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    Help with sophmoric tactics, jealousy and nepitism

    Posted by: basspeak
    Date: 10/6/2008 1:32:17 PM

    I have been working in the professional world for 10 years now. Last spring due to the economy I took a parttime stint as a clothing buyer for a small retail store. Where I get along very well with the owner, the bookkeepers daughter had helped with purchasing prior to my hiring and has taken some resentment towards me. The manager is also her boyfriend. Now that some of last years orders ( prior to my existence ) are coming in and the PO's etc are messed up there seems to be a concerted effort among the 3 to make me look bad. I have been constantly overwhelmed with the managers passive aggressive behavior towards me for months. Questions, emails, etc go routinely unanswered, messages from reps etc do not get passed on to me etc. There have been some underhanded techniques used lately as the owner is out of the country for the month. In addition to these techniques the bookkeeper is scrawling notes about the errors ( her daughters fault ) that include my name as messing these up and leaving them around. In one instance she wrote a truly tattle-tale note to the manager yet she refused to discuss it with me as did he. I have dozens of more professional ways to deal with things that I would like to suggest. However at this point I am interested mainly in saving face and having a heart to heart with the owner when he comes back in two weeks. Any advice?

    Obviuosly I need to ask for better communication with the manager, would like to ask that instead of scrawling notes and leaving tattle-tale messages that the bookeeper instead email me with her list of concerns and CC the boss. Letting them know that in order to be a solution to any problems, I need to be involved with the issues so that number one if I have errored I can fix this as well as not do so in the future etc. I feel however that my professionalism in and of itself is intimidating to these people and am forced to deal with both this and the fact that they are all somewhat related and this is a really fun game for them. Help! It's been so long since I have worked in this realm. AS well as it goes without saying that they are taking full advantage of the situation of the boss being gone to remove me from this position so that daughter/girlfriend can take it back over.

    Reply from: cna
    Date: 10/21/2008 6:37:00 PM
    Reply: Who hired you and who do you directly report to? If the owner/manager hired you, then a face-to-face meeting would be in order, (when back in the country). In the meantime, I wouldn't waste my time trying to play their games or out-smart them. My suggestion would be to immediately type an office memo, distribute to all, stating not only your concerns, (be professional with wording), but also state your desire for open communication among all members in your environment, suggesting daily or weekly staff meetings so you have a (fighting chance) to do your job and carry out your responsiblilites effiently and correctly. The worst thing that could happen is the others simply won't want to communicate - they may not communicate with each other effectively either. You can only do what you know you should do. Typing the memos, (as often as you feel necessary), and keeping copies for yourself will be a tool to use with the owner, and if all fails and you are terminated, you will be able to prove there was no wrong-doing on your part. I agree, 'they' most definately appear to be intimidated by your obvious business savvy. Working with and for family members can be a no-win nightmare. You might be wasting your talent on the wrong company. Possibly, looking for another company to work for just might be the answer. Good luck to you!

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