TallFatSue
Well-Known Member
Hoo boy, what a morning I'm having! This will be a week to remember. It's not often that my staff gives me a round of applause, but it just happened. It came after one of my most gut-wrenching experiences (and now I have a major case of nervous hiccups going on), but it was time to act. I'm generally a happy woman, and try to handle most situations diplomatically or with humor. But every so often, enough is enough. I'm an office manager, and one of our problem employees was a passive/aggressive type. I'll call him "Richard Head". "RH" loved to needle everyone and keep them off balance, or sometimes he would rant and rave, but he never came right out and did anything that we could discipline him for. His work was adequate, but sometimes just barely so. In short, he was a disruptive element who knew how to play the system and push everyone's buttons but never completely crossed the line. I'm sure most of you know the type.
Yesterday afternoon we had a year-end department meeting, because many of us will be on vacation next week. As usual, RH began to nit-pick certain topics: "What do you mean by that? ... Aren't you losing focus? ... But why do you say one thing and do another?" Well, he just opened himself up, and when I mentioned some of his performance shortcomings, RH went ballistic. He yelled at everyone in the conference room, then stood up, shouted "I quit!" marched out the door and drove away. Immediately I adjourned our meeting and went to discuss this incident with our personnel manager and our attorney.
This morning RH came to work like nothing had happened, and I alerted personnel. Three of us went over to his office, and our personnel manager did the talking.
Personnel: "What are you doing here?"
RH: "Uh, I'm working."
Personnel: "You quit yesterday."
RH: "I was only joking."
Personnel: "We have 6 witnesses who heard you quit, and saw you leave the building."
RH: "Uh...."
RH had half an hour to clean out his office and turn in his keycards, and then personnel escorted him out of the building. Someone who had no idea what had happened asked RH where he was going. "That fat-ass bitch Sue just fired me! I oughta sue the whole company!" (Some people just have to use our sizes as an insult.) Our personnel manager spoke up: "No, she didn't. You quit, and we have witnesses." After RH left, we convened a quick staff meeting and I explained what had happened. When I announced that RH was no longer an employee, I got a big ovation. I had no idea that RH had inspired so much dislike in our company, but it's not exactly a surprise. Then our personnel manager announced that our company will provide lunch for everyone today. He also said that if anyone is afraid RH might try to retaliate, they are free to take the rest of today and tomorrow off with pay. Nobody budged.
Well, my sizeable stomach is full of butterflies, but it's probably nothing a big mug of hot cocoa and a big plate of chocolate chip Christmas cookies can't soothe. Sometimes a woman has to do what a woman has to do.
Thanks for letting me spill my guts this morning.
Sue
Yesterday afternoon we had a year-end department meeting, because many of us will be on vacation next week. As usual, RH began to nit-pick certain topics: "What do you mean by that? ... Aren't you losing focus? ... But why do you say one thing and do another?" Well, he just opened himself up, and when I mentioned some of his performance shortcomings, RH went ballistic. He yelled at everyone in the conference room, then stood up, shouted "I quit!" marched out the door and drove away. Immediately I adjourned our meeting and went to discuss this incident with our personnel manager and our attorney.
This morning RH came to work like nothing had happened, and I alerted personnel. Three of us went over to his office, and our personnel manager did the talking.
Personnel: "What are you doing here?"
RH: "Uh, I'm working."
Personnel: "You quit yesterday."
RH: "I was only joking."
Personnel: "We have 6 witnesses who heard you quit, and saw you leave the building."
RH: "Uh...."
RH had half an hour to clean out his office and turn in his keycards, and then personnel escorted him out of the building. Someone who had no idea what had happened asked RH where he was going. "That fat-ass bitch Sue just fired me! I oughta sue the whole company!" (Some people just have to use our sizes as an insult.) Our personnel manager spoke up: "No, she didn't. You quit, and we have witnesses." After RH left, we convened a quick staff meeting and I explained what had happened. When I announced that RH was no longer an employee, I got a big ovation. I had no idea that RH had inspired so much dislike in our company, but it's not exactly a surprise. Then our personnel manager announced that our company will provide lunch for everyone today. He also said that if anyone is afraid RH might try to retaliate, they are free to take the rest of today and tomorrow off with pay. Nobody budged.
Well, my sizeable stomach is full of butterflies, but it's probably nothing a big mug of hot cocoa and a big plate of chocolate chip Christmas cookies can't soothe. Sometimes a woman has to do what a woman has to do.
Thanks for letting me spill my guts this morning.
Sue
