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Author Topic: An employee threatened me tonight.. Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-10-2005 12:10 AM                     My reaction would be to say, "You don't really mean that, or DO you?" If the guy said, "No.", I'd leave well enough alone. (I just cowed him.) If the guy didn't back down or if he sounded insincere in his retraction I would walk straight out of the room and make two phone calls: 1) Call the boss, explain what just happened and tell him that I'm going to... 2) Call the cops. As to how to handle the general situation of giving people isntructions without creating friction... The answer is that you can't always do it. Some people just don't know how to take orders. I agree that a manager should strive to be diplomatic in giving orders as much as he can but there are times when one must say, "I [the boss] want you [the employee] to do this task." Maybe you could phrase it differently. "This job needs to get done. You are the best person to do it. Please see to it." I don't need to go into excrutiating detail on how to be a diplomatic boss. Every situation is different. Use your intellect. On the other hand, there is virtually NO time when an employee shouldn't be recognized for a job well done. It could vary from, "You did a good job. Thank you." all the way down to something like, "It's been a long day! Let's all go home and rest!" What I'm getting at is that, maybe this guy feels like he's not getting recognized for his work. From your description, his "lack or recognition" is deserved. Still, I can virtually guarantee that he THINKS he's getting the shaft in some way. You and your boss should discuss the situation and decide if he's worth the "investment" in time and energy to apply some tact and diplomacy when you deal with him. Maybe he'll come around. Then, again, maybe not. If you decide he's not worth the trouble DUMP HIM RIGHT NOW! Don't wait! If you reverse your dicision to fire him, you might not EVER be able to fire him. He could come back at you and say, "You didn't mean it last time! How can I know you don't really mean it THIS time?!" Yes, he'd be acting like a weasel but, unfortunately, you have to look out for people like that these days! Finally, if you have the LEAST little inkling of a idea that he may follow through with the threat, YOU should follow through with a call to the police... IMMEDIATELY! That's what I did when I got THIS MESSAGE on my voice mail! No, the kid wasn't stupid enough to call from his own phone but we found him anyway. He claims he was drunk and that it was a prank. He doesn't go to school here anymore. I don't take shit like that lightly! After going to the Campus Police station, my first call was to my home. I told my wife to load up the shotgun. (She is well-versed in its operation and use.) PS: Phil, I receltly traded in the Bushmaster for a "FAL", a Mini-14 and a Glock. My house is like a "Roach Motel"... They can come in but they won't come out!  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 01-10-2005 12:56 AM                     That's a scary phone message. Good thing you saved it. Perfect thing to have handy as backup when you tell the police officers "I was in fear for my life" in justification for blasting a would-be assailant's guts out all over your front lawn. Anyway, I would agree there's a certain kind of "style" to managing people in a manner that brings out more of the good than the bad. One of my best friends is a manager for Red Lobster and his crews love him. But he is no pushover. He will fire someone on the spot if he feels it is justified. I've seen him do it too. I guess the trick to his employees liking him is that he usually has a very positive attitude, jokes around a lot and also busts his ass getting work done. His crews never see him lounging around or anything like that (not that his job gives him any opportunity to do so anyway). He just has some kind of knack for positively motivating people. I've read up a bit about "Total Quality Management." The first time I heard about this was when my father was going through Marine Corps officer's candidate school (he made Gunnery Sergeant before going LDO). This was something the Marine Corps picked up from parts of the corporate world to get things done more efficiently. Anyway the basic core to TQM is to manage employees in a positive and respectful manner, but do so in a manner that you get the same kind of positive attitude and respect in turn.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 01-10-2005 02:45 AM                     ..sounds like the guy doesn't like his job in the first place. He needs to find a new, or better one. He's wasting his time there and wasting your time with him. He's a liability to your theatre. (Or, he does like the job, yet loves to whine to get attention that the world is not going his way and wants a shoulder to bitch and slobber on..which could be what's going on and he's fooling you with this just to get your sympathy...) We get that some of the time as well-emplyees griping about the work, don't like to be told what to do..et.al. Manager calls them in and tells them how the bull shits in the woods: either do the work, or go find something else. "For we DIDN't call you up to come work for us. You CAME to us, filled an application, and was hired for work and agreed on the operational policies when you were hired."  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 01-10-2005 05:43 AM                     Randy, that mp3 does not play on my Winamp. Did you do something funky to the file? (I've yet to find something that wouldn't play.)  |  IP: Logged Thomas Procyk Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1842 From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 01-10-2005 07:20 AM                     Mine plays in Quicktime. Phone messages are fun. I can't believe some people are SO STUPID as to leave threats on answering machine messages. HELLO! You are being RECORDED!! I always love it on The People's Court when someone is accused of a threat and they swear up and down that it never happened in a million years... and then they play an answering machine tape. That kind of message would freak me out, too. But there IS a difference between "Somebody's going to pop you" and "I'm going to kill you." Of course, he could have said it in a less threatening manner like, "If you don't quit nagging people, somebody's going to have a problem with you." Then again, we're all being spoon-fed the details as this unfolds so maybe we'll never know the real situation. =TMP=  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-10-2005 11:48 AM                     The message will play back in QuickTime. That was what I made it with. Just because you mentioned it, I checked it in WMP just now. It works OK for me. Try this THIS ONE instead. (It's a .WAV instead of a .MP3) [ 01-10-2005, 05:03 PM: Message edited by: Brad Miller ]  |  IP: Logged Dominic Espinosa Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1172 From: California, U.S.A. Registered: Jan 2004 posted 01-11-2005 03:08 PM                     As a general employee I've had my fair share of dissagreements, arguments, and threats from coworkers and managers. Some of them were my fault, others were not. In most cases someone didn't like the fact that I wouldn't "cut them some slack" and break a policy or law for them. A lot of the time, younger people run into issues with older ones not wanting to accept that this "kid" might be right. Shortly before leaving Wallace I got into an argument with the GM about my replacement. I'd trained a perfectly good replacement but he insisted upon hiring a former UA employee who I'd recieved many a print from and visited his booth many times to find disasters and trashed film. The same thing happens when you're suddenly in charge of someone who's been there before you or been in the industry longer, etc. In the case of friction with a subordinate the most effective thing to do is just ask nicely. If that wont work then it's time to have a sit down, writeup, and termination in that order if the problem persists. Unless of course your hands are tied and your boss won't let you do your job. I've been there. It's not fun. Though I think too much is being made of this guys remark, "someone will pop you".A lot of people from earlier generations talk like that. They're from the generation when it would still be okay to spank your kid. Sometimes the remark is completely benign. Of course reminding is fine if it needs to be done. The projectionist who works under me disslikes the fact that I'm constantly on top of things. And the lazy ones always do. Good luck, Richard.  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-11-2005 03:55 PM                     There's a line that shouldn't be crossed. Everybody says things to the effect of, "I'm going to kill you." but everybody KNOWS it's just a figure of speech. It's all a matter of context. Did somebody say that while playing a game of football? Or, did he say it at work when you just asked him to clean out the Fry-O-Lator? Older folks often say things that wouldn't be said nowadays. Yes. But there's often an undertone to the statement, "Somebody's going to pop you one..." The unspoken ending to that sentence is usually, "...and that somebody is going to be ME!" People are a lot more tolerant of others they know well. If there is somebody I know well enough they can virtually say, "F*ck You!", right to my face but I wouln't think anything of it. However, Richard doesn't know the other guy well enough (Only a few weeks.) and he's viewed as an "outsider" and a slacker by virtually everybody Richard knows. I think this guy crossed the line. He didn't cross it by very much, in my opinion. That's why I said I would have cronfronted him right there. Basically, I would give him a chance to retract the statement. When I got that message, I sat at my desk for several minutes thinking about whether the guy who made it was joking. My final decision was, "It doesn't matter.", because he went so FAR over the line. This guy that works with Richard is on his way out. His behavior is going to get worse and worse until the boss is virtually forced to fire him. It's only a matter of time.  |  IP: Logged Jason M Miller Master Film Handler Posts: 284 From: Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA Registered: Jul 2004 posted 01-11-2005 09:28 PM                     If employees are clocking out early w/o your permission, tell them if they do it again they ought to leave and not come back  |  IP: Logged Richard Greco Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1180 From: Plant City, FL Registered: Nov 2003 posted 01-14-2005 11:18 AM                     An update: This past sunday he clocked in and my boss saw him at the marquee with his car like 15 mins later. He just drove away and never came back.  |  IP: Logged Justin West Master Film Handler Posts: 271 From: Peoria, IL, USA Registered: Jul 2001 posted 01-14-2005 11:35 AM                     Hmmm, problem solved? It would appear so...hope things go smoother for you, RG!  |  IP: Logged Thomas Procyk Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1842 From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 01-14-2005 02:50 PM                     ....not if he was going someplace to arrange for the "popping" Which reminds me, but it's too late now: When he said someone is going to "pop" you, you should have said right to his face, "You can't even pop a bag of popcorn right so what makes you think you're going to pop ANYTHING around here?!?!" =TMP=  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-14-2005 07:25 PM                     As the famous poem goes: Backward! Turn backward O Time in thy flight. I thought of a comeback I needed last night!  |  IP: Logged Phil Hill I love my cootie bug Posts: 7595 From: Hollywood, CA USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 01-14-2005 08:32 PM                  But then again my friend, I meant to offend. If you think that is wrong, Then don't go sing a song. But a suggestion would be, Go fuck yourself, you see?  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-14-2005 10:51 PM                     Be careful what you say, now! Somebody might POP you one!  |  IP: Logged

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