The interview was with a fire inspection company in Burnaby, not too far from my apartment in south Vancouver. The interview was very early in the morning, before anyone else would have showed up for work, with the office manager. Got offered the job on the spot. I walked away happy, but some small voice was telling me it was weird how it happened so quickly. Some part of me was expecting more of a process.
Time goes by, I start work. Learn that this girl was quitting and I was taking her job, she was training me. She was good and fast at her job, but I was seeing inefficies everywhere. Poor communication, poorly documented procedures, redundant work, and no room to fix these things.
I learned the company was just bought, and most of the old staff worked there including the previous owners daughter and a guy that used to own part of the company doing accounts, and this guy's son. Clearly there was lots of history with these folks, and almost all of them hated each other. As I tried to be friendly with some of the people, I got mostly jaded and cynical attitude and only a few of the new hires seemed to be nice enough for a conversation.
1 week in, the guy who hired me quits and takes a job at a rival company. Within a short time I learn the girl that quit wasn't actually going to quit, and my job got changed to fill in the gaps for the office manager. Except now the field manager was also the office manager too. Some of the people around the office start looking at me differently, as if I was competition for a job they wanted.
It was around this time I has some billing and accounting questions that didn't add up, and I went to talk to the accounts guy. I got an answer. Next time I got back I get a vague answer. The third time I get hostility and what was clearly an angry man yelling at me, and without a word I turned around and left his office. Of course, in classic victim/perpetrator role switching he came out of his office acting like I had a problem and wanted to comfort me. I brushed him off but it became clear how abusive behaviour was tolerated.
As a matter of training its decided I get to take a day with the field staff and see the inspections first hand. Best day I had, the field techs were amazing people. As I returned to the office the owner asked how my day went with the field techs and I said “best day I've had since I started working here” and at first he thought I was complimenting the techs, but after his initial reaction the look on his face changed when he realized what I was really saying.
Some days go by and I was logging emergency calls and there was enough of them I skipped the 3rd redundant logbook and kept going to keep up. The log book I can do later, no worries. Near the end of the day the field/office manager shows up from the field and as typical the place feels cringe as soon as he walks in, but he walks over to the log book to read it, then picks it up and walks over to me. Without saying anything he slams it down on my desk, easily 10lbs of paper in this massive binder. Then he lectures me on how important the log book is. Clearly someone said something to him, but didn't bother just talking to me first.
After he is done I pack my things because it is the end of the day, and I make my way downstairs. I talk to the nice warehouse guy on my way out, and he tells me that makes more money bartending then this place and he's on the verge of quitting. I tell him what just happened and that I'm leaving early without saying anything, he said to do it how this place is a shit show.
I emailed the owner the next morning citing the toxic office, workplace violence, and intimidation tactics, and let him know I wasn't coming back.
I should have quit when that office manager quit. I should have quit when the accounts guy was raging on me for no good reason. I should have quit when I couldn't make an office friend to talk to. I should have quit when I realized my best day was working outside the office.
I'm glad I did quit. Been with the same place for a while now and it's a night/day difference. Moral is, don't take any shit, keep bouncing jobs till you find a decent employer. It may take years, but don't be cynical or jaded until the new people people prove to deserve it. Don't let the bullshit of one job carry into another, and you just might find a decent employer.