O/T hung up on my boss (long)

Okay, so maybe that wasn't the brightest thing to do but I was SOOOO FREAKING PISSED OFF! She was SCREAMING at me, telling me she wasn't going to "fight" with me. This woman is such a B*tch! If any of you know anything about Wrap Around services, I am a TSS (Therapeutic Support Staff) and she is a BSC (Behavior Specialist Consultant). I work in a school with an autistic child. She is supposed to come to the school to do individual supervision. Once a month we go to the office for group supervision (we we just had last week). So she calls me yesterday to ask me if I would come in to the office next Tuesday for my supervision because it is a short week (no school on Thurs and Fri) and she doesn't have the time to come to the school to see me. i was barely awake as she has called and woke me up, so I agreed to this. However, the more I thought about, it just really wasn't a good option for me. In order to do this, I would have to lose a 1/2 hour of direct client time which pays $5 more per hour than non-billable time does. Since it is going to be a short week the way it is (I only get paid for the days I work) and this week I only had 8 hrs because  there was no school Monday and my client was sick 2 days. I tried to explain to her that I really couldn't afford to lose any direct client time. I asked if we could reschedule for either Mon or wed afternoon (I have a very tight schedule because I also go to school and do an internship. She precedes to tell me "no" because her schedule is booked. Anyway, to make a long story short without going into all the details, she starts screaming at me telling me she called me "in advance" (she just called yesterday) and I already agreed to come in. She was not going to change her schedule to accommodate me and if I did not come to supervision then I could not work at all the following week! I have never heard this before. Every idea I had to try to make this work, she knocked down saying she was not going to argue with me...Then she tells me I can call and complain to someone else if i want to... This woman has only been my supervisor for a few weeks as she was only recently hired. A lot of my co-workers can't stand her either. My blood is boiling right now. You don't even know. Before surgery I would have went on an eating binge but now that is not an option. I have no idea if I will get into trouble for hanging up on her but I was not about to sit there and listen to her scream at me. I am 42 years old and way beyond being treated like dirt. I am thinking I should call the person above her on Monday morning to report this incident. What do you all think? I know I was wrong for hanging up on her so should I just say I lost cell phone reception but didn't call her back because of the way she was treating me? I would've called today but the office was closed when this happened. Sorry this is so long. I just needed to vent to someone and this is a "safe" place to do that. Thanks.

Call her direct supervisor and report her IMMEDIATELY.  If she calls you back, RECORD THE CALL.  As a supervisor, she knows full well that she should not/can not yell at employees because it is abusive and bullying behavior.  Do not allow this woman to bully you or make your work environment a hostile one.  Once you draw the line in the sand...I'm willing to bet she will NOT step over it.

I think you were justified in hanging up on her. You don't have to be treated that way at all. You were trying to reason with her and she wasn't listening. I don't really know what it is that you do but it kinda sounds like a one on one para. Call the higher ups and explain what happened and ask what should be done. She was not proffesional at all.

I had a similar experience with my last job. They wanted us to find replacements when we can't work. I had tried for 8 hrs prior to work and nobody would work for me, I was very sick( I worked with developmentally disabled clients) so I went in to show how sick I was and then went home. I got a call from my boss yelling at me saying that it wasn't fair for everybody else. So a few days later I called her back and said I quit, she started yelling at me again saying that it wasn't appropriate and that I had to put in a 2 week notice and that I will be at work that night. I told her no, and I quit. Then I Hung up on her.
Don't know if it makes you feel any better but at least you know your not alone.

Don't you hate it when the boss is a total nut?  Yeah, I'd call the person above her and explain, very calmly, very matter of factly, what happened.  And I would admit hanging up on her, and I would probably say something like I know that might not have been the best way to handle it, but you had no other way to protect yourself at that moment from her verbal abuse and you did not want to get into a screaming match with her.  and I would definitelly use the term "verbal abuse" when describing her behavior to her supervisor.

If it were not for the fact that she was newly hired, I would tell you to just honor the appt you made and think about it more before you say yes the next time.

There is never any reason to hang up on anyone. I had a co-worker I hated. I was alone in this until she hung up on a vice president. Bad idea. You have to take the higher ground with people like this and not get down and play in the mud with her.

Chances are she is not going to last if she is this unstable. I would report her nicely, but the fact you hung up on her is going to hurt your case. It depends on how well you know her boss.

You gave her many ways for this to work. So many she couldn't handle it or see how it would work. She was probably wondering how many times she had to say no to you. At that point she did the only thing she is capable of, which is losing it.

When you complain you have to see her side of the story so you can address the issues from her side. Booked up schedule is booked up schedule. From her point of view, she counted on you and then you let her down. Then you were arguing (her definition, not normal person's definition). You have to explain this calmly, nicely, and don't whine.

I suggest you rehearse this speech and do it in person.

Forgot to say "and what Kelly said."

I agree with Kelly. Call her boss and own up to the fact you hung up. Explain that you felt cornered by her verbal abuse and didn't know what else to do. So you hung up on her. Not the best choice but a way better choice than you "could" have made. I feel if she was supposed to see you "in action" so to speak that her asking you to meet at her office is wrong as well. It is her job to go to see you, not your job to go to see her. It's your job to work with your students.

Good luck!

Depending on how big the company is that you work for you may want to file a complaint/grievance with HR for hostile work enviroment. She is probably still on probation.  But you also need to know that going over your boss's head and to HR can make an uncomfortable work envirment if she stays. 

If you are on good terms with her immediate supervisor you may have an advantage.  Or if there is someone higher up in the company you can talk to "for advise" you could go that route.  Lots will depend on the culture of the company.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I will definitely call her supervisor Monday morning and explain what happened as I am sure she will probably report me anyways. Still not sure if I will admit I hung up. Sometimes dropped calls on a cell phone come in handy... I did talk to my old supervisor who no longer works for the company and she told me all of the things she told me were untruths and not the way things should be handled. I trust my old supervisor fully and the things she told me are things I already knew and that I was trying to explain to the new supervisor when this all happened. I think the new supervisor is on a power trip and thinks she knows it all, by the way, did you know that she can cure Autism...  

Yeah and she got her degree online, never had to do an internship or anything. I also heard that she has worked at just about every BHRS agency in town and has not lasted at any of them for more than a couple months to a year max. I just can't believe how easily she "snapped." pretty scary. I have to say I have about 19 years experience in social services and although I've had some bosses that I didn't care for, I have NEVER had one scream at me. Thanks again for listening.