feline_dacat
Sheep are welsh.
I don't know how i feel about this; one of my colleagues who works for one of our suppliers got a disciplinary due to an email i sent to him and his line manager regarding how he spoke to me at work today.
This morning me and the student intern were in the corridor when this guy comes out through a door hauling a massive flight case. As usual I greet him with "Good Morning" but he turns around (obviously quite annoyed and stressed) and starts on a massive rant about how he just had to lug this up the stairs because the lifts were locked down on level one (at the request of the client). He then starts F'ing and blinding about event managers take no consideration on how our decisions effect him.
This really got my back up because:
* All I had said was "Good morning"
* I hadn't made the decision to get the lifts locked down - in fact it wasn't my event
* He just had this massive rant in front of clients who were here for another event
* Final thing that made me really cross was that he had declined a weekly catch-up meeting for the areas that he needed to access - meaning that we could have prevented lift access being a problem in the first place
Knowing that he was stressed about it and that he had had trouble getting security to unlock a lift for him so he could get his equipment up, I told him that next time he should give us a ring and we might be able to sort something out for him, but that started him off on another rant about how that would take too long. This really riled me, since we are sort of friends and I didn't feel that I needed to tiptoe around the subject so I said that I was only trying to help. He then semi-shouts/explains how it was ridiculous that the intern should request that the equipment needed to be in the room by 8am, but he didn't have that equipment available because he had to use what he had on my event down the corridor last minute the previous day ("as a favour", in his words). That was the last straw for me as I had explained to him that it wasn't last minute - it was a mistake by his line manager because he didn't include it on the original work order, but I'd follow it up with him myself. He proceeds to ignore my point and argues that he wouldn't have needed to lug that equipment if it wasn't for that last minute change.
I felt that he was really rude, and not only that, he was rude to me for something I was offering to help him out with and in front of clients. I wrote a note addressed to this guy with his manager cc'ed in, sympathising with him that he had a bad morning but he shouldn't take it out on me and especially in front of my clients. I said that I felt it was unprofessional and that it undermined any trust I had built up with them.
I haven't heard anything more as a response from either him or his line manager, but the intern was called to a meeting with him, the line manager and the regional sales director, to act as a "witness" to what happened this morning. It turns out that he has already had 3 previous warnings about his conduct towards other people within the work place and this is his fourth warning. If there is another complain that would warrant a written and final warning after which his employment might be terminated.
The intern comes back from the meeting and tells me what transpired at the meeting - I don't know how impartial he is as we work really closely together and that he too has had attitude problems from this guy. A statement was made from him - he claimed that he wasn't rude, and his behaviour was because he was tired from working 14 hour shifts. He was apparently also quite defensive when he claimed that he didn't realise the clients were there. I will make a point now that there was no way that he didn't realise the clients were there as they walked right past him from the lift. He also said that he expected some leniency from his friends. I don't think being friends should excuse you from acting like a professional.
His line manager tried to encourage an apology from him - hinting at him that you don't need really mean it but you need to put on a smile for your clients. His line manager also tried to explain that even if they work within the venue exclusively, the venue is still their company's clients and thus should treat everyone at the venue with the same courtesy as he would an outside client. Losing an external client might lose them a couple of hundred pounds of business, but losing their contract at the venue will cost them millions. There was also a comment that he refused to shake hands with his line manager and the sales director at the end of the meeting, with the excuse "if this was an agreement then we should have had the meeting in private."
The last thing I want to point out is that we have previously had a really good relationship - we would have a joke around, I will always say good morning and have a bit of a chat and usually we're quite happy to do favours for each other. I feel bad that his job is now on the line if he doesn't change his attitude but on the other hand, apart from this time when he was rude directly to me, I've been flabbergasted at things he will say in front of clients - while not directly rude, he will say inappropriate things to do with the job. I feel justified in my decision because he was unprofessional and its something that needs to be changed, but is it a betrayal? It sort of feels like it is, cos I could have just had a word with him quietly once I had stopped feeling offended.
