Sara and Melissa Talk About...Horrible Bosses

We've been running a column series to get more personal with our readers. We are currently in our fifth year!

This month, we are talking about experiences we've had with people who don't deserve to be in the higher managerial position they were given, based on how they treat people. (Key example: Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada.)

We're always open to topic suggestions, so please don't hesitate to share those in the comments. We'd also love to know if you can relate to anything we've said or hear your own thoughts on the topic. So don't be shy. :) We look forward to getting to know you as much as we're letting you get to know us. You can find our previous columns here, in case you missed them. 

Sara Steven:

Over two decades ago, I fell into property management. I say “fell” because it had never been on my radar, not until a neighbor friend recommended I apply. In those days, property management consisted of paper applications, personal check security deposits, index card-sized guest cards, and an old CRM (customer relationship management) software program known as Rent Roll. 

I left the biz the summer of 2012, in order to pursue other things–namely raising a family. I never intended to get back into property management, but there is something about the real estate realm that has always fascinated me. I practically beg friends to let me go along and look at open houses or homes for sale, and when my mother-in-law had considered moving into an apartment a few years back, I felt like I’d died and gone to heaven. 

Back then, I’d found a family within the apartment communities I’d worked for. I’d gotten lucky– the first manager I worked for was like a mother to me.

I had high hopes when I got back out there in the job market last year, feeling like I’d hit the jackpot when a small company in the east valley took a chance on me. Once a leasing consultant, always a leasing consultant, and while I still had my customer service and sales skills, now I had to learn new CRM programs like Yardi and Knock, with online applications and payments, and computerized background screens and lease documentation. 

Commissions were never an option, not way back when, but commissions are a huge deal now, one of the selling points when I initially spoke with the recruiter. If I toured someone and they applied and moved into the community, I’d receive $100. There was no cap on applicants. Sky’s the limit.

During my time at that community, I went through five managers. FIVE. And to give a little more perspective, I worked in that office for just a little over a year. The first manager moved to a larger community within the company, a promotion for her. We got along just fine, but I found out later that she’d been skimming from my commissions–she was responsible for sending in a list of everyone’s monthly bonuses, but she’d replace our names with hers on that list. At one point she told me that commissions were taxed at a 40% rate, which explained why I’d take in say six applicants, which should have been $600, yet I’d maybe see $350 of that. I found out later that she lied to me about the tax rate, but I had no reason to believe she would ever lie to me, considering how well we got along. 

When she left, a new manager took her place–someone who was already working for the company and was going through a sale. The new manager was super nice, but she moved on just two months later when another property management company had offered her a better job and better pay. I found out she was also skimming off the commissions, but not nearly as much as the first manager did. The third and fourth managers were honest people and never skimmed from any of us–it was the first time I noticed my commissions seemed to actually match up with my bonuses. I enjoyed working with them, but much like with the second manager, the offerings from other property management companies were just too great, so they left and moved on to other communities. 

The fifth manager had also gone through a sale of the community she’d been managing, but she lived on the west side of Phoenix and we were all confused as to why she’d make the near hour drive to our community, especially since she’d been given a pick of a few places to take over. She complained about the clubhouse, the community, the grounds, the staff…nothing was up to snuff for her, yet she’d agreed to manage a property she appeared to despise. I had to navigate various management styles with all of the prior managers I worked for, and they were all different and required different ways of doing things, but this one didn’t like anything I did, or said that the way we ran the office was wrong. I’d just had my year review and the regional manager had nothing but good things to say, so it was a confusing experience to go from getting praised to being criticized.

My second weekend under her management, I noticed that all of my leads, 100+, had been removed from my name and been moved into her name. I figured it out when someone I’d toured with the prior weekend applied, which should have been listed under me, but they weren’t. They were listed under her. Which would mean the commission would go to her. I brought it up to the regional manager, who informed me that there was no way she’d ever do such a thing–and how wrong he was. I found out later that there were others, I wasn’t the only one. And she claimed some sort of glitch in the system, which was also false–the software tracks every step taken, and in each and every lead of mine, it showed where she removed my name from the lead, then applied those leads to her. 

I sent screenshots of proof to the regional, who refused to do anything about it. If I’d known he was having an affair with her, maybe I would have saved myself the time and effort. It made more sense as to why she’d decided to take that community, considering she’d get to work under (pun intended) the man she was involved with. I knew there was no way I could keep working for such an awful person and awful company so I gave my notice. I’d already dealt with a lot of scandalous behaviors from the other managers I’d worked for, but I had to draw a line somewhere. I felt like I’d handled more than enough crap and I was DONE. It was disheartening (and still is) to see just how much the industry has changed and how ugly people can get when it comes to commissions–with the people who you are meant to rely on and have hopes to form great relationships with. 

The first of many texts by her

Melissa Amster:

I've had a variety of "horrible boss" situations over the years, but they definitely pale in comparison to my husband's first boss after we moved to Maryland. He was a horrible tyrant who would yell at someone for bringing cake to a meeting (to share with everyone) and got mad at my husband for calling to check on me when I injured my eye. He made my husband physically ill from stress to the point where he quit without anything else as a backup. He's worked for some other "interesting" people over the years, as well. (Thankfully his current boss is wonderful!) And my son currently hates his manager at his part-time job and has filed several complaints with the owner about them. Not that anyone is doing anything about it. 

So my gripes with past bosses are minor overall. There was one who belittled me and I didn't like working for her at all. I think she was happy when I moved on. Another wasn't even my direct boss, but had an impact on my stress levels and aggravation anyway. My friend (who worked directly for her) and I would call her "Devil Wears Prada." That friend quit on the spot because of how she was treated and this boss treated subsequent assistants the same way. The boss I had at my first job out of college is what Romy would refer to as a "nasty b*tch." She just didn't have it in her to be nice, like ever. I was only at that job for maybe a month. I recently saw something on Instagram that reminded me of her.

A similar situation happened when I was out with a bunch of people for dinner from my first job. The boss in question was there too. I was very picky about the food and ended up ordering a salad and maybe a soda. Everyone else ordered expensive stuff and then sprung it on me at the end that we all had to split the bill evenly. This was a new concept for me (#adulting) and I was not prepared for that at all based on how much money I brought with. The boss ended up spotting me for the rest of what I shouldn't have even had to pay and she was being totally pissy about it. 

The job I got right after leaving the evil boss was decent overall. My boss could be a real piece of work sometimes and was kind and motherly other times. My friend and I used to call the walk to her office "The Green Mile" and we'd imitate her saying "What are WE working on?". 

I have had some male bosses who weren't that great to work with, as some would micromanage or be inflexible about things. Still few and far between though. 

I'm thankful that I like who I work for now and that she makes me feel appreciated. I've learned so much and gained a lot of new experiences, as well. 

Have you had any experiences with horrible bosses?

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