I find myself in a challenging work situation at Lowe's and could use some advice on how to proceed. I work as a flooring sales specialist, and I've been experiencing what seems like unfair treatment from my specialty assistant manager (ASM).
Here's the situation: There was recently a job opening in the Millwork department, and my ASM strongly encouraged me to take it, going so far as to thank me for accepting the job even before I expressed interest. I declined, believing it wasn't the right move for me at the time. A few days later, he proceeded with another candidate.
During the next coming weeks (after the millwork role was taken), my coworker and I, both flooring specialists, had a disagreement that strained our work relationship. I saw an opportunity in the Appliance specialty position and asked my ASM if I could apply given the circumstances of neither my coworker or I feeling comfortable coming into work. He responded rudely, saying the ship had sailed and I should’ve taken millwork when i had the chance. During this time, an hourly worker was present and heard the conversation, and he expressed his feelings about feeling uncomfortable with the way I was spoken to by the SASM.
I reluctantly accepted this decision but was later surprised to see that the Millwork position was open again a few later (the original hire decided against the job). I inquired about applying once more, only to be told that it would leave an empty spot in flooring, and my ASM preferred to hire someone new to maintain full staffing.
The real shocker came when I learned that my flooring specialist coworker, was given the Millwork job and received a raise. In contrast, I was previously told that not only could i not apply, but I couldn't receive any raise because this would be a lateral move.
Throughout this ordeal, it feels like my ASM has consistently favored my coworker, even when I had evidence of her poaching my sales and handling projects on my days off. This situation has left me questioning whether I'm experiencing discrimination or favoritism in the workplace.
I'm now wondering if I have any grounds to bring up these concerns with either the store manager or HR. Has anyone been through a similar situation, and if so, how did you handle it? Any advice on how to approach this delicate matter would be greatly appreciated.