Let's see....a nice Netshops green should work well for my blog. Almost makes it look...official.
Now, where to begin?
I guess we'll start at the end. That's probably the best place to start the tale.
Netshops laid off over 60 employees on February 1, 2007.
After a profitable holiday - one where the company was more profitable than ever according to Doug Nielsen (President and CEO) - more than 60 people lost their jobs. The message was clear. "Thanks for your contribution this holiday season. We'll be seeing you." No reason given - just "Here's your compensation package. There's the door."
Kind of takes some of the 'shine' off of that "One of Omaha's Best Places to Work in 2006" award now doesn't it? Tough to be one of the "Fastest Growing Companies" when you lay off almost a third of your work force. I don't think we'll be seeing the Netshops name on those award lists this year.
Oh, by the way, I was one of those let go. This is my story. As I tell the story, hopefully some of the other people let go in this lay off (and previous layoffs) will choos to comment on their experiences. Feel free to email me (laid_off_by_netshops@yahoo.com) as well if you have questions or comments.
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10 comments:
It's all about making the "Business Model" work. The people designing the model are the prostitutes of this company with the almighty dollar as their pimp. There is no loyalty to the employees nor is there a great concern for the customers. So long as the numbers look good, right?? Then I guess it doesn't really matter HOW you got the job done.
How dare you slander the company that I would more than willing to give my life for! I would take a bullet for this company that I have come to embrace if anybody in management needed a kidney I would gladly donate one for the cause! I love this company and if they fire me my life would be over because there is no greater joy in my life than the thrill I get every morning when I wake up salute the netshops flag I have hanging up in my apartement then march into work with a huge smile on my face and a proud sensation in my heart. How dare you is all I have to say netshops is going to be the biggest company by 2012 a BILLION DOLLAR COMPANY! I will ride this rollercoaster as long as I can and I have bleed for this company and will continue to do so as long as I can.
LONG LIVE NETSHOPS!!!!!!!!!!!
Voted Best To Place To Work, Fun atmosphere/great work environment, great career opportunities-Can you say FALSE ADVERTISEMENT!! I can say from unfortunate experience that I have seen exactly what kind of company Net"shits" really is. They talk you up to do your job and make you think you are extremely vital to the company. When in fact you just a fly on the wall. Management likes to pretend they want to know the real issues and what needs to be improved. What they really mean is just tell us YES...I have seen too many superb employees "laid off" from this company that it sickens me. So many important/hard working/skilled people were packed up and shoved out, while a very poor selection of persons are currently there. My personal opinion is if you're looking for company with advancement/security, this is not the place. They care nothing for the better of the business (which any smart business owner knows are the employees-the people who make your money for you)I learned a lot from this experience and encourage others to heed this warning! Schnoogans
Netshops King must be named Nielsen.
Just a thought, but maybe if you had put this much time and effort into your job at Netshops, you would still be there. Then again, the largest portion of this blog was coppied from someone else, so maybe that says a lot about your work.
I couldn't disagree with Leigh more. Many of the efficiencies created by the layoff and the upgrades / changes made to the systems and procedures were to the benefit of the customer. As for loyalty to the employees, Netshops is loyal to those employees who are loyal to Netshops, not those who give 8 hours notice of their departure (and that notice was given only when confronted). Those employees who work hard, help find solutions to the inefficiencies and truly see the future of Netshops are rewarded and valued. Those who show up everyday in their pajamas and slippers only to bitch and moan about what is wrong have/had no loyalty to Netshops, and were probably on the list to go. Of course money and profit are important; this is a business, not a slumber party. It is understandable to see resentment from those let go, but maybe those people should take a hard look at the time they spent with Netshops and the value they actually contributed. This isn't to say that everyone let go was not a good employee. I am sure there were many cases where there was just a need to reshape positions and processes and some positions were no longer necessary. I have no doubt that those people will find great things at another company.
I don't think being laid off by NetShops was all that bad. What I mean is:
it's completely understandable as to why they fired me --oh, excuse me (I
was thinking in the literal tense and not the corporate-bullshit tense)--
laid me off. See, it really is expensive for a growing company such as
Netshops to maintain the employment of skilled persons. McDonald's and Taco
Bell have the right idea: hire unskilled, unschooled workers; pay them
peasant wages; demean and berate them; give them an ultimatum of, "Would you
like to get fired or just quit and save us the inconvienience of paying you
unemployment insurance?". You know, I thoughorly agree. When I began
working at NetShops I was truly excited. I mean, I was making more money
than I ever had one as being a 2-star chef; and, I was doing something that
I really enjoyed: taking away rich people's money.
Look, my father was (and is presently) a carpenter, as are most of my
family. Thus, I knew more than most of my fellow employees about
woodworking and production in general. Due to the persistance of two of my
imediate managers, a new department of "Product Knowledge" was about to be
created (two days prior to my exodus). If the department would have
actually been created, I would have been worth $11.00 an hour. $11.00 an
HOUR!!! Think of what a drain it would have been to the company as it was:
it was a growing company, one of Omaha's best places to work. If I had been
heading up a department consisting of five or six skilled, intelligent,
capable employees, whose jobs it would be to provide acurate, thourough,
up-to-date, intelligent product-knowledge; think of how expensive that would have been to maintain; think of how that would have hurt
Doug's plans for his yearly family vacation plans to go to the Florida Keys!
I couldn't do that to Doug and goddamn any of you would do such a thing to
a rich, aristocratic megalomaniac! Doug was thinking BIGGER. Look at all
the rich, aristocratic megalomanics in the last century and how much they
have helped to create the plutocratic, hegeonocratic Democracy that all of
we, Americans, have come to know, understand, and welcome.
OK, let's look at a predominant, well-known, and respected leader: Joseph
Stalin. Joseph Stalin was a huge, charismatic, and influencial leader of
Russia during WWII; he is largely responsible for the state of Russia as it
is today, being a productive, well-structured, socially-minded, proffitable,
and globally-minded ecconomy. Joseph Stalin, while employed in the service
of the Fuehrer, went above and beyond his call of duty, all for the greater
good of the Sociodemographic. He was an amazing person. He had numerous
enemies and, owing to that, he lined up his smartest, best-paid generals and
sumarily shot them. It had to be done.
One has to ensure the stability of a company; granted, Joseph Stalin's
company was militant and psychotic, but really, how is that different from
what Doug is trying to do? Seriously, who am I to question a millionaire?
I'm just a carpenter.
--Emperor
You know NetshopsKing - I LOVED my job. I would have taken a bullet for the company too...and did. I worked my butt off, but unlike many was not a butt-kisser. Never have been, and never will be. Some of the "house cleaning" that was done was needed. Many others still wonder "what happened?"...I'm one of them.
In my case, attendance wasn't an issue. I was NEVER late - in fact I was normally early. I rarely took lunch breaks longer than 20 minutes IF I took them at all. I was obviously more dedicated to the company than they were to me.
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