Anyone else notice small business owners seem to be especially prone to power trips? Or does it just get worse the bigger the company you work for?
I just came back from being sick and I guess my boss expected me to put in my schedule for three days while I was at home (my job involves visiting accounts). If I’m not getting paid for the 30mins it takes to write my schedule I’m not doing it, but I at least posted my first day back.
Boss “looked at the wrong date”, and didn’t see my schedule. Idk how, it’s on a Google Calendar and everyone’s schedule is in their own colour.
Then they text me a “schedule” that has me driving from accounts on one side of town to the other every single day. Like a half hour travel time between accounts.
I modified that schedule and visited all but one account suggested, however I did add two other accounts and ended up visiting 5 places instead of 4. They were also all my largest accounts.
Boss was livid. Completely ignored the content of my visit notes, the fact that I showed face for one of our corporate clients, and instead focused on the one account I didn’t visit.
“Well what if I had a reason for you to visit that account? Did you think about that?”
Is something going on with that account?
“Yeah!”
Okay what’s going on?
“What’s always going on with that account! [Lists currently known and recurring issues with this account that we don’t have the power to change.”
Everything boiled down to the fact I didn’t do what they “wanted”. Told me I could “rationalize all I want” the schedule I completed after I explained how close each account is to each other. I said well we can disagree but I got all my big accounts done.
Completely ignored I visited more accounts than what they had planned and then argued with me about the distance between accounts I’m visiting today. They would not stop until I made one adjustment they wanted. I’ve never seen anyone grasp for control like this before.
Meanwhile important project developments were communicated to me from a colleague. 🤦️
Backbone of America my ass. If all small businesses are like this we’re screwed.