Savory Hickory Selection
Yep, 2011 begins for me today! January 2011 could be labeled "the Lost Episode."
Let me explain. Starting on the 1st of October I began a seasonal job for "a premium specialty foods brand retailer." I lost my job January 2009 so I guess you could say that 2009/2010 could be considered the "the lost episode." I was so happy to get a job I really didn't mind the long hours until I begin to feel that I was being "put upon" by my boss who called me at all hours beginning at 7:30 in the morning until after 11:00 at night. I worked six hours a day and was thrilled when Sunday (remember, I'm in the bible belt - God's day of rest) came around. I wanted to sleep all day but unfortunately it wasn't going to happen as there were tons of other things that had to happen.
The job was scheduled to end on December 28th which I was fine with as my plan was to spend the week between Christmas and New Years updating the resume, scanning the job boards, re-connecting with the job clubs and networking groups. So, I sent a written notice to my boss copying in the staffing agency I was working through giving them a 3-week notice that my last day would be December 28th. The rental car was due to be turned in that morning and all the units were supposed to be closed down and all materials returned by then.
Well, the best laid plans of mice and men. By the 27th, we still had two units open because the retail planning group did not get us the material we were to sell between Thanksgiving and Christmas in time so we had a considerable amount of inventory still on hand. We had exceeded the sales goals for the district but they kept sending product that should have never been shipped.
Because I am a good egg, I drove 150 miles on the day after Christmas in icing snow conditions to one unit to officially close it. It should have been closed the day before Christmas, but my boss just didn't get it. The normal 1.5 hour drive, took 4 hours. So, in the snow, I loaded product into the rental car to take back to the next unit to be closed and drove another 4 hours back home. Needless to say, I was whipped and began to feel the beginnings of the flu. Sure enough, over the next two days I had the full fledged flu symptoms with a temperature of 101 to 103 with laryngitis and was still expected to close three units in the next three days.
When December 27th rolled around, there were still two units to close and my boss was still thinking I was going to work bast December 28th although I had been telling her I would not be. Not sure what part of NOT working past the date of my notice she didn't get. I'm always amazed when advice columnists tell employees to just be honest with unreasonable supervisors and say "no" to unreasonable demands. It has never seemed to work out for me. Apparently, I say no in a foreign language. I can say no in several foreign languages but I think that I generally speak English but apparently I don't speak int clearly or loudly enough. Anyway, I head 30 miles north to close the first unit which should have been closed on the evening of the following day, we shut the unit down by 11:00 a.m. and tell the boss we are headed 2 hrs South to close the last unit. By this time, my temperature is about 101, my voice was completely gone. I had to write down prices and totals for customers because NO sound was coming out. Because I was feeling so bad and was taking a TON of over-the-counter meds that said NOT to drive or operate heavy machinery, I had to have one of my employees drive me to the next unit because I was afraid I would fall asleep on the highway and knew I would not make it back. When we got to the unit, she had already called to say we would not be closing and that I would have to go back down then next day to close the unit. I informed her that I would stay until 7:00 p.m. but when 7:00 p.m. arrived, I was going to be heading back home and would be turning in the company rental (due back at 9:00 a.m. the next day), closing out any paperwork and shipping all company materials back to the appropriate addresses as directed. All the while she is saying I have to stay through 11:00 p.m., drive two hours back to the location of the unit we closed earlier that day and then 45 minutes back home, turn around and be back at 9:00 a.m. the next day all while I have complete laryngitis (I had been talking through one of my staff members as I could not speak above a whisper) with a 102 fever with less than 24 hours left on the payroll. I'm all for giving i100% but at that point I had already but in a 12 hour day and with a 2 hour and 45 minute drive ahead of me, I was adamant I was leaving at 7:00 p.m. My team leader at that unit agreed to work the next morning to close the unit. She had a 5 minute drive. Can't say I'm anxious to get back to corporate America. Since then, my former boss has not returned any of my calls and will not answer a LinkedIn request. It's amazing that three months of work, leading the region in % to plan, and the smallest shrink in her region all went poof over the flu and 24 hours.
Small people working for small companies for greedy corporate weenies living in big houses in Boca Raton, FL.
