Star, I don't know this lady (although I do think you got a clone of my old manager), but there is more going on here than you're catching. This is more than just a cat fight, power play, or even jealousy. That's probably going on too. But I'm guessing this manager has something going on under the table. You posed a threat to that...........OR..........she's worried someone may be catching on to her little scheme / scams, and she'd deflecting attention/ guilt onto you.
My manager hired me to work xmas temp in a major retail chain in the toy dept. Only thing I disliked about the job was having to run the cash register. It was a PITA to stop and ring up video game sales all day long when trying to stock or help customers. The job wasn't hard, I caught on fast. Fellow employees in the dept liked me cuz I can't stand to stand around and do nothing.....so I stocked if it was slow or cleaned up the dept ect, and I never called off so they knew I'd always be there when scheduled to work, and I'd cover and come in for them if they had to switch their schedule around or had something come up with one of their kids ect. husband was unemployed, we needed the money in the worst way, I wasn't going to snub my nose at more hours. Several weeks in, once I'd got the hang of most of the policies and the job itself I started noticing stuff. Manager called off at least 3 times per week, the other days she'd either be late by a couple of hours or leave early by a couple of hours. Our full time girl at the time was doing all of the managers work, because even when manager showed up........she went off shopping or chatting with her friends around the store. That was bad enough.
Then......I noticed she started marking items "damaged" and marking them down and ringing them up for herself and friends. I asked the full time girl about it because it was obvious most of the items were just fine. She said anyone who ever said anything, lost their jobs. So I kept my mouth shut. Who is going to believe a temp employee over a manager who has been there 6 yrs? Then she hires two 20 something girls for temp for xmas too. Now up until this point, all employees in the dept would "share" a till. Someone would sign it out in the morning (whoever was first in that day) and work it for the most part, but if they were busy or on break they'd leave it unlocked so the other people could still use it. Suddenly we had our tills not balancing at the end of the day. We're not talking small sums of cash here either. Every time it happened the two new girls were working. So.....common sense, we avoided letting them use the till and told the manager. Manager made it a point she couldn't stand the two new girls (she had a thing against black people), but she said she couldn't prove they did it. We still wouldn't let them near the cash register. Money still came up missing. Now we all trusted each other and knew we weren't taking the money..........FYI manager was constantly in and out of the tills. Store manager was told by the cash office what was going on, alerted store security. The new girls hadn't touched a till in 2 wks by that point. Manager blamed the new girls.......and because money had come up missing at first back when we were letting them use the till.....they got fired. Manager was happy as a lark. Until she found out we went over her head to store manager and told him we refused to share a till anymore due to it. He backed us up. If you got the till that morning you used it all day, no one else, including manager, was allowed to touch it. if you went on break.....tills were switched out and then switched back when you came back. Money stopped coming up missing.
Enter a long series of boring events of manager breaking rules and leaving her employees, especially our full time girl, high and dry and taking the blame. Full time girl sees a chance at management, we tell her to go for it as she's already doing the job. She does. Now there is no full time girl anymore, which means nothing is getting done. I need the hours, no one else wants it in the dept so I apply for it. Manager tells me no it's filled. (when no one wants it??) Turns out she wanted to give it to her friend. Union (like I said that's when I found out we had one lol ) said no way, I was senior to her and forced her to put me into the job. From then on it was war. But she didn't know she was dealing with one of the most stubborn women on earth......and I needed that money. I just smiled and did my job. It wasn't my fault the store manager caught me doing her job far too many times, I certainly didn't tell him, nor did I complain.
Then easy child was deathly sick, husband had finally by this point gotten a temp to hire job, and I couldn't leave her home alone. I called in at 5am giving them plenty of time to find someone to cover. Manager was POed (a year had passed we were back at xmas season again) Manager told me I either came in or I was fired. I was like seriously?? I'd been there a year and never missed a single day, never was late, and often came in on my days off and you're gonna fired me because my kid is sick?? I told her to take her job and shove it.
I expected that to be the end of it. I mean c'mon, it's retail for pete's sake. I knew my fellow employees would be upset because we were friends. I knew she'd have a rough time finding anyone to touch that full time position, due to dealing with her crud. But in the scope of things it was really a nothing job.
Store manager calls me. I liked to dropped the phone. Never heard of such a thing. First thought was what did the so and so try to pin on me? Nope. He wants to know what happened. So I explain trying to just give him the facts. I could've given him and ear full, but I didn't, I'd quit, it was over. My fellow employees call me begging me to come back. I said no, she'd went too far. Store manager calls me and begs me to come back, I'm offered a raise....a rather big raise. He had bawled her out and she was under investigation for the matter. I said no, while that was nice, she'd make my work even more hades because of him bringing me back and probably set me up for something. The man kept calling me......he was even going to move her out of the dept if I would come back. (at least someone was impressed with my work ethic)
That started the snowball effect. Store manager started his own investigation. He questioned the previous full time girl who was then a manager. She was so furious over what manager had pulled........she wound up telling him all the bull manager had been doing for years. Other long term dept employees followed suit, even many from other depts who up until that point were afraid to say anything. Few weeks later manager is escorted out of the store in handcuffs.
Seems she was up to far more than any one person had ever imagined, but once all the pieces were put together........well, let's just say she got a few years free room and board.
I never went back. Although there were times I missed it. I was rather shocked how things worked out.........never dreamed it would've played out like that, or even that she was up to so much illegal stuff right under so many noses and that she got away with it for years.
So, you just never know Star. You just may have opened the door to them being able to do something about this person.
