*Disclaimer* This story will be full of raw emotion and likely a decent use of profanity. Some people are not worth the effort of using complex words.
I’ve waited for this moment for quite some time – where I am no longer at a disadvantage due to circumstances nor concerned about being blackballed because someone finally said something about how two terrible human beings can demoralize good employees and drain their life force all in the name of greed and ego.
To be blunt at what I’m getting at –
- Stop allowing tyrants to think it’s ok to treat people like the dirt under their heel.
- Stop believing tyrants care when they would sell you if it were legal and they could profit from it.
- Stop finding excuses to stay in a shitty job. All it does is reinforce the belief that what they are doing is ok.
- Stop shying away from HR because you fear retribution.
- Stop allowing them to devalue and drain you of your confidence.
Employees need to not only know their worth, but stand up for it and refuse to be treated like they have no value and are worthless. Coming into contact with narcissists is something I’ve become familiar with; however, finding myself under the foot of two at the same time was something even I wasn’t prepared for.
This is my rant concerning my absolute abhorrence for those people who have managed to pile enough bodies under their feet to reach the top, where they freely piss on everyone below them and do so without an ounce of guilt.
Throughout my life I have met thousands of people. Each one being unique in their own way. Their personalities extend from one end of the human experience spectrum to the other. Sweet, innocent, damaged, lost, deviant, manipulative, dark, and plain shitty.
Then there’s the special category that are usually extremely rare to stumble across. People who are genuinely terrible human beings. They do not care for anyone or anything other than themselves. Not only will they will lie, cheat, betray, and manipulate to get what they want, but they’ll do it with an unbelievable level of belligerence and without a morsel of remorse for the lives they burn to the ground – especially if it means they get an extra nickel in their pocket.
Over the years, I have watched as these disgraces of humanity rise to power through a total disregard of civility. They supersaturate the workforce with bodies to maximize their ability to make a sale and then watch as the staff starves out. Instead of 5 people making good money and being able to provide for their families, they’ll funnel in 10 so the only person making actual money is them.
Once enough people have starved out, they will start the process all over again.
They berate their subordinates. They lie without repercussions. They step over every HR policy regarding a hostile work environment and sexual harassment… How? Because they either own the business or operate it from directly under the owner.
People need a paycheck so they shut up and take it. They rarely get fired because that would mean the company would have to pay unemployment. Nah, these guys will just make life difficult enough till you quit. After you’re gone, if you speak up, you’re shrugged off as just another disgruntled, inept employee.
I remember when I took my first auto sales job 15 years ago. The owner was a rich little boy whose daddy gave him his first car lot. This asshat gathered all the salesmen into the office one day and told us verbatim, that we were all pieces of shit for not doing better because he made a bet with his rich friends that his car lot would do better than theirs. It was my rookie month and I had already cleared $7,000… and yet I was a POS? I left a month later after tying the dealership’s all time record of units sold in a single day – which was 5. I actually had 7 lined up, but time ran out and no one would help me because the dealership did not split deals.
I thought that moment in my career was the worst, but nope. Not even close. What was waiting for me made that job look like a walk in the park.
It’s time I share a story about two of the most narcissistic, life-draining, viruses I have ever had the displeasure of being subjected to. There is not a vocabulary I am aware of that would do justice to describe these two, but I will try my best to capture what makes them genuinely, the most terrible human beings I have ever met.
My girl and I had uprooted our life to chase a dream in a new state. I was overcome with excitement for the potential that awaited me/us. The business I was hired at was just starting to gain momentum and was set to grow in dramatic fashion. It was expected to be a real flagship destination.
They acted excited to have me on board because of my enthusiasm, creativity, and dedication to the brand. It felt as though it would be a win for everyone involved.
Sadly, it wasn’t long before the honeymoon was over. Shortly after my arrival the new owner began the process of dismantling what the previous owner had envisioned. The business model was no longer about growing through the promotion of culture and brotherhood. It was exclusively about making money and converting the facility into a retail warehouse. Anything extra that happened along the way would simply be an unintentional collateral bonus.
What I was originally brought in to do was no longer relevant. I would need to alter my approach to performing the job. Rather than get into deep details of what transpired over the next year, I’ll hit the highlights.
I attended weekly meetings where the entire staff was told they weren’t good enough – even when they were doing well – this was when the owner wasn’t talking on his phone disrupting the store meeting in progress. He would, however, pause his call to interrupt any compliments employees were receiving to remind them that they still were not good enough and they could do better.
I was routinely verbally reprimanded for not putting out enough advertisements, then reprimanded because the store’s social media feed was nothing but advertisements.
My girl did exceptional in her role. In under a year she was highly ranked in the nation and at the top in the region. She was asked to teach other locations how to improve their stats, but I do not recall her being given an ounce of praise or a cent of raise… But what she was provided was a reminder that, verbatim, “don’t think this means you’re doing a good job”.
The level of arrogance and indifference got to the point I began taking notes of my interactions. The following exchanges were some of my “best of” from real-world situations. They have not been embellished. There was no reason to.
GM: We need some promo ideas.
Me: Let’s try “x” promo I just came up with.
GM: It’s too expensive
Me: You said the promo is always the first thing that is taken off the table when a customer wants to negotiate, right?
GM: Right.
Me: Well, the cost of this promo is within the usual allowance for promos, right?GM: Right
Me: So if it’s within budget and it’s first to go during negotiations, why not try it?GM: Nah. It’s just too expensive.
And then there’s:
GM: Did we get the promotional flyers printed for this month?
Me: No
GM: Why not? You know that’s important. We need to have those to pass out.
Me: The Sales promo wasn’t decided on until yesterday
GM: You could have at least printed out 250
Me: Ok, so you want me to print 250?
GM: No, they’re not handing them out. I don’t want to waste the money if they’re not handing them out.
Me: Ok, so don’t print them?
GM: …….. Yeah, go ahead and print them.
Continued tomorrow…
Off The Rails 