Shift manager snapped, sent me home tonight(Language, LONG).

[Rapscallion]

I certainly don't think you should give up. However, most of the people here are offering advice from their experiences. Just because you're right doesn't mean to say that you're going to get justice - people are letting you know it may not go the way it should.

Give them as much hell as you can get away with, but don't expect them to roll over and beg. The world's not as nice a place as it should be.

Rapscallion

[Terry]

The manager just didn't feel like listening to me complain. The thing is though, if an employee has a problem, they MUST tell a manager. There's even a sign in the break room that says

"If you have a problem with an employee, don't confront them yourself, tell a manager. If an agreement cannot be made, then follow the chain of command to GM"

I told her about the problems I was having with the runners, and what does she do? She lashes out at me. So I have no fear whatsoever right now. All I was trying to do was follow the rules and make sure the managers know that there are people there that are getting mad at me even though I'm doing what I am supposed to do. So I have a lot of confidence that if I am not pleased with the results after speaking to GM, that I can speak to someone higher up the ladder who will take this more seriously. I might not have a degree in business management, but I am a professional.

[blas]

On the chance that you do get fired, if you have the means and the time, you could fire back with a wrongful termination suit. You could file for unemployment, although most shit places to work fight tooth and nail so that people won't get it....

[Terry]

On the chance that you do get fired, if you have the means and the time, you could fire back with a wrongful termination suit. You could file for unemployment, although most shit places to work fight tooth and nail so that people won't get it....

I probably wouldn't have much luck with a wrongful termination lawsuit as I live in an "at will" state. Of course, even if you live in an "at will" state, the reason for termination must still be lawful. However, instead of suing for wrongful termination, there might be a case of negligence. It could be considered that I have been harassed by the runners, and by these 2 managers not taking appropriate action when I notified them of the problem, I would consider this negligence, which by law, does constitute a lawsuit. How strong of a case I have no idea.

[PaRaGaS]

Unfortunately, there's only one right way to respond to a McD's manager "Yes, sir" or "Yes, ma'am".

The hell? We're on first name basis with everyone here, including the GM.
We also go drinking and party together.
Feels like a close circle of friends, until of course somebody gets fired.

[donruss]

Time to start looking for another job and quick!

[marasbaras]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news here, Terry, but if you go talk to the GM with the attitude that you've been sporting here, you're going to be out of a job. They're going to listen to you while thinking "oh man, here's trouble ...".

You know, during a rush time was just the wrong time to bring up your points to the SM. Yes, they want you to talk to managers ... when there's TIME. When customers aren't lined up.

Schedule an appointment with the SM so that you two can talk quietly, peacefully, and leave the chip on your shoulder at home. Ask the SM what you need to do to follow the rules correctly. Focus on what YOU need to do. What others do ... screw them. If others get mad at you for following management policy, too bad for those others.

[Mr. Rager!]

SM: Terry, don't do that, you have to wait until you have the entire order at the window.

Me: Alright.

SM: Terry, I told you not to do that(no she didn't, this is something completely different).

Me: I just took the green box off so it would be ready to serve.

SM: You're not allowed to do it until you have the order. It's a rule and I'm showing you the right way. You HAVE to follow the rules.

Me: Oh, okay, well more people need to follow the rules then because every time I'm the drive thru server, the runner gets mad at me if I don't serve it quicker than 20 seconds.

SM: I don't care about what the other runners tell you, just do it the way I tell you.

Me: Well, the runners are always getting mad at me when I follow the rules and that's creating a hostile working environment for me. If a manager sees this happening, then they need to speak to the runner and tell them not to.

I guess she saw this as telling her how to do her job, aka "bossing her around".

SM: Look, if you're not going to do what I'm telling you to do, then you can just leave!

*Thinks to myself "Um, did I say I wasn't going to do what you told me to do?"*

Me: See, you're getting mad at me because I'm trying to set things right. People keep getting mad at me no matter which way I do this or that. I'm going to talk to GM about how people aren't following the rules.

When I was a supervisor at my last job, it annoyed me so much when I would tell someone what to do, and they'd tell me what another subordinate told them to do. I don't care. Just do what I told you to do. I'm your boss, not them.

When your manager said "do it this way" it should've been, "ok." Then when the runners told you to do it otherwise you tell them what the manager told you. Don't tell the manager what the subordinate told you to do, that's annoying.

I don't agree with how this was handled, but I can see why he was annoyed.

[Secret Shopper]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news here, Terry, but if you go talk to the GM with the attitude that you've been sporting here, you're going to be out of a job. They're going to listen to you while thinking "oh man, here's trouble ...".

You know, during a rush time was just the wrong time to bring up your points to the SM. Yes, they want you to talk to managers ... when there's TIME. When customers aren't lined up.

Schedule an appointment with the SM so that you two can talk quietly, peacefully, and leave the chip on your shoulder at home. Ask the SM what you need to do to follow the rules correctly. Focus on what YOU need to do. What others do ... screw them. If others get mad at you for following management policy, too bad for those others.

Good advise. There's just no way you are going to win this one except with utter humility. You are totally expendable, these other managers are less easily replaced than you and the top boss is in no way going to reprimand them for laying into you. That's just not the way it works in the workplace.

I agree, you should have just followed orders in the middle of a busy shift. If you want to move up the totem pole you need to learn to kiss ass my friend. Then, when you've paid your dues you can call the shots.

