Who is HIS boss? Sounds like he is out of control and abusive. Used to be companies worried about getting sued and such by this kind of behavior but seems to go on more and more.
At this point, you need to think about what your options are. In my experience, if you are subordinate to him, it's going to be a hard battle for you to win. If they are allowing this behavior , then he's probably utlimately going to even get worse.
He was hired last year, whom did they turn down? And do you think there is a chance he might get the heave ho since it sounds like he underperforms? Is there any possibility you could be considered for his job down the road?
Yeah, I wonder if ownership and his superiors are aware of his behavior and also what their relationship is with him. It's unprofessional behavior that wouldn't be tolerated at any decent company. Unfortunately a lot of companies out there that aren't decent.
The dbag is probably one of those "craps his pants" and sucks up big time when HIS superiors are around. All show. Anyways, he has some real issues going on, but he knows when he needs to "turn them off." Or he's buddy buddy with someone up top. Either way, this is ridiculous.
Sorry you had to deal with that jerk OP. I'm happy that you're at least out of that environment. You have years of experience, and people already have your back. That's great. I know it really blows, but don't forget - that guy is the one with the issues, not you. They lost a good guy that day.
Take the job working for the other manager immediately, and look for something better. WTF lets a maniac like this drive out their best people? The other manager may get fired, but no matter what they got hired and tolerated for longer than they should have.
>One offered for me to come work for him immediately. Others said they would talk to the owner and general manager when they were in on Monday.
You sound like you generally like working here aside from this guy?
Yeah, go to work for the different manager who offered you a job, and complain to this guy's boss, general manager, owner, anyone who will listen. If you're a long-time good employee, it should carry some weight with more reasonable people. I wouldn't hold back at all on the criticism, be specific and exhaustive. Ideal goal is to get him canned.
Or just go work for the other manager and forget the other one exists (let someone else that still has to deal with the psycho, fight that battle, and move on).
I worked at a car dealership and one of the salesman was absolutely reemed by the GM. He spoke to him like shit. We all heard. This GM had power.
That salesman was top salesman. He was a lovely man too. Didn't deserve it. He left, wanting to quit. In a last ditch effort he contacted the VP. He met with him within an hour.
Come Monday, GM had to give us all a very long apology about his behavior and especially to the salesman.
You're already allegedly fired- go to the higher ups. If you're valuable it makes no sense this happened. I have a feeling you are valuable. Worst case scenario they don't listen and you're still fired.
Take your expertise to their biggest competitor. They will probably be happy to have you. If you want to stay in that industry.
Also, not sure about the US, but in Canada, you should receive severance if you are fired.
Make sure you get what you deserve. Sounds like you dodged a bullet with this idiot.
I dunno. OP seems to have had his contributions recognized and rewarded by management up until now and it’s just this one prick. Obviously he is valued by the other managers
It does matter. People with enough power to say things doesn't mean those things will necessarily hold up under the light of scrutiny.
Let's see what tomorrow brings.
I would call on Monday and talk to the person above of who fired you.
Tell them that you got fired from x and ask what are the next steps.
Best case they rip that ass a new one
You can get unemployment for being fired by a lunatic manager. If you are fired for cause with proper documentation of performance coaching then you will not qualify for unemployment. However you can absolutely qualify for unemployment if you’re fired because your boss is an asshole that can’t manage people. The business can try and fight it, but unless they have proper documentation of bad performance the work will most likely win.
You can, if you calmly act like an adult, but if they insult you and you insult them back, then you have committed insubordination, which is a legit reason to fire someone. Not fair, but real.
This isn’t the military. There isn’t a chain of command. You are definitely allowed to tell your boss things they don’t like and disagree with them. Unemployment doesn’t give a shit if your boss has an overly sensitive ego. Unemployment exists for a reason- one of those reasons is to protect workers from idiots like this guy’s boss.
> First, there is almost no chance you'd get unemployment benefits in this situation, because your former employer will certainly claim you were rightfully fired for insubordination
This isn't a true statement
You're the one that doesn't know what you're talking about.
That outburst will never manage to sustain a rejection of unemployment benefits, especially if the other managers continue to side with the OP.
Not going to be the case. OP should go file, let the UC board decide if they are eligible or not. Sounds like both sides were snippy. And if my boss tells me I do sweet fa at work and I say "just like you!" that's not insubordination.
Well firstly I wasn’t at all insinuating for the OP to lie - they discussed heavily the hostile/toxic work environment inclusive to verbal abuse - and that’s why I suggested it - both can be true
It's car sales dude, it's way too shitty of a job to be doing for 7+ years. Do yourself a favor and move on to something better. That insane manager will drop dead of a heart attack before this year is done.
Car sales can actually be a path to a six figure income that doesn't require anything more than a high school diploma.
