RHUer Question: What Do You Do When Management Does Nothing About "Bad Apple" Coworkers?

Stuck On Orange here with an update.

Just got word of a new returns policy that will allow cashiers to refuse NATs without a manager!! Woot!

Just a quick question...

I've written a few times about a coworker I call Nightshade. Yet again she has accused me of lying to her, blaaaah blaaaah. Our supervisor does nothing about complaints, as several people have said something. What am I to do when management doesn't care to intervene?

Love and other indoor sports,

--Stuck On Orange

 

 

Comments

[LadyBelle]

It is very hard in many states to actually fire someone. Some times they can cut hours down to nothing, or give crap assignments hoping the person will quit. Unless they do something way over the top, often managements philosophy is to try to ignore and just avoid the person and the situation. Sometimes even to the point where the people making complaints are viewed as whiners and not "team players".

From the sounds of this person it might be in your best interest to never talk to her without a witness present and avoid her whenever possible.. Even if it means trying to call over a manager for really important things, just so there are no "misunderstandings." After all, you would just hate for her to get the wrong information, and having someone else there will make sure it's clear. Maybe that will get annoying enough that managers stop forcing you to interact with her.

[Sugar]

Managers usually won't do anything. I have a co worker who refuses to do her share of work, leaving me to do it. She won't follow our companies policy, got multiple customer complaints and doesn't do things to our company standard. All my mangers know this and don't do a thing, they don't even write her up. I just have learned to keep quiet about it now. She'll screw up and get caught eventually. Just avoid her and ignore her.

[Donna]

You could try to go over the manager's head to the DM, however most times district managers go back to the store manager since they're not in the store all the time and have no idea what's going on.

Let the other person's work reflect back on her, don't clean up after her, don't tell her anything unless you can back it up in writing, or as somebody else said, have a witness with you.

It doesn't always seem like it, but managers are watching what employees do so even though it seems they don't care, they know and it ends up reflecting later on performance reviews and at raise time.

[Pissedoffintheretailworld]

Managers don't care. That's why you need to do some work and get that person you have a problem with fired. Lots of "customer" complaints and what not. Sabotage them any way you can. I've had to deal with a mean boss and we've all made complaints about her. I'm hoping she gets enough to get fired one day and make all our lives better.

[TechDeath]

@Pissedoffintheretailworld. That can seriously backfire. Sabotage is generally not good especially if this problem coworker is a manager's pet for some reason.

[Ponda]

@pissedoffattheworld
Techdeath is right don't want to do anything that will back fire as much as it sucks.
There are 3 ppl in my department counting myself and one of them is buddy buddy with the store manager(his new wife is best friends with my coworker). No one in management will get on to her for anything. We have witnesses who have seen her sitting in our cage chatting on the cell phone instead of doing anything and not for 5 mins I'm talking about all fracking day. :-/ I'm even afraid to call the complaince hotline because they would be able to trace it back to me or my team lead.

[Laughing Barista]

As a manager, I can say that A LOT of people talk about each other behind their backs (sometimes truthfully, and sometimes dishonestly) and it can be difficult to know who is being honest and who is lying. Sometimes there's a mix of both. Even if a manager does know something is true (just say you were annoyed because your coworker goes on a lot of cigarette breaks and it's not fair to everyone else), unless if they have just cause to fire them, it is pretty impossible. Add in the fact that most places do not want to pay unemployment and you've got yourself a dilemma.

What are the kind of complaints you guys are filing into management?

Also, if it's really a huge issue, all of you should contact the owner of the establishment and let him or her know about the situation. If management won't do anything and it's really an issue, go above management.

[BrieSuz18]

Random thought: I remember the first time I saw "love and other indoor sports".
It was in a kids book (Sally j freeman I think or something by Judy bloom idr haha) in elementary school and the girl in the book (also depicted as an elem age kid) asked what it meant and was told she'd learn someday. Seeing that made me remember from alllll those years ago (okay about 10) and it cracks me up. I remember thinking "indoor sports must mean like fooseball or something.... But then why would she say shell learn when she gets older?!?" haha I love childhood