March 17, 2006 was my last day at my job that I have had for 3 years. I waited awhile to blog about it because the whole experience was filled with deep emotions. Over the many years that I have blogged (6 years now) I have learned not to write when your emotions are at an all time high. It always turns out disastrous.
Over the years my old company was very good to me. They even hired me back after I took a stab at another career. Management seemed to have their act together. The sales floor was booming. Things were going good. Then the outsourcing to other countries began. The people that I had worked with for years started getting laid off, and I was very nervous for many months following. I had somehow escaped the wrath of being replaced by five Filipinos and went about my job here in the United States.
In October 2005 I was named supervisor of a new department and a new product and I was thrilled. I had the backing of a good Director, at the time, and I knew this new product would be a success. I believed in it almost as much as I believe the sky would be blue every time I looked at it.
I worked hours and hours during the day, and then at night when I got home to make it work. Everyone knows that I put every waking moment I had into this new product. Hell even my friends online saw me disappear from the message boards that I have been on for 10 years, and knew I was working my ass off. I took great pride in what I did and I woke up every morning with the desire to run to work and make it all happen. I saw it as a way to redeem my company from the past mistakes we made. I saw it as a way for us all to make it in a business we love. I wanted to make it big for me, my coworkers, my Director, and the owner of the company. My heart and soul was in it 110%.
Christmas 2005 rolled around and I was still gung ho on my department. I was making fairly good money, I got to hire probably one of the best ever employees I could ever dream of, and I was excited to give my boyz a good Christmas. Something they weren’t able to have for many years after I divorced their father. I got my paycheck on Friday, December 23rd and rushed to deposit it so I could finish up those last minute gifts.
This is where it all spiraled down. Everyone I knew at the company was not able to cash their checks that day. The payday before Christmas! Needless to say there was not much happy happy�joy joy�ho ho ho, going on around there for weeks. And it never ended. Every Friday I’d get my check and there was no money in the account to cash it. This went on right up until my final paycheck that I got last Friday. As of today, there is no money in the account to cash it. I have been to the bank every morning to try.
During these aforementioned weeks of not being able to cash my paycheck the whole system was going to hell. The sales people, overseas, were selling fairly well and the money was coming in. It just wasn’t being put in the payroll account I guess. My department was swamped with work and barely able to keep up. I asked, and asked, and asked until I was blue in the face to hire people to help and it went in one ear and out the other. Or they would give me someone to help then strip them away to go to another department.
I went to my Director daily and asked if we could have some customer support reps for this new product. I explained to him over and over how busy we were. It was always followed with a “sure thing, I will get that for you” but with absolutely no follow up. Days and weeks went by and I did my absolute best working with what little resources I had. I sat and watched other departments that had said support run smoothly, and actually thrive. They had the direction of a true Director behind them. It certainly makes the job easier that way. I tried to push it all aside and say, “Okay you are not behind me or this department so I will make this work with or without you.”
I did what I could until it got so unbearable that I couldn’t take it anymore. I truly believed in something and I so wanted to make it work for everyone. But without that support and no power to override said support my hands were tied. I left for the day on March 17th, (bad payroll check in hand) and had no intentions of ever coming back. I came in early on Tuesday March 21st, in the presence of a Human Resources manager, and got my things. End of story.
Now it’s time for a little fun and a chance for me to dispute some of the things that are being said about me now…after I left.
Statement ~ “She must have “sabotaged” things before she left!” These procedures are a mess!”
Every procedure written was CC’d to upper management and my Director. Nothing was ever put into place without their approval. These procedures were printed out and left on my desk, and also a copy of them were on the server. My entire database of clients was organized, current, and completely caught up on my last day there. Because you never took the time to do your job by reading them doesn’t mean that I “sabotaged” things. People will always point fingers at others to save their ass huh?
Statement ~ “The way she left was so unprofessional”
Yes, I would agree with you to a certain extent. The only things that I can say in my defense are one�I hate saying goodbye. Two�I know they would have tried to talk me out of it and I would still be sitting there today with a paycheck I couldn’t cash and no one listening to my request. Three�in the 25 years of my working career I have always given a two weeks notice before leaving where it was well deserved. And four�how professional is the company to begin with?
Statement ~ “She must have left so she can start her own company.”
No, as stated above the reason I left was your lack of help, and the distance you so conveniently created so if you didn’t see the problems they didn’t exist. But hey yeah! Great idea, thanks! I should start my own business. I certainly have the experience in what not to ever do in business.
Sooooo�in a, not so small nutshell, that is the latest thing going on in my life. My kids are great! My boyfriend is incredible. And I am 200% positive that I made the best decision I could ever have made.
On this day..
- My Name is in My Domain - 2007
- Bid4Prizes.com - 2007
- Java Detour - 2007
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Comments
Jesus.
What a mess.
I’m so sorry, Julie - I can’t imagine how you’re feeling right now - this must be affecting your whole entire life! I hope now that you’re gone from that place, you can move on to bigger and better things. I’m so sorry you had so much hope for great things to happen and it didn’t work out - and people ended up blaming you for shit. Ugh.
| 2.8 |
Well good for you. I had no idea how miserable it was 
I am sorry you had to come to the final outcome as it happened but it sounds like it’s worth it in the long run!
