I lost my job yesterday.

[NightTrain]

Here's what happened:

I was delivering to a housing development for the elderly. As I got out of my truck, some old woman screamed at me from a cross the parking lot, "You better slow your ass down, you son of a bitch! This isn't a goddamned racetrack!"

"Since you're being so nice about it," I replied, "I'll take that under advisement."

I made my first of two deliveries and walked toward the next apartment building. I passed by the old woman, who yelled something else at me. I couldn't make out what she said, but it was in the same nasty, belligerent tone. Instinctively, I gave her the finger.

As I came out of the second building, she was standing behind my truck.

"Who do you work for?" she demanded.

"The CIA," I replied.

"I know you work for Arrow Pharmacy!"

"Very good." Actually, I didn't work for Arrow.

"I've got your plate number and I'm reporting you!"

I said nothing else to her, but now I wish I had.

Since the old bitch had nothing better to do than to harass a driver who was just trying to do his job, she found out who I really worked for and did indeed report me. Before I was even back to the store, before I could offer my version of events--the old woman conveniently neglected to mention that she had screamed and sworn at me--the operations manager had sent another driver out on what would have been my afternoon run. I was fired.

I had been on that job and delivering to that neighborhood for the past eight months. And on my previous driving job, which I held for five years, I had customers in the same housing development. That whole time, I never had a single problem there.

I should've known, though. When you drive for a living, you're completely at the mercy of every single person you encounter on the road. I once got written up at a previous driving job because a petulant motorist had incorrectly interpreted my lane change as an act of aggression. And my boss didn't "want to hear any excuses" from me.

Speaking of getting written up, it seems to me that would've been the appropriate action to have taken against me for this particular infraction. The old bitch who accosted me wasn't even a customer, for chrissake!

At almost every job I've held, you wouldn't get fired until you were written up three times for the same offense. But at this place, it's "one strike and you're out." Un-fucking-believable.

OK, holier-than-thou types. This is your chance to kick a man when he's down. Have fun at my expense!

[Radical Activist]

1. I wonder

if you could take legal action against the woman who complained for lost wages. I bet it would get nowhere, but you could at least scare the shit out of the old hag with a threatening letter from an attorney.

Also, too bad you don't have a union. It would be harder to fire you so easily with no hard evidence.

[Eloriel]

4. I'd be tempted to go back to her and make sure she knew

the effect of what she did. Make sure she had a chance to be really happy and satisfied. I wouldn't be mean or gloat or anything else, I'd just make sure she knew -- along with how the loss of the job affected me.

[NightTrain]

69. Another poster suggested that I sue her for lost wages.

I rather like that idea! :bounce:

[politicaholic]

2. Oh finally, I've been waiting to kick someone...

You see, it's your word against hers. They may not have legitimate grounds to fire you. You could talk to one of those civil trial lawyers. You may be able to, you know, make them feel the error of their ways.

If they didn't write the lady's information down, then they can't track her down, and YOU have an even stronger case.

It sounds like you need to get out of driving regardless.

I hear becoming a Rap Star can be pretty lucrative.

[NightTrain]

3. Maybe I can get back into office work.

Sure, it's dull, but that's not necessarily a bad thing! :eyes:

[Texasgal]

5. I really hate to say this

But bottom line.... why would you scream back and an elderly lady? I mean, I see that she was rude, but just holding your temper and walking away would have probably served you so much better.

Sometimes just turning the other cheek is the best way to handle things. Flipping off an elderly woman is kind of extreme in my opinion.

I realize I will most likely get flamed for my reply, but please have mercy on me... it's my birthday! :)

Edit: spelling

[Deja Q]

7. I must agree. Partly. There is a larger evil at work.

Many of the elderly are senile. That Broom Hilda wannabe probably didn't know dusk from dawn, though her short term sadly still functions.

Personally, I would have let her crusty comments go over my head. Of course, when in 'fight or flight' mode I'm very flighty and non-confrontational, usually ideal for a service-industry job.

