HELP Serious freeper problem at work

[absolutezero]

On Edit: Okay, you've convinced me, I'm calling my boss to let him know about the complaints. Some of my workers are going to call him on their own to report the stuff they've seen her do.

I'm an assistant manager at a movie theatre, one of my newly trained employees is possibly the most conservative person I have ever met face to face. On her first day of work she started to argue with me about whether or not Michael Moore lied in F911, then proceeded to harass customers exiting that film (resulting in a lot of comp;laints that I had to deal with). When I ask her to prove that F911 has lies in it she couldn't but then said "MM went on CNN and stated that 50% of the film is nothing but lies and that people shouldn't go see it and he's sorry for questioning bush" (Ummm....did she expect me to believe that?) She then proceeds to call Americans stupid for electing that idiot and that she only supports him for his economic policies (she comes from a very wealthy family) and his unwavering support of israel and killing muslims , all of whom are evil (prompting another customer complaint from a muslim waiting on line to see F911). She has also stated that israel should nuke the rest of the world and take it over like god wants them.
The other conservatives that I work with (some of whom I managed to convert) think she's insane. She doesn't see anything wrong with her views, or the fact that you shouldn't ever argue with customers about politics, and she tells that staff really whacked out stuff about how she had 15 abortions and cuts herself listening to metallica because the voices in her head (I think shes trying to say liberals do that but she isn't making her point very clear)

What the hell do I do in a situation like this? She refuses to stop doing these kinds of things, but I can't keep letting her scare off customers/staff. I can't fire her because she'll scream antisemitism/liberal conspiracy/sexual harassment.

[molly]

1. Fire her - she was after all harrassing PAYING

customers.

[blueknight]

2. wait until she screws up...

then give her ass the axe

[jean]

3. document her behavior and fire her ass asap

[bleedingheart]

4. document her misbehavior against clients and then fire her

we had a salesperson behave in a similar fashion...she was making really good money and she got fired because of her bad behavior...

[Beetwasher]

5. Umm, If She's Harrassing Customers, She's Fired, Period

End of story. That's unnacceptable. Let her scream all she wants. She's a nut and you don't have to employ her.

[Norquist Nemesis]

6. That's easy!

Tell her, "I'm sorry, but this just isn't working out. Turn in your uniform, keys, etc. at the end of your shift."

[SheepyMcSheepster]

7. if she is being a problem for customers.....

seems like you have the right to fire her.

employees imo should not harass customers whatever their political leanings are.

[Bandit]

8. Give her a warning and then fire her ass if her behavior continues.

Business is just that.

[GiovanniC]

9. Fire Her

can't fire her because she'll scream antisemitism/liberal conspiracy/sexual harassment."

Document her actions and comments. Let her know that if she keeps it up, she's out the door. There's no excuse for treating customers badly, whether they agree with you politically or not, and abusing customers IS grounds for termination.

I'd fire her, and I'd enjoy doing it.

[LoZoccolo]

10. FIRE HER!

You have tangible evidence since you've got all the complaints documented; you'd probably have a bulletproof case. Who cares if she thinks it's a liberal conspiracy? She'll do that any time she wants to get what she wants. If you don't fire her now, you'll be dealing with this over and over again. And if you don't fire her now, it'll actually look weird when you decide to do it later after tolerating this for as long as you did. FIRE HER!

[seabeyond]

11. three warnings, write ups and fire her ass

then when she goes to unemployment she doesnt get payment, you are covered and did your job

never nevah,.............do you argue with a customer. shit i would take her in office and write up, one more arguement or comment to customer her but is fired

you dont keep an employee that argues with customers. fire her butt, and teach her how to be an employee, this is totally unacceptable and if you dont nip in bud right here and now you arent doing your job for the people you work for

[democratreformed]

12. Does your company have a policy about this?

If not, it should. Seems to me you could fire her for harassing customers.

[MadHound]

13. That is easy friend

Document her actions, try to discuss it with her, warning her that her job is on the line, and if she continues, fire her. Make it clear, both to her and in your paperwork, that it isn't about her politics, but about customer abuse and harrasment. It doesn't matter from which end of the spectrum you're from, hassling the customers is always a big no no.

[tom_paine]

14. Lots of Busheviks have been driven purposefully insane

for the same reason Nazi Propaganda drove IT'S adherents insane.

Insane people, provideed it is controlled and subjugated to Masters, Nazi or Bushevik, can be very helpful when trying to crush Civilized Peoples.

