Lord And Taylor Manager Bitch From Hell Gets Told By Joe As He Reaches Tipping Point

RHU Monster Blogger Joe, the Cigar Guy gets a special Retail Balls Award for deciding enough is enough and taking the kind of soul-saving action that requires some massive retail kahones...

Hello all!

Well, it's official: I quit my job at Gord & Raylor today. I'd been fantasizing about telling my manager off and walking out the door for a while. Today, I did a little of the former and a lot of the latter.

Yeah, I know quitting a job in this economy isn't the smartest move, but I'd had all I could take. I knew something was up when my manager wouldn't look at me during the morning rally. On the way upstairs, I complimented her on winning the Best Sales Manager Award for fiscal August. "Yeah...I USED to get it every few months, but not NOW", was her response. An hour later I was summoned to the Store Manager's office. Talk about being blind-sided! I walked in there thinking, "Uh-oh, I'm getting the "Close the door behind you" treatment. What's up?"

My manager proceeded to read a list of tasks I'd supposedly screwed up dating back to July! She also said that the Visual Displays person was angry at me because she completed a task I was assigned. She then said my co-workers "perceived" I wasn't pulling my weight. Then came the tipping point: "We COULD terminate you right now, but, out of the goodness of our hearts, we're going to give you one more chance."

Now folks, I'm Irish and I'm 60 years old. I know bullshit when I hear it. I've seen Gord & Raylor put the screws to sales associates, receiving crew and managers alike. If they swallowed their pride and submitted, they had to do everything up to and including cleaning up puke and working for free to prove they were "team players".
I thought about signing the sheet that said I was a bad boy. I thought about trying yet again to be the subservient, inexhaustible sales associate they wanted me to be. Then I thought better of it...

"Why don't I just save us ALL a lot of grief and accept a position elsewhere!"

And I walked out with cries of, "You have to sign the acknowledgement form" ringing out behind me. Now, I'm dreading telling Mrs. Cigar Guy that it's back to ramen noodles for a while, but GODDAMN that felt good!!!

...and the dance goes on.
Peace.

-- Joe the Cigar Guy

 

 

Comments

[ShipsALot]

Hooray for standing up for yourself :)
Employees should never have to put up with bullshit from above, crappy economy or not. Economy just gives justification.
Best of luck on finding a new job!

[Humor_Me]

So sorry you had to do that. But if you are getting shit on, its time to get out of the toilet. I really hope Mrs. Cigar Guy understands. If she's been with you all these years, than she must be a wonderful person too. I'm glad you didn't degrade yourself to signing that sheet of paper. It would be like wiping yourself with toilet paper. Stand strong Joe. You have skills and you have all of RHU behind you. {{{HUGS}}}

[Nobody]

Go you! Idiots in charge, who forget they were ever worker bees, forget what it's like to be an actual human. Good on ya for not letting them treat you as less than a human being deserving of respect.

Keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you to find work quickly.

[T-Shirt Sponge]

Congrats on keeping your dignity :) Hopefully, when faced with a similar position, we all have the balls to do the same.

[Timekeeper's Twit]

WooHoo! My new hero!

[Laughing Barista]

Congratulations!

Sometimes it's better to quit for your sanity than for a new job.

Good luck with finding a new job that treats you better!

[Terry Everton]

Well Joe, keep your dancin' shoes polished.

[Chicken Flinger]

Look at the bright side... you'll smell a lot better now that you're not going to be shit upon regularly.

But seriously, good for you. I hope the retail gods will smile upon you and help you find a new awesome job post haste.

[iwbiek]

i would have used the words of my cousin, who's a factory foreman, whenever he gets a write-up: "i ain't signin' a goddamn thing!"

of course, he's a union man and doesn't have to (isn't supposed to, in fact) without his shop steward present, so it's easy for him...

[Shannah]

What a lousy manager, not telling you about her "concerns" in a timely manner. Being sandbagged is no fun, and it's one of the worst traits of incompetent managers.

I think you did the right thing, refusing to sign the form and just leaving. Your company sounds like it's on its way down the tubes, anyway.

Although, it's interesting to ponder what kind of settlement you might get if you felt you were the victim of age discrimination. Hmmm.

Anyway, I have the feeling that you will find something good soon, and be very relieved that you got out when you did.

[Office Drone]

Congratulations on having the balls to stand up to the bosses. I really hope you find a new job quickly, and that it's 10x better than what you've left behind.

[FloridaGlamazon]

Joe, you have always been a rational, intelligent, hard-working, great employee...don't let the abusive a-holes make you feel otherwise. Also- if they are making people work for free, what kind of lawsuit karma are they bringing on themselves? Keep your chin up!

"Strange travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God"Kurt Vonnegut

[Joe the Cigar Guy]

Thank you all for your kind words!
For the record, Mrs. Cigar Guy has been with me through thick and thin for over 30 years and regards this as a bump in the road. God, I love her!
I'll write more later, but now I'm on my way to my volunteer gig at the Smithsonian. Maybe if they have any paying jobs...

[Mcarp555]

Joe - You're always a hero to us regulars. I was in the same situation once, and like a dummy I signed the form because I had already planned on leaving anyway. Looking back now I regret giving them the satisfaction. So good on ya for standing tall. Hopefully you'll come up smelling of roses.

[Antonmommy]

My husband back in january was told by his superior that he was not doing a good job being a manager in a tech department and was being demoted to tech agent.

Anyway he ask them on what reason he was being demoted and they didn't have any paperwork of any sort stating his performance. Needles to say my husband went and got sick leave and is no longer working in the company he basically said to them i rather be treated in respect than working for you guys.

[Antonmommy]

Oh forgot to add this. Good job on leaving the company and keeping your dignity. Good for you.

[Djinn]

Congratulations on the balls of brass and on keeping your dignity. I've got my fingers crossed for new and better things for you soon.

[Bitch Boy]

*stands up*

*fixes shirt*

*looks Joe in the eye*

*claps hands in applause*

Good job man! :)

[CallMeRed]

Ramen with dignity sounds hella better than cleaning up puke for free.

[Mick Waukee]

That sounds like the situation I was facing at the distribution center. Any time I had even a mild disagreement with my night admin. ( no other boss in dept. at night, so she is de-facto boss. the other woman that fills in when she is thankfully gone, is a polite angel.) the ignorant crack whore emails the real boss, and I'm back to the "close the door behind you thing" while I'm raked up and down for being subjected to a hostile work environment with an angry and illiterate crack whore, and her and the "union" guy just sit there with the old "we've both strangely just gone mute" look on their faces. Then I sign the paper and the next time my ass is in double dutch etc etc blah blah, you don't want to get to the suspendeded stage yadda yadda. I am presently on what is supposed to be/might be a 5 month voluntary lay-off.
So, until the insanity of not having a routine finally commits me to the rubber room for life sometime this upcoming winter:
"La vida es buena".

-Mick.

[Humor_Me]

The--The-- Smithsonian??? OMG Joe! You are so AWESOME! Even if you don't actually end up with a paying gig at THE Smithsonian, That has to be one of the most amazing places to be a volunteer! I realize that it has its own share of custies, but I have been there, and it is AMAZING! I could spend DAYS there and never get enough! It seemed like every time I went back (I've been there three times), it was always a completely new experience and I felt like I had never been there before. I hope it never gets old for you whether you are lucky enough to get a job or end up staying a volunteer.

[NC Tony]

Just tell me one thing Joe, how did you hear them yelling "You have to sign the acknowledgment form" over the clanging of your balls of steel?

[Riferous]

Joe, where have you gone? We miss you!