[Coolerchic007]

I head a department that deals, among other things, with client satisfaction About six months ago my Boss made an issue about a customer's complaint. The complaint was mostly to do with the Production department but my Boss turned on me for my oversight in allowing the issue to take place and then trying to cover for Productions. I was told I did not protect company ethics and my loyalty to the CEO was lacking. The COO who heads Production is new to the company and is not the Boss's choice. I was told I did not take up the case for the client who had now placed a complaint through the Board and the Board was so livid that they were considering our dismissal from the posts. I was aware of the said incident taking place at that time but I felt I had solved it there and then without involving clients or making a big deal out of it. It never occurred to me to cross check with the client regarding the complaint. I took my Boss's word for it. Instead I took issue with Productions and of course my own department.
Last weekend I met the client unexpected in a public place and somehow the conversation shifted to the COO. They were all praise for his effectiveness. They felt the firm had been delivering better since his entry. When I casually asked about the issue which had got so blown up six months ago they said that they had had no such issue with production ever! Why did my Boss lie? Should I confront him?

[hvert]

What do you want to get out of bringing this up to your boss? Are you sure the customer was not lying to you about making the complaint? Is there anyone else you could ask about this to try to find out the truth?

[winter4me]

I would sit down with the boss, describe your inadvertent meeting, and just ask, calmly, to "hear his side". Express concern for wanting to foster a healthy working environment that promotes problem solving etc. If you can, I would do this with a witness (you might just want to talk with HR about how to handle this, depends on your place in the company etc.)---you also could go to the person over your boss, after talking with him, to express your concern about his communications. (style and content & any information that might help you...) Sounds to me as if you handled the situation well at the time. No matter what the complain, or how legitimate, it is not helpful to act as your boss has...

[Perna]

It could be the boss, not liking the choice of the new COO, was trying to cause problems there or got the client "wrong" (meant someone else) or any number of things. Since all is quiet now and you are personally comfortable with the client feeling satisfied, I would let it drop as a mystery but be alert next time the boss raises a stink like that. It has been 6 months and the COO is no longer new/probably is not an issue for the boss (he realizes the COO is performing well and there's nothing he can do about it, etc.). Just don't trust your boss to that extent anymore since he has had this problem in your past.

[Coolerchic007]

Thanks for your posts. They are all insightful and the objectivity is indeed, helpful. It's been a while now but the relationship between the Boss and COO is just getting worse. Whatever the COO does is seen in an unimaginably negative light by the Boss and I find myself getting caught in the middle every-time especially since I handle a very sensitive department where it is not always possible to have facts and figures. I must add too that the COO is a very ambitious man and his main strategy is to make others look bad to make himself look good. Sometimes my Boss sees strategies and conspiracies where I see none and then he turns on me for not understanding work and company values despite being associated with the firm and his working methods for so long ( five years) I find the work environment progressively vitiated and the stress is really getting to me. The example I gave in the previous post is just the tip of the iceberg. I am thinking of putting in my papers. The Boss is all powerful and since the success story has been so remarkable in the firm, he sort of handles everything. Somehow the COO was appointed without his approval. HR is also an extension of the Boss's office. In the scheme of things I come at a no 4 position....I just think it's so unfair that I should be blamed for not standing up for something which at times I do not even see as wrong. It were as though the Boss wants me to lead a crusade against the COO. He wants him out but does not want to get his hands dirty. I mean, why does he not come out and say it? At least I would appreciate his honesty. Like I said...walking on egg shells at work...I love my job (at least I did till the COO came in) and I think the Boss has really delivered results and given me many opportunities in the past and I don't want to quit.

[winter4me]

"They" (studies) say, people don't leave their job generally, they leave their boss.

[hvert]

I think "they" are right!

[RachelCarsonfan]

That was the case for me a year ago. I really liked my job, except I felt some issues needed to be addressed, but my boss refused to even LOOK at what I was seeing that concerned me. The stress got to be too much, so I resigned. Two of my coworkers also left in the past year. Between the 3 of us, twenty years of experience walked out the door. Our boss was not only untrustworthy, she was also a bully! I wonder how many people have had similar experiences with bullying bosses....

[winter4me]

I know that I have invariably left the boss, rather than the job----except years ago when the job was in a factory, and it was time to move on---I actually missed those folks, and they gave me a really thoughtful goodbye gift...

[RachelCarsonfan]

Yes, I too look back and think about jobs I've had where the people were what really made the job worthwhile. We tend to think the most important part of a job is the work we do, but if we're working and spending 8+ hours a day there, the people and the physical environment are also a big part of how we feel about our jobs in many cases. And respect and appreciation from your boss and coworkers goes a long way towards offsetting other not so great aspects of a job. There's a boss I'd really love to go back and thank but have no way of getting in touch with him since it's been so long. He believed in and trusted me 100%....anybody else have a boss they'd love to thank?

[Perna]

I would think about whether you have learned/gotten what you want from this job and decide what you want to do "next", interview for other jobs that might move you along in your life/career and then weigh again, leave or stay.

I had a boss who never changed and I kept trying different methods to work around his faults to help "balance" him so we would be an effective team and get the work done so as not to upset/involve the company owner. I would complain occasionally to my therapist who would listen carefully and at one point, explained I could either get another job or I would become depressed (banging my head against a brick wall that would not change). I decided to stay because I identified a couple other things I wanted to work on for myself and how I worked and managed things and that was helpful to me until the boss changed jobs and I retired.