Friday, February 15, 2008
In A Few Years, We'll All Laugh About This Shitty New Health Insurance Plan
THIS might actually be funny if Echostar hadn't treated me and their other fine employees nearly exactly like this.
BOJ
BOJ
Labels: [Nameless Company], Stuff From The Onion
Friday, February 08, 2008
Life is Fucking Hilarious
On 9 November 2007, I was fired from my job at [Nameless Company], which will, from this day forward be referred to as Echostar Communications or Dish Network.
The story of why this happened is kind of long. Following the [Nameless Company] label will reveal some of what happened. The last straw was when I was not given information that I had requested from my spineless piece of shit manager, information that he told me he'd get back to me with, information that he had for two fucking weeks at this point.
I demanded he come in and give me the information. Frankly, I didn't believe him because I've caught him in several lies in the past. I demanded he call Human Resources as that was who the info ultimately was to come from. The spineless piece of shit got HR on the phone immediately, which now seems a little remarkable since it was after their business hours. But an HR rep was on the phone in seconds.
I wasn't pleasant with anyone involved and my evening ended with me being escorted from the building. The guy with MS was going to cause great damage on his way out of the building, I guess. I was placed on "Administrative Leave" and awaited my fate. On 9 November my fate was spelled out for me.
The best thing was that I found out that the spineless piece of shit manager did not act properly, withholding information from an employee as near as I can tell, because he was too fucking lazy to answer an email from me again asking for the information. He apparently got in trouble for that. How much, I don't know. His actions cost me my job, I doubt that he suffered as I did.
That's the way it always worked at that place though. They fuck up and get angry when you complain about it. I was given incorrect benefits information by the benefits office and I was written up because I got angry that they fucked up. They responded to my request at appealing the decision to fire me by sending a letter to the wrong address. They've got all of my information, they're just really fucking stupid. The final indignity was when they hung up on me while firing me. Yeah, they're the communications company that doesn't know how to use a fucking phone.
The funny thing is that for the next couple of nights, I slept amazingly well. I so hated my job at Echostar that it was a relief for it to just be over. I was told that I wouldn't receive a promotion or raise, but more work was expected of me. If I refused to take on extra work, a certain spineless piece of shit told me that it would "reflect poorly on me." All of this while new hires were being brought on at higher pay than the rest of the staff. I couldn't get a promotion, people from the outside were being hired at a pay rate above me, essentially getting the promotion that I was denied. It's no wonder I slept better not having to worry about that shit.
Of course, I didn't have a job, and that can always be stressful. I also have a terrible disease that, among other things, can cause depression. I do have lots of experience, so there were enough job interviews to keep me busy. I have two very promising things on the line. Earlier today, one of them came through.
So I'm moving again. South. I still haven't figured out all of the logistics of the move, but it will be before the end of the month. My first day of work is two weeks from Monday.
The company I'll be working for isn't perfect. I know because I've worked for them before. They do pay well. They were interested in me because I have experience in my field. I'm not getting a job because I live in the city the business is in and I showed up on the day they opened the door. I have experience, the specific experience that can only be gained at the three companies I've worked for that do this type of business.
I have experience and they're willing to pay me for it. I'll be making nearly 30% more than I was at Echostar. I'll be making that because I'm worth it. Right out of the box, they're telling me I'm worth something. They're not fucking me out of a week's vacation by hiring me right after the first of the year. They didn't screw up in calling every one of my references. They didn't fuck up my expenses. They told me they cared, they offered me a fair wage. I accepted because, well, I'm fucking worth it. It's nice when your employer agrees before you've even showed up to work.
BOJ
The story of why this happened is kind of long. Following the [Nameless Company] label will reveal some of what happened. The last straw was when I was not given information that I had requested from my spineless piece of shit manager, information that he told me he'd get back to me with, information that he had for two fucking weeks at this point.
I demanded he come in and give me the information. Frankly, I didn't believe him because I've caught him in several lies in the past. I demanded he call Human Resources as that was who the info ultimately was to come from. The spineless piece of shit got HR on the phone immediately, which now seems a little remarkable since it was after their business hours. But an HR rep was on the phone in seconds.
I wasn't pleasant with anyone involved and my evening ended with me being escorted from the building. The guy with MS was going to cause great damage on his way out of the building, I guess. I was placed on "Administrative Leave" and awaited my fate. On 9 November my fate was spelled out for me.
The best thing was that I found out that the spineless piece of shit manager did not act properly, withholding information from an employee as near as I can tell, because he was too fucking lazy to answer an email from me again asking for the information. He apparently got in trouble for that. How much, I don't know. His actions cost me my job, I doubt that he suffered as I did.
That's the way it always worked at that place though. They fuck up and get angry when you complain about it. I was given incorrect benefits information by the benefits office and I was written up because I got angry that they fucked up. They responded to my request at appealing the decision to fire me by sending a letter to the wrong address. They've got all of my information, they're just really fucking stupid. The final indignity was when they hung up on me while firing me. Yeah, they're the communications company that doesn't know how to use a fucking phone.
The funny thing is that for the next couple of nights, I slept amazingly well. I so hated my job at Echostar that it was a relief for it to just be over. I was told that I wouldn't receive a promotion or raise, but more work was expected of me. If I refused to take on extra work, a certain spineless piece of shit told me that it would "reflect poorly on me." All of this while new hires were being brought on at higher pay than the rest of the staff. I couldn't get a promotion, people from the outside were being hired at a pay rate above me, essentially getting the promotion that I was denied. It's no wonder I slept better not having to worry about that shit.
Of course, I didn't have a job, and that can always be stressful. I also have a terrible disease that, among other things, can cause depression. I do have lots of experience, so there were enough job interviews to keep me busy. I have two very promising things on the line. Earlier today, one of them came through.
So I'm moving again. South. I still haven't figured out all of the logistics of the move, but it will be before the end of the month. My first day of work is two weeks from Monday.