The Busheviks use so many Nazi-style propaganda including demonization/dehumanization for the same reason the Nazis did.

It is easier to commit crimes against people if you don't think them human.

And if we go insane fighting them, like Jews (few of them, but some) who fought the Nazis, then America will never again be a Republic nor restored.

[wryter2000]

15. Document everything

Then fire her. Let her scream. If she's harassing customers, it's a no-brainer.

[NoPasaran]

16. Is she a provisional employee for the first 90 days?

If so, her ass needs to be out the door today?

If not, warn, document, terminate.

Harassing customers is not in anyone's job description that I am aware of.

[LTR]

17. If she's harassing customers, she should be fired immediately

She sounds very immature.

But first, make sure she sees F 9/11. :evilgrin:

[wryter2000]

18. The only other option I can think of

And it's not really a good one...If you company has a documented policy on what to do with impaired workers, implement that. Insist that she get help. She's obviously sick. However, this will only work if your company has a written policy and a standard procedure for dealing with people with behavioral problems.

But the best thing is to give her one more warning in writing, and then when she screws up, fire her.

[Walt Starr]

21. New employees are on probation

In most states, he can fire her with no repercussions during the first few weeks if he decided he didn't like her hair style.

[Walt Starr]

19. Immediately fire her

She has given you more than enough grounds to fire her and generally speaking, there is a definite probationary period for any new employee.

Fire her. Fire her now. Do not wait, get up from your computer and inform her that you no longer need her services.

[Trajan]

20. Arguing with the boss on the first day of work warrants termination

Harrasing customers is simply unacceptable ... ever ....

Do your duty ....

[absolutezero]

28. I don't care about argueing with me

I only got promoted two months ago so most of the staff is on good terms with me. We talk about politics all the time and no one gets hurt, this girl is going to have a call put in to the district manager (since that the only way to get rid of her)

[iconoclastic cat]

22. She needs to be hospitalized.

Document it all, then get her out.

[King of New Orleans]

23. It's pretty basic

Explain to her that she's is hired to provide customer service, not to discuss politics with the customers. She can hold whatever personal beliefs she wants and can express them however she wants once she's off of work, but while on duty she's has a responsibilty to foster a tolerant neutral atmosphere. If she doesn't believe she can provide that atmosphere then she should resign. If she can't refrain from discussing politcs with customers and is generating complaints, then she's fired.

I'm an ASM at a major bookstore and while many of our employees hold strong views, they are mostly able to provide the neutrality necessary to maintain a civil workplace (despite the fact that some customers deliberately try to bait them). Haven't had one yet that had to be threathened with dismissal, so yours does look like an extreme case.

[absolutezero]

24. I'll call the district manager today

Since I need his approval. I'm sure the staff will be glad to file similar complaints just to add weight to my recomendation.

[markdd]

25. Document, Document, Document

If she's that out of control, expect trouble. She may attempt to sue under any number of avenues. With decent documentation, most lawyers will drop the case in a hurry.

[johnfunk]

26. Prepare to fire her and document, document, document...

... Remember: nothing says "serious about managing and personnel" like the twice-daily Memo to File. It's a memo to yourself -- keep them in order in a locked file and make a copy for yourself. Use it to document her insubordination and as a source for written warnings.

Frankly, I would've fired her on the spot if I'd gotten wind that she were harassing people who paid their hard-earned money to see F9/11. Just make sure to document it all.

[Arugula Latte]

27. Boy do you have grounds to fire her.

Get as much documentation as you can. Get names and numbers of customers who complain. Then -- Bye bye!

[Blue-Jay]

29. Document all complaints and terminate.

She's pissing off customers. Her politics have nothing to do with it. Write it up and submit it to upper management.

[Hamlette]

30. you can fire her but first you need to stop engaging with her

She could defend the firing for unemployment purposes if she said: "everyone talks politics all day long at work, how did I know I would be fired for doing what everyone else did?" You have to make it clear that you will no longer tolerate any talk of politics at work as it has become disruptive. That her talking politics with customers has never been tolerated and she will be fired if she does it again.

Problem with proving a customer complaint case is you really need to bring the customers to the unemployment/wrongful termination hearing. You can get around that by documenting with witnesses who work there OR if you are really paranoid, asking the customers who complain if they will write up the complaint and be willing to testify if push comes to shove.

