Problem people at work

[marjancin]

Yes, this is a spinoff thread from the Pet Peeves topic, since the annoyances at work situation could use a topic of its own (plus, anyone who wants to can talk about aggravations that they encounter at their jobs (it's a great way to vent, believe me!)

Anyway, my current annoyance at work is a girl named Michelle. For those of you who have read this topic, you know that she's a thorn in pretty much everyone's side. And, believe it or not, she is still working there. What's more, I don't think she's going anywhere soon. I'm kind of strapped for time at the moment, but I will tell you the story (the high points only), as well as a rather cheap trick that someone pulled on her recently - one that backfired miserably.

[Phalon]

I'm am fortunate in that in 30 years of being in the workforce, I've only run across two co-workers that I butt heads with; even then it was only minor problems that we eventually worked out without too much difficultly.

The core group of people I've worked with for the past 10 years are more like family than coworkers. Not a dysfunctional family either. We work together, and get along great.....

...except for Paul's sardines; I hate when he brings sardines for lunch. (gag)

[marjancin]

Wow, you are ever so lucky! Of course, it could be that I just let things get to me more than I should. However, over the past few years, I've started developing a more positive attitude, which is necessary when you're working around someone like Michelle.
She seems to have connections, since many of our rules don't seem to apply to her. For instance, the dress code. Ever since I started working at my current job a few years back, one of our rules prohibited employees to wear flip-flops. Now, of course, I have no problem with this rule, because I am grossed out by feet and don't even wear flip-flops or any open shoes, for that matter, at home. However, it's been really hot lately and one day, about a month ago, on our first really hot day of the season, Michelle showed up at work in flip-flops. Another one of my co-workers, who just joined us back in November, assumed that maybe they bent the rules a little on warm days, so the next day, she came to work in flip-flops as well. The boss told her that she had to go back home and change her shoes. When she mentioned Michelle, the boss gave her that familiar condescending talking-to, "Let's not worry about Michelle, let's worry about 'Linda'." So she had to go home (and have her pay docked for as long as it took) while Michelle was allowed to continue working wearing flip-flops (and, to add insult to injury, Linda later on saw her barefoot - which, according to me, is pretty much the same as wearing flip-flops). Yes, it is possible that she has a problem with her feet, but they look healthy to me and besides, you'd think that the boss might let us know so we'd understand why she's exempt from the "no flip-flops" rule. But that's not the only rule that she dodges, so somehow, I think that her feet are just fine.
Another rule we've had as long as I've been there concerns hugging. The policy is "hands off", whether it's a co-worker or a customer you're good friends with. Now I think this is a good rule, because excessive hugging is unprofessional. But, as you may have guessed, Michelle can hug anyone she pleases. Now, it's all customers, because by now, pretty much everyone in the workplace dislikes her and wouldn't want to hug her. However, Michelle knows a lot of customers and there are a few that she's great friends with, so she hugs them whenever she comes in. The boss sees it and doesn't say anything. "Ashley", another co-worker, was talking about it with me the other day and told me she was going to talk to the boss about it. I advised against it, because she would almost certainly get the "let's not worry about Michelle" speech.
There are other rules, but they're sort of had to explain and the ones I just mentioned are the ones that irk most of the workers - even me. Even though I hate feet, I know that my co-workers like wearing flip-flops and are upset that Michelle can wear them while all other co-workers aren't allowed. Plus, I'm not too big on hugging, but other co-workers are the touchy-feely type, so that rule sort of bothers them.
So yeah, since Michelle works full time and manages to get around the rules that everyone else has to follow, barring her winning the lottery, I don't see her leaving us anytime soon. I do, however, think that the boss talked to her about her flare-ups at work that I mentioned in the "Pet Peeves" topic, so at least those have stopped. At least that I know of, since I always make sure that I never take my break at the same time that she does.

I'll discuss the aforementioned "cheap trick" (has nothing to do with the rock group of the same name) a little later on.

[Scrappy Amazon]

Not having read one single word of this particular thread I still feel compelled to throw in my two cents.

Either you are incredibly unlucky or you never have anything good to say about anything.

Either way, sorry for your troubles......

[marjancin]

Thank you. I'm thinking that it's probably a little bit of both. Of course, with my changed attitude about things, you might notice that I've posted less things about my problems over the past few years (don't worry, I'll try to post something nice someday - it's just that I'm more compelled to post when I need to vent than when something good happens).

Anyway, now here's the "cheap trick" I mentioned several times in this thread.

Late last week, Linda and Ashley decided to have a party on Sunday to celebrate Independence Day. It was planned for 3:00, and they had told everyone at work that they were invited and found out who could come and who couldn't. Well, the night before, I got a call from Linda, whose house the party would be held at, and she told me that she changed the time to 1:00.

So the next morning, after I got home from church, I got ready and then went to the party, which was just about a block away from where I live. We were all having a good time and I overheard a few times that Michelle would be arriving a little late. I thought, cool, we have a few hours of peace and quiet.

Well, it turned out that they had been faking the time of the party the whole time, and later on,called and told everyone except Michelle that the party was really at 1:00. That way, when she got there, much of the food would be gone. Now, a few years back, I would have thought that was hilarious, but as I've said, my attitude has changed quite a lot, so I actually thought this was a dirty trick. Well, Michelle absolutely pitched a fit when she found out what happened - especially because we had run out of hamburger buns. Now, I don't blame her, but if I'd been the one who was tricked like that, I wouldn't have stayed long and after awhile, just quietly left, because if someone were to pull such a stunt on me, it would obviously mean that I wasn't wanted.

