Dealing with a wack manager

[BossMoss]

At this job, a manager is really wack. He tries to snitch on me over the smallest things to the store manager. I go on my phone bc the manager at my other job is making the schedule and needs to hear back from me. He starts getting angry, telling me get off the phone. I get off the phone. This guy literally complains about anything about me.

Here's an example: we are talking the day before Thanksgiving, and he says, "off the record, don't tell anyone, I'll know it was you." Proceeds to speak poorly of the store manager. I say I'm thinking of not showing up Thanksgiving. What I said reached the store manager's ear from his mouth. But I didn't say anything about what he said to anyone.

So you can tell I'm dealing with a classy guy.

Anyways, a few minutes after the phone issue, I notice he has his shirt untucked. I don't particularly care, but this is a guy who complains about the smallest things. Let's call him Mitch (because it rhymes with snitch).

"Mitch, I think you should tuck your shirt in."

"I'm this close to firing you; don't push me." At this point he is seething.

"I think I would prefer that. I don't like hypocrites."

"The door is right there."

I just walked away from him. If I left, it would be me quitting. He doesn't have the authority to fire or hire.

It just seems so childish to me. He's already going all out in war against me, so there's really no love lost if I complain about him on anything.

Everybody else there sees how he treats me, and literally by far he's the only one I have any "beef" with there. As in, I have no friction with anyone else. If it was multiple people I'm having beef with, I would need to look at myself some more. But it's one guy.

I think he feels threatened by me so he goes all out in war efforts to make me look bad. We do the computer training, and I finished everything in a few hours. Normally people take three days, 8 hour shifts for 3 days. Or at least others in the store took that long. Esp Mitch. He sees me rising up in the ranks a bit, and I might take his spot in the pecking order, I guess.

The store manager told me, "I have eyes. I see how he treats you."

He once told me, "if you stock things in the wrong spot, I'll kick your [censored]." I didn't say anything. Threatening a coworker would be grounds for termination at any work place, I imagine. The list goes on and on of things I could complain about.

How do I deal with this guy.

 

[Onetor]

I would record him. Do you live in a one party consent state? Get a small digital recorder.

 

[BossMoss]

Google says CA is a two party consent state. But if it's in public, like the store floor, it's public and no expectation of privacy.

 

[demarpaint]

I dealt with a manager just like him at a Honda dealership. He was extremely abusive, however I didn't allow him inside my head, which [censored] him off even more. He threatened me once, without raising my voice I told him to go for it, and promised he'd regret it. He then tried to spin it around and say that I threatened him. I told him it wasn't a threat, it was a promise. I would have made sure he took the first swing, and taken care of it from there. Oh how I wished he would have picked up his hands and gone for it. LOL

My suggestion is not to allow him inside your head, and look for another job if you can't take dealing with him. More than likely upper management will side for him, if he is your immediate boss. If possible record the moron.

 

[AZjeff]

You don't deal with him. You can't and won't win against someone like this, he probably has lots of practice getting away with it. He knows he's incompetent and is afraid for his job and threatened by everyone. It sounds like you're in entry level retail of some sort, in this economy another job can't be too hard to find. Do it.

Don't bother recording him or trying to pick a physical fight, move on.

 

[WyrTwister]

I am not trying to make a joke . Seriously , remember , a hundred years from now it will not matter any way .

He will get his " reward " sooner or latter , one way or another .

All and all , I have had mostly good bosses . My present boss is great . Probably much better than I deserve .

Do your job , put in your days work for a days pay and forget about it when you go home at nite .

Best of luck to you ,

 

[beanoil]

The advice to move on is the best here. If you have the capability to accomplish what most take 3 days to do in a few hours, you are too good to be at a place that employs and supports a moron like him, or the others that they let take 3 days to do what should take only a while. You must realize you are surrounded by stupidity, and have a character trait that is making you see it's wrong. Good for you.
Unless you have some compelling reason like a great benefit plan, vacation, or amazing potential to be in on creating the next cancer cure, move to a place that will support you and enable your employment goals and advancement.

 

[AZjeff]

Well put beanoil, unfortunately it's easier to stay and gripe than get out and find something better for many. Not speaking of OP.

 

[Onetor]

I've seen his type. They always pick a person to hate and one to love, so to speak. Continue being nice. Even the store manager has noted his behavior. I would start taking notes/log of every incident with date and time if you can't record. Good luck!

 

[Dave Hess]

Finish school and find a better job.

Retail sucks and has lots of terrible management with high turnover.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Originally Posted by Onetor
I would record him. Do you live in a one party consent state? Get a small digital recorder.


This^^^^

Most phones have recorder apps. Some even have a recorder preloaded

 

[mrsilv04]

He'll slip up at the wrong time. Either you can wait for that chance, or move on.