It's also a reminder that, in a service-related job, one has to be disgustingly cheery and smiley at all times and for everyone, regardless of how much of a bastard the customer or observer might be. It's a pain, especially when most service-type jobs are underpaid and overstressed and unrelenting. And that is the evil of it all. The one in the job gets shit treatment from both sides and that is immoral. But until people unionize and demand treatment that won't drive 'em nuts, these situations will continue.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Texasgal]

15. I'm sorry that I make you wanna barf

I guess I should have clarified my opinion... flipping off ANYBODY is pretty extreme, especially in a service situation. Was this lady a threat? Was she gonna kick his ass? NO... she was an old woman.... rude at that. I don't chide the boss for firing this person, when you work with the public sometimes you have to suck it up.

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

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[Texasgal]

24. Dude...

RELAX! Jeeez!

If you were looking for someone to agree with you completely then why in the fuck did you even post your thread?

IT's pretty obvious that you have some anger management issues, perhaps getting some help would be better for you.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

58. Um yeah

:scared:

[AZCat]

6. I'd rather kick her...

But I'm trying non-violence this week.

Perhaps a little sympathy would suffice?

[prolesunited]

8. Sorry for your job loss

But perhaps you should take it as a sign that you really need to get your anger and rage under control. I don't care what she did. Who would give an old lady the finger? And while you're on the job no less.

Honestly, you scare me sometimes with the stories about your tirades and encounters.

I sincerely hope you work it all out.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

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[Texasgal]

18. Gee...

Seems as though your anger is spilling off here as well. Take a deep breath!

Look... you got fired from your job today becuase you fliiped off someone, take this as a lesson. Learn from it.

[hollywood926]

19. Yikes!

Sorry you lost your job, but maybe you need to see your doctor and get on some anti-depressants. I'm not being facetious. They really can help! I've known a couple of guys who had anger problems and now are much more easy-going because they sought treatment. Nothing to be ashamed of.

(Having said that, the woman probably WAS a total bitch, but we have to suck it up when we're on the job, unfortunately!)

[prolesunited]

21. You know

I actually toned down what I really wanted to say in order to be sensitive to your feelings.

And, all you can say is "Fuck you, too" when I offered sympathy, advice and encouragement.

I work with the public as well and people can be real assholes, but if I said "fuck you" in the performance of my duties, I would get fired and rightfully so.

And, I certainly wouldn't post a poor-me thread about it. I would be embarassed that my anger got the better of me. I'll reserve my sympathy for those who deserve it.

[HEyHEY]

9. Wounded man kicking boots on...

Well, that sucks man, maybe call your boss tomorrow and try to explain again?

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

10. I don't think anyone wants to kick you when you are down

And I think you are pretty well liked on this site...especially by musiclovers...

I'm sorry you lost your job, but there's something to be said for dealing with the anger aspect so that this shit doesn't keep happening...that's for another day. Today you do have my sympathy.

Hang in there.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. What NSMA said

n/t

[SarahB]

40. I'd have to agree.

We all either work with some asshole or deal with people somehow involved in performing our jobs who are assholes. Anywhere. Everywhere. Perhaps to varying degrees, but it's a part of life for almost everyone. You have to suck it up to put food on the table and pay the bills. It's not just you. It's all of us.

[NightTrain]

46. I know where you're coming from, Sarah.

Maybe I've just been "sucking it up" too long. :shrug:

[SarahB]

57. I hope you can work through this somehow.

Or find something that feels more comfortable for you. I'm sorry you lost your job. That's tough. :(

[progmom]

13. I'm sorry, Dean.

:hug:

[DancingBear]

16. No kicking from me, Night Train

I'm a rarity here at times - I actually believe anger is a viable emotion, and has its place.

Amazing the amount of turn the other cheek folks here - my friend, there are times when sometimes a middle digit is not only appropriate, hell it's required.

Hang in there, and don't worry about acting, well, you know.... human.

(just don't do it all the time, 'K?) :)

[NightTrain]

25. Thanks, DB, for your understanding. I really do appreciate it.

Difficult as it may be for some DUers to grasp, when someone accosts me in a parking lot and screams threats and obscenities at me, my gut reaction is NOT to tell the "person" to have a nice day.

Oh, and a question for you turn-the-other-cheekers: Since when does being old entitle one to be gratuitously nasty to anyone they choose?

Perhaps that old bitch was accustomed to dealing only with wimp-ass men who meekly put up with her bullshit. Well, I'm NOT one of those men, and I don't give a flying fuck who disapproves!

[Texasgal]

29. Being old never entitles anyone

to be shitty... However, you were on the JOB. You flipped someone off. You deserved it in my opinion! Your posts here tell alot more about you than you know.

