Useless Conversation

[Yegolev]

Back.  Congrats on WDW trip.  Sorry about the heart.  GG schild.  I like CSS.

I have been to WDW a lot.  Merusk has plenty of great bullet points that would make my wife very happy.  For people who are really just large children, like me, I can give a perspective as well.

But right now, I am going to go play LotRO before the plebes take over.

[Cheddar]

Try firing people in a union environment.  Now thats fun!   

[Selby]

Try firing people in a union environment.  Now thats fun!   

Tell me about it.  Going through this right now...

[Soln]

congrats Schild

[Ironwood]

There. You made me change my avatar. Dio is NOT happy.

No, indeed.

[Signe]

Even if Zombie Dio is displeased, the avatar you have now is oodles, boodles and shmoodles of cutie cute cute regardless of what sort of mood he's in. 

[Bunk]

Not pointing fingers over his performance, that's entirely up to the individual in question.  I was commenting on the part where you said he didn't know he was dangerously close to the chopping block, that sounds like poor feedback.

If every time you complete a task for your boss he tells you what you did poorly and how you could have done it better and you fail to improve then you should be perfectly well aware for whom the bell tolls.  If all your manager ever says is, "Thanks, good job." then yeah, you would think you were doing ok.

I get what you mean, and I guess I should have been more descriptive in his issues. The guy came in and he did his job. He generally didn't make many mistakes. He also made no effort above the minimum on the intangable parts of the job (like providing a good customer experience), and overall he was probably the slowest person in the department at actually completing tasks.

He recieved feedback and encouragement on things like customer retention, but being successful in that generally requires engaging with customers, which he wasn't really willing to do. If he did engage with a customer, it was usually in the form of loudly arguing with them (he was regularly advised that this was not the right approach). The entire department recieves direct numerical feedback on their performance and metrics, yet despite it being obvious that he was constantly in the bottom third of most metrics, he still felt that he worked harder than anyone else in the group. What he couldn't accept was that he worked harder because he was so darned slow at everything.

Ok, now I stop and look at that paragraph and I cringe a little, because it sounds cold and corporate and all that shit. Honestly though, those of you that haven't worked in an office job in a large company might not understand - metrics are all that the company gives a fuck about.

On the small scale level, we are actually a group of human beings and try to treat each other that way. We socialize with each other, we know what's going on in each others lives, etc, etc. When it comes down to it though, performance that can be numerically reported is the only thing management several levels above you will ever see.

Ultimately, he got let go for numerous reasons, but primarily because he was lousy at getting along with his coworkers, and for a tendancy to miss every second monday to one malady or another (usually from indulging over the weekend in ways he knew he shouldn't, and then having diabetes related issues).

[Yegolev]

I found a new image which I am going to try to use excessively and possibly inappropriately.

[Merusk]

Yes, Bunk, but how satisfied were the customers after his calls? 

I deal with this with my wife a lot, being that she refuses to move up the call center chain.  You've pretty much described her, but she only gets unhappy customers from the folks who are arguing or asking for unreasonable things. (Current unreasonable example; customer wants her give them a special they not only ran out of stock on, but ended a week ago. Customer gets irate, speaks to supervisor and says she's being problematic.  )

However, because she actually gives a damn about the service she's providing, her stats are awful.  She'd been told a few times she needed to improve, and I told her 'Look, this is code for get them there or you're fired."  Which, from your post, I was right about.

So now she's stopped, focuses on her stats only, hates her job and has unhappy customers all the time. (The amount of supervisor referrals for, "Hey, Cathy did a great job and I wanted to let you know" have dropped to none from about 3-4 a month.)  But hey, the stats look fantastic!

[LK]

To me, "Boss" is somewhat a derogatory term. I prefer manager or lead. You can be a boss, but you should really try to be a leader.

[bhodi]

Lead is code for "Manager with no additional compensation". See: Team Lead.

[Yegolev]

Lead is code for "Manager with no additional compensation". See: Team Lead.

I specifically indicated to my new overlords that I wanted my name taken out of the hat for picking team leads.  No thanks.

[Viin]

Agreed there. Having a Team Lead is an excuse for the Manager to play solitaire all day.

[Strazos]

I'd posit that it's heavily dependent upon your company/field.

[Cheddar]

Yes, Bunk, but how satisfied were the customers after his calls?  

I deal with this with my wife a lot, being that she refuses to move up the call center chain.  You've pretty much described her, but she only gets unhappy customers from the folks who are arguing or asking for unreasonable things. (Current unreasonable example; customer wants her give them a special they not only ran out of stock on, but ended a week ago. Customer gets irate, speaks to supervisor and says she's being problematic.  )

However, because she actually gives a damn about the service she's providing, her stats are awful.  She'd been told a few times she needed to improve, and I told her 'Look, this is code for get them there or you're fired."  Which, from your post, I was right about.

So now she's stopped, focuses on her stats only, hates her job and has unhappy customers all the time. (The amount of supervisor referrals for, "Hey, Cathy did a great job and I wanted to let you know" have dropped to none from about 3-4 a month.)  But hey, the stats look fantastic!

