Can I contact someone above my former store manager?
Ok, really long story. I recently quit my job at circle k, and I’m wondering if there’s a way to contact someone above the store manager about his behavior. I’m not looking to get anyone fired or start drama; I genuinely want to know if there’s a corporate/HR person, district manager, or someone else I can report concerns to.
For some context, this manager had a reputation for being extremely difficult with employees. Almost everyone who worked there had some kind of issue with him, and even customers would make comments about his attitude. I personally dealt with him yelling at me and intimidating me when he was upset. One of the biggest situations happened around Christmas. He posted the schedule, I bought a ticket based on it, and then about an hour later he said he had made a mistake and changed the schedule. When I told him I had already bought the ticket, he called me and basically yelled at me and questioned whether I even needed the job.
There were also multiple times when I was genuinely sick. One time I was literally throwing up and could barely stand without feeling like I was going to vomit again. I called him, and he still asked if I could come in for a couple hours because there was nobody else. I tried, but I physically couldn’t. When I called back, he got upset about not having coverage, and I ended up getting written up. I had followed the training and communicated with him, so that situation really bothered me.
I also noticed a pattern in how he treated different employees. I was usually willing to do whatever he asked without arguing, and I did my share of cleaning, stocking, register work, trash, mopping, etc. But there were employees who would argue back with him or push back on things, and he seemed to treat them differently. He would also talk negatively about employees behind their backs.
There was an assistant-manager situation that also made me question things. S had actually been an assistant manager before J ever came to the store. S eventually stepped down, J became assistant manager #1, and after J left/transferred, S returned to the position as assistant manager #1. There were multiple times when management discussed whether I should be considered for an assistant-manager position, but nobody ever actually offered it to me. Eventually N, who was a newer employee, became assistant manager #2. I’m not upset simply because I didn’t get the position, but the way everything happened was confusing, especially because N herself asked me why I hadn’t gotten it.
I also had concerns about being scheduled late at night. I sometimes had to walk home around 11 PM, and I had strangers in cars stop and ask if I needed a ride. Customers even recognized me from seeing me walking home. I told my manager that I was uncomfortable and asked if my schedule could be rotated more, but it basically stayed the same.
The final straw happened shortly before I quit. He posted in the group chat questioning why certain breakfast items hadn’t been sold and specifically mentioned me, even though I hadn’t worked that morning. I responded that I hadn’t worked, but he continued questioning me publicly. A coworker later told me he had said he intentionally included me even though he knew I wasn’t working said shift, that’s what shock me. Also, the fact that once I answered one of his questions in the chat my coworker also again he was talking about me being disrespectful?? Dude, I answered what you asked. I was already frustrated with everything, so I decided I was done.
I went in and quit immediately. He actually tried to convince me to stay and explained that he was stressed, had a lot of paperwork and responsibilities, and sometimes felt like he had to clean the store himself. During that conversation, he also made a comment about preferring to work with women because, essentially, “women don’t complain” and are more likely to just do what they’re told. That honestly shocked me.
When I brought up the group-chat situation, he apologized and said he had gotten confused and didn’t mean to single me out. He said he did it in the group chat because he wanted everyone to see it and learn from the example. Liar, but I wasn’t going to throw my coworker under the bus.
I’ve also been told that other employees have tried to complain about him to someone above him before, but I don’t know exactly who they contacted or what happened afterward. Allegedly, somebody is protecting him, ALLEGEDLY. From what I’ve heard, nothing really changed.
So my actual question is: is there normally someone above a store manager that I can contact about this? A district manager, HR, corporate, employee relations, etc.? I don’t work there anymore, so I’m not sure if I’m even allowed to make a complaint after quitting. I also don’t know who I’m supposed to contact or how to find the right person because I did text someone, I don’t know what he was tho lol. I sent a really proper message asking if I could have a chat with him whenever he got the chance. Once he knew it was me and my store, he never responded again. this was 3 days later.
If anyone knows how this usually works, I’d really appreciate some advice.