Anyway, Linda said, "Now Michelle, we still have sandwich bread." Michelle said, "Bread for hamburgers? That's ridiculous!" I said, "Wait, I'll be right back." So I ran back to my house and got the bag of hamburger buns I had. I actually did feel sorry for Michelle, but the main reason I was doing this was because otherwise, her rant would be all we'd hear for the rest of the day. However, it did little good, because she still ended up complaining and snapping at everyone - even me. When I reminded her that I had done her a favor, she said, "So what? Someone else would have done me the favor!" Uh, really? I didn't see anyone else getting up to go get hamburger buns! Michelle and her delusions! Finally, at about 6:00, Linda decided that she'd had enough and that it would be best if Michelle left (No idea why she put up with Michelle's hissyfit for three hours, but whatever). Well, at first, she refused and it got to the point where Linda was about to call the police. So Michelle left in a huff.

Then Linda sat down and said to Ashley, "Well that sure backfired on us." As Ashley nodded in agreement, I said, "Well I'm not condoning Michelle's behavior, but that was kind of a lowdown stunt you pulled there." I expected Linda to get mad at me, but instead, she sighed and said, "Yeah, I guess it really was. Not sure if I would have been very happy if I were the goat." I said, "I can understand your reason for doing what you did, because I'm just as fed up with all the preferential treatment that Michelle gets from the boss. But wouldn't it be nice to just have us all together without Michelle?" She said that would indeed be nice. Anyway, we sat together talking for awhile and then, at around 8:00, I went home to get ready for the fireworks show.

Oh, a footnote to this story - Michelle actually went crying to the boss telling him about what happened (since the invitation to the party was posted in the break room). But, I guess since the boss wasn't at the party and didn't see what happened, he can't rightfully do anything about what happened. I heard about this secondhand, so I'm not sure exactly what was said, but it could be that the boss is coming to his senses and starting to treat Michelle like a regular employee. (Hey, I can always dream, can't I?)

Anyway, as I said earlier, I'll try to think of something nice to post, to give credence to the positive attitude that I mentioned I've developed over the past few years. Perhaps, we should start a thread called "The Whoosh Journal" maybe with a subtitle somewhere along the lines of "Good news only". Unless there's already such a thread started.

[Mini Mia]

I must admit I'm bad about only seeing the bad stuff and forgetting the good stuff. It's been pointed out to me a few times too. I only seem to want to grumble, and not rejoice. I've been trying to work on that. It's probably why I have such a sour attitude/outlook.

Maybe complaining about one dead chicken is easier than counting the live ones and being thankful it was only the one.

[Phalon]

I must admit I'm bad about only seeing the bad stuff and forgetting the good stuff....

Maybe complaining about one dead chicken is easier than counting the live ones and being thankful it was only the one.

I've never heard it put quite like that, Joxie, but I think you're right - it's often that one bad thing that sticks in our minds, rather than all the good stuff.

Coincidently, I read an article in one of the hort trade magazines at work yesterday, on the same subject. The title of the article was "Keeping the Right Perspective".

The article basically stated that you (as a business) can't please all people all the time; there will always be one customer that complains. Unfortunately that one customer out of 100 is who we tend to focus on, losing sight of the other 99 percent of people you are pleasing.

I think the same is true outside of work - you can't focus on the bad, losing sight of all that is good. It's counter-productive, and will drive you crazy.

[Mini Mia]

I really do need to let the bad stuff slid and keep more focused on the good. I also tend to view the bad things as personal. The world is out to get me. I can't catch a break because the forces are against me. Nothing bad that happens is random. What's up with that? Where did I learn that thought pattern? I'm hoping that now that I can see this thought process, I can nip it in the bud and change my outlook. One can hope.

[marjancin]

A few weeks back, I posted my work stories on another message board that I usually don't check that often. I checked back earlier today, and found a reply that I must say puts problem co-workers into perspective. It's by a 19-year old guy who is working to save up for college. He authorized me to post his story here as long as I don't use his name, or username. For the most part, this is his post as is, only he was quite liberal with expletives, so those will be deleted or replaced with milder words:

Marjancin

Not to belittle your work experience, because this woman does sound like a pain in the butt, but I only wish something like that was the only thing wrong with my job. Let me tell you about it.

Since my sophomore year in high school, I've been working to help pay for my share of my college education. I was recently let go from my last job due to cutbacks and have been working at a mom and pop restaurant for the past few months. At first, the job wasn't too bad, but recently, the atmosphere has become more and more poisonous.