The company I'll be working for isn't perfect. I know because I've worked for them before. They do pay well. They were interested in me because I have experience in my field. I'm not getting a job because I live in the city the business is in and I showed up on the day they opened the door. I have experience, the specific experience that can only be gained at the three companies I've worked for that do this type of business.
I have experience and they're willing to pay me for it. I'll be making nearly 30% more than I was at Echostar. I'll be making that because I'm worth it. Right out of the box, they're telling me I'm worth something. They're not fucking me out of a week's vacation by hiring me right after the first of the year. They didn't screw up in calling every one of my references. They didn't fuck up my expenses. They told me they cared, they offered me a fair wage. I accepted because, well, I'm fucking worth it. It's nice when your employer agrees before you've even showed up to work.
BOJ
Labels: [Nameless Company]
# posted by Blind Orange Julius @ 8:43 PM 
Monday, September 17, 2007
This will be the last post for awhile. I'm just not up to it anymore.
A few months ago I was asked if I wanted to take on more responsibilities at [Nameless Company]. Let's see, my (and everyone else's except, apparently, for upper management) bonus was $250 for the previous year. We received that pittance as a reward for reaching an arbitrary goal. The same week that we received our pittance (plus Presidents' Day off) our new, extra shitty insurance kicked in.
So when asked if I wanted to take on extra duties without getting extra pay, I said "no thank you." Perhaps I wasn't that diplomatic. Perhaps the phrase "fuck you" was included in there somewhere.
The next week due to poor scheduling and illness, I was forced into that role anyway.
A little later I was asked again if I wanted to take on extra duties. This time I was told that it would come with a promotion and raise. I was still reluctant, but agreed. I'm a whore. Give me money, more money, and I can be talked into anything. I made it clear that I wasn't interested in extra duties until I received my promotion.
I waited. Nothing happened. People asked me about it, curious as I hadn't told anybody about the situation. I found out that it's policy (later I found out that it's not, which is a whole different issue) that only one promotion can be in the works in our department at a time. I was third in line on my shift, who knows how far down the queue I was department-wise. Nothing happened, summer passed (nearly, anyway) and I had given up on ever receiving more money from [Nameless Company]. On the other hand. Extra duties weren't put upon me. It was a trade-off I could live with.
Then [Nameless Company] decided that people in my job weren't paid enough. We're not, it's not competitive in the industry and the situation needs to be addressed. [Nameless Company]'s solution? Pay new hires more than existing employees.
It makes some sense, I suppose. We can't attract new hires without paying them more, and less employees means more work for the existing employees, so get 'em here however you can. Of course, less is expected of new employees, so hiring them at a higher rank and for more pay is a slap in the face to every employee in the organization.
Friday I was asked again if I wanted to take on extra duties. This time no raise or promotion was attached. I talked to my department manager about it. I wasn't offered anything in exchange for my taking on of extra duties, in fact, I was told that if I didn't, it would reflect negatively upon me. If I didn't do something that I was offered a promotion to do before, now without that promotion, that it would look bad for me.
Let's look at some of the crap [Nameless Company] has pulled on me in the past 22 months"
Let's look at what I have done "above and beyond" for [Nameless Company]:
I have been fucked over, repeatedly and consistently, by [Nameless Company] from a time before they even paid me. I am taking on more duties, even after a promise to me was broken, after they decided to pay new hires more than me, after they decided to provide shitty insurance, opting instead to sponsor a NASCAR team, after they have written me up, effecting my future advancement, because they gave me false benefits information.
What exactly should I be bitching about? Should I be bitching about how bad [Nameless Company] is fucking me over or that I allow it to keep happening by staying in a shitty job with shitty benefits for shitty pay?
BOJ
A few months ago I was asked if I wanted to take on more responsibilities at [Nameless Company]. Let's see, my (and everyone else's except, apparently, for upper management) bonus was $250 for the previous year. We received that pittance as a reward for reaching an arbitrary goal. The same week that we received our pittance (plus Presidents' Day off) our new, extra shitty insurance kicked in.
Thanks for helping us reach a goal that will allow us to show a 33% increase in net revenue this quarter. Here's a bonus that won't even cover your insurance deductible, a day off that the rest of the country already gets off and really shitty insurance...
So when asked if I wanted to take on extra duties without getting extra pay, I said "no thank you." Perhaps I wasn't that diplomatic. Perhaps the phrase "fuck you" was included in there somewhere.
The next week due to poor scheduling and illness, I was forced into that role anyway.
A little later I was asked again if I wanted to take on extra duties. This time I was told that it would come with a promotion and raise. I was still reluctant, but agreed. I'm a whore. Give me money, more money, and I can be talked into anything. I made it clear that I wasn't interested in extra duties until I received my promotion.
I waited. Nothing happened. People asked me about it, curious as I hadn't told anybody about the situation. I found out that it's policy (later I found out that it's not, which is a whole different issue) that only one promotion can be in the works in our department at a time. I was third in line on my shift, who knows how far down the queue I was department-wise. Nothing happened, summer passed (nearly, anyway) and I had given up on ever receiving more money from [Nameless Company]. On the other hand. Extra duties weren't put upon me. It was a trade-off I could live with.
Then [Nameless Company] decided that people in my job weren't paid enough. We're not, it's not competitive in the industry and the situation needs to be addressed. [Nameless Company]'s solution? Pay new hires more than existing employees.
It makes some sense, I suppose. We can't attract new hires without paying them more, and less employees means more work for the existing employees, so get 'em here however you can. Of course, less is expected of new employees, so hiring them at a higher rank and for more pay is a slap in the face to every employee in the organization.
Thanks for working well while we were short staffed. Everything that needed to get done was done with the same accuracy that we've come to expect. Here's two new hires who make more than you but whom not as much is expected of. That should help. I know some of you are angry over this., That's OK, if you quit, we'll replace you with someone who makes more money than you, thus bringing our salaries more into line with the rest of the industry...
Friday I was asked again if I wanted to take on extra duties. This time no raise or promotion was attached. I talked to my department manager about it. I wasn't offered anything in exchange for my taking on of extra duties, in fact, I was told that if I didn't, it would reflect negatively upon me. If I didn't do something that I was offered a promotion to do before, now without that promotion, that it would look bad for me.
