So now companies are coming right out and posting in employment listings to NOT apply if you're unemployed: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/job-listings-unemployed-not-apply-133143362.html. If we as humans needed any more proof that (most) companies are run on the same principles as the Evil Empire, all of the news, headlines, and rumors about how (badly) employees are being treated should do the trick. I really have to wonder if this isn't all an elaborate mind-game so that those in power can play God in order to observe how other people react when they're pitted against one another at work, vying for the same jobs, or when they're unemployed for long periods of time.
I was recently employed by Citi, where I received countless "kudos" and gratitude calls from customers who appreciated all the help they received from me. Was I recognized or thanked in any way by Citi? If by recognition you mean absolutely scathing and demeaning criticism by means of monthly quality call monitors, then yes. However, when you consider that Citi is not only one of the many floundering companies who took advantage of the huge 2008 government bailout, but Citi also is notorious for having one of the top ten CEOs (Vikram Pandit) who are job killers (http://money.msn.com/investing/ceos-who-became-job-killers-thestreet.aspx?cp-documentid=6834878>1=33002) you begin to understand why the company is structured so that employees are setup to fail and why CEOs like Pandit make such huge salaries and bonuses. A bailout, especially that of the 2008 bailout, is typically necessary when a large company or companies have been mismanaged by incompetent executives who couldn't balance their own checkbook if their life depended on it. Why are we are STILL seeing this mismanagement? Why are we still sitting idly by as stuffed-shirt, college-educated idiots are running our business into the ground, trotting out the same tired business model and management practices that got us into this mess in the first place?
And what was so horrible that I said or did in my calls with customers to get such caustic reviews in my "quality" call monitors ? I didn't thank the customer for calling about their specific issue and paused during the calls ("dead air"). I was told that it's my fault my quality scores were so poor and that I should "expect" negative feedback. The other agents who are rude to customers and disparage them with slurs such as "diaper head" and "stupid" are praised by management because their call handle time is low.
Probably the only reason companies would not want to replace actual humans with robots would be the fact that there's too much enjoyment in inflicting pain and grief.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Hollywood, You So Silly!
Where do I begin with the latest Hollywood drivel, Larry Crowne? It's the story of a middle-aged man (played by Tom Hanks) who reinvents himself by going back to college after losing his job. This movie is Hollywood's way of telling the rest of us that we're pathetic losers; Hollywood gets the last laugh though because it's us losers who will pay for the displeasure of seeing this movie.
I'm not sure how many (if any) Hollywood stars have ever had to work at a poorly-or-only-adequately-paying job with health coverage that's hardly better than no health coverage and no retirement benefits for most of their lives only to lose said job because the company decides that employee is making too much salary and is costing the company too much in health premiums and they think they can replace said experienced employee with a wet-behind-the-ears fresh-out-of-college kid who can barely wipe his or her nose without first checking a textbook for directions. I’m pretty sure that neither Tom Hanks nor Julia Roberts have ever had to worry about their next mortgage/rent payment or car payment, or whether they will have enough beans and hot dogs for dinner again. I am also pretty sure that neither Tom Hanks nor Julia Roberts have ever had to give up any of their pets because they either couldn't afford to feed them or because they had to move into a one- or two-bedroom apartment after their house was foreclosed.
The movie is just a happy-go-lucky romp through the trials and tribulations of a middle-aged man who actually needed to be fired as a kick in the pants so he'd learn to find happiness and new adventures in his life; unemployment offices are just littered with people who look like Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts who would welcome the chance to meet a flabby, out-of-work, bitter, middle-aged person and teach them how to live and love again. By all means, Hollywood, please continue to churn out this inane claptrap all the while sticking your middle finger out at the fans and general public who have been paying good money to put you where you are.
Everyone should take to heart the simple sweet message this movie has to offer: Go and accumulate $100,000 or more in tuition debt, some 10 or 20 years before retiring, so you can go back to college and earn a degree that you'll never use in your $10 an hour job, which is the only job you'll be able to get while the economy is so shitty...oh, and you'll be competing with thousands or tens of thousands of other people for that same job. Enjoy!
I'm not sure how many (if any) Hollywood stars have ever had to work at a poorly-or-only-adequately-paying job with health coverage that's hardly better than no health coverage and no retirement benefits for most of their lives only to lose said job because the company decides that employee is making too much salary and is costing the company too much in health premiums and they think they can replace said experienced employee with a wet-behind-the-ears fresh-out-of-college kid who can barely wipe his or her nose without first checking a textbook for directions. I’m pretty sure that neither Tom Hanks nor Julia Roberts have ever had to worry about their next mortgage/rent payment or car payment, or whether they will have enough beans and hot dogs for dinner again. I am also pretty sure that neither Tom Hanks nor Julia Roberts have ever had to give up any of their pets because they either couldn't afford to feed them or because they had to move into a one- or two-bedroom apartment after their house was foreclosed.
