Work Gripes Thread

So the company put GPS units in all our vans so our Automated Dispatch could give us jobs near where we are. Well now they've decided to use it against us and are keeping track of the idle time on our vans, because it's "a waste of fuel". Well you know what's also a waste of fuel? Making me drive to the nether region of my coverage area every morning, which takes about 45 minutes, instead of sending me to the closest area, which is about 15 minutes away from my house. Oh yeah, the Automated Dispatch still doesn't work like its supposed to.

We also are still having a Stock issue and we haven't had have the proper equipment in months. It's made my job a living nightmare.

Um do you work for a certain satellite company? Sounds like the same thing we just went/are going through.

No, I work for a certain cable company. I just changed offices in November and I haven't been liking it.

Don't worry by the time the auto dispatch rights itself, they'll change it and screw it all up again.

My employer (big box parts store) tells me that the reason that company's sales are down is because we (store managers) can't write an efficient schedule, not because we are higher priced and don't carry half the E36 M3 people actually need/want.

In reply to Spoolpigeon:

Sounds like AAP just as I got ushered to the door....

good call

In reply to SyntheticBlinkerFluid:

... so, things were better before all the improvements. :(

I'm in sales. I run a GPS and download my travels to a website. They know where I go and when. I have to input a customer name for each stop for accounting to review.

Then I get paid per business mile. Whoo Hoo!

fasted58 wrote: In reply to SyntheticBlinkerFluid: ... so, things were better before all the improvements. :(

better for us, no. "better" for the customers, yes. The point is supposed to be (at least for our company) that the system moves work around to make sure customers are taken care of within their time frame. What it means for us is criss-crossing an area instead of getting assigned x amount of work and planning our own day. The other down side for us, is not knowing what time of day we are actually done, as the system always seems to "lose" orders and they find them and stick them on use at 4-5 PM and keep us out late.

I used to have that problem when I worked for Stanley. The office in Atlanta wanted to dispatch the calls one at a time. I'd be from one end of my area to the other and back again. My area was 200 miles long and 100 wide. Spending 8 hours in the truck was a common occurrence, then they would start bitching about the overtime.

One of the many reasons I no longer work there.

I designed a GPS enabled tracking and route optimization system for a large service company. It was cool, all based on google maps. The techs hated me. We tracked idle time and speeding etc.

Spoolpigeon wrote: My employer (big box parts store) tells me that the reason that company's sales are down is because we (store managers) can't write an efficient schedule, not because we are higher priced and don't carry half the E36 M3 people actually need/want.

My company (tire chain) tells us (management) that it's that "we don't care" and then a string of expletives that would have us fired on the spot if it we were the one saying it to them.

It's gotten better of late though. The primary offender got transfired. Unfortunately not for the above reasons, but he's out of our hair.

"Transfired". I like that.

My current job sucks in so many ways I can't count them all. Short version is, even though we have so many tasks to do in a day we can't do them all, they keep finding more to pile on. They just sprung a new one on us last week.

Thankfully, I no longer have to care. I start my new job with a competitor next month.

I work for a small, family owned glass company that is so full of bad juju it's crazy. The is owned by four siblings, three of which actually handle the business, it was started by their father. They each earn a killing, I mean, the job we are about to complete is a 2 million dollar job, over half of that is profit. 300% markup on frames, glass, whatever. I don't think any of us make $20 an hour, even the foreman that has been there 35+ years.

Now, that's not my gripe. The place is a cesspool, so much animosity amongst the co-workers, the shop crew hates the install crew, the install crew thinks the shop guys are all idiots. The bosses are doing whatever they can to pinch a buck (see note at bottom) , they talk down to you, cuss you, and generally don't respect you (or, atleast me) at all.

I'm not here to hop on my menstrual cycle and bitch, but the place is really wearing me out, but unfortunately it's my best option right now.

I'm considered a hybrid type of worker. Some days I work out at the job site, other days I work in the fab shop building frames. My pay period is Sunday through Saturday. Guys like my Dad, who are Glaziers and work on the job site exclusively, get paid Saturday through Friday. That helps prevent overtime, because if they work on Saturday, their pay period has just started and it won't be overtime. Granted it will be on next week's check, but still, it's the principle of the matter.

I really need to get my business off the ground and get out of there.

ddavidv wrote: "Transfired". I like that. My current job sucks in so many ways I can't count them all. Short version is, even though we have so many tasks to do in a day we can't do them all, they keep finding more to pile on. They just sprung a new one on us last week.

it's that way with us too. The "making do with less" Mantra means making us do more with less people.. and finding every excuse they can to use even less people. It does not help that at harrah's, we have a middle manager who will pop up over your shoulder at any moment to micromanage you to an early grave.

