What would you do? (Job Dilemma)

nickn · #1 09-26-2008, 06:20 PM

I am torn about the place I work at right now. It's a small stationery/Hallmark store... one half of the store is Hallmark cards and gifts and stuff, and the other half is the kind of office products and stationery you'd expect from a stationery store, with a little Kinko's-style copy center. It's a really laid-back, low-stress job. It's mere minutes from my house.

Here's the problem. The boss is a SLOB and an IDIOT. He never pays his bills to his suppliers on time so we're always getting calls from companies/lawyers demanding money. He never gets my paycheck right. It seems like every single payday I have to march into his office and tell him "NO, I did not work FOUR hours this week, I worked SIXTEEN."

Now here's the thing... I need money. I really need money. Though I am only 17, I do have various bills to pay that total around $120-150 every month. I need a part time job that will allow me to pay that. I really want to quit and find a job under someone who's not a total and complete moron. But with the economic situation, it doesn't look very likely that I'll be able to get a job, and if I do, it might only be for the holiday season. I need a lasting job.

So what would you do? Would you just keep working at the same place and have to fight every single week to get the money that you deserve, and have to pick up the phone every day to hear some irate customer complaining about how stupid the boss is? Would you quit and try to find another job? I really don't know what I should do.

Any help is really appreciated.

Deluge Of Sound · #2 09-26-2008, 06:22 PM

Keep working there and start looking around Craigslist or whatever for another job. Then, once you've got another job lined up, you give your boss your two weeks.

warwick.hoy · #3 09-26-2008, 06:34 PM

If you are only working part time (and going to school?); you should have plenty of time to work there and look for a better job.

Tough it out until you can find something better. Gaps in your employment don't bode well on resumes.

Also be encouraged that employers are more willing to give you work when you are currently employed rather than someone that has be "looking" for work for 4 or 5 months.

nickn · #4 09-26-2008, 06:51 PM

Good advice, thanks. I'll start the job hunt ASAP.

mike_v_s · #5 09-26-2008, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

Keep working there and start looking around Craigslist or whatever for another job. Then, once you've got another job lined up, you give your boss your two weeks.

This is good here. I'll add that you should expect that your next job will probably be more structured. The downside to layed back jobs is the layed back business approach. It doesn't usually work very well.

Mike

Finsterino · #6 09-26-2008, 06:53 PM

Don't quit until you find a better one. Maybe offer to help the boss do his accounting?

MJ5150 · #7 09-26-2008, 09:28 PM

Dealing with difficult customers will teach you some valuable social and negotiation skills. View it as a learning experience. People pay money to take classes on how to deal with other people.

-Mike

mike_v_s · #8 09-26-2008, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Dealing with difficult customers will teach you some valuable social and negotiation skills. View it as a learning experience. People pay money to take classes on how to deal with other people.

-Mike

Kinda silly, isn't it? I get some of the choice assignments at work because I'm "good with people". 5-6 years in retail will make you a people person.

Mike

Deluge Of Sound · #9 09-26-2008, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

Kinda silly, isn't it? I get some of the choice assignments at work because I'm "good with people". 5-6 years in retail will make you a people person.

Mike

I thought that would've turned you into this guy

mike_v_s · #10 09-26-2008, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

I thought that would've turned you into this guy

Oh, it does while you're doing it. But now that I'm out of the retail game, I'm the guy they send to meet with landowners and negotiate contracts. The employees that can't seem to initiate a normal conversation that doesn't involve exhaustive explanation of a dumb joke on their part get to sit at a desk and grab a phone.

Mike

MJ5150 · #11 09-26-2008, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

I get some of the choice assignments at work because I'm "good with people".

Same here. I just started a new job, but they are already giving me clients who are "difficult" or upset. It doesn't bother me one bit dealing with those people.

-Mike

mike_v_s · #12 09-26-2008, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Same here. I just started a new job, but they are already giving me clients who are "difficult" or upset. It doesn't bother me one bit dealing with those people.

-Mike

Yup. My last was being a "buffer" between a ROW construction crew and a business owner because he had started trouble early. Every day I asked him if there were any problems first thing in the morning, at lunch and before I left in the afternoon. The rest of the time I sat in the sun and got a tan.

Mike

MJ5150 · #13 09-26-2008, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

Yup. My last was being a "buffer" between a ROW construction crew and a business owner because he had started trouble early. Every day I asked him if there were any problems first thing in the morning, at lunch and before I left in the afternoon. The rest of the time I sat in the sun and got a tan.

Mike

If you decide to leave your job, you would make a good project manager. The place I work is hiring for PM's. You need experience in the medical business office field.

-Mike

Stumbo · #14 09-26-2008, 10:59 PM

You might try reading the book "Dealing with Difficult People".
Also, meet with your boss and ask him how you can help him get your check with the correct hours on it. (It's worth a shot).

nickn · #15 09-26-2008, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Dealing with difficult customers will teach you some valuable social and negotiation skills. View it as a learning experience. People pay money to take classes on how to deal with other people.

-Mike

Oh definitely; I'm not denying that. I was actually just talking to one of my teachers about how having this job has really helped me learn to be polite and courteous even in the face of an angry, foaming-at-the-mouth customer. It's just that it gets a little old constantly having people target ME for the shortcomings of my boss.

Stumbo, that's actually a really good suggestion. I hadn't thought of that. I think I'm going to do just that! I'll ask him what I can do to make sure everything's correct.

Gordon of Eden · #16 09-27-2008, 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

I thought that would've turned you into this guy

After laughing for the last 10 minutes about that photo and caption I sadly realize that I could be that guy (high end retail fro 20 years).
The trick you learn with experience is how to keep him locked down.

fdeck · #17 09-27-2008, 08:43 AM

Just one suggestion, the xmas season is boom or bust. At this time of year, all retail jobs are effectively temporary. You could get hired and then laid off if sales aren't up to projections. Perhaps it is better to hold out if you can and wait until early next year before looking for jobs.

IanStephenson · #18 09-27-2008, 03:19 PM

You FIND a job. THEN you quit.

Aside from having to deal with the gap, the first question you get asked at an interview is "what's your current job?". The wrong answer is "I'm sitting round at home". Even if your job sucks, it shows you're capable of holding down a job. Once you're out of work you'll go to the bottom of the heap for every job you apply for.

fdeck · #19 09-27-2008, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IanStephenson

You FIND a job. THEN you quit.

Aside from having to deal with the gap, the first question you get asked at an interview is "what's your current job?". The wrong answer is "I'm sitting round at home". Even if your job sucks, it shows you're capable of holding down a job. Once you're out of work you'll go to the bottom of the heap for every job you apply for.

And the second question you get is: "How do you like it?"

Wrong answer: It really sucks, the boss is a dope, and I have to deal with all of his mistakes.

Right answer: It's a great job, and the people are really nice, but working for you seems like a really good opportunity.

flea claypool · #20 09-27-2008, 09:06 PM

trust me just stick at it if your getting paid with a bit of hassle then why not.. no one has the perfect job.. i hear America is in hard times?? well ireland has been in recescion for 3-4 months now.. your talking to a electrician that hasnt worked in 3 months.. stick to what you have... "hard times are coming, boy"