He said what?

Everybody knows someone like this. I don’t want to say two-faced, but there’s no other way to describe it. I’m thinking of a employee of mine, but I naturally don’t want to name names. But it is a pattern I’ve noticed among employees. Generally those with a very gregarious, friendly exterior also have some sort of twisted underside. I remember one guy, he’d be all smiles until you asked him to do something he didn’t want to do. Then he’d be all huffy and puffy, as if he dared to ask him to, you know, work. I remember one girl who was beyond friendly with customers but had deep-seeded personal problems.

I’m always wary of those that won’t readily acknowledge the darkness in the world, one way or another.

So, I had a guy call yesterday, saying that he was going to his doctor’s and might be late. I was standing right next to my boss while doing this, because we’ve had problems with him before. He ended up not showing up last night. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened, and we have documentation. He showed up today for his shift and proceeded to argue with my boss. He changed his story to not coming in at all. What? That still doesn’t explain why you couldn’t have made it in. He told me yesterday his appointment was at 3 PM. His shift was 6 to close. On Fridays, we close at 2 AM. Are you kidding me?

But that’s not the disturbing part. He raised his voice to the point of yelling at my boss. I’m really surprised she didn’t throw him out right then and there. I could hear her voice escalate. First, restrained anger, and then to full-blown frustration. All the while, you can tell he truely believes what he’s saying. I told her straight up that everything else aside, he was being verbally abusive to her.

I mean, seriously. You must be some special kind of stupid to yell at your boss as a way to keep your job.

Even after all this, she said aloud to me and another manager, “I have grounds to fire him, right?” A twenty-year veteran of the industry, the undisputed General Manager, and she still hates firing people, even if it’s so obvious it needs to happen. It’s one of the reasons she has my respect. She’s human.

But some of these people? I just don’t know what goes on inside their heads.