It started a few weeks ago when one of my co-workers - someone I'd known since middle school - lost her father. He died suddenly of a heart attack one night. The next day, she came in to tell the boss that she had to have the next few days off for the funeral, visitation and such. When she got there, she was crying. I asked her what was wrong, and she told me. I gave her a hug and she cried uncontrollably over my shoulder. After about 30 seconds, the boss comes back and says, "What the hell's going on here?" I said, "(Ashley's) father died of a heart attack." By then, Ashley had calmed down and they went to the office to work out the days she'd have off. After Ashley left, the boss came back to me and started chewing me out about hugging Ashley - as if I'd just committed a crime. I mean, the girl had just lost her dad. What was I supposed to do, just tell her tough shit, life goes on? Well, then the boss says, "I guess we're going to have to enforce a no hugging rule especially for you, 'Frank'." Now if that were the general rule, I could live with that, but not only does it exclusively apply to me; certain people there are taking full advantage of that. Now, girls hug other girls on a regular basis, since that's how many of them show their friendship. But whenever any of the guys hug girls, they make sure that I see it. Then, if the boss sees it then, when the girls, most of whom actually like me and are pretty much the only good thing about my job, (are out of hearing range), he says stuff like, "Don't you wish you were allowed to do that?" or "Doesn't that just make you eat your heart out?" and other crap like that. Sometimes, the guys do that as well. And what did I ever do to them? No idea - probably nothing - they're just a bunch of dorks.
The hugging thing is hardly the only rule that applies to only me. Another one involves work breaks. Most people are allowed to take breaks by themselves; as a matter of fact, that's the general rule since that way, there's not two people in the back at the same time. However, for some ungodly reason, I have to take my break at the same time as someone else - determined by the boss. Usually, it's one of the jerks that I hate and they don't leave me alone and shut up and let me eat my food in peace. Yet, if I'm in the back washing dishes or something and talk to someone back there, I get myself chewed out by the boss for "bothering people while they're on break". Uh, yeah Hitler, whatever!
The other rule that I alone have to go by applies to bathroom breaks. The boss is actually pretty lenient about using the john - when you've got to go, you've got to go. But just this past week, he said that I wasn't to go unless someone went along with me - not into the bathroom, but just in the back and when I was done, I had to open the door so they could see that I washed my hands. I'm like, what the eff? What signs did he think I showed that I forgot even once to wash my hands - which I didn't! I wash my hands each and every time I use the can!
In short, I'm working for a bully - as well as with several of them. I've tried to talk to him about this, but he always says, "if you don't like it, get another job!" And, at this point, you're all probably wondering why I don't just quit this lousy excuse for a job. Unfortunately, that's not a good idea, given today's economy. Jobs are hard to come by and I'm one of only three people employed there that gets 30 hours a week. All the others get less, some of them much less (since most of them are still in high school). Ashley, by the way, quit soon after her dad died because the boss showed her absolutely no compassion - when she came back, he treated her almost as bad as he did me.
However, don't get me wrong - I'm definitely looking for a new job - and if and when I find a better job, don't think for a minute that I'm going to give that jerkhead any notice whatsoever. He probably won't miss me anyway - he's probably trying to get rid of me anyway (what other reason would he treat me like complete dirt like this)?
In any case, I'll just keep applying for other jobs and keep my fingers crossed that I get hired.

And so it goes. Now I admire this guy. He must dread going into work every day, worrying about what other new exclusive rule his boss is going to throw at him, yet he's made up his mind that he's going to cope with everything and continue to work as long as it takes. Had this happened to me, I would have jumped ship as soon as the bathroom rule was implemented. That's just sick and wrong! Wasn't there a thing invented a few years back with some kind of alarm that sounds if someone exits the restroom without washing their hands? Or is that an urban legend? Anyway, I replied to his message, telling him to hang in there and that if he keeps at it, he'll find a better job, at which time he can drop the one he has now like a bad transmission!

So, yeah, all I have to deal with is some arrogant girl who gets angry if you don't agree with her and gets away with breaking the rules that everyone else has to follow. That, by the way, has actually improved over the past few months. As I said, she was allowed to wear flip-flops (and a few times, even went barefoot) at work. Then last month, she shows up at work and our supervisor says, "What are we doing wearing flip-flops?" Michelle says, "I always wear flip-flops to work." The boss pulls out the list of rules and pointed to the one dealing with the dress code, "What does this say?" Now, as glad as I was that Michelle finally had to obey the rules, I thought that was kind of a dumb way for the boss to do it. But, as wishy-washy as he is, so I wasn't surprised. Michelle, who had hardly been talking to any of her co-workers, due to the party incident, was now being very vocal to all of us, about how mean the boss was, that she was being jerked around and she was going to find a six-figure job and leave "this god-forsaken dump". Another one of her delusions. Six-figure jobs are very few and far between, especially for someone without a college education. But hey, Michelle can always dream, and far be it from me to burst her bubble. At least, for the time being, she now has to go by the rules that everyone else does.

But anyway, I'll be sure to let you know if there's anymore developments of "Frank's" very unfortunate work situation.

[franky1376]

Hi everybody! Marjancin talked me into joining the boards, though I probably won’t be posting regularly. Anyway, I am the “Frank” she talked about in this thread, the one who worked at said “mom & pop” restaurant and served as the scapegoat. The events that are documented in the story marjancin quoted above from the message boards (which, sadly, were recently removed) were pretty much an everyday thing. And, back in January, when a girl named “Heather” was hired in, it got worse. She seemed to take it upon herself to tell me what to do every chance she got, and she was always very nasty about it. I’ll tell you right now, she’s not the boss, assistant boss, or anything; she’s a regular employee. And, of course, the boss doesn’t do anything about it; when I talked to him about her, all he said was his catchphrase “if you don’t like it, get another job”. I took to calling her Lula Mae, a character in a book I had to do a report on back in high school, called “Somebody’s Someone” (and if you read that book, you should see why). And, of course, she didn’t like that, so she told the boss on me and, of course, he made a "rule" especially for me that I was not to call her that. There were a few other such “new rules”, but I don’t think I need to get into them; otherwise this thread might exceed its character limit!

Anyway, I had an especially bad night on Monday of last week. Heather was being more obnoxious than usual. One of those times was right before I was headed to the back to take a load of dishes to the sink. As I got back there, I mumbled, “D--- beeotch!” The boss, whom I hadn’t noticed was back there starts chewing me out, telling me to watch how I talk about her (he apparently has a crush on Heather, which accounts for how he lets her criticize me all the time). Then Heather comes back and starts hollering at me as well. When my boss gave me his “if you don’t like it get another job”, Heather yelled, “Yeah, stupid jerk!” (Only that’s not exactly what she said, but I don’t know exactly what the language rules are on this board - I was even hesitant on posting what I said).