Yep, 2011 begins for me today! January 2011 could be labeled "the Lost Episode." Let me explain. Starting on the 1st of October I began a seasonal job for "a premium specialty foods brand retailer." I lost my job January 2009 so I guess you could say that 2009/2010 could be considered the "the lost episode." I was so happy to get a job I really didn't mind the long hours until I begin to feel that I was being "put upon" by my boss who called me at all hours beginning at 7:30 in the morning until after 11:00 at night. I worked six hours a day and was thrilled when Sunday (remember, I'm in the bible belt - God's day of rest) came around. I wanted to sleep all day but unfortunately it wasn't going to happen as there were tons of other things that had to happen.
The job was scheduled to end on December 28th which I was fine with as my plan was to spend the week between Christmas and New Years updating the resume, scanning the job boards, re-connecting with the job clubs and networking groups. So, I sent a written notice to my boss copying in the staffing agency I was working through giving them a 3-week notice that my last day would be December 28th. The rental car was due to be turned in that morning and all the units were supposed to be closed down and all materials returned by then.
Well, the best laid plans of mice and men. By the 27th, we still had two units open because the retail planning group did not get us the material we were to sell between Thanksgiving and Christmas in time so we had a considerable amount of inventory still on hand. We had exceeded the sales goals for the district but they kept sending product that should have never been shipped.
Because I am a good egg, I drove 150 miles on the day after Christmas in icing snow conditions to one unit to officially close it. It should have been closed the day before Christmas, but my boss just didn't get it. The normal 1.5 hour drive, took 4 hours. So, in the snow, I loaded product into the rental car to take back to the next unit to be closed and drove another 4 hours back home. Needless to say, I was whipped and began to feel the beginnings of the flu. Sure enough, over the next two days I had the full fledged flu symptoms with a temperature of 101 to 103 with laryngitis and was still expected to close three units in the next three days.
When December 27th rolled around, there were still two units to close and my boss was still thinking I was going to work bast December 28th although I had been telling her I would not be. Not sure what part of NOT working past the date of my notice she didn't get. I'm always amazed when advice columnists tell employees to just be honest with unreasonable supervisors and say "no" to unreasonable demands. It has never seemed to work out for me. Apparently, I say no in a foreign language. I can say no in several foreign languages but I think that I generally speak English but apparently I don't speak int clearly or loudly enough. Anyway, I head 30 miles north to close the first unit which should have been closed on the evening of the following day, we shut the unit down by 11:00 a.m. and tell the boss we are headed 2 hrs South to close the last unit. By this time, my temperature is about 101, my voice was completely gone. I had to write down prices and totals for customers because NO sound was coming out. Because I was feeling so bad and was taking a TON of over-the-counter meds that said NOT to drive or operate heavy machinery, I had to have one of my employees drive me to the next unit because I was afraid I would fall asleep on the highway and knew I would not make it back. When we got to the unit, she had already called to say we would not be closing and that I would have to go back down then next day to close the unit. I informed her that I would stay until 7:00 p.m. but when 7:00 p.m. arrived, I was going to be heading back home and would be turning in the company rental (due back at 9:00 a.m. the next day), closing out any paperwork and shipping all company materials back to the appropriate addresses as directed. All the while she is saying I have to stay through 11:00 p.m., drive two hours back to the location of the unit we closed earlier that day and then 45 minutes back home, turn around and be back at 9:00 a.m. the next day all while I have complete laryngitis (I had been talking through one of my staff members as I could not speak above a whisper) with a 102 fever with less than 24 hours left on the payroll. I'm all for giving i100% but at that point I had already but in a 12 hour day and with a 2 hour and 45 minute drive ahead of me, I was adamant I was leaving at 7:00 p.m. My team leader at that unit agreed to work the next morning to close the unit. She had a 5 minute drive. Can't say I'm anxious to get back to corporate America. Since then, my former boss has not returned any of my calls and will not answer a LinkedIn request. It's amazing that three months of work, leading the region in % to plan, and the smallest shrink in her region all went poof over the flu and 24 hours.
Small people working for small companies for greedy corporate weenies living in big houses in Boca Raton, FL.
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