Although our message boards are not yet up and running, we do accept emails.  Provided below are some submissions.  The only editing done was to ensure the protection of those who shared their experiences.  You'll decide if CSFT is needed, not anyone else.  Just because your employer tells the world they're best and even get others outside of your company to spread the lies doesn't make it true.  Share your experiences.  As always, we delete all communications after the body is copied to a word processing document.  You'll never have to look over your shoulder here or together we wouldn't  be embracing CSFT.

 

 1 Jonni

 

I once worked with a woman who was completely infatuated with Robert Redford. She would look at the charges incurred every month on his statement. She even ordered copies of some of the charges incurred to obtain a copy of his autograph. She even took them home for her collection. Obviously, this was a clear violation of Mr. Redford’s privacy and trust. Her supervisor knew about the incident and just laughed.

 

 2 Mark

 

I once had a supervisor who was, well, a biker chick. I’m not talking about a middle-age weekend biker. I’m talking serious biker women. I was lucky enough to have her when she was first promoted to supervisor. She gathered those who reported to her for a meeting. Her words of greeting to her new staff were something like ‘I have my own life outside of Gelcotrop. Some of you know what it is. If any of you should see me during outside of work, stay the fuck away from me.’ This is just another example of fine Gelcotrop leadership.

 

 3 Nathan

 

I am a gay male. When I worked at Gelcotrop during my early 20’s, the sex was great. I worked in the Telephone Service Center department on the graveyard shift. Okay, so when I was younger, sex was something I did a lot. Fortunately, there were many other gay men in the department. It was common for virtual orgies to take place in the men’s room. Everyone knew. Including me, there was once as many as 6 men having sex at one time in the bathroom. It’s a good thing one of them was a supervisor who could cover the loss of productivity. Looking back, it shouldn’t have gone on but the work ethic demonstrated by those higher up was so bad that our actions didn’t seem to be any worse. At least, when we had sex, the participants were willing.

 

 4 Susan

 

I remember working with a guy who was absolutely brilliant. Unfortunately, he chose Gelcotrop to work at. He should have advance quickly up the ranks but had the misfortune to work with some of the most incompetent, insecure, and dishonest people I have ever met in my life. I don’t know what others will write but I think after all of the letters are read, many will wonder how the company has stayed afloat so long. The different supervisors and managers tried to ‘tame’ this individual by breaking his spirit. Great suggestions from him were killed, partially because it came from this individual and also because those who he reported directly to were unable to comprehend even the most easily understandable concept. They destroyed his reputation and caused him to go into depression. Forget what you read, Gelcotrop does not treat most of it’s employees with dignity and respect.

 

 5 Fred

 

I don’t work for the company anymore. Since this in anonymous, I can tell you about my experiences working in the Cashiers department. Stupid people would send in cash for the payments on their accounts. If you don’t know, some of those accounts can run up a decent amount of charges during one month. One time, I took seven hundred dollars out of one envelope. I opened the envelope and there they were, seven one hundred dollar bills with my name on it. Usually, it was just about two hundred or so. Knowing what I do, my bills only get paid via check.

 

 6 Kim

 

The first time I ever did cocaine was at work with a coworker. She had been selling to her supervisor for awhile so there was little cause for concern. Being a first time user, I really got high. I had to say that I was sick and left for the day. I went home and laid out by the pool.

 

 7 Kelly

 

Romances in the office. No one will take my advice but here it. Guys, be very careful if you work in an office with a very large group of women. If you are even just average in looks, pleasant, and have a sense of humor, women will pursue you. Sounds horrible? The trouble is those relationships rarely last and it is the guy who comes off looking like the pig or bad person.

 

A guy can be guilty of just bad judgment in having sex with a girl, but is instantly guilty of anything ‘she’ might say. Small penis, premature ejaculation, body odor, or worse and they have no say in the matter. She said it, so it must be true. Many a spurn lover in this office has resulted to these tactics. I’ve seen guys who have had to leave because of the harassment. By the way, this is being written by a woman.