The movie is just a happy-go-lucky romp through the trials and tribulations of a middle-aged man who actually needed to be fired as a kick in the pants so he'd learn to find happiness and new adventures in his life; unemployment offices are just littered with people who look like Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts who would welcome the chance to meet a flabby, out-of-work, bitter, middle-aged person and teach them how to live and love again. By all means, Hollywood, please continue to churn out this inane claptrap all the while sticking your middle finger out at the fans and general public who have been paying good money to put you where you are.
Everyone should take to heart the simple sweet message this movie has to offer: Go and accumulate $100,000 or more in tuition debt, some 10 or 20 years before retiring, so you can go back to college and earn a degree that you'll never use in your $10 an hour job, which is the only job you'll be able to get while the economy is so shitty...oh, and you'll be competing with thousands or tens of thousands of other people for that same job. Enjoy!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Career Happiness A Complete Delusion?
I read this article on msnbc.com tonight, and the first word that came to mind was, "Bullshit."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43683917/ns/business-personal_finance/
The article speaks of career "happiness" as if it were Santa Claus, a mythical "thing" that people are told exists only so that they can drudge from day to day through their dreary lives and have just enough hope that they won't go home and drink a bottle of Drano.
And as is usually found in these types of articles, the main writer is either schizophrenic or just sloppy because they cite contradictory quotes, such as:
"The Internet has only made matters worse for some because job seekers can readily see a host of often-unattainable jobs on job boards that sound so much better than what they have...They are like squirrels and shiny objects.” says Elizabeth Gibson, director of the University of California San Diego’s Extension Career Transition and Development for Professionals Program.
"Wanting to get out of a gig you hate makes sense," said Dian Griesel, co-founder of The Business School of Happiness and co-author of “TurboCharged.” “When you find yourself working only for the paycheck you are wasting your time and talent, and eight hours might seem like a lifetime,” Griesel said. “You can try to rationalize the situation, but you can’t fool yourself at the primal gut level. You know the situation is bad.”
First of all, I am offended that Elizabeth Gibson would equate unhappy employees with squirrels, but it obviously reflects her inner feelings towards us lowly peasants that she feels are "beneath" her. And why wouldn't she feel this way? She probably makes a minimum of $1,000,000 in annual base salary alone, works and probably lives in San Fucking Diego, California, and probably gets paid $100,000 minimum - a piece - to travel all over the world giving lectures on her "squirrel" theories. Well, Ms. Gibson, if I were in your position, I'd probably be just as pompous and arrogant and out of touch with the real world.
Anyone who has ever had a halfway decent job knows that it is possible to be happy with your job and also be productive. The problem is the multitude of educated idiots, like Ms. Gibson, who want to perpetuate the number of other educated idiots who own or run or work in our corporations. It's the same mind-set as attorneys who want more and more laws - the more attorneys out there, the more laws are needed to justify their existence. By the way, if I did a little research, I'd bet my next paycheck that the two fastest growing or most largely populated career fields are currently attorneys and HR personnel. I honestly believe this is one of the biggest problems with corporations and why those companies who embrace and perpetuate this nonsense will always eventually fail, no matter how many times our government bails them out. GM and Chrysler are two very prime examples: Bloated executives and management who believed that they would never run out of paying customers no matter how shitty their product was as long as it was marketed well and had "sex appeal". Twenty-plus years ago I knew the American auto manufacturers would eventually find themselves in the position of either going bankrupt or begging for money because of their complete and utter mismanagement, arrogance, and ignorance. Marketing people have their place, but you cannot put frosting on cow manure and call it a birthday cake and expect people to keep eating it. No matter how gullible the general population is, they will - and did - wise up. I've never worked for the auto manufacturers, but I have worked for a couple of companies who had the same mindset and eventually went out of business. These companies had horrible management and working environments, encouraged employees to "tattle" on each other, and developed ambiguous policies and procedures that were designed simply for gains in profit at the expense of the customer and the failure of the lowly employees.
