The story of my recent departure from a large cabinet shop in the
southern plains could possibly fill the pages of war and peace, and be
a best seller as well. I won’t bother you with such a long story. I’ve
been with this place for the last 3 1/2 years. In my tenure, I was
able to bring their production up approx. 60% from what it was before
i worked there. In that time, I helped their dad to and from work and
to a couple of doctors appointments while he was dying of terminal
brain cancer. I was able to make spreadsheets to allow one of the
bosses to figure jobs easily and accurately. One of the owners of the
company was an absolutely great guy. Polite, humble, funny and quite
generous. The other was quite possibly the largest douche bag in the
history of bosses. He would have given Hitler, Stalin, Hugo chavez,
and Fidel Castro all a raging chubby. In my time there, I never took
any personal time. I was always at work and I was always very good at
my job. Right before Christmas, my whole family came down with the
stomach flu. When my boss called me after I texted him letting him
know of my predicament, he asked me what the real problem was. Was I
out looking for another job? Was I just being lazy? What’s the problem
Jordan? I told him that I was legitimately sick and that I would try
and come in the next day. The next day came and went and I was still
sick, as well as my daughter. When I came back to work on the
following monday, He told me that I needed a doctors note. I simply
told him that I didn’t have one. He just smiled and said “Okay, just
do whatever you want. When I worked up at the police station, we were
required to fill out a form before we thought we may be sick, a
doctors note and figure out who could possibly cover for you in the
event of your absence.” I was floored. Keep in mind, I don’t have
health insurance, (which by the way they say that they can’t afford to
even do 50/50 coverage) so going to the doctor was out of the question
for me. Second, I don’t have any sick days, or vacation days that I
could use up in the event I may need them. (once again, they can
afford it). That whole deal blew over after a while. Now let’s get to
last week when I started feeling a scratchy throat. It was really bad
by friday, so i called in and said that I would not be in that day due
to me being sick. The cynical attitude reared it’s ugly face once
again and the phone calls ensured. So when I decided that I had
enough, I got ready, drove down to one of our competitors and handed
them my resume, hacking and coughing and sick as a dog i did! They
told me that I had the job for what I was making now and that I could
start as soon as I gave them my 2 weeks. Then the last two days
happened. I tried guys, I tried my hardest to try and make a
professional escape. I got about half way through my speech about
leaving and they got real sentimental, and started to ask me about
where I was going. I figured “Hey, what’ the harm, were friends, we
can leave on friendly terms” aaaaaaaaaaaaa. Wrong!! It blew up! They
calmed down a bit, and they said that they would work it out and that
they would be very pleased if I would stay for the two weeks to train
douchey mcdoucherson how to run the program. (oh by the way, the
program is a design program for the cabinet industry). So I Come into
work today, and they tell me that they want to talk to me. they ask me
if I would be interested in a possible counter offer. I told them that
I would entertain the offer when it was submitted. So we all broke for
lunch and when they came back, they called everyone into the office
“other than me” and then everybody bailed. I was called to the carpet
and was basically told that I should make the change. we parted ways
and I called the new company that I was going to go and work for, but
no answer. started to get a bit nervous, then he calls back. The
enthusiasm was gone from his voice. He told me that my former boss had
called him all day and slandered me. Now he wants to meet with me
tomorrow to “talk about it”. Now I probably need to start trying to
find another job. Thanks for letting me vent guys!!
Never, but never, tell anyone where you are going unless you have your new thing in writing, and even then, only mention it if you have to, on your last day.
Nah, not even then.
If there’s a potential issue with you taking off with proprietary info, to the detriment of your old company, you may be called upon to say “yes” or “no” to whether you’re going to a competitor.
Say, if you were in sales or some such.
But other than that, it’s none of their business, and they can choose to let you stay the two weeks, or tell you to pound sand right there.
Very painful lesson to learn, OP.
This is written in the tl;dr style of Zephyr.
the big mistake the OP made was already mentioned by other posters. never, under any circumstance, do you share information like that. bosses want to know where your new job is? they have no reason to know this. i don’t care if the new job is with a competitor or not.
i’ve seen numerous people screwed out of potentially great jobs because of similar situations. the owners or managers of my job (never determined who was doing this) would repeatedly talk shit about those that are leaving.
With such a fine name as Jordan, I expect better.
Such a painful lesson. If you read the comments, OP, please update us with how the “talk” with the competitors went. I hope you were able to convince them that your former boss was only trying to blackball you.
I do tend to be verbose, but really… If it’s too long to read it, don’t, and if you don’t read it, don’t comment. Simple stuff. I give a lot of detail because I work with mental images. If I don’t have ALL the details, my picture is incomplete, so I tend to give the same to others.
Anyway, I read this. ALL of it. I found it entertaining. Sounds like your boss sucks, OP. Call up your new boss, explain what happened in as simple terms as possible, and discuss it with him. Let him know that your boss is angry that you left, he made it clear to you, and you suspect this may be an angry response.
Walt, piss off. You don’t like anybody unless they think exactly like you do, so take your opinion and– no, I’m actually in a pretty nice mood. I’ma go back to watching “Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas” for a bit longer before I check back here. Jim Henson rocks.
So if one of the owners is a really great guy – why not have him contact the new employer to counteract the douche?
Anyways OP, sounds like the boss was a real ass and I hope that things worked out for you in the end.
I am unaware as to how my comment could have possibly offended you, Zephyr Skunk.
Op never tell them where your going I learned that.lesson from my old job they found out I was looking for another job and fired me and made up some bs so I wouldn’t get unemployment. As far as insurance goes I ordered health insurance online unruly new jobs insurance kicks in. look into op it really comes in hnady.
Skip HR. Get a labor attorney. You have $$$ coming your way.
Oops, I can’t believe I missed that. Possum is right. The only thing an employer is legally allowed to tell a prospective employer is whether or not you worked for them, how long you worked for them, and whether or not you are eligible for re-hire. You definitely have a lawsuit on your hands.
just be rich and you wont ever have to work….why cant people figure that out?? …gahhhh
OP, your daughter is sick and you’re worried about it? Please! You have a lot more to worry about than a stupid sick kid.
I was just going to say, slander is illegal and even when asked for a character reference, the worst someone can do is refuse to give one. Employers are legally not allowed to disclose specifics that could potentially harm one’s application of a new career. At least that’s what it is here in Canada.
Hey, Pixie, you’re in Canada? Is there like a lot of people there? I’d really like to live in an area that has a small population and one that kind of stays away from gossip and media and such. It’s just been a wish of mine for a year or two now.
i went to canadia once they were all speaking greek or something. they gave me these french fries smothered in gravy and cheese and i was all omg no bacon? i think i did a concert there. but it might have been montana. i can’t tell the diff.
I would definitely sue that company. Then it would make the owners realize what an ass they have working for them. If anything, it would make him think twice about interfering with your new job. You are better off getting a labor attorney, and a statement (if you can) from your new (potential) employer about what was said. You learned your lesson, and hope it works out for you. Too bad, you sound like a very good employee
Another good point in Canada. Technically it’s illegal here, too, but if the guy wants to call up your about-to-be-new-employer and say you were a horrible worker, it’s all down to you vs. him, and he’s a manager and you’re not, so chances are, he’ll win.
Um, no, Zeph. You can sue the company for defamation. Most juries side with the little guy. I worked in a few managemnt jobs inmylife, and was always instructed to never give any information–positive or negative–except dates of employment and whether or not the person is eligible for rehire.
In order to sue for defamation, you have to prove that he was incorrect and that it ‘defamed’ you.
your best hope is that the guy who was going to hire you at the new place, will agree to testify / give statement to effect that old boss drug you through the mud, and that the new boss let it effect his decision making process.
And why on earth would he agree to do that?