# Day off ruined!



## 69MarkIII (Aug 7, 2013)

So, I'm pretty sure my employer discriminated against me today because I don't have a cell phone. 

I had the day off and was out running errands all afternoon. I didn't get home until about 7pm. Just as I was getting ready for a shower someone beat on our front window. Not the door, but the actual front picture window! Neither my wife nor I were presentable for answering the door, and by the time I was ready, whoever had been there was gone.

Then the phone rang. It was my boss, who is also my next door neighbor. He was red hot pissed at me because I didn't answer the door. I explained myself, but all he would say was that he had been trying to reach me by land line all day and I didn't answer. I explained that I had been gone all day and was planning to catch up on my messages right after my shower. To make a long story short, he gave me a good dose of chewing out and sarcasm ("I saw your wife sitting on the couch...any reason SHE couldn't answer the door?") he informed me that I would no longer be going to our product meeting tomorrow, something I had been looking forward to, and that someone else would be going in my place! I tried to get an explaination as to why I was getting punished merely for missing a phone call, but he hung up on me. 

Angry, I dialed up the assistant manager and asked if there was more to this story than I knew. He reiterated that it was a huge problem that they couldn't get ahold of me, and raked me over the coals for not calling them back within four hours (oh horrors!) of their original message. I also got a lecture for the 1000th time about the magic and wonders of cell phones. Sorry but I'm not about to pay a phone bill every month just so the company I work for can burn up my minutes! Nowhere in our employee handbook does it say must have a cell phone.

I tried to explain to him that it was the same as if I were out of town on vacation. He said it was completely different. I said how, and he caught himself just shy of saying "because the boss can look over the fence and see if you're there". 

The final kick in the rear for the day was when my wife caught me stewing about it right before bed. I'll admit it, I was still mad, especially knowing that I'll probably hear about it all day tomorrow when I go in too. Rather than be supportive, I got a lecture from her about how I should just let things go, and that I'm too angry and negative! What the heck? 

So yeah, right now I'm left wondering where the next hit will come from!


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## tony420 (Jul 27, 2013)

**** id tell him if it bothers u that ****ing much get me a company phone dip****


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## modus (Apr 27, 2011)

Buy an old iphone, put Skype on it and use public WiFi. You can also do email correspondence on-the-go that way.

We just live in a world of 24/7 communication, instant gratification, etc. Your boss is a jerk, but I often feel frustrated when it's impossible to get hold of someone.


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## LonelyNomadJermaine (Jul 28, 2013)

Things like this are why I don't think I can function in the business world


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## Minato (Sep 9, 2012)

Sorry man, but you can get cheap cellphones and only pay like 25 bucks a month. It is the age of cell phones, adapt.


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## SolusSAF (Aug 17, 2013)

I just recently got a cell phone, but since I don't really talk to anyone, it does not use up my minutes. I have a Tracphone. You can get double minutes for life, so it works out pretty well. I know you do not want a phone, but you may try going that route. This will also help you stay in touch with your wife since you are worried about her.
We are in an instant gratification world now. Everyone wants whatever they want right that minute.
You may try going to the human resources officer (if you feel safe doing this) and telling him/her your concerns. 
Your boss really sounds like a jerk.


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## blueidealist26 (Dec 16, 2012)

He shouldn't have to get a cell phone, unless he signed a contract that said he would be on call. Nowhere in that post did he say he did. If you were on a date, even if you have a cell phone, would you pick up your boss's call? Probably not.


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## birdmom9726 (Aug 22, 2013)

If you can get your hands on an unlocked phone, you can get service through PureTalk USA for $10 a month. Your minutes roll over forever as long as you have a valid credit card on file, and I think you get about 110 minutes for $10. That much time should satisfy ANY boss, if he's going to make an issue about it. And the public WiFi with Skype is a great idea too, as long as you check your phone often (hopefully you live somewhere where public WiFi is close by). Good luck. I know your "contract" might not say you have to have a cell phone, but if your boss is making it hot for you and you value your job, right there are two very viable alternatives that won't break the bank. I use PureTalk and Google Talk - between the two I talk as much as I want, I have a huge number of rolled over minutes, and my phone bill is never more than $10 a month because I talk over WiFi!


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## HarrietM (Sep 12, 2013)

*Not Required*

You are not required to be on 24hr call with your job. Your boss has no right to lose his temper at you in that way.

When you have a day off, you are entitled to spend it in any way that you like, and they are required to cope without you for the day. It is your Day Off.

Your boss and assistant boss are bullying you. Your wife is not helping by telling you to just get over it.

You are not required to get a cell phone.

You are especially not required to get a cell phone for a job that essentially moves words and paper from one end of the office to the other. If there is nothing in your job that constitutes an emergency, and if there is nothing in your employee handbook that says you must be available at your employer's whim, then you are not required to get a cell phone.

It doesn't matter if they are cheap. It doesn't matter if they are free. If you don't want it, then you don't have to get it. The end. You don't have to buy things you don't want.

Your boss needs to learn about boundaries. He cannot go banging on your door every time he gets worried about something. He cannot go peeking in your windows when he is displeased with you. He cannot start shouting at you when he has a problem that he cannot solve. He is creating a hostile workplace and he is creating a hostile neighborhood. HE is the one who needs counseling for anger management issues.

You have the right to be angry about the way you were treated. Your wife has the right to be creeped out because your boss was looking at her through the window.

The only way to fix this, though, is to remain calm and keep looking for someone on the chain of command who will address these issues.

I find that the more outraged I am about the way I was treated, the less help I get. I also find that the more upset and desperate I am for help, the less help I get. People apparently do not like it when you have a strong emotion.

Good luck. If it were me, I would want to quit my job and move, but that is probably not a healthy way to deal with the situation.


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## glamourpuss80 (Feb 2, 2012)

Ok, you do not NEED to have a cell phone. Yes, I know that 95% of people have one, but this job does not require you to have one. This was COMPLETELY out of line from your boss. In fact, I would say that it borderlines harassment. He does not need to come to your door and be looking inside your house. I would report his *** to HR and the Dept of Labor. It was your day off, you are not supposed to be attached to your phone. Please do not put up with this behavior.


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