Your "poor little me" crap is getting you nowhere. Look for another job and try to hold your obvious out of control emotions at home!

[Kire]

62. you are a wimp ass man

you are still putting up with her bullshit, you probably will be until you get a new job

[Name removed]

67. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Kire]

68. I never got the time of day from you.

what time is it, anyway?

[Kire]

70. you insulted my grandmother and my children

I take it back, you're not a wimp.

[Kire]

Mr. Morris, your bullets will not harm him. He must be beheaded.

I'm no lunatic man. I'm a sane man fighting for his soul.

[StopTheMorans]

27. i'm with you, an asshole is an asshole. yes, NT didn't know this person's

situation, but an old asshole is an asshole nonetheless. if you're going to treat people like shit, you should expect the same treatment. obviously, it would have been ideal had NT been able to turn the cheek, but that's not what happened, and it's not my place to speculate if the lady had some sort of mental illness or was just crotchety. if the latter, then i think she got what she had coming to her.

[NightTrain]

38. WOO-HOO!!!

Thanks, STM! You are a kindred spirit, and I appreciate it!

[madison2000]

17. You're having a terrible week, Night Train

I hope something really good happens for you soon.

I once had a job as an administrator at a University. A faculty member called me up and started screaming at me about an issue she was upset about. I was exhausted and I said "I can't deal with this right now so I am going to hang up". She called my boss and I was ceremoniously fired on the last day of my 6 month probationary period at the end of the week. No one cared about my explanation of what happened.

[NightTrain]

20. Ah! So you must understand how I feel right about now.

In some jobs, you're just not allowed a single moment of being human and therefore flawed. Well I'm sorry, folks, but my surname isn't Gandhi, King, or Christ!

[Kire]

42. Giving an old lady the finger = being human.

The remorselessness I see here makes that highly unlikely.

May a driver cut you off someday while you're trying to get your mail with your walker and you get a major case of deja vu.

[Name removed]

61. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Kire]

66. happens to me all the time

poor me, poor little old me

[Kire]

23. That could have been my grandmother.

Maybe you should look into manufacturing.

[NightTrain]

28. Your grandmother ranndomly accosts strangers and screams at them?

Boy, you must come from an interesting family!

[Kire]

35. I sure do.

Ranndom accosting is a family tradition.

[Pithlet]

26. Dealing with customers

on a daily basis is maddening.

I wish I could remember the URL, but there's a hilarious site where people kvetch about the horrible customers they've had, and the way the employees dealt with them. It may be small comfort, but it might cheer you up a bit. If I can find it, I'll post it if you want.

:hug:

[NightTrain]

31. Actually, she WASN'T a customer. That's what really frustrates me.

Whatever I said to that old bitch, it didn't cost the store a dime in business.

This may just be the impetus I need to get the hell out of driving and find me a nice, dull office job! :eyes:

[NightTrain]

73. I think the website you're talking about is www.customerssuck.com

I was there once about a year ago. And you're right, the site was great!

[Blue Diadem]

30. Nighttrain, if something like that ever happens again,

call the police and report the person for harassment and tell the cops you are worried about her bizarre behavior. Being an elderly woman doesn't give her the right to behave as she did and I suspect she has some other issues(possibly mental) going on. Some old people are prone to violent outbursts, I've witnessed little old white haired women in wheel chairs kicking the heck out of each other. I've seen old men swing their fists, I've heard the swearing and threats and that's just from visiting the nursing home my Mom was in.

I'm sorry that you lost your job.

:hug:

[leftofthedial]

32. thump thump. thump thump.

to that old lady

[NightTrain]

34. HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!

:yourock:

[Shananigans]

33. I am sorry you lost your job.

I have been there and it sucks!

On the other hand, your behavior to that woman was unwarranted. I have worked in many different areas and in all, the number one rule is to be nice to EVERYONE; whether they are a customer, potential customer or complete stranger. Flipping off a little old (albeit crabby) lady would be terms for disciplinary action or termination with many companies I have worked for. After all, the owners need to look at their bottom line and if the people out there representing them in the community are acting lewd or rude, then they need to protect thier own image.

Again, I sympathise with you on your job loss, but maybe it *is* time to seek some anger management training to prevent this from happening in the future.

