Monday, September 18, 2006

Jerk Boss

So on friday at work, I saw my team lead walking down the call floor with some paper plates and plastic cutlery, so I said, "Did you bring food, jerkboss?" and he said that if I had had perfect attendance, then I could have the food he brought. So I thought I had perfect attendance, so i looked at my hours and realized that i didn't have 40 (which is what "perfect attendance" means... not that you worked all the hours you were scheduled, but that you worked any 40 hours. So anyway, not that big a deal, except then later he was talking to a girl at work, who I will call Australia, mentioning something about when we're closed on saturdays. So apparently I've been working an hour and a half past closing on saturday nights. I mean, we're still in queue taking calls, but only 2 people are supposed to be there and I'm not one of them. So that cut another hour and a half from my schedule. So i asked jerkboss if i could talk to him about my schedule. He said, "let's talk after 8" since i'm on dap and dap closes at 8. Makes sense. So then he came by an hour later and put a piece of paper on my arm saying, "team meeting at 8". So we went to the team meeting... meaning he didn't have time to talk about my schedule. so after the team meeting, i said, "can we talk after you're done" and he said yeah. After every call i took that night (which had 3 more hours after 9:00) I walked over to his desk to ask if he had time. he kept saying no, he had to work on his report and stuff like that. One time he had another girl over there (who he had pulled off the phones to talk) and he still said no and that he had to work on his report. Then at 11:45 i got off what I thought would be my last phone call and i went over to jerkboss and I guess something had happened to make it so he couldnot talk to me... again. So I clocked out at 12 and went over to his desk and finally we talked. a couple things you have to know about jerkboss: 1: he is not good with computers, but if you try to help him then he gets offended. 2: if you ask him a question he doesn't really know the answer to, you get a round about made up answer that he then defends to the death (and these answers never make any sense and contradict eachother). 3: for the past few months, he has gotten really frustrated with me because since I cannot get a good answer to most of my questions from him (since the questions I ask him are questions he doesnt really have the answer to) I have been asking other teamleads, and every time I do that, he reprimands me afterwards. Knowing those three things should help you understand why my conversation with Jerkboss didn't start out very well. So, I ask him if there is any way to go to part time (since there are several people on the floor who are part time) and he says no way. So he tells me I have to find a way to put in a few more hours. We look at my class schedule and he wants me to ride the bus in. he says, "We've given and given and now you're going to have to give somewhere" and when I ask why they won't do part time, he says that it's just what roach wants. So I told him that it just doesn't seem very practical to tell a trained employee with an average of 97% on QAs and who has been trained in 2 specialties that they'd rather I work 0 hours than 32. And then I mention that by the state, full time doesn't necessarily mean 40 hours, anyway, that it's somewhere between 32 and 40 (I didn't know the exact numbers). Well he tells me, "NO, i was an employment law officer for years and full time is 40 hours". So to make a long story shorter, this goes around for a while and I am of course crying even though i'm trying not to, but he is just making me feel like he would rather not have me working there and that I should just leave. oh, and my favorite part was that I mentioned that convergies is all about flexible scheduling and he said that no one ever told me there was flexible scheduling. and i said, "every poster out in the lobby says convergies has flexible scheduling" and he tells me that as soon as I started working for roaches, we have never said that schedules would be flexible... which is one of my main concerns that I brought up to him the very first week I was on the floor and he always said, "we'll work with you to get you what you need" and when I brought my class schedule in and said that working full time might be too overwhelming, he said, "well let me know how you're doing when classes start" which made me think that I might be able to drop down to part time if needed. I guess I interpreted that wrong, though... so I told jerkboss that I'd just talk to Jimmy tomorrow about my schedule (which is what jerkboss had told me to do) and he said, "Jimmy's not going to be able to do anything more for you than I just did". So I said, "what did you just do for me, jerkboss?". He had nothing to say to that.


So that was quite an ordeal, and when I left, one of the 3 people left on the floor came out and told me that jerkboss was being rediculous and that I just needed to talk to one of the other teamleads. And she told me the next day that when jerkboss left, another of the two people on the floor asked if she had heard how he was treating me, so I know it wasn't just me overdramatizing the situation.