(((Julie)))
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Diane (get to know me) on 30 March, 2006 at 9:04 pm
No matter how bad a job is, it still hurts to leave it. No matter how much lack of loyalty they had towards you, a great employee, you still have a sense of loyalty towards it.
Honor sure can screw with your feelings.
I’m currently going through a few situations in which what I think would be the best routes are not happening, no matter how much I force it. I know that “it will all come out in the wash,” which means The Great Hand will direct the best course of action. And I’ll appreciate it in 3 or 4 years.
Until then … I want to fight. Even though I know letting go is the best course of action.
You’re going to end up with a great position because you left this one at this time. It just may take some time and perspective to see it.
| 2.5 |
Wow, I’m sorry to hear about all of this, Julie! You will be an asset to your next place of business, wherever it may be!!
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Karen_s (get to know me) on 31 March, 2006 at 10:43 am
I’m so sorry your job had to end that way. They were crazy to not work with you. I hope you find something that challenges you and that you enjoy.
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Affiliate Manager is calling your name! You can sit just a few cubicals over baby! Just like old times 
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Laurie (get to know me) on 31 March, 2006 at 5:24 pm
Good Luck Jules! Everything will work out. I know how hard you worked there. They always scapegoat people who aren’t there. ((hugs))
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Welcome to the club Julie! We have t-shirts.
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I know you will rock in whatever you do. Sorry to hear they are badmouthing your work ethic. Anyone who has known you for any length of time knows you are a worker to be admired.
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Evie (get to know me) on 3 April, 2006 at 10:53 am
Oh, Julie, what a mess! I’m sorry you had to go through all of that.
And honestly… in the world of IT, if you HAD given your notice, they would have walked you out that day. Or at least most places. So that you don’t have TIME to sabotage things. Not that you would. But you know what I mean.
Good luck with whatever follows!
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Karen (get to know me) on 4 April, 2006 at 8:31 pm
Congratulations Julie on your decision to kiss that dump goodbye. I know things will get better for you weather you decide to work for yourself or if you go to work for someone else. At least it will be a real job with a hopefully ethical company.
Karen (remember me?)
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Having arrived at the office after you left, there was nothing on your desk at all. No one in management was in yet to take or hide it.
I got recruited to get procedures for what needs to be done here statestide because the only person left didn’t even know of any procedures for the people here in the office.
I have had to go through tickets and try and figure out exactaly where a client is at, if the report was printed or not. I had to resort to checking shipping slips to verify if it was sent out or not, anything without a shipping reciept is getting called to verify if they recived it or not.
Nothing was documented anywhere as far as status of clients. I have tickets of yours that have no notes for over 2 months, which is odd since they require a monthly call.
I know you were over burdened, imagine how we are now. I’m not even in your department and I’m writing procedures. We haven’t hired anyone new, we just moved people in from other departments.
As for paychecks. I’ve worked here at the same periods of time as you. Yes recently there have been problems with paychecks, but I never had to wait beyond Wed the following week to get cash in hand. My check cashing place that I refered you to is still cashing them because every time an issue came up, I let accounting know to take care of it.
Yeah it’s frustrating that you can’t rely on going to the bank, but they have done what they needed to make sure people get paid. Turns out people in other departments weren’t doing their jobs, and things were getting behind. Those people have also put in their notice.
I’m not saying I disbelieve you when you say you had procedures for everything. Unfortunately you left in such a way that no one knows where those procedures are. You didn’t sit down with anyone and show them where they could find the information. Instead you left those of us who remained in a lurch, scrambling to sort it all out.
Your Director went out of the way to make special accomidations for you, but his hands were tied on alot of it. He wanted you to get all the help he could, but when he’s told “No” what can he do. Hell he went out of his way to help you out after you left. Legally your final paycheck could have been held for 2 weeks, instead it was released hours before other people’s checks were.
I don’t blame you for leaving, hell I’ve almost left several times myself. But you did hurt alot of feelings with the way you did it. As a result there are some harsh feelings.
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They knew where they were. Printed out and in the files between mine and Ernie’s desk and on the tech serv. Ernie even handed the printed out version to them. They just wanted to throw the burden on someone else instead of doing their job. As far as my director going out of his way to get my check for me on Friday and not wait the two weeks that he could have…he knew better than to make Sandy and I wait for any length of time. But that is between us and he will make it right one day.
Like I said, I did the best I could with the resources I had.
Someday the fog will clear for you Ron. Until then…stay strong. I don’t envy you at all right now. Kudos to you for stepping up to the plate and taking over. You seem to have the pull to make things happen so I’m sure it will be a success!
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Cyndi (get to know me) on 8 April, 2006 at 11:57 am
Yah, well good for you. I hate to say anything too negative because I still have people who I care about working there, but I think you know how I feel. Sometimes we leave a bad situation the only way we know how and still make it bearable. I understand, I know how tough things were for you and how unsupported you felt. Hope both you and Sandy are doing well, and really hope to hear from you guys soon!!! XXOOOXXOO
Cyn
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pudu (get to know me) on 14 April, 2006 at 2:29 pm
fuck ‘em.
| 2.5 |
fuck yoooooouuuu puuuuduuuuuuuuu!
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