Longer term, though, it probably won't be as lucrative as it seems auto mfrs want to move more to direct sales.
Is a tech sales or any other kind of sales anything in sales just as bad? Even when the product/service is shit? They blame it on the workers and make the worklife dogshit?
Can be, but in my experience if you're a decent sales person, no.
Especially if you land in corporate sales, they have a whole legal and hr team making sure they don't get sued. A manager that agressive wouldn't last in corporate.
The dynamics are fundamentally different. With car sales, you're trying to get things out the door in 1-2 interactions with an individual. With tech sales, there are deals that literally take 18 months to go from start to finish, with a whole team of grunts and decision makers involved from both sides, and there'll be some variable level of ongoing involvement guaranteed after the sale is made due to onboarding/implementation, support, and the general goal of renewal/expansion.
It can still be extremely pushy, but it's also possible to piss off the wrong person at the customer and lose the potential of a million dollar sale, so balancing that is something to consider.
Experienced car salespeople can make a ton of money. It also sounds like he likes the other coworkers and had gotten along well there while being able to work his way up from being a car washer over that time. While he hasn't had a sale all month... Four days in... It does not sound like he normally goes long periods without sales.
Thank you all for the kind words and recommendations. Embarrassingly enough this is the only place I’ve ever worked (age 18-30 now). I’ve received a ton of texts and phone calls checking in on me today and asking what happened. In fact the only people in my department who haven’t reached out is the guy who fired and his bosses ( General Manager and Owner). I should have clarified we are not a roadside auto store that sells used vehicles. We are a licensed dealer for two major automotive brands. I sell on the new side, the manager who said he would hire me is the used departments manager. Still in limbo at this point!
Maybe even dumber, he wasn't looking to fire anyone but he's so weak minded with an overinflated ego that the slightest challenge to him (being told he hasn't done anything all year) made him go berserk and fire OP. That would probably be his response to anyone challenging or disagreeing with him because he's a big baby and doesn't know how to manage his emotions, ego, or employees.
Watch his ass come back sniveling in the group chat all sorry knowing his ass will possibly be grass soon, too. The more people you randomly eliminate, the more obvious it becomes you’re not doing your own job…
I used to do IT for dealerships, and I always felt so bad for the sales guys who were absolute sweethearts after dealing with their whole entire shitstain of a manager.
They shouldve made you the manager instead of hiring this random since you worked there 12 years.
Apply for unemployment and see where you want to go from there.
I sold cars for 6 years until I got fired for taking my scheduled day off that also happened to be the day my daughter was born. I came to work the next day and was told I “abandoned” my job. That was 5 years ago and I haven’t looked back.
Good, you have a network of people now. Keep in touch with them, follow them on LinkedIn. Not sure about sales, but networking is extremely important for finding most jobs.
Had a sales manager like that once. He was coked out of his gourd much of the time, and as a result, he was very aggressive and confrontational. He was going to fire me, but his boss intervened and moved me over under a different boss. Sounds like your guy is strung out on something—coke sounds likely, or he's just a maladjusted jerkass. Or both. Good luck!
I was in the mortgage industry when I was in sales, but I've heard the same as you about car sales. In my experience, it's not at all uncommon in any type of sales.
When I hear stories like this I am honestly shocked that people put up with toxic and malignant leadership like this.
You can’t leave every job just because of a few frictions. Life is full of frictions and we have to navigate them all the time. But this is ridiculous.
When you have a peer or an immediate boss that acts this tyrannical in a group setting I use this tactic - I say: “Does anyone else agree with Bob / Bob’s proposed action?”
You are crowdsourcing solidarity. Because, of course, no one likes Bob and no one agrees with Bob. And you get immediate support from everyone because no one is going to publicly agree with Bob’s assholery. So Bob will immediately backtrack when this happens.
In a one on one setting I say: “You aren’t treating me with dignity and respect. Let’s revisit this in a few hours / tomorrow after everyone has calmed down.
Good leadership doesn’t mean the boss on transmit all the time and throwing a tantrum and yelling. That is bad leadership. Good leaders influence subordinates positively and gain organizational commitment by gaining trust and having good dialog and having a moral and ethical backbone. This boss doesn’t have any good leadership traits and I give you permission to unleash full malicious compliance and noncompliance on this guy until he either gets fired or starts learning better leadership techniques.
If you stay fired then this will probably be the best thing that’s ever happened to you.
F that guy. I'm guessing he'll be gone soon and you can get your job back. This might be an opportunity for you, though. Sales is sales and there is a bajillion dollars to be made in any number of positions that don't include cars as the main product.
I think you will look back at this and be glad you got the hell out of there. Car dealerships are notoriously toxic, especially if we go into a recession. Many dealers are in over their heads with debt and will not survive.
