Favoritism at Cable Company

by Sue
(Columbus, Ohio)

I've been selling Cable door-to door for a few years now. I've always been in the top 3 in every company I've worked for, due to my effective time management and self-discipline. When I moved last year I started with a new cable company. I was their #1 sales rep by the end of the year. This year is a little different story. Although I thought it was behind us, I can't help but think that my boss is deliberately holding me back because of an argument we had last year. I don't get the leads that I use to get nor do I get as many opportunities to work the new areas as other sales rep do. I'm not slacking by no means...quite frankly the opposite. I've worked harder this year than I ever work. Still in the top 5 which is a long fall from last year. Just last week I had the opportunity to finally come in 1st place for the month but boss decided to make all of our install number visible to others the last two weeks, which put a target on my back. Our numbers were always confidential. I'm now tied for 1st place which I'm told by others I don't have a chance in hell because my competitor is getting leads and I'm not. I even over heard my boss say, "you can beat her" to the other rep. I want to discuss how I feel but I'm afraid my boss will blow up and we will have another argument like we did last year. He is very unprofessional and shouldn't be in a position of authority. By the way, there are others that feel the same way about him but know body will do anything because of fear of loosing their job. Don't trust HR as far as I could throw them either. I'm a direct personality that pulls no punches so I'm not a very good ass kisser. All I want is fairness in my work place and the opportunities shared among everyone. Is this just unrealistic?


Response from Carl: Sorry about your predicament Sue. Certainly you're not being unreasonable from what you mention. I've worked in sales environments and like you, I know what it's like to be on the short end of the favoritism stick.

What can you do? Approaching your boss to sort this out might be something you have to do otherwise you might end up continuing to receive the same treatment and continue to be upset. You might find out that perhaps the situation isn't exactly as you feel it is and maybe things will sort out. If not, and if you can't sort this situation out to your satisfaction, you might need to figure out how long you want to put up with this treatment if it's causing you this grief on an ongoing basis. At the end of the day, if it's costing you money, do you really want to keep putting up with this?

Carl