This entry was posted on 3/29/2006 12:24 AM and is filed under uncategorized.
Ok, here's the lowdown.
I am having a work problem and I'd be interested to know how you all would handle it, were it you. Now, I know talking about your job on your blog isn't strictly kosher, but I just can't find it in myself to give a shit. It's my blog and I'll bitch if I want to, is essentially what I'm saying here.
There is a person at work, a subordinate of mine, actually, who is driving me up a fucking wall on a daily basis. She asked to take a vacation day today and I was all, "Hell's yeah!", just so I wouldn't have to deal with her today.
I will list just a few of her driving me up a fucking wall techniques so that you can either empathize with me or learn new techniques to drive your boss up a fucking wall. Or, you know, tell me I'm being a picky bitch and to get over it. Which, I'm actually ok with, if you say it nicely.
1) Complains about the schedule every single week, no matter how many times I have revised the schedule to fit her.
Doesn't want to work the closing shift (11-7), doesn't want to work the opening shift (7-3), wants to work 9-5 only, ever.
Now, I have to cover this place from 7am to 7pm. I'm there every day from 7-3. I'm not taking the cushy convenient shift EVER, and everyone else expects to work at least one opener and one closer a week ( because we are a TEAM , people. There is no *I* in team. And other cliches). If she gets stuck with an icky shift, she then spends all her time trying to harass people into trading with her. Which leads those people to complain to me. Because it's constant.
I do not wish to institute a no trading policy, because hey, we all have things come up and it's nice to be able to trade with a willing coworker every once in a while. But with her, it's not every once in a while. She tries to get out of every shift that is not 9-5. I cannot stress enough how hard she works at this. Again, it's driven others to complain. Often.
2) Blames her mistakes on others. ANY others. Whoever is handy. Did she forget to groom your dog and when you showed up to pick it up, it hadn't been touched? Well, see, that was the bather's fault for not telling her the dog was there and reminding her to groom it. (she actually said that this week in front of the customer) Um, we have an appointment book, a computer and kennel cards for each dog. They all three name the groomer who is to groom the dog. It is nobody's job to remind her to do her job. And blaming someone else in front of the customer so that the customer won't be angry with her, is just chickenshit.
3) She refuses to learn how to use the computer. Refusing in this instance meaning to avoid it all costs unless I make her do it, oftentimes making others leave their work when she is doing nothing to check a dog in or out so that she doesn't have to mess with it.
4) She has a decided lack of commitment to quality. An example: She attempted to send a Giant Schnauzer home wet the other day. Now, we don't even send them out damp but, apparently, this dog wasn't just damp, it was wet. Like dripping wet. A groomer who has only been grooming for a few months had to MAKE her dry the dog properly. Now, you all may not know much about grooming, so I will tell you that there is no way you can send a dog home with a quality groom when it's wet. The hair has to be dry so that it can be properly scissored and clipped.
She's been grooming for 30 years. She knows better.
5) She treats the dogs roughly. Not actually hitting them (that I know of, although she has verbally expressed the wish to be able to 'take it in back and beat it. Ha ha, just kidding') but pulling them this way and that and being loud with them and such. To the point where I've noticed a downturn in any dog's behavior once she's groomed it. If a dog moves, she's yelling at it. Well, folks, dogs move. Every single last one of them. Even the really well behaved ones will shift a foot now and again or turn their head to have a look around.
I know what you're thinking. That last one should have her out of there NOW. Yeah, you'd think so. If it was my shop, yep, you betcha, she'd be out. But it's not my shop. Even though we've had customer complaints about her roughness and her coworkers have mentioned it on several occasions, I can't do anything. Why? Because she doesn't do it in front of me or any of the other managers. Ever.
I'm positive her problem is that she is burned out and just shouldn't be grooming anymore, but she needs the money and can't just quit. But she needs to. She doesn't like dogs and it shows.
Now, I have called her out on all these behaviors on many occasions. The only one I can even really write her up for is rough treatment of the pets in our care, but I can't even do that if she doesn't do it in front of me or I can't get the customers to formally complain (which they seem strangely reluctant to do. Seriously, it's weird.).
Any thoughts? I don't actually expect y'all to solve this problem for me (although it would be awfully nice of you!) but if you have any ideas or just the right words to use with my boss so that he understands how serious the problem is, I'd really appreciate it.
If you need me, I'll be up the fucking wall.