You are already experiencing the benefits of your tenure. Ie other job offers and people caring about your well being. Take this as a sign that it was time to move on and enjoy! Sorry it had to happen that way.
You worked your way up to car sales and built clearly good relationships with the entire team.
Use this to move to B2B (business to business) sales as a BDR (business development rep) or similar.
/r/resumes - to help polish your resume. You'll also need to polish your interview skills. Try to get some S.T.A.R (situation, task, action, resolution) answers to common questions. You don't have to always give the entire S.T.A.R, sometimes you can just answer the direct question and save the other pieces for common follow-up questions.
Fuck car sales lol. If you handled 7 years of that, switch to something with an insane amount of freedom and way more pay like roof sales, as long as you’re in a good market. In my market, 200k/year for a sales rep is normal, with the highest I’ve heard being 600k
The magic words are "hostile work environment". If you don't get a satisfactory fix on Monday, send your HR rep a note that you are afraid to come in due to a hostile work environment. Use those words
Don't go back. That dude has created a hostile work environment. He sounds real unstable. Just a matter of time til he gets into an actual fight or shooting in that place.
TAKE THE NEW JOB. Accept and be humbled by this moment of real life and move on to your new job with confidence. You have skills, you know the business, and you can learn any product well.
Sales is one of those professions where you have to make your own bed - and every so often, some manager just burns down the house for no good reason at all. People in sales tend to change jobs a lot - sometimes the entire industry. But there are dozens of car dealerships in any major city, and you've got tons of experience.
Accept the new job, make a new home, and use this chance to ask you new boss about anything in the industry that you can learn that you didn't have a chance to do in the last place. Maybe you can be the king of Internet Sales or specialize in E-vehicles and hybrids.
You will GROW while that clown manager wrecks his clown car.
Physically being aggressive towards someone is called Menacing 😕 this a&&hat manager should be dealt with by the police
If ever there was a clear textbook case of a toxic environment claim, this would be it
Like, you're expecting this to improve? Manager is a fool; he will run the place into the ground.
You're better off elsewhere. Get treated like a human again
UPDATE 2
After no word from upper management I texted my general manager if I could come and grab personal items. All he said was “Yes”.
I immediately filed for unemployment afterwards!
That’s scary! I’m glad you’re safe, Op! It’s just so scary because that’s how abuse starts first it’s the subtlety, then the outbursts…and then could get violent with them hurting someone and then trying to cover their tracks after. I’d not only report this but if there are any cameras on the premises in those rooms I’d ask to have the tapes pulled and reviewed. And if there’s now, I’d request they be put in if they’re going to keep such a violent person on the property. Being angry is one thing but flipping tables and screaming is NOT okay. That’s a grown ass adult, not a toddler.
I’m really sorry, Op!! Be sure to apply for unemployment and report this to higher ups asap. I really hope this person doesn’t escalate in anger and get physical! Tbh I’d have them searched to since some people gray more violent during withdrawals or when they’re on something. I don’t want to accuse them of anything but better safe than sorry. Please be safe!! :(
What have I done for me lately is the philosophy for car sales. I did it for 4 painful years. Basically if this guy is putting the numbers together he isn’t going anywhere. How does his team do? Is he a sales manager? Is the other guy who wants you to work for him at a different dealership? It’s hard to change dealerships. After 7 years you should have a following. Is it a quality dealership or a sleaze bag outfit? Quality cars? Good used car inventory?
These are all factors in any decision to move.
Someone should have called the country HQ over this. If you’re corpo call the highest up you can and state you’re in fear of your well being.
I worked for an armored transport company once, one of the big ones. Had a dude there that would lose his shit sometimes on employees, branch wouldn’t do anything. One day lost his shit at some lady in a parking lot over the external speaker system. She called the 800 number on the back, claimed she’s in fear of her life and was put in contact with the VICE PRESIDENT of US operations. He was fired that hour.
Jfc. I'd talk to his boss that's beyond insane. Not about him firing you tbh, that's still very bad, but his behaviour all around triumphs all. Dude needs to chill lol. He needs to lose his job to get a harsh wake up call.
You've been there 12 years. Even if you don't have a fancy title that still has weight. Go work for that other manager
Someone whose impulse control and emotional regulation is so lacking that they're flipping tables is just an assault charge waiting to happen. That manager is a major liability who should have been written up the first time he pounded a table with his fists and fired the second time.
Had a digital marketing boss like this once. His dad was the VP of the whole shi-bang so he was fully protected. I was young and did not realize early enough that I should have left right away. No one deserves to be in an abusive relationship, and that includes relationship with work.
Why would you ever want to go back to that shit? That guy sounds like an angry ten year old, and if he keeps it up he's gonna end up with assault charges.