[NightTrain]

37. Horse escpaes, DUer closes barn door.

This is exactly why I hemmed and hawed about posting here about my job loss. When I'm at my ebb and I need support and sympathy (which some folks HAVE given me, and I thank them), I get gasps of horror, finger-wagging condescension, and unsolicited know-it-all advice.

Thank you so-o-o bloody much, DU!

[Texasgal]

44. Support and Symapathy?

Telling people to fuck off and ridiculing people for their opinions upsets you?

Next time might I suggest your thread read: I LOST MY JOB YESTERDAY, DON'T POST ANYTHING UNLESS I AGREE WITH IT!

Jesus CHRIST!

[NightTrain]

75. Goodbye!

Welcome to my Ignore list.

[Kire]

52. welcome to the world, NightTrain

you have been born, you'll make a beautiful butterfly someday

[Midlodemocrat]

36. Nighttrain, I am sorry for your job loss.

Hopefully, you will find something else PDQ.

Maybe this is a good thing, you will be free from these idiots and free to pursue something where they won't treat you like crap.

[NightTrain]

41. Thanks. And I've had similar thoughts today.

Elsewhere in this thread, I've speculated about getting back into office work. Guess I'll start looking at the "O" listings in the Hartford Courant classifieds!

[Midlodemocrat]

64. Well, I am from CT originally, so maybe I can be of some service to you.

And, frankly, I don't think age gives you a free pass to rudeness. I would have flipped her off, too.

[NightTrain]

71. Hee-hee-hee!

Thanks. :thumbsup:

[AlCzervik]

39. 1st let me say i'm sorry and that sucks the fat one

2nd, i bet this lady has been waiting for something like this, if it wasn't you it would have been someone at some business that she didn't think kissed her ass enough. Karma will come for her.

[Kire]

47. Someone was waiting for something like this.

maybe since the time he changed lanes that time

[NightTrain]

56. Hmm.... Interesting thought.

With any luck, she'll die alone and bitter, and they won't find her body until she's completely decomposed and somebody complains about the stench emanating from her apartment. I can only hope!

[Kire]

60. get help

I'm scared of you.

[Texasgal]

76. Agreed!

It's pretty shocking to see this kind of anger here on DU. Scary, actually.

[AlCzervik]

72. i understand your upset but thats harsh.

[xmas74]

43. Try 9-1-1 dispatching.

I have told a few people off on the phone (and yes, they did deserve it), just without swearing. Also, in my town, if they call 911 excessively for a nonemergency situation, then we can send an officer over to their house to deliver a $1000.00 fine.
And, if they get hateful with you on the phone, then you can also sign a complaint for disturbing your peace (we are here to help with the problem, not take the abuse).
Go apply tomorrow. I think you'll fit right in.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

45. I feel bad you lost your job but I think you deserved it

sorry man

[Name removed]

48. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

54. Um - ok dude

If I was your boss and I heard you flipped somebody off I'd fire you

I have nothing against you man.

[Blue-Jay]

49. Hey, are you lookin' for another deleted reply?

[NightTrain]

51. If so, he got one!

:evilgrin:

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

55. What is your problem, man?

Have I insulted you?

[NightTrain]

59. What's my fucking problem?!

I just lost my job, I've next to no money in the bank, I may not qualify for Unemployment benefits, and you show your support by telling me I fucking deserve it! :wtf: do you think my problem is?

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

63. I support you as a person but I don't think you were right to flip an old

lady no matter what she said. I am not against you. I hope you find work very soon.

[Kire]

65. how should we show you support?

how do you know how much that old lady had in the bank?

[Digit]

50. Lost mine a week ago for coming in early and leaving early.

Left according to regulations (to the minute).
The following Monday left after my 8 hrs.
Let go for "leaving early" without so much as a warning.
My pleas to check the official record were ignored.
I have never had a warning.
Never been late.
I feel your pain.

[NightTrain]

53. Employers suck, don't they?

:pals:

[General Zod]

74. I 'm surprised that they didn't even give you the opportunity.....

.....to tell your side of the story. That sucks. As far as they know, she could have been someone with a grudge against you or some nut job.

I don't blame you for what you did. Some people deserve to get the finger. I hope you find another job soon.

[Moderator]

77. Locking

This thread has turned into a personal attack festival.