What are your thoughts? Would you have made a complaint? How would you feel about making a complaint against someone you had, up until that one occasion, a good working relationship with (but had seen previous evidence of inappropriate behaviour)?
This morning me and the student intern were in the corridor when this guy comes out through a door hauling a massive flight case. As usual I greet him with "Good Morning" but he turns around (obviously quite annoyed and stressed) and starts on a massive rant about how he just had to lug this up the stairs because the lifts were locked down on level one (at the request of the client). He then starts F'ing and blinding about event managers take no consideration on how our decisions effect him.
This really got my back up because:
* All I had said was "Good morning"
* I hadn't made the decision to get the lifts locked down - in fact it wasn't my event
* He just had this massive rant in front of clients who were here for another event
* Final thing that made me really cross was that he had declined a weekly catch-up meeting for the areas that he needed to access - meaning that we could have prevented lift access being a problem in the first place
Knowing that he was stressed about it and that he had had trouble getting security to unlock a lift for him so he could get his equipment up, I told him that next time he should give us a ring and we might be able to sort something out for him, but that started him off on another rant about how that would take too long. This really riled me, since we are sort of friends and I didn't feel that I needed to tiptoe around the subject so I said that I was only trying to help. He then semi-shouts/explains how it was ridiculous that the intern should request that the equipment needed to be in the room by 8am, but he didn't have that equipment available because he had to use what he had on my event down the corridor last minute the previous day ("as a favour", in his words). That was the last straw for me as I had explained to him that it wasn't last minute - it was a mistake by his line manager because he didn't include it on the original work order, but I'd follow it up with him myself. He proceeds to ignore my point and argues that he wouldn't have needed to lug that equipment if it wasn't for that last minute change.
I felt that he was really rude, and not only that, he was rude to me for something I was offering to help him out with and in front of clients. I wrote a note addressed to this guy with his manager cc'ed in, sympathising with him that he had a bad morning but he shouldn't take it out on me and especially in front of my clients. I said that I felt it was unprofessional and that it undermined any trust I had built up with them.
I haven't heard anything more as a response from either him or his line manager, but the intern was called to a meeting with him, the line manager and the regional sales director, to act as a "witness" to what happened this morning. It turns out that he has already had 3 previous warnings about his conduct towards other people within the work place and this is his fourth warning. If there is another complain that would warrant a written and final warning after which his employment might be terminated.
The intern comes back from the meeting and tells me what transpired at the meeting - I don't know how impartial he is as we work really closely together and that he too has had attitude problems from this guy. A statement was made from him - he claimed that he wasn't rude, and his behaviour was because he was tired from working 14 hour shifts. He was apparently also quite defensive when he claimed that he didn't realise the clients were there. I will make a point now that there was no way that he didn't realise the clients were there as they walked right past him from the lift. He also said that he expected some leniency from his friends. I don't think being friends should excuse you from acting like a professional.
His line manager tried to encourage an apology from him - hinting at him that you don't need really mean it but you need to put on a smile for your clients. His line manager also tried to explain that even if they work within the venue exclusively, the venue is still their company's clients and thus should treat everyone at the venue with the same courtesy as he would an outside client. Losing an external client might lose them a couple of hundred pounds of business, but losing their contract at the venue will cost them millions. There was also a comment that he refused to shake hands with his line manager and the sales director at the end of the meeting, with the excuse "if this was an agreement then we should have had the meeting in private."
The last thing I want to point out is that we have previously had a really good relationship - we would have a joke around, I will always say good morning and have a bit of a chat and usually we're quite happy to do favours for each other. I feel bad that his job is now on the line if he doesn't change his attitude but on the other hand, apart from this time when he was rude directly to me, I've been flabbergasted at things he will say in front of clients - while not directly rude, he will say inappropriate things to do with the job. I feel justified in my decision because he was unprofessional and its something that needs to be changed, but is it a betrayal? It sort of feels like it is, cos I could have just had a word with him quietly once I had stopped feeling offended.
What are your thoughts? Would you have made a complaint? How would you feel about making a complaint against someone you had, up until that one occasion, a good working relationship with (but had seen previous evidence of inappropriate behaviour)?
