My inspiration for this post came from my dear, longtime blogging friend, Debbie @ Musings by an ND Domer's Mom, who is not only a gifted...
Before I begin my bitchfest, I want to talk about my favorite gesture.
The middle finger.
OMG...I LOVE IT MORE THAN MY OWN LIFE!
I love it because it's so expressive and all encompassing. And I also love it because you never actually have to open your mouth and say the words, the gesture says it for you.
It's kinda like using sign language.
And the reason I'm even talking about "the gesture" is because I used it a lot in the past month since resigning from my previous job.
Okay, so let's begin...
The middle finger.
OMG...I LOVE IT MORE THAN MY OWN LIFE!
I love it because it's so expressive and all encompassing. And I also love it because you never actually have to open your mouth and say the words, the gesture says it for you.
It's kinda like using sign language.
And the reason I'm even talking about "the gesture" is because I used it a lot in the past month since resigning from my previous job.
Okay, so let's begin...
*(I normally don't write long posts, however, this is a LONG one. So you might want to come back with a glass of wine, a beer, or a gin and tonic.)
I had every intention of using this post to share all the despicable reasons why I resigned. However, so much has manifested since then that I decided to share this one single incident because it's the perfect example of what a total shitheel that company is, and why I am so happy to no longer be employed there.
Do most of you know what PTO is? Well, for those of you who might not, PTO stands for Personal Time Off. It's a perk that many companies offer their employees. For every certain amount of hours you work, you accrue hours that are banked in your employee file that you can use for vacations or emergencies.
I worked full time at that job, so I accrued a lot of PTO. But I hardly ever used it because other than my normal two days off a week, I didn't take time off. I'm very much like a worker bee. I'm there to work.
In the five years that I worked there, I believe I took three vacation weeks and used 38-40 hrs of PTO each week.
Companies, of course, want you to use your PTO because they don't want to be obligated to pay you off if you resign. Some companies make it so that if you don't use your PTO within a year, you lose it. The company I worked for was required to pay you for any unused PTO if you resigned, or even if you were fired. And that was clearly stated in their employee handbook.
Just to let you all know that at the time of my resignation, I had 98.44 hours of PTO left in my file. That's almost THREE weeks of pay. And I had every intention of depositing that money into my savings account when I resigned.
I resigned on Sunday, the 26th of May, which was the end of a two-week pay cycle. My final pay check would be direct deposited into my checking account on Friday, 31st of May, which I assumed would include my PTO.
The day after I resigned, I received a formal offboarding email from Human Resources letting me know that my final pay check would include any unused PTO, and that if I had any questions or concerns, feel free to contact them.
Now....this is when the nightmare began.
On Friday, the 31st, I went online to check my bank account to see what had been deposited. And lo and behold, the only thing I saw was my normal paycheck. There was no PTO.
It's ironic though, because I had an intuitive feeling that this was going to happen. Even before I resigned.
So, I waited until 8:30 AM and called the store and asked to speak to my ex-manager. When I told her what had happened, she said that she would email HR and inquire about my PTO. She also said that she would contact me by the end of the day.
In the meantime, I contacted HR myself and asked them why my PTO was not in my last pay check because their offboarding email clearly stated that it would.
Well, I got no response that day from either my ex-manager or HR. And because it was Friday, I knew I'd have to wait until Monday to get an answer.
Now, do you have any idea how LONG I had to wait to get my first response from that company?
I had to wait until June 19th. Yes, over TWO weeks. During that time, I had sent them two more emails asking what was up.
Finally, in my last email, I threatened that if I didn't hear back from them in 48 hrs., I would not only be contacting the CEO of the company in California, but I would also be investigating legal assistance.
And guess what? The very next day I got an email from HR apologizing for not getting back to me with an explanation for why I didn't receive my PTO on my final check.
And do you know what that explanation was?
"We're so sorry, there was a GLITCH in our system which overlooked your PTO when we deposited your last paycheck."
Ummmm...no, not really. What you did was hope that I would not remember that I had 98.44 hours of PTO, or that I would not be as persistent as I was in making sure that I got it.
But they were wrong on both accounts, because they had no idea just how persistent am.
Besides, before I resigned, I took a screen shot of my PTO hours so that I would have proof, just in case they tried to do something unethical. Which they did.
Anyway, I was informed by HR that they would immediately take care of the situation by sending my PTO to me on a loaded paycard, which looked identical to this one...
However, my name was not included on the card they sent me, only my company's name. And I need you all to remember that because it ties into the next part of this story.
What I didn't understand (and what I did ask them in another email) was why couldn't they just mail me a paper paycheck, or simply direct deposit the PTO into my checking account? What was the point of using a paycard?!?
I got no explanation.
Well, do you have any idea how long it took for me to get the paycard? I took over a week because apparently there was another GLITCH in their system.
I finally received the paycard on the 27th of June, which was a month and a day away from when I resigned.