So anyway, that was friday. I went in today (my day off) so I could see what my options were. I was going to talk to the head hauncho about what id' be able to do, but i didn't see him. so I walked off the call floor and went down the hallway and saw one of the QA girls walking towards me. I asked her if she had seen head hauncho and she said no, and asked if I was ok because i looked a little upset. I told her no, and she asked if I wanted to talk. so we went outside and talked for a few minutes, and she said she could go ask jerkboss if he had a minute to take me over to HR to see what my options were. She came back out and said jerkboss wanted me to talk to him. I went in and Jerkboss said, "wait in the conference room" and left me there for about 10 minutes. I thought that everything was ok, that he wanted to make peace (I sure did, I was so uncomfortable for the 2 seconds I was on the call floor looking for head hauncho) but when he finally came in, he shut the door and started yelling at me, saying he was deeply offended and that I had no business talking to QA girl and telling her that he wouldn't make time to talk to me because he had talked to me for an hour. I reminded him of the 3 hours when he couldn't make time and that I finally had to talk to him after my shift was over. He was telling me, "not that it's any of your business but i had reports to do and i dont' have to answer to you or anyone else on the call floor in where my time goes". And I was just saying, "Jerk boss stop. I'm sorry I just want to make peace and see what my options are". and he just kept being mad. So he finally said fine and we went over to HR and he told the person at HR that we had to see about transferring me to another project. Well the HR guy came out and brought me in to a different conference room to talk and he could tell I was upset so he said, "Can I go get you some bottled water and give you a minute?" He was so nice and just kept saying reassuring things. Fortunately jerkboss was gone... but anyway, came down to the point where we decided that my class schedule is not really condusive to me starting another training class for a different project, and when the HR man found out that I am trained in 2 specialties and that I like what i do for roaches, he said it sounds like I really shouldn't be moved to a different project. We got it all figured out, and yes I will have to put in 40 hours, but we found a way to do it, and jerkboss is going to have a talk to from HR man's boss... we'll see. I didn't mean to get him in trouble or make him mad. the really ironic thing is that before this happened, I had a great deal of respect for jerkboss. I knew he wasn't the best communicator and that he really doesnt' know a lot about computers, but he has done so much in his life that really warrants respect. And I always gave it to him. But then he started treating me like crap and making me feel honestly worthless to him... and now who knows what will happen. All I know is that I won't be on his team anymore.


So that's my long story for the day. :)

27 comments:

  1. Jerkboss is a nicer name than I had for him.

    Carebear, I've worked in that position being a supervisor at a call center and honestly he needs to meet your needs before his. He's got some kind of macho ego he's gotta get over too. Or maybe eject that big stick out of his ass. . .

    Don't worry bout what you did. He's gotta get a wake-up call that he's not a good manager.

    Just don't take it personally.

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  2. I'm so sorry, honey. Dealing with boss's ego is the hardest thing ever. By the way, you actually have a right to request someone else present with you when he speaks with you, so keep that in mind in the future. That way you have a witness to what is said and he'll keep his nose clean. If he doesn't comply with having someone else in the room with you, you have the right to walk out because you felt threatened. (And really, all he was doing was bullying you, which is a form of threatening behavior.)

    I know you've had respect for him in the past because you've always spoken of him in a good manner. But things in his life may be causing him stress whether it's work stuff or home stuff. But the thing is, he gets paid the big bucks (and gets the title) because he's expected to act professionally regardless of the stress he's under. That means he doesn't get to pitch a hissy fit when something you've said or done makes him feel less competent. It's HIS problem, not yours. Your only job is to do the best you can and if that means going to someone else for help because he's not meeting your needs, so be it.

    It's very much for the best that you will be on another team. Relationships after a blowup like this are nearly impossible to mend, especially if only one party wants it mended. Keep in mind you did NOTHING wrong. A good supervisor would have seen your request for what it was and would have LISTENED instead of shooting off at the mouth. That's one of the keys to good supervising, knowing when to open your ears and shut your mouth.

    Take care of yourself, sweetie. I love you. And I bet the food he brought was icky anyway.

    Mom

    (PS: If you are still working, it doesn't matter if you are "closed." You should still be getting paid and it should still be reflected on your hours. If they're not paying you, then the calls in the queue will have to wait till someone gets in the next morning. They CANNOT demand that you continue to take calls off the clock. For that matter, you should be paid for the hour you were in jerkboss's office after your shift ended.)

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  3. Yeah, when I'm staying late, I do get paid. And if there are calls in the queue, they get transfered out if no one else is going to be there. On fridays and saturdays 2 people stay until 4 in the morning, other than that there are a few people who work directly for Roaches from home. It's never been an issue of me working off the clock.

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  4. wow... Jerkboss reminds me of a certain person I know...

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  5. His actions as you describe them are enough to get him fired. In your position I would have filed a formal complaint with HR, and I probably would have included that I didn't feel safe working with him. Yelling is never professional behavior, it is threatening.

