Oh lord. I had a coworker who used to spend all day talking about her boyfriend in jail, her daughter’s deadbeat boyfriend (who knocked her up and disappeared), and how she was facing eviction. She told me she did it so people would feel bad for her and tip her more.

wow! I love that!!! And such a perfect model for what I know I’ll be up against next month at a class I am doing! Thanks!!

I would tell her outright exactly what you told me. I’d tell her, “You’re talented and I think you could do well for yourself, but complaints are coming in and if your attitude continues, you likely won’t have a job much longer. You need to understand that you will never know it all, no matter how long you’ve been in this business. Things are always changing and always evolving, and there’s always something new to discover. Frankly, you aren’t as skilled or educated as you think you are and it’s my job to bring you up to the level management believes you need to be performing at. I’d love to do that, because again, I think you have potential, but I’m not going to waste my time on someone who won’t be employed here long enough to utilize the skills I’m teaching.”

Oh god, or the “fundraiser” employee who is damn near every day collecting donations for some cause or another. Marching band, Girl Scouts, animal shelters–there’s always some new crisis or cause she’s passionate about (usually because she’s watched some kind of documentary), so one week she’s anti-plastic, the next she’s anti-sugar, the next she’s anti-gluten–and she’s doing everything she can to recruit everyone else, lol.

Oh lord, I have been you. Over and over and over again, I have been you. What you’re experiencing is a complete failure on behalf of your owner to set standards of conduct. What is and isn’t acceptable needs to be made clear and those rules need to be enforced.

They’re trying to push you out, so I’m guessing your salon operates on a commission-only basis, isn’t particularly busy, and they’re intimidated by your abilities. Take it as a complement. If they want to conduct themselves like assholes, allow them to embarrass themselves. Adult professionals DO NOT behave that way in their work environment–not in private and certainly not in front of their clients. If they’re really driving you crazy, saying something to them about it will likely only make it worse, but if you must say something, I would pull them into the back and explain to them very rationally that you don’t appreciate their bullying. Clarify that you aren’t going anywhere. Nothing they say or do is going to convince you to leave your current position. You aren’t an amateur, you aren’t a schoolgirl, and their childish behavior isn’t acceptable and won’t be tolerated. They need to be acting like adults.