Am I overreacting?

[Mrsh11]

It has been a while since I have been on here as I changed jobs last year which removed a major source of stress and my anxiety settled a bit. I work as a store manager as before but in a small town and generally like my job. It is a very rough area though with the highest crime rate in the city. I get on well with most everyone who comes in with the exception of our window cleaner. He is rude, aggressive, and makes me feel threatened. He always comes when my boss, the male store owner, is not in. He is also a 50 yr old street drinker and turns up when he is desperate for cash. Long story short he gave me a huge load of verbal abuse yesterday when I said I had no money to pay him New Year's Eve till the afternoon, he made some vague threats and said I was an evil person who thinks he is a heroin addict. This was pretty out of nowhere. I was upset and shaking. Now I feel to scared to go back to work but can't quit as I need the job, plus otherwise I like the job. I keep thinking he will be waiting to attack me, especially if he is drunk again. My husband thinks he is a loser and I'm overreacting a bit but I don't know how serious a threat he is or if my anxiety is making a verbal disagreement seem much more sinister.

[Lucinda07]

Please go back to work, but tell your Boss everything which has happened.
If there was no cash to pay the window cleaner until yesterday afternoon, then he must accept it. He would have preferred to be paid earlier but no need to be verbally abusive & take it out on you. He's lucky to be given an opportunity.
Arrange to make a phone call to someone to report you have safely arrived at work/ & left the shop. It would be advisable to have a contact number to ring if this guy kicks off again. Its a safety issue, especially if you are a female working alone. His presence would also deter customers (I certainly wouldn't like it!). I would personally ask the boss to find someone else to clean the windows & get rid of this fellow.

[Pepperpot]

Hey,


Can I just ask, if you are the manager of a store, how come you had no money? Anyway, what I would do is get the owner to have a word with him, and tell him that in future, he comes to him for payment and not to bother you. x

[uru]

Shouldn't your boss fire this guy?

[Chocolateface]

Hi

Shouldn't he be invoicing for jobs to keep an audit trail of what money went where? I would raise the issue with your boss and suggest keeping a petty cash tin for things like this.

Make notes of times and dates he has turned up and said things and try to not be on your own around him

Clare

[Mrsh11]

Thanks everyone, we keep a small float but the company are really strict about not dipping into it for bills. We have to have taken cash in a transaction to be able to pay out. Normally this is no problem as most people in our area pay in cash but this was first thing on New Year's Eve and he usually comes afternoon. We got the money to pay him within half an hour but that is not really the point. The point is that he was aggressive and threatening and I have a major problem with catastrophising everything so am now convinced he is going to be after me when I leave work. I catch the bus on the corner and don't drive. I enjoy my job otherwise but have never worked in such a rough area before.

[Phuzella]

Tell your boss, it's his responsibility.