A bit of background info. I work at an animal emergency clinic as a customer service rep. Basically I handle all the incoming and outgoing clients and such. It involves alot of explaining things and getting information. I started this job at the end of last year. There are essentially three of us doing this job.
Well the problem is with one coworker, who I’ll call Sally to make things easy here. When I started, Sally had been there for about 5 months. She was the one to train me. It was all fine and dandy for a while, I caught onto things pretty easily and things went smoothly. However recently I’ve become more and more aware that working with her is starting to be troublesome.
She’s very anal and if things get order she gets very annoyed and upset. Fine, that’s something I can’t control since it’s just her. If it were just that, I could handle it, but it’s not. I never know what mood she’s going to be in when I get to work. Some days she’s just eternally pissed off and takes it out on me, to the point where I’m convinced I’VE done something to piss her off. Other days she’s completely fine and we have a good time working together. Another issue is the fact that she constantly interrupts me when I’m explaining things to clients. It’s very frustrating cause it makes me look too stupid to know the right answers. Apparently she was doing this with my other coworker but they basically told her to stop it. Her reply? “Sorry, that’s just how I am.”
She’s also quite bossy with me. Constantly telling me what to do. “Check so and so out” or “Check this person out while I get the meds”. Always it’s things that she’s perfectly capable of doing herself. Personally, I hate being bossed around, especially by someone who’s not my supervisor or anything. But unfortunately, I’m not the kind of person to confront another person or do anything to cause waves.
My other coworker keeps telling me to go to my supervisor about Sally because that’s what she had to do because it got so bad. But I just don’t want to cause drama or more tension between us. But I’ve got to do something. I dread my days with her anymore. Any advice on how to approach this without causing alot of trouble?
Always sit down with the co-worker 1st. Talk to her. Don’t be accusitory, don’t say she’s doing anything wrong. Tell her “when you do this, I feel …(demeaned, like I am your underling, whatever”. “When you are in a bad mood, this puts me into a bad mood also, so it’s double-trouble!”
If this doesn’t work, then speak with your supervisor. Use the same type of language. Don’t make it a complaint about Sally, make it something that is more like your problem “When Sally is in a bad mood, I get into a bad mood too, and I can’t concentrate” “When Sally gives me little orders, it annoys me, and I get frustrated”.
Go to your supervisor. If she’s interrupting you in front of clients and is doing this to other coworkers, then she’s interfering with everyone’s work and your boss needs to know. I know you don’t want to cause trouble, but the longer you let it happen, the more she will believe that she’s fully justified in doing it. Until a supervisor tells her to stop, she won’t.
You shouldn’t dread going to a job you otherwise enjoy, and management can’t change it til they know something’s wrong. Go to your supervisor.
If your coworker has gone to your supervisor about Sally before, then your supervisor knows that these complaints didn’t come up out of the blue. You won’t be accused of making waves, as long as you’re perfectly polite and don’t say, “She’s a frigging anal bitch!” (Not that I’m saying you would, mind you)
All the behaviors you’ve mentioned, Aunt Flow, are her problem; she’s just done a very good job of projecting them onto you. There’s few things suckier than when someone you work closely with is an asshat. I’m pretty nonconfrontational myself, so I can understand how awkward it can be to broach the subject with her. That’s why I lean to the passive / agressive!
Just kidding; sort of. If someone tried to interrupt me while I was talking to a patient, I would talk right over them, never letting them get a word in, never aknowledging their presence.
On the days when she’s in a bad mood and snaps at you, say in a mock sympathetic tone “wow, you must be having a really bad day today, huh?” . If possible, when other employees are around, make a big deal about picking up the slack, for Sally’s benefit, i.e., “Oh, let me get it. Sally’s under a lot of stress today and it’s just as easy for me to handle it”. Turn the tables. Kill her with condescension.
Don’t go to a supervisor if you can help it, but if you must, as was said before, don’t phrase it as a complaint, per se. I would make it seem as though I was just trying to be clear about the chain of command… “Is it my job to put all the supplies and instruments away every day? Don’t get me wrong; I just wasn’t sure if I’m supposed to be doing it all the time”. “So, do I report to you or to Sally?”
Let them know how bossy she is, but don’t complain outright about it.
Sounds manipulative, I know, but truth be told, sometimes the end justifies the means.
Aunt Flow, are you positively sure we don’t have the same coworker?
I almost pitted my coworker for the exact same behavior not too long ago. I decided against it because I don’t need to drag the drama into my off-work hours.
It’ll be interesting to see what your supervisor says when you do speak to him/her about Sally. We could trade notes
