A
female
age
41-50,
anonymous
writes:I was recently dismissed from work without notice and I'm just wondering if I am in the right or wrong. According to the contract they can dismiss without notice and pay if I am rude to customer/clients. To sum up the earlier part of the job, I knew from day one that my manager had it in for me and was looking for a reason to get rid of me as soon as she could. The owner of the business had interrupted me right in the middle of me giving her a compliment, to give me the same compliment in front of her, taking away her glory, which I know think caused her to feel resentful. When she was offered a post as manager she took it upon herself to be as superior as possible when she spoke to me offering as few niceties as possible. The days that followed became quite depressing as she instructed me with glaring eyes and always ended with "Now!" So, that worry was making me edgy but I tried to concentrate on the positive which was the fact that I was the most productive person there and I stayed as cheerful as I could.So this is what happened that finally ended my employment very abruptly. I was working in the room and a woman, that I'd seen before but didn't know, walked in and started shouting at my colleague. There was lots of work to be done yet he was resting as he was just resettling after a 5 minute break. He had had had irritated skin all day and we had been so busy he hardly had time to scratch. He said "just give me a minute and I'll be ready. ""No start now!" she bellowed. I felt sorry for him because he was panicking to put his uniform back on before the next job, but still itching and red. so I said "we'll ring the bell, just hang on one sec!"She shouted out behind her as she stormed off, "I'm sending them in NOW!"I yelled after her: "we'll ring the bell!" (the bell was customary to let clients know they could enter)She stormed back in the room, hair flying side to side and scowled:" Don't talk back to me!" pointing into my face...holding it there for what must've been 5 seconds...we both just glared at each other, but I didn't flinch.I simply looked her straight in the face and uttered: "you need to change your attitude..." With that she charged away and I was left with my colleague who muttered,"Are you always so confrontational?"When he said that, I knew then that I was wrong right then, but was still fuming when my manager rushed round to me to tell me that the lady was an important client, she was fuming and I shouldn't have said anything. I felt doubly attacked by then and just said "Well I' m angry too. She was screaming and pointing in my face!" My manager said, "well she's stressed cos we've got a huge queue!""I said I'm stressed too, but I'm not screaming at her!"Now I realize I should probably not have interfered, as she was talking to my colleague and I jumped in and I know my retort was inappropriate, especially as I'm just a worker and not in a management position (therefore not likely to get away with it). I also have realized that there is no need to prove I can stand up to her at that point, but there were events that were frustrating me prior to this that made me react to her.I was informed about half an hour later that I could now go home early as there was no more work to do. I approached the owner of the business as I could see he was angry with me and also had been talking to the manager about me as had the client...! I asked if he wanted to talk and suggested, when I saw the dismayed look on his face, maybe he could ring me when I got home when he was free to talk. Surely enough he called me and shouted things at me about how this was the final straw, as the manager had complained that I had walked away from her once before (while she was glaring and barking orders) and that I had always messed around instead of working( which I did not) and fired me immediately. He asked me "what it was I think people don't like about me?" I felt too upset and muddled to share my thoughts so I just said:" I haven't got a clue..." He then suggested that perhaps it was age and that I was probably twice the age of my manager and probably found it difficult to take instructions from her. Also that I didn't fit in with the age range of the company. I found this hard to take, as I thought I got on with the other younger people there. I feel really upset by this because I put so much energy into this job and felt real pleasure from the success I had, beating all the sales targets every day and was also the highest earning worker there. It was so insulting that he believed that I was messing around and not doing my job properly that I didn't want to even fight back. I said I don't think I'm going to win this as I felt the manager had already complained about me previously and the incident with the screaming client was certainly wrong.I didn't really have much camaraderie there so I focussed on being highly efficient and productive and cheerful (possibly a little too cheerful, in overcompensation for impending gloom, to the manager's annoyance?!).I would appreciate constructive advice on what I should do in future such situations as I feel similar events do happen to me quite a lot so I'm probably making them happen or not avoiding them or probably both. Reply to this Question
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female
reader, anonymous, writes (18 December 2008): Thanks for these replies.
Just to clarify...I was not the highest paid employee there, at all. I was on the same salary as everyone below management.
What I meant was I earned the company the most money by far every day. On busy days I made almost twice as much as others made (for the company).
No I don't have a degree in management, but I will get that book you recommended and look into getting qualifications. Need all the advice I can get, so thanks!
A
female
reader, samsmommy  +, writes (18 December 2008):
 I had a very similar situation, more than one actually. I worked in sales for 1 1/2 yrs. I got into an argument with a manager at the time and we basically had a screaming match and i pretty much threw a clipboard at him.. I didn't try to hit him or anything I just threw it on his desk, where he was sitting at the time. I quit because I was so angry. The second after I left I realized that it probably wasn't the smartest choice. Luckily, the manager above him talked to me on the phone and I got my job back. Turns out, the manager I argued with stuck up for me and said he provoked me, which he did lol. And a couple months after that I almost got fired because I misread the schedule and I was an hour late (I'd like to add no one called me to see if I was ok or misread the schedule) and he yet again saved my job.But the main point I'm trying to make is sometimes people just snap, and sometimes, they snap on the wrong person, like you did. I was lucky, I snapped at a person who could handle it, and wasn't so hotheaded as to fire me.Obviously you were wrong, you admitted that, but your manager was very wrong too, sometimes when people get into a position of authority, it seems they get a power tripp and go crazy barking orders and firing anyone who even looks at them wrong. So I understand how you're feeling and you are only partially wrong in this. You do need to learn to control your temper, as do I, and you shouldn't have a problem like this again. You probably could have still made your point without being rude, you could have said it in a different way. But to answer your question, you and your manager were both wrong.
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (18 December 2008): All I can say, is learn from your mistakes and try not to repeat them. Sometimes it is hard to keep our mouths shut when frustration builds. But just as "the customer is always right" so are "The bosses" It's not always fair, but it will always be that way. It sucks to lose a job, especially around the holidays.
You mentioned that you were the highest paid employee...with the economy the way it is, some establishments are looking for ways to cut back. There could've been a hidden agenda there!
In any case...good luck in the future!
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