Setting the Record Straight

Wow! What a day it was today! I don't normally post on a daily basis, but I wanted to update you all on the situation at my job.

We had an employee meeting this morning and the VP of Operations spoke to us for about an hour about what has been going on in the warehouse. He told us that he had heard that there was a lot of rumours floating around the warehouse, and that a lot of people were worried and as he put it, he "wanted to set the record straight". Hence the title of this post.

He told us that between Friday and Tuesday (remember that Monday was a holiday for us Canucks) he had "terminated" 75 people. He told us that there were three basic reasons for the firings.

1) Lying on your application, which was found out when the background checks came back - a number of people were fired for that,

2) "Misbehaviour" - I hadn't heard about this, but it appears there were several physical assaults committed last week. One of them escalated into a "faction fight" in the parking lot after the evening shift finished. From what the VP told us, it seems there were people from "rival factions" (read gangs) working in the warehouse on the afternoon shift, and when an argument or disagreement occurred during the shift, each "faction" called in members of their respective group and we had a mini gang war in the parking lot after midnight! All those involved were among those terminated. Also included in "misbehaving" were a few people, who, after their paycheques got shortchanged due to errors in the way they were punching in, "flipped out" in HR and verbally assaulted the girls working there. These people were also terminated. The VP said he would not tolerate people in his company being treated rudely, or in a disrespectful manner. Kudos to him!

And lastly,

3) Consistently poor performance. We were told that after an allowance for the learning curve, employees who didn't meet the company's performance standard would be approached by their supervisor, informed of the issue, and given tips on how to improve. Those who had received the warning, and didn't improve, were "let go".

He also mentioned that theft was at an all-time high since they moved to the new building, and since the move, the company had $1.6 million of unaccounted for product. He told us that last night alone, 4 thefts were reported and some of the perpetrators were caught and instantly fired. Later after the meeting, I heard that some people were smuggling iPods out in their steel-toed shoes, which would mask the metal detectors detecting the product. One person, I heard, actually taped the product, whatever it was, to his scrotum! His belt buckle then masked the detection of it. I just can't believe what some people will do! We were told that if the thefts didn't decrease dramatically in the next few weeks, the VP would have no choice but have each and every employee remove all metal from their person before exiting the warehouse, whether for break, lunch, going to the washroom, or going home. That would include all shoes (we are required to wear steel-toe safety boots or shoes), belts and ALL jewelry, and that would really have an impact as there are a lot of people with many multiple body piercings. I overheard one girl commenting later that no matter what the policy, she was not going to remove her clit ring! I just about choked on my granola bar! LMAO! A lot of employees were very upset by this announcement, but the VP was unsympathetic. He told us we are all police in the warehouse and if we see theft, we are obligated to report it. The reporting is confidential, and we are protected by a whistle-blower policy, so we should not be afraid to report it. He went on to explain that people who are stealing from the company, are not just stealing from a faceless corporation, like they think, but are stealing from their fellow employees. The company I work for has a very generous profit sharing plan, and theft eats into the profits, which reduces what we could be earning. I'm glad he explained that, because I'm sure a lot of the people involved in theft probably had never thought of it that way. He also said that it's a very small minority of people who do actually steal, but the quantity and cost of what they steal adds up to a very large amount. Just imagine, 1.6 million dollars lost from the profit-sharing plan this year alone. Unbelievable!

I heard a lot of grumbling after the meeting, but I had absolutely no issue with anything the VP said. I know my application was truthful, and I know that the references I gave would speak highly of me. Some of my fellow employees have already commented to me about how "overly polite" I am, and I'll continue that, as it is part of my personality. I treat everyone with the utmost respect, unless they do something to destroy my respect. Then I will still be polite, but not overly friendly. I don't need to make friends with rude, arrogant, or criminally minded individuals, but I will always be professional while at work. Unfortunately, I can't say that about the majority of my fellow employees. Professionalism is a scarce commodity where I work! As for my performance, well, I know it is nowhere near standard, but I am doing my best. I have already asked for tips from some of the more senior staff on how to improve. Some were quite surprised that I would be so concerned about it so soon. Most did give me some pointers and I've tried to incorporate them into my daily routine. I expect that soon I'll be getting a visit from my supervisor, and at that time, I'll bring up the lack of training we received when we started, and ask for more. Hopefully that will allow me to keep my job as they will see that I want to improve and am willing to do what it takes to do so.

One last event today, the sign-up list for forklift training was posted today, and I added my name to the list. I hope that by doing so, I have also indicated that I am willing to increase my skill set to be of further use to the company. Every little bit helps!

I am no longer worried that I won't "make the cut" this week, but I do know that I still have a lot of improving to do. Fortunately, the company realizes that there is a fairly steep learning curve involved, and is making allowances for that. I am a very fast learner, so I should be in good shape, in the long run.

So, the "black clouds" have been lifted from over our heads and I finished off my day feeling pretty good about my job. I'm still very tired and feeling somewhat weak and droopy from my illness of last week. I'm still coughing quite a bit, but today was able to get through the day without having to take an additional Tylenol Cold pill at lunchtime. I probably would have coughed a lot less if I had remembered to take the cough drops with me this morning! Silly me!

That's it for this post! If you have reached this far, you have my gratitude! I appreciate all the kind words and encouragement being sent my way! Have a great week... what's left of it!