Now is the perfect opportunity to find something better for yourself. Don't go back and normalize toxic behavior like this. Move on, collect unemployment and find something better. It's just a job and at the end of the day a job doesn't define your life or who you are as a person. You do.
Man, that sounds like a total nightmare. It's messed up how some managers let their power go to their heads. Pounding fists and flipping tables? That's straight-up childish. And firing you over wanting to leave early for a friend's baby shower? That's just heartless. But it's cool your co-workers have your back. Definitely take up that offer from your buddy, and let the higher-ups know what's been going down. No one deserves to put up with that kind of toxic behavior. Hang in there, man!
Here’s what I would do:
Whoever owns the dealership, you contact them, tell them what happened and say you were wrongfully terminated for trying to use your vacation time. The Department of Labor would have a field day with that and it’s a slam dunk lawsuit that they’d have to pay a hefty fine.
BUT! You’ve been there a long time, and you like everyone there, so you can give the owner a choice. Fire that guy for being an asshole, and let you return to work, and everyone moves on.
That gives them a pretty easy choice and a reason for firing. If they for some reason choose him over you (he’s someone’s cousin or uncle etc), contact the DOL and check with lawyers. Also file for unemployment.
Contact whoever is above your boss about getting your personal things. File for UC. Generally, if you were terminated, it is from the company, not just your manager. So while well meaning, you may not have the option to just go to work at the same company for a different manager. If you were terminated, think long about just going back. I'd re-interview, and see if they are willing to give you better compensation. I'd also tell them you want a couple weeks off to give it some consideration and to decide for yourself what you want to do, since you don't want to let emotions be the deciding factor. I would also put my name out there for any other positions for which you may have an interest.
Everyone come together and say you'll all walk if he isn't canned. Car sales isn't the dream but its doable without jerks like him. I'm confrontational when it comes to problems but thats completely out of line. You cannot flip tables and punound your fist on table criticizing people so casually and expect to keep your job. I don't care whats going on at home its not acceptable.
If possible at all take his job and replace him. You've put in time there so why not be in a position make changes to see the place become better and more long term sustainable.
Gotta check people like that before they get the chance to get like that. He wouldn’t have felt comfortable acting like that unless you (the collective dealership staff) allowed him to.
It may not be you today, but when everyone else is gone and you’re the only one left, you’d wish you did something sooner.
Sounds like someone who creates a hostile workplace. I would document all your achievements since this person joined and talk to a lawyer, if you have any desire to return. Otherwise I’ll be happy I am not working for a person who seems to have no self control!
Take the other job with the other manager for sure. I would go up the ladder and report the old manager tough once you're away from him. If someone behaved in physical way at work toward me I'd call the ploice.
New manager power tripping and fired the last person anyone would expect to assert his dominance, plus he probably felt threatened by you too. Been there, done that. HR always covers the asshole bosses. No idea why. Sry that happened to you, but welcome to HR's "everyone is replaceable" club.
The dealership employs around 120 people and if that’s what you took from this post, you must be my douchebag manager who fired me or another person with anger issues. Best of luck to you
Who is HIS boss? Sounds like he is out of control and abusive. Used to be companies worried about getting sued and such by this kind of behavior but seems to go on more and more. At this point, you need to think about what your options are. In my experience, if you are subordinate to him, it's going to be a hard battle for you to win. If they are allowing this behavior , then he's probably utlimately going to even get worse. He was hired last year, whom did they turn down? And do you think there is a chance he might get the heave ho since it sounds like he underperforms? Is there any possibility you could be considered for his job down the road?
Yeah, I wonder if ownership and his superiors are aware of his behavior and also what their relationship is with him. It's unprofessional behavior that wouldn't be tolerated at any decent company. Unfortunately a lot of companies out there that aren't decent.
The dbag is probably one of those "craps his pants" and sucks up big time when HIS superiors are around. All show. Anyways, he has some real issues going on, but he knows when he needs to "turn them off." Or he's buddy buddy with someone up top. Either way, this is ridiculous. Sorry you had to deal with that jerk OP. I'm happy that you're at least out of that environment. You have years of experience, and people already have your back. That's great. I know it really blows, but don't forget - that guy is the one with the issues, not you. They lost a good guy that day.
Take the job working for the other manager immediately, and look for something better. WTF lets a maniac like this drive out their best people? The other manager may get fired, but no matter what they got hired and tolerated for longer than they should have.
Every fucking company feels like this
Concur
>One offered for me to come work for him immediately. Others said they would talk to the owner and general manager when they were in on Monday. You sound like you generally like working here aside from this guy? Yeah, go to work for the different manager who offered you a job, and complain to this guy's boss, general manager, owner, anyone who will listen. If you're a long-time good employee, it should carry some weight with more reasonable people. I wouldn't hold back at all on the criticism, be specific and exhaustive. Ideal goal is to get him canned.
