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Bully boss encouraging more bullying behaviour

Posted by: barbarilla
Date: 11/12/2009 11:51:33 AM

My first day at work on September 25, 2008, at a naval base barber shop, a woman barber started to show off by bossing me around and was so loud. We went to lunch together and assumed that she was popular but gossip about a lot of people that I never met.

My first week, another woman barber screamed at me due to something that I still did not understand. Then she started bad mouthing me to her clients within my hearing range as we were just next to each other. She, in fact was even proud to say to other barbers that she is a bitch.

My first month, the lead barber harassed me in front of my client and in front of so many of people waiting for their hair cut. He also accused me of stealing dirty old towels and was told to just use 4 towels a day. I was new and was only doing more than 20 haircuts a day.

They badmouthed me publicly in the barber shop. The 4 bullies (one went on medical leave) find ways to gossip about me even when they are cutting hair. I could tell that they are so jealous of me because I know more techniques than them. I can use razor on men and women, use scissors and also suggests treatment or how to style their hair which the second lead mentioned to the first lead that I am smart.I take interest in many topics and issues in the news and discuss them with my clients for conversation sake. The bullies always boast themselves as the best haircutters most intelligent people; especially the lead. The lead used to tell me that “he is not saying that his haircut is perfect, but the manager told him to cut the officers’ hair that’s why his schedule is in the morning”. “That he used to be the manager in an engineering firm”

One month later, I improved my fade cutting skill. I still noticed those evil eyes on me but this time is worst. I also started to build my clientele. Then, I see the bullies on the phone all the time, later on, our manager shows up with her eyes focus on me while the lead was talking to her.She even sit and hide from a folded big box just to watch me. I did not know my errors, only giving good customer service. I did not even leave my station, nor talk to anybody but I was called in the manager’s office for anything that they can think of to complain about me; 30 minutes late for lunch because, sometimes, I have request, or still cutting hair; that clients complain about me when actually it is the bullies.

I heard from several people that the problem in the barber shop has been going on for 20 years. That the name of their game is to eliminate the people who do not worship them; so they will find any reason to complain about me; “like finding a needle in the haystack”.

Anybody who worships them will be promoted to their rank of power per the bullies. So some barbers act like silly just to be part of their game. They create so much animosity so that everybody will be scared to their group. One barber is very open to discuss her trailer park trash life and clients are complaining about her and publicly avoid her. In fact one of her clients she was cutting stood up and ready to leave yet not done and you can tell that he got stress from listening to her.

I was called in the manager’s office for things that I do not know but all I know is that the bullies hate me for my abilities. The manager takes me to HR every time I have concern and treated me bad, screaming at me and accusing me of things that are done to me; because I documented the incidents of harassment. New rules are implemented for anything that I wear, like mask to protect myself from inhaling hairs and dandruff; anything to cause me to fail.

After presenting the documentation of bullying issues being done to me in the shop, management responded with intimidation and accusing me of doing the very same things that were being done to me.And nothing was resolve up to this time.

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