Saturday, May 26, 2012

Why I Quit the Job I Loved

Warning: This post is long and not very well organized. If you skip over a few parts, I won't be offended, but please read the ending. I want your advice!

I've been looking around for a variety of jobs. I'm really going for anything where I can sit down since I have scoliosis and am in pain like 75% of my time awake. I found one that I immediately loved! It paid $9/hr and in my interview the manager suggested he wanted to move me into management as soon as possible. I met some fun people working the front desk and I hope we will still keep in touch.

Things went sour very quickly though. I kept getting scheduled for shifts getting off at 11pm, when I specified the morning shifts. When I asked about it, they kept saying I'd see it on the next schedule. Never happened. That's just the first problem.
Second problem: I didn't get paid for the first two pay periods, and the amount on my check for the month was $300 short.
Third problem: I was required to lie about our policies on a nightly basis, and by doing so, people were forced into smoking rooms. Two faces that particularly stood out: a pregnant woman and her child, and a much older gentleman with asthma. If I didn't put them in though, I was sure to be yelled at.
Fourth: Remember that management position they offered me in the interview? They filled it after continually bringing it up to me.
Fifth: People have been working there for 3 years without a single raise!!
Sixth: They made the schedule for the weekend on Thursday. Therefore, making plans with friends became impossible.
Seventh: Requesting days off was a nightmare. I didn't find out if I had gotten off my requested days for a weekend trip until that Thursday, and guess what? I didn't get the days off.

So yes, all in all, this was enough to make me want to quit, the reasoning behind my very short and to the point 2 weeks you might've seen in my last post.

And if all that wasn't enough for you, just wait until you hear about the last 24 hours.

9:30pm: I put in a call to housekeeping for a guest who called down. No answer.
9:40: Same call, no answer. Try about 3 more times. Nothing.
10:00: Tell my manager I can't find her. He lies to me saying her car isn't in the parking lot so she must've left and just quit while using some choice language.
10:15: Other manager who actually cared, told me her car was still there and was gravely concerned with her safety.
10:30-11: My boyfriend comes over to escort me to my car so who knows what didn't happen to me.
9am Saturday: I call to check in on the situation and not a single person knows what I'm talking about. Managers or anything.
9:30: Strongly considering not going in for my night shift for my safety.
Noon: Start feeling very faint, nauseous, every kind of sick you can imagine. I have only called into work two times in my past 5 years of work. If I'm calling in sick, it's not a pretty picture.

Now this is where I get REALLY upset. I call in sick for the night, following company procedure, and get yelled at in every way imaginable. The general manager starts telling me how irresponsible and unprofessional I was (by following company procedure). She yells at me for at least a full minute without breaking. I literally break into tears for trying to take a sick day, when there were more than enough people on the schedule for the night. While doing my best to stifle the tears, she hangs up on me.

So what I've decided the appropriate response to this is:
I'm going to email this woman a nice little letter, straight up telling her that not only was I concerned for my safety, but that the way she treated me was hurtful. And as a result, I would not be finishing my two weeks.

So bloggers, my question to you: how would you handle my situation? Am I over/under reacting? Have you ever had a similar situation? Let me know!

8 comments:

  1. the part about your last 24 hours was a little unclear..how come you were concerned for your safety?
    Otherwise- I would be doing exactly the same thing! Don't let people walk all over your girl- you deserve to be treated well. It sounds like you were not only professional and responsible but you seem like the only one who was. Is there somewhere you could make a complaint to about the manager's behaviour- perhaps, if your hotel is a chain, talk to the franchise HR office??
    Chin up, you will find another (second?) job!
    -Liz

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    1. Bah, sorry it was kinda weird. Basically our housekeeper went missing for two hours. No one could find her, call her, and her car was still in the parking lot. The last time we saw her, she was walking out the front doors with an older male employee who was off for the day. And when I left for the night, a police officer had just pulled up. When I called back the next morning to check on the situation, no one could tell me anything. I just didn't want to be working there until 11pm under all that!

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  2. Holy moly! I would definitely write a letter explaining everything! I would also write a letter or contact someone higher up in the company and explain the lying about company policy and your experience there. That is awful! I'm so sorry that you were treated like that. Just awful. Good for you for quitting!

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  3. wow! quite an event! totally understand why you'd quit!

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  4. you definitely didn't overreact! i would have done the same thing in your circumstances!! here's hoping you'll find another job quick (if you haven't already!) :/

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  5. sometimes it's just better to let things go and move on so you are not personally impacted and in safety from others ability to do their work properly. i am sure you are doing the right thing :)

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  6. Um, NO! You are definitely doing the right thing!! If this job is stressing you out to the max and making your physically ill you should definitely NOT finish out your 2 weeks! Besides, when you're applying for new jobs you don't even have to put this one on your application or resumes! I would just forget them and move on!

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  7. If you're not happy, then it's time to move on. There will be something else out there for you, I promise. A new job may take a little longer than you hoped, but it's not worth staying at a place that makes you unhappy.

    Good luck to you!

    Jen
    sunnyvanilla.blogspot.com

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