I work for a Company that I'm not going to name because I still work there. What I do, I am an over the phone customer service rep. I've been on 2 campaigns not by choice, I loved the first campaign. The First Campaign was the Financial App Robinhood. The second one is Costco.com. When I started in 2020, the Robinhood campaign was fun. I was answering emails, helping customers and enjoying my job. Then they let us know they would be increasing the scope of issues we'd be covering. Same amount of work, just more possibilities of what we would get in a day. (We started with basic Usability.) Then came the day when we were told “YOU ARE GOING BACK TO OFFICE.” Not a big deal, the office that I picked my equipment up was only a 30 minute drive on the highway. 1 month later, we were still work from home, but the office location we were going to return to changed, to a location 2 hours away and across 2 state lines. Everyone but myself and 3 others quit. (I had a manager saying, “DON'T WORRY RTO IS PERFORMANCE BASED” We then went from Emails to handling phone calls. Still rather enjoyable except for one phone call with an entitled Twat that I still get physically ill thinking about how he talked to people. (Lets just say after de-escalation didn't work, I was all but too happy to put him on the Phone support blacklist and fire him as a customer.) After a year, I was put on a specialized team with less responsibilities. I had the best Team manager, she was great with communicating with us and even when we screwed up, she made us feel like we were special and that our screw ups were on her because she didn't give us enough training opportunities. Tristian Bale(not her real name, but a nickname I called her) If you read this, I MISS WORKING FOR YOU!!!!
This passed August, we were all moved from Robinhood to Costco. I'm sure you've seen about the Robinhood layoffs in the news. At first I was excited because that removed the return to office threat they were holding over everyone's head. I start the training and find out that the .75 raise was for, a large increase in KPI's, More responsibilities, More Entitled customers, and the lack of mentor-ship on the team. The Trainer was rude, Told us we were not allowed to talk about our pay, (We all make the same amount, this company doesn't do yearly raises, just OT bonuses and Recruitment bonuses). They Do not allow bathroom breaks. I had my home office flood (It is in a basement and the seal on the door is 70 years old and rotted) and a close family member die during the month and a half training. I am sitting on a Final Notice(With no previous write ups) for missing the day my office flooded and asking for a personal leave due to a mental breakdown. (Family member died, Office had water damage, My breaks went out on my car and then the gas line busted while limping it home. All within a week.)
Then as soon as I get out of Training and come back, I find out that my shift is not 8 hours, but 9.5 hours because of the Mandatory overtime. (No bathroom breaks, Except on the 10 minute breaks you get or the lunch.) You are expected to log in a half hour early so you can read policy updates, company announcements and Company emails and Plot out your daily schedule with your scheduled breaks(Off the clock mind you.). They expect you to write in the open group chat every time a Call's wrap up takes longer than 60 seconds.(This includes taking notes on the Ticket, Taking notes on the account, Filling out forms, Filling out contact info, creating new contact info. There is no pause to use the restroom, there is no pause to get a drink, there is no pause to breath. The second you are done with your call, the next one beeps in. I told my supervisor, that I am unable to do the mandatory overtime due to responsibilities outside of my job. They told me “Oh we are short staffed by about 300 agents, we just need to do this for a little while” He then set up an accomodation for me to have an hour of overtime only. half hour at the beginning and a Half an Hour at the end. I asked about the bathroom breaks, Doctors appointments and Therapy,(That I'd been neglecting and cancelling for the last 2 months because we couldn't use PTO for the first 2 months on the campaign even though we've been with the company for a couple years) Bathroom breaks, I have to get a Doctor's note. Doctor's appointments and Therapy are my problem but he'd “Try to work with me” Not but 24 hours after that, I get told I'm doing 2 hours of overtime everyday at the end of my shift. I reach out again They get it fixed.
The next time they wanted to change my schedule, the came to me. I got them negotiated down and they liked me switching to a different schedule(Literally only an hour difference from my normal schedule. With the overtime I was working, I ended a half hour later than I normally did I just got to sleep in an extra hour.) With out notice I find out the following Monday that I'm being “Coached for being late” Because they changed my schedule back to the 10 hour shift ON MY DAYS OFF.(We can be fired for logging into company systems when not on a scheduled work day.)
The sad part is, I could over look most of that. I've worked retail my entire adult life. 12 years now. But the thing that sticks in my craw the most. My name. They absolutely refuse to call me by my real and Legal name. I got a coaching for introducing myself by my real name. When they switched my campaigns, they took my middle name off of EVERYTHING. Pay stubs, Employee profile, Logins, EVERYTHING. All the paperwork they had, had my First name as a 2 letter initial. I refuse to acknowledge it and “OH HEY I CANT GO TO THE COURTHOUSE TO GET IT CHANGED BECAUSE THEY WON'T GIVE ME A DECENT SCHEDULE.”
So as a final resort, I've been doing my own thing. I have a Doctors appointment? Fuck it, I'm not even calling off I'm just going to go and clock in when I'm done. Therapy? Same thing. I have to use the restroom? Eh, I'll throw myself in Meeting or paid break. Need a drink? I put a mini-fridge in my office. There are a few otherthings that I do, but I'm not going to say, because I'm too identifiable.
Fuck it, I will name the company. Ibex Global.