Let's look at some of the crap [Nameless Company] has pulled on me in the past 22 months"
Screwd up in calling EVERY ONE of my references during my interview process Took an inordinate amount of time to reimburse me for expenses incurred during my interview Lost paperwork that I had filled out and signed during interview, forcing me to fill it out again and send to the company Offered me a job the week of Christmas, wanting me to start on January 2nd By having me start after the 1st of the year, screwed me out of a week's vacation my first year with [Nameless Company] Implied that my prescription drug may violate [Nameless Company]'s "drug free workplace" policy while another employee who came into work drunk, more than once, was never reparmanded Wrote me up for being rude to an HR representative when she gave me incorrect information regarding my benefits Informed me that my write up (precipitated by someone else's mistake) would effect raises and promotion opportunites for me
Let's look at what I have done "above and beyond" for [Nameless Company]:
Agreed to interview 300 miles away from my location, less than 24 hours after [Nameless Company] initially contacted me Have helped out with Photoshop difficulties at work durig my scheduled time off Have changed my schedule 3 times in past 20 months, none of these schedules including Friday or Saturday off Even though I told my supervisor, "I'm only going to do just enough around here not to get fired," took a leadership role on shift, assisting in training of new employees Am accepting increased duties, duties that I was previously offered a promotion and pay raise for, without a promotion or pay raise
I have been fucked over, repeatedly and consistently, by [Nameless Company] from a time before they even paid me. I am taking on more duties, even after a promise to me was broken, after they decided to pay new hires more than me, after they decided to provide shitty insurance, opting instead to sponsor a NASCAR team, after they have written me up, effecting my future advancement, because they gave me false benefits information.
What exactly should I be bitching about? Should I be bitching about how bad [Nameless Company] is fucking me over or that I allow it to keep happening by staying in a shitty job with shitty benefits for shitty pay?
BOJ
Labels: [Nameless Company]
# posted by Blind Orange Julius @ 12:12 PM
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Job Listing
HUMAN RESOURCES REPRESENTATIVE
[Nameless Company]
job description
Ranked by the Rocky Mountain News as one of Colorado's leading companies, particularly for screwing over employees in other states, especially Wyoming, [Nameless Company] aggressively recruits energetic, driven, spiteful and unintelligent people to meet the demands of our exciting industry and to help us reach our vision of changing the way the world communicates. To add to our team of talented people, we are currently seeking a Human Resource Representative II.
The responsibilities of this role include:SUMMARY
Performs unprofessional and spiteful human resources tasks in a variety of human resources programs. Primary responsibilities are to support [Nameless Company] business partners with their HR needs such as recruitment, employee relations, compliance, training and general compensation and benefits issues and to screw [Nameless Company] employees as efficiently as possible, saving [Nameless Company] money that we can use to sponsor an America's Cup Yacht team in the near future.ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
Consults with department managers to determine appropriate human resources priorities.
Participates in the review of operational business strategy and objectives to determine the implication on human resources objectives in a way to further screw eployees.
Advises management of risks associated with current business practices and recommends improvements by providing expertise to management in circumventing local, state and federal employment laws.
Promptly reports any compliance related concerns to Senior HR Management team and works diligently at covering up said concerns.
Conducts training of human resources objectives to management including regulatory compliance training, policy and procedures training and corporate communication initiatives.
Maintains communication with departments on all human resources related issues. Reports recommendations and alternative ways of screwing employees to higher level managers.
Represents organization at personnel-related hearings and investigations, disregarding any laws, as necessary, to screw employees and save [Nameless Company] money that we can then spend on sponsorship of a Masked Mexican Wrestler.
Works independently on objectives. Receives very little supervision as current [Nameless Company] HR supervisors are incompetent and would be able to offer very little assistance anyway.
Ensures that human resources needs are met in a timely manner or an untimely manner as is beneficial to [Nameless Company].
Acts as mentor to lower level HR staff to develop all aspects or HR and interpersonal expertise, corrupting them so that no other company will ever want to hire them. One of us... One of us...
This list is not meant to be a comprehensive inventory of all duties and responsibilities assigned to this position. Those who come up with more efficient ways of screwing employees will be rewarded, or, alternatively, have their ideas stolen by supervisors who will receive large bonuses for the idea.
I hope we get someone good!
BOJ
Labels: [Nameless Company], Pointless Shit
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
HR
God I fucking hate my job.
Not the job I do, not the people I work with, but the fucking company, the [Nameless Company] that's decided they can treat their employees, that they can treat me like shit.
Because I spend $365.58 on medication, medication I have to pay that much for because [Nameless Company] decided that sponsoring a NASCAR team was more important than providing their employees with reasonably priced health insurance. because the company I'm buying this medication from can't fucking get their shit right and takes two and a half months to give me a $20 refund for continually fucking up, because that company complained that I was more than a little upset when they got shit wrong for SIX FUCKING MONTHS, because HR sided with them instead of me, because HR gave me inaccurate information when I asked them to find out what was up with my $20 refund (and I was instructed to do that by some spineless, worthless piece of human shit who's in charge of [Nameless Company] HR), because of all of this, I'm in trouble at my job. I am on notice. If I deliberately make a mistake I can be terminated immediately. Of course, if anyone else deliberately makes a mistake they can be terminated immediately. The difference? I have a write up in my file saying that this will happen if I make a mistake. We're all operating under the same rules, I suppose, but it's noted in my file.
I have asked that that shit be taken out of my file. I asked that ELEVEN FUCKING DAYS AGO, and HR has not gotten back to me yet, has failed to respond in any way. We don't have an HR person in our building. [Nameless Company] decided to hire new employees at a higher pay grade than current employees, and we don't have HR representation in our building to complain about that to.