She may not be the right person for a call center.

edit. There is nothing wrong with being a Team Lead.  Many managers still go by this.

[Engels]

I think I know who Bunk is talking about, and its not someone like your wife, Merusk. Your wife probably doesn't argue with the customers, I'd wager. She also is probably slow because she's methodical, rather than a washed out alcoholic. She's probably self aware enough that she didn't think she's the 'best' when the company's standard for 'best' is simple metrics.

[Ironwood]

One of the worst situations to be in is when you know you would fire yourself.

[Bunk]

Engels has it right on this guy.

Merusk, the way you describe your wife isn't far off from how I was when I did sales for this company. Went the extra mile for the customer, only sold them products I knew they actually needed, helped them set things up, and had one of the lowest return rates in the department.

Managment hated me and my approach, so I got out of that entire portion of the company as soon as I saw a decent postion open up, before they could fire me. I make 20% less than I did in sales, even though I'm now in the management chain, and it was the best decision I ever made.

[Yegolev]

I am working on my Server Necromancer badge today.  I already have my Work Twice As Hard Due To Someone Else's Fuckup badge, so maybe just one for today.

[Segoris]

I have no idea where to post this for those who enjoy Gold Box deals at Amazon. I didn't think it deserved its own thread, although that may not be a bad idea for a good Gold Box deals thread similar to the wootoff thread, but it's Hi-Def week. There are actually a couple of decent items coming up (Mass Effect 2 for 360, FF13 for 360/ps3, Battlefield:Bad Company 2 for 360/ps3, some speakers, some movies, etc). Anyways, the sneak peaks are pretty telling, so here's the summary of them for those who may be interested:

Remaining Items
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
F13 Referral link to Amazon Goldbox (use this to shop)
Gold Box sneak peak source.

[voodoolily]

There. You made me change my avatar. Dio is NOT happy.

No, indeed.

[LK]

Pictures like this make me question Will Smith's parenting skills. (That's Ralph Macchio who's doing pretty good at 48)

The whole Karate Kid reboot thing ... ugh. Something about what they're doing makes me want to punch Jaden Smith. A classic, this movie won't be.

[Merusk]

She may not be the right person for a call center.

It's this and I know it.  She's got excellent people skills, great attention to detail and follows policies to the letter and genuinely cares about providing real service to customers.  However she lacks the confidence to try anything else, which is from a host of childhood family issues.  It's been a struggle to get her to try anything different over the years.  I finally got her to do an online degree for Medical Admin starting this year. Hopefully it will awaken something resembling personal drive for achievement in her.

I think she'd be a decent manager or team lead but she won't try.  I offered up sales person and she says she hates selling things because she can't be that pushy.  I suppose it doesn't help that I rant about our home sales councilors and their lies to customers once a week or so. 

[Merusk]

The whole Karate Kid reboot thing ... ugh. Something about what they're doing makes me want to punch Jaden Smith. A classic, this movie won't be.

Funny, I've want to punch him with or without the Karate Kid thing.  The kid exudes so much smug he makes Clooney look humble.

[Rasix]

So, it looks like we put in an offer on a house that will likely be accepted. Now we have to sell ours.   

Good thing we went for the low end of our budget.  Our remaining savings will likely be paying a dual mortgage. 

[Yegolev]

So, it looks like we put in an offer on a house that will likely be accepted. Now we have to sell ours.   

Good thing we went for the low end of our budget.  Our remaining savings will likely be paying a dual mortgage. 

Congratulations.  I suppose.

I might watch the new Karate Kid to see the boy teach some karate to Jackie Chan.

[Minvaren]

So, I picked up DJ Hero for $20 (controller included) at Target on clearance for PS2.  A geek friend of mine told me that "I was the only person he knew with a PS2 anymore."  He's the same age as I am, but I felt old when he said that.   

That said...  I have gotten a lot more than $20 worth of fun out of it so far.  It's relatively intuitive with a different visual focus and more stuff to do than the traditional Guitar Hero game, and some of the mixes are quite well done and fun to play as well.  On sale for about the same at Amazon right now if you still have the PS2-ness.

[Yegolev]

OK, so, WDW.  From memory, so salt me.

Merusk is right about that back-to-front tip on any park.  For Magic Kingdom (the most popular park), as soon as you go through the tunnel, head up the stairs to the train and ride that fucker to Frontier Land.  In there you have Splash Mountain close by (a theme from movie that none of the kids at the park have seen, very amusing) and the Big Thunder Mountain coaster.  That concludes Frontier Land if you are on a time budget, but otherwise I enjoyed the Country Bears about the first seven times I saw them, and Tom Sawyer's Island is an OK place to dick around for a while.

If you just can't resist heading up Main Street USA with the rest of the goobers, you may want to know that all of the shops on either side of the street are internally connected... and are all air-conditioned.

Next up is just a matter of preference: Pirates of the Caribbean or Haunted Mansion?  I usually save Pirates for the afternoon, which I advise considering you are going in September.  So go next to the Haunted Mansion, recently revamped and actually improved.  Once that is done, I usually run through it again, but that's just me.  Next head to Fantasy Land.