It came with a letter that said I could use the card just like cash or a credit card. I could take it to my bank and a teller could simply deposit it into my account.
So, the next morning I got up nice and early and walked to my bank so that I could finally deposit the money. But guess what? The cash machines that they use to withdraw cash from a credit card were down, so they couldn't do it. However, the teller suggested that I try another branch.
Which I did. I walked to another branch, but guess what?
THEIR cash machines were down as well.
I literally wanted to scream at the top of my lungs and use every filthy curse word I could think of.
But I didn't. Instead, I asked the teller to call another branch that was about seven blocks away. And she did. She informed me that their cash machines were working, and that they would take care of me when I got there. She even gave them my name.
So, I walked to that branch (on one of the hottest and most humid days we've had so far), and presented my paycard to the bank teller.
But do you know what she said after looking at it?
She said "I'm so sorry but your name is not on this card, so we cannot honor it. Your name has to be included on the card so that we can check your ID.
OH................MY................GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I looked at her and said, "You have GOT to be kidding?!?!" She suggested that I call the card company and see if they could assist me in withdrawing the money on the card some other way.
So I walked home (FURIOUSLY!) and called the card company.
They gave me two options. I could either set up a direct deposit on their website so that they could deposit the money into my bank. HOWEVER, the whole process would take two weeks. TWO weeks?!?!
No.
The other option was to go to an ATM and withdraw the money myself. HOWEVER, I could only withdraw a certain amount and in certain denominations each day. Which meant that I would have to go back 2-3 days in a row to withdraw the complete amount. I was also informed that if I used an Allpoint ATM, I would not be charged any fees for using it.
So I went online and found a Walgreen's by my apartment building that had an Allpoint ATM and withdrew my daily allotted amount. I then walked to my bank and deposited it.
And then the next day I did the same exact thing.
Now, here's another phenomenal part of this story.
When I got home that day, I went online just to check my remaining account balance on the card, which I estimated to be about $20.00. But it was only $5.00. Come to find that I had been charged every time I made a withdraw. In total, the fees came to $15.00.
Oooooh...no you don't!
I got back on the phone and asked the Comdata service representative (who, incidentally, was from a foreign country (surprise!), so I couldn't understand a word she said) why I was charged fees when I was told that if I used an Allpoint ATM, I would not be charged.
She said that I shouldn't have been charged and that she would investigate the issue, but that it would take five business days to complete the dispute. And you better believe I'm going to follow up in five days to get that $20.00.
So folks, this is where my story finally ends.
Yup, I eventually got my PTO. But it only took a month and an ulcer to get it.
But I got it.
In the exquisite words of Joan Crawford in the movie, Mommie Dearest....
"Don't FUCK with me, fellas!"
Oh, and before I conclude this post, I would like to say one final thing to the company I used to work for.
I would like to thank them from the center of my heart for this past month. It will be something I will remember for the rest of my life, and will be forever grateful for their impeccable professionalism.
And I would also like to leave them with a loving and sincere gesture for a bright, joyous, and prosperous future...
I had every intention of using this post to share all the despicable reasons why I resigned. However, so much has manifested since then that I decided to share this one single incident because it's the perfect example of what a total shitheel that company is, and why I am so happy to no longer be employed there.
Do most of you know what PTO is? Well, for those of you who might not, PTO stands for Personal Time Off. It's a perk that many companies offer their employees. For every certain amount of hours you work, you accrue hours that are banked in your employee file that you can use for vacations or emergencies.
I worked full time at that job, so I accrued a lot of PTO. But I hardly ever used it because other than my normal two days off a week, I didn't take time off. I'm very much like a worker bee. I'm there to work.
In the five years that I worked there, I believe I took three vacation weeks and used 38-40 hrs of PTO each week.
Companies, of course, want you to use your PTO because they don't want to be obligated to pay you off if you resign. Some companies make it so that if you don't use your PTO within a year, you lose it. The company I worked for was required to pay you for any unused PTO if you resigned, or even if you were fired. And that was clearly stated in their employee handbook.
Just to let you all know that at the time of my resignation, I had 98.44 hours of PTO left in my file. That's almost THREE weeks of pay. And I had every intention of depositing that money into my savings account when I resigned.
I resigned on Sunday, the 26th of May, which was the end of a two-week pay cycle. My final pay check would be direct deposited into my checking account on Friday, 31st of May, which I assumed would include my PTO.
The day after I resigned, I received a formal offboarding email from Human Resources letting me know that my final pay check would include any unused PTO, and that if I had any questions or concerns, feel free to contact them.
Now....this is when the nightmare began.
On Friday, the 31st, I went online to check my bank account to see what had been deposited. And lo and behold, the only thing I saw was my normal paycheck. There was no PTO.
It's ironic though, because I had an intuitive feeling that this was going to happen. Even before I resigned.
So, I waited until 8:30 AM and called the store and asked to speak to my ex-manager. When I told her what had happened, she said that she would email HR and inquire about my PTO. She also said that she would contact me by the end of the day.