I do not expect any employer to bend over backwards to make my job fun, but I do expect my employer not to be punitive. "Be glad you have a job" is simply the battle cry of incompetent and sadistic employers taking advantage of a bad economy and to excuse or rationalize their appalling treatment of employees and encouragement of or involvement in hostile work environments. Expecting employees to simply be "happy they have a job" is akin to telling the Jewish (and Polish and Slavic and Gypsy) workers during WWII "Arbeit macht frei" - at least up until they are literally worked to death or put in the nearest gas chamber because they are no longer useful to their employer.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43683917/ns/business-personal_finance/
The article speaks of career "happiness" as if it were Santa Claus, a mythical "thing" that people are told exists only so that they can drudge from day to day through their dreary lives and have just enough hope that they won't go home and drink a bottle of Drano.
And as is usually found in these types of articles, the main writer is either schizophrenic or just sloppy because they cite contradictory quotes, such as:
"The Internet has only made matters worse for some because job seekers can readily see a host of often-unattainable jobs on job boards that sound so much better than what they have...They are like squirrels and shiny objects.” says Elizabeth Gibson, director of the University of California San Diego’s Extension Career Transition and Development for Professionals Program.
First of all, I am offended that Elizabeth Gibson would equate unhappy employees with squirrels, but it obviously reflects her inner feelings towards us lowly peasants that she feels are "beneath" her. And why wouldn't she feel this way? She probably makes a minimum of $1,000,000 in annual base salary alone, works and probably lives in San Fucking Diego, California, and probably gets paid $100,000 minimum - a piece - to travel all over the world giving lectures on her "squirrel" theories. Well, Ms. Gibson, if I were in your position, I'd probably be just as pompous and arrogant and out of touch with the real world.
Anyone who has ever had a halfway decent job knows that it is possible to be happy with your job and also be productive. The problem is the multitude of educated idiots, like Ms. Gibson, who want to perpetuate the number of other educated idiots who own or run or work in our corporations. It's the same mind-set as attorneys who want more and more laws - the more attorneys out there, the more laws are needed to justify their existence. By the way, if I did a little research, I'd bet my next paycheck that the two fastest growing or most largely populated career fields are currently attorneys and HR personnel. I honestly believe this is one of the biggest problems with corporations and why those companies who embrace and perpetuate this nonsense will always eventually fail, no matter how many times our government bails them out. GM and Chrysler are two very prime examples: Bloated executives and management who believed that they would never run out of paying customers no matter how shitty their product was as long as it was marketed well and had "sex appeal". Twenty-plus years ago I knew the American auto manufacturers would eventually find themselves in the position of either going bankrupt or begging for money because of their complete and utter mismanagement, arrogance, and ignorance. Marketing people have their place, but you cannot put frosting on cow manure and call it a birthday cake and expect people to keep eating it. No matter how gullible the general population is, they will - and did - wise up. I've never worked for the auto manufacturers, but I have worked for a couple of companies who had the same mindset and eventually went out of business. These companies had horrible management and working environments, encouraged employees to "tattle" on each other, and developed ambiguous policies and procedures that were designed simply for gains in profit at the expense of the customer and the failure of the lowly employees.
I do not expect any employer to bend over backwards to make my job fun, but I do expect my employer not to be punitive. "Be glad you have a job" is simply the battle cry of incompetent and sadistic employers taking advantage of a bad economy and to excuse or rationalize their appalling treatment of employees and encouragement of or involvement in hostile work environments. Expecting employees to simply be "happy they have a job" is akin to telling the Jewish (and Polish and Slavic and Gypsy) workers during WWII "Arbeit macht frei" - at least up until they are literally worked to death or put in the nearest gas chamber because they are no longer useful to their employer.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Call Centers, aka Planet Motherfucker
I don't claim to be an expert, but I have worked in 9 call centers either as a Telecom professional or a call center/customer service agent. What's my beef with Call Centers? Why do the companies that contract with call centers pay more to train agents than to retain them? AT&T pays Teleperformance $15,000 A PIECE to train agents, but nominal or no fees to retain those agents. Do the math: Ten agents=$150,000. So what do you think Teleperformance is going to do with those agents? If your answer was "treat them like pond scum and throw them out faster than yesterday's trash" you win the $49.99 prize. Logically those companies paying so dearly for training would maybe do some overseeing, such as, I don't know, maybe analyzing the number of people being trained vs. the number of people who have actually stayed on the job for longer than 6 months. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that when a company pays more to train employees than to retain employees, that call center is going to install a high-speed electronic revolving door on their building. Paying for training is simply a money maker, a "cash cow" if you will.
Because it's a money maker, getting rid of agents quickly is the main goal, so call centers have collectively devised childish and cruel methods of beating down agents' self-esteem and confidence while maintaining the pseudo-professional statistic-collecting mumbo-jumbo needed for management and HR to justify their positions. Pitting employees against each other is one more tactic of getting rid of employees - they'll rat each other out faster than you can say hostile work environment. A crummy job market is obviously an employer's dream, because they not only can pick and choose but they always have a fresh supply of warm bodies to fill positions and keep that cash flow going.
