Kicked out of work for wearing kilt

[azwildcat96]

It seems that regardless of whose permission you thought you had you were told by a direct supervisor that you were not to be kilted. He may well have acted like a jerk when he told you but the bottom line is he is the boss and his word is what you need to listen to. My way or the highway is applicable here. Going above his head on this, after the fact, will only serve to make him mad and you can count on him getting revenge at the first opportunity. The chain of command idea isn't just for the military it works in civilian life as well. If I were you I would count this as a lesson learned as to what kind of person he is and what the rules are, and I would move on. You have vented here so you have nothing more to gain. I imagine most of us on this forum have worked for one or more jerks in our lifetime so welcome to the club.

bigdad1, you're quite right. It sounds like scotcop did the right thing in obtaining permission first, and also did the right thing in turning the other cheek. The only thing I would add is that karma has a way dealing with those that deserve to be dealt with!

[bricelythgoe]

If it were me, I would not be working there any more. I would start looking for a new job. That is just me.

[bigdad1]

If it were me, I would not be working there any more. I would start looking for a new job. That is just me.

That is a nice sentiment but it doesn't pay the bills. I believe they call that cutting of ones nose to spite ones face. I doesn't accomplish anything except lose you a job.

[Steve Barclay]

It seems that regardless of whose permission you thought you had you were told by a direct supervisor that you were not to be kilted. He may well have acted like a jerk when he told you but the bottom line is he is the boss and his word is what you need to listen to. My way or the highway is applicable here. Going above his head on this, after the fact, will only serve to make him mad and you can count on him getting revenge at the first opportunity. The chain of command idea isn't just for the military it works in civilian life as well. If I were you I would count this as a lesson learned as to what kind of person he is and what the rules are, and I would move on. You have vented here so you have nothing more to gain. I imagine most of us on this forum have worked for one or more jerks in our lifetime so welcome to the club.

I couldn't disagree more, this man is abusing his position- you need to complain, and if he tries to take revenge it is victimisation and tribunal time. Idiots like this cannot win, you have rights, you had cleared it with his superior prior to the event, and the "transy" comment was pure gold for you as that is harassment pure and simple, especially if it was in front of other people (who may also act as witnesses). I don't suppose your workplace has a union, but is there an employment conciliation service like our AKAS in the US? I imagine if so they would take a dim view of him if you were to tell them. BY NO MEANS leave your job, otherwise this ar$eh01e has won- seriously, you have to fight a b@st@rd such as this.

[CDNSushi]

Respectfully, I disagree with bigdad on this. The shift manager is the one who broke the chain of command by usurping power from his own superiors. Scotcop did say that the shift manager knew about it ahead of time and yet, he still chose to do what he did.

In fact, the shift manager went out of his WAY to deal with his problem in a passive-aggressive manner. He had ample opportunity to voice his dissatisfaction to either Scotcop OR the higher-up manager BEFORE any of this was scheduled to happen, but chose not to. He chose instead to blow his top at a precisely pre-chosen time and he chose his words in a very calculating way, so that he KNEW Scotcop would be most likely to obey... And equally, he KNEW that the higher-up manager doesn't have much power NOR the chutzpah to discipline him. That is shrewd, calculating, and very much well-planned. It's not just some moron who saw an employee in a kilt and lost his cool. This was a rehearsed, purposeful act of malice.

The obvious problem here, is that the shift manager is an insubordinate fool who has problems with authority (kind of funny given his background) but yet, he obviously feels that he does a better job than higher management in making decisions and enforcing them. If the higher-manager cannot rein him in and keep him on a leash, I would DEFINITELY be at Kinko's printing out some copies of my resumé. This is only a symptom of a much larger problem and I would not want to be around the next time the bully wants to take a chunk out of someone because his bosses are too spineless to put HIM in his place.

How about another bookstore? How about another Christian bookstore? How about another store in the same chain (a transfer)? Just some ideas...

[bricelythgoe]

That is a nice sentiment but it doesn't pay the bills. I believe they call that cutting of ones nose to spite ones face. I doesn't accomplish anything except lose you a job.

You find the job FIRST, then quit. That is the idea I was going for. I conform to my work, not my work to me.

[Detroitpete]

Count me as *** for the 'apology' route.

I'd take it a step further however... I would write the apology letter to your direct supervisor and CC it to the boss whose permission you DID get. It would read the same as the letter by COURTMOUNT outlined above, with 1 small addition.

"In the future, I would ask that any discussions on my behavior / attire be dealt with in a professional manner, instead of berating me in front of my peers and the store's customers. Such circumstances are best dealt with in private as it's unprofessional to accuse someone of being a 'tranny' in public."

I would apologise to him for your alledged 'unprofessionalism', as well as call him out for HIS unprofessional behavior.

Great advice here. I'm a veteran and spent WAY too much time with guys like this, but that being said, he's still in your chain of 'command'. I'd take it like a man. Sure he was an over-the-top jerk. Stop this by being professional, clarifying the permission you received from HIS boss and reminding the guy that you deserve professional respect just as much as he does.

[Downunder Kilt]

I don't have "SUPERIORS" in my work enviroment, sure I have bosses, supervisors and persons senior to me but none hold themselves out to be SUPERIOR.
I realise a lot of members are ex mlitary and the idea of a person being superior to you may have been drummed in but I don't think in the outside world that, in this day and age, anybody can claim to be a persons superior

And yes, I served my country for 17 years

[robthehiker]

I'm sorry this happened to you Scotcop. I wish you the best of luck; whatever you choose to do.

[joecool]

It sounds to me like he was just a power-tripping moron looking for an excuse to exert his new-found authority and you were the unfortunate target. If it is possible, get a new job, if it is not, then carry on. If I am ever in your part of Wisconsin, I will wear a kilt into your book store and buy a nice Bible. Lets see him try to talk to me like that, it would be the end of his career at that store! I have to respectfully disagree that you can say whatever you want to your employees (under the dress code policy) as long as it is a private company. Yes, you can set the dress code, but calling an employee's sexuality and gender identity into question is completely irrelevant and inappropriate! Of course you already know that, and you came to us to vent. You have my full support with whatever you decide to do. My advice, don't be afraid to stand up for yourself. You are not a private in that Major's army. You are a well respected and valued employee, and you deserve to be treated as such!