Dear dimwit on the phone

The ones that irritate me the most are people who tell me they don't subscribe to the paper then ask when the story is going to run so they can buy it at the store. 1, I don't promise publication days, and 2, even if I did I'm not going to tell you. I guess you'll just have to buy it every day for the next week and take your chances.

 

Years ago one of those callers said "so, I'm supposed to buy the paper every day?" and I replied "yeah, that's kinda the idea."

 

Of course, we've fostered that mindset by putting all the content online for free. So just log on to the website everyday and when you see the story, go buy a dozen copies from the circulation desk downstairs.

The worst is "hey, sometime last year you guys ran a story on (fill in the blank). Do you know where I can get a copy of that?" Well, no I don't remember every story that ran every single day in the past month, let along year. So try searching the website or go to the library like I did in the good old days.

 

Or you could look it up for him in 10 seconds. That's how business operates.

 

I feel like I need to buy a lottery ticket in more ways than one after this prediction. For those who recall from a couple weeks back, I had a rather uncomfortable incident with a man we're calling AME-1 in which a budget meeting and front page critique quickly escalated into him telling me we "could take it outside."
He was given a stern reprimand after that by the ME and our quasi-publisher. About two weeks later he was given a reminder of it by the quasi-publisher. The day after THAT he was told by the ME again not to confront me while the ME was on vacation for a few days.
AME-1 called me hard-headed, but he's the one who obviously didn't get the message.
On Monday, the guy walked into the office and started yelling at me over headline style choice and some other things. It quickly escalated into him berating me, leaning over my computer monitor and pointing his finger at me (physical intimidation), telling me "you're not pulling your weight" because I only wrote two stories last week (but worked six desk shifts and wrote a long feature), comparing me to his grandchild in how I follow directions, and that I need to "get on board with the program."
He said when the ME got back there would be changes made. I asked at that point if he was threatening me again, and he shot back with, "Did I use the word 'threat?' The word is PROMISE. That's a PROMISE, little man."
He also accused me of insubordination at least a dozen times.
All of this over a headline font choice.

The two of us were the only ones in the newsroom .... eeeexxxceeeptt for a newly-installed security camera (we'd had a problem with a mailroom guy stealing stuff from the building) and my trusty Sony IDC-BX-112 digital recorder. The IDC-BX-112 is a magnificent piece of equipment. I highly recommend it.
I had gotten word over the weekend that AME-1 and the ME weren't happy with me sticking around a little too long (in their eyes) to work on last Friday's section. It was a super early deadline for the holiday, and I tried to get things started for them. I got the section about two-thirds done and still walked out of the building by 2. I thought I was helping, but apparently they thought I was defying them after I'd been told that AME-1 was handling sports that day.
So, knowing that and knowing how this guy operates, I set the recorder on my desk, hid it under a piece of paper, and hit the record button as soon as he walked in. Thirty seconds later he started berating me, and seven minutes later I had the whole thing on tape.
Sneaky, but effective.
After asking a couple of people for guidance and to notify them, including the paper's HR person, I wrote a long e-mail to the quasi-publisher detailing what happened, my fears about the situation, and asking about the process for making a harassment complaint. I played the tape for him over the phone a while later and he just said, "Thanks. That's what I needed to hear."

This afternoon, AME-1 was called into the big office and terminated.
The pattern he was laying down, him -- ironically -- being insubordinate by not staying away from me, and the fear he might be doing this to other employees or to customers all piled up to bury him. The recording and the fact I didn't have a track record of discipline problems helped too, I think. Not as much as being proactive, though. If I hadn't done anything yesterday, I might well have been fired or professionally neutered when they tag-teamed me on Wednesday.
As it is, I feel like a weight is off my shoulders and I finally do have a clean slate. The system actually worked. I made a serious complaint, it was taken seriously, and the evidence and paper trail was there to back it up. It was dealt with swiftly and severely. If he had been allowed to remain at the paper after all that, I honestly don't think I could have. I couldn't work with the guy or even have a rational discussion of substance with him. If he'd stayed, there's no doubt in my mind that the abuse would've continued or escalated until I was gone.
The man is a bully. I'm glad he's gone.
Part of me is still shaken and confused, though. I'd never done anything that I know of to personally offend the guy, so I'll probably never know why he had it out for me from the get-go. I've also never had to deal with anything like this before. Never made any sort of HR complaint. I'm glad I'm the one left standing, I'm just perplexed that it had to come to that.

 

I'm glad to hear it ended well for you.

 

You did what you had to do, Batman. Hopefully whoever replaces the guy will be a much better person to work for.

 

Good job, Batman. For sure being proactive saved your ass in this. Glad it all worked out for you.

 

Ditto, Batman. Way to cover your ass.

And I wouldn't be concerned in the least with what you did to offend the guy. He sounds F-ed up in the head to the point where it was all him.

 

Way to go, Batman.

If they come after you next, get an attorney.

 

I did tell the quasi-publisher (who is a neutral party to all this, as well as my personal hero for the day for the way he dealt with this, BTW) I was concerned about that. He said he had talked to the ME about it and everything seemed copacetic. He said the ME agreed it was AME-1 that was the problem, and that AME-1 had to go. And, if there's any sort of problem, to contact him immediately.
I'm sure there will be a post-mortem meeting with the ME tomorrow. I'm OK with that. I might have had issues with certain things he does, but I can have a reasonable discussion with him. We can work through those. I'm hoping tomorrow can be a fresh start and in a few weeks this whole thing will just be a great war story.

Another, more immediate, thing I'm worried about is showing up for work tomorrow morning. I'm always the first one there by about an hour. If AME-1 was frothing mad over a headline font, what's he going to do when he's had a night to stew on the insubordinate twerp who just got one over on him and cost him his job?
I plan to drive around the parking lot a couple of times when I get there to make sure no one is lurking. I've also thought about taking my gun, just in case of an absolute worst-case scenario.

 

Do NOT take a gun onto company property.
Grounds for immediate termination.

If you see anything strange from inside your car,
drive away and get the police to check the scene.