Abuse at work

[ladypanther]

I work at a place with no employee recourse...there are no personnel procedures...as NC is an at will state you can be fired for anything anytime without reason.  I am a 100% commission employee which employers treat as slaves.  I have been in car sales and now in RV sales...same thing.

In both scenarios...management has no management skills.  All owners care about is the bottom line.

Where I am now....the mental age of management is about 12-13yrs old. I am not exaggerating.   When I started there was different management...2 weeks later a corporate takeover and everything changed. (Including pay cuts)

Our morning meetings are full of f bombs.  I was recently cussed out in a meeting after agreeing with someone who said the meeting was not positive after we were all called "schmucks". It was brutal. What was being said was ridiculous.

Yes...I am looking for another job.  When I went to work here it had a great reputation.  2 weeks later...everything changed.

I wish I had a recording of the meeting I mentioned...I am going to try and record everything going forward.  What I endured was abuse....likely did not meet the legal definition of a hostile work environment as I have looked up the definition online.  It is amazing what people can be forced to put up with. Where I am I am sure corporate does not care....but they likely would not like bad publicity.  I have to take care of myself first.

I am good at what I do but I hate who I work for.  I am sure I am not alone in that.  And I am mistreated.  As I am sure others are. 

Tell me about your situation.

[pstall]

That's awful and it sounds like they are aggressively making life miserable for people to just quit with no severance pay.

Document.  Document.  Document.  Keep your head down and apply like crazy until you land something new.

Hate you are in this boat. Hang tough. 

I work for a Fortune 500 comp so they have layers and layers of coverage. 

[Khyber53]

The other side of being an at will employment state is that you can walk at a moment's notice. I'd line up two nice days off in a row on weekdays and set up appointments to talk with other sales lots. Pick your prime places you'd like to work and make an appointment to speak with their sales managers. If you offer to work for them at 100% commission right out of the blocks, they get you at no loss, only a gain. You also know the business well enough to require peak sales times for scheduling, desk placement and lot rotations. You know the business and can give them good return on their money.

On the two days you are gone, your current employer is going to be stuck without your sales expertise on those days. Let them sweat it out. After you are done with meeting the other two, if no offer is made to you, just go back in and say, "Whew, thanks, I needed a couple of days to get my wind back. Let's get to work!"

You can't win by fighting the powers that be in your situation, but you can take your experience and know how elsewhere. You always can, and should, be looking to move up and better yourself as your skill set improves. And any employer that says "I made you, you owe me" isn't one that anyone should ever work for.

 

[Doyle]

Your situation reminds me of this.  I would walk out and never look back.  

 

 

[ladypanther]

16 minutes ago, Doyle said:

Your situation reminds me of this.  I would walk out and never look back.

lol....sounds familiar.

 

Believe me, I want to just walk out...but can't afford to without having a decent job lined up.  I am searching everyday.

[Pejorative Miscreant]

Not going to give you advice because you come across as very smart and upwardly mobile.  My advice would be stating what you already know.   I do want to offer support though. I know what it's like to be at work and feel like your being abused and taken advantage of although not to the extreme that you describe.   Hope you get thru this as quick as possible.  Take care. 

[panther4life]

On 2/23/2017 at 8:39 PM, ladypanther said:

I work at a place with no employee recourse...there are no personnel procedures...as NC is an at will state you can be fired for anything anytime without reason.  I am a 100% commission employee which employers treat as slaves.  I have been in car sales and now in RV sales...same thing.

In both scenarios...management has no management skills.  All owners care about is the bottom line.

Where I am now....the mental age of management is about 12-13yrs old. I am not exaggerating.   When I started there was different management...2 weeks later a corporate takeover and everything changed. (Including pay cuts)

Our morning meetings are full of f bombs.  I was recently cussed out in a meeting after agreeing with someone who said the meeting was not positive after we were all called "schmucks". It was brutal. What was being said was ridiculous.

Yes...I am looking for another job.  When I went to work here it had a great reputation.  2 weeks later...everything changed.

I wish I had a recording of the meeting I mentioned...I am going to try and record everything going forward.  What I endured was abuse....likely did not meet the legal definition of a hostile work environment as I have looked up the definition online.  It is amazing what people can be forced to put up with. Where I am I am sure corporate does not care....but they likely would not like bad publicity.  I have to take care of myself first.

I am good at what I do but I hate who I work for.  I am sure I am not alone in that.  And I am mistreated.  As I am sure others are. 

Tell me about your situation.

Do you remember a a few years ago when you started a thread about getting the in car business and I replied with the low down, good and bad side's of it, and urged you to strongly reconsider getting into the industry? It has nothing to do with you being a female, as you can see thats just the nature of that business that pretty much everyone has to endure all the politics and unfair treatment. 

I even remember saying the worst case scenario for you, was that you'd be really good at it and become accustom to the higher income potential than you may not otherwise qualify for in other industries. You're still in it, so you obviously doing well enough to keep you in it. I assume the only reason you have not already quit is the earning potential. 

So my advice to you remains the same. Please find a new career path. This has 0 to do with your talent level or capability to perform in the industry, so I am not slighting you there. However you are on a path many before you have gone down and thats feeling like you're stuck in an industry that provides you decent income but a horrible lifestyle outside of work, due to the constant pressure, management/policy changes/shitty schedule and almost impossible scenario to budget yourself because so many outside factors can greatly cause reduced income at any moment and your always chasing that monster month just to compensate the bad month's.

