I’m unsure if this is appropriate for this subreddit since it’s a bit of a rant. I just realized today that my job functions in many ways as a cult.
Employees are expected to create para social relationships with our clients in order to create a unique experience within our industry. Even though it’s currently dangerous with social media to create deep attachments with clients. I understand wanting to go above and beyond for customers so we can differentiate ourselves but, honestly, there’s no way to train people, unless their actors, to behave as doormats for customers.
There’s an emphasize on learning about the founder of the company, even though he just bought out the original owners, and watching propaganda videos that talk more about his accomplishments than the company is just what cults do. I would mention a specific religious group I’ve been shunned from due to disassociating from them, but if the vagueness gives you a hint it’s where i’m taking my experience of cults from.
There’s an emphasize of putting customers first but there’s some forced “above and beyond” and “extreme personalization” to the experience that is not achievable when the majority of your customer service employees are just there to collect a check.
Trainers are also expected to be leaders and exemplary but were somehow compensated less than the people we just trained. The only extra benefit is a carrot being dangled in front of you; a consideration for being promoted. Not a guarantee, but a promotion that might never materialize because they need trainers more than managers. I used to have to proletarianize for a certain amount of hours because otherwise i would be demoted within the cult and then wouldn’t be considered for my next step of their religious structure. I was expected to do this on top of regular bible study, cult meetings, and donations. Meanwhile, the heads of the cult traveled in limos, had expensive clothing and jewelry, living with communes wherein they only had to preach. People in corporate are like this they can dictate our structures but don’t put the same work we do or live within our current reality if they claim they’ve also worked from the bottom. It’s even hypocritical because what are the chances that if one of us works hard enough even gets to reach their positions?
Their livelihoods depend so much on us being the faces of the company and yet we’re expected to just follow what they think is best when changes and improvements have always come from the bottom up but we’re just supposed to wait for our chance to be heard. We’re told to follow their protocols when those were created and inspired by those of use working the day to day with customers and any changes to that without their approval is quickly shut down. I think this part is the hardest to understand but basically if any of us want to change anything we would need to rise up the corporate ladder after some miserable years paying our “dues”.
They incorporate a lot of pseudo psychology into how we should model our training methods. When the reality is that the ideal employee is not possible because we don’t have the ideal customers. Real life is messy but they want to be this space where everything is perfect, where everyone knows your name. Yet where supposed to model people into passionate and empathetic individuals who take. stupid commands from strangers and deal with their adult tantrums. In fact one of our protocols is that. we fix everything at no additional cost so mistakes are corrected as fast as possible. Corporate doesn’t seem to realize that the only time feedback questionnaires are filled is when something negative happens. Though we’re not given feedback but scrutinized, punished, and micro managed.l even when face to face feedback is that we’re good at our jobs and preferred over sister locations.
TL;DR: Corporate sucks and is upholding some version of va capitalist cult because the greedy roach that bought the company some decades ago needed money for their political
ambitions and create a cult personality. People buy into our fake personalities but we’re not compensated for that emotional toll that upkeeps the rest of the company.