Don't breathe too deep, don't think all day. Drive into work, drive the other way.
An explanation of my rather vicious post from last week:
In light of these economically-fucked times we are living in, our department managers have decided to crack down on technicians being in the office. They’ve been bringing it up for years, but now they are ramping it up and want to know why any tech is in the office from now on. The theory being that if techs are here in the office, they are charging time to a customer - which is not always the case, because oftentimes, especially on a Monday when their paperwork is due to be turned in for payroll, they are doing paperwork, researching parts, discussing issues with an account manager, etc. And usually, if time is being charged, it is being charged because, quite frankly, they don’t work for free. Now, there are SOME techs who will come in and just kick it while waiting for a first call, which is NOT encouraged. I understand that this new policy is not so much as denying the technician’s right to be in the office, but more to account for what is being done in here, but the techs have always felt unwelcome in the office and will just see it as a form of Big Brother.
So, in light of this new policy, I sent a page out to my techs asking them to observe a new policy - when coming into the office, please swing by my desk and let me know their purpose in here. The second sentence, which is what got me into trouble, is “management is questioning tech presence in the office.” Because I knew that if I had just left it at the first part, they would all have questions, so the second part was an attempt to pre-empt any questions. I’m fairly certain that my theory was sound, because one of the other dispatchers sent out a page that said “please remember to use the regional warehouses as much as possible,” and sure thing, they ALL called in to her asking what’s going on.
Apparently, that second sentence has caused a shitstorm of epic proportions. The wording on it got some of my techs fired up, who talked to other techs, who talked to the plumbers, and lemmetellya, these guys gossip worse than little old women. So those that are all fired up called into Jennifer (department manager - who I used to report to directly) and Adrian (customer service supervisor - who I report to directly now) and they are 8,000 sorts of pissed. Adrian called me into a meeting where he presented me with a formal write up, stating that I have caused irreparable damage to working relations between the office and the field, that I am not on board with company policies and department goals, and that basically I am trying to bring down the entire foundation of the company. Now Adrian and Jennifer feel it necessary to call all of the techs and go over this new policy with them.
WHOA. WHAT?
First of all, in 4 ½ years I have never, EVER had my company loyalty, work ethic, or ability to communicate called into question. In fact, my communication skills and dependability have been commended, repeatedly and by multiple people. It is REALLY concerning that this has come up, because I am still trying to move elsewhere in the company. It also should have raised some red flags somewhere, because if I am suddenly against everything McK stands for, then that is a complete 180° for me. However, if this goes in my personal file, then it’s there for anybody and everybody to see. I will state that at this time, Adrian has decided to give me the benefit of the doubt and has NOT filed the write-up, but has told me that I have 2 weeks to prove that I am on board with policies, goals, procedures, etc. Seeing as how I already show up every day, all day, and do my job to the best of my abilities… well, this should be interesting. And having that write-up hang over my head is A+++ for my stress levels.
Secondly, the news about this new policy should not have come from the dispatchers - 6 people can interpret or rephrase something 6 different ways. If they wanted us to use a specific phrase (I have been informed that I should have said something like “we are trying to focus on operational efficiency,” which I think is crap because that is a politically-correct, vague term. My statement actually tells what the problem in question is), the statement should have been made directly to the techs from upper management. In fact, this very suggestion, as well as ‘give us a script to read,’ at a meeting last week. Adrian basically brushed it off and said that no, it needs to come from us.
I simply cannot work with this guy anymore. In all of my time at McK, I was noted as an excellent worker, and ever since he came on board (about a year ago was his promotion, 8 months after starting), I can’t seem to do anything right, yet I have not changed how I perform my job and fulfill my responsibilities as they have been explained to me since I was hired. I’ve got a meeting with HR today to discuss my concerns and to see what kind of guidance they give. I have another meeting with a different HR person on Wednesday to discuss “personal development” to see what it will take to move somewhere else, and SOON. Both of these meetings were called by me, not the other way around. With the state of the economy, a lot of stuff has frozen for the time being in our industry, so there are not a lot of jobs opening up here. But if I can’t get any kind of light at the end of this tunnel here, then I will start looking outside McK. Actually, I already have - I sent out 2 resumes last week, one of which is to Holland America Cruise Lines which I have heard is an excellent company to work for, so I’m crossing my fingers on that one. I would, actually, prefer to stay at McK since I start getting 3 weeks vacation this year as I being my 5th year here and they have a lot vested in me, and I have a lot vested in them. But I can’t keep coming into a job I hate just for a 401(k) match, you know? McK is not the only company in the world.
