'I'm quitting... Over text": Sketchy salon owner blows up at stylist for being 15 minutes late, gives her an ultimatum, so stylist peaces out

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Dec 3, 2023 7:00 PM EST

Never be afraid to confront a sketchy boss. Seriously, in this day and age, in this economy, it truly behooves you to take initiative like that for your own well being. That's the advice this professional hairstylist needs right now. On reddit, she posts about the awful and very sketchy things the salon owner, her boss, keeps pulling. And in her good nature, she doesn't want to think the worst of her boss. But it's very clear to any reader, that this boss is pulling some nefarious things—the top recommendation so far is to report her boss to the IRS. OP says after months of toxic behavior, she was running 15minutes late to work. She told her boss this an hour before her actual shift, and the boss seemed fine. However, when she got there, her boss blew up at her. She told her she would have to start doing all these annoying nitpicking things if she wanted to continue working there, she initially agreed. But after continuous abuse, she's ready to quit on the spot via text. What would you do?

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    via pxhere
  • 02
    Posted by u/stillbornangel 20 hours ago Am I over reacting I work at a high end hair salon as a receptionist. Business is not doing well, constantly getting calls from debt collectors. There were a few other red flags, such as their lack of clients, high employee turnover, mandatory unpaid trainings and staff meetings, and money is constantly missing from the register.
    via u/st*llbornangel
  • 03
    One day I found out my boss changed my clock out time from 8:30pm to 3pm. I asked about it, and she said it was a computer error and changed it back. I started investigating and they've been doing this for months. Most days they take off 15 minutes at the beginning and end of each day. For example if I clock in at 10:45, it's changed to 11, and if I clock out at 6:30, it's changed to 6:15. I've caught
    via u/st*llbornangel
  • 04
    them making drastic changes multiple times as well. I know that time rounding is legal, but from my understanding it is supposed to be benefiting the employee. Every time I ask about it there's a different excuse. They typically get angry with me when I bring it up. I finally got her to admit she'd been changing the hours, but nothing has changed.
    via u/st*llbornangel
  • 05
    She then began to accuse me of stealing money from the salon and falsifying my own hours the more I spoke out about my paychecks. Money constantly goes missing from the register, and I was always blamed despite there being a security camera system. I constantly tell her to check the cameras and she doesn't. She then started threatening to take the "missing money" out of my paychecks. I believe they are reporting money as stolen for tax breaks.
    via u/st*llbornangel
  • 06
    Two weeks ago, I was running 15 minutes late for work, and told my boss an hour ahead of time. She said it was okay. One of the hair stylists ended up not being able to get into the salon on time because I wasn't there yet with the keys. When I got into work, my boss asked me to talk in her office and started screaming at me, telling me that I am the most dishonest person she has ever met and that I have no integrity or values. She
    via u/st*llbornangel
  • 07
    demanded I make direct eye contact with her for the entire conversation. I told her she was making me uncomfortable and it's inappropriate to speak to an employee like this. She responded "What, do you have Asperger's. No you don't. Look me in the eyes while I talk to you." I was so confused. Of course I know being late is wrong, but her reaction seemed so inappropriate.
    via u/st*llbornangel
  • 08
    She then accused me of being 15 minutes late everyday, and proceeded to pull up the clock in times that she had already changed. It made me so angry because I am rarely late, and when I am I've been very punctual. I reminded her that she already admitted to changing them, and she told me she would never steal from me,
    via u/st*llbornangel
  • 09
    and that she pays me out of her own paychecks because the salon doesn't make enough money. Then she told me if I wanted to continue working there, I need to send her a photo of the clock at work the second I walk in every day, and write her a letter on why I should be able to work there.
    via u/st*llbornangel
  • 10
    I decided to look for another job because clearly something is very wrong. I was planning on giving a two week notice mid December. I forgot to take a photo of the clock yesterday when I came in, and received barrage of texts about how I broke our agreement. I apologized and told her to check the cameras or ask another staff member if she doesn't believe me. She then told me that it wasn't her responsibility to check what time I come in.
    via u/st*llbornangel
  • 11
    These interactions feel too mind bending for me to deal with, and truthfully I cannot take another month of this. I'm planning on texting my boss that I quit at the end of the day today. Hopefully she doesn't withhold my final paycheck. Am I over reacting by quitting over text without notice, should I stick it out until the end of the month?
    via u/st*llbornangel
  • 12
    -GearZen- 20 hr. ago Sounds like wage theft. Why quit? Report the behavior to the labor department. Also, no unemployment if you quit.
    via u/-GearZen-
  • 13
    throwaway_82m 19 hr. ago Sounds like the owner's acting unhinged to try to get OP to quit versus fire her.
    via u/throwaway_82m
  • 14
    Longjumping-Many4082 5 hr. ago Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner in the Gaslighting Boss Challenge! The boss doesn't have grounds to fire OP, but they are doing everything they can do to make OP miserable, to include some illegal called wage theft.
    via u/Longjumping-Many4082
  • 15
    And to be honest, it is the boss' responsibility to review the cameras if they think they have a person continually late, etc. The boss/owner is responsible for all aspects unless they delegate some of that off to an individual (aka, asst mgr). While I agree that not quitting [and making the owner fire them instead] is the better option, the owner sounds like a horrid person for how they are treating OP.
    via u/Longjumping-Many4082
  • 16
    I get that the owner is under pressure. Their business is failing. They are under water financially. Etc. But, that is the risks you take running a business. Happens frequently, especially when you have the levels of inflation we are all witnessing. That is no excuse for the owner to be hateful to their employees.
    via u/Longjumping-Many4082
  • 17
    txstepmomagain. 20 hr. ago Am I over reacting by quitting over text without notice, should I stick it out until the end of the month? Are you overreacting by walking out on a boss who has stolen from you, regularly accuses you of theft and verbally berates you? Ummm...no.
    via u/txstepmomagain
  • 18
    savvy-librarian. 19 hr. ago Report her for wage theft and report her to the IRS for tax fraud as well. Get an attorney. Document your clock in and clock out times with photos from here on out and make sure you note every single discrepancy between your reported times and the times you were paid for.
    via u/savvy-librarian
  • 19
    Get all future communications with your boss in writing and if you can't do that then record your verbal conversations. Basically, gather evidence for your case so you can nail her for every red cent she owes you and make sure it hurts so she doesn't ever do this trash to anyone ever again. I would also speak to your coworkers about what has going on to make sure they are protected too.
    via u/savvy-librarian
  • 20
    Don't quit without another job lined up, make her fire you or you won't qualify for unemployment.
    via u/savvy-librarian
  • 21
    Cultural_Pirate2166 2 hr. ago I had a crappy boss pull that nonsense and I called the Labor Board. It turned out that they had been doing this for years and had to come up with over $7,000 to pay other employees. Lol Report this battle axe of a boss and get yourself a better jo b where you are treated with respect
    via u/Cultural_Pirate2166

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