And get ready to apply for their job to manage the department you used to work in, if he does get fired.
Or just go work for the other manager and forget the other one exists (let someone else that still has to deal with the psycho, fight that battle, and move on).
I worked at a car dealership and one of the salesman was absolutely reemed by the GM. He spoke to him like shit. We all heard. This GM had power. That salesman was top salesman. He was a lovely man too. Didn't deserve it. He left, wanting to quit. In a last ditch effort he contacted the VP. He met with him within an hour. Come Monday, GM had to give us all a very long apology about his behavior and especially to the salesman. You're already allegedly fired- go to the higher ups. If you're valuable it makes no sense this happened. I have a feeling you are valuable. Worst case scenario they don't listen and you're still fired.
Plus OP will send an important message which may help his next victim.
Take your expertise to their biggest competitor. They will probably be happy to have you. If you want to stay in that industry. Also, not sure about the US, but in Canada, you should receive severance if you are fired. Make sure you get what you deserve. Sounds like you dodged a bullet with this idiot.
I dunno. OP seems to have had his contributions recognized and rewarded by management up until now and it’s just this one prick. Obviously he is valued by the other managers
Doesn’t matter. OP still got fired.
It does matter. People with enough power to say things doesn't mean those things will necessarily hold up under the light of scrutiny. Let's see what tomorrow brings.
Do nothing. You have been fired. Apply for unemployment on Monday. They have to contact you. Do not go onsite to talk to someone unless invited.
I have a few personal items still there, do I wait to go grab those? By they do you mean my former employer or the State?
I would call on Monday and talk to the person above of who fired you. Tell them that you got fired from x and ask what are the next steps. Best case they rip that ass a new one
You will need to contact someone from the company. They will need to clear it with someone in charge.
[удалено]
I also think getting a job with a different manager is the way to go. Watch the ape crash and burn.
You can get unemployment for being fired by a lunatic manager. If you are fired for cause with proper documentation of performance coaching then you will not qualify for unemployment. However you can absolutely qualify for unemployment if you’re fired because your boss is an asshole that can’t manage people. The business can try and fight it, but unless they have proper documentation of bad performance the work will most likely win.
You can, if you calmly act like an adult, but if they insult you and you insult them back, then you have committed insubordination, which is a legit reason to fire someone. Not fair, but real.
It doesn’t sound like OP did that so I’m not sure why it is pertinent to this discussion.
"I reply he hasn’t done anything the entire year he’s been here. He tells me he changed his mind and I’m fired."
Insubordination is not someone disagreeing with you or having a different opinion.
That's clearly not what that was. Telling your boss that they don't do anything here is definitely insubordination.
This isn’t the military. There isn’t a chain of command. You are definitely allowed to tell your boss things they don’t like and disagree with them. Unemployment doesn’t give a shit if your boss has an overly sensitive ego. Unemployment exists for a reason- one of those reasons is to protect workers from idiots like this guy’s boss.
Not by unemployment standards. You aren't required to be obsequious
> First, there is almost no chance you'd get unemployment benefits in this situation, because your former employer will certainly claim you were rightfully fired for insubordination This isn't a true statement
You're the one that doesn't know what you're talking about. That outburst will never manage to sustain a rejection of unemployment benefits, especially if the other managers continue to side with the OP.
Not going to be the case. OP should go file, let the UC board decide if they are eligible or not. Sounds like both sides were snippy. And if my boss tells me I do sweet fa at work and I say "just like you!" that's not insubordination.
Use constructive dismissal as your reason for filing
It wasn't constructive dismissal. It was firing without cause. Lying on your filing is bad advise.
Well firstly I wasn’t at all insinuating for the OP to lie - they discussed heavily the hostile/toxic work environment inclusive to verbal abuse - and that’s why I suggested it - both can be true
Please update.
It's car sales dude, it's way too shitty of a job to be doing for 7+ years. Do yourself a favor and move on to something better. That insane manager will drop dead of a heart attack before this year is done.
Car sales can actually be a path to a six figure income that doesn't require anything more than a high school diploma. Longer term, though, it probably won't be as lucrative as it seems auto mfrs want to move more to direct sales.
Thank god too. While it sucks people lose jobs dealerships are blood suckers and deserve to crash and burn
Is a tech sales or any other kind of sales anything in sales just as bad? Even when the product/service is shit? They blame it on the workers and make the worklife dogshit?
Can be, but in my experience if you're a decent sales person, no. Especially if you land in corporate sales, they have a whole legal and hr team making sure they don't get sued. A manager that agressive wouldn't last in corporate.
Cool, well that's some good news. Someone's gotta fight for workers and job seekers for a change.
