Sexism

I've worked with all women before, I've worked with mix and currently I work with all men. I've had my battles and when I was hired I had to prove to all the men that I worked with (5 in my office) that I'm capable of doing my job, that I was smart enough to do it, and that I was more than someone to answer the phones.

I've had to deal with jerks, bigots, sexist people and the 'good ole boys'. I've worked my way to where I am today. I have customers who tell me the minute I get back from a day off or vacation "Thank God your back".

I've had technicians that I work with yell at me, to me and behind my back. I've had one get in my face and freak out at me. I've had them deny to do the job they've been asked to do. I've had them say they are going to do it and not go. I've had to deal with customer back lash over a technician not doing a job well, making a mistake or complaints over completely un-related issues with service. (Your tech just did an oil change and now my tires are flat...etc.)

I've stood up for my tech's on numerous occasions; to customers who acuse us of sabatoging units. To upper management who think they've made mistakes, take too long to do a job, or to avoid layoff's. I've gone to bat for my tech's to upper management to get my tech's the tools they need but the company is not providing (but they should), to get them company paid training, for bonuses, missing allowances (tool and boot), and to defend them against mistakes made.

I'm as fair as I can be. I try to spread the work out so that all 3 are as busy as possible, or in the very least have at least one job per day, not all 3 jobs to one person and the others doing nothing all day. I give them heads up when upper management is coming to visit so they can be sure the shop and service vehicles are clean. I try to send them only to a place where they are comfortable working (safe, clean, inside when it's -30 outside). I don't send them to a unit where they don't have the skills to repair it. I talk to them, ask them to go places, I don't demand it.

So when, after all this, a technician is a jerk to me, I get pissed off. And quickly.

Our newest technician, today decided that he was mad. At me? At his wife? At the weather? The fact that his days off were over? Who knows?! Either way, I refuse to be the person that takes the fall. Twice, in the span of less than 30 minutes when I was talking to him or asking him a question, he threw his hands up in the air and walked away from me. Not only do I find that rude and uncalled for, but I have NO CLUE as to what his problem is.

I brushed it off, as he was out of the shop for the rest of the day.

In the afternoon, I asked one of the guys (who tells me everything) if he knew what was going on. He said no. I asked him (because he was there) if it was just me or if he thought something was going on. He agreed the guy was being an ass.

He later confided to me, that when hired, the new technician told him, he'd never had a woman for a boss before. The other tech just told him that he needs to get used to it and that it wasn't going to change.

Now, I can totally understand how it might take an adjustment. Some time yes, but don't come in after working with the company for 3 months and tell me that he woke up this morning and had changed his mind. There was no altercation, no conversation, just me asking him a question, him getting fed up and walking away. Without answering my question.

I'm pretty tolerant. But I'm mad about this. I feel disrespected and I'll be damned if this is going to happen again. We went through this last year (with a different tech) and I felt like crap and hated dealing with him. It got so bad I didn't want to go into the shop. This will not happen again.

He's out of the shop until Thursday. On Thursday I'm going to ask him if we have a problem and see what comes up. This will not continue. It just amazes me that after all this time and all the advances in life and things that women have done and proved that there are still some very sexist people that can't handle having a woman tell them what to do.