- Joined
- Jan 20, 2008
I've faked a sick day to get out of work today ...
I'm a fish monger in a UK supermarket, also on a management training programme and also getting owned by my new boss.
Yesterday my boss (who was recently demoted as regional trainer for playing the system to hard) left me alone to set up our fish display and serve our customers at the same time. I was swamped with customers. After starting at 7:30 a.m., by 10:45 a.m. I'd not had anything to eat so, after getting his permission and asking the people working near me (he'd dissapeared as usual) to tell him I was going, I got some breakfast. On return, I asked him if he needed anything doing and he said " ... first, we're taking everything off the ice bed and starting again." Which he proceeded to do.
Details so insignificant were laboriously over emphasised. They weren't up to the company specification but, after eight months working for him, I knew it wasn't worth arguing with him. After telling me that two senior managers had watched his performance and then telling me " ... and they're going to want to now why YOU haven't finished the icebed display at this time of day", I watched him walk over to talk to one of them. After my lunch break he said "We're going to *****'s office now" ...
Over my last eight months I've recieved next to no traditional training. He said to me then "I'm not here to hold your hand and wipe your nose" and "The answers to all your questions are in this room". The first thing he ever said to me after I tried to get his attention across a distance in the back storage area was "run". I walked. After my time under his *** wierdness*** began, he wrote me up for 6 petty descrepancies that now weigh down on my file. He rushed me into signing things he knew he hadn't trained me in fully, set me a written test to go into my file that, again, he knew he hadn't trained me in (I cheated by finding the answers under a suggestion from Mel, the butchery manager, then told him I got them from an ex-employee who hated him and physically threatened him at the time. That guy gave my permission to bullshit for his own personal revenge).
My boss has a reputation in my company (he has the nickname 'Pistol Pete'), with an 85% staff turnover last year (they couldn't stand him either basically) I couldn't resist the challenge. I was tipped off that he was a **** before I got there but was also told he was the best. He is excellent at his job ... borderline autistic. I say borderline because although he has very weak social skills and is technically intimidating in the small details, he does occasionaly make mistakes. If you've seen Kill Bill 2, that old, wise ,Japanese guy's cruel tutorship, the blood splattered bride working through it all to become amazing ...... that's the kind of development I was hoping for (and what I didn't get) because I'm told I've built up a reputation for endurance where I work. We've sparred back and forth, usually with him 'winning' but ..... I hate giving in.
So the meat and gravy of this blog is I've called in sick. I have a day off tomorrow anyway which gives me some time to work out how to achieve my next impossible challenge. In the office I was told that I have to achieve 100% perfection 100% of the time over the next 4 weeks. If I achieve 99%, I'll get a written warning, the next step being a final warning and the next means I'll be fired. No one's ever that good ... not even 'Pistol Pete'.
I kind of get it or I'm very nieve. He's pushing me hard to win?. I even said to him at the start " I've seen this film, it's called An Officer and a Gentleman!" ... but he keeps moving the goal post ...
My old job, cafe cook in the same building has re-opened. I was good at that job, and the only people I didn't like there have moved on now. I phoned my old boss at home(who helped me out with my new boss's weird attacks by deliberately writing me a glowing probationary period report when my new boss was on one of his many holidays ) and asked him if he'd be cool with me coming back as his cook. He was.
When Pistol ....whatever had me waiting to go into that office I spotted the poster on the wall advertising my old job, beamed at him and pointed it out to him. He didn't look happy. In the office, ***** and Pete told me I had no choice and nowhere else to manouvere. I mentioned the poster and ***** said I wouldn't get it because of Pistol's bad write ups. But SQ, my old boss is also a player ... one that DOESN'T get off on tormenting his staff and one that appreciates loyalty and hard work.
I'm a fish monger in a UK supermarket, also on a management training programme and also getting owned by my new boss.
Yesterday my boss (who was recently demoted as regional trainer for playing the system to hard) left me alone to set up our fish display and serve our customers at the same time. I was swamped with customers. After starting at 7:30 a.m., by 10:45 a.m. I'd not had anything to eat so, after getting his permission and asking the people working near me (he'd dissapeared as usual) to tell him I was going, I got some breakfast. On return, I asked him if he needed anything doing and he said " ... first, we're taking everything off the ice bed and starting again." Which he proceeded to do.
Details so insignificant were laboriously over emphasised. They weren't up to the company specification but, after eight months working for him, I knew it wasn't worth arguing with him. After telling me that two senior managers had watched his performance and then telling me " ... and they're going to want to now why YOU haven't finished the icebed display at this time of day", I watched him walk over to talk to one of them. After my lunch break he said "We're going to *****'s office now" ...
Over my last eight months I've recieved next to no traditional training. He said to me then "I'm not here to hold your hand and wipe your nose" and "The answers to all your questions are in this room". The first thing he ever said to me after I tried to get his attention across a distance in the back storage area was "run". I walked. After my time under his *** wierdness*** began, he wrote me up for 6 petty descrepancies that now weigh down on my file. He rushed me into signing things he knew he hadn't trained me in fully, set me a written test to go into my file that, again, he knew he hadn't trained me in (I cheated by finding the answers under a suggestion from Mel, the butchery manager, then told him I got them from an ex-employee who hated him and physically threatened him at the time. That guy gave my permission to bullshit for his own personal revenge).
My boss has a reputation in my company (he has the nickname 'Pistol Pete'), with an 85% staff turnover last year (they couldn't stand him either basically) I couldn't resist the challenge. I was tipped off that he was a **** before I got there but was also told he was the best. He is excellent at his job ... borderline autistic. I say borderline because although he has very weak social skills and is technically intimidating in the small details, he does occasionaly make mistakes. If you've seen Kill Bill 2, that old, wise ,Japanese guy's cruel tutorship, the blood splattered bride working through it all to become amazing ...... that's the kind of development I was hoping for (and what I didn't get) because I'm told I've built up a reputation for endurance where I work. We've sparred back and forth, usually with him 'winning' but ..... I hate giving in.
So the meat and gravy of this blog is I've called in sick. I have a day off tomorrow anyway which gives me some time to work out how to achieve my next impossible challenge. In the office I was told that I have to achieve 100% perfection 100% of the time over the next 4 weeks. If I achieve 99%, I'll get a written warning, the next step being a final warning and the next means I'll be fired. No one's ever that good ... not even 'Pistol Pete'.
I kind of get it or I'm very nieve. He's pushing me hard to win?. I even said to him at the start " I've seen this film, it's called An Officer and a Gentleman!" ... but he keeps moving the goal post ...
My old job, cafe cook in the same building has re-opened. I was good at that job, and the only people I didn't like there have moved on now. I phoned my old boss at home(who helped me out with my new boss's weird attacks by deliberately writing me a glowing probationary period report when my new boss was on one of his many holidays ) and asked him if he'd be cool with me coming back as his cook. He was.
When Pistol ....whatever had me waiting to go into that office I spotted the poster on the wall advertising my old job, beamed at him and pointed it out to him. He didn't look happy. In the office, ***** and Pete told me I had no choice and nowhere else to manouvere. I mentioned the poster and ***** said I wouldn't get it because of Pistol's bad write ups. But SQ, my old boss is also a player ... one that DOESN'T get off on tormenting his staff and one that appreciates loyalty and hard work.