I'm sure HR in any corporation is fucking useless, but [Nameless Company] has taken that fucking pointlessness to new and exciting levels of absolute uselessness. My hiring process was completely fucked up. I work in a department where an employee would come into work drunk and it was HR who wouldn't do anything about it. My pay was fucked up for the first couple of months of my employment. The fact that we don't have HR representation in our building, that someone has to come up from Denver when I'm a fucking problem for the company isn't really much of a drop off from the service that we received when we had a person in the building.
HR is the problem. There's plenty wrong at [Nameless Company], but HR doesn't have a fucking clue. They have no idea what they're doing, and I'm fucking sure everyone with HR attached to their title makes more money than me. The whole department is criminally mismanaged.
Bitchy enough for ya?
BOJ
Not the job I do, not the people I work with, but the fucking company, the [Nameless Company] that's decided they can treat their employees, that they can treat me like shit.
Because I spend $365.58 on medication, medication I have to pay that much for because [Nameless Company] decided that sponsoring a NASCAR team was more important than providing their employees with reasonably priced health insurance. because the company I'm buying this medication from can't fucking get their shit right and takes two and a half months to give me a $20 refund for continually fucking up, because that company complained that I was more than a little upset when they got shit wrong for SIX FUCKING MONTHS, because HR sided with them instead of me, because HR gave me inaccurate information when I asked them to find out what was up with my $20 refund (and I was instructed to do that by some spineless, worthless piece of human shit who's in charge of [Nameless Company] HR), because of all of this, I'm in trouble at my job. I am on notice. If I deliberately make a mistake I can be terminated immediately. Of course, if anyone else deliberately makes a mistake they can be terminated immediately. The difference? I have a write up in my file saying that this will happen if I make a mistake. We're all operating under the same rules, I suppose, but it's noted in my file.
I have asked that that shit be taken out of my file. I asked that ELEVEN FUCKING DAYS AGO, and HR has not gotten back to me yet, has failed to respond in any way. We don't have an HR person in our building. [Nameless Company] decided to hire new employees at a higher pay grade than current employees, and we don't have HR representation in our building to complain about that to.
I'm sure HR in any corporation is fucking useless, but [Nameless Company] has taken that fucking pointlessness to new and exciting levels of absolute uselessness. My hiring process was completely fucked up. I work in a department where an employee would come into work drunk and it was HR who wouldn't do anything about it. My pay was fucked up for the first couple of months of my employment. The fact that we don't have HR representation in our building, that someone has to come up from Denver when I'm a fucking problem for the company isn't really much of a drop off from the service that we received when we had a person in the building.
HR is the problem. There's plenty wrong at [Nameless Company], but HR doesn't have a fucking clue. They have no idea what they're doing, and I'm fucking sure everyone with HR attached to their title makes more money than me. The whole department is criminally mismanaged.
Bitchy enough for ya?
BOJ
Labels: [Nameless Company], Mega-Bitch Wednesday
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
[Nameless Company] Can Kiss My Ass
I wrote this in December of 2005. I didn't work for [Nameless Company] at the time. They wanted me to, I wasn't so sure. A few days after writing this, I was offered a job. I wish I had read it one more time before I agreed to work for [Nameless Company].
If I had not taken that job a few days later, well, there would be lots of openings right now, I could have applied for one of them, more than likely received it and had I done so I would be making more money than I am now.
How can I be so sure? To get new employees to move to Cheyenne, Wyoming, [Nameless Company] has taken to hiring new employees in master control at the highest grade level available. This would not upset me so much except that the emlpoyees who have worked here (most much longer than me) are given raises that barely cover the cost of living or are denied promotions (often ones that were promised) without explanation.
The overnight shift lost 4 of their 7 employees this week over this and a combination of other factors like really shitty health insurance. My shift is losing a person, two others are putting in for transfers. There are rumors of others in the department with other employment in hand or who are just fed up and are going to walk out the door.
This while our facility, where the bulk of [Nameless Company]'s traffic is uplinked to satellites, the very thing this company is in business to do, does not have Human Resources representation.
Human Resources at [Nameless Company] is generally worthless. They've beem unwilling to get rid of an employee who came to work drunk, who would not come to work when scheduled and who was in a physical altercation with another employee. But Human Resources isn't completely worthless, they've told me that the medication I take may violate [Nameless Company]'s "drug-free workplace" policy. They actually sent someone up from Denver last week to inform me that I may be terminated if I make mistakes on purpose. Odd as I haven't had any outages since I've worked for [Nameless Company]. Yes, there's more to it than that, but I ruffled the feathers of someone at Human Resources when they gave me incorrect information regarding $20 that Tel-Drug of Pennsylvania was taking there sweet time (two months longer than their policy allows, depending on who you talk to) in refunding to me.
Important lesson, don't piss off Human Resources.
They can fire me. I don't fuckig care. They can hire someone for more than they're paying me and fuck up their salary structure even more.
BOJ
If I had not taken that job a few days later, well, there would be lots of openings right now, I could have applied for one of them, more than likely received it and had I done so I would be making more money than I am now.
How can I be so sure? To get new employees to move to Cheyenne, Wyoming, [Nameless Company] has taken to hiring new employees in master control at the highest grade level available. This would not upset me so much except that the emlpoyees who have worked here (most much longer than me) are given raises that barely cover the cost of living or are denied promotions (often ones that were promised) without explanation.
The overnight shift lost 4 of their 7 employees this week over this and a combination of other factors like really shitty health insurance. My shift is losing a person, two others are putting in for transfers. There are rumors of others in the department with other employment in hand or who are just fed up and are going to walk out the door.
This while our facility, where the bulk of [Nameless Company]'s traffic is uplinked to satellites, the very thing this company is in business to do, does not have Human Resources representation.
Human Resources at [Nameless Company] is generally worthless. They've beem unwilling to get rid of an employee who came to work drunk, who would not come to work when scheduled and who was in a physical altercation with another employee. But Human Resources isn't completely worthless, they've told me that the medication I take may violate [Nameless Company]'s "drug-free workplace" policy. They actually sent someone up from Denver last week to inform me that I may be terminated if I make mistakes on purpose. Odd as I haven't had any outages since I've worked for [Nameless Company]. Yes, there's more to it than that, but I ruffled the feathers of someone at Human Resources when they gave me incorrect information regarding $20 that Tel-Drug of Pennsylvania was taking there sweet time (two months longer than their policy allows, depending on who you talk to) in refunding to me.