Well, the boss crossed me off the list for Tuesday for my vulgar words - yet Heather, whose name-calling was worse than mine, was still allowed to work. But it was just fine with me - I needed a night off from that crap! But Wednesday morning, I got a phone call from a job I applied at, which was a cashier at Wal Mart. Not the best paying job, but anything’s better than the crap I had to put up with at the restaurant. The guy said that I had gotten the job and that I’d start on Friday. Now, I politely thanked him before I got off the phone, but as soon as I put the receiver back in place, I totally freaked out - jumping up and down and screaming with joy. I no longer had to put up with the darn restaurant job! At first, I had every intention of going in tonight for one last time and breaking every rule possible (and especially lighting into Heather). But, as the day wore on, I decided that would be very unbecoming and besides, it could conceivably get somebody into trouble, so instead, I decided not to even show up. Why subject myself to verbal abuse when I had a new job that, hopefully, would be free from any of that? I wasn’t even going to call, as I don’t think it would make any difference. They obviously disliked me and were trying to get rid of me - why else would they treat me like they did? (Yes, I know that was unbecoming as well, but at that point, I didn’t care).

Well, at 4:00, a half an hour after I was supposed to report to work, the phone rings. Yes, it was my boss, asking where the hell I was. I said, “Well, (Mr. Romani), the other night you told me that if I didn’t like how I was being treated to get another job. So I decided to do just that.” He said, “OK, so what about tonight?” I said, “Uh, yeah, what about tonight?” He scoffs, “What, you’re just gonna leave us hanging with one less employee than we need for a Wednesday night?” I said, “Yep, that’s pretty much the plan!” Then I hung up. I really had nothing else to say to that jerk - I even sent him a stamped envelope so he could mail me my last checks, because I don’t plan to set foot in that craphole ever again. The phone rings about a half an hour later, and I expected it to be my boss again, to chew me out for one last time. Well, no; it was actually Heather. She had the audacity to call me to holler at me for not showing up. She was screaming so loud, I expect that they heard her all the way in China. I blasted my airhorn into the phone (which I keep near the phone for such obnoxious phone calls) and hung up, and left the receiver off the hook for another hour.

Well, when I checked my Facebook, I had two new private messages. Yes, they were from my boss and Heather, neither of whom are contacts of mine (and needless to say, they never will be!) My boss was telling me that he was very upset that I quit without notice, and what was the big idea with the airhorn. Then he has the nerve to ask me where I work. Like I’m really going to tell him that! So, I wrote back, saying I didn’t give a dead moose’s last dump how he felt, and that if they were a little nicer to me, I just might have given them a two-week notice. I also gave him a fake link to my job. Now, at first, I was going to send him a link to a gay dirty pictures website, but I didn’t want to waste my time, and possibly put spyware on my computer looking for one, so I just sent him a different link (which, if he clicks, he’s gonna get rickrolled, lol!) As for Heather’s letter, well, it was one of her tirades, basically saying what a jerk and a loser I was and a whole bunch of other stuff for which I could easily have reported her and possibly had her account suspended, but knowing her, she’d probably burn down my house for that, so instead, I sent her a link to a YouTube video entitled “Lula Mae”. Then, I blocked both Heather and my boss.

As for my new job, it’s going pretty well so far. Much less stressful, and I get to see many interesting people.

Anyway, that's how my "very unfortunate work situation" is going - it no longer exists! They'll have to find another scapegoat - or better yet, not have one at all. They'd be surprised at how much happier they'd be if they didn't feel they had to have someone to pick on. Yes, a little good-humored ribbing can be fun, but this was far from it!

[Mini Mia]

:wtw1:

:wtw2: franky1376 :wtw3:


Glad you now have a job where you're happy.

[marjancin]

Mar 3, 2011 18:46:25 GMT -6 Mini Mia said:

Welcome To Whoosh!

franky1376

Glad you now have a job where you're happy.

Welcome indeed! Glad to have you here to share your work experiences, and am definitely glad you're away from that lousy excuse for a job. I indeed admire you for sticking with it because I tell you what, I would have left way before now! I'm just not that strong.

Mar 3, 2011 8:11:58 GMT -6 franky1376 said:

It started a few weeks ago when one of my co-workers - someone I'd known since middle school - lost her father. He died suddenly of a heart attack one night. The next day, she came in to tell the boss that she had to have the next few days off for the funeral, visitation and such. When she got there, she was crying. I asked her what was wrong, and she told me. I gave her a hug and she cried uncontrollably over my shoulder. After about 30 seconds, the boss comes back and says, "What the hell's going on here?" I said, "(Ashley's) father died of a heart attack." By then, Ashley had calmed down and they went to the office to work out the days she'd have off. After Ashley left, the boss came back to me and started chewing me out about hugging Ashley - as if I'd just committed a crime. I mean, the girl had just lost her dad. What was I supposed to do, just tell her tough shit, life goes on? Well, then the boss says, "I guess we're going to have to enforce a no hugging rule especially for you, 'Frank'." Now if that were the general rule, I could live with that, but not only does it exclusively apply to me; certain people there are taking full advantage of that. Now, girls hug other girls on a regular basis, since that's how many of them show their friendship. But whenever any of the guys hug girls, they make sure that I see it. Then, if the boss sees it then, when the girls, most of whom actually like me and are pretty much the only good thing about my job, (are out of hearing range), he says stuff like, "Don't you wish you were allowed to do that?" or "Doesn't that just make you eat your heart out?" and other crap like that. Sometimes, the guys do that as well. And what did I ever do to them? No idea - probably nothing - they're just a bunch of dorks.