In the meantime, I contacted HR myself and asked them why my PTO was not in my last pay check because their offboarding email clearly stated that it would.
Well, I got no response that day from either my ex-manager or HR. And because it was Friday, I knew I'd have to wait until Monday to get an answer.
Now, do you have any idea how LONG I had to wait to get my first response from that company?
I had to wait until June 19th. Yes, over TWO weeks. During that time, I had sent them two more emails asking what was up.
Finally, in my last email, I threatened that if I didn't hear back from them in 48 hrs., I would not only be contacting the CEO of the company in California, but I would also be investigating legal assistance.
And guess what? The very next day I got an email from HR apologizing for not getting back to me with an explanation for why I didn't receive my PTO on my final check.
And do you know what that explanation was?
"We're so sorry, there was a GLITCH in our system which overlooked your PTO when we deposited your last paycheck."
Ummmm...no, not really. What you did was hope that I would not remember that I had 98.44 hours of PTO, or that I would not be as persistent as I was in making sure that I got it.
But they were wrong on both accounts, because they had no idea just how persistent am.
Besides, before I resigned, I took a screen shot of my PTO hours so that I would have proof, just in case they tried to do something unethical. Which they did.
Anyway, I was informed by HR that they would immediately take care of the situation by sending my PTO to me on a loaded paycard, which looked identical to this one...
However, my name was not included on the card they sent me, only my company's name. And I need you all to remember that because it ties into the next part of this story.
What I didn't understand (and what I did ask them in another email) was why couldn't they just mail me a paper paycheck, or simply direct deposit the PTO into my checking account? What was the point of using a paycard?!?
I got no explanation.
Well, do you have any idea how long it took for me to get the paycard? I took over a week because apparently there was another GLITCH in their system.
I finally received the paycard on the 27th of June, which was a month and a day away from when I resigned.
It came with a letter that said I could use the card just like cash or a credit card. I could take it to my bank and a teller could simply deposit it into my account.
So, the next morning I got up nice and early and walked to my bank so that I could finally deposit the money. But guess what? The cash machines that they use to withdraw cash from a credit card were down, so they couldn't do it. However, the teller suggested that I try another branch.
Which I did. I walked to another branch, but guess what?
THEIR cash machines were down as well.
I literally wanted to scream at the top of my lungs and use every filthy curse word I could think of.
But I didn't. Instead, I asked the teller to call another branch that was about seven blocks away. And she did. She informed me that their cash machines were working, and that they would take care of me when I got there. She even gave them my name.
So, I walked to that branch (on one of the hottest and most humid days we've had so far), and presented my paycard to the bank teller.
But do you know what she said after looking at it?
She said "I'm so sorry but your name is not on this card, so we cannot honor it. Your name has to be included on the card so that we can check your ID.
OH................MY................GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I looked at her and said, "You have GOT to be kidding?!?!" She suggested that I call the card company and see if they could assist me in withdrawing the money on the card some other way.
So I walked home (FURIOUSLY!) and called the card company.
They gave me two options. I could either set up a direct deposit on their website so that they could deposit the money into my bank. HOWEVER, the whole process would take two weeks. TWO weeks?!?!
No.
The other option was to go to an ATM and withdraw the money myself. HOWEVER, I could only withdraw a certain amount and in certain denominations each day. Which meant that I would have to go back 2-3 days in a row to withdraw the complete amount. I was also informed that if I used an Allpoint ATM, I would not be charged any fees for using it.
So I went online and found a Walgreen's by my apartment building that had an Allpoint ATM and withdrew my daily allotted amount. I then walked to my bank and deposited it.
And then the next day I did the same exact thing.
Now, here's another phenomenal part of this story.
When I got home that day, I went online just to check my remaining account balance on the card, which I estimated to be about $20.00. But it was only $5.00. Come to find that I had been charged every time I made a withdraw. In total, the fees came to $15.00.
Oooooh...no you don't!
I got back on the phone and asked the Comdata service representative (who, incidentally, was from a foreign country (surprise!), so I couldn't understand a word she said) why I was charged fees when I was told that if I used an Allpoint ATM, I would not be charged.
She said that I shouldn't have been charged and that she would investigate the issue, but that it would take five business days to complete the dispute. And you better believe I'm going to follow up in five days to get that $20.00.
So folks, this is where my story finally ends.
Yup, I eventually got my PTO. But it only took a month and an ulcer to get it.
But I got it.
In the exquisite words of Joan Crawford in the movie, Mommie Dearest....
"Don't FUCK with me, fellas!"
Oh, and before I conclude this post, I would like to say one final thing to the company I used to work for.
I would like to thank them from the center of my heart for this past month. It will be something I will remember for the rest of my life, and will be forever grateful for their impeccable professionalism.
And I would also like to leave them with a loving and sincere gesture for a bright, joyous, and prosperous future...
Have a faaaaaaaabulous week, everyone!
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