"CrazyMama" said
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.
Actually Crazy (I can call you crazy, right? If you are who I think you are, its a fitting name..) this blog has taken all of, 20 minutes to post. That's about the length of one of your 3 smoke breaks per day, isn't it? I never took a break. I was at my desk 9+ hours a day. The only time I was gone was for lunch - and that was usually 30 minutes, not to mention any work I did from home after leaving the office. How's that teaching degree coming?
Then "CrazyMama" said
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.
Pretty lengthy way to say what I've already said.... I said (in an earlier post) 'Were some of those individuals let go due to be released based on poor performance? Possibly.' However, I went on to ask, "Were any of them told about their poor performance? Only one that I've heard about - and that was through her comment on this blog. If the employees let go were distracted, unmotivated or just simply in the wrong position, perhaps a solid career path would have helped motivate them." Maybe you missed reading that. Where are you going to be in the company in 6 months? Will you even be with the company in 6 months?
Oh and CrazyMama? Your jealousy of Leigh won't get you very far in life. Just because she had a backbone and stood up for herself when a member of upper management decided to mane an unwarranted negative comment (FYI, Leigh's immediate supervisor heard the comment and failed to do anything about it. Could that be because the two managers are dating? Can you say 'fraternization policy'? I knew you could...) doesn't mean you get to try to talk down to her here. My respect for Leigh jumped about 100 points when she told Netshops she was done. She remained professional - which is more than I've ever seen out of you.
On to other questions.
To "J" who emailed from a far off place, yes, last I heard Paulette is still employed. I guess buying shoes for the call center manager gets you some job security at Netshops. Maybe I should have given her a Coke bottle for Xmas.
Oh well, live and learn.
Lastly, here's a fun message that was sent to me. All of you still employed at Netshops should give this a try at Doug's next all company meeting.
Before (or during) your next meeting, seminar, or conference call,
prepare yourself by drawing a square. I find that 5"x5" is a good size.
Divide the card into columns-five across and five down. That will give
you 25 one-inch blocks.
Write one of the following words/phrases in each block:
* synergy
* strategic fit
* core competencies
* best practice
* bottom line
* revisit
* expeditious
* to tell you the truth (or "the truth is")
* 24/7
* out of the loop
* benchmark
* value-added
* proactive
* win-win
* think outside the box
* fast track
* result-driven
* empower (or empowerment)
* knowledge base
* at the end of the day
* touch base
* mindset
* client focus(ed)
* paradigm
* game plan
* leverage
* scaleable
* on track (or on pace)
** last, but certainly not least, that ol' Netshops stand by, it is what it is
Check off the appropriate block when you hear one of those words or
phrases. When you get five blocks horizontally, vertically, or diagonally,
stand up and shout "BULLSHIT!"
That's all for now. I've got some jobs to apply for. As always, I look forward to hearing from you!
8 comments:
This is the funniest thing I have ever seen!!! CrazyMama, whoever you really are, I hope it makes you feel better to personally attack someone that you now know has more brains than you ever will. I did not give my notice when confronted because no one in my management knew until it was out. I took great care to keep my plans of leaving a secret as I did not want the rumor to spread like wildfire, as we all know things do in an environment like that.
I gave my notice after my Supervisor's pathetic attempt to convince me he had corrected his Superior, with whom he lives and sleeps, about her derogatory comment made to me the day before. Not that it mattered because I already knew I was on my way out. At least he kept up the facade of loyalty. Others, like Ms. Johnson, have no problem and I think take great pleasure in speaking badly of others.
And if my slippers are the only ammunition you have, then I guess I don't need to worry about my performance do I?? I had constructive ideas, not even negative most of the time. So, how you can say all I did was come in and bitch is beyond me. Maybe it had something to do with the bread crumbs you people had the nerve to call a salary I was given to work 12 hour days, answer phones calls because management wouldn't hire enough Call Center staff, and take the brunt end of both business-to-business relations as well as customer relations. Yeah, maybe that's it.
Impressed Labor is back, ladies and gentleman. And you can get a front row seat at NetShops.
First, Leigh was not laid off, let go, re-sized or whatever Netshops currently calls their policy of twice a year days of long knives. She quit; Nebraska is a right to work state, no notice is neccessary, period. Done. This point is moot.