A bunch of dorks indeed! And who did that crummy bastard think he was, reprimanding you for comforting someone whose father had just passed away? Not to mention treating the poor girl like dirt as well! You did not do anything wrong; anybody would have been compelled to hug and console someone who had just suffered such a loss. And a no-hugging rule exclusively for you? Give me a break! That's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard of! And how immature of your boss to mercilessly make fun of you when you saw someone hugging someone else? I'd expect something like that out of a second-grader, not a grown man. I prolly would have kicked him in the groin.

Mar 3, 2011 8:11:58 GMT -6 franky1376 said:

Back in January, when a girl named “Heather” was hired in, it got worse. She seemed to take it upon herself to tell me what to do every chance she got, and she was always very nasty about it. I’ll tell you right now, she’s not the boss, assistant boss, or anything; she’s a regular employee. And, of course, the boss doesn’t do anything about it; when I talked to him about her, all he said was his catchphrase “if you don’t like it, get another job”. I took to calling her Lula Mae, a character in a book I had to do a report on back in high school, called “Somebody’s Someone” (and if you read that book, you should see why). And, of course, she didn’t like that, so she told the boss on me and, of course, he made a "rule" especially for me that I was not to call her that. There were a few other such “new rules”, but I don’t think I need to get into them; otherwise this thread might exceed its character limit!
Anyway, I had an especially bad night on Monday of last week. Heather was being more obnoxious than usual. One of those times was right before I was headed to the back to take a load of dishes to the sink. As I got back there, I mumbled, “Darn shrew!” The boss, whom I hadn’t noticed was back there starts chewing me out, telling me to watch how I talk about her (he apparently has a crush on Heather, which accounts for how he lets her criticize me all the time). Then Heather comes back and starts hollering at me as well. When my boss gave me his “if you don’t like it get another job”, Heather yelled, “Yeah, stupid jerk!” (Only that’s not exactly what she said, but I don’t know exactly what the language rules are on this board - I was even hesitant on posting what I said).

Ugh, I hate those kinds of people! But they are total nobodies. I have read the book "Someone's Someone" and I know exactly what you mean by Lula Mae. "Heather" sounds exactly like her (except, from what you tell me, she doesn't get physical). The boss probably has a crush on her; that's why he lets her get away with hollering at you and getting upset when you talk back to her.

Mar 3, 2011 8:11:58 GMT -6 franky1376 said:

Well, the boss crossed me off the list for Tuesday for my vulgar words - yet Heather, whose name-calling was worse than mine, was still allowed to work. But it was just fine with me - I needed a night off from that crap! But Wednesday morning, I got a phone call from a job I applied at, which was a cashier at Wal Mart. Not the best paying job, but anything’s better than the crap I had to put up with at the restaurant. The guy said that I had gotten the job and that I’d start on Friday. Now, I politely thanked him before I got off the phone, but as soon as I put the receiver back in place, I totally freaked out - jumping up and down and screaming with joy. I no longer had to put up with the darn restaurant job! At first, I had every intention of going in tonight for one last time and breaking every rule possible (and especially lighting into Heather). But, as the day wore on, I decided that would be very unbecoming and besides, it could conceivably get somebody into trouble, so instead, I decided not to even show up. Why subject myself to verbal abuse when I had a new job that, hopefully, would be free from any of that? I wasn’t even going to call, as I don’t think it would make any difference. They obviously disliked me and were trying to get rid of me - why else would they treat me like they did? (Yes, I know that was unbecoming as well, but at that point, I didn’t care).

Unbecoming, my foot. You had every right not to report for work, for the very reasons you stated. But you were wise to think better of your plan to go in and raise hell. That would have been stooping to their level and, I'm sorry, but you're much better than those darned dirtbags. Compared to them, especially "Heather" and the boss, the manager at McDonald's that I spoke of in another thread seems like a saint.

Mar 3, 2011 8:11:58 GMT -6 franky1376 said:

Well, at 4:00, a half an hour after I was supposed to report to work, the phone rings. Yes, it was my boss, asking where the hell I was. I said, “Well, (Mr. Romani), the other night you told me that if I didn’t like how I was being treated to get another job. So I decided to do just that.” He said, “OK, so what about tonight?” I said, “Uh, yeah, what about tonight?” He scoffs, “What, you’re just gonna leave us hanging with one less employee than we need for a Wednesday night?” I said, “Yep, that’s pretty much the plan!” Then I hung up. I really had nothing else to say to that jerk - I even sent him a stamped envelope so he could mail me my last checks, because I don’t plan to set foot in that craphole ever again. The phone rings about a half an hour later, and I expected it to be my boss again, to chew me out for one last time. Well, no; it was actually Heather. She had the audacity to call me to holler at me for not showing up. She was screaming so loud, I expect that they heard her all the way in China. I blasted my airhorn into the phone (which I keep near the phone for such obnoxious phone calls) and hung up, and left the receiver off the hook for another hour.

Let me get this straight. They treat you like dirt, setting new exclusive rules for you for basically no reason at all, holler at you for the slightest infractions, yet they complain when you decide to quit? If they couldn't see this coming from a mile away, then they're extremely stupid as well as mean. Besides, isn't that what they wanted? Why else would they treat you like that besides in effort to get you to quit? Heather had absolutely no right to call you back, and kudos for blowing the airhorn into the phone. If she went deaf in that ear, it would serve her right. She's lucky you didn't report her to the police.

