Names have been changed.
My husband, Matthew, is a mechanic. He was laid off three times in a row during 2020 (because of the pandemic). He found a full-time job in December 2020 and we were so excited for him to finally be getting back to work. The company seemed great at first. They offered him a fair starting wage, a raise after 6 months, and they promised to pay for his education as he was an apprentice. They encouraged him to grow with the company because they really liked him. After three months at the new job, we started to notice chunks of money missing from the paycheque. It turned out that Jeff, the manager, had signed us up for health benefits we never asked for nor consented to. (This was when I told Matthew to be careful because that’s a huge red flag). He returned the money and apologized profusely, but the trouble didn’t end there. A few weeks later we noticed that Matthew never got the raise he was promised after six months, nor the proper overtime pay as required by law. He had been working 55 hours a week and bending over backwards for this company. If I hadn’t been looking at the paystub‘s every month, we probably would not have seen it. I spoke with him and he told me not to worry, he and the Jeff had a great relationship, and it would all get sorted out. I told him that I was extremely apprehensive about this because I didn’t feel like I could trust Jeff. When Matthew mentioned it to his boss (he was very polite and casual about it), Jeff started screaming and made a huge scene at the shop. He called Matthew a bunch of names like greedy and selfish and then told him that there was supposed to be in ‘gentleman’s agreement’ in place stating he would not have to pay overtime in exchange for being ‘kept on’ during slow season. (Even at this point, my own husband was making excuses for this shitty manager and trying to get me to just go with it.) Matthew was perfectly fine with the agreement, and said that if he had known about it from the start, this wouldn’t be a problem. So, we asked Jeff to provide us with a physical contract that we could all sign to clarify the situation and solidify the agreement. That never happened. Fast forward to October 2021, Matthew was awarded employee of the month. He was consistently meeting and exceeding the team’s goals and he was doing an amazing job. Everyone at the shop loved him. In November, He was told that his hours were getting reduced. Matthew approached his employer and said hey, we had an agreement in place, you never gave us the contract, so what are we going to do? Jeff, again, started hollering and screaming and belittling my husband in front of everybody. Matthew walked out because he didn’t want to deal with Jeff’s childish behaviour. Matthew’s hours got reduced and he received a cheque for all of the overtime hours worked that year. (Still to this day we don’t understand why he gave us the cheque. All we asked for was a paper contract which would actually protect the company more than us…. I really don’t understand.) Anyway, now it’s December and my husband emails the boss and asks for a raise because it’s been 1 year since he started with the company (and that’s what was promised!). We are barely making enough to get back on our feet and we are struggling with some serious family issues and we really could use it. Jeff writes back – at 4am – with a long list of reasons why Matthew does not deserve a raise, a list of all the things that Jeff has done for him, and throws some insults at ME for no reason. Jeff writes that he is no longer paying for Matthew’s education, refuses to give him full hours anymore, and that he “understands” if Matthew wants to quit. Matthew is totally taken aback by this, but I’m not, because I already know that Jeff is childish and probably a narcissist. I looked at my husband and said well do you see what I’m saying now, you need to leave this job. I knew a long time ago that this was going to be a shit show. Matthew starts looking for a job and finds one. He says Jeff doesn’t deserve notice. Matthew walks out at the end of the workday to start his new job the next day. Not even 10 minutes after he leaves the property we start getting texts and phone calls with nasty threats and insults and straight up verbal abuse. Jeff is pissed that Matthew didn’t give any notice. My husband texts back and says I’m confused I thought you wanted me gone. (Lol). Jeff says that he will call the college and accuse Matthew of forging his letter of recommendation. He says he is going to withhold the last paycheck. He calls ME a lazy c*nt and tells us that we should never be parents.
Some of Matthew’s old coworkers reach out at the same time to question him and judge him. Matthew explains his side of the story and the coworkers are kind of understanding but still on Jeff’s side for the most part. In the end, we DID get the final paycheque and Jeff never called the college to try and frame my husband for forgery. Thank God. During this whole process me and my husband were nothing but polite, understanding, and patient with Jeff. He was nothing but crazy, childish, and explosive.
There’s a happy ending!! About four weeks into Matthew’s new position, they hired a new advisor and it turned out to be his favourite coworker from the last shop. He says that he had to deal with the same abuse and manipulation from Jeff as well, and he was sick of it so he left. He says he understands now and he’s sorry we had to deal with that. They’re good buddies now. More and more people (and more businesses) are seeing Jeff for what he really is and refusing to work with him. I would never wish bad things on anybody, so instead I choose to pray for him. I hope he can change someday. I’m so glad we are done with him.