Important lesson, don't piss off Human Resources.
They can fire me. I don't fuckig care. They can hire someone for more than they're paying me and fuck up their salary structure even more.
BOJ
Labels: [Nameless Company], Mega-Bitch Wednesday
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
[Namesless Company] Net Income Rises 33%; Some of TiVo Patent Claims Tossed
From The Wall Street Journal:
A 33% increase in net income? Good lord, you'd think I'd be really happy. The company I work for is doing great financially.
Well, not doing as well numbers wise, but revenue is up and [Nameless Company] is doing better than their satellite TV competitor. Yup, things are moving along quite swimmingly for [Nameless Company]. The company (nameless though it may be) is doing fine, investors are making money, executives are making money, everyone is happy.
Except for the employees.
[Nameless Company] pays shit and treats their employees like the same excrement. There have been two new hires in master control this week. To hire new employees to work at [Nameless Company], management has to pay new employees more than current employees, this while denying raises to current employees.
We have a grade system of 4 tech levels. On my shift, for example, there are three tech 4's, six tech 3's and one tech 2 (which is another fucked up situation which pisses me off to no end). Two of the tech 4's are shift team leaders, the other works (exceptionally well) in the library. Tech 4 is something that is earned, a position in which more is expected of the employee, a leadership position.
An aside, 19 months ago (and I usually only stay places, on average, 18 months) to hire me, [Nameless Company] had to offer me more money than most other operators. I came in on the high end, pay wise, for a tech 3. On the other hand, I had television experience, more specifically, I had DBS satellite experience. I had worked for [Nameless Company]'s competitor in a nearly identical position, had worked with another DBS company before that where I was responsible for much more than a [Nameless Company] or DirecTV operator would ever dream of being responsible for. I benefited from [Nameless Company]'s totally fucked up pay structure. I feel like shit when I think about that.
To hire new people, [Nameless Company] has made the two new hires in master control tech 4's. While I was brought in at a higher pay rate than many other operators, nobody knew that. The new hires were brought at a higher grade. Everybody knows that, it's public knowledge (though my supervisor wondered how I knew that).
I am completely in favor of paying every new hire more money. We work in Cheyenne fucking Wyoming, you have to do something to attract people to come here. Pay them more, hell yes, you have to get them here somehow.
BUT DON'T COMPLETELY FUCK OVER EVERY OTHER EMPLOYEE IN THE DEPARTMENT!!!
This was bitched about all weekend long. Operators from every shift expressed their displeasure. While I can't speak for everyone, everyone I spoke to about this is pissed off, maybe not as much as I am (I piss off kind of easily), but you have a department that is, on the whole, angry.
My supervisor, who is a good supervisor, who is an excellent human being, who I personally like very much, had to listen to me bitch at him for half an hour on Monday. Then everyone else took turns bitching at him. He didn't make this policy, but he's had to suffer the ramifications like the rest of us.
[Nameless Company] isn't doing this to piss off its operators, but you can't tell me that they didn't see this coming. Their pay structure is totally fucked but, rather than fix it for everyone, the fuck up the structure more, they make the whole process meaningless by making new hires among the highest paid in the department. Myself included.
This from a company that had their net income rise 33% last quarter.
BOJ
[Nameless Company]'s second-quarter net income rose 33% as the firm announced the federal patent office tossed some patent-related claims made by TiVo Inc.
The Englewood, Colo., satellite-television company posted net income of $224.2 million, or 50 cents a share, from $168.8 million, or 38 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue climbed 12% to $2.76 billion.
A 33% increase in net income? Good lord, you'd think I'd be really happy. The company I work for is doing great financially.
[Nameless Company]'s [Nameless Consumer Home Satellite] Network added 170,000 net new subscribers in the second quarter, down from 195,000 a year earlier earlier, ending the quarter with 13.6 million subscribers, up 9%. Average monthly revenue per subscriber increased 5% to $66.06 while the monthly churn, or cancellation, rate dipped to 1.68% from 1.7%.
On Thursday, rival DirecTV Group Inc. reported its net income fell amid a sharp rise in operating costs and a squeeze in subscriber growth. DirecTV added 128,000 net subscribers in the quarter, bringing its total customer base to 16.3 million.
Well, not doing as well numbers wise, but revenue is up and [Nameless Company] is doing better than their satellite TV competitor. Yup, things are moving along quite swimmingly for [Nameless Company]. The company (nameless though it may be) is doing fine, investors are making money, executives are making money, everyone is happy.
Except for the employees.
[Nameless Company] pays shit and treats their employees like the same excrement. There have been two new hires in master control this week. To hire new employees to work at [Nameless Company], management has to pay new employees more than current employees, this while denying raises to current employees.
We have a grade system of 4 tech levels. On my shift, for example, there are three tech 4's, six tech 3's and one tech 2 (which is another fucked up situation which pisses me off to no end). Two of the tech 4's are shift team leaders, the other works (exceptionally well) in the library. Tech 4 is something that is earned, a position in which more is expected of the employee, a leadership position.
An aside, 19 months ago (and I usually only stay places, on average, 18 months) to hire me, [Nameless Company] had to offer me more money than most other operators. I came in on the high end, pay wise, for a tech 3. On the other hand, I had television experience, more specifically, I had DBS satellite experience. I had worked for [Nameless Company]'s competitor in a nearly identical position, had worked with another DBS company before that where I was responsible for much more than a [Nameless Company] or DirecTV operator would ever dream of being responsible for. I benefited from [Nameless Company]'s totally fucked up pay structure. I feel like shit when I think about that.
To hire new people, [Nameless Company] has made the two new hires in master control tech 4's. While I was brought in at a higher pay rate than many other operators, nobody knew that. The new hires were brought at a higher grade. Everybody knows that, it's public knowledge (though my supervisor wondered how I knew that).
