Where are we, preschool?

"You have too many Tonka trucks! I'm taking one!" "You have too many legos, these are mine!!"

Those both sound a lot like what this girl where I work just said. "You have too many carts in here, this one is mine!" And runs off with a small cart my co-worker has been using for almost a year. Where I work, we have big carts and small carts for transporting our samples from the cooler to the lab and back again. Most of us in the lab keep small carts to reduce clutter (they're about half the size of our regular carts) in the room. I have one I've been using since 2006 when I started, and there's another I use from time to time to transport samples between the lab and a storage room, and use it to store samples on that we've had in the lab since '07. My co-worker has a cart she's been using since last year when she started. Usually there are no problems with it, everyone kind of respects that it is "your" cart, even if it really is the "company's" cart.

The girl who is on a tirade is from the sample management area, saying that we stole her cart this morning. Yet as I explained above, we've all had these for awhile now. So she storms in and takes my co-workers cart and says "well this is mine now!" And storms back out. Co-worker came back and asked where her cart was so she could get samples and I told her the other girl took it to the sample management area. She went to go retrieve it, and a minute later the angry girl comes back and asks "Where are the rest of the f***ing carts?!?! I dont care if you're using them I AM TAKING IT!" So she went into the storage room and took the other one I have (which had samples being stored on it), removed them somewhere (not good) and took off again. Which will be fine, come 12pm when she leaves I'll just retrieve it from that area and hope I can find the samples she took off it and put it all back to normal.

Point of this is that I feel like I'm in preschool again fighting over stupid stuff. Are people really that immature where I work?!? This girl is a 28 year old mom of 3. You'd think she'd grown up somewhere along the line. She's been really crabby for the last few months. Used to be really nice to all of us, and then one day started snapping at us, having an attitude, throwing baskets of samples down in the lab, and now freaking out over carts we've been using forever.

Just needed to vent, and hope that me and my other 2 co-workers in here aren't the only ones that find this highly immature.

Something is eating at her and instead of handling it, she is taking her frusties out on you guys. Yes, very immature. Sorry you have to go through this. Can you approach her supervisor about her change in behavior, not to get punished, but to find out what's wrong and channel her anger in some other way?

All of you need to report her behavior. For the simple fact, she has no right to cuss at you and be disrespectful.

Someone obviously was not taught about how to share when a child. I would label the carts with names if you want and inform management about the actions and her cussing at you about it.

When I was in nursing school, I was very surprised at the behavior I saw. I couldn't believe adults acted pretty much in the way your co-worker did, complete with fight between students that involved calling campus police. Now most of my fellow students have moved on, achieving much higher nursing degrees. It's scary to think that these are the same people I grew to know so well. Sorry, didn't mean to turn the thread around about myself...but what I meant to say was: cart girl has got to go!

Its kind of funny, I used to work that job too, and did for a year. I was hired into that department and finally got into a lab after much persistance. And I was NEVER that way to people over a cart! Heck, I was never that way to people at all. Her supervisor is my ex-supervisor (thankfully, I couldnt take it anymore! He was so unfair to some people and a horrible group leader!) I dont know how far I'd get with him, considering last time we complained about things concerning that area, it was brushed off as nothing and no one was spoken to. There are 3 witnesses to the first part of her anger, and myself for the 2nd part when she stormed back in and said she didn't care if we were using it she was taking it.

After I got back from lunch, I saw the other lady who works in there that I used to work alongside and asked her if I could get that other cart back because the girl had just come in and taken it and there had been stuff on it. She said she didn't care, and didn't know what her problem was, just that I will have to deal with it on Monday if the girl gets angry again. Which is fine. I'll be sure to let my group leader know and let him witness it as well. She used to work in the lab with us at one time, until she got pregnant. She used to tell us how much she hated working in here and wanted her old job back. By getting pregnant, she was able to remove herself from the lab (all the hazards in here, you can opt out of your lab job). Now she tells my group leader she wants me to get pregnant so he will replace me (which even if I WANTED to get pregnant, he wouldn't replace me and has told me that I have this job for as long as I want) with her.

Hah speaking of her supervisor, he just walked by giving someone an interview. With any luck, he'll replace her. There are a few people who really need to be let go, they just are afraid to. One of my co-workers in the lab threatened to pull the "race card" on them if they ever fired her. There's way too much drama and immaturity here. Usually I can avoid it though, because the Mercury lab is really just me and a guy who used to work 1st shift Metals with me. So I only have to deal with him and vice versa. In Metals, there's always drama, and there's 4 of them. So I can generally sit back and watch the drama go by without being involved. Every so often though you get someone in here who just needs to involve everyone in something stupid and trivial.

PS: My name IS on the cart I've had for 3 years. It also has a sticker on it to distinguish it, as well as my husband's handwriting on part of it from when he worked here and someone else tried to be immature and hide it from me while I was using it. I really didn't feel like I needed to put anything on the other cart. It DOES have "HG LAB" written on the side of it though. The other girl had her name on papers she decorated and taped to the 1st cart that was taken, and the PO'd girl ripped all of it off and wrote her department on it instead.

And no worries on turning the thread nurseangel: Giving real examples/experiences is always good with answering a thread IMO!

If anything happens again, something will definitely have to be mentioned to not just her supervisor but mine as well. I AM considering sending an email over to her group leader and letting her know her attitude needs a slight adjustment because it's very unprofessional as of late.

This is why I work for myself!

My previous job, which I moved 2,000 miles to take, ended up not being the opportunity it was supposed to be, despite the fact that I had worked independently for the guy before I ever went there.

Turns out the people they hired were child molesters, rapists, druggies, you name it. The person I worked for (the company owner) didn't actually come to the office because "he didn't want to be around those people"... 0_o

That sucks!

I am so lucky to have adult coworkers...none of that BS goes on.

One of my co-workers can have a similar attitude. If a customer comes in and ask advice for what type of bread would go with a certain meal and if that customer is standing by her its "her" customer and I cannot offer advice! She has pointed this out to me several times-YIKES.

Hoping the situation resolves itself.

I would definitely report her behavior to any supervisors who'll listen.

Thankfully my current store is free of BS like that... we'vehad a few whackjobs, but they've gotten themselves fired or have left of their own accord. I do have one woman who's very snobby. I don't care if you're training to be an x-ray tech... you are working a retail job and you don't go around talking smack about people in such a negative way. I vent when someone upsets me... but this one really digs into the negativity.

My friends work at a different fabric store in town... and they have a woman... probably in her 60's or 70's, who has announced that no one else is allowed to cut the silk... ever. Only she is allowed. Granted... she only works a day or two a week... ummm... yeah. And if she's in the store and you have a customer with silk, she somehow has a 6th sense about it and will swoop in and take the silk away and cut it. All of this thoroughly confuses the poor customers...

yeah... they're everywhere... it's kinda scary.

Amanda