Even though we are working with less and less people to get the work done.. we are not allowed any OT.. and get yelled at if we do not get the work done.. something has to give

My work just implemented a couple changes that essentially made me completely expendable. I used to lead a team of four people; then an electronics upgrade made it a one-person job that could be done overnight. Now corporate has decided that the same job can be done in mornings. I was asked if I wanted to switch to dayside (losing my shift premium). I declined and my hours have been cut roughly in half. I suppose it's long past the point where I should have grown up and gotten a real job, but now this is becoming a priority.

mad_machine wrote: Even though we are working with less and less people to get the work done.. we are not allowed any OT.. and get yelled at if we do not get the work done.. something has to give

Yup, ditto. What grates me is this company (and business in general) continually makes money. The cost cutting isn't necessary to save the business; it's merely to pad the bottom line.

The Libertarian in me likes businesses of all types and sizes, but geez, the big corporations are making it really hard to like and defend them. I know there are good ones out there (hopefully my impending move will prove that) but a lot of them make me wish I'd gone into business for myself years ago.

I love my job. I hate all of the crap that happens at night that I can't do anything about (I'm a night auditor). Our washing machine broke tonight, our coffee maker last night. Had a lot of fun with a motorcycle club, too.

At least for all the crap I have to deal with and the low-ish pay that comes with the job, I'm treated really well by the owners of the hotel.

BoostedBrandon wrote: I work for a small, family owned glass company that is so full of bad juju it's crazy. The is owned by four siblings, three of which actually handle the business, it was started by their father. They each earn a killing

Business is about making a profit. That's it. If they can legally jamb the workers; too bad. It's all about dollars and the bottom line.

ddavidv wrote:

mad_machine wrote: Even though we are working with less and less people to get the work done.. we are not allowed any OT.. and get yelled at if we do not get the work done.. something has to give

Yup, ditto. What grates me is this company (and business in general) continually makes money. The cost cutting isn't necessary to save the business; it's merely to pad the bottom line. The Libertarian in me likes businesses of all types and sizes, but geez, the big corporations are making it really hard to like and defend them. I know there are good ones out there (hopefully my impending move will prove that) but a lot of them make me wish I'd gone into business for myself years ago.

What bugs me the most about my company, is that you can bust your ass, do good work, and still get E36 M3-canned, because of you performance numbers.

There are techs who do the same job I do, that cut corners, cancel jobs when they don't need to be cancelled, misinform customers, go home early every day, get away with it, and keep their jobs.

Then there's the guys like me, who take their time to make sure the job is done right, inform the customers properly, bend over backwards for (certain) customers, work late because I'm doing the job right, and then get bitched at by my supervisor because my "productivity" is low. If it goes on long enough, you go through corrective action and then eventually fired. I've been in that situation twice in the last 6 years, which turns you into the tech I described above.

Then the company comes up with bullE36 M3 that they never use, but they use it against you. About 4 years ago, they made our signal meters function so you had to run a test at every house and send it back to a server. They said they were going to use it as a reference for repeat trouble calls. They never have, but here we are 4 years later, it's still a part of your performance numbers and if you don't do them you get bitched at and blah blah blah it becomes an endless cycle of ridiculousness.

Busy day for the team. Coworker is fine all morning. Audible phone buzzing suggests 5 texts in 3 minutes. Suddenly: "I so sick, must go home early cough cough..."

See on the news, some big video game release is today.

Another coworker is getting a cat. Good for you. No one cares. Sh!tty coworker then spends rest of day talking about the cat. And the outfits she wants to get for the cat. And the funny things her moms cat does. And the things she plans to do to the apartment for the cat. And all the names shes thought of for the cat. And how her fiance has reacted to the news of the cat. And how she plans on transporting the cat. And the toys she wants to make for the cat. And all the ...

My company's president and VPs...

The only complaint I have about my current job is being a one man department. Chief cook and bottle washer. That is it though, I'm pretty lucky.

Now my previous jobs. Wow. How about being required to sign that we understand the employee handbook, but not being able to have a copy of said handbook. Or make the work week run from Friday to Thursday to make sure nobody can leave early on Friday (no overtime was allowed). Or every year we would miss our sales numbers by some tiny amount because there had been some mysterious chargebacks to accounts that nobody had ever heard of, which meant no bonuses. Or the company meetings that were started with the GM stating "this is a right to work state and you may be dismissed at any time without reason" which he would then try to make a positive by saying you are free to quit without warning as well. They would wait until the 90th day to mail you your last paycheck. They would offer to let you pick it up, but when you showed up "oops, sorry, it is in the mail." Traveling for the company was considered a "perk" and the GM about threw a fit when I submitted an overtime sheet for working our booth at SEMA.

I should stop now. DILYSIDAVE can fill in more if he wants, unless his lawyer has recommended otherwise...

My company's current acting CEO, bless her heart, is like the worst combination of Dilbert's boss and the PHB when it comes to computers. Really berkeleying scary. The last CEO didn't know much about computers but he knew that he didn't know. This woman doesn't know that she doesn't know.

Aside from that, just the long-running problem of their horrific underpayment of just about everyone in the company as far as I can tell. Everyone who works here is either already wealthy and doing it as a hobby / "for some extra cash" or is a screwed Gen. Y'er such as myself.

I work at a big box parts store.. and lately the number of subaru fanbois that have been coming in are starting to annoy me. hate to say it, but I'd rather deal with the scuzzy honda kids instead.