Most really talented people in the car biz, are constantly searching for greener grass and every dealership has it's pitfalls. Even if a place seems perfect day 1, the industry is so volatile that sweeping changes can happen overnight as you have apparently already experienced. So looking for a similar job at another location will likely end up with you feeling like you do now, only worse because you will have invested more time in an industry that does not have any loyalty to you or even worse make your resume look any better to most other industries. 

So again, I would urge you, just as I do anyone else that ask me about the car business to get out as quickly as you can and never look back. 

As far as what to try next, I have no idea. Personally I have made my way to a position(buyer/wholesaler) that allows me to work from home and only requires me to step foot in a dealership 1-2 times a week. I still put in tons of hours(rarely weekends anymore!), deal with insane pressure and crazy expectations and at a lower level of income that I could otherwise make if I'd be willing to work full time in a dealership again as a sales manager or even a salesperson in the some instances. I'm content with that for now. However I still have the stress of knowing no matter how well I perform on my end, if the total health of the dealership does not meet expectations then I could be looking for a job tomorrow. I'm also still commission based, however the monthly fluctuation is much more manageable and allows me to budget better than in the past.

I wish you the best of luck and will be glad to provide you with knowledge I have gained from 11 years in the industry that can help mitigate all the bs your'e currently enduring.

 

 

[Davidson Deac II]

On 2/24/2017 at 10:09 AM, ladypanther said:

lol....sounds familiar.

 

Believe me, I want to just walk out...but can't afford to without having a decent job lined up.  I am searching everyday.

Record it, then when you do find a different position, post it on youtube (after checking with a lawyer).

[ladypanther]

5 hours ago, panther4life said:

So my advice to you remains the same. Please find a new career path.

Yes, I agree.  I am working on that.  There are some things about my experience in the car and RV business that have been valuable.  I am now working to move in a different direction...something with more professionalism....lol.

[panther4life]

1 minute ago, ladypanther said:

Yes, I agree.  I am working on that.  There are some things about my experience in the car and RV business that have been valuable.  I am now working to move in a different direction...something with more professionalism....lol.

Good luck to you. In the mean time do your best to keep a positive attitude and stay away from anyone being negative. Really best to keep to yourself and just stay quiet if management does something you don't agree with. Don't be a reason to be a target. I wouldn't go the recording route unless they are singling you out and doing something illegal. Sounds like it's just an every day sales meeting to me. Much like the video posted above from Glenn Garry Glenn Ross. 

Walk into any dealership in America and say "put that coffee down" and at least half the place will get the reference. 

You really have nothing to gain by recording them. You'll also just get yourself more pissed off about something you have no control over. What's the end game there? 

Lastly, when you are off work. You're off! Don't think about work or let it rob you of any joy when not on the clock.

[panther4life]

On 2/26/2017 at 0:20 PM, panther4life said:

However I still have the stress of knowing no matter how well I perform on my end, if the total health of the dealership does not meet expectations then I could be looking for a job tomorrow. 

 

 

I had no idea this part of my post would be so prophetic. Luckily I was able to land the same position at a higher rate of pay in less than 48 hours. Very thankful for that.

I hope things turn out well for you just as they did for me!

[ladypanther]

4 hours ago, panther4life said:

I had no idea this part of my post would be so prophetic. Luckily I was able to land the same position at a higher rate of pay in less than 48 hours. Very thankful for that.

I hope things turn out well for you just as they did for me!

Wow....I am sure that was a stressful 48 hours.  Glad to hear about your new position.  Hope that one works well for you.

[Paa Langfart]

I feel bad for you LP - its no fun working for a tyrant.  to cure this situation from happening in the future, never ever put yourself  in a beholden position to any employer - that way you  can tell them to get stuffed whenever it suits you.  I learned this lesson early in life after working for some real assholes.  That means paying cash for all your purchases ( credit does not exist for those who are truly independent ) and having an emergency fund for all the necessities of life for at least 6 months.

[4Corners]

On 2/23/2017 at 8:39 PM, ladypanther said:

I work at a place with no employee recourse...there are no personnel procedures...as NC is an at will state you can be fired for anything anytime without reason.  I am a 100% commission employee which employers treat as slaves.  I have been in car sales and now in RV sales...same thing.

In both scenarios...management has no management skills.  All owners care about is the bottom line.

Where I am now....the mental age of management is about 12-13yrs old. I am not exaggerating.   When I started there was different management...2 weeks later a corporate takeover and everything changed. (Including pay cuts)

Our morning meetings are full of f bombs.  I was recently cussed out in a meeting after agreeing with someone who said the meeting was not positive after we were all called "schmucks". It was brutal. What was being said was ridiculous.

Yes...I am looking for another job.  When I went to work here it had a great reputation.  2 weeks later...everything changed.

I wish I had a recording of the meeting I mentioned...I am going to try and record everything going forward.  What I endured was abuse....likely did not meet the legal definition of a hostile work environment as I have looked up the definition online.  It is amazing what people can be forced to put up with. Where I am I am sure corporate does not care....but they likely would not like bad publicity.  I have to take care of myself first.

I am good at what I do but I hate who I work for.  I am sure I am not alone in that.  And I am mistreated.  As I am sure others are. 

Tell me about your situation.

YOu should take this up with our very fair and balanced state Senators whom I'm sure will relay the message to our president who totally isn't misogynistic and wants equality for women, gays, and minorities.