Got a new boss...and he's a dick!!

[guitarsjb]

Ok, here's my sob story. Ok, new boss, whatever, happens in this business all the time. Learned to roll with it long ago. I'm a hotel manager BTW...
He's been here a couple of months (I'm now on a 90 day probationary period due to my "new" employment)...so, I'm 15 days out from hitting 90...so he hits me with my NEW terms of employment.
First let me please give you my OLD terms of employment. $30K a year, w/housing + bonus. In the summer (May-Sep) my bonus averaged 1,200 a month. Realistically my pay was 36K w/full housing. No utilities not anything. Yep, i'm paid well.
Now I get the NEW terms...still get the housing...but get 24K. Period. Not a damn thing more..no bonus, not anything. Could you afford to take a 12K a year hit? Well, I can't. I have no choice. I LIVE here, and have no where to go..I'm also expected to work 4 days a week on the desk so I can let a desk clerk go and save on labor. Well when am I supposed to do my damn job??
I know I'll have to adapt, but my bills didn't go down because my pay did. He's already got us running on such a skeleton crew the customer service sucks around here.
I can't afford to walk out, I live here. But this is an insult to my experience. I worked my way up to manager, this is starting front desk manager pay (no offense to desk managers, but I worked up from there).

[VitaminG]

so you take a 1/3 hit in the paypacket AND you have to work additional duty to cover the desk clerk you let go?

Sounds like the guy's all about making a big impact, getting his bonus and fucking off to his next job opportunity. If he's going to rout your customer service like that, he's not thinking long term.

I'm not familiar with US industrial relations, etc. Is there a government agency you can go to, to plead your case? There has to be some kind of protection from these practices. Do you have a union?

[markD]

yeah, there is something fishy about a 12K pay cut.....umm, i don't know you at all so i am not judging you, but could he be trying to run you out? is he bringing in new people here and there? is he the owner of the hotel or just a GM? do you have a relationship (friendly basis) with the owner? is it a chain hotel?

regardless of any of that stuff, your situation sucks!! sorry to hear that you are going through that.

[Deneb]

The best things to do are,

1; piss in his lunch box
2; shit in his car
3; bang his wife
4; bang his daughter
5; bang his mom
6; take his lunch
7; prank phone call his house
8; punch him in the dick
9; freeze FOAM shaving cream in the can, then take a can opener, cut the bottom off, and put it in his desk...wait for that fucker to thaw.
10; Take slices of ham, put them on the car on a hot day, and dump brake fluid over them to marinade...let him peel them off.
11; kidnap his dog (don't hurt the dog) and hold him for ransom (12K per year sounds about fair).
12; tell his wife he's cheating on her, with a him.
13; order shit online, and have it sent COD to him. (Dish network will send anyone a satellite for example).
14; Never make eye contact when he speaks with you.
15; All replies are "I'm sorry, but at this junction I cannot complete that assignment. At a later time, I will work on anything you need." When said time comes, use above answer. Lather, rinse, repeat.

[lerxstcat]

I'd start looking for another situation, Jeri. They've got you in a corner, and the only thing you can do is move on. Be very businesslike with interviewers, tell them what's up but don't bag on your current employer. Make it a simple matter of economics, and save every single penny you can. No movies, no CDs, no DVDs, until you have an emergency fund.

You don't have to accept it, but you will have to move on and it's up to you to get ready to do it. Have the other job in-hand when you tell them you're leaving. Offer 2 weeks' notice but be prepared to walk on the spot, and discuss that with your new employer as well.


I know it's a big bummer, Jeri, but I also know you can handle this. It'll be a PITA, but you'll likely be better off in the next job than you were in this one! Have faith in yourself.

[St.James]

He's compensating for a little willie. Dicks like that eventually fall in a hole they can't escape.

[guitarsjb]

Thanks for the replies guys, I guess I was just needing to vent more than anything. I'll find something else, and be professional while I'm doing it. I've handled worse I guess, it just sucks is all.

[Shawn Lutz]

I agree that it sucks. I would do some reasearch and see if thats is what is going on in market cities the size of OK city. Check with competing chains and see what their salary ranges are for positions such as yours. Find you market value and look elsewhere for new opportunities. Do not burn any bridges, employees can only remain loyal to their companies until it hits them in their wallets A 1000 bucks a month is a little hard if ya ask me.

It sounds likethe new bossman is being pressed to reduce costs, unfortunately salary cuts and downsizing are one way to do it. I lived through that whole thing a couple times in my profession. I had pay cuts in my broadcast engineering managment before I moved to dot com broadcasting, then had that bubble burst, had to a few rounds of layoffs which sucked. I kept my position and salary but had to do more work with less resources.

