Tales from a lost PDA - Sales on the move

Posted on 2009/07/20 17:00:12 (July 2009).

[Monday 20th July 2009]

Mr X is in a very strange position, his company is asking for a reduction of his wage that cannot happen automatically unless he voluntary does it.

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I was away somewhere lost in Asia, trying to make things work, jumping from client to client as usual and discussing mostly quality issues. A crappy trip already.

In the night a phone call...

Mr.Jack "Ehi Mr.X, today we have had a meeting with the president!"
Mr.x "You what?!"
Mr.Jack "Well he told us about the terrible period that the company is facing, that we will have to shed a lot of jobs. All the high ranking officials, clerks and directors were there..."
Mr.X "As if we don't know how shit things are right?!"
Mr.Jack "Well there is more..."
Mr.X "Such as?" in a slightly enquiring tone, knowing that some turds were already flying all over the place in search of a fan to die on.
Mr.Jack "Well, basically he said that as an ACT OF RESPONSIBILITY, he would be pleased if we voluntarily cut our wages of around 5% to 10%, with the promise that in one year time the wage level will be restored, maybe with some bonuses..."
....silence....
Mr.X "Ah!" ...more silence...
Mr.X "Well, it doesn't sound all this bad, after all if we stay in we need to prove something, it could have been worse and we could have lost our job..."
Mr.Jack "I guess you are right..."

Three weeks after back in the company we received a summoning to go and sign the document, in the meantime the 5% to 10% become a fixed 7% and only after having asked the document several times, we were given it with a lot of legal jargon splattered all over it, where no mention to any time line was done, and with a lot of other points that were obscure at the latest.

Mr.X "This is unacceptable!"
Mr.Politician "It's totally crap I am never going to sign anything like that"
Mr.Guitar "This is terrible they want us to sign a paper where we voluntarily cut our wage FOREVER and with no mention on when this is going to be reinstituted..."
The sales team was going to move, all together, to get things changed..

Still I ask myself, why do companies think of workers just like stupid drones that would sign anything they are given? Why the need of tricking people like that? What's to gain apart from internal conflict and total dissatisfaction in a very grave moment for the firm?

It really saddens me a lot...

[...continues]
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Check out the older Chapters in the Tales from a Lost PDA series:

I - The Lesser Damage
II - Good Times
III - We Need to be a Team
IV - Sledgehammer
V - Tonight?
VI - Bokki

Mr X earns to much money anyway. Mr X's wallet needs to lose a light weight.

Posted by Sheri at 2009/07/21 17:51:37.

ToO ... little (not light)
Fuck it!

Posted by Sheri at 2009/07/21 17:52:33.

Sheri: Quite possibly, but I always think that wages are proportioned to the role, middle management is a dark zone because you do not get obscene pays like directors (in Italy they do not go below 3000 euro net x month) but their roles are normally quite active in dealing with clients and such (no artsy pantsy strategies or the likes), which requires interpersonal skills (you do not learn them you have to be born with it) and a lot of travelling (normally).
Unfortunately in this part of the story there is no mention to what he makes... Oh well...

Posted by Lox at 2009/07/21 18:46:53.

Oh I believe you! Just teasing a little.

Posted by Sheri at 2009/07/21 20:41:34.

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