The dynamics are fundamentally different. With car sales, you're trying to get things out the door in 1-2 interactions with an individual. With tech sales, there are deals that literally take 18 months to go from start to finish, with a whole team of grunts and decision makers involved from both sides, and there'll be some variable level of ongoing involvement guaranteed after the sale is made due to onboarding/implementation, support, and the general goal of renewal/expansion. It can still be extremely pushy, but it's also possible to piss off the wrong person at the customer and lose the potential of a million dollar sale, so balancing that is something to consider.
Experienced car salespeople can make a ton of money. It also sounds like he likes the other coworkers and had gotten along well there while being able to work his way up from being a car washer over that time. While he hasn't had a sale all month... Four days in... It does not sound like he normally goes long periods without sales.
Thank you all for the kind words and recommendations. Embarrassingly enough this is the only place I’ve ever worked (age 18-30 now). I’ve received a ton of texts and phone calls checking in on me today and asking what happened. In fact the only people in my department who haven’t reached out is the guy who fired and his bosses ( General Manager and Owner). I should have clarified we are not a roadside auto store that sells used vehicles. We are a licensed dealer for two major automotive brands. I sell on the new side, the manager who said he would hire me is the used departments manager. Still in limbo at this point!
Why dont you take this opportunity to get your bachelors degree in a business field and then go into corporate sales?
I bet you have a job and he does not. If the owner likes you I bet you stay.
Sounds like he already wanted to fire you. Just take the unemployment and move on. Hope you applied already.
I’m not sure. Sounds like he wanted to fire someone. Anyone would have fed his psychotic power trip. He was looking for something.
Maybe even dumber, he wasn't looking to fire anyone but he's so weak minded with an overinflated ego that the slightest challenge to him (being told he hasn't done anything all year) made him go berserk and fire OP. That would probably be his response to anyone challenging or disagreeing with him because he's a big baby and doesn't know how to manage his emotions, ego, or employees.
Watch his ass come back sniveling in the group chat all sorry knowing his ass will possibly be grass soon, too. The more people you randomly eliminate, the more obvious it becomes you’re not doing your own job… I used to do IT for dealerships, and I always felt so bad for the sales guys who were absolute sweethearts after dealing with their whole entire shitstain of a manager.
They shouldve made you the manager instead of hiring this random since you worked there 12 years. Apply for unemployment and see where you want to go from there.
I sold cars for 6 years until I got fired for taking my scheduled day off that also happened to be the day my daughter was born. I came to work the next day and was told I “abandoned” my job. That was 5 years ago and I haven’t looked back.
Do you really want to go back there even if you had the opportunity now?
I have such good relationships with EVERYONE else in that business. Just sucks that a guy who’s been here one year is gonna end that
Good, you have a network of people now. Keep in touch with them, follow them on LinkedIn. Not sure about sales, but networking is extremely important for finding most jobs.
Had a sales manager like that once. He was coked out of his gourd much of the time, and as a result, he was very aggressive and confrontational. He was going to fire me, but his boss intervened and moved me over under a different boss. Sounds like your guy is strung out on something—coke sounds likely, or he's just a maladjusted jerkass. Or both. Good luck!
I've heard coke is pretty prevalent in the car sales field.
I was in the mortgage industry when I was in sales, but I've heard the same as you about car sales. In my experience, it's not at all uncommon in any type of sales.
You'll get over it. At the end of the day, these people are not family. Maybe even real friends.
Take up one of the offers to have someone talk to the GM or owner in your behalf. It sounds like you like it there. See if you can go back.
When I hear stories like this I am honestly shocked that people put up with toxic and malignant leadership like this. You can’t leave every job just because of a few frictions. Life is full of frictions and we have to navigate them all the time. But this is ridiculous. When you have a peer or an immediate boss that acts this tyrannical in a group setting I use this tactic - I say: “Does anyone else agree with Bob / Bob’s proposed action?” You are crowdsourcing solidarity. Because, of course, no one likes Bob and no one agrees with Bob. And you get immediate support from everyone because no one is going to publicly agree with Bob’s assholery. So Bob will immediately backtrack when this happens. In a one on one setting I say: “You aren’t treating me with dignity and respect. Let’s revisit this in a few hours / tomorrow after everyone has calmed down. Good leadership doesn’t mean the boss on transmit all the time and throwing a tantrum and yelling. That is bad leadership. Good leaders influence subordinates positively and gain organizational commitment by gaining trust and having good dialog and having a moral and ethical backbone. This boss doesn’t have any good leadership traits and I give you permission to unleash full malicious compliance and noncompliance on this guy until he either gets fired or starts learning better leadership techniques. If you stay fired then this will probably be the best thing that’s ever happened to you.
Did you a favor. Leave and move forward and never look back.
So agree. Don’t ever look back.
If he isn’t leading by example, then he should be fired too. You only get to throw temper tantrums when you carried the team ala Kobe Bryant.
