I’m sat here surrounded by someone else mess and I’m wondering if I made a huge mistake. It’s been a long time since I wrote about work. It’s been a long time since I wrote about anything, I guess, but one thing I remember from my rantings about working here was the negativity apparent in the entries. Nothing good ever happens here, or so it seems. Is it the same in every office? Let me take you back to last year and try to explain how I came to be in this mess.
Many of my entries at the ass end of last year will have been concerning the demise of the Retentions team and the utter stupidity I believed existed in the higher echelons of management here to allow such a thing to happen. The Retentions team consisted of ten people and between us we retained about £2,000,000 of business each year. That’s £2mil that this company would not have had otherwise. It’s money for nothing when one considers how much they paid us for the work we did. Someone decided, in their infinite wisdom, that we didn’t need a dedicated Retentions team for business customers any longer. The decision was made and despite our efforts to fight against it, the inevitable happened. Around November last year I contacted my old boss and asked if it would be possible for me to transfer back to my old department. I’m not too shabby at my job and he was happy to pull whatever strings needed to be pulled to get me back into Corporate. I started work on the Government Team looking after NHS and Government accounts. It was an easy job. Busy, but easy. Good team, lots of experience. Good boss who listened, paid attention and acted upon the information he was given by his staff.
Now that has all changed.
One of the managers I have a very healthy respect for sat down with me in Jan or Feb and discussed with me the potential I have and have yet to realise. She told me that she wanted to see if I had the skills in management that she believed I had and asked if I would help her set up a new team they were bringing in. They needed someone to spearhead the set up of the team and training of the new staff. What did I have to lose? There was nothing to keep me on my existing team, they were all experienced and I was ‘the new guy’. What the hell, let’s do it. It’ll mean more work for the same money but there is no point in doing as I have always done and plodding along. Let’s see if I can do this.
So I agreed to the move to the new team and started making plans for the move. I got a replacement in on my team and got him up to speed with my accounts. I trained him and taught him all he needed to know. I was looking forward to the move. Then it all went a bit wrong. The manager who had offered me the position went off on maternity leave and suddenly I was no longer joining the new team. Instead of the new team and the chance I was promised I was being sent to an existing team to replace the people on that team who were joining the new team. I’m a replacement.
A replacement.
I’m pissed off with it. I’m clinging to something though, which I’ll come to, but I’m pissed with this already. The guys and girls on this team seem like a good bunch of people, but the manager is an incompetent fool. I mean, she’s awful. Yesterday I asked for access to an inbox of ours. The resulting conversation went something like this:
Alan Says: “Can I have access to the orders inbox please?”
Boss Says: “Why?”
Alan Says: “Because I need access.”
Boss Says: “G does our orders, blonde G over there.”
Alan Says: “Yes but you’ll still have people emailing and calling in to chase orders I’d imagine.” Like what happens on every other sodding team in here.
Boss Says: “Just ask G about it.”
Alan Says: “It’s easier if I just have access.” Why are you making this more difficult than it needs to be?
Boss Says: “Do you do orders?”
Alan Says: “No,” That’s not the point!! “But access will make my job easier and stop me having to ask our one support every time I have a query.”
Boss Says: “Okay. I’ll give you access.”
Alan Says: “Thank you.” For very little you stupid woman.
Add to that her stupid notion about having no more than 1.5 people off at any time (would you care to severe my legs?) and blank, gormless expression when trying to understand what paternity leave is, and you can see I’m going to be up against it.
But good news, she requested me to join her team so I could be her “right hand man”. Oh joy that makes me feel so wanted.
Clinging On.
So my plan is to eventually move into a field sales role and this team is the perfect springboard. I have found accounts that we look after on this team which I originally signed. Here I am perfectly placed to make contact with and build relationships with the sales team and sales managers for the sector. From there with my experience of selling our product and knowledge of how things work and what needs to go on our contracts, I’ll be placed perfectly (one hopes) to take advantage of any vacancy which arises. It isn’t a natural progression, from service to sales, but it is one I believe I can make. The most important factor is confidence. I do have my off days but mostly I am confident enough to do the job. Sales is 90% bull after all.
So I guess I’ll have to stick it out and work on the basis of good things come to those who wait.
The only question is; In my current financial circumstances, just how long can I wait?
