Yup, you read right but perhaps I should elaborate???
Woke up this morning feeling great, bounced out of bed, grabbed my laundry basket on my way out the door and actually got to work early! Damn....the boss was already there--sitting in the lobby having a meeting--so I walk by, basket in hand. He gives me a look, asks "are you doing laundry today?" as I walk by and I politely responded "oh, I'll talk to you later about it" and walked back to my office...where I start filling the basket with all my doodads (rocks, pictures, more rocks, silk floral arrangements, rocks, stuffed frog someone gave me, rocks, my "office goddess" award--you know, the usual crap that accumulates in your office!) Piled everything into this now heaping basket and pushed it out into the hallway off to one side where no one would trip over it and then got to work.
Sure enough, meeting ends and the boss cautiously sticks his head around the door and asks "are you moving somewhere???" TOTALLY polite I reminded him that he had told me based on my decision that today would be my last day and I was just packing my stuff. He gives me this completely blank look, says "Did I SAY that?" and then he sits on the floor of my office and says "okay, I think we need to have a meeting".
He asked about what I thought was said, of which I quoted him pretty much word for word on some of the insults and threats and EXACTLY what I thought of his "immediate firing regardless of integrity" policy. I went into detail how upsetting I found his comments about his son and my fellow co-workers while he sat back looking like I had just slapped him in the face--then he started asking questions. What would I do if I was office manager? What role did I see him playing in it as he knew he was really losing his marbles (my phrase not his) and he knew he couldn't continue running things. I told him my opinions on how I would have run things--again this was all very polite and calm--and he shakes his head and muttered, "I knew I was right about you--I should have offered you the job months ago. Your uncle is really lucky but I've done this to myself". THEN HE APPOLOGISED!!!!! Oh. My. Goodness. Appologies? To me? O-kay......then he pulled out a piece of paper and started writing some of my suggestions down. You could have knocked me over with a feather--seriously!
I asked if he wanted today to be my last day and he said "No!" to which I said, "let me rephrase that...this is my two weeks notice...do you want this to be my last day?" I kid you not he appologised again and asked if I would stay the two weeks!!!! He also tried offering me the office manager job (no ideas yet on pay and why don't we try it on a 6-month trial basis) but I firmly said no thank you (I can't trust anything he offers and was detirmined I was gonna stand my ground here). He agreed to start immediately some of my ideas (and yes kids they went into effect today!) and asked me to, in the next two weeks, write down all of the things I would have implemented or things I think he needs to address (I am soooooooooooooo not making any of this up!)
The only downer is that, by staying I was saying goodbye to my severance pay...but I mentioned that to Gloria today who is very upset that I am leaving, but so happy I have made the boss kinda come to his senses--even for a short while--that she announced that for being SO NICE and SWEET and giving notice and being willing to cheerfully help find my replacement (placed the ad today myself!) and train the poor sap that not only is she writing me the most glowing of glowing recommendation letters...she will also pay me two weeks severance at the end of my two weeks! And to top it off the boss said that if it doesn't work out with my uncle he will gladly hire me back (not that I plan to take him up on it but its nice to know its been offered).
Oh, and the firing of the boss? Well the old boy admitted that he needed to let go and has offered the office manager position to his son (who did NOT look interested or thrilled to have it) and said that my comments--which everyone else apparently has been too scared to tell him--helped him to realize it was time to pull up stakes and let someone else run the show. Sure he'll be puttering around in the background looking up new investment ideas, but states he plans to get out of the office scene pretty much altogether...
Wow! Was this ever a good day!
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