It sure makes me proud when I see all the corruption, depravity, hostility and ruthlessness that the combination of lousy employers and high unemployment fosters. All of this ties into my previous rantings about a common thread among companies and businesses who are more concerned with their bottom line than with people or quality or investing in the future. The "grab what you can" attitude is probably the main reason that humans will eventually destroy one another and of course the planet in the process. Yey for us!
Because it's a money maker, getting rid of agents quickly is the main goal, so call centers have collectively devised childish and cruel methods of beating down agents' self-esteem and confidence while maintaining the pseudo-professional statistic-collecting mumbo-jumbo needed for management and HR to justify their positions. Pitting employees against each other is one more tactic of getting rid of employees - they'll rat each other out faster than you can say hostile work environment. A crummy job market is obviously an employer's dream, because they not only can pick and choose but they always have a fresh supply of warm bodies to fill positions and keep that cash flow going.
It sure makes me proud when I see all the corruption, depravity, hostility and ruthlessness that the combination of lousy employers and high unemployment fosters. All of this ties into my previous rantings about a common thread among companies and businesses who are more concerned with their bottom line than with people or quality or investing in the future. The "grab what you can" attitude is probably the main reason that humans will eventually destroy one another and of course the planet in the process. Yey for us!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Common Thread
I hate to use cliches and buzzwords, but looking at the "big picture" I find it so very interesting that so many companies seem to use the same business model over and over and over again. It didn't work the first time, so why not do it again (and again, and again)? And when that business or company stumbles, they go right back to the drawing board with the same old dog and pony show. Perfect examples are AIG, GM and Chrysler, as well as SPS and Citicorp, and all those other companies who also took stimulus money but are still playing the same old games (if they're still in business).
I was listening to a commercial this morning about Ram Trucks, talking about what a great "value" they are. Guess what GM and Chrysler? You've taken enough of my money over the years, you've lied to me, you've ripped me off, you've sold me automobiles that were barely better than driving a sardine can, and you now expect me to come crawling back and invest my money in your shitty-ass company with the same slimy, corrupt management and executives and shareholders only concerned with the bottom line and their own huge bonuses? With all due respect, please go fuck yourself.
SPS had a Vice President in charge of their I.T. Infrastructure who had the mental agility of a small soap dish and was fired ONLY because he had been assuring the other executives that backups sent off-site were being encrypted; however, when a technician who worked for the off-site backup storage company had his vehicle broken into, it was discovered that the backups were not encrypted as promised; consequently, a large number of accounts, and personally identifiable information, such as social security numbers, were compromised. Did SPS bother to find a replacement who was able to dress him or herself and didn't require a drool bucket to be taped to their head at all times? Oh Hell no. They replaced him with an equally arrogant and lackadaisical jackass because he had a degree and the ability to bullshit his way through just about anything.
Citigroup recently had their systems hacked (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43421143), and announced that the initial number they threw out about how many accounts were hacked when the news first broke was significantly lower than the number of accounts that were actually hacked. Oopsie! A hundred thousand here, a million there, it's so hard to keep track, especially, you know, with our current lack of technology. Honestly, the bottom line is that Citigroup has (1) very shitty I.T. people and (2) a boatload of excuses and news releases queued and ready for any situation, which means that instead of fixing the problem, they're more concerned with damage control and covering up. And like a bad penny, there are the same slimy, corrupt management and executives and shareholders who couldn't care less about this company doing the right thing; they're only concerned with the bottom line and their huge bonuses. These companies perpetuate ridiculous myths such as: only college-educated people can and should be in positions of authority, subordinates need to be micromanaged, and by God, do everything you can to keep your job even if that means intimidating and crushing the heads of anyone who gets in the way or who questions anything management or executives or the company does.
By all means, please do everything you can to run your company or business into the toilet - it makes socialism so much more attractive. But maybe that's just my paranoia talking.
I was listening to a commercial this morning about Ram Trucks, talking about what a great "value" they are. Guess what GM and Chrysler? You've taken enough of my money over the years, you've lied to me, you've ripped me off, you've sold me automobiles that were barely better than driving a sardine can, and you now expect me to come crawling back and invest my money in your shitty-ass company with the same slimy, corrupt management and executives and shareholders only concerned with the bottom line and their own huge bonuses? With all due respect, please go fuck yourself.