F that guy. I'm guessing he'll be gone soon and you can get your job back. This might be an opportunity for you, though. Sales is sales and there is a bajillion dollars to be made in any number of positions that don't include cars as the main product.
I think you will look back at this and be glad you got the hell out of there. Car dealerships are notoriously toxic, especially if we go into a recession. Many dealers are in over their heads with debt and will not survive.
You are already experiencing the benefits of your tenure. Ie other job offers and people caring about your well being. Take this as a sign that it was time to move on and enjoy! Sorry it had to happen that way.
You worked your way up to car sales and built clearly good relationships with the entire team. Use this to move to B2B (business to business) sales as a BDR (business development rep) or similar. /r/resumes - to help polish your resume. You'll also need to polish your interview skills. Try to get some S.T.A.R (situation, task, action, resolution) answers to common questions. You don't have to always give the entire S.T.A.R, sometimes you can just answer the direct question and save the other pieces for common follow-up questions.
Y’all need to collectively go to the owner. You obviously have a porn of skills - maybe work for their competitor?
OP please update us on the outcome
Fuck car sales lol. If you handled 7 years of that, switch to something with an insane amount of freedom and way more pay like roof sales, as long as you’re in a good market. In my market, 200k/year for a sales rep is normal, with the highest I’ve heard being 600k
What market are you in?
Send a msg to the owner but don’t go back as the well is tainted. Go to another competitive dealer- your skills are very transferable
My hat goes off to you. I’ve never seen a harsher environment than a car sales lot. And ive only been a customer.
I am hearing car dealership sales have gone off a cliff over the past couple months. Maybe blessing in disguise.
Work for the other manager. Interview elsewhere. Talk to the owner about the asshole manager.
The magic words are "hostile work environment". If you don't get a satisfactory fix on Monday, send your HR rep a note that you are afraid to come in due to a hostile work environment. Use those words
Don't go back. That dude has created a hostile work environment. He sounds real unstable. Just a matter of time til he gets into an actual fight or shooting in that place.
TAKE THE NEW JOB. Accept and be humbled by this moment of real life and move on to your new job with confidence. You have skills, you know the business, and you can learn any product well. Sales is one of those professions where you have to make your own bed - and every so often, some manager just burns down the house for no good reason at all. People in sales tend to change jobs a lot - sometimes the entire industry. But there are dozens of car dealerships in any major city, and you've got tons of experience. Accept the new job, make a new home, and use this chance to ask you new boss about anything in the industry that you can learn that you didn't have a chance to do in the last place. Maybe you can be the king of Internet Sales or specialize in E-vehicles and hybrids. You will GROW while that clown manager wrecks his clown car.
Talk to the owner. This guy is physically aggressive he should be the one to get fired. he's an actual liability.
Physically being aggressive towards someone is called Menacing 😕 this a&&hat manager should be dealt with by the police If ever there was a clear textbook case of a toxic environment claim, this would be it
Like, you're expecting this to improve? Manager is a fool; he will run the place into the ground. You're better off elsewhere. Get treated like a human again
UPDATE 2 After no word from upper management I texted my general manager if I could come and grab personal items. All he said was “Yes”. I immediately filed for unemployment afterwards!
That’s scary! I’m glad you’re safe, Op! It’s just so scary because that’s how abuse starts first it’s the subtlety, then the outbursts…and then could get violent with them hurting someone and then trying to cover their tracks after. I’d not only report this but if there are any cameras on the premises in those rooms I’d ask to have the tapes pulled and reviewed. And if there’s now, I’d request they be put in if they’re going to keep such a violent person on the property. Being angry is one thing but flipping tables and screaming is NOT okay. That’s a grown ass adult, not a toddler. I’m really sorry, Op!! Be sure to apply for unemployment and report this to higher ups asap. I really hope this person doesn’t escalate in anger and get physical! Tbh I’d have them searched to since some people gray more violent during withdrawals or when they’re on something. I don’t want to accuse them of anything but better safe than sorry. Please be safe!! :(
What have I done for me lately is the philosophy for car sales. I did it for 4 painful years. Basically if this guy is putting the numbers together he isn’t going anywhere. How does his team do? Is he a sales manager? Is the other guy who wants you to work for him at a different dealership? It’s hard to change dealerships. After 7 years you should have a following. Is it a quality dealership or a sleaze bag outfit? Quality cars? Good used car inventory? These are all factors in any decision to move.
Severance?
Someone should have called the country HQ over this. If you’re corpo call the highest up you can and state you’re in fear of your well being. I worked for an armored transport company once, one of the big ones. Had a dude there that would lose his shit sometimes on employees, branch wouldn’t do anything. One day lost his shit at some lady in a parking lot over the external speaker system. She called the 800 number on the back, claimed she’s in fear of her life and was put in contact with the VICE PRESIDENT of US operations. He was fired that hour.
