Acting Pretty Ugly

(We hire temporary staff over the Christmas period to meet the demand of extra customers. This particular new hire has been a nightmare. She easily gets stressed about the amount of customers and work we have, shouts at customers and other staff, and doesn’t pull her weight.)

Me: “[New Hire], could you come to the changing room and help me put the returned clothes out, please?”

New Hire: *rudely* “Why me?! You always pick on me to do things. I’m sick of it!”

Me: “Because everyone else is serving customers or already putting clothing out. You’re the only person just stood around.”

New Hire: “You’re not a manager. You can’t tell me what to do!”

Me: “But I am a senior staff member to you, and have the right to ask you for help.”

(She continues to argue, ranting at me as we pick items up from the changing room, and being rude while we’re putting the items out. Customers and staff have been staring at her, stunned by her rudeness.)

New Hire: “Just because you’re so d*** ugly, you think you can be nasty to me?!”

(Note: this has always been a sore topic for me, as I have scarring from burns and abuse. I feel tears coming on when a customer who sees I’m crying comes over.)

Customer: “Oh honey, are you okay?” *gives me a hug, then glares at the new hire* “What gives you the right to be rude to her over her looks? That’s nothing to do with work.”

New Hire: *with obvious pride* “Because I’M PRETTY and SHE’S NOT!”

Customer: “Let’s see if you being ‘pretty’ will matter to your manager, shall we?”

(Not surprisingly, it didn’t matter. She was sent packing the next day. The manager later told me she tried to claim that she didn’t work as hard as the rest of us because ‘I’m not this beautiful through working hard!’)