Mar 3, 2011 8:11:58 GMT -6 franky1376 said:

Well, when I checked my Facebook, I had two new private messages. Yes, they were from my boss and Heather, neither of whom are contacts of mine (and needless to say, they never will be!) My boss was telling me that he was very upset that I quit without notice, and what was the big idea with the airhorn. Then he has the nerve to ask me where I work. Like I’m really going to tell him that! So, I wrote back, saying I didn’t give a dead moose’s last dump how he felt, and that if they were a little nicer to me, I just might have given them a two-week notice. I also gave him a fake link to my job. Now, at first, I was going to send him a link to a gay dirty pictures website, but I didn’t want to waste my time, and possibly put spyware on my computer looking for one, so I just sent him a different link (which, if he clicks, he’s gonna get rickrolled, lol!) As for Heather’s letter, well, it was one of her tirades, basically saying what a jerk and a loser I was and a whole bunch of other stuff for which I could easily have reported her and possibly had her account suspended, but knowing her, she’d probably burn down my house for that, so instead, I sent her a link to a YouTube video entitled “Lula Mae”. Then, I blocked both Heather and my boss.

BOLL @ your idea of sending that d---head a gay pornography site instead of a link to your new job! But you're right - no sense putting spyware into your computer. It's best that you went with the rickroll. And it was definitely a good idea to block them from your facebook. It's none of their business what you're doing now. You've got another job and that's all they need to know.

Mar 3, 2011 8:11:58 GMT -6 franky1376 said:

As for my new job, it’s going pretty well so far. Much less stressful, and I get to see many interesting people.

Ah yes, you get to see a lot of "People Of Wal Mart". I freakin' LOVE that website!

Mar 3, 2011 8:11:58 GMT -6 franky1376 said:

Anyway, that's how my "very unfortunate work situation" is going - it no longer exists! They'll have to find another scapegoat - or better yet, not have one at all. They'd be surprised at how much happier they'd be if they didn't feel they had to have someone to pick on. Yes, a little good-humored ribbing can be fun, but this was far from it!

You hit the nail right on the head about the scapegoat thing. It just shows how insecure they are, if they feel they have to have someone to mercilessly taunt and berate for no reason. Your former boss and that Heather tramp are two prime examples of bullies. And, unfortunately, in a mom and pop place, there's no kind of regulation for that type of person, especially if one of those is the boss which, of course, was the case for you.

The video store I work at would be considered a "mom and pop" establishment, but luckily my boss isn't that mean. The old one was sort of (nixed my idea of giving out Christmas cards to my co-workers - even mailing to their homes), but thankfully, he retired back in '09 and left the management job to his son, who's a lot cooler. He initially seemed to play favorites with one of the workers, but now she has to abide by the rules just like everyone else.

Anyway, again, congratulations in getting the new job and I hope you're a lot happier (which, by what you've said, I'm sure you are!)

[franky1376]

Sorry I haven't been here lately. I've had quite a busy year, and not just with my job. I'll explain that later.

Meanwhile, I just want to thank you, Mini-Mia and Marjancin, for your kind words and support. I'm so glad to get away from that sorry excuse for a job. I know I should probably forget about everything that happened there, but I got a few good ones to tell you all about. This is to help keep things in perspective if some of you feel that you're working among a bunch of classless jerks.

OK, now you all know about all the rules that were enforced strictly for me - as if I were some kind of criminal - from the post that Marjancin quoted from the recently deleted Message Board, plus my first post in this board. You'd think that all of that crap, plus the other stuff you read about would be plenty to make my life miserable, but as I said, after that Heather bee-otch was hired in back in late December (not January as posted earlier - I knew it was around the New Year, though), it got ten times worse, as she wasted no time pretty much becoming assistant boss. However, things were starting to look up in early January. My birthday is two days after New Year's Day (my handle should actually be franky1391, but, due to force of habit, I registered under franky1376 - trust me, it's a long story), and we usually have food and stuff in our break area for birthdays. I expected to be skipped over (with the excuse being catch-up work due to the holidays, as we were closed on New Year's Day), but they actually told me that they were going to bring in food for my birthday, and asked me what my favorite foods were. I told them, as well as the fact that I wouldn't be in on my birthday, but would work the day after. Now, we got that all straight, mind you. But when I came in on the following day, one of the guys - we'll call him "Chad" - came up to me and said, "Hey, where were you yesterday?" I asked, "What do you mean? I was off. I thought we got that straight on Sunday." Well, as it turned out, they brought in the food the day before. I knew right away that they did that deliberately just to piss me off. And they went on, making a big deal about everything they brought in. To add insult to injury, when Heather arrived, she lit into me right away, accusing me of "skipping out on everyone after all the hard work they put into making the food". As if that weren't enough, I found pictures on my Facebook of all the food that I missed out on (my name was tagged over the food - real mature!) So yeah, they really had a good time mercilessly teasing me.

About two weeks later, the girls were hanging around in the break area, instead of being up front working like they were supposed to. They were making lists of the hottest male employees. Now let me remind you, before Heather started working there, the female workers were really nice to me. But a few of them had since left (between mid-September, when the first work post from me was posted here by marjancin, and when Heather was hired in. The few girls that remained started going along with Heather, since they were long-time friends with her, and pretty much ignoring me - not even saying anything when I said hi to them. So they were all talking about all of the guys working there, except for me. Then, they combined the list to produce a list based on all their opinions, which they tacked upon the bulletin board. When I went to check it out, it was as I expected, with my name listed last - and listed way down at the bottom of the paper. I was so disgusted that I pulled the list down, tore it up and tossed it into the trash (at first, I was tempted to throw it into the oven). The boss saw me do it, but surprisingly, he didn't holler at me about it. A big surprise, too, since Heather was the one that came up with the idea. However, I did feel a tiny triumph - I was the only person working there that had an ounce of class. I hate to boast, but did anyone notice that I'm the only one who hadn't gone out of my way to hurt anyone's feelings or mercilessly taunted someone for basically no reason at all?