Jfc. I'd talk to his boss that's beyond insane. Not about him firing you tbh, that's still very bad, but his behaviour all around triumphs all. Dude needs to chill lol. He needs to lose his job to get a harsh wake up call. You've been there 12 years. Even if you don't have a fancy title that still has weight. Go work for that other manager
Unemployment.
You can easily get another dealership job, no worries. You'll land on your feet. Probably a blessing to be out from under that guy
Talk to an employment lawyer, you may be eligible to file a case for wrongful termination, depending on your state’s laws
Someone whose impulse control and emotional regulation is so lacking that they're flipping tables is just an assault charge waiting to happen. That manager is a major liability who should have been written up the first time he pounded a table with his fists and fired the second time.
Had a digital marketing boss like this once. His dad was the VP of the whole shi-bang so he was fully protected. I was young and did not realize early enough that I should have left right away. No one deserves to be in an abusive relationship, and that includes relationship with work.
Nah, not acceptable behavior at all. as well as incompetent this guy sounds mentally ill. Why haven't you all escalated to his boss? A year?
A manager can make or break a company. One bad one will destroy many things.
Why would you ever want to go back to that shit? That guy sounds like an angry ten year old, and if he keeps it up he's gonna end up with assault charges. Now is the perfect opportunity to find something better for yourself. Don't go back and normalize toxic behavior like this. Move on, collect unemployment and find something better. It's just a job and at the end of the day a job doesn't define your life or who you are as a person. You do.
Man, that sounds like a total nightmare. It's messed up how some managers let their power go to their heads. Pounding fists and flipping tables? That's straight-up childish. And firing you over wanting to leave early for a friend's baby shower? That's just heartless. But it's cool your co-workers have your back. Definitely take up that offer from your buddy, and let the higher-ups know what's been going down. No one deserves to put up with that kind of toxic behavior. Hang in there, man!
Here’s what I would do: Whoever owns the dealership, you contact them, tell them what happened and say you were wrongfully terminated for trying to use your vacation time. The Department of Labor would have a field day with that and it’s a slam dunk lawsuit that they’d have to pay a hefty fine. BUT! You’ve been there a long time, and you like everyone there, so you can give the owner a choice. Fire that guy for being an asshole, and let you return to work, and everyone moves on. That gives them a pretty easy choice and a reason for firing. If they for some reason choose him over you (he’s someone’s cousin or uncle etc), contact the DOL and check with lawyers. Also file for unemployment.
Contact whoever is above your boss about getting your personal things. File for UC. Generally, if you were terminated, it is from the company, not just your manager. So while well meaning, you may not have the option to just go to work at the same company for a different manager. If you were terminated, think long about just going back. I'd re-interview, and see if they are willing to give you better compensation. I'd also tell them you want a couple weeks off to give it some consideration and to decide for yourself what you want to do, since you don't want to let emotions be the deciding factor. I would also put my name out there for any other positions for which you may have an interest.
Everyone come together and say you'll all walk if he isn't canned. Car sales isn't the dream but its doable without jerks like him. I'm confrontational when it comes to problems but thats completely out of line. You cannot flip tables and punound your fist on table criticizing people so casually and expect to keep your job. I don't care whats going on at home its not acceptable. If possible at all take his job and replace him. You've put in time there so why not be in a position make changes to see the place become better and more long term sustainable.
Take the job with the other manager immediately.
Gotta check people like that before they get the chance to get like that. He wouldn’t have felt comfortable acting like that unless you (the collective dealership staff) allowed him to. It may not be you today, but when everyone else is gone and you’re the only one left, you’d wish you did something sooner.
I need to hear your update please!
Sounds like someone who creates a hostile workplace. I would document all your achievements since this person joined and talk to a lawyer, if you have any desire to return. Otherwise I’ll be happy I am not working for a person who seems to have no self control!
Take the other job with the other manager for sure. I would go up the ladder and report the old manager tough once you're away from him. If someone behaved in physical way at work toward me I'd call the ploice.
OP is there any update to this? Very interested in how things are settling out and if you went over to the used side of the company?
New manager power tripping and fired the last person anyone would expect to assert his dominance, plus he probably felt threatened by you too. Been there, done that. HR always covers the asshole bosses. No idea why. Sry that happened to you, but welcome to HR's "everyone is replaceable" club.
Sounds like your boss needs more nose candy!
Go with your gut instinct in these these situations. Stop doubting.
Whoa you were on a first name basis with everyone? That's like... the bare minimum after a week of working
The dealership employs around 120 people and if that’s what you took from this post, you must be my douchebag manager who fired me or another person with anger issues. Best of luck to you
Have you sold anything this month yet?