I had been working at Athletic Surplus for less than a year, but I felt like an old pro. I had learned many of the ins and outs of how the business worked and was confident in my skills at running the place. This was my show. I was at the helm of the number one Athletic Surplus in the country, and I was also the number one sales associate. I had cruised through my STAMP training and was now just waiting for the call to be promoted.
"Hey, Trevor, can I speak with you for a minute?"
"Sure, Marc, what's up?"
"So, I'm not sure if you have heard yet, but I'm moving to Toronto. I accepted an offer to be the district manager out there."
"Wow, congratulations! I'm really happy for you although I'll be sad to see you go. So who is going to take over your position here?" I asked. I was hoping he would say my name, but in all likelihood, Jamie would probably become the new store manager and everyone else would get shuffled upward.
"They actually got this new guy, Isaac. He's transferring from one of our stores out east. I've never met him, but I hear great things."
I was a little disappointed, but I didn't say anything. I figured I would just bide my time and eventually they would promote me. Right now, I was deniable. I needed to work harder so I would become undeniable. I needed to make it impossible to ignore my hustle.
***
The day Isaac showed up, I was a little apprehensive. After all, he could completely change the dynamics of the store. I figured he would have something to prove and would want to establish his dominance early on. I knew I would probably lose a lot of my freedom.
Just after lunchtime, a short Asian man walked into our store and introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Isaac, you must be Trevor? I've heard a lot about you."
"Welcome aboard, Isaac. Let me know if you need anything from me, I'd be happy to help you."
I was not sure what it was about Isaac, but something about him rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it was the slight air of arrogance he carried around with him, probably an overcompensation to make up for his physical shortcomings.
***
It had been over a week into the job and Isaac still had not shown his face much on the sales floor. It was fine with me. He could stay in the back all he wanted and let me continue to command my squadron.
I poked my head into the backroom on some down time and asked how everything was going. He was noticeably busy on the computer and had paper work everywhere.
"Are you making some adjustments to the schedule?" I asked.
"You'll find out soon enough," he said in a condescending tone.
Screw you too, I thought. "Okay, just let me know if you need any help. I've been doing the schedule for the past few months and have memorized everyone's shift preferences and availability."
Isaac said nothing.
The following morning, I came in at 10:00 a.m.
"Hey, man, what's up?" I said to Carlos.
"Hey, why did you cut my hours!" he demanded, ignoring the civil pleasantries.
"I wasn't aware your hours had been cut, Carlos."
"Yeah, well they are. Everyone's hours were cut."
"Okay, let me see what's going on."
When I went to the back, I saw Isaac at the computer again. He didn't say anything to me or even look at me. I walked up to where the schedule was posted and looked for my name under the 'manager trainee' slot. It wasn't there. What the heck. I scanned down the list and saw my name listed alphabetically with the others. Okay, no big deal. I glanced across to my hours for the upcoming week, it read '20'.
"Hey, Isaac, did you make this schedule?"
"What's that?" he said, trying his best to ignore me.
"The schedule? Did you make this schedule?" I asked, trying to conceal my anger.
"Yes."
Okay, now this guy was really starting to piss me off. First he ignored me, now he was trying to play coy with me as if he didn't know he just demoted me without cause and cut my hours in half.
"Is there any reason why my name is no longer under the 'manager trainee' column and why my hours have been reduced?"
"Just doing a little bit of house cleaning. Don't worry, you'll be manager trainee again."
"House cleaning?"
"We just need to take one step back in order to take two steps forward."
"In case you don't know, I'm the number one sales associate in the country; you can't just cut my hours."
"I'm sure you are."
"It's not an opinion, it's a fact. Look it up."
"I don't have to. Things are going to be run a little differently around here from now on."
"Whatever," I said under my breath. I walked onto the sales floor noticeably pissed off. I had worked really hard to get to where I was at, and then some pompous jerk came in and undid it all almost overnight.
***
Every night at closing, the big cage gate was protracted from the wall and locked into place, securing the store from any entry and exit. Typically, we would leave all the TVs and music playing during closing, but ever since Isaac took charge, he put an end to that. For the next half an hour, I cleaned up the store and restocked the shelves just like everyone else, in silence. I was robbed of any power I had. It was no longer enjoyable being there, but I still needed the money. My plan was to just ride it out and get my old position back.
One night at closing, Isaac came out in his grand bravado to make a big announcement. "Listen up, boys and girls, nobody leaves tonight until all this new merchandise is security tagged and put onto the floor." There was no discussion, it was an order.
I looked at all the boxes we received and estimated it would take us about an hour and a half to tag and stock all of these items. We were all scheduled to be off at 9:30, less than twenty minutes away.
I stayed and tagged with the rest of them for the next twenty minutes. When it was 9:30, I yelled out to Isaac.
"Hey, Isaac!"
"What?"
"I need you to come check my bag and let me out," I said, in a somewhat cocky tone. The rest of the staff continued to do what they were told. The Athletic Surplus had a habit of not paying overtime and I was not interested in working for some tyrant for free. I had to keep a promise to myself, to never be taken advantage of again.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked. "I told you nobody leaves until all this merchandise is tagged."
"My schedule says my shift ends at 9:30, so I'm off now."
Isaac stood there for a moment. I had blatantly defied his authority in front of everybody. He walked over to the cashier desk, grabbed a plastic hanger, and whipped it against one of the clothing racks. It shattered in several small pieces.
"Is everything alright?" I asked smugly, holding open my bag so he could perform the security check. My eyes were staring directly through his. I was not backing down, and he knew it. He opened the metal gate and allowed me to leave. Without even the slightest attempt at making eye contact, he slammed the cage door shut and aggressively fastened the lock.
"See you guys later," I said, as I looked back, waving.
The next day, I expected some sort of retaliation - bathroom duty, stockroom duty, heavy lifting... When I arrived to work, I went to the back and put my things in my locker. I grabbed the schedule to see whom I was working with that day. I noticed my hours were once again reduced down to fourteen. The number one sales associate and former manager trainee now works twice a week. It sure didn't take long for things to change around there. This was a lesson I was already familiar with, so I was prepared for it.
"Hey, Isaac, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"What?" he said coldly.
"Is there any reason why you cut my hours again?"
"I made the decision to reduce your hours, along with everybody else's last week."
"Yes, but I had twenty hours, now I have fourteen."
"Oh, the twenty was an oversight."
"You know what, Isaac... you're a little weasel. I was cool with you until you started to mess with me. Your big ego couldn't handle the fact that I outshine you. Or maybe you were picked on in school and this is your way for getting back at the popular kid. It's no wonder nobody likes you. You disgust me you little worm. You should be fired," I said looking down on him.
"Are you done?" he asked.
"No, go to hell, I quit!"