Should I have a talk with my boss?

amother

Fri, May 03 2019, 12:40 pm

I work for someone from home mostly. The main job is answering phone calls.
My boss used to to be super busy but in the last year his business has gone down.
His clients are going elsewhere and some of his competition is cheaper and better.

So here is the problem-my boss
He thinks he is above his competition. He refuses to dress in a professional way. While he is a nice guy and if someone doesnt pay he looks the other way he has a problem getting back to clients. I will give him messages and he wont give me the answer for them or he wont call them back for several days.
It is very frustrating. He is a super nice guy but brings his personal problems to work.

So he will complain to me that there is no business and while he knows he has a problem getting back to clients he doesnt understand why he is not getting new clients or keeping the clients he has because he is the best in his field.

So is it worth having a talk with him tell him he has to change and he has to get a better location.

Also I have been with him for close to 6 years and he never gave me a raise or bonus.
I feel funny approaching him because I dont do much just answer a few phone calls a day but should I get a raise?

karat

Fri, May 03 2019, 1:08 pm

You can tell him you've noticed the business is not doing well, or wait until he complains to you, and ask him if wants some suggestions on how to improve the business.
He may decline.
Don't phrase it as criticism.
Be prepared to offer assistance or constructive ways to address the issues.
For example, if he's procastinating in getting back to clients can you offer to send him email/text reminders or can you have him dictate emails so that you can do the communicating with the client?
Or can you get the infomation the client is seeking and contact the client directly?

Last edited by karat on Fri, May 03 2019, 3:02 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Fri, May 03 2019, 1:52 pm

ra_mom- Yes I know he wont change but it bothers me.

He complains all the time that business is slow but every time I make a suggestion he always has a reason why it wont work.

I tell him to put all information on the computer so I could have access to it when a client calls but he still cant find a computer program to do that. Its been years he has been talking about putting all the info on the computer and he never does it.

he keeps telling me to keep reminding him to call clients. Sometimes I feel more like a stern mother than an employee.

ra_mom

Fri, May 03 2019, 3:45 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I had a boss like this, many years ago. You need to distance yourself a bit emotionally. He won't change. You're just going to eat yourself up.

karat

Fri, May 03 2019, 4:19 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

He can’t find a computer program that stores information?
What kind of business is this? What is the nature of this information?
Maybe someone here could offer ideas.

karat

Fri, May 03 2019, 4:36 pm

ra_mom wrote:

I had a boss like this, many years ago. You need to distance yourself a bit emotionally. He won't change. You're just going to eat yourself up.

This is good advice if OP doesn't mind losing the job if the company fails.

OTOH, if OP likes the job and values the flexibility of being able to work from home, she can be more proactive and come up with solutions on how to keep the company afloat.

Last edited by karat on Fri, May 03 2019, 5:39 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Yellow

Fri, May 03 2019, 4:44 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Hard to negotiate a raise when the business is falling apart.