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"Jim Hampton" wrote in message
... Hello, Kim Dang, top post or bottom post, but who cares? Sorry, Jim, almost like the bottom-line driven CEOs and BODs we have these days, I was interested in speed, not accuracy Reality is that they changed the rules and it cut my pension by around $300 per month! I was lucky, however. A few folks were just shy off 55 (one guy was 2 weeks short of 55) and they get no health coverage nor life insurance. In my company, MANY were within 6 mos. of eligible retirement age. Company was asked, "why". Response: "it had to be done sometime, 'it's just business.'" So, employees take note: forget about dedication to job and customer, "it's just business." And, that attitude is quite evident in customer service these days. You would probably believe how many people I know who complain all the time about those "automated" response systems when you call for help these days. Whenever I get someone on the phone, I tell them that it's just miserable. Know what response I get? "That is the way business operates and it is considered a Best Practice standard." Not even a: "I will log your complaint." Know why? Because we, as consumers, accept mediocrity and that becomes the local conversation when we gather with friends. We talk about it, but we do nothing to try to resolve it. Uh, by the way, I'm right in there and, whenever I try to think of how to battle it, I can't come up with a solution because it's so ingrained in business practice that EVERYONE is doing it. They pulled the plug a bit late on me. Although not big, I'm looking at over $300 per week after taxes. After working a contract job at $13.00 per hour (what a whack in pay!) and we all were let go after 3 months, I've decided to heck with it. I can live on the $300 to $350 per week. I've only a few years before Social Insecurity and I have health insurance. I have to make adjustments, but I can pay my taxes. Get this. Our adventure began a little over a year ago. Company "migrated" all customer ops (because that was not their "core business" [huh????????!!!!!!!!!!!!] to a firm where we are all now "contractors." BUT, previous employer holds out severance package IF employees are terminated within 18 months. We should have all figured out then that we were all going to be terminated within 18 months...LOL Many are gone, the rest are just waiting. Bad business, just can't convince and bigwigs of it because, of course, their pockets are heavily lined with the savings. I'm certain that changes will occur when enough folks get hurt. I'm just tired of banging my head into a brick wall. I read the same old tired threads and the claims that the left-wing groups lied when they reported stories. Certainly mistakes have been made, but I cannot help but note that as time goes by and more stories leak out, it would appear that some folks will just not let go of the official stance. Whether amateur radio or the current administration. Refer to my upper paragraph on that. In another thread, "Indian Call Centers" I think it is, I just posted that companies who are exporting technical and customer service jobs don't realize that it means in the future, they won't have customers to buy products. And, why should our youth look at the career path of technology because it's all being "outsourced." We already have a critically severe shortage of doctors, nurses, and medical specialists (granted, not because of outsourcing but because--it is said--our up and coming youth see the long hours and little money and don't want to do it) coming up in the next ten years. I've already heard many, many children of career technology parents being counseled NOT to enter into the computer/technological because their job function will not be there and/or will eventually lead to being outsourced. I did have a laugh. Years ago, I wrote a program which generated ladder code for a programmable ladder controller. I could do the work of 8 hours of tool engineering time in 15 minutes. A lot of credit was given to other folks. Amazingly, the program "disappeared". Heh heh...the gist in the company I work for is, beginning many years and into recent years, frustrated programmers and data folks--who were confronted with the silo attitude whenever they would request access into a system--began writing their own little "additions" and subroutines to existing processes. There are, literally, boxes that whir and run and no one has a clue to what they are doing. Why? Because the person is long gone and do ya think they'd be interested in helping out? LOL Anyone who thinks their systems are pristinely designed and operated, with "one path" philosophy...are in a la la land. I had left and then went back to that company some 7 years later. When our department was getting ready to close, I spoke with one supervisor about the fact that the programming in the controllers was terrible and I could increase production about 20% (I proved a 50% increase back in 1982). When he suggested we approach the manager I told him the truth. It wouldn't save his job nor mine. I let it go. I honestly don't care and after the requisite two years I will e-mail the code to a competitor. A foreign competitor. I generally avoid confrontation and tend to not be nasty, but in this case .... ) Make my day. I hear ya...and feel your pain. I have generally found that the well educated are either labeled as "geeks" or "left-wing radicals". The self-righteous folks haven't seen real flack. It is about time that they did. I can nearly guarantee you that they won't care. Think about it. The proverbial CEOs makes millions the first year in a company, and has not one iota of plan to stay there for the long-term. The BODs are the same way. The only place it needs to begin to show that people care is at the customer level. And, once again as in politics, we've been fat, happy, and stupid. And, the problem we now face, in politics and in our workforce, seems insurmountable. I'm sounding terribly gloomy and doomy...but I know at least you will understand what I'm talking about. I've seen good old "Dave" talking about "old timers". He's off by a mile, but anyone with a ticket should be welcomed and accepted with none of the B.S. concerning license classes. There are codeless techs that can run rings around me, and I can run rings around most of the extras. I'm not talking Morse, but I could there too. Yep. You got it. When a collective is needed...heh heh...it doesn't matter but that there is a collective. I can assure you, anyone with a "holier than thou" attitude on one group I co-own will be gone in a heartbeat. We all have enough troubles without some idiot adding to the garbage. 73 from Rochester, NY Jim AA2QA Never been one much for patience with "holier than thou's," heh, as you have seen in my posts with this newsgroup in the past. Don't have time for 'em, don't care about 'em, don't care what they THINK they have over and on me. Because, you know what? When it all crashes, I don't think nuttin' of going out in the back yard and planting a garden. Many of them haven't even ever touched dirt--or had to. Kim W5TIT |