You should really talk to YOUR supervisor. The movie theater should have written policies about acceptable behavior at work. If not, your manager should tell you how to deal with this which includes what everyone else said here, warn, document, terminate.

[absolutezero]

32. I've done that already

Only a few staff members talk about politics, but we all know that you stop talking about ANYTHING other than "welcome to *** cinemas would you like to try our mega combo" or "Three tickets to I, Robot? That'll be 18 dollars" once customers show up.

[mitchum]

31. FIRE HER STUPID GREEDY ASS (I'M SURE THAT DADDY WILL...

TAKE CARE OF HER)

[Eurobabe]

33. document, document, document

write everything down. triple check your mgt. policies, and fire her accordingly. she may still be in probationary period, it will be easier to say buh-bye!

wouldn't want your theater associated with such nut jobs.

[TWiley]

34. Have your boss pose as a customer,

and let him say wonderful things about the movie in front of her. With any luck, she will pop off with that obnoxious republican bullshit. Maybe he (or she) would choose to fire her, or at least an informed opinion might be made available to you. If it came to firing her in the future, at least one of your bosses would have witnessed the problem.

[loudsue]

35. Sounds like that Muslim customer might have grounds for more than a

complaint!

"and his unwavering support of israel and killing muslims , all of whom are evil (prompting another customer complaint from a muslim waiting on line to see F911)."

That sounds like she's doing racial/religious profiling that also masks a type of death threat, of sorts.

Couldn't the movie theater actually be SUED for something like that?

Or am I misunderstanding the relationship between condoning "killing muslims" in the presence of a muslim?

Just a question.

:kick::kick:

[in_cog_ni_to]

36. Fire her. NOW.

She's mentally ill. Drop her off at the nearest clinic, but fire her. She's overstepped her boundaries.

[in_cog_ni_to]

37. Fire her. NOW.

She's mentally ill. Drop her off at the nearest clinic, but fire her. She's overstepped her boundaries.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

38. Don't you have a probation period for people for the first 90 days?

That should be a period where people can be terminated if they don't "work out."

You should probably give her a "verbal warning" for harrassing customers first though. THEN if she continues her behavior - I'd get rid of her as long as it's in the first 90 days.

Not to sound evil - but if you want to get of an employee you can usually find a pretty good reason (are they late, absenteeism, etc.).

[Tight_rope]

39. Easy Answer!...FIRE HER ASS!....DO THIS!...

Get in writing from the customers what she has said to them and how she approached them. Get them to say it on tape. So if you have to go to court you have the evidence.

[CaTeacher]

40. get rid of her immediately!

[pinballer]

42. insanity is rampant among Conservative minded folk......

""She has also stated that israel should nuke the rest of the world and take it over like god wants them.
The other conservatives that I work with (some of whom I managed to convert) think she's insane.""

Wow.

And I thought that we in southern Missouri had the cornered the market in dimwitted Rightwingers.

Listen to this little diatribe that one of the slack jawed locals posted on a bulletin board (http://forum.semo.net/index.php) a few minutes ago.....it's hard to believe that people this blindingly stupid and uninformed can actually find their way to work and back home each day.....

""The Democrats has supported Socialism, and Communism in America since 1915, they have supported every socialist in the world, from Joe Stalin to Sadaam, They would not win the war in Korea or Viet Nam, those were just police action and containment, to the tune of a hundred thousand of our boys, and they would not provide equipment for them either, Welfare was the biggest vote buying machine that America has ever had, (taking from the haves who work and give to people who will not work) How about 60. million babies murdered in the womb, destroying personal property rights, Gun controll, removeing God from America, Gay marriage, speech controll, the destruction of yugoslavia, turning Europe over to the New Nazi party in Germany, 3 million Christians murdered in Africa, not to mention 10 of thousands of others, the terrorist are here to stay, where do you want to fight them in Iraq or New York City, LA, Chicago, St Louis or Iraq. I know that 95 % of milatary will be voting for Bush, But if you want Socialism vote democrat,""

[AngryWhiteLiberal]

41. Sounds like a raging case of BIPOLAR Disorder & maybe Borderline PD

If anything, you may need to worry about a discrimination suit based upon mental illness. Her symptoms, on first blush, are very much characteristic of bipolar disorder. The self-injurious behavior (cutting herself) is more typical of Borderline Personality Disorder. In either case, I'd steer clear of her and DOCUMENT EVERYTHING! Once you have enough job infractions, CAN HER ASS and then watch your back (seriously).

Good luck.

JB