My Spoiled Employee
jajwanda
20 Posts
Hi everyone,
I really appreciate all the advice I received about my spoiled secretary, (from several months ago) Alice. But as of yesterday she was finally terminated. I documented everything I possiably could for about a year now, and even though she has done her job very well, all the attitude she gave us finally took its toll on us. Her attitude was enough to have one of our salesmen leave. She has cost us hundreds of dollars in added exspenses wrongly defending our field guys. I could just go on & on but I will save you from all the stories, I would just like to share one of the last episodes with you.
Because Alice is the 1st one in the office she parks in the first spot closest to the door. I park in the 2nd. spot usually. Not that either are far from the door, but I am the one that does the shopping for the business I have the huge packages of toliet paper, paper towels, pop, groceries etc. to carrying in & here in Michigan we have had freezing temps. Also, to get the packages out of my vehicle I have to be careful of my door hitting Alice's van & walk around her car making several trips. Not a big deal, but one day last week I asked Dave (my husband & the owner) if he could finish carring in the packages for me. While he was doing that he realized what a pain it was to get the stuff out & go around her van. He asked Alice if she could start parking in the 2nd spot she said "be a man, is it too cold for you, be a man & deal with it". He said "I am dealing with it, just park in the 2nd spot from now on". She said, "what is the big deal, I am the 1st one here, I should get the 1st spot, why are you making a big deal about it"?
Dave said "I am not, no big deal, park in the 2nd spot from now on, problem solved". From that point on she had her attitude. She gets quiet, short & snippy toward everyone. That is not the worst of it the next morning Dave was in the office before she got in & saw Alice park where? In the first spot. Unbelievable the nerve of this girl. When she walked through the door, Dave told her to go move her van & park in the next spot. She once again said "no, I am the 1st one here, why are you making such a big deal over this"? Dave once again told her no big deal just park in the 2nd spot. Which by the way is only like 5 steps away from the door. So, she grabbed her keys stomped out, moved her van & we delt with her attitude for another 2 days. On the 2nd day (of attitude) Dave mentioned to her that since she already had an attitude that he might as well tell her now that come Monday morning she would have to punch in. She said no, we have discussed that & you know how I feel about it. She saw that I was working on the pay clock system the week before & went storming in Dave's office saying that she would not punch in & went on to discuss her issues with punching in. Dave at that time told her that it was not up for discussion & that when I had the system ready that she would be expected to punch in. Anyway, will go on to the 3rd day after attitude. Dave asked Alice to start putting some books away. Somethings that still haven't been unpacked since the move. She said that she would have Josie (a part-timer) do it when she came in. Dave said is there a reason you can't do it? So, she got up & just start slamming the books in a newly built & finished bookshelf. Not in any order,she was so angry she was just slamming the books in the bookshelf. Dave heard the slamming from the warehouse came in & saw what she was doing & told her to go home & she did.
That is when we decided to terminate her & we finally did. Even though it is a huge burden on me with having to do her job until we find a replacement, we, (everyone else in the office) feel a huge sense of relief.
Thanks for listening I know that was more than 1 story, sorry, I just had to get all that out.
Thanks everyone once again for all the input. Wish me luck with the next one.
Joann
I really appreciate all the advice I received about my spoiled secretary, (from several months ago) Alice. But as of yesterday she was finally terminated. I documented everything I possiably could for about a year now, and even though she has done her job very well, all the attitude she gave us finally took its toll on us. Her attitude was enough to have one of our salesmen leave. She has cost us hundreds of dollars in added exspenses wrongly defending our field guys. I could just go on & on but I will save you from all the stories, I would just like to share one of the last episodes with you.
Because Alice is the 1st one in the office she parks in the first spot closest to the door. I park in the 2nd. spot usually. Not that either are far from the door, but I am the one that does the shopping for the business I have the huge packages of toliet paper, paper towels, pop, groceries etc. to carrying in & here in Michigan we have had freezing temps. Also, to get the packages out of my vehicle I have to be careful of my door hitting Alice's van & walk around her car making several trips. Not a big deal, but one day last week I asked Dave (my husband & the owner) if he could finish carring in the packages for me. While he was doing that he realized what a pain it was to get the stuff out & go around her van. He asked Alice if she could start parking in the 2nd spot she said "be a man, is it too cold for you, be a man & deal with it". He said "I am dealing with it, just park in the 2nd spot from now on". She said, "what is the big deal, I am the 1st one here, I should get the 1st spot, why are you making a big deal about it"?