On Valentines Day, one of those girls - we'll call her "Tina" - brought in Valentine cookies. For those of you wondering if she brought in just enough for everyone but me - DING DING!! You got it! Well sort of. Let me tell you what happened first - pretty much what you'd expect - being told by Tina in a patronizing way that there were only enough for who was originally on the schedule (as I was added to the schedule at the last minute, since the boss realized that we'd be busier than usual, for Valentine's Day). And of course, everyone was talking about how great the cookies were. Later on, however, I was in the break area, and I happened to look at Tina's handbag, carelessly left on one of the chairs, hanging wide open. What was inside but a gigantic bag filled with more Valentines cookies! Only enough for employees originally scheduled, indeed! I made sure nobody was looking and real quicklike reached in and grabbed one of the cookies. They were right, they were pretty darn good!

Now, before you say it, I know that what I did was stealing (and reducing my amount of class). But at that point, I was so P.O'ed that I didn't give a rat's tail. It was clear that Tina had done this just to get my goat - and I'm sure that she was goaded into it by Heather. Later on, when I was heading to the back with a load of dishes, I heard Tina's voice saying, "Oh sh--!" When I got back there, I saw her zipping up her handbag. I pretended not to notice, lest she start asking any questions. She wasn't going to know that I swiped a cookie if I could help it! The idea was to let her think that she succeeded - if she found out otherwise, who knew what she'd try to pull next!

Of course, there were other examples, but the above three were the ones that stood out.

By the way, in the story marjancin posted, you read about "Ashley", the girl who I'd known since sixth grade, when we went to school together - the one I got in trouble for consoling after her father had died. Well, I ran into her at Wal Mart back in April. Sadly, I was working, so I didn't have time to talk to her, but asked her if she wanted to do lunch sometime that week. She accepted, so we had lunch together later on that week. Well, to make a long story short, we are now dating. So that's why I've been so busy - when not working at a full-time job, I've generally been with her.

As for the jerks at work, surprisingly, I haven't crossed paths with them. They probably think they're too good to shop at Wal-Mart. Whatever - that's their opinion and it matters not an iota what they think. If I never see any of them again, it'll be too soon!

Well anyway, sorry for going on and on there. But I just wanted to share a few of the dirty tricks my co-workers at the hellhole pulled on me. When I told Ashley about them, it actually made her cry. I tell you, I love her more and more everyday...

[marjancin]

What the heck? I thought I had already posted a reply to the last post! Must not have gone through. Oh well, at least, like all my other long, wordy posts, I had it saved in WordPerfect, so here it is...

Meanwhile, I just want to thank you, Mini-Mia and Marjancin, for your kind words and support. I'm so glad to get away from that sorry excuse for a job. I know I should probably forget about everything that happened there, but I got a few good ones to tell you all about. This is to help keep things in perspective if some of you feel that you're working among a bunch of classless jerks.

OMG, this has got to be good, based on all the horror stories you’ve told about that job from Hell!

OK, now you all know about all the rules that were enforced strictly for me - as if I were some kind of criminal - from the post that Marjancin quoted from the recently deleted Message Board, plus my first post in this board. You'd think that all of that crap, plus the other stuff you read about would be plenty to make my life miserable, but as I said, after that Heather bee-otch was hired in back in late December (not January as posted earlier - I knew it was around the New Year, though), it got ten times worse, as she wasted no time pretty much becoming assistant boss. However, things were starting to look up in early January. My birthday is two days after New Year's Day (my handle should actually be franky1391, but, due to force of habit, I registered under franky1376 - trust me, it's a long story), and we usually have food and stuff in our break area for birthdays. I expected to be skipped over (with the excuse being catch-up work due to the holidays, as we were closed on New Year's Day), but they actually told me that they were going to bring in food for my birthday, and asked me what my favorite foods were. I told them, as well as the fact that I wouldn't be in on my birthday, but would work the day after. Now, we got that all straight, mind you. But when I came in on the following day, one of the guys - we'll call him "Chad" - came up to me and said, "Hey, where were you yesterday?" I asked, "What do you mean? I was off. I thought we got that straight on Sunday." Well, as it turned out, they brought in the food the day before. I knew right away that they did that deliberately just to piss me off. And they went on, making a big deal about everything they brought in. To add insult to injury, when Heather arrived, she lit into me right away, accusing me of "skipping out on everyone after all the hard work they put into making the food". As if that weren't enough, I found pictures on my Facebook of all the food that I missed out on (my name was tagged over the food - real mature!) So yeah, they really had a good time mercilessly teasing me.

WHAT?? That has got to be the lowest thing I’ve ever heard of! And you say that you never did anything to them? Are you sure? Because I can’t even imagine doing something like that to someone just for the fun of it. The very idea, getting your hopes up like that, having the food on the day you weren’t there, and making a big deal of it and posting it on Facebook! That makes me mad just knowing that it happened! When you said that “things were starting to look up in early January”, I think you omitted the phrase “Or at least I thought they were”. Unless you count the thought of them being nice “looking up” and with the crap you were going through, a mere thought (albeit one that turned out to be false) sounds good - kind of pathetic.

About two weeks later, the girls were hanging around in the break area, instead of being up front working like they were supposed to. They were making lists of the hottest male employees. Now let me remind you, before Heather started working there, the female workers were really nice to me. But a few of them had since left (between mid-September, when the first work post from me was posted here by marjancin, and when Heather was hired in. The few girls that remained started going along with Heather, since they were long-time friends with her, and pretty much ignoring me - not even saying anything when I said hi to them. So they were all talking about all of the guys working there, except for me. Then, they combined the list to produce a list based on all their opinions, which they tacked upon the bulletin board. When I went to check it out, it was as I expected, with my name listed last - and listed way down at the bottom of the paper. I was so disgusted that I pulled the list down, tore it up and tossed it into the trash (at first, I was tempted to throw it into the oven). The boss saw me do it, but surprisingly, he didn't holler at me about it. A big surprise, too, since Heather was the one that came up with the idea.