I am completely in favor of paying every new hire more money. We work in Cheyenne fucking Wyoming, you have to do something to attract people to come here. Pay them more, hell yes, you have to get them here somehow.
BUT DON'T COMPLETELY FUCK OVER EVERY OTHER EMPLOYEE IN THE DEPARTMENT!!!
This was bitched about all weekend long. Operators from every shift expressed their displeasure. While I can't speak for everyone, everyone I spoke to about this is pissed off, maybe not as much as I am (I piss off kind of easily), but you have a department that is, on the whole, angry.
My supervisor, who is a good supervisor, who is an excellent human being, who I personally like very much, had to listen to me bitch at him for half an hour on Monday. Then everyone else took turns bitching at him. He didn't make this policy, but he's had to suffer the ramifications like the rest of us.
[Nameless Company] isn't doing this to piss off its operators, but you can't tell me that they didn't see this coming. Their pay structure is totally fucked but, rather than fix it for everyone, the fuck up the structure more, they make the whole process meaningless by making new hires among the highest paid in the department. Myself included.
This from a company that had their net income rise 33% last quarter.
BOJ
Labels: [Nameless Company], Mega-Bitch Wednesday
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
I'm So Damn Important
On Friday, June 29th, I went to work like every other Friday. Friday is the start of my work week, and I noticed many less cars in the parking lot than most other Fridays. Let me say that I really don't mind, since I get to work at 3pm, it was nice to have a much better parking spot than I normally do on Fridays.
I had asked my supervisor if I could have the next Monday (July 2nd) off. Being as the 4th of July holiday was on Wednesday, I asked if I could take my holiday on Monday, giving me a 4 day weekend which would allow me to head back to the RC. Jason was good about it and allowed me to, but had someone cover for me on Monday.
I worked Saturday and Sunday as usual, about as many cars in the parking lot, and took off for the RC on Monday morning. I had a nice time but had to make it back to work on Friday.
When I pulled into the parking lot on Friday, July 6th, there were hardly any cars there. Once again, I was happy to have a good parking spot, but couldn't help but wonder how the hell most emloyees at [Nameless Company] managed to turn one day off in the middle of the week into 10 days off in a row.
So I asked. People took their vacation time for that extended period. I guess it makes sense, take a week's vacation and it turns into almost two weeks. That's a good use of PDO.
Nobody in Master Control pulled that though. I can't speak for everyone, but I was quite pleased with the situation. We were able to do our jobs without being bothered by people who make our lives multple living hells most weeks. We didn't have to deal with lots of people who frankly aren't necessary for the day to day operations of [Nameless Company].
Somebody had to cover for me for the ONE day during that period that I took off. It makes me wonder, who covered for all of those people who took an entire week off.
Nobody.
I guess I'm more important than any of them to the day to day operations of [Nameless Company].
It wouldn't bother me so much except that none of those people who got 10 days off have to work weekends. They all go home at 5 o'clock. When a holiday happens on a day that they work, they don't come to work, no questions asked. They bitch and moan if they have to come in when I'm at work because didn't do part of their job properly. Nobody has to cover for them if they take a day or 10 off.
And they undoubtedly all make more money than me.
BOJ
I had asked my supervisor if I could have the next Monday (July 2nd) off. Being as the 4th of July holiday was on Wednesday, I asked if I could take my holiday on Monday, giving me a 4 day weekend which would allow me to head back to the RC. Jason was good about it and allowed me to, but had someone cover for me on Monday.
I worked Saturday and Sunday as usual, about as many cars in the parking lot, and took off for the RC on Monday morning. I had a nice time but had to make it back to work on Friday.
When I pulled into the parking lot on Friday, July 6th, there were hardly any cars there. Once again, I was happy to have a good parking spot, but couldn't help but wonder how the hell most emloyees at [Nameless Company] managed to turn one day off in the middle of the week into 10 days off in a row.
So I asked. People took their vacation time for that extended period. I guess it makes sense, take a week's vacation and it turns into almost two weeks. That's a good use of PDO.
Nobody in Master Control pulled that though. I can't speak for everyone, but I was quite pleased with the situation. We were able to do our jobs without being bothered by people who make our lives multple living hells most weeks. We didn't have to deal with lots of people who frankly aren't necessary for the day to day operations of [Nameless Company].
Somebody had to cover for me for the ONE day during that period that I took off. It makes me wonder, who covered for all of those people who took an entire week off.
Nobody.
I guess I'm more important than any of them to the day to day operations of [Nameless Company].
Two technicans were installing a monitor in an NBC executives office when the saw a photo of the executive running camera for an NBC TV show.
"You ran camera during the NABET strike?" One of the technicans asked.
NABET had gone on strike against NBC in the late 1980's, forcing other non-union members to run camera and perform other duties for telecasts like David Letterman and Johnny Carson.
"Yes I did." The executive replied.
"So," the technician asked, "while you were running camera, who was doing your job?"
"Um... Nobody..."
"Exactly."
It wouldn't bother me so much except that none of those people who got 10 days off have to work weekends. They all go home at 5 o'clock. When a holiday happens on a day that they work, they don't come to work, no questions asked. They bitch and moan if they have to come in when I'm at work because didn't do part of their job properly. Nobody has to cover for them if they take a day or 10 off.
And they undoubtedly all make more money than me.
BOJ
Labels: [Nameless Company], Mega-Bitch Wednesday
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Pointless Shit
The Top 5 Reasons to Work for [Nameless Company]
From the Careers section of [Nameless Company]'s web site. My impressions (which are my own opinion and do not represent the attitude of [Namelss Company], but c'mon) in italics.
BOJ
- Define your own career path
Kinda vague, don't you think? Sounds like something stupid people say to make themselves sound smart and important.- “Nothing is Impossible” attitude
"Nothing is Impossible"? Like getting rid of a fucking employee who would come to work drunk? Like implying that someone's perscription drugs might violate the "drug free workplace" policy? Yeah, "Nothing is Impossible."- We are experiencing double digit growth every year
Geez, and I'm getting paid like shit. But to make up for it I have a really high deductible for really shitty insurance. Maybe we shouldn't be showing doubledigit growth. Maybe the employees should be treated a little bit better- You get paid to hate the cable company
So we're encouraged to hate? We're paid to hate? This is a top 5 reason to join this company? When do I get issued my white hood?- Free TV!