Dave said "I am not, no big deal, park in the 2nd spot from now on, problem solved". From that point on she had her attitude. She gets quiet, short & snippy toward everyone. That is not the worst of it the next morning Dave was in the office before she got in & saw Alice park where? In the first spot. Unbelievable the nerve of this girl. When she walked through the door, Dave told her to go move her van & park in the next spot. She once again said "no, I am the 1st one here, why are you making such a big deal over this"? Dave once again told her no big deal just park in the 2nd spot. Which by the way is only like 5 steps away from the door. So, she grabbed her keys stomped out, moved her van & we delt with her attitude for another 2 days. On the 2nd day (of attitude) Dave mentioned to her that since she already had an attitude that he might as well tell her now that come Monday morning she would have to punch in. She said no, we have discussed that & you know how I feel about it. She saw that I was working on the pay clock system the week before & went storming in Dave's office saying that she would not punch in & went on to discuss her issues with punching in. Dave at that time told her that it was not up for discussion & that when I had the system ready that she would be expected to punch in. Anyway, will go on to the 3rd day after attitude. Dave asked Alice to start putting some books away. Somethings that still haven't been unpacked since the move. She said that she would have Josie (a part-timer) do it when she came in. Dave said is there a reason you can't do it? So, she got up & just start slamming the books in a newly built & finished bookshelf. Not in any order,she was so angry she was just slamming the books in the bookshelf. Dave heard the slamming from the warehouse came in & saw what she was doing & told her to go home & she did.
That is when we decided to terminate her & we finally did. Even though it is a huge burden on me with having to do her job until we find a replacement, we, (everyone else in the office) feel a huge sense of relief.
Thanks for listening I know that was more than 1 story, sorry, I just had to get all that out.
Thanks everyone once again for all the input. Wish me luck with the next one.
Joann
Comments
You and your husband were far too nice. It shouldn't have taken this long to get rid of her. Hope you learned a lesson.
My gut tells me you want a special place at the table and what you really wanted to begin with was the first parking spot since you married the owner of the business. I suspect you also resent it if someone hangs something in the breakroom or changes the wattage of the end table lamp. If I'm wrong, it's because I missed your question.
The title of your post is important. Your husband does have a spoiled employee.
- The genius IT guy with bad communication skills
- The abusive VP who makes the company profitable
- The star salesman who doesn't follow the rules
- The friendly secretary who is sick most mondays
- The deadwood janitor who knows where all the keys are.
And so on..
Hopefully, you try to live and learn and do better tomorrow.
This post was not a question, more like a response from an old post.I was just updating for all of the others that gave me advice & asked to keep them updated.
First of all my husband & I started this company together, I was married to him before WE bought this company. Therefore I am not his employee.
2nd there was never a cat fight, nor do I care where I park, sit, or what wattage lite bulb is in any lamp.
I am not a petty person that you are refering to.
Does any of this give you an idea of what you can do with your gut...........
I did take the advice that was recommended. I have documented everything & have written her up for more things that I can tell you. Being that we are a new company (2 years) and we are growing fast, I was off work on & off due to an illness, we had to wait until we were in the position to be able to handle things without her.
You are right about our terminated employee running things, but as I said we had to wait til the time was right so it wouldn't be a hardship for the company.
Thank you for your honesty, I appreciate even your harshness. I do understand that we need to learn from this so it doesn't happen again.
Thank's again, & I will post again.
