School reference letter

[Ava]

Hi, guys;

I have a question. I am having a wonderful summer, having fun and (finally!) making concrete plans for my future.
My mom is visiting, I found a reliable doctor for my depression, and little by little I am feeling better emotionally.
One of the plans is to get my MBA. I enrolled in the local state school, my employer will pay around 30% of the cost, and I'll take Stafford loans for the rest.
The school already has all my paperwork and they e-mailed me saying they are looking forward to arrange a meeting with me so we can discuss which classes I need.
The only thing I'm missing is one reference letter. They cannot proceed withouth it.
My current manager sent one, and I asked my previous manager at the cafeteria to send another. She said she doesn't know how to write a school reference letter.
So I wrote it and send it to her, along with an envelope already addressed to the school, stamped.
All she had to do was read, sign, and send.
This was back in early July. Then the school sent me a letter saying I had submitted all necessary paperwork except the second letter of recommendation. So I called my ex-manager again and she said it got lost in the mail for sure.
I sent her the letter by e-mail, since the school accepts the recommendation by e-mail.
All she had to do was copy and paste the address, and click send.
She promised she'll do it. That was July 12th.
Yesterday I got another e-mail from the school saying I'm still missing my second letter of recommendation.
Now, my ex manager is a very weird person, and has lots of resentment and ill-will towards almost everyone. I thought she'll say "no" when I asked for a letter. Since she said she'll do it I assumed she would.
I don't know how to proceed. What kind of person does something like that? She has delayed my acceptance for a good month now.
She's very ignorant and probably believes she's getting in some sort of compromise by sending that letter, so I am trying not to hold it against her.
Unfortunately, I do not have many choices for letters of recommendation. I worked at my previous job for six years.
The university I attended was a big state school, I was a night student, and I really doubt any teacher will remember me at this point.
I e-mailed a previous teacher from the Community College I attended. She's an excellent teacher and a wonderful person. We had a good relationship while I studied there.
She hasn't answered so far. I'm not even sure if she will, or if she remembers me. She sees a lot of students each year.
Besides talking to the school and explaining the situation, what else could I do?
Maybe contact the HR department at my previous job and ask them to at least provide a statement saying I worked there for six years and never had any problem?
I don't know.
Ideas, please!

[milee]

Pick someone else to write the letter.

[swamp]

go to the former manager with the letter and say "sign here."

[milee]

Some advice on strategy.  The people you want to ask are busy people and you are not necessarily their close friend; you are asking them to do you a favor.  Respect their time and be brief. 

If you're asking them in the same way you posted your OP, they've tuned you out by sentence 3.  All you need to say is, "My college admissions requires a reference letter.  Would you please give me one?  If you would like to help and are too busy, I have a draft prepared so you can just sign it." 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

First, I am glad you're feeling better. 

I get asked to write a lot of reference letters, and I do think you've done enough to get one from this manager. Either she's extra ditzy or she really doesn't want to write/sign one for you. 

You'll either have to find someone else, or try one ore time going to see her in person. 
Are there requirements from the college as to what type of references you need?

[alabamagal]

Jul 23, 2013 11:42:16 GMT -5 swamp said:

go to the former manager with the letter and say "sign here."

And then make a copy, put it in an envelope and send to to the school, or better yet, drop it off at the school

[Ava]

Well, I just received an e-mail from a professor I had at the Community College.
She said she'll be happy to help me, and will be writing and sending the letter by the end of the week
I've also reached out to a friend's husband. He's a professional and used to be a customer at my previous job, so he'll be my back-up plan. I just reached out to everyone I could think of and got these two people willing to help.