I work for a telecom company and had an incident that happened yesterday and am curious if I am a victim of slander. I was dispatched for an install at a doctor's office yesterday and called their office to confirm that it was okay for me to come out. I called because I was ahead of my schedule and could arrive to the office 2 hours before the scheduled appointment. The lady I spoke with on the phone stated that this was perfect because their afternoon had become booked. We agreed on an 11:15am arrival and I explained that the job should take about 45 minutes to complete. She tried to contact the doctor to confirm my arrival but the doctor was occupied with a call of her own. The lady said that she was going to step out on her own and okay my early arrival. I arrived at the office at 11:18am and proceeded to the office to speak with the customer to confirm that my installation order aligned with what she desired (sometimes they don't). I asked the receptionist for the lady I had spoken with over the phone. The receptionist stated that the lady was not in but referred me to the doctor. The doctor invited me in from the lobby and started explaining what she wanted. While explaining what she wanted, there was a difference between her information and mine. I explained that I had to go back down to my truck to look at the full order to make sure that she ordered what she was requesting. I returned in about four minutes with my equipment and was greeted at the window by the doctor who stated that she did not want us (I was training another employee) to do the install today. She further stated that it was the beginning of the month and she had begun running her reports and we couldn't do the work. It seemed strange to me because our work would not affect what she was doing, but I asked her when did she want us to return and she said tomorrow. We left the building at 11:31am.
NOW FOR THE CASE:
Around 3:02pm I received a call from my supervisor who asked me what happened at the doctor's office. I stated to him the above story and he asked me in a firm voice "were you asked to leave?" I stated that she said she was running reports and we couldn't do the work so if that is asking us to leave, then yes. He said that the doctor's office called in to our dispatcher and reported that both I and my trainee "wreaked of alcohol". After taking the report, the dispatcher tried to contact my supervisor but couldn't reach him so my secondary supervisor was notified. I exclaimed my innocence to my supervisor (which he believed because he knows my character) but I was still troubled with the accusation. My supervisor further went on to say that they specifically requested that neither I nor my trainee return for the install. Today, when I arrived at work, I was greeted with drunk jokes around the workcenter from my co-workers. My supervisor sent two other technicians to complete the order without incident.
When I returned to the work center this evening, the two technicians were laughing and telling me what the lady had said about us at the doctor's office. They stated that she volunteered the information openly by asking them "did you hear about the other technicians?" She went on further to tell them how the smell was so strong that everytime we spoke we wreaked of alcohol. I asked them why was she so open with them but couldn't say anything to us about it? I also said "you would think that a doctor could tell the difference between a drunk and sober person. My co-workers said it wasn't the doctor, it was the woman. I said the black woman at the desk and they said no, the white one. What!!! Let me remind you; this is the woman I talked to on the phone who was absent upon my arrival and our entire thirteen minute visit however, she was who reported us and told the other technicians these slanders as if she was present. There were only two people in the office that we spoke with and this woman was not one of them.
BACKGROUND
I never like to play the race card, and hope that your legal advice isn't going to be affected by the following but I live in Tennessee and was working in one of the prominent suburbs of Nashville. A lot of people around here still are not used to African American technicians. Not only am I African American but my trainee is also. It's hard to call a company as large as ours and explain that you didn't like the color of the technician so I think she came up with this outrageous lie in order to be re-visited by technicians to her liking. Like I stated earlier; today, the install went without incident. However, I'm not here for that. I drive for a living and our company has a zero tolerance for D.U.I. An accusation like this could've ruined my career. I would like to know how much do we have to stand on. My trainee, the dispatcher who took the report, my secondary supervisor, my primary supervisor, and the two technicians who returned today are all witnesses of the false accusations.
NOW FOR THE CASE:
Around 3:02pm I received a call from my supervisor who asked me what happened at the doctor's office. I stated to him the above story and he asked me in a firm voice "were you asked to leave?" I stated that she said she was running reports and we couldn't do the work so if that is asking us to leave, then yes. He said that the doctor's office called in to our dispatcher and reported that both I and my trainee "wreaked of alcohol". After taking the report, the dispatcher tried to contact my supervisor but couldn't reach him so my secondary supervisor was notified. I exclaimed my innocence to my supervisor (which he believed because he knows my character) but I was still troubled with the accusation. My supervisor further went on to say that they specifically requested that neither I nor my trainee return for the install. Today, when I arrived at work, I was greeted with drunk jokes around the workcenter from my co-workers. My supervisor sent two other technicians to complete the order without incident.
When I returned to the work center this evening, the two technicians were laughing and telling me what the lady had said about us at the doctor's office. They stated that she volunteered the information openly by asking them "did you hear about the other technicians?" She went on further to tell them how the smell was so strong that everytime we spoke we wreaked of alcohol. I asked them why was she so open with them but couldn't say anything to us about it? I also said "you would think that a doctor could tell the difference between a drunk and sober person. My co-workers said it wasn't the doctor, it was the woman. I said the black woman at the desk and they said no, the white one. What!!! Let me remind you; this is the woman I talked to on the phone who was absent upon my arrival and our entire thirteen minute visit however, she was who reported us and told the other technicians these slanders as if she was present. There were only two people in the office that we spoke with and this woman was not one of them.
BACKGROUND
I never like to play the race card, and hope that your legal advice isn't going to be affected by the following but I live in Tennessee and was working in one of the prominent suburbs of Nashville. A lot of people around here still are not used to African American technicians. Not only am I African American but my trainee is also. It's hard to call a company as large as ours and explain that you didn't like the color of the technician so I think she came up with this outrageous lie in order to be re-visited by technicians to her liking. Like I stated earlier; today, the install went without incident. However, I'm not here for that. I drive for a living and our company has a zero tolerance for D.U.I. An accusation like this could've ruined my career. I would like to know how much do we have to stand on. My trainee, the dispatcher who took the report, my secondary supervisor, my primary supervisor, and the two technicians who returned today are all witnesses of the false accusations.
Last edited: