Tanning Salon Tales

Last summer, I got a job at a tanning salon until the semester started. Since I was a bit of a tan-a-holic I was up for the free tanning. I didn’t expect it to be great or horrible. But, I should have realized that things weren’t going to go well when the manager who hired me quit the day before I started.

After the first few days I realized that the assistant manager, M, and the owner were both crazy-ass bitches.

M was extremely rude and bossy–and addicted to pain killers. She would talk about how she didn’t eat anything fattening -”like avocados”- but would always eat candy (“no calories!”) and fat-free chips.

The second day of work I had to get balloons for a little event we were having and since the wind was blowing they got entangled. Of course, that was my fault. M kept saying “oh my god! what did you do?!” and actually pushed me out of the way and smacked my hand while I was trying to untangle them. This girl was only a year below me and I’m in my early 20s.

My fiance would occasionally bring me lunch and one day a manager from a different store was visiting the store. My fiance came in, dropped off my food, and told me bye. We’re not PDA when visiting one another at work. We just think it’s unprofessional. Well, apparently M feels totally different. When my fiance left, she turned to the visiting manager and asked her “Can you believe they are engaged?”  The manager just said,”Oh, I didn’t know.” To which M replied, “I know! You wouldn’t be able to tell by how they act.” Then went on and on about how her boyfriend always kisses her when visiting her.

Let me add, that when her boyfriend visited her, they made out outside of the store and inside the store. They would also sit on the couch where she would lay down with her head on his lap–and she would remain there as customers are going in and out.

Now, as for the owner, she was absolutely crazy. From day one, she asked me when I’d like to work and what hours. I told her I prefered evenings but if she needs me for days I will do that (my fiance wouldn’t get off work til 4 a.m. so mornings were a little difficult for me) I also requested that I have Thursdays off (best for errands, doctor appts, etc.)

For the first two weeks, I didn’t have a written schedule. She would call me at 11 p.m. sometimes 1 a.m. and just talk about her problems and tell me how she’d get so coked up that she’d black out.  I should have quit right then and there, but I wanted to tan for free and save up some money before classes started.

When I finally got my schedule, she asked me again what days I could work and I told her again that I need Thursdays off and I could work every day other than that. She then had a hissy fit. She asked me why I hadn’t told her this before. I explained to her that I did and she even wrote it down. She then calmed down and said OK. So, I worked every day except Thursday and was the only full-time employee. I worked 8-10 hours a day.

Despite that, every week she expected me to come in on Thursday. Once she called me saying she needed me at the store because it was raining and she didn’t want to drive in the rain. I told her I wasn’t even in town. Another time she called on a Wednesday and asked one of the girls to ask me to work Thursday. I was picking up a friend who I hadn’t seen in 8 years from the airport who was visiting me for my birthday that day. She then said “What is with you and Thursdays?!” I told her I didn’t think it was a problem since it was my only day off and if it was I would have to find another job. She then backed off.

But not for long. My fiance had bought a “day of luxury” at a really nice spa for my birthday. Of course, it had to be on a Thursday since I had no other day off. At the spa, they asked that I turn off my phone and leave it in the locker. So I did. After 6 wonderful hours of being pampered, I’m dressed and heading back home. Then, I stupidly turn on my phone. I had three missed calls from the crazy owner, as well as two voicemails.

I checked the voicemails and she kept saying that it was important that I call her because one girl who was supposed to work 6 p.m.-9 p.m. called in, so she wanted to me to work it. Unsure what to do, I called my father to ask him if I should go in and he told me to enjoy my day off and calling someone to work three hours is crazy.

The next day at work, she calls wanting to speak to me. She demanded to know why I didn’t answer my phone the day before. I told her that I turned it off. She asked “ALL DAY?!” I told her that yes, all day. It was my day off after all. She then told me how unprofessional I was and that I should always have my phone on and answer it anytime she calls. I told her that on my day off I don’t have to answer her calls. She then hung up on me. I called her right back and told her I was quitting and putting in my two weeks. She just yelled “WHATEVER!” and hung up.

I went inside and told M that I was quitting. M started making fun of me, telling me that she worked even on her days off. I pointed out that I was the only full-time employee and had only one day off. I also told her that she comes in for three hours, leaves for four, then comes back for an hour just to talk with her friends that tan there. That just made her make fun of me to the customers. Every customer that cam in, she would point at me, tell them that I was quitting and how stupid, horrible, etc. that was. She told them that I was screwing them over right when they were at their busiest.

The next day, I called and told them I wasn’t going to finish my two weeks. They yelled at me that I was now banned from that tanning salon and that I am extremely unprofessional. I just laughed at them and hung up.