Avoid Peter Pan.  The wait time for that shit is always like 60 minutes, and I don't like it much anyway.  I should not have to tell you to avoid "it's a small world".  Winne the Pooh always makes me sad that Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is gone, and I'd dodge that one too.  The Philarmagic movie is cute and does not require any exertion, but the schedule requires some waiting.  I end up riding all these anyway.

Carousel: pass.  Snow White: pass.  That one is actually scary, as the title says, but not scary for big people.  I don't ride this one every time, actually.

Mad Hatter's Tea Party, aka The Teacups.  Have to ride that one.  Once done here, if you go left you would end up in Toon Town, however I believe that is under renovation at the moment and everything in it will be replaced.  I manage to pull a tour of the houses back there on every trip but only rode the Barnstormer mini-coaster once.  I think it will still exist but be re-themed.  In any case you probably will want to go right toward the racetrack.  It's a long wait for driving a small car.  I dig it but I'm a bit of a wheelhead.

In Tomorrowland, the main reason to be there is Space Mountain.  I do like the Astro Orbiter thingy on top of the middle spire.  The TTC or whatever the real name for the Peoplemover might be, is pretty good for a cool ride to rest up.  I did the scary alien thing before it was re-themed for Lilo and Stitch, and at that time it was god-damned scary.  Might still be.  The Space Ranger Spin is worth a ride, but check that wait time.  Ride Space Mountain a couple more times then cross over to Adventure Land.

The Tiki Birds have been re-themed and feature Iago.  They have not put up the Gilbert-Gotfried-warning-tape, so I'll just advise you to skip that one.  Jungle Cruise is good if you get a good tour guide, otherwise it sucks (well I have ridden it A LOT, so YMMV).  There is some other garbage as well.  Just go to Pirates of the Caribbean and enjoy the cool air.  The parrot has been sacked, replaced by Johnny Depp.  Actually, he is still around somewhere but no longer talks, so I consider him an ex-parrot.  I do feel that the whole ride has been improved, although the Depp robot still looks out of place due to his incredible detail and realism.

If you get hungry, I enjoy the hotdogs at the castle-end of Main Street, on the left as you look at the castle; something baseball themed.  Can sit in bleachers and watch Goofy sports cartoons while you eat the hotdog, which is neat.  There are turkey legs in Frontier Land (and tacos, too, I think).  One fantastic treat is to get one of those pineapple whips at the Dole stand in Adventure Land.  In September, you might want to order three of them: eat one, dump one on your head, and stick the other one into your pants.  Good luck trying to get a seat at one of the sit-down places, most especially Crystal Palace.  Due to the characters, it is mobbed with kids and families.  Not a bad buffet but it's like crab meat: lots of work for little payoff.  I'd eat dinner at the resort hotel... depending on which one you are in.  I have stayed in all of the moderate and up ones, I think, and might have tips.

The noodle shop, I want to mention specially.  I have been to WDW at maybe fifteen times and have never found that damn place open.  It's hard to find, I think: if you are exiting Tomorrowland toward the central area, turn left just before the bridge.  Follow the walkway up into the corner.  Yeah, closed!  I don't know why!

The parade seems to occur around 2pm and 7 or 8.  Find a place to be before that happens.  You'll know it's coming.  Finally: get the fuck out of the park before the fireworks end, or you'll think you are on a Japanese subway.  I find this hard to do because I like to be BEHIND the castle during the fireworks.  It's a ton more awesome from back there.

I'll post about some other parks later.

[Rasix]

So, it looks like we put in an offer on a house that will likely be accepted. Now we have to sell ours.   

Good thing we went for the low end of our budget.  Our remaining savings will likely be paying a dual mortgage. 

Congratulations.  I suppose.

Too soon.  Wife changed her mind a scant 4 hours later.  "There's going to be cars parked everywhere on the street." "It's more working class."  It's a neighborhood largely without garages (ours would have one) and it's in Tucson.  TUCSON == WORKING_CLASS. 

Time to drink.

[Yegolev]

Hahaha... women.

[Yegolev]

Oh, one more thing.  Vanguard is consolidating down to one server.

[Nebu]

(That's Ralph Macchio who's doing pretty good at 48)

I'd be happy as hell if I look that good at 48.  I'm also want to see the new Karate kid.  The first one was kind of a part of my youth culture.  It would be fun to revisit for nostalgia's sake. 

As for Vanguard... 

[Rasix]

Hahaha... women.

She's off the hook now.  Called the broker, and the sellers used our bid to make their previous bid (that they let expire) go higher than us.  So much for "wanting to sell to a family".

Dealing with this crap is so much fun.

[Selby]

Dealing with this crap is so much fun.

I hate real estate and pretty much anyone involved in it after my last 3 ordeals with it.

[Salamok]

She may not be the right person for a call center.

It's this and I know it.  She's got excellent people skills, great attention to detail and follows policies to the letter and genuinely cares about providing real service to customers.  However she lacks the confidence to try anything else...

Sounds like she should start looking for a government job.  90% of my division just fields crackpot customer complaints and the only metric your manager truly gives a shit about is how many people they manage.  No one has any sort of fiscal liability, I doubt the lifers even understand the concept.