Do managers matter at work? Heck yes!

@TheHorse (205773)
Walnut Creek, California
August 6, 2022 10:34am CST
I mentioned in a previous post that I had a really cool supervisor at Guitar Center. He knew the names of my students and made them feel comfortable. He called me when a student had cancelled, so I could rearrange my food breaks. He was forgiving when students had to cancel late, and did not deduct a lesson from them. He even bought us pizza sometimes, so we would not starve to death while teaching. But he moved on to another position at our store. He has been replaced by another fella who seems to be a decent young man, but he is not as special as the other guy. And he's on my sh*t-list right now because he may have cost me one of my favorite students. She is a little girl of eight who is fired up about both guitar and piano. I have taught her chords and scales and standard kid songs like Mary Had a Little Lamb and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. But I have also taught her the intro to Smoke on the Water, the lead to Sweet Child of mine, and much of the intro to Yes's Roundabout. And the first few measures of Bach's Minuet in G on piano. I'll try to attach a photo of the two of us after she performed at one of our student "Open Houses." She practices every week and is fearless about performing. She also thinks I'm "the best teacher ever." Her dad called me the other day and told me had had cancelled her lessons for now. My new supervisor and he had had an argument over payment. The father has some sort of gift card from her elementary school that helps pay for her lessons. The new supervisor demanded dad's credit card information over the phone. Dad had said he was busy at work and would deal with it when he brought his daughter in. The supervisor would not relent, and dad got pissed off and cancelled her lessons. I will call my supervisor's supervisor and hope that things can get worked out. The father said to me, "I would never set foot in that store again, because of that guy." Was he throwing a bit of a tantrum (I deal with tantrums every day in my other main job)? I would have to say yes. But is his frustration justified? Again I would have to say yes. I'll leave it at that for now.
16 people like this
14 responses
@JudyEv (325818)
• Rockingham, Australia
7 Aug 22
That is such a shame. Can you give private lessons? I hope it can be sorted. And I've just been reading about spontaneous fires starting from underground in Montana.
4 people like this
@TheHorse (205773)
• Walnut Creek, California
7 Aug 22
Do they know what is causing them? Is it near Yellowstone?
4 people like this
@TheHorse (205773)
• Walnut Creek, California
7 Aug 22
You sent me down a rabbit hole. I just finished this article. Coal fires. Mostly to the southeast of my cabin.
https://www.hcn.org/issues/54.8/wildfire-the-fires-below
4 people like this
@JudyEv (325818)
• Rockingham, Australia
7 Aug 22
@TheHorse I didn't actually read all the article but I see you went down the rabbit-hole yourself.
5 people like this
@luisga814 (6913)
• Quezon City, Philippines
6 Aug 22
Guitar Center is somewhat a place of selling guitars and other string instruments?
3 people like this
@TheHorse (205773)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Aug 22
Guitar Center is a large corporation. They sell guitars, electric pianos, recording equipment, etc. They also offer guitar, bass and piano lessons.
3 people like this
@luisga814 (6913)
• Quezon City, Philippines
6 Aug 22
@TheHorse Oh. Great to know. I just remember this name because that supposedly my account as a customer service representative 3 years ago. But didn't continue, my supervisors then, choses me to send to a fashion dress and shoes.
3 people like this
@TheHorse (205773)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Aug 22
@luisga814 Heh. What did you do for Guitar Center?
3 people like this
@celticeagle (159058)
• Boise, Idaho
6 Aug 22
Not good business to act like that at all. How long do you think this guy will last with his attitude?
3 people like this
@celticeagle (159058)
• Boise, Idaho
7 Aug 22
@TheHorse.........I hope they nip it/him in the bud.
3 people like this
@TheHorse (205773)
• Walnut Creek, California
7 Aug 22
@celticeagle I will provide a report.
3 people like this
@TheHorse (205773)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Aug 22
I have no clue. I talked to the Guitar Center "lead" today. I wasn't able to get through to his supervisor.
3 people like this
@xander6464 (40884)
• Wapello, Iowa
8 Aug 22
Some managers have to learn, "The customer is always right," the hard way. I hope things get worked out.
2 people like this
@xander6464 (40884)
• Wapello, Iowa
8 Aug 22
@TheHorse Things are moving in the right direction.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (205773)
• Walnut Creek, California
8 Aug 22
@xander6464 I am OK with "moving in the right direction."
2 people like this
@TheHorse (205773)
• Walnut Creek, California
8 Aug 22
We made some progress today. She and I have a lesson next week. But her dad is still majorly pissed off.
2 people like this
@RubyHawk (99425)
• Atlanta, Georgia
6 Aug 22
What a shame I don’t know what kind of excuse your supervisor cooked-up that prevented him from waiting until the child came in for payment but he’ll lose customers if he keeps that up. The little girl will be so disappointed.