    I admit I'm probably somewhat vindictive (I've had my share of bad co-workers) but there's no way hauling you in to a conference room alone to yell at you is anything other than fireable.

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  6. Wow. Don't know what his personal issues are, but he sounds like the kind of jackass who starts throwing his weight around any time he perceives himself to have authority. I hate those people.... glad he won't be your boss any more.

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  7. That's exactly how he is, and unfortunately he always thinks he has authority, even in subjects he really is primitive in. The only time he ever believed anything i said was when another supervisor was standing there with me who supported me, and that was about something ridiculous like what an abreviation meant

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  8. What certain person, Audrey?

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  9. So, if you need him out of your way, I know someone who knows someone. It'll cost $500.

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  10. WOW!!! THAT'S CHEAP!! (I'll be contacting you. . . (looking around with swifty eyes could be confused by regular asian eyes but it's swifty eyes) )

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  11. LOL! Sukie, you are the best!

    Mom

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  12. umm one time after I reported Mauricio at work for following me around all day at work, the manager on duty called me on my cell phone and yelled at me for a solid 10 mins... he basically told me I was a liar and... yeah... I don't so much like him... Although I used to before he called me

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  13. You guys just ahve killer luck with bosses, eh?

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  14. We all have had that same ridiculous boss. I think that being a boss is a lot like being a parent, in that you'll tend to have the attitude towards your employees/children that your bosses/parents in the past have shown to you, and also that immaturity has a synergetic effect with responsibility, the result is certain to be catastrophic.

    In my business administration classes, this is called Theory X, which is basically the rule of thumb 99.999% of all bosses I've had follow, and that's that if your workers aren't cursing your name at night, then you aren't being cruel enough.

    Basically, this guy is a jerk, however, it's on the record that he has been a jerk to you. He can be rude to you again and mistreat you or he will keep his distance.

    It's hard when there's that friction between boss and employee, but on the other hand, there's an HR department that is keen to recognize problems and facilitate solutions. From what I remember of your company, there's an open door policy, if he doesn't meet your needs, then it's time to go up the ladder.

    I always thought this was a bad thing, but now that I work in a support environment where we're supposed to meet the needs of important people, I can see that going up the ladder is a great way to show the people down the ladder that you are important and to be handled with care. Just showing that you have the gall to go past him to his boss, or his bosses boss, even if it's just one time, will send a clear message.

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  15. Wow. Jerkboss reminds me of someone I know too.

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  16. That's why its so scary that he was a police officer. I heard when they pick police officers, they only take the crazy ones who are violent and willing to follow orders.

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  17. FYI family: c............. is a friend from work.

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  18. As a rule, only crazy & violent people who are willing to follow orders apply to be police officers. The departments pick the most verbally articulate applicants with the cleanest background check.

    I've read that, psychologically speaking, the only significant difference between police officers and violent criminals is that police officers generally have more developed impulse control mechanisms. Although there are ideally a lot of other moral & social differences, I find the key psychological difference telling.

    Any time someone "was" a cop, you have to ask yourself why they aren't any more.

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  19. You know, I've actually wondered that... because he's old enough to be retired, I guess... but why get a job at a call center if you have that experience as a cop unless something was not right?

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  20. I didn't catch before that he was an old guy. Now he reminds me of someone.

    I had a Cisco teacher who was former army. Old guy, very set in his ways. One time he asked a student to solve some binary problem, subnetting or something, and the student asked the instructor if he could even do it. The problem wasn't too difficult, but it would take a little time to do in your head like he was asking everyone else to do. Instead of taking a minute to work the problem out and showing himself to be on our level though, the instructor started yelling, "Are you challenging me?" The student admitted that he was and the next thing, the instructor was asking if he wants to take this outside.

    It's weird, people and their stupid pride.

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  21. Every one of them I've met leads me to believe that retired cops usually do all right, financially. Cops do retire young, so they are likely to get a job for the sake of filling the time, but a call center wouldn't be at the top of my list.

    Of course, I don't know this guy, maybe he just enjoys call center work. But your encounter with him does speak volumes, and I'd say there's probably some other issues.

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  22. "Are you challenging me!?"

    "I am the great Cornholio!"

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  23. I need TP for my bunghole!

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  24. Beavis and Butthead a bit too "ahem..." for your site?

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  25. oh it's beavis and butthead? I thought my brother was just being weird. Oh wait...

    No that ahem was more of an "ahem, whose site is this??" as in, some random private conversation... yeah

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  26. If this is your site, then you better step up to the plate and post again to assert your dominance. :)

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