I have worked for Great Clips as a company for neary 4 years now. I have worked in 3 different locations, with 2 different owners. Never before in ANY job I have worked have I experienced such unfair, demeaning, unjustified & should be illegal treatment.
The owners own around 12 locations in the northwest suburbs of Illinois including Lake Zurich, Barrington, Fox River Grove, St. Charles, Wauconda, McHenry, Island Lake among others. I have worked in the Deer Park location, #2189, for nearly 2.5 years now, and have been the victim of unlawful & unexplained harrassment & termination, nearly forced to quit on my own terms.
Yoly, the manager of the salon that I was working at, has made a woman quit before, and I am sure it's happened before Great Clips. She has made a good friend & coworker of mine break down into tears, screamed and threatened her, demeaned her and called her names, and has also told a coworker who said her back was hurting that her back was hurting because "you're fat". She has told people to their faces that they are stupid, that they are idiots, threatened people and nearly got physical with me. This is how it all went down-in multiple situations.
The first time anything like this happened was probably about 4 months ago. Keep in mind that I have never caused any problems nor gotten written up, never once had a customer complaint and everyone in the salon will agree in that I am a pleasure to work with and I get along with everyone. All my previous employers will agree to the same fact. I was minding my own business during a slow period, having a snack in our break room (which happens to be a closet in the middle of the salon, & everyone sits down and eats or reads magazines while it is slow, there is no problem with this, even the owner has said so. The manager herself has done this before.) I finish eating, throw my stuff away, see a car pull up and go to the front desk. The customer walks in & I greet them promptly & take their information. I go to move the customer to the service part of the screen and notice that my name is not there for an option (which means I am checked out. At this time it is approximately 1 pm. & We open at 10). I say "How am I checked out" and forget about it and do my job. After the customer leaves and no other customers are in the store, I ask Yoly why I was checked out.
"Why was I check out?" I said in a normal conversation tone, not mad, nothing cuz I didnt know what happened.
Yoly says, "'Cause you take your lunch, you eat, I check you out." This woman went into my personal check out screen, checks me out, accounts for MY tip & work hours numbers herself without my knowledge or consent & then proceeds to tell me that I am on my lunch. She doesn't do this to anyone else in the store. We have a woman who eats every ten minutes and she is more than nice to her.
"When did I tell you I was on my lunch? I took that customer without delay or anything. What did I do wrong?" I ask.
"You not been taking your lunches. I check you out 'cause you're eating, so you are on your lunch." she says.
It is not sensible for me to eat my lunch at 1 pm since i work til 6 which is after dinner. I take my lunches around 3 pm usually.
I said to her, "When have I ever done that?". At this time, she was getting defensive, like I was saying something wrong by asking her about something she is wrongfully accusing me of doing. "You have done it several times & you will get in trouble for this. I don't have to tell you when." Now, I know for a a fact that I have never purposely not checked out on my lunch, I HIGHLY value my lunch time and MAKE SURE to take the full 30 minutes I am entitled to. We run a busy shop and it is nice to have those 30 minutes to rest my feet & back. I ask her if she has proof of this, and say that it is completely wrong for her to go into my personal file and check me out. "Yes I have proof here. And I am the manager, I can do what I want." she says.
"Show me the proof please. I know I did not do this."
—"No. I do not have to show you anything."
"Well, then you know I didn't do anything wrong."
—"Yes you did."
"Then show me the proof then."
—"It's not with me it's with Barb."
"You just said you had the proof here." At this point, I am takling rationally and calm, and she starts screaming.
"I dont have to show you proof, I am the manager you listen to what I say. You can't do anything about it."
A customer comes in and I mind my own business and go back to my station. She is taking the hair cut, and while she is doing that I print out a few daily sheets to have proof for myself that I am not doing this so she can't take my hours of work away from me. I am minding my own business sitting at my station highlighting the papers (for my own benefit). There are no rules in this salon regarding that. The customer leaves and she comes up to me yelling, "What are you doing?!"