And here’s a funny thing - this weekend, I had an SAI meeting to run, and a memorial service to attend for one of our members who just passed away (at the age of 99!). At least 4 of the members came up to me during the day to tell me how professionally I run our meetings, how well I communicate via email, etc. etc. I was SO happy to hear that - they couldn’t know what it meant to me to have them say that just at this particular time!
That’s the major problem. I’ve got some other ones, too:
- I just had my end of the year performance review, with Adrian (formerly reviews were with Jennifer, and we had been told a year ago that she would still be involved, but no). I noticed that, on a scale of 1 to 5, where I had always gotten a 5 from Jennifer on the Dependability/Attendance portion, Adrian had not given me that. I mentioned it, and he said that if I hadn’t taken any of the days off (PAID DAYS OFF, mind you) then he would have given me a five, and then mumbled something about having “banked” my time off - I believe he meant the 7 working days off that I took over the Christmas holiday to be with my family. So now I’m being marked down for taking off the time that I have earned? Fuck that shit.
- While I was out on this winter holiday, I had put in a lot of time and effort to making sure that everything that could be done ahead of time, was done. This included scheduling my techs for almost 2 weeks out, updating my dispatch board, notifying customers that I regularly deal with that I would be gone and who to contact in my absence, etc. One of the girls who came over to help cover dispatch (3-4 of us were on vacation on any given day, so they brought in reinforcements) was really pleased with how easy it was to cover my job. She sent an email to Jennifer letting her know that I should have some kudos for being so well prepared, but Jennifer never told me about this atta-girl. I don’t know if there’s others out there that are ever mentioned for me, but it sure makes me wonder - why do I only get told when I’ve done something wrong, and never when I’ve done something worthy enough to take the time to email about it?
So, anyway. That’s my thing. I want out, now. I am day-dreaming about handing over my two-week’s notice, because Adrian knows I’m the most accurate person on this team, with the most experience, so he’s losing a lot with me and he knows it. It wouldn’t be for a while (still need to get interviews, find a place that I want to work, be accepted, etc.), but a girl can dream, can’t she?!
In light of these economically-fucked times we are living in, our department managers have decided to crack down on technicians being in the office. They’ve been bringing it up for years, but now they are ramping it up and want to know why any tech is in the office from now on. The theory being that if techs are here in the office, they are charging time to a customer - which is not always the case, because oftentimes, especially on a Monday when their paperwork is due to be turned in for payroll, they are doing paperwork, researching parts, discussing issues with an account manager, etc. And usually, if time is being charged, it is being charged because, quite frankly, they don’t work for free. Now, there are SOME techs who will come in and just kick it while waiting for a first call, which is NOT encouraged. I understand that this new policy is not so much as denying the technician’s right to be in the office, but more to account for what is being done in here, but the techs have always felt unwelcome in the office and will just see it as a form of Big Brother.
So, in light of this new policy, I sent a page out to my techs asking them to observe a new policy - when coming into the office, please swing by my desk and let me know their purpose in here. The second sentence, which is what got me into trouble, is “management is questioning tech presence in the office.” Because I knew that if I had just left it at the first part, they would all have questions, so the second part was an attempt to pre-empt any questions. I’m fairly certain that my theory was sound, because one of the other dispatchers sent out a page that said “please remember to use the regional warehouses as much as possible,” and sure thing, they ALL called in to her asking what’s going on.
Apparently, that second sentence has caused a shitstorm of epic proportions. The wording on it got some of my techs fired up, who talked to other techs, who talked to the plumbers, and lemmetellya, these guys gossip worse than little old women. So those that are all fired up called into Jennifer (department manager - who I used to report to directly) and Adrian (customer service supervisor - who I report to directly now) and they are 8,000 sorts of pissed. Adrian called me into a meeting where he presented me with a formal write up, stating that I have caused irreparable damage to working relations between the office and the field, that I am not on board with company policies and department goals, and that basically I am trying to bring down the entire foundation of the company. Now Adrian and Jennifer feel it necessary to call all of the techs and go over this new policy with them.
WHOA. WHAT?
