Like A Good Manager, Stay Out Of My House!

My (former) boss was absolutely insane, and what she did to another employee caused a mass quitting at my workplace.

I worked at a salon and spa. We had a coworker who, admittedly, had a personal life that was nothing less than a disaster and she made awful life choices. However, she was ALWAYS at work on time and was extremely talented, so we just listened to her trainwreck stories and moved on.

Then, her boyfriend moved out; he just left while she was visiting family out of state, taking their dogs with him. She was obviously devastated and called out for a few days in a row.

I was a manager, and I didn’t care that she called out because it was out of the norm for her to call in. Having heard many stories of the chaos that was her life, I just took it on faith that her life had finally taken a sudden left turn that she couldn’t just spring back from, and she needed the time. Eventually, everyone snaps and just needs that space, you know? Despite being a wreck, she was still reaching out to me occasionally to check in, and I just kept telling her to take the time she needed to put herself back together and do some proper self-care.

On day three of her calling out, [Salon Owner] entered the fray. Now, let me make this as clear as I can: what happened next wasn’t a rumor, nor did I hear it secondhand. [Salon Owner] was openly proud of herself and didn’t miss a chance to tell anyone what she’d done.

[Salon Owner] decided that [Coworker] had been given enough time and took action. She found [Coworker]’s home address on the employment paperwork, went to [Coworker]’s house, searched the yard until she found a hidden spare key, and walked right in. [Salon Owner] then stormed through the house until she found [Coworker]’s bedroom, threw open the door, and shouted her awake.

Salon Owner: “Wake up and get dressed! It’s time to stop feeling sorry for yourself! You have work to do, and I expect you to do it. The world doesn’t stop for you just because you want to pout.”

[Coworker] let out a string of curses.

Coworker: “GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! ARE YOU INSANE?! THIS IS NOT OKAY!”

Salon Owner: “You have a job to do!”

Coworker: “Not today.”

Salon Owner: “Get up, get dressed, and get in the car. I’m driving you, so you don’t even have to drive yourself.”

Coworker: “I’m not coming in. I already called out.”

[Salon Owner] ignored that statement.

Salon Owner: “Get dressed. You have five minutes to get ready. Either do it, or you’re fired!”

Coworker: “GET THE F*** OUT! I’M CALLING THE POLICE!”

[Salon Owner] left after telling [Coworker] that she was fired. The staff was absolutely gobsmacked as [Salon Owner] bragged about this incident to everyone and flatly told the rest of us that she would do the same to any of us if we tried to be lazy like [Coworker] was.

As we tried to string words together to mention just how illegal that was, we were all struck silent (again) by police officers coming into the salon and telling [Salon Owner] that they needed to talk.

I had been planning to open my own salon soon anyway, so I just looked at my staff.

Me: “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m typing up my resignation, effective immediately.”

The rest of the staff weren’t far behind me.

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Like A Good Neighbor, Stay Out Of My House!
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