Second, "crazymama" implies that had Leigh stayed she probably would have been included, as were many other productive, long term employees, who had something to add, suggestions for making things better. The message Netshops is sending is clear: shut up and do what we say; nothing else is tolerated. We know what is best, even if the research and analyzation says differently.
It appears the company is being run on Doug Nielson's whims. It's his company, he can do that; but it's not really my experience that CEO's, Generals, or any leader who makes decisions in this manner is successful for long.
Look around. The rats are not fleeing the sinking ship. Should give anyone still working there pause to think about what kind of future there is with a company run like this.
Don't think. Everything will be ok. Go home to your TV dinners. Trust us. Tranquilizers will be admiistered during your regularly scheduled breaks.
Oddly enough, just met some Thralow employees by coincidence; they recognized this blog. They seem to be following it rather closely, and approached me because they saw me reading it.
I said nothing negative about netshops, that's not my way, but I told them my experience. Some seem to have rather genuine concerns about what is going on; and had them before anything I said.
They have meetings tomorrow.
I would like to clear up one or two things that I may not have communicated well in my initial post.
Yes, I had been put on a verbal warning for my attendance days before being let go. It was the first and only warning I had received. Second, I have no idea what a performance review from Netshops even LOOKS like, as I never received one, ever. I *do* know that I received a number of emails from customers thanking me for my dedication and assistance in taking care of a frustrating situation for them, and these I forwarded on to my supervisor per internal instructions. I *do* know that the ONLY 'problem' that ever showed up on my numerous QC's were my inconsistency to 'brand a call' as the call ended. I was never informed of any of my co-workers having a 'problem' with me. If there was one, no one had the decency to inform me of them. Does this make me a bad employee? Not in any other company I have ever worked for.
On a personal note, the attendance problem was/is caused by a medical condition that no, unfortunately at this time I cannot get the documentation for. It's hard to get medical documentation when you have a) just moved back to the state b) had to wait until I was eligible for medical insurance and c) was unable to use it as all my extra money was going into paying my lawyer because I have to file bankruptcy.
Was my immediate supervisor aware of this?
YES.
Was HR aware of this?
YES.
I was finally able to discuss things with them the day I got my verbal warning.
Had I tried to also explain what was going on to the current Director of Sales/Marketing?
YES.
I had attempted for over a week to have a private meeting with Ms. Johnson and was constantly 'blown off' with comments such as: "I really do want to talk to you, but I have this meeting to attend. "Don't' worry, I *PROMISE* to pull you from the floor as soon as I am out of this meeting so we can talk. (the emphasis is deliberate and Ms. Johnson put the emphasis in her voice when speaking to me.)
Did the meeting ever happen?
No.
Oh, and CrazyMamma? If your sole reason for attacking Leigh was because she wore bedroom slippers while at work, I would take a look at the people who work there NOW. I know of at least two other employees who wear slippers at work. And I am not aware of any correlation between what a person wears on their feet, and their job performance. I know for a fact that more times than not, Leigh was already AT work when I came 8:00 AM and had been there for sometime. I cannot say the same for other management.
I had the honor of working with some very talented people at NetShops, who were bloody good at their jobs. Many of them no longer work there, and I hope the rest can someday find a job where they are not used up and thrown out.
Loyality is a two way street, as is respect. It has to come from the employees as well as management. I saw no evidence of loyalty from management. I did see a great 'good o'l boy network' where if you were liked by some, you could almost get away with anything.
Finally, I would like to express I have no resentment at being laid off by NetShops. I believe they did me a favor by showing me their true colours.
Was this layoff different from the previous ones? It sounds like many of you were around for past layoffs -- has the environment changed?
Eric,
This layoff wasn't different per se, just larger.
In past layoffs everyone was worried - rumors circulated for months prior - because no one knew if they were safe.
It all started to go down hill when the Comptroller (at least, I think that's what Terry's title was) left in '05. Lots of speculation about the reason(s) he left, but that's not something I'm going to get into here.
Then the move to a larger building - at the same time there was a reorganization. Some new people were hired and some new positions were created. Unfortunately, those positions were kind of like the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dyke. Eventually there weren't enough fingers to plug the holes and another reorg came down from above.
Stores shuffled to new 'managers' and the call center broke into groups aligned with the new store managers. The purchasing group was expanded and integrated with the rest of the store management team.
This lasted through the summer when, another reorg was 'needed' and the layoffs started.