First of all, in 4 ½ years I have never, EVER had my company loyalty, work ethic, or ability to communicate called into question. In fact, my communication skills and dependability have been commended, repeatedly and by multiple people. It is REALLY concerning that this has come up, because I am still trying to move elsewhere in the company. It also should have raised some red flags somewhere, because if I am suddenly against everything McK stands for, then that is a complete 180° for me. However, if this goes in my personal file, then it’s there for anybody and everybody to see. I will state that at this time, Adrian has decided to give me the benefit of the doubt and has NOT filed the write-up, but has told me that I have 2 weeks to prove that I am on board with policies, goals, procedures, etc. Seeing as how I already show up every day, all day, and do my job to the best of my abilities… well, this should be interesting. And having that write-up hang over my head is A+++ for my stress levels.
Secondly, the news about this new policy should not have come from the dispatchers - 6 people can interpret or rephrase something 6 different ways. If they wanted us to use a specific phrase (I have been informed that I should have said something like “we are trying to focus on operational efficiency,” which I think is crap because that is a politically-correct, vague term. My statement actually tells what the problem in question is), the statement should have been made directly to the techs from upper management. In fact, this very suggestion, as well as ‘give us a script to read,’ at a meeting last week. Adrian basically brushed it off and said that no, it needs to come from us.
I simply cannot work with this guy anymore. In all of my time at McK, I was noted as an excellent worker, and ever since he came on board (about a year ago was his promotion, 8 months after starting), I can’t seem to do anything right, yet I have not changed how I perform my job and fulfill my responsibilities as they have been explained to me since I was hired. I’ve got a meeting with HR today to discuss my concerns and to see what kind of guidance they give. I have another meeting with a different HR person on Wednesday to discuss “personal development” to see what it will take to move somewhere else, and SOON. Both of these meetings were called by me, not the other way around. With the state of the economy, a lot of stuff has frozen for the time being in our industry, so there are not a lot of jobs opening up here. But if I can’t get any kind of light at the end of this tunnel here, then I will start looking outside McK. Actually, I already have - I sent out 2 resumes last week, one of which is to Holland America Cruise Lines which I have heard is an excellent company to work for, so I’m crossing my fingers on that one. I would, actually, prefer to stay at McK since I start getting 3 weeks vacation this year as I being my 5th year here and they have a lot vested in me, and I have a lot vested in them. But I can’t keep coming into a job I hate just for a 401(k) match, you know? McK is not the only company in the world.
And here’s a funny thing - this weekend, I had an SAI meeting to run, and a memorial service to attend for one of our members who just passed away (at the age of 99!). At least 4 of the members came up to me during the day to tell me how professionally I run our meetings, how well I communicate via email, etc. etc. I was SO happy to hear that - they couldn’t know what it meant to me to have them say that just at this particular time!
That’s the major problem. I’ve got some other ones, too:
- I just had my end of the year performance review, with Adrian (formerly reviews were with Jennifer, and we had been told a year ago that she would still be involved, but no). I noticed that, on a scale of 1 to 5, where I had always gotten a 5 from Jennifer on the Dependability/Attendance portion, Adrian had not given me that. I mentioned it, and he said that if I hadn’t taken any of the days off (PAID DAYS OFF, mind you) then he would have given me a five, and then mumbled something about having “banked” my time off - I believe he meant the 7 working days off that I took over the Christmas holiday to be with my family. So now I’m being marked down for taking off the time that I have earned? Fuck that shit.
- While I was out on this winter holiday, I had put in a lot of time and effort to making sure that everything that could be done ahead of time, was done. This included scheduling my techs for almost 2 weeks out, updating my dispatch board, notifying customers that I regularly deal with that I would be gone and who to contact in my absence, etc. One of the girls who came over to help cover dispatch (3-4 of us were on vacation on any given day, so they brought in reinforcements) was really pleased with how easy it was to cover my job. She sent an email to Jennifer letting her know that I should have some kudos for being so well prepared, but Jennifer never told me about this atta-girl. I don’t know if there’s others out there that are ever mentioned for me, but it sure makes me wonder - why do I only get told when I’ve done something wrong, and never when I’ve done something worthy enough to take the time to email about it?
So, anyway. That’s my thing. I want out, now. I am day-dreaming about handing over my two-week’s notice, because Adrian knows I’m the most accurate person on this team, with the most experience, so he’s losing a lot with me and he knows it. It wouldn’t be for a while (still need to get interviews, find a place that I want to work, be accepted, etc.), but a girl can dream, can’t she?!