[Chanlin]

My only question is to ask if you told them about the problems with the runners before this incident in the original post. If not then you don't have as much of a case as you might think. Yes you brought what the runners were doing to their attention but you also did it in a manner that made you appear as if you were being insubordiante. I'm not saying you were, but as an outside observer to the situation I'm trying to see where bothe sides are comming from. I see your point in that you feel that you are in the wrong, but corporate may not see it that way.

What this all boils down to is one giant misunderstanding. In however it plays out i wish you luck.

One last clarification. The reason I would have quit is because the job just isnt worth the fight in my opinion. Now if for example it was at the job I have now doing tech support I would fight tooth an nail if something like this happened to me.

[poofy_puff]

I agree with the Collective. Resistance is futile.

Give the appearance of being a "team player" or look for another situation. You have been at Mc for over two months; that is longer than average. You qualify for a job at Walmart now. Places like that typically start to give employees a hard time when it looks as if you are coming up for a raise.

Good Luck whatever you decide to do!

[Terry]

When I was a supervisor at my last job, it annoyed me so much when I would tell someone what to do, and they'd tell me what another subordinate told them to do. I don't care. Just do what I told you to do. I'm your boss, not them.

When your manager said "do it this way" it should've been, "ok." Then when the runners told you to do it otherwise you tell them what the manager told you. Don't tell the manager what the subordinate told you to do, that's annoying.

I don't agree with how this was handled, but I can see why he was annoyed.

Doing what she was telling me to do was EXACTLY what I was doing. I wasn't being insubordinate. I told her about how the runners would get mad at me, and she completely blew it off, neglecting her duties as a manager. When you're a manager, you MUST have the mental skills to handle employee situations in a professional manner, which she plainly didn't do. All she did was create more hostility. Also, I'm not telling her I was told different to come up with an excuse of doing it a different way, it was merely to let her know what the runners were doing to me. Hostility is a problem in and of itself. I'm the type of person who stands up for myself when I know I'm right, and I AM RIGHT.

What kind of professional manager would want to create even more hostility? Why couldn't she have just LISTENED. That's right, LISTEN. Would it not have been better if she had just listened to me?

Even if I quit or get fired, the problem is still there! It is a problem with THEM. I don't care how many people have been doing something the wrong way, and that they've been doing it that way for so long and their used to it, if I'm doing it the right way, then that's all that matters! I WILL stand up for myself! Someday, they're going to get ANOTHER person who stands up for themself.

REALIZE THIS: I AM NOT THE BAD GUY HERE! I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO LOSE MY JOB, MY SOURCE OF MONEY, BECAUSE OF THE INCOMPETENCE OF THOSE ASSHOLE MANAGERS! THE GM NEEDS TO DO AN OVERHAUL!

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Terry, nobody is saying that you're the bad guy. They are just trying to tell you what will most likely happen when you go to the GM. The simple fact of the matter is this: it is much less work, and much less stress, for the GM to reprimand or replace you than it is for the GM to reprimand or replace the managers.

As Raps said, just because you're in the right doesn't mean the situation will get treated justly. The fact is that in jobs like this you are fully and openly expected to be a 'team player', you are expected to kiss butt, and if you don't they will not bother with you. This is a fact of life in retail and food service jobs. If you don't work well this kind of environment then you should find a different kind of job where you don't have to deal with it.

[chops]

REALIZE THIS: I AM NOT THE BAD GUY HERE! I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO LOSE MY JOB, MY SOURCE OF MONEY, BECAUSE OF THE INCOMPETENCE OF THOSE ASSHOLE MANAGERS! THE GM NEEDS TO DO AN OVERHAUL!

Easy there...we all know you're not the bad guy. The point that the others are trying to make is that as unfair as it may seem, you're still likely to lose your job because of politics. It doesn't matter how right you are and how wrong they are, it's much easier to replace a low-level employee at a job like this than it is to replace a manager. [Looks like this one just got covered above...whoops]

I've dealt with a manager at the dealership who had it out for me for a long time. She'd single me out, ordering me to take customers we knew weren't going to buy anything, ordering me to take customers who show up one minute before closing, yelling at me for the slightest crap, pulling me in the office when my customer satisfaction scores suffer because of it, and I knew that since she had the power to fire me if I snapped back too much, rolled with it. Eventually the GM recognized that her management skills (or lack thereof) resulted in low sales numbers, and demoted her to a position where she couldn't terrorize the sales staff as much.

My advice for the future is, don't put up a big fight. I know it's hard because you're being jerked around. Just roll with it and eventually, if a pattern develops, things will work out on their own. And you definitely need to look for another job, because even if you don't get fired, they're going to make your life a living hell there until you can't take it anymore.

[poofy_puff]

Even if I quit or get fired, the problem is still there! It is a problem with THEM. I don't care how many people have been doing something the wrong way, and that they've been doing it that way for so long and their used to it, if I'm doing it the right way, then that's all that matters! I WILL stand up for myself! Someday, they're going to get ANOTHER person who stands up for themself.

You are quite correct; the problem is with THEM and will still be there. You cannot fix that problem; you ARE the other person who is standing up for him/herself.

[Have] the serenity to accept what you cannot change, the courage to change what you can, and the wisdom to know the difference.