"You refuse to give me proof of something you're accusing me of, so I'd like to have my own proof."
"You can't do that, those aren't your papers, those belong to me."
"These are my papers and you give them to me right now!!!"
"No, I printed out my own papers, these are mine and if you won't give me proof then I will get my own." This woman is 45 years old, mind you, I am 20.
"You have to give them to my right noow!!!" She has a crazy look in her eyes, points to my face, screams in my face and threatens to take me to court & rip them from my hands, and reaches for the papers in my hand. She physically grabs them and fights for them, back and forth pulling and ripping them out of my hands. I called the owner and told her of the situation and she said that i wasn't wrong in printing out those sheets and that she will make sure that this is taken care of. Nothing happened. A week later we decided to put it behind us and everything was fine.
This recent incident was uncalled for and unethical. Managers do not talk to their employees how this woman does. Me and, my coworker and good friend were working together in the morning, just the 2 of us until 3pm. We were steady, and did not see any need what so ever to go to the bank. We had enough change in the drawer, and even so, it was only 2 of us and neither of us feel comfortable being the only person in the store while customers come in and are waiting forever and getting angry. It's bad business and also scary to be alone with money in a tiny store with no where to hide. The time comes when the salon is slow and there are no customers in the store. My coworker is standing next to our closet talking to me while I eat my lunch (I am checked out). The manager turns around and proceeds to start screaming (and I am dead serious) at her about how she is too lazy to go to the bank and why she didn't go to the bank and why it's all up to the manager to go and my coworker tries to tell the manager that we were steady but the manager will not let her speak. She is saying things like, Oh yeah, sure, you're so smart, right, okay, keep talking. Youre too lazy and cant even get off your butt to go to the bank I start to say I do not feel comfortable leaving her alone here and I would be happy to go to the bank anytime you ask. She cuts me off at happy, points to my face with an evil look in her eyes and yells, SHUT UP!!! I say, "What?! Don't tell me to shut up. I was defending [my coworker]" she keeps going on and saying things like "Oh yeah sure whatever yeah right okay." Neither of us can get a word through her head.
I call the owner and leave a message on her voicemail telling her that there is an issue with our manager and she is screaming and threatening us and to call us back." No call back. I call 2 days later and leave another message, a very nice message, a calm one... No call back. This incident happened on a Monday and on friday, me and my coworker are checking out to leave at 6 when our shift ends. My manager says "Don't leave Katie, I have to talk to you." She turns to my coworker and tells her in a snotty voice "You can go wait outside for your friend." My coworker says, "Why do I need to wait outside in the cold? I'll just wait here (at the front desk)." Here is the conversation, which I have recorded by the way.
Y-"Get in the bathroom."
So I walk in the bathroom and don't say anything.
Y-"tomorrow you are going to be working in Lake Zurich east. So you gonna be transferred over there ok?"
K-"Why?"
Y-Because i told u last time dont call barb she don't wanna to know about anything about u complain so gary and barb don't wanna you to stay here with me you dont get along with me you dont follow what i'm saying"
K-"You don't get along with Ashley either but you're not transferring her."
Y-"No because you was the one that call her she has your message saying you no getting along with me you go over there and they give you schedule for next week, ok? And you no gonna follow the rules that I set."
K-"What rules have I not followed?"
Y-"All of them."
K-"Give me examples of when I have ever not followed a rule."
Y-"All of them."
K-"Like what?"
Y-"Like-I no go in to details you call and complain so you transfer over there."
K-"I'll call corporate then if no one will tell me whats going on."
Y-"NO." at this time i walked out of the store. I called the owner of the store but she will not return my phone calls or explain why I am being transferred and why this woman is allowed to attack her employees, insult them and demean them. I hope this matter gets resolved but I am glad I am out of there. No one deserves to get treated like that.
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