Joann
I have worked for a small, family-held company before (never will again, but that's another story x;-) ) and I know some of the challenges faced by them. In a new business, you have to learn to walk before you can run and you can't be expected to deal with every employee situation correctly or effectively. Sometimes, those of us in HR can be frustrated by the bosses (especially in small companies) because they have little or no concept of appropriate employee relations, management, policy matters, etc. They're too focused on getting product out the door and making money. When you can afford it, make sure you utilize the services of an HR consultant when you need one or hire an HR person when your business justifies the expenditure. You won't regret it. In the meantime, don't feel you need to defend yourself out here. On those rare occasions when opinions are worded in an unfortunate manner, just disregard.
I am sure in some situations that it can be a good experience. In our case it is not getting the product out the door, really it isn't. We, my husband & myself feel that it is working together as a company to all grow together. Maybe that is old fashion but that is our goal. It has only been 2 years that we have had the company, & we have done extremly well & we are greatfull that in this time with the economy the way it is that we are doing so good. We are not the kind of people that will move ahead & leave any of our employees behind struggling. With Alice, no matter what we did for her it wasn't enough. It got to the point that she acted like we owed her.
Even though we paid her extremly well & she had benefits & a lot of perks along the way.
Anyway thank you for the support I appreciate your response.
I want to challenge your thinking a bit though - try not to focus on all of the reasons why you didn't or couldn't take action until now and instead think of all the reasons why it shouldn't have happened in the first place & what course of action you will take when/if it ever happens again. My friend, this long, drawn out affair did not cost you hundreds - it cost you thousands. It cost her wages/benefits throughout the year, recruitment costs for the lost employee, your time & your husband's time discussing the issue, simply, it cost too much. The cost of hiring a temp to replace her - if you couldn't take on her tasks - would have been much cheaper. I make no apologies for my post or my agreement with Don. If this offends you, then hallelujah sister - you do have a backbone - so don't just save your sass, outrage, indignation and edginess with us on the forum - use this to your benefit in business. Good luck in all of your future endeavors. x:-)
Now's the time to decide that you are running a business not providing a home for lunatics. My words may sound harsh but, your fear of confrontation made you grovel to her whims and rants. I hope this episode has made you stonger and smarter.
Thank you so much, I will keep you updated, & will most likely be back for more advice.
jajwanda I think Don misread the post.......and confused you and the secretary............
So while I can be as harsh as the rest of them, it appears like that to me.
So don't take offense from Don or anyone......the fact is because you two are nice.........and were trying to be good owners you actually mishandled it by letting it go on to long. Okay so you screwed up, makes you human. The issue is do you learn from it...........and you will. Fact is you should have pulled the trigger earlier.
This lesson plus some training other exposure to HR info/knowledge you will handle it better the next time.
Hey take a deep breath have a nice dinner tonight and enjoy your weekend.
My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman
I am spending the weekend researching so I can handle the next situation more professionaly.
You replyed to my post several months ago, when I first posted this, I appreciated your input then, now & in the future.
Thank you,
Gentle lady poster, if you can tolerate frank and honest opinions you'll be better served by The Forum. You have every right to dismiss those answers that have no value to you, as you did mine. Now that you've learned others agree with my assessment, perhaps you will reevaluate your position. Have a good weekend and good luck with the business. x:-)
Thanks for the update on your situation.
Just so you know I obviously did not dismiss your opinion, I just noticed that by your so called reading between the lines that you kinda put a little twist into my situation. I also can read between the lines & it seemed as though you were referring to me as the "spoiled employee" if I am wrong please accept my apology.
I am on this Forum for the sake of advice, I know I have something to learn from each & every person that responds. I look forward to each & every response I get & I accept the good with the bad.
If I am guilty of anything it would be being to nice & being taken advantage of & not doing something about this situation sooner. Nothing more.
I have taken the advice of others that have responed to make sure I left a paper trail & documenting everything.
We, my husband & myself look forward to the new person that will take her place & hopefully she will be more appreciative of our good heartedness.
>new secretary is a man. Perhaps there won't be
>all this petty competition going on at the
>business.
I can't find an emoticon whose jaw is hitting the floor.
As Paul, I believe, alluded to, there are many who are great at their jobs, but are high maintenance in putting up with their attitudes, tantrums and sense of entitlement.
I think you will find that your workplace is going to be much more peaceful without this constant upheaval.
Good luck with he or she!