[VulfgangPfuck]

The best things to do are,

1; piss in his lunch box
2; shit in his car
3; bang his wife
4; bang his daughter
5; bang his mom
6; take his lunch
7; prank phone call his house
8; punch him in the dick
9; freeze FOAM shaving cream in the can, then take a can opener, cut the bottom off, and put it in his desk...wait for that fucker to thaw.
10; Take slices of ham, put them on the car on a hot day, and dump brake fluid over them to marinade...let him peel them off.
11; kidnap his dog (don't hurt the dog) and hold him for ransom (12K per year sounds about fair).
12; tell his wife he's cheating on her, with a him.
13; order shit online, and have it sent COD to him. (Dish network will send anyone a satellite for example).
14; Never make eye contact when he speaks with you.
15; All replies are "I'm sorry, but at this junction I cannot complete that assignment. At a later time, I will work on anything you need." When said time comes, use above answer. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Did you forget Jeri is a "she"?

Jeri that fuggin' sucks sis!...There has to be someone you can turn to. Go over his head to the corperate level and express your concerns. I worked in hotels too for a long time (maintenence) and my GM's were always awesome and listened whenever you had a problem. However, my direct dept. managers were always the biggest pricks in the world.

[zeegler]

Stab him in the face. It's your only recourse!

[SeventhSon]

a. go to a lawyer (there may even be free govt agencies) to see if it's legal for him to alter the terms of your original employment contract. new management has to abide by existing contracts, so this sounds fishy.

b. you need a plan b for leverage. find another job even if it's lower paying but will pay your bills. then you can say, honor my original employment contract or i leave today. you need to be able to play chicken with him.

[lerxstcat]

a. go to a lawyer (there may even be free govt agencies) to see if it's legal for him to alter the terms of your original employment contract. new management has to abide by existing contracts, so this sounds fishy.

b. you need a plan b for leverage. find another job even if it's lower paying but will pay your bills. then you can say, honor my original employment contract or i leave today. you need to be able to play chicken with him.

She can't play that card unless she's also ready to MOVE that day. Her housing is part of her employment, not subject to normal renters' rights. They can order her out of her apartment with zero notice and if she's not prepared they can dump her stuff in the alley, if they want to be brutal.

Most likely she had an original employment contract that ran for so long, then expired and she's just been working along without a renewal - like after a year's lease your rental contract can go month-to-month, and a landlord can boot you within 30 days. Unless you sign a new lease you;re on a month's notice.

Jeri, I don't think it'd hurt to write a letter to the people above him expressing how you feel when you've been loyal to the company and that this is hurting you badly financially. The reply will tell you whether this is a companywide policy or if your immediate boss is out to make his bones. It's a good idea not to burn the bridge even if you leave, because the world is an unknown factor. 6 months from now you could be sick of the new gig and your old company could be sick of the bozo that ran you off. Leave open the possibility of reconciliation. After you leave the quality of your work will show by contrast with your replacement doing a crap job. So you might go back in 6 months or a year way better off, if you keep it cool. Or maybe not, but at least they'll give you a good reference.

You probably know that an employer can give you a bad reference without saying anything bad about you. All they have to do is say "I can only tell you her dates of employment" which is legally usable code for "we had some problems with her". The next thing a prospective wmployee will ask at that point is if you're eligible for rehire. A "yes" means you probably left due to a personality conflict but didn't do anything wrong. A "no" means you made a major booboo like breaking or stealing something - or getting overtly shitty with upper management on your way out. So it's good to bite your tongue no matter how good it'd feel to call a spade a spade.

[toejam]

Stab him in the face. It's your only recourse!

Best answer ever! :ROTF:

[Soap]

a. go to a lawyer (there may even be free govt agencies) to see if it's legal for him to alter the terms of your original employment contract. new management has to abide by existing contracts, so this sounds fishy.

b. you need a plan b for leverage. find another job even if it's lower paying but will pay your bills. then you can say, honor my original employment contract or i leave today. you need to be able to play chicken with him.

I'd go with "A". Good advice here if you have the resources to so.
Something indeed alittle iffy about the whole scenario and needs to be investigated. Are there any other employees getting this similar treatment or unhappy with the new management? Clarify... Most, not all, are decent with change and usually adjust accordingly to it. There are some that get singled out (usually the intent of higher up management/corporate) to get rid of those that are in their eyes paid too much and etc. Either way, if its safe to do so, ask around if others are getting the shaft too. Together you can build a more convincing argument. If it just one person, it will be easily be said and shoved aside because of, "the picking on me and singling me out without just cause mentality". Intelligently plan your moves. Be informed is the best advise in scenarios like this and others somewhat similar. Be informed.

[Deneb]

Who is Jeri? For all of my responses, if the boss is female, change his to her. Or do you mean that VG is a girl? Hmm... Then I don't know. I guess you won't be doing any of the banging.

I don't know who's a chick or not, so no offense meant to anyone, other than the dick head boss.