conduct business on the phone. It is SO embarrassing to work in this place! I told them to get away from me, as I was trying to speak with a customer about his repair (oh yeah, the whole repair situation is another long, long story I will never go into, but it is a big one).

Anyway, the day goes by and I have to go up to the office to give the owner a message and without really planning exactly what I was going to say, I ended up telling him in a calm but firm manner that I no longer liked or enjoyed working at his store and that his behavior toward other employees and customers embarrassed me and made me stressed out. I told him that I left work with headaches every day from the stress and that I was totally burned out. I think he was a little shocked at what I had to say and he promised he wouldn't be "like that" anymore and what could he do to make it better? I told him that I would like some time off at the end of June and he said that could be arranged (I'm not sure I actually believe him as I think he is just trying to placate me) but we have to let the new guy get trained and comfortable around the place, which I agreed to.

I have already decided that I am going on my road trip to New Mexico from June 18 - July 5th. This is non-negotiable for me and if he doesn't like it or tries to wheedle me along, I will not waver. At least I laid the groundwork for why I am displeased with things the way they are. If it results in me being fired, so be it...I can't live this way any longer and I am so tired of wasting time and getting more and more stressed out. I have a constant headache now and my life outside of work is and has been suffering. Life is too short to be stuck in this miserable place!

So when I do this trip and return to work on July 5 (provided I am not fired at this point), I will be in a much clearer state of mind to really assess the situation and decide how I am going to proceed.

I guess there just comes a point when you know you HAVE to take definitive action, even when you don't know what the outcome will be. I already feel better knowing I spoke my truth and set limits on what I will accept. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out, but I am getting more and more detached from the outcome because it is not my responsibility anymore. My only responsibility at this point is to go in when I am supposed to be there and try to sell stuff.

PS: I did tell the owner that if I heard him treating my co-worker's badly that I was going to "get in his face" and shake my finger at him (at this point we had turned it into a joke and ended the discussion on a fairly positive note). And I will call him out on any bad behavior on his part because I just can't stand it anymore.

razz
5-6-12, 10:18am
Good for you to set the boundary for yourself and him.

Life_is_Simple
5-6-12, 1:12pm
So when I do this trip and return to work on July 5 (provided I am not fired at this point), I will be in a much clearer state of mind to really assess the situation and decide how I am going to proceed.

This time away will help a lot. It takes the first week as a semi-recovery time, and the 2nd week will be when you feel like you are thinking clearly about the situation again.

Be ready for nothing to have changed when you get back. But have some decisions made on what you want. You may come up with ideas for other opportunities while out. And you will have a little renewed energy on how to push back at the current place in the meantime.

Always listen to your body. The headaches are telling you something.

sweetana3
5-6-12, 1:14pm
You may be the only honest employee. At times, the "bad" person will respect it and it will increase communication. It sounds as if he at least listened. Hoping for a positive result.

Float On
5-6-12, 1:18pm
I admire your stand. Good job!

Tradd
5-6-12, 2:11pm
Good for you!

puglogic
5-6-12, 4:03pm
Brava!

leslieann
5-6-12, 4:13pm
That must feel good, SiouzQ. However, I wonder if I understood correctly that you have planned your vacation but the boss doesn't know about it? If so, I suggest that you get your time off on the schedule ASAP. You might end up quitting first but you sure don't want to HAVE to quit because he cannot accommodate you on short notice.

You probably have addressed this somewhere else: I have been a bit out of touch with the boards lately...but I worry when I hear people use potential issues as a way to create a crisis (in order to leave, or quit, or get fired). You did a great job of addressing your concerns directly. Addressing your upcoming time off directly would seem to follow. Please excuse me if I am out of line here.

SiouzQ.
5-6-12, 7:04pm
I have put my vacation schedule up on the calendar and also wrote a typed note (and kept a copy for myself) for him to see tomorrow. It is going to be what it is going to be. All I know is what I can handle (or not). There is not a single person that I work with (except the teachers, who don't have much direct contact with the owner) that isn't disgruntled, dissatisfied, and thinking of leaving. No one likes working there anymore, which is a total shame because it has been in the past and has the potential to be again such a cool place to work, if only the owner would sell it to someone who can run it the right way. As it stands, his reputation over the years has many people (musicians) soured on the idea of ever trying to work for him...