SPS had a Vice President in charge of their I.T. Infrastructure who had the mental agility of a small soap dish and was fired ONLY because he had been assuring the other executives that backups sent off-site were being encrypted; however, when a technician who worked for the off-site backup storage company had his vehicle broken into, it was discovered that the backups were not encrypted as promised; consequently, a large number of accounts, and personally identifiable information, such as social security numbers, were compromised. Did SPS bother to find a replacement who was able to dress him or herself and didn't require a drool bucket to be taped to their head at all times? Oh Hell no. They replaced him with an equally arrogant and lackadaisical jackass because he had a degree and the ability to bullshit his way through just about anything.
Citigroup recently had their systems hacked (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43421143), and announced that the initial number they threw out about how many accounts were hacked when the news first broke was significantly lower than the number of accounts that were actually hacked. Oopsie! A hundred thousand here, a million there, it's so hard to keep track, especially, you know, with our current lack of technology. Honestly, the bottom line is that Citigroup has (1) very shitty I.T. people and (2) a boatload of excuses and news releases queued and ready for any situation, which means that instead of fixing the problem, they're more concerned with damage control and covering up. And like a bad penny, there are the same slimy, corrupt management and executives and shareholders who couldn't care less about this company doing the right thing; they're only concerned with the bottom line and their huge bonuses. These companies perpetuate ridiculous myths such as: only college-educated people can and should be in positions of authority, subordinates need to be micromanaged, and by God, do everything you can to keep your job even if that means intimidating and crushing the heads of anyone who gets in the way or who questions anything management or executives or the company does.
By all means, please do everything you can to run your company or business into the toilet - it makes socialism so much more attractive. But maybe that's just my paranoia talking.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
More Employer Insanity
More proof that companies and their HR departments are at the helm with their heads up their asses:
http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2011/04/05/10-things-hr-wont-tell-you-about-your-resume/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl7%7Csec1_lnk2%7C54786
The No. 1 thing HR won't tell you: "Once you're unemployed more than six months, you're considered pretty much unemployable. We assume that other people have already passed you over, so we don't want anything to do with you." So even if you lost your job because your company or its "leaders" mismanaged the company into the toilet and you're unable to get another job because (1) there are numerous other companies out of business because they were also mismanaged and/or (2) there are only so many available jobs and unemployment is at its highest rate in years, it's YOUR fault.
I love how the article recommends to "go straight to the hiring manager" but then says "walking in and dropping off your resume is no longer seen as a good thing. It's actually a little creepy." So which is it? And have you ever tried getting the name and information of the hiring manager for ANY job? It would be easier to grow back my wisdom teeth.
http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2011/04/05/10-things-hr-wont-tell-you-about-your-resume/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl7%7Csec1_lnk2%7C54786
The No. 1 thing HR won't tell you: "Once you're unemployed more than six months, you're considered pretty much unemployable. We assume that other people have already passed you over, so we don't want anything to do with you." So even if you lost your job because your company or its "leaders" mismanaged the company into the toilet and you're unable to get another job because (1) there are numerous other companies out of business because they were also mismanaged and/or (2) there are only so many available jobs and unemployment is at its highest rate in years, it's YOUR fault.
I love how the article recommends to "go straight to the hiring manager" but then says "walking in and dropping off your resume is no longer seen as a good thing. It's actually a little creepy." So which is it? And have you ever tried getting the name and information of the hiring manager for ANY job? It would be easier to grow back my wisdom teeth.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Taxpayers Funding Porn Usage
What's worse than a network admin utilizing a company's entire bandwidth to download pirated software and music? Highly paid employees at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accessing pornography sites at work. http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/27125540/detail.html
According to the article: "Many of the employees who engaged in such conduct were at a senior level and earned substantial salaries through their government employment," the OIG revealed in a summary report, noting that 17 employees had an annual salary of at least $99,356." I don't know how many constitutes "many" so it could be 50, 100, maybe even in the thousands. Do the math.
I think what makes me more frustrated than anything is that none of these people were fired. However, I'm sure they all parted their hair on the correct side and gave stellar answers to their "Where do you see yourself in five years?" interview questions.
Sure gives me a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that my tax dollars are "hard" at work.
According to the article: "Many of the employees who engaged in such conduct were at a senior level and earned substantial salaries through their government employment," the OIG revealed in a summary report, noting that 17 employees had an annual salary of at least $99,356." I don't know how many constitutes "many" so it could be 50, 100, maybe even in the thousands. Do the math.
I think what makes me more frustrated than anything is that none of these people were fired. However, I'm sure they all parted their hair on the correct side and gave stellar answers to their "Where do you see yourself in five years?" interview questions.
Sure gives me a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that my tax dollars are "hard" at work.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)