I resigned this morning. It's a construction scheduling position for a cabinet company. Those who know, know scheduling is of the essence in construction projects. There are a million moving parts that must be addressed in every conversation. I have 12+ years of experience as admin support for general and subcontractors for reference.
The Access software they use is not user friendly, but I have no problem learning old tricks. In fact, I am used to working with janky software. There are 20+ fields of info across several pages (per project) to analyze before being able to communicate the correct answer to a customer who is live, on the phone line. Stressful.
I have been training on very specific regulations such as “Mike can't work for retail customers, or any job that's too complicated. Joe can only do tear-outs and is unavailable Wed-Fri. Andy can do any job but won't do out-of-town jobs. We only have 2 trucks available, so keep that in mind.”
Last week the woman training me scolded me for not being able to fully and perfectly be able to assist a kitchen counter-top company with their specific construction questions, about a job site.
Trainer: “Do you even understand counter-top installs? You shouldn't have said [this or said that] to the counter-top vendor.”
Defeated, I replied “I don't yet understand the entire process of cabinet installation. I don't feel comfortable talking to clients and subcontractors about the details of their project.”
Trainer: “You should be.”
I was so insulted, I didn't speak much after that, afraid to make any comment lest she correct me and insult me further.
I must add that my trainer is desperate to leave the Schedulers desk. She is 4 months pregnant and doesn't want to deal with it anymore.
My trainer is exceptional at this job, and highly valued, and she knows it. However, the other ladies in Admin have all been scolded by her in my presence in a short time. They all apologize to her for their mistakes.
This morning she informed me I was on my own and she moved to her new desk, If I had any questions, I could holler and she'd assist me, she said. It's snowing today so 2 jobs have to be pushed out. Barbara calls to say sinks aren't yet installed and therefore cannot install counter top. Jeremy calls to confirm tomorrow's cabinet delivery, but the receptionist tells me Jeremy is calling asking why his shit isn't delivered this morning and is holding on line 3. I tell the lady who is training me that the call with Barbara has surpassed my knowledge and if she wants accurate statements she better take over the call .
Trainer: “I'll complete THIS call, but you should really be able to handle these calls on your own by now.”
Me: “Really? It's only two weeks [4 hours per day] and I'm not ready. Were you ready in 2 weeks… did you know all the ins and outs of cabinet installation that quickly?”
Trainer: “Actually I learned it in ONE week. But that's not the point right now.” she picks up the call.
Me: ” I think it IS the point.”
After a few seconds of asking myself how long I can tolerate this unmitigated disrespect, I began to gather my things. All the office ladies knew exactly what was up. One of them hugged me and said “I understand.”
This is the second time I've taken a position in construction (project assistant) wherein the person I am replacing (due to a promotion) has refused to give me more than 2 weeks training before leaving me on my own. That was 9 years ago.
Is fewer than 40 hours of training for a crucial scheduling position sufficient?
Apologies for the stream-of-consciousness delivery. I'm just so puzzled right now. Am I dumb?