People who had been with the company (some since the very beginning almost) that just 'no longer fit' with the company direction, were let go. Again, none of them seemed to know it was coming. None (that I talked to at least) were aware of any performance issues.
In the reorg, people were shuffled and placed into positons where someone thought they 'fit' - not taking into account what the employee's career goals were.
Since then, almost on a whim, the call center director and manager were let go along with a member of the executive team. No reason given other than 'needing to go in a different direction.'
I guess what really burns me and was the cause for me starting this blog, I had no idea this was coming. In other positions I've held at other companies, if I had a performance issue, I talked to my boss about it. In my younger days, I was late to work - a lot. I met with my boss after my first week and was told, if it happens again, I'd be looking for another job. Now, not all supervisors are that blunt, but some discussion about performance issues does occur.
This is not how things happen at Netshops. The way things have been presented in the past, and with this current layoff, it seems like things are done with little thought/planning. While this isn't fair to employees, it really hurts the customer. Relationships with vendors can be damaged by new 'managers' or 'specialists' and customer issues are easily forgotten.
In the end, it isn't my company and I'll find another job. I feel bad for those still working there with the Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.
(Nice to see you posting btw Eric.)
I'm not sure how you can make certain comments about how Netshops is running currently since you are not working here. I would say the restructuring went very well and that the company has changed for the better. I will say that when Netshops laid off all those employees that day I was sick to my stomach and I could barely work. Is there a better way to let a number of employees go?? I can't figure a better way to do it. We all know that Netshops had a record year but you also know that after the holidays last year business slowed down. So in a way you could have expected some sort of layoff to occur. I would have to agree if I was laid off I most likely would not be happy either. Netshops is not the first company to lay people off in Omaha. Actually many larger corporations have had layoff's much larger. Look at Ameritrade, Con-agra, First Data, and West Corp to name a few. Convergy's even laid off a number of employees the same day as Netshops. I have been laid off by jobs in the past so I know what you are going through. I worked for a company through college as an intern and that comapny closed it's doors the day I graduated and taht was after I was gauranteed a job.
In your previous comments you stated that Netshops will not get an award for best places to work in Omaha. Don't forget as an employee of netshops you filled out that survey last year. The best places to work is voted on by the employees, so I guess we will see how happy the employees are. I certainly am happy working here. I can't say better things about the company. I feel well appreciated and am happy to take on any projects that come my way. I have gained many great experiences here and plan to stay as long as I can. If I were ever to be laid off I would have nothing but nice things to say about anyone in the company because they played a great role in my life. I'm not saying that I'm always pleased with the decisions of how upper-management works but once the change takes place and it happens you live through it and begin to like it. Change is a difficult thing for humans. Sometimes we have to suck it up and take things the way they go.
I agree with Leigh this is the funniest thing I have ever seen as well. I think that this is probably the best thing for the company and I hope management is reading it as it is more honest than a stupid survey.
I would like to hear the founder of this wonderful blogs story. Here's mine, unfortunately by telling my story my anonymity will not be saved but what can you do.
When I started at Netshops the "drop ship" department was just beginning. I spent 6 months taking phone calls mainly customer service. I then, toward the end of the 6 months started to work tickets, I was good at it to, there was no set way to resolve the issues so you did the best you could. FYI there is still no right way to resolve issues. I was then promoted to drop ship, and that is where I stayed until a week and a day after the latest layoffs. Unfortunately, my position was eliminated and I was to go back to the phones in a much needed one call resolution role. We were told this was going to change the customer experience for the better and if we did this in 6 months we could write our own ticket. BULLSHIT!
By this point I had been through 3 of these layoffs, each time happy I still had a job albeit with a crappy wage. In my time at Netshops I finished my associates degree, got married and am now expecting a child. I worked hard, had great reviews, great attendance and as my reward I get to go back to the beginning. Um, no. Please stop the ride cuz I am getting off.
The worst part about my leaving Netshops was not that we were constantly lied to. Doug is a great motivational speaker as someone already mentioned and no matter what you saw in any number of months, every time he spoke you couldn't help but agree and want to work harder. He's like crack. The worst part was that I truly loved my job and the people I worked with.
My advice to Thralow - don't come here. I guarantee you won't be around for a year. The current re-org is not working ladies and gentlemen. August will bring another change and many of you defending the company, (a company I loved at one point too) are in need of some serious rehab to get off the crack.
Kisses!
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