So I work for a self described hate organization, if only I could have something that would somehow make up for that. Free TV? Yeah, that'll do.
![ku_[nameless]_klan](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/228/511734672_addab27097_o.jpg)
BOJ
Labels: [Nameless Company], Pointless Shit
# posted by Blind Orange Julius @ 12:01 AM
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Pointless Shit
4.3 Password Composition
All personnel:
permitted by the system if that is less than seven characters.
Lowercase letters (i.e., a-z). Uppercase letters (i.e., A-Z). Numbers (i.e., 0-9). Punctuation (e.g., !, @, #, $, %, ^, &, *, -, +, <, >).
If all character types are not permitted by the system, use the greatest variety of
characters permitted by the system.
Use passwords that are difficult to guess. Difficult-to-guess passwords include
those that are:
Not a word in any language, English or foreign, or slang, dialect, or jargon.
Not based on personal, known or guessable information such as:Names of family, pets, friends, co-workers, fantasy characters, etc. Computer terms and names, sites, companies, hardware, and
software.Terms associated with the company (e.g., [Nameless Company], [Nameless Satellite], Consumer name for [Namelss Company],
Riverfront).Birthdays or personal information such as addresses, phone
numbers, employee or badge numbers, or Social Security numbers.Letter or number patterns like abcABC, Qwerty, 123CBA, etc. Any of the above spelled backwards or otherwise obfuscated. Any of the above preceded or followed by a digit (e.g.,
"[namelsscompany1]").
Personal Identification Numbers (PINs), to the extent that such rules are
permitted by the system.
a longer version of a password and is, therefore, more secure because it is
less vulnerable to "dictionary attacks." Policy requirements related to password composition also apply to a passphrase. An example of a
passphrase is: "I went snowboarding 5 times in January!"
So remember, don't have any passwords that contains a word in any language, English or foreign, or slang, dialect, or jargon.
Good advice for us all. Remember, Password Security begins with you!
BOJ
Labels: [Nameless Company], Pointless Shit
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
My Insurance Deductible
Take a good look at my insurance deductible.
The medication I take, Betaseron, isn't cheap either. A 30 day supply of Betaseron costs $1680.08. I'm not really sure how much good the Betaseron is doing, I've been taking it since October and I've gotten progressively worse while on the medication. Worse, after my injection (every other day at bedtime), I actually feel worse for about 36 hours. The neurologist assures me this is normal. So I pay $1680.08 monthly for something that makes me feel like shit for a day and a half.
I have insurance, of course. The company I work for had two plans I could choose from. With my condition, I chose the more expensive one, the better one, the plan that provided me with the most coverage.
This plan has a $1250 deductible. That means that this month, I have to shell out $1680.08 for Betaseron. Good news, I met my deductible in one shot! Well, not such good news, after this month, I'm responsible for 20% of all medical bills. So after this month, I'll pay $366.02 per month for my medication. After I already met my ludicrous deductible.
The company I work for sponsers a NASCAR team. Coincidentally, they started their sponsorship at about the same time employees' insurance became really shitty. I did some checking on line today, NASCAR sponsorship doesn't come cheap. Primary Sponsorship (the hood, crew and driver's uniforms) costs anywhere from $12 million to $16 million per year.
I also checked on the number of people my company employs. Seems to be about 20,000 people. A little math shows that NASCAR sponsorship costs between $600 to $800 per employee. If you took that off of my deductible, it would be a pretty manageable amount.
But the company I work for doesn't do that. They saved money by providing us with shitty insurance. Money they used to provide sponsorship for a NASCAR team. A NASCAR team whose best finish this year has beena sixth place.
BOJ
Labels: [Nameless Company]
Friday, March 09, 2007
Pent Up Shit
The company I work for posted a 15% rise in fourht quarter net income. You'd think that'd be a good thing. You'd think that a low level button pusher like myself would see some benefit from this. Some. Any.
I've seen changes, but not the kind that I like. Starting on March 1st, the deductible for our medical plan went up to $1250. A company that's showing unexpected profits is treating their employees like this, cutting benefits and basically saying that they don't give a shit about us.
Oh, we got a bonus for hitting 13 million subscribers. A whopping $250. Yeah, less than two days pay for me. You call that shit some kind of bonus? If this company was losing money, I'd understand, but it posted a 15% rise in fourht quarter net income. That's a gain, not a loss. The company is making more money, not losing it.
I got a raise starting with my last paycheck. I'm actually taking home about $100 less per month than I was before my raise due in part to this shitty new insurance. You call that a raise? You give me a bonus that won't cover my insurance deductible? Fuck you.
I'm at a point where I really need insurance. For the first time in my life I'm not entirely healthy. For the first time in my life I'm relying on my employer to provide the health coverage I need. I need it.
Let me tell you about the fine insurance I have. I looked up the medical specialty I need. There were four in network providers in Cheyenne. Well, actually not. Each was listed twice. So there's only two. One isn't taking any new patients, so there's really only one. That one couldn't see me for nearly two months.
I was understandably upset. I let them know how upset I was. They decided that they didn't want me as a patient. A NEUROLOGIST IS REFUSING TREATMENT TO A PERSON WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS!!!!
And my insurance is just fine with this. There are neurologists I can see in Ft. Collins, CO, after all. It's just a 45 mile drive for me, a guy with MS. How dare I be upset about something like this.
Then yesterday I get a call from my current Neurologist, someone I haven't seen since October when I started my treatment, someone who diagnosed my MS in August and put off the start of my treatment for two fucking months. They wanted to know how I was doing. Five months later they want to know how I'm doing.
I told them I wasn't doing well and was getting another Neurologist in my insurance network. They inquired as to me insurance carrier. When I told them, they told me that they had just signed up with that company and that I should look into staying with my neurologist.
