posted
About three or four months ago I got promoted as a manager in Marrazzo's Thriftway. Basically they promoted me for a few reasons 1. They needed someone who knew the store, like I did. 2. They needed extra managers because the others were working 60 hour sometimes 70 hour weeks. 3. One of them was moving away, so they needed quick help, so they don't work 168 hour weeks.
Anyway, when I got promoted I had no clue what I was supposed to do, and I was the youngest manager there. Now a few months later, I know what I am, for a lack of a better term, book keeper. Basically I do surveys and analyze various products. If the product suddenly stops selling for some reason, I do a analysis on the average of how many sell per day/week. I also look into the other store on how well that's selling. Then I make a suggestion, (a sale, cut down on how many we buy, bring down the price, and so on). For surveys, I put together who buys what type of product more, which sex buys this, what race buys what, and so on.
Every weekend, I spend hours in a meeting with the top managers, and store owner of what I found out. It's a fun but hard and time cosuming job. Somehow I also run as a floor runner (give jobs to the baggers, cashiers, and tell them what to do).
Now recently, I have been interviewing and training two replacements. The first one, named Bill, I trained two weeks ago. Here's the problem, even though I am in charge still, Bill challenges me on every decision. He'll go behind my back on reports that I made and so on. However because of his position, I can not fire him. Only the store manager or owner can do this. He's totally different from what I hired, he's not a team player. This week I trained another on named Julie, which she also recognized what bill was doing. Now in the last few weeks working, I am not spending it doing my job, I am spending it cleaning up Bill's work, and trying to organize a way to get Bill fired.
-------------------- Matrix If you say so If you want so Then do so
Registered: Jul 2000
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OnToMars
Now on to the making of films!
Member # 621
posted
What a great movie.
Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
Falco is a great name. I wish I'd thought of it. I'd name all of my children Falco. And my pet hamster, Hannibal, shall now be known as Hannibal Falco.
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted
Hmm. I've had similar problems regarding newly-hired employees. In my case, though, I work in a small bagel shop and so the only manager and the new owner are much more accessible as far as relaying opinions. (Plus, I've been working there longer than anyone else aside from the manager. So my experience counts.)
The problem here is getting your boss to listen to you, Matrix. Maybe I'm too nice of a guy, but I'd avoid trying to concoct ways to get him fired through indirect circumstances and talk to your boss directly. Just explain the situation and point out that he's not doing his job properly.
Your first post said that "He's totally different from what I hired." What do you mean by this? Is his character/attitude different from what he presented when you interviewed him? Or is it something that you've changed your mind about? (I can certainly understand finding out that someone is a complete asshole and/or idiot -- the owner of my store has made that mistake five times in the past three weeks.)
Unfortunately, I think that in the short run you may have to deal with this guy. If the owner/manager won't fire him, you've still got to make your position clear, so that you don't get held responsible if some shit hits the fan because of Bill's antics. Make your opinions known, but leave the decisions up to your boss -- that's why he's your boss.
Good luck with dealing with an asshole for a coworker. I strongly sympathize. Just today, I had to cover for three other people -- one who didn't show up for work (with no notification -- they're fired, I hope), another who was a complete moron and didn't know how to put cream cheese on a bagel, and a third who was making a lineup of four grill orders one at a time, rather than putting all the food on the grill at once.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
He was totally different from the interviews. I even gave hypothetical situations as well to thin them out, "If Person A did this, and Person B did it too, which caused too much of this, would you allow it?" and so on. Then I even took a look at my notes, and apparently he's doing almost everything opposite of what he said he'd do. Of course naturally I change my opinion about him.
*Maybe I shouldn't have gave the title The Replacements.*
-------------------- Matrix If you say so If you want so Then do so
Registered: Jul 2000
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capped
I WAS IN THE FUTURE, IT WAS TOO LATE TO RSVP
Member # 709
posted
i was wondering when we'd talk about this.
a warning.. the downfall of my days in a management position is when i was forced to take responsibility for the shortcomings of my subordinates.. i didnt do (much) wrong before the end of my assistant manager tenure except not make sure that there was discipline in the managers below me, it was part of my job i never fully comprehended how to do.. i let them walk all over me and the whole business suffered until things blew up and my resignation was required.
talk to this guy.. instead of going behind his back trying to have him removed, tell him that he is an irritant and that you find that unacceptable. not only to him, but inform all your superiors to. you might end up looking like a crybaby, but if you present the problem right on both sides, it will be dealt with. present your case to your superiors correctly, and you will save the day. present it wrong, and you will look bad. but decide to do this because things are unbearable now.
Registered: Sep 2001
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Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
Member # 256
posted
I agree. Confront the guy and chew him out. Demand that he gets his ass in line if you have to. Judging and evaluating people by their merits is a task you need to forfill as manager. It's a responsibility you're trusted with -- and expected to take.
Registered: Nov 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Matrix: He was totally different from the interviews. I even gave hypothetical situations as well to thin them out, "If Person A did this, and Person B did it too, which caused too much of this, would you allow it?" and so on. Then I even took a look at my notes, and apparently he's doing almost everything opposite of what he said he'd do. Of course naturally I change my opinion about him.
Well in that case, you've got some good evidence to show to your bosses. AND to Mr. Bill here. Obviously he knows what he's supposed to be doing, and now is doing things wrong deliberately, for whatever reason. I'm not a manager/owner, but I'd be inclined to fire somebody who tried to pull something like that.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
Don't try and concoct a way to get Bill fired. That's opening the store up to mounds of legal trouble if he finds out that there was an organized effort to terminate him. Even he doesn't have a leg to stand on in court, he can still do enough to scare the company into a settlement. And who knows what effect that could have on your future employment opportunities.
I had similar situations when I worked in the dorms. I was in a managerial position where I supervised a staff of desk assistants. I could hire them and give them light disciplinary action, but firing them was up to the area coordinator (my supervisor). I can't tell you how many times people I hired who did really well in interviews flaked out on me.
First thing you need to do is confront Bill. Assert your authority. Tell him to knock off his counterproductive ways and focus on his work. Remind him of his interview with him, especially those hypothetical situations. Show him in specific terms how he acting contrary to what he said he would do.
After you meet with him, document it. Write down what you said, what he said, and what was agreed upon at the end of the meeting. Then send a copy of that documentation to your boss, the one who can fire him (you'd obviously want to keep a copy for your own files). If the problems continue, you'll probably have to go through this again.
I say "probably" because most companies have a set procedure for dealing with trouble employees. In my dorm job, I got to deal with the first infraction. If problems continued, I had to pass them along to my boss. If the problems still hadn't been resolved, that person was let go. Since you seem to have more authority that I did, I bet you'd have to deal with an employee a few times before it gets passed on to your boss. However, by all means let your boss know what is going on and how you're dealing with it.
Registered: Mar 1999
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