 

 8 Naomi

 

Thanks to Gelcotrop, my family members and I have received many high quality items from their merchandise catalog. At one time, signatures of receipt of packages were not required for items under $1000 that could be shipped in just one box. Wait a month and call up to ask where the camcorder or whatever was going to be shipped.

 

‘It was shipped? We never received it.’

 

‘Do you want a replacement?’

 

‘No, cancel the order, we will just buy one at the store.’

 

The account would then be credited. I would let this information be known and let people take advantage of the situation. I am sure many others with Gelcotrop Cards have done the same and will continue to do so unless things have changed.

 

 9 Jeff

 

I remember one manager who I personally felt was a complete sleaze bag. He would make a stereotypical used car salesman look honest. He was married and had children but felt the new employee under him would be best under him. He promotes here to Supervisor. She stops the relationship. She filed a complaint and was moved to a different building. She hung out for a few weeks and then got a lawyer and received a settlement.

 

The manager was not fired but couldn’t have a staff and was therefore given ‘Special Project’ to do. He did little or nothing as far as actual work for the next few years before being fired for something having to do with the hiding of a Las Vegas entertainer’s debt or something like that. I want to know how the company hides all of these settlements from the shareholders.

 

 10 Tiffany

 

I remember when the security guard and the two girls working temporary were fired for having sex in one of the conference rooms at night. I wonder if they were in management what would have happened?

 

 11 Amber

 

Gelcotrop sends a lot of correspondence to its Customers and the few merchants that actually accept their Card. The letter is printed and, a good deal of the time, copies of charges and supporting documentation are attached. This process of matching the documentation to letter is a manual process and it is very easy to get behind in the task. Before you know it, 50 items or more need to be matched and then mailed out. What is the common procedure for more than a few employees when they get behind in the process? Why simply throw them away and make sure you stay on top of the task in the future. Ooops. 50 more have accumulated. Time to begin again. Ooops. 50 more….

 

 

What happens is just more than an inconvenience to the Customers and merchants. When a reply has not been received from a merchant to the inquiry sent to them when a Customer is disputing a charge, the charges are reversed to them. Not all Customers scrutinize each bill. Many are large corporate clients or just your regular individual who bought into the promise of good service. A reversal of a temporary credit might be overlooked without the letter being received with the support of the questioned charge.

 

 12 Jim

 

This was awhile ago but I’m sure a few people remember. A young guy, about 16 or 17, was employed part-time. As many of us do, he had to take a bowel movement. He was sitting in the bathroom stall and tending to the matter at hand. He knew there was somebody in the stall next to him but didn’t think much of it. That’s life. It happens.

 

Suddenly, the guy next to him started trying to slide under the common wall. The guy was naked. The kid got himself together, left the bathroom, and ran to his department all upset. By the time his supervisor showed up, the would-be stall buddy was gone.

 

 13 Sharon

 

What is it with companies and their false promises? Gelcotrop claims to have certain values, the Special Values. Can a company knowingly lie to its employees? A family member of mine is a vice-president with the company. He has on more than one occasion relayed what some of the other vice-presidents have said about the Special Values. The general consensus of these individuals is that the values mean little, they have no desire to support them, and the employees should just do as they are told.

 

 14 Phil

 

As a supervisor in charge of a highly dynamic area with very large clients with urgent needs, I need a manager who understands the department’s workflows and customers. What I have, however, is a manager who I have to constantly badger just to get anything done. Even when she agrees to sit down and take action, she conveniently disappears when I need her. I have even seen her take the back stairway in an effort not to sit down and discuss the issues. There is little or no direction. If our management does not care about the customers and shows it, how can we get the employees to work at anything but a minimal effort?

