You remind me of the time when I was on the receiving end of this type of abuse. I was called by my then-boss and royally reamed out for about ten minutes before I could get in a word edgewise. First of all, the verbal abuse to which I was subjected, was not for any wrongdoing or incompetence on my part. I had been given specific instructions on how to handle a certain situation, followed them to the letter, and the boss forgot that he had instituted a new policy, the one which I was following correctly.
Finally, I got the opportunity to speak, and told him calmly, “I am terribly sorry that you feel so upset, but you have no right to verbally abuse me at any time, but especially on my day off (did I mention it was my day off and he was bothering me at home?), and even more especially, regarding a policy change that you youself instituted. When you feel you can speak to me with the simple common courtesy that I have always shown to you, please feel free to call me back.” And I hung up. He called me back ten minutes later, ABJECTLY apologetic, having realized that I was correct, and that he could have caused me to quit the job (which at that time would have been disastrous for him, and he knew it).