Forum: 

Work Dilemma

Trixy's picture

Ok, here's the jack on my work situation:

I work at a Chevron gas station five days a week, and two of those days I work graveyards, which means I am there from ten o'clock in the evening until six o'clock in the morning.  One of two people relieves me from these shifts, either the Assistant Manager, V., or a co-worker, A.  V. is always punctual (even early), but A. has problems with tardiness to the point of asking to be called to wake her up to make sure she gets to work on time.

Up until recently, I had no problem with that, but one morning before Christmas, despite my calls, she was over an hour late.  Two weeks later, she was also an hour late.  After the second instance, I told A. I would not be calling her because she is twenty years old and can wake herself up.

This morning, A. was 45 minutes late.  To make matters worse, I have to be back at work at two o'clock this afternoon, leaving me with a mere seven hours between leaving the store and having to return in which to sleep and go grocery shopping.

My query is this: How should I approach this problem with both my boss and A?  I, personally, want to punch A. in the mouth, but I think that will get me in trouble.  I have to see her this afternoon and I don't know if I can handle it.  I was shaking pretty badly this morning from trying to contain my anger and, to be honest, my sadness.  Any advice on how to tackle the situation diplomatically would be appreciated, because right now I just want to beat that skinny b*tch up til she cries...

If she doesn't have to sign in for her shift, that would suggest that she's been getting paid for your work.  That would piss me off in ways I wouldn't be quiet about.  I hope she tried to compensate you in some way.

No, we don't have to sign in, so I, once again, had to tell my boss so he could deal with it.  She got taken of mornings and she cried, a lot.  I hugged her.  Damn, I am too soft...

I'm pretty much on the same page as MiddLman on this one.  A great many of us have had crummy jobs that we've had to get up stupidly early for, and sure we've all probably been late once in a while, but week after week, after getting a call in advance, that's just rude.  She has no concern for your well being, you should not sweat hers.  Tell the boss, and tell the boss again if A. continues.  Hell, if she has to sign in for her shift, your boss should already know.

So what's the dilemma exactly? I mean, nobody likes a tattle-tale. We all know that. But sometimes, like in this sitation, you need to.

Tell your boss. Tattle, dammit. If she's 20 years old and can't handle the simple responsibility of showing up for work on time, then she probably shouldn't be working to begin with. Sooner or later A. is going to find that out the hard way. Better sooner than later, if you ask me.

Don't even mention it to A. Let your boss deal with it. That's part of the boss' job.