My manager slipped up and told me to [censored] right in front of the department head. It saved me the trouble of having to document it and report it to the department head. Plus, there was no "he said, she said" involved. It was all right in front of him.

I didn't say a word, I didn't retaliate. There was no reason to. I simply turned around, and silently walked back to my office.

When I met with the HR Rep the next day, I explained what happened, and ended it with... go ask (the department head) about it. It all happened right in front of him.

No one was fired, but I made it very clear to HR that it will never happen again.

 

[StevieC]

I'd keep a notebook of offences with dates / times, try to record voice where possible and when you need to use your phone for the other job go to the bathroom stall. 2 ways to play his game.

Good luck.

 

[Kestas]

I had a similar problem with a coworker. I documented each incident in writing with dates. This, and witnesses weighed heavily with HR, who then put a stop to it.

 

[Wolf359]

So what happened when you didn't show up for Thanksgiving?

As for the manager, all you can do is ignore it or get another job. Should be easy in minimum wage retail, unemployment is really low.

 

[redhat]

If this person doesn't have the authority to hire or fire, and your store manager sees this happening, then I can only imagine that pretty much no repercussions would come your way if you continued to perform your job well or at your current standard. I would also expect management to not blindly terminate you if you were to potentially rebuttal any of his tirades with similar comebacks.

Now if this were me, and I was under the aforementioned pretense -- after he got uppity with me, or was rude -- I would use comments such as:

• why are you so moody
• I think I read somewhere that being this miserable is bad for your health
• Are you OK?
• Hey is there anything I can help you with, you seem like you're having a bad day

I guess I am evil enough where I would (A) want to saturate someone of the such with kindness or (B) bombard them with direct assessments of their garbage attitude.

I have come to learn that you simply do not let this be the status quo and that physiologically ill people need help -- because at the end of the day, there has to be a reason for the underlying attitude. Perhaps I'm messed up myself, rude and arrogant people I do not tolerate.

And the phone thing. Time to address the elephant in the room... we all check our phones or send a quick text at work on our downtime, pretty low blow. If you're on it for minutes upon minutes and being distracted horribly, then I get it. But a check and quick text.

Best of luck. Yes I am from NY.

 

[redhat]

On second though I guess that is horrible advice lol, but I have learned don't take peoples stuff.

 

[maxdustington]

Keep whining to the manager, I was in a similar spot with a manager over what I assume to be a perceived slight. I doubt he is jelly of you, but he needs you to be a bad employee to keep his narrative going. That's why he was [censored] that you crushed the computer training, you are supposed to suck. If you don't take any action to refute his narrative, it is tacit consent to him being correct. If he's acting like this to you in person, imagine what he is saying to his managers behind your back.

I lost a decent public sector job that I really wish I had because my manager was bullying me. The union wasn't interested in protecting new employees and the manager took advantage of this. If I had stood up for myself I would have gotten sweet, sweet revenge but I was so used to just grinding through it. This [censored] them off even more. Nothing sets people off like trying to be mean/intimidate you and you either don't notice or are unfazed, that screws up their self-esteem.

I know you want to be stoic and not whine, or break CoC and talk to his manager, but the closed mouth does not get fed. Once a pattern of behavior is established they cannot ignore it or they are liable for workplace harassment. Grievance culture is the most toxic thing ever, but it is popular because that's how things are dealt with in the workplace. I would keep escalating until I got an answer I wanted, eventually they will not be able to ignore you anymore.

 

[dtownfb]

BossMoss - you're in a tough situation but the one thing you have going for you is the store manager sees how he treats you. Focus on doing your job the best that you can. If you continue to respond to him with remarks, you will only agitate him and it reflects poorly on you. If he doesn't want you on the phone during work hours, don't be on the phone or use it for short periods of time during breaks. If dress and attire are important, meet and exceed their expectations. Again, the store manager sees how he treats you. Don't give them the impression that you are egging him on by making smart-aleck comments. DO YOUR JOB AND DO IT WELL! You want to continue showing you are a good employee. If you finish early, be a leader and help others. Or do additional tasks.

Remember there are more job openings in this country than people to fill these positions. If you cannot tolerate this manager or his antics get worst, start looking for another job. The best time to look for a job is while you have a job. You can be selective and look for an opportunity that fits you and your situation without the urgency of taking the first job available.

You have a bad boss, there is no getting around it. Don't sink to his level! As manager, he has the upper hand. It is very difficult for a sub-ordinate to prove a bad manager without exposing some of your own shortcomings as an employee. Again, since your store manager sees how he treats you, she is watching and it gives you the opportunity to show how good you are. Take advantage of it.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

 

[thooks]

Originally Posted by BossMoss


How do I deal with this guy?




Get out of retail.