So today I called my insurance. My current neurologist isn't covered, they looked to see if there was any paperwork pending. Nope.
So I called the neurologist and asked what the fuck was up. They can't tell me. Or won't tell me. Or don't know. Or something.
So after spending all fucking morning on the damn phone I don't know shit. No one will tell me shit. It's fucking infuriatitng. And I'm in the same place as I was when I started this bullshit.
My company is making me pay too much for bad insurance. And the shit of it all is that my only other option would have been to take even shitier insurance.
The minimum I ask from any employer is that they pay me a fair wage. I could argue that I'm not getting that, but for the sake of argument, let's assume I'm making what I'm worth.
Now on top of that, it's nice if the employer provides some benefits above and beyond a mere hourly wage. Like insurance of reasonable value at a reasonable price. Not even close.
So the company is doing the the bare minimum for me. You could argue that it's doing even less than that, but let's just give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they're doing the bare minimum.
What I need to know now is what is the bare minimum amount of work I can do to keep my job. If they want to give me the bare minimum, I can repay in kind.
BOJ
I've seen changes, but not the kind that I like. Starting on March 1st, the deductible for our medical plan went up to $1250. A company that's showing unexpected profits is treating their employees like this, cutting benefits and basically saying that they don't give a shit about us.
Oh, we got a bonus for hitting 13 million subscribers. A whopping $250. Yeah, less than two days pay for me. You call that shit some kind of bonus? If this company was losing money, I'd understand, but it posted a 15% rise in fourht quarter net income. That's a gain, not a loss. The company is making more money, not losing it.
I got a raise starting with my last paycheck. I'm actually taking home about $100 less per month than I was before my raise due in part to this shitty new insurance. You call that a raise? You give me a bonus that won't cover my insurance deductible? Fuck you.
I'm at a point where I really need insurance. For the first time in my life I'm not entirely healthy. For the first time in my life I'm relying on my employer to provide the health coverage I need. I need it.
Let me tell you about the fine insurance I have. I looked up the medical specialty I need. There were four in network providers in Cheyenne. Well, actually not. Each was listed twice. So there's only two. One isn't taking any new patients, so there's really only one. That one couldn't see me for nearly two months.
I was understandably upset. I let them know how upset I was. They decided that they didn't want me as a patient. A NEUROLOGIST IS REFUSING TREATMENT TO A PERSON WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS!!!!
And my insurance is just fine with this. There are neurologists I can see in Ft. Collins, CO, after all. It's just a 45 mile drive for me, a guy with MS. How dare I be upset about something like this.
Then yesterday I get a call from my current Neurologist, someone I haven't seen since October when I started my treatment, someone who diagnosed my MS in August and put off the start of my treatment for two fucking months. They wanted to know how I was doing. Five months later they want to know how I'm doing.
I told them I wasn't doing well and was getting another Neurologist in my insurance network. They inquired as to me insurance carrier. When I told them, they told me that they had just signed up with that company and that I should look into staying with my neurologist.
So today I called my insurance. My current neurologist isn't covered, they looked to see if there was any paperwork pending. Nope.
So I called the neurologist and asked what the fuck was up. They can't tell me. Or won't tell me. Or don't know. Or something.
So after spending all fucking morning on the damn phone I don't know shit. No one will tell me shit. It's fucking infuriatitng. And I'm in the same place as I was when I started this bullshit.
My company is making me pay too much for bad insurance. And the shit of it all is that my only other option would have been to take even shitier insurance.
The minimum I ask from any employer is that they pay me a fair wage. I could argue that I'm not getting that, but for the sake of argument, let's assume I'm making what I'm worth.
Now on top of that, it's nice if the employer provides some benefits above and beyond a mere hourly wage. Like insurance of reasonable value at a reasonable price. Not even close.
So the company is doing the the bare minimum for me. You could argue that it's doing even less than that, but let's just give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they're doing the bare minimum.
What I need to know now is what is the bare minimum amount of work I can do to keep my job. If they want to give me the bare minimum, I can repay in kind.
BOJ
Labels: [Nameless Company]
Monday, February 19, 2007
We Earned It, You Bastards
Happy President's Day!
Unless you work for [Nameless Company]. Then I say Happy Thirteen Million Day.
So enjoy the day off from work, the freedom from having to check your mail and your ability avoid going to the bank in good conscience. It's President's Day!
Or, at [Nameless Company], Thirteen Million Day. Yeah, I have to go to work today, but I'm taking a day off next Saturday to make up for it.
Enjoy your President's Day, America. It was given to you by a gracious government and your place of employment. At [Nameless Company] we earned our day off by exeeding an arbitrary goal by an arbitrary date.
We earned it.
The rest of this country makes me sick.
BOJ
Unless you work for [Nameless Company]. Then I say Happy Thirteen Million Day.
So enjoy the day off from work, the freedom from having to check your mail and your ability avoid going to the bank in good conscience. It's President's Day!
Or, at [Nameless Company], Thirteen Million Day. Yeah, I have to go to work today, but I'm taking a day off next Saturday to make up for it.
Enjoy your President's Day, America. It was given to you by a gracious government and your place of employment. At [Nameless Company] we earned our day off by exeeding an arbitrary goal by an arbitrary date.
We earned it.
The rest of this country makes me sick.
BOJ
Labels: [Nameless Company]
Saturday, February 10, 2007
[Nameless Company] is Fan-Freaking-Tastic!
Sometimes I feel bad about my job and the comany I work for. I feel that we aren't really doing anything for humanity. Then I see a copy of an email sent to a customer:
Alien Invasion!!! Yes, I am part of something important. And to think, that other satellite provider didn't answer the frightened man's email. Glad I don't work there anymore...
BOJ
...[Nameless Company] is firmly committed to keeping you and your family safe from alien invasion...
Alien Invasion!!! Yes, I am part of something important. And to think, that other satellite provider didn't answer the frightened man's email. Glad I don't work there anymore...
BOJ
Labels: [Nameless Company]