Geez! What the f*** was their problem? I know girls can be cruel - and back in my teenage years, I could be kind of a pain in the a**, but I never did anything like that! I never started totally ignoring anyone that I originally considered a friend, unless they were mean to me. They just did it because of the head of their clique, who seemed to make you the scapegoat right off the bat. But posting a list of cool people and making sure you saw it, and that your name was last - if anyone had done that to me when I was your age, I probably would have popped them right in the mouth. And the boss didn’t chew you out about tearing up the list? He must not have been feeling too good that night.

However, I did feel a tiny triumph - I was the only person working there that had an ounce of class. I hate to boast, but did anyone notice that I'm the only one who hadn't gone out of my way to hurt anyone's feelings or mercilessly taunted someone for basically no reason at all?

Of course, you were the only one there with class! You have every right to boast, because it’s all true. These people were entirely devoid of any kind of class! A few years of military school would do them a lot of good - they’d learn about humility!

On Valentines Day, one of those girls - we'll call her "Tina" - brought in Valentine cookies. For those of you wondering if she brought in just enough for everyone but me - DING DING!! You got it! Well sort of. Let me tell you what happened first - pretty much what you'd expect - being told by Tina in a patronizing way that there were only enough for who was originally on the schedule (as I was added to the schedule at the last minute, since the boss realized that we'd be busier than usual, for Valentine's Day). And of course, everyone was talking about how great the cookies were.

Oh, real mature, girls! Real mature! Yeah, I remember such Mickey Mouse games like that - only they were played by kids that were about, say, eight or nine! (And, I must say that I never did anything like that! Not a thing - I was raised better than that, which is more than I can say for these classless hussies!)

Later on, however, I was in the break area, and I happened to look at Tina's handbag, carelessly left on one of the chairs, hanging wide open. What was inside but a gigantic bag filled with more Valentines cookies! Only enough for employees originally scheduled, indeed! I made sure nobody was looking and real quicklike reached in and grabbed one of the cookies. They were right, they were pretty darn good! Later on, when I was heading to the back with a load of dishes, I heard Tina's voice saying, "Oh sh--!" When I got back there, I saw her zipping up her handbag. I pretended not to notice, lest she start asking any questions. She wasn't going to know that I swiped a cookie if I could help it! The idea was to let her think that she succeeded - if she found out otherwise, who knew what she'd try to pull next!

LOL! Carelessness, indeed! Unless she was trying to make you feel even worse by showing that there were more cookies, but based on her reaction when she found her handbag unzipped, I somehow doubt it. Of course she could have been pretending to “find” the bag open - and she could have thought that you would never be bold enough to snatch one of the cookies - which, btw, was brilliant. And you got to taste how good they were, like everyone was saying - and they didn’t even know it!

Now, before you say it, I know that what I did was stealing (and reducing my amount of class). But at that point, I was so P.O'ed that I didn't give a rat's tail. It was clear that Tina had done this just to get my goat - and I'm sure that she was goaded into it by Heather.

Of course she was goaded into it by that Heather bee-otch! And who cares if what you did was stealing - the crap these girls were doing to you was no better. It was only one cookie anyway, and one that I think you deserved, since they pulled that crap on you. Tina would have deserved it if you had taken the bag and stomped it to pieces - but of course, I know you’d never do such a thing - both because you’re not that kind of person and also because of the consequences that would have surely resulted.

Of course, there were other examples, but the above three were the ones that stood out.

I’m sure there were other examples, but thanks for not posting them - reading the above stories angered and depressed me enough.

By the way, in the story marjancin posted, you read about "Ashley", the girl who I'd known since sixth grade, when we went to school together - the one I got in trouble for consoling after her father had died. Well, I ran into her at Wal Mart back in April. Sadly, I was working, so I didn't have time to talk to her, but asked her if she wanted to do lunch sometime that week. She accepted, so we had lunch together later on that week. Well, to make a long story short, we are now dating. So that's why I've been so busy - when not working at a full-time job, I've generally been with her.

Aww, I’m so happy for you, Franky! You’re definitely a great guy and it’s so cool that you have a special someone. How’s it going for you guys now (since it’s been about a month and a half since you posted this)? I hope it’s going great because you deserve nothing but the very best!

As for the jerks at work, surprisingly, I haven't crossed paths with them. They probably think they're too good to shop at Wal-Mart. Whatever - that's their opinion and it matters not an iota what they think. If I never see any of them again, it'll be too soon!

Too soon indeed! I hope you never run into any of them again either, especially that worthless piece of s*** that is Heather. What the hell is her problem anyway? She probably runs her household. I mentioned military school earlier - she’s definitely the one that can use it the most!

Well anyway, sorry for going on and on there. But I just wanted to share a few of the dirty tricks my co-workers at the hellhole pulled on me. When I told Ashley about them, it actually made her cry. I tell you, I love her more and more everyday...

Chalk up another one that cried when hearing (or in this case, reading) about the cheap tricks that they pulled. I actually broke down when I read about the birthday incident because I can’t believe that they’d pull such a trick on you - someone that, based on what you’ve said, was quite nice to everyone. Are you sure you didn’t throw dog doodoo into their pool? (Just kidding) Anyway, again, I'm glad you found yourself a girlfriend to spend time with. I myself am still single, but I'm sure I'll eventually find the right guy. As the saying goes, there's a special someone for everybody!