it's about frelling time!
after working at The Children's Place for eight months, the payroll department has finally managed to get my direct deposit straightened. mind you, i filled out the paperwork on my first day. okay, there were a few "extenuating circumstances" that weren't their fault, even one delay that might have been my fault, but i still entirely blame them for the extraordinarily long time frame. here's the saga (apologies for the repetition of events i've already complained about):
End of July: i start work and fill out the direct deposit form the first time. a couple of days later, my manager gets in a car accident.
End of September: having waited the maximum time in the time frame given for direct deposit processing, we (my new manager and i) decide that my original form must never have been sent in. i fill out a new form.
End of November: i get one paycheck by direct deposit. two days later the payroll department calls saying that they don't think the routing number i gave them was correct. they request i check with the bank and get back in touch. i get the form from the bank. one of the assistant managers mails it. it doesn't have all the other normal information (like my name or my signature or whatnot) 'cuz i expected the a.m. to call an confirm the number over the phone.
End of January: the payroll department calls again and says they got the paper with the routing number but because it didn't have my name on it they can't use it (ummm...you figured out it was me so you could call the store, people). oh, and incidentally, i didn't sign the direct deposit form in the first place (i'm pretty sure i did though). i fill out a new form again, write my name on the paper from the bank and sign it (just in case), and the store manager faxes the papers to payroll expecting my forms to go on the top of the to-do list.
End of March: i finally get a paycheck by direct deposit...once again after the maximum time.
okay, the first delay, i can live with. managers getting in car accidents mean little things like forms get lost in the cracks. the second and third are not so forgivable. i could understand if the routing number had really been incorrect, but as the deposit worked that's obviously not the case. also, even if the number was wrong, you would think that my file would become a priority at that point. set aside to be dealt with as soon as we got back in touch with the bank information. and that totally applies to the last delay as well. i mean, if all pay roll issues are dealt with in this way, there have got to be some employees out there who are just getting screwed. direct deposit is relatively minor, what about people who have issues with getting paid at all? or with tax information? it could be bad.
there's a couple of other people at my store that have had trouble with payroll, as well. and the store manager has mentioned that everybody thinks the payroll department is completely incompetent. okay, i understand that apparently there not many people in the department...or that it's just one person who deals with our whole region or something like that...but i can't believe that people aren't being fired for this kind of crap.
in other news, i managed to write a fair portion of my "ecology and ecological engineering" section for my lit review. i was hoping to get the whole section done today, but oh well. there is so much information and research in ecology that, even just concentrating on articles / books that are explicitly related to ecological engineering, i have a dren-load of stuff to sort through. also, since i've never actually had a class or any formal training in ecological engineering, i'm sorta having to flounder around and hope i hit the high points and don't leave anything important out. i also have to try and be broad enough that i at least touch on the jerkwad's pet theory, whatever it might be. god, i hate academia sometimes.
anyway, it's way past my bedtime, and i have to try and get up at a decent time and do more work tomorrow than i did today. not that i slacked off today that badly. i surpassed my old 300 words for the day goal. i'm just so close to overdue (i.e. no, they won't take it any more) that i feel like i should be able to get more done each day. sadly, i think my capacity of thought still caps off pretty much at 300 unless i am majorly on a roll. i did the majority of my work today before everyone got home from work, but i've spent nearly as much time tonight trying to work on it after everyone has gone to bed. in fact, i wrote less than fifty words in this second bout of working. okay, i searched and found several more references, and read (okay skimmed) them, but still. not nearly as productive. which is weird 'cuz i really used to just catch fire at two o'clock in the morning. hmmmm...oh well, sleep now.
End of July: i start work and fill out the direct deposit form the first time. a couple of days later, my manager gets in a car accident.
End of September: having waited the maximum time in the time frame given for direct deposit processing, we (my new manager and i) decide that my original form must never have been sent in. i fill out a new form.
End of November: i get one paycheck by direct deposit. two days later the payroll department calls saying that they don't think the routing number i gave them was correct. they request i check with the bank and get back in touch. i get the form from the bank. one of the assistant managers mails it. it doesn't have all the other normal information (like my name or my signature or whatnot) 'cuz i expected the a.m. to call an confirm the number over the phone.
End of January: the payroll department calls again and says they got the paper with the routing number but because it didn't have my name on it they can't use it (ummm...you figured out it was me so you could call the store, people). oh, and incidentally, i didn't sign the direct deposit form in the first place (i'm pretty sure i did though). i fill out a new form again, write my name on the paper from the bank and sign it (just in case), and the store manager faxes the papers to payroll expecting my forms to go on the top of the to-do list.
End of March: i finally get a paycheck by direct deposit...once again after the maximum time.
okay, the first delay, i can live with. managers getting in car accidents mean little things like forms get lost in the cracks. the second and third are not so forgivable. i could understand if the routing number had really been incorrect, but as the deposit worked that's obviously not the case. also, even if the number was wrong, you would think that my file would become a priority at that point. set aside to be dealt with as soon as we got back in touch with the bank information. and that totally applies to the last delay as well. i mean, if all pay roll issues are dealt with in this way, there have got to be some employees out there who are just getting screwed. direct deposit is relatively minor, what about people who have issues with getting paid at all? or with tax information? it could be bad.
there's a couple of other people at my store that have had trouble with payroll, as well. and the store manager has mentioned that everybody thinks the payroll department is completely incompetent. okay, i understand that apparently there not many people in the department...or that it's just one person who deals with our whole region or something like that...but i can't believe that people aren't being fired for this kind of crap.
in other news, i managed to write a fair portion of my "ecology and ecological engineering" section for my lit review. i was hoping to get the whole section done today, but oh well. there is so much information and research in ecology that, even just concentrating on articles / books that are explicitly related to ecological engineering, i have a dren-load of stuff to sort through. also, since i've never actually had a class or any formal training in ecological engineering, i'm sorta having to flounder around and hope i hit the high points and don't leave anything important out. i also have to try and be broad enough that i at least touch on the jerkwad's pet theory, whatever it might be. god, i hate academia sometimes.
anyway, it's way past my bedtime, and i have to try and get up at a decent time and do more work tomorrow than i did today. not that i slacked off today that badly. i surpassed my old 300 words for the day goal. i'm just so close to overdue (i.e. no, they won't take it any more) that i feel like i should be able to get more done each day. sadly, i think my capacity of thought still caps off pretty much at 300 unless i am majorly on a roll. i did the majority of my work today before everyone got home from work, but i've spent nearly as much time tonight trying to work on it after everyone has gone to bed. in fact, i wrote less than fifty words in this second bout of working. okay, i searched and found several more references, and read (okay skimmed) them, but still. not nearly as productive. which is weird 'cuz i really used to just catch fire at two o'clock in the morning. hmmmm...oh well, sleep now.