Just to be put on non-active at work for suddenly refusing to do my job, not fitting in the team anymore and directly treatening and intimidating the regional sales manager.

That is what I got told by last said person.

To start at the beginning. I began working for my current employer 17 months ago. All was good, no issues at work except for the workload being just stupidly high. After completing my first 3 months I got asked to stay as the store manager was very pleased with me. Sadly I would have to go to a diffirent site as they were in need of some extra help. So I agreed and started the following month.

The start was a tiny bit bumpy at the new site but after a few days, things got much better where in the first few weeks things began feeling great.
We all did our thing, helped each other out, have fun with one another but at the same time being proffecional. Things were going great, the site manager and colleagues were even openly thanking me for the work I did and making sure we reached our weekly sales targets. Untill the regional sales manager reared its ugly face by telling our store manager that he shouldn't let me work as much as he did right now because if he did there would be concequences for him.

This went on and on for months, untill our site manager dropped the news that he was quiting his job here to go back to his previous job as he had enough of the threats that the regional sales manager made to him, even going as far as black mailing him.

So after our site manager left, we were left to our own devices for nearly 6 months. With no real manager to guide and help us, we somehow managed to keep reaching our sales targets. Later I came to find out that it was mostly because of me putting in extra work for which everybody was super happy about.

Then the new year came and one of my colleagues got involved in a serious car accident from which he still is recovering from (both mentaly and physicaly). So we went from a 5 man team to a 3 man team in less then a 2 month time span which put even more presure on all of us but mostly on me (workload wise).

From January untill two weeks ago when I'm writing this, I kept our site in the green. My two other colleagues were taking up the role as site manager and MOT inspector (safety inspector). Both tasks were they couldn't help me out with repairing cars and servicing them. Again they gave me credit for doing my job well and getting cars out the door on the same day, and again we kept making most of our sales targets. Things were very stressfull but it somehow still all worked out.

Now, 2 weeks ago from when I am writing this, our new site manager started after only 2 weeks of "training". The guy in question had no real working experience at a garage before but he did had experience in managing a store. We all were a bit sceptical about his plans and his ideas to bring in more money. All 3 of us warned him countless times that he wasn't going to accomplish any of that as we were already under staffed and overworked.

On his first official day, the new guy was already pushing us to hard. Something we'd know would happen as he got promised mountains of gold by the regional sales manager. He also promised him that he's get 2 extra mechanics. Something we warned him about that he wouldn't get but to no avail.

We started to voice our concerns and advice a bit more directly, not sugar coating things, and me telling the site manager that I couldn't do the task he gave me as I was already busy doing something else which he apparently took as me refusing to do my job. Though after going forwards and backwards for a bit, I reluctendly did as I was told at the expence of the work that I was already doing not being finished in time.

And now for the bit that this long ass journal/rant is going on about.

During the passed 6 months I began to develope some pain in my right shoulder, which got increasingly worse as time went on. So the day before yesterday, I contacted the site manager that I was coming in later in the morning as I made a docter's appointment to get my shoulder checked our. He replied that it was fine.

Come yesterday. After coming back from the docter and arriving at work, the site manager told me that the regional sales manager was here and would like to have a chat with me. Okay I said and went up to the break room to wait for him.

Things became surreal the moment he walked in as he had a look in his eyes that quite frankly scared the piss out of me. The first words he said also confirmed that he was not here for a social chat as he said that he had a problem and didn't had good news for me.

He emmidiatly began talking in a raised voice, using scare tactics to threaten me with being fired on the spot for refusing to do my job, me not doing my job propperly and for coming in late that day without saying anything to the site manager. To make things worse, he saw that I had a letter from my lawyer about having the avarage hours that I've worked for for the passed 6 months be put in a new contract (dutch laws)as I was still working on standby/call by bases.

He told me that he felt highly treatend and intimidated by me and told me to take off my work clothes and leave "his" propperty and that he would put me on non-active for the remainder of my contract, which is 7 months and which means that I can not collect any social benefits for being out of a job beyond my help. Quiting myself would also not be a smart thing as I can't collect any benefits that way either.

What happend next took every ounce of my patience. I went to my toolbox to get a few personal items from it upon which the regional manager came storming towards me, yelling to leave "his" toolbox alone and that I must leave "his" propperty emmidiatly or else, all while standing roughly 10cm from my face. I told him to step back as I felt really uncomfortable and intimidated by him. He had that give me a reason to rip your throat out kind of look in his eyes to which I froze. He kept on yelling in my face continuesly to where the site manager stepped in between us to de-escalate the situation.

When I left I could hear him yelling something more about getting a lawyer or something though at that time all I wanted was to go home.

After getting home, contacting HR at work, his direct supervisor and my own lawyer I just caved in mentally. Why would a company treat someone like they did me who is always available to help out and kept a store open that was loosing money and turning it into a store that made money (going from last place to 4th place out of 16 stores in the region in a years time)?

Hell I even have proof of customers being over the moon that I was able to repair the entire front suspension, brakes and lower control arms on their car so that they could drive back home with it on the same day.

Not to mention my colleagues being over the moon as well with the ammount of work I shifted and with the speed of which I did it.

Sometimes I wonder if people like that cumstain of a regional sales manager gets a kick out of terrorising people like that because I'm not the only one in this company that doesn't think highly of him.

I'll keep things posted on how things are developing on here but for now, I need to try and get my calm back as I'm quite emotional right now.


- Midas