I was threatened!

Oh dear me, that is awful Nat!! I do not know how you stayed so calm when talking to him and then just cutting him off.

It's scary to think that he would threaten you like that over a car!

That is scary. We have had one person call in where I work and make a bomb threat. We think it was a former employee since it came in on our sick line.

But we have had people so upset that they said they were coming down to blow us up, even though they do not know which location we are in. We have to report it and from what I understand, the FBI comes knocking at their door. Though we are a private company, we are contracted by the US Dept. of Education and they take any threat seriously.

That must have been an awful experience, and it's fortunate the company is taking it seriously.

Why wasn't he arrested for threatening you?

That doesn't make any sense. You have all of his contact information, and if he's been recorded making a threat, yet alone repeat ones, then that should be cause enough to have him arrested. Did the police ask if you, your coworkers, or company wanted to press charges? In most states you can file as either a misdemeanor or a felony, and it doesn't matter whether or not they intend to or attempt to carry it out. Both can get imprisonment, and if a felony conviction is made its a strike against them, which if they already have others can get them locked away for good.

All our calls are recorded by our IP phone software, and while I haven't had any criminal threats against me, I did get an employee fired once, as he kept on even when I reminded him that the conversation is being recorded. No reason to let people like this victimize us, and if he's making repeat threats to y'all, he's probably doing it to others as well.

Nat, how terribly scary . The good thing is that you do have all of his information, right? He could be help accountable for his threats and you could follow through. I am sure the cops already told you of your options though. Still, such a worry. Glad you have that security guard posted!

Oh hon, how scary!! I work in collections, so unfortunately I've had the same thing happen to me... just keep your boss informed and save any messages the guy leaves- and keep records of how often he calls and at what time! That will help the police make a case.

How horrible, no one should have to deal with that.

I'm so sorry that happened to you!! I had trouble with a couple clients when I was teaching. One girl, in anger, told my co-instructor she wanted to punch me. But my co-instructor kind of snapped her out of it and she actually came to me and apologize.

The other was actually more serious. This woman had to be removed from my program by my boss and her counselor as well as myself and the other instructor. She was mentally unstable and known for her marksmanship... After she left we were under strict orders to call the police if we even saw her car near the building, to lock doors, etc. Fortunately she never came. She is one I hope I NEVER run into in public. Part of me hope she decided to move out of state...or country.

Oh wow, how awful! Thank heaven your company takes that sort of thing seriously. Can he be arrested for threatening you?

Seriously, if this guy told you he was in organized crime, the police ought to be doing a lot more than this. And who knows whether three days is enough? You shouldn't have to go to work in fear for your life!

A good year ago one co-worker older female) who also worked part time upset a younger male co-worker. I can't remember what exactly happened but the younger male co-worker who is a great person always exceeding job expectations told the other older female co-worker ( a slacker) just what he thought of her. It was kind of scary (for him) as he thought he was going to get fired. I told him not a chance as he was well respected by the owners.
One of the owners then called her on her day off to come in and chat and when she came in she walked pass me and in front of others said it was my fault!!
What I had recently happened is the owners gave me more of her hours as she really wasn't contributing much.
So she quit probably seconds before she was going to be fired.
I was concerned as several months before she pulled out of the parking lot right after I left and followed my vehicle for a bit.
I had an escort to my vehicle for several days as she (about 20 yrs ago) had been in the military. Thankfully nothing came of it.
My male co-worker: like me was promoted to mgmt over a year ago.

So Nat what I would do just to be on the safe side is do not take the same way home, perhaps go to a highly visible store (with a friend) just in case.

It's hard to believe how much emotion people can invest in a material possession like a car. At the beginning of the summer I got my dream car that I had been wanting for over 30 years but I wouldn't go to that extreme if something happened to it. In the end, as much as I have wanted it for a very long time, it is still just a car. Hopefully he is like my ex-husband was, just lets his emotions get the best of him and says things that he never follows through with.

*hugs* I'm sorry you went through that

He was likely just blowing off steam, but still! That's no excuse for making threats to do harm. And there are so many disturbed people out there that you just don't know if he is crazy enough to act on his threats!

I'm glad the company is taking it seriously and posting a guard!

Amen, that sounds like lazy police that didn't want to do the required legwork or at least didn't appreciate the gravity of the situation. Think they need a shove, as that's not cool.

That is scary!

does he know what you look like?

It does sound like the guy was just shooting his mouth off and trying to be Mr. Tough Guy. But he also sounds like an idiot and you don't take chances with those people. You just don't. Be alert and, if you feel uncomfortable going back and forth to work or you feel something is wrong, go back to the police. And travel with a friend for awhile, if you can.

I'm really sorry.

i worked in customer service before and the worst part is that many people think that you and the company are one. we're not! so if the companies screws the customers in any way like raising prices or discontinuing services, then you are the first person they blame. i'm just trying to help! thankfully i didnt receive threats like this but i've heard some very rude comments and yelling.

Don't worry about the "female dog" thing. You know you weren't rude; that's all that matters.

In my job, there are times when I have to meet with somebody who's done construction, but never did a land development plan. They are men; I'm a woman and....well, let's just say that sometimes it doesn't go well.

A few years back, a man built a large addition to his commercial property without doing a plan first. We found out about the addition and I had to meet with the guy. (It's all part of my job; that's what I do.) At that meeting, he was very courteous; he was upset, of course, but he was nice to me. His son, however, was a total a$$; almost 40 years old and a total jerk. In fact, he was so nasty that his father told him to go into the office and stay there until he could learn how to talk to people. I'm sure that didn't go over well with the son.

Anyway, we had to threaten court action and I did so in a letter that I wrote and was reviewed by my boss (due to the nature of the circumstances, he reviewed the letter before I sent it out via certified mail). The guy wrote a horrible letter to our bosses, saying that I was completely unprofessional, discourteous, etc. He was going to get an attorney; he didn't have to do this; he didn't have to deal with that. Thankfully, I had somebody with me during the discussion and he backed me up, that I was very professional, very nice, that at no time did I raise my voice, no profanity, nothing like what the guy wrote in his letter.

And there was one time when I was talking to a man who was trying to put an apartment in his attic....big no-no when there's no emergency exit. I'm leaning against the wooden railing of the walk and we're chatting. No raised voices, no profanity, nothing of any sort that was wrong. He wrote a letter to my boss that he was an old man and he feared for his life because of my temper! All I did was lean against the railing while we were talking. In this case, one of the neighbors was eavesdropping; I knew the neighbor and talked to her. She came into the office and supported me.

Men! (not all men)

Honestly, some guys have a thing about having to talk to a female. They don't like women in any kind of authority.

I agree with Gail to change your route to and home from work. I hope he is just blowing smoke!

Years ago I worked for the bankruptcy Trustee. When people filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy, they would come in to our office to make their payment. This one guy came in very upset and the office manager had him in his office. They were both yelling and screaming and we were all scared to death. We just couldn't imagine why our Office Manager wasn't trying to calm him down and were scared to death of what this guy might do. Fortunately, it ended up okay.

Wow. IMO, just saying he was part of an organized crime ring and saying he was coming to your office is enough of a inference to be held for threatening you. What else could he possibly mean?

Soooooooo, if they don't know about it, he must not be in organized crime? Al Capone was only a tax evader, right?

Could be he was just shooting his mouth off. Who knows? I agree with everyone else. Take all possible precautions.