I don't know what to do with this one. I've been advised by a family member to find a "labor attorney" to talk to about it.
I was having a bit of an e-mail disagreement with someone who is not my boss, who I have never met, but who was telling me that I had to do something a specific way. I attempted to explain to her that if I did it that way every time (demanding that much information from clients, potential clients, and even clients who may be on the borderline with using us again), no matter the situation, that it was a little too close to what the Nazis did in the 1930's and 1940's when they asked "papers, please."
Now this should have been a conversation between she and I, but she immediately took this to the VP of marketing, and now I'm being accused of calling our own staff (I guess both of them?) Nazis.
I most assuredly didn't call anyone anything, and basically conveyed that if I did it that way, it would be considered very rude by some customers who may not have wanted to give me five seconds of their time to begin with.
I'm standing my ground as I have always strived to do what is best for this company, and have also never been one to call anyone names, but am to have a meeting on the situation I guess tomorrow.
This is, of course, in Florida, so I don't think my side matters at all, but at some point the accusations, claims and insults from a multi-manager e-mail seemed to become slanderous. I do believe that people who are not stars at reading comprehension have claimed I did something I didn't do, and have sent it out across the lines to other managers.
I'm sort of shocked, and sort of ambivalent as I know I've done the best I can for the company, did better than others attempting the same job (prior to me, and in other locations), and am now in trouble for not adhering to an office-sitter's / clerk's rules that in no way reflect the reality of dealing with such a varied clientele.
Suggestions? Thank you in advance. Tell me if I screwed up, and how badly I screwed up - I don't really know, and won't be sure of my legal standing if I am fired in a day or two. I've never been fired, so being let go for this at 45 years of age... I'm OK with not working for a company who isn't OK with go-getter salesmen who try to communicate with its clerks, but am not looking forward to the financial hardship that may be coming (I never made what any educated 45 year old should have made doing a job like this, and was lied to about the potential to make money).