I started working at this mom and pop pizza place around my area. Last time I'll ever work for a family owned business. It started off okay with the main owner but once I started working with the wife I should have known things would have been bad. First day working with her she called my music “n*** music” and randomly looked at me one day and said out loud “I wish I could get a house for all the illegal immigrants!” (I'm Hispanic so I felt kinda awkward about how random that comment was) She also said to me one day “I can be a mother to you” at that point in time my mother was in the hospital so talking about mothers was a very touchy subject for me so I politely said “Hey I know you're kidding but please can we not talk about that” and I think me rejecting that hurt her in some weird way. I've heard before she has a reputation for being mean but i tried to ignore it.
We were on okay terms until one night she kept knit picking everything I did. I helped dishwash one night and the drain got clogged so some water got stuck half way. She yelled at me for it and I said politely “I'm sorry I did not know” she kept going on and on and I just said “okay okay okay” which pissed her off more. She came up to me and said to no longer use soap or water to wash dishes. I was confused and just ignored it. Next day I worked with her and had to dish wash again. I tried using less water this time. Quickly rinse off a dish then turn off the water, rinse and repeat. She saw that and said “didn’t I tell you not to use water” I got upset and just said “how else do I wash dishes” she got upset and just said “why are you listening to me I'm your boss not everything is a protest” I kept my head down after that. Same night while making orders my co worker had grilled chicken set aside for me on a plate cause I was getting chicken warps ready to go and was backed up so I told him to set it on a paper plate for a second so it doesn’t over burn and he can put more things on the grill as needed. She yelled at me again due to me wasting paper and how she isn’t made of money. Throughout the night she kept getting angry about things like that so I left an hour early and texted the owner and said “hey I'm sorry I left early but your wife keeps attacking me” he then called me and asked to explain more so I told him everything and he laughed and said “that’s how she is, I've been married to her for 30 years. she’s upset cause we’re on a money crunch right now due to how many people we’ve hired for the amount of money” I didn’t think that was right but I figured as long as he knows I'll be fine.
A few weeks passed and things were fine, I figured we were over it but just the other day it got worse. I had to prep some food that I've never prepped before so I asked her on a few small things on it. Whenever I'd ask she’d roll her eyes cause I ruined her conversation. I figured not to take it personal and went on with my day. I went off to prepare chicken and had blood on the counter. I then went to go grab a rag to clean and she went past me saying “you need to know how to clean after yourself” i said “oh sorry i was actually just grabbing a rag” she then gets upset, throws her arms in the air and says “oh no it’s okay you never have to do anything do what you want” so i said “oh god we’re back to this now” she kept going on and on and said “you need to know what you’re fucking doing”. I said “i know you’re upset but please don’t swear at me I'm not talking to you like that” She said “Oh! but anyone else can talk to you in that way and its fine?” I was confused and said “No one else talks to me the way you do” She scoffs and walks away and I go on my break to cool down. I come back and shes going up to everyone saying “Oh did my swearing hurt your feelings? are you going to cry? We need to watch our tone here I guess” I feel like im being taunted but I go try to finish some pizza sauce we have to make. I forgot the amount of seasoning that goes in it so I asked her nicely and she says “Just go home Ill do it” So I leave to grab my coat and she says “You aren't cut out for this buddy” I try to ignore it and she repeatedly says “You aren't cut out for this” I got angry and said “No wonder your son does not talk to you” And left at my normal clock out time.
I was scheduled to have 2 days off after that so I go back in today and no one says a word to me. I go to hang up my coat and my boss is there, He looks upset but says “I thought you quit?” So I said no is it because what happened? and he gets silent. I explained myself more and he listens while nodding his head. He asks me when is my next day and when i looked at the scheduled and my name is violently ripped off with sharpie. He offers for me to work around her schedule but I'm not sure if I even want to be here anymore. I really tried to be nice but I hate the feeling of being backed into a corner especially if I am apologizing. Was it even worth it to stand up for myself or should I have just kept my head down