Coworker Hell


Book Description

Backstabbers and Slackers and Mismanagers, Oh My! On the battlefields of retail hell, sometimes your “allies” turn out to be your worst enemies . . . When managers can’t run their stores and when coworkers refuse to actually work, shifts in retail go from bad to hellish and fast. There’s no one to turn to when the customers get mean, and there’s no one in to play defense when patrons complain. In these 28 hilarious-but-true stories, RetailHellUnderground.com bloggers pick their bones with the worst coworkers in memory - from lunch-stealing liars to power-hungry managers to snide corporate reps and more! It’s time these retail slaves - and even the customers - gave them what they really deserve!




Return to the Big Fancy


Book Description

Bigger, Fancier, and more cutthorat than ever! When Freeman Hall left The Big Fancy to pursue his screenwriting dreams, he thought the horrors of working in a handbag department were finally over. But instead of fame and fortune, he found himself stuck behind a wall of script-killing rewrites, unable to make a living. In Return to the Big Fancy, Freeman shares his wildly entertaining journey back through the fiery gates of Retail Hell. He thought he had seen it all in his day, but with the bar set higher than ever before, employees are now graciously bowing before Corporate as they climb over fellow salespeople, and even friends, to earn enough transactions and commissions to actually survive. As he learns more of the wretchedness that has befallen the sales floor, he realizes that The Big Fancy has its customers and its employees on a short leash. But leave it to Freeman and the threat of disappearing commissions to rally the retail slaves and show Corporate who's really in charge!




Bad Bosses, Crazy Coworkers & Other Office Idiots


Book Description

Have you confronted any of these coworkers or bosses recently? The Grumpy Martyr The Boss's Pet The Credit Snatcher Bad Bosses, Crazy Coworkers & Other Office Idiots is designed to help people with all their office issues, from an exasperating coworker to a boss from hell. This book helps readers quickly pinpoint their problems and implement immediate tactics to resolve them. Vicky Oliver has helped more than 5,000 working people at different levels in different fields resolve their work problems. Bad Bosses, Crazy Coworkers & Other Office Idiots is a direct result of what she has learned as a career expert who has made herself available to help people in their times of need. With this book in hand, readers will have the answers to all their difficult work issues and will see their job satisfaction skyrocket.




Retail Hell


Book Description

From Act I: "I think you left these behind," I said, handing them to her. This happens all the time when women try to return bags they've used. Tampons, lipstick, coins, Tic Tacs, and condoms are the top treasures found. "Greasy" let out a sigh as if I were the problem. "I really don't see what the problem is here. It's none of your business what I keep in my handbag." It is when my commission is at stake! I'm not your Designer Handbag Rental Service! My name is not BagBorrowOrSteal.com! This is a place Freeman Hall, a twenty-year veteran "on the floor," knows well. While delivering side-splitting stories alongside brutally cynical commentary, Freeman recounts his most shocking experiences in Retail Hell. From the time he was attacked by a customer's four-year-old, who grabbed onto his leg like a poodle and wouldn't let go, to the day he found the fitting room walls covered in s**t, Freeman has seen and heard (smelled and felt) it all! Horrifying and hilarious, this behind-the-scenes look at what really goes on at the Big Fancy Stores is rollicking, ready-to-wear wisdom for readers everywhere.




Ask a Manager


Book Description

From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday party Praise for Ask a Manager “A must-read for anyone who works . . . [Alison Green’s] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author’s friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers’ lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green’s Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together




Winning with the Employee from Hell


Book Description

Annotation This guide helps managers determine which of their problem employees may need a little encouragement, a little direction, a full-fledged attitude adjustment, or to be set free. Managers learn how to work with a myriad of challenging personality types--from those who just can't seem to get the job done to negative, whiny, and uncooperative ones. Employers learn the importance of setting goals, observing and assessing performance, and responding with motivating and nonnegotiable performance standards.




High Octane Women


Book Description

In this authoritative, well-researched book, full of helpful insights and practical advice, a psychologist draws on more than 15 years experience and expertise in stress management to explore the unique challenges that high-achieving women face and how they can avoid burnout.




Some Hell


Book Description

A wrenching and layered debut novel about a gay teen’s coming-of-age in the aftermath of his father’s suicide Colin’s family is dissolving in the aftermath of his father’s suicide. While his mother, Diane, retreats into therapy and cynicism, Colin clings to every shred of normal life. Awash with guilt, he casts about for someone to confide in: first his estranged grandfather, then a predatory science teacher. Shunned by his siblings and rejected by his homophobic best friend, Colin immerses himself in the notebooks his father left behind. Full of strange facts, lists, and historical anecdotes that neither Colin nor Diane can understand, the notebooks infect their worldview until they can no longer tell what’s real and what’s imagined. A novel of aching intensity, Some Hell shows how unspeakable tragedy shapes a life, and how imagination saves us from ourselves.




Cliff Zane


Book Description

This is a story approximately seventy thousand words of a retired state worker who is arrested and convicted of first-degree murder. He receives a sixty-five-year sentence in prison. The main characters are Cliff Zane and a talking cat named Marvin that is addicted to Land O'Lakes cheese, has an IQ of 162, and is also a male chauvinist feline. The story reveals how Marvin, who has omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and clairvoyant powers, guides and directs Cliff through his two trials, his conviction, and his imprisonment. Marvin finally does get Cliff released after three years in the state penitentiary by forcing witnesses to recant their false testimonies and by revealing the real murderer. Now, Cliff can cater to Marvin's physical needs like food, water, shelter, and vet care. Now, Cliff and Marvin can get back on track and enjoy the time that they have left with each other. The writing deals with the heartache and depression of a man who has been institutionalized in the state penitentiary because of free-will choices made by him and others. It demonstrates the injustice of the judicial system. The reader will see how circumstantial evidence convicts innocent people. It reveals the incompetence, ineptness, and mismanagement of the legal system. After Cliff's conviction, Marvin points out relevant truths that should have set Cliff free in the first place. However, Marvin is not allowed to interfere with free will. One by one, Marvin points out the wrongs and hypocrisy of the system. The real murderer must be convicted before Cliff can be set free. The story has a shocking ending, which leaves the reader to form his or her own conclusions about free-will choices made by all of us every day. This is a sequel to Sixty-Two Days to Eternity.




Left for Dead


Book Description

Ali travels to Tucson, Arizona, to clear the name of her friend Jose Reyes, Santa Cruz County deputy sheriff, who is suspected of being involved in the drug trade.