3 people like this
@TheHorse (205773)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Aug 22
Her dad told me she was WAY disappointed.
3 people like this
@TheHorse (205773)
• Walnut Creek, California
7 Aug 22
@RubyHawk Maybe things can be fixed. I don't know.
3 people like this
@RubyHawk (99425)
• Atlanta, Georgia
6 Aug 22
@TheHorse That’s too sad.
3 people like this
@porwest (78761)
• United States
8 Aug 22
There are good managers and bad ones. Similar to what we used to say in the Navy. "There are chiefs, and there are E-7s." They both wore anchors on their collars, but the ones that mattered were the ones that respected you, and they equally commanded respect. THOSE were the chiefs. The rest were just E-7s. Sometimes you run into a guy who just tends to forget that while he is "in charge," the PEOPLE who are UNDER him are actually the ones who call the shots. Respect the people working for you and they will perform for you. Treat them poorly and they'll gives you poor results. It's that simple. Plus, there's the turnaround thing. If they have to keep hiring new people, it makes their job harder. Of course, they tend to always blame the other guy for their own failures to lead.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (205773)
• Walnut Creek, California
9 Aug 22
What is the meaning of the term, "E-7"?
2 people like this
@TheHorse (205773)
• Walnut Creek, California
10 Aug 22
@porwest So E-7 is pretty high up there?
2 people like this
@porwest (78761)
• United States
9 Aug 22
@TheHorse It is a military rank on the enlisted side. In the Navy E-1 is a seaman recruit, E-2 is a seaman apprentice, E-3 is a seaman, E-4 is a petty officer third class, E-5 is a petty officer 2nd class, E-6 is a petty officer 1st class, E-7 is a chief petty officer, E-8 is a senior chief petty officer and E-9 is a master chief petty officer.
2 people like this
@BarBaraPrz (45498)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
6 Aug 22
If she was already a student there why did the new manager demand the payment information that should have been on file? Very nice pic, btw, just photoshop out the cartons in the background.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (205773)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Aug 22
Should we replace them with unicorns and rainbows?
2 people like this
@BarBaraPrz (45498)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
6 Aug 22
@TheHorse No, blue sky will do.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (205773)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Aug 22
@BarBaraPrz We have some good photoshoppers here. I'll leave it up to them.
2 people like this
@vandana7 (98830)
• India
13 Aug 22
Hey Pony, you are looking very happy ...is it the effect of the new girlfriend? Now, that makes me certain of more blood meals. You sure are thin... do you all get taxed more for eating more? Whatever...quite a change from the white T Shirt.
1 person likes this
@vandana7 (98830)
• India
15 Aug 22
@TheHorse You know what, I should be throwing tantrums at you...but afraid that they may boomerang.
@TheHorse (205773)
• Walnut Creek, California
15 Aug 22
It was an enjoyable moment.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (458233)
• Switzerland
7 Aug 22
This is a shame, a Manager should never be so "strict" he told him he could not take care of the matter at that moment, he had not to insist. Do you believe you can do something talking with his daughter?
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (458233)
• Switzerland
15 Aug 22
@TheHorse Not good, this manager must go.
@TheHorse (205773)
• Walnut Creek, California
15 Aug 22
I talked to her dad and "lured him back into the fold." But another call to her dad from my manager undid my good work, and I did not get to teach her last week.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (95226)
• Marion, Ohio
7 Aug 22
A manager can make or break a business.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (205773)
• Walnut Creek, California
15 Aug 22
I am learning about this now.
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (15742)
• Raurkela, India
7 Aug 22
Some supervisors are sometimes very inconsiderate and therefore loose clients or students or whoever they work with. They need to study the situation first.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (156276)
• United States
7 Aug 22
That is such a shame!!! Hopefully things can get worked out. I love the picture.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (205773)
• Walnut Creek, California
15 Aug 22
It's an ongoing saga.
1 person likes this
@arunima25 (85328)
• Bangalore, India
6 Aug 22
Sorry about the situation..It hurts to loose a good student. I just hope that the father of the girl and the supervisor talk once again and sort the things out and the girl is back to classes.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (205773)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Aug 22
I am going to contact my supervisor's supervisor. She was supposed to contact the student's father, but had not yet as of when I spoke with him.
2 people like this
@arunima25 (85328)
• Bangalore, India
9 Aug 22
@TheHorse Hope all is sorted soon. It's a shame that the girl has to miss the classes due to all the misunderstanding and miscommunication.
1 person likes this
@Nakitakona (56302)
• Philippines
14 Aug 22
That's reality. That situation is stressful. The kid is really affected.