TL;DR Finally hired by someone and it was the most mismanaged, cuckoo place I've ever worked at.
After looking for a job since February I was hired by a place to work from home. The training was supposed to last one week on-site then I would be given my equipment.
On the first day my ride overslept, and I was freaking out, but no problem, I got an Uber. I emailed the manager to let him know what was going on. I assumed I would get there in time, but with only a minute to spare. I simply wanted to give him a heads up. I actually got there three minutes before my shift started so I was relieved, but I felt like a real asshole cutting it so short.
The lobby doors are always locked (it is in a bad part of town) so I called the office number and told them I was there for my first day. The woman put me on hold then said, “My manager said check your email.”
Basically, I was fired because I don’t have my own car. I needed “dependable transportation” and I would understand that being a problem if I had arrived late. Millions of people don’t own cars and take buses, trains, and Ubers to work. My only mistake was depending on someone to give me a ride instead of getting an Uber from the start. Lesson learned and again, I was there on time.
He made me wait outside (it was already 95 degrees and very humid) to clear it with the owner. I stood in front of that building for 45 minutes, bawling my eyes out, wishing I hadn’t been honest and emailed him. I was finally allowed to enter the building and the manager told me if I was even one minute late for the rest of my job I would be fired. That caused me to be overly stressed and shaking every day thereafter no matter how early I left for work.
He was supposed to be training me, was on his phone and computer the entire time. I would do something then wait, wait, and wait before he looked at it to give me feedback. I don’t consider myself a comedian, but that guy did not crack a smile or laugh ALL DAY. He was indifferent and cold.
The next day I went in, and I met the girl that would be training me for the rest of the week. She is an awesome girl and a rockstar at her job, but she had only been with the company 4 ½ months. I was the first person she had ever trained, and I thought “If this is the most senior employee they have, there must be a high turnover rate.” That was a bit of a red flag.
I did two basic jobs throughout the week. Creating quotes and making reservations. After the fourth day of only doing that, I was bored out of my mind and wondering why the manager had said “This training is intense.” I was added to the office chat and surprised to see that 32 people had quit or been fired in the previous 12 months. Only three people do that job in the office. How in the hell did they go through so many people? Major red flag. Especially considering that was just office personnel. Apparently, they couldn’t keep anyone out in the field either. Five of them quit before the week was up, and it is no wonder. They regularly slept in the breakroom in between duties because they were exhausted and made to work long, ridiculous hours.
My trainer started taking calls and doing things instead of focusing on me, but it was okay, I saw it as an opportunity to learn the job firsthand. As she worked, I overheard things that had not been mentioned to me, and when I asked what it was about, she said, “Oh don’t worry, you won’t be doing that anytime soon.” I found it to be very odd because 1. I was hired for the same job she has and 2. I have never had a trainer/teacher refuse to elaborate when asked about job duties.
On the fifth day of training, we were both set to leave at 4:30. At 4:15 the manager texted me (I never once had an actual phone call with this guy or anyone else) “You’re staying until 7:00.” He didn’t tell me they were short staffed or that he would appreciate me staying over – he demanded it in a text. I was livid because I had already planned something, but whatever, I needed the job.
As I worked without my trainer an email popped up, but I didn’t see it immediately. We are supposed to answer all of those, including chats, within 30 seconds. I didn’t see it until one minute in and was instantly berated, “Looks like you don’t know anything after all, you aren’t working from home if you can’t perform the job duties.” I understand that they want things a certain way, but it was my very first time being alone, and I wasn’t just sitting there. I was working on quotes for other emails and simply didn’t see it right away. They could’ve used it as a learning curve, but they only succeeded in making me angry.
The next day I was scheduled to work without my trainer. I felt confident although I was still rattled by him making me stay over then yanking away my WFH because I was 30 seconds behind in answering an email. Everything was going well, the customers seemed to like me (I have a ridiculously sweet customer service voice), and my manager told me to focus on the calls and leave the quotes and other issues to my coworkers.
I received a request for a quote and sent a message in the office chat asking permission to do the quote. A woman I had never heard of wrote:
“What is your problem, it isn’t like it’s hard. Do it.”
Okay…. confused, I wrote to my manager and asked if I should follow her advice and he told me it was his boss, so I better do it. It felt like the goddamn Wizard of Oz in there, I didn’t know who this woman was. She never introduced herself and no one told me about her.
As I was doing the requested job, I received a message telling me to do something else. I told her I was not trained on that subject, and that in fact, I had never heard that term since starting. She began berating me again, “What is your problem? Can’t you do anything?” Then she started sending me screenshots of people agreeing with her about doing quotes with See? See? See? at the top of each screenshot. Was she trying to show me that people agree with her, so I better do it too? I don’t know.
They did not tell me what I was doing wrong. They did not show me how to perform my job, they used it as a chance to make me feel stupid. For an hour straight. I know I need a job and it feels like the biggest mistake in the world, but I left. I was crying and shaking, I didn’t know how to fix anything since they wouldn’t tell me, and I lost it. I clocked out and left.
I am beating myself up for not sticking it out, and I know a lot of people will say I’m dumb for leaving, but that was the most unprofessional place I have ever worked at, and that is saying a lot because I’ve worked for some shitty places. Anyhow, after I got home, I started looking up info on the company. They received a one-star review on Google, and this is their unhinged response. What a nightmare.
EDIT: Forgot to add screenshot