 

 15 Frank

 

Several years ago, we had the Wonder project. Probably a hundred million dollar effort, years of work, and very little results when the core of the project was killed. We then had the Customer Service Y2k. Years of effort with little or no results realized. When the project was killed, no one lost their jobs. I heard an estimate of 120 million dollars was the final price tag and yet no one lost their jobs.

 

The waste of money and effort just happened. It was no one’s fault. I am not sure if the shareholders were ever told or if the expenses were reported as regular operating expenses. These are just two projects and probably cost the shareholders about 250 million dollars. I don’t know about Wonder but Customer Service Y2k probably would have stood half a chance, if most of those who participated were not rejects from other areas who’s own departments viewed the project as a receptacle for their trash.

 

 16 Stephanie

 

What happens to many promoted to Supervisors who cannot perform the function? They get to be put on Special Projects. Almost by definition, even a child would know that only the best should be on these projects.

 

 17 Laura

 

Gelcotrop received the contract for the U.S. Federal government several years ago. This means all government employees had to return the other companies products and get Gelcotrop items.

 

Many in the original management team were completely incompetent. What happened was much of the collections efforts (yes, collections) was completely screwed up. Eventually, a manager from the retail department was brought on to clean things up. Things were going great and a dim light at the end of the tunnel could be seen. Suddenly, the manager disappeared. The employees were told that if they were caught even mentioning his name, disciplinary actions would be taken. Good management is apparently hard to find.

 

 18 Christine

 

Transferring, please hold. Damn, I hung up on yet another Customer. I hit the wrong button. The next call should be an easier one. If not, damn hung up on another one.

 

 19 Dave

 

While I don’t do it anymore, a friend and I used to get high at lunch. We would smoke crack or speed. Good for weight loss. Yes, the quality of service to my customers suffered. With the crap we had to put up with we didn’t care. We certainly weren’t doing any worse in quality than many of our peers.

 

I got help and have been clean for five years. I encourage everyone else to do the same. If I could just now find a department here that would actually encourage us to do our best.

 

 20 Tim

 

You asked for examples of waste. So many business trips are scheduled to accomplish matters that can be handled over the phone. It just numbs the mind when you think of the waste.

 

Allowing those traveling to sign up for frequent flyer miles and the rewards that come with them is not a good idea. They just schedule a trip to a different city to rack of the frequent flyer miles and earn a free trip for that vacation.

 

Add up the expenses of a airline ticket, the lodging in a nice hotel, cab fare or a rental car, food allowances, and tips. These trips are very costly even when necessary. To be fair, I have heard that some have gotten into trouble for this abuse. The philosophy that it’s only shareholder money is probably not the best thing for a company to have.

 

 21 Karen

 

We had a new hire who was not thrilled with going to work. The solution? Call in bomb threats from his cellular phone. The building would be evacuated and the employees would stand around while a search was conducted. They eventually caught him after three times.

 

 22 Jethro

 

A few years ago, Gelcotrop adopted Teams. That’s what they said. Given the poor management that existed in most places, it bombed. Other than the names of teams instead of units and Teamleaders instead of supervisors, nothing remains. Nothing other than having the ‘team’ take responsibility for mistakes they did not have any part in making.

 

 23 Leslie

 

While not directed at a black (African-American) employee, one Supervisor used to refer to her clerk as her nigger. What a class act. Sure you have these types of people in the world. What makes it worse is that this was known to others in leadership positions but nothing was done.

 

 24 Doug

 

I remember when one supervisor said that we (his staff) were ‘the bottom of the barrel’. When we complained to our manager who later confronted this supervisor, nothing was done. Hardly being treated with ‘dignity and respect’, which is supposed to be one of our prized values.

 

Everyone knows this individual was hired because he makes Eddy Haskel from Leave It To Beaver look like an amateur. To management, he would be mister Gelcotrop. Two seconds later he would tell employees what garbage the company was and we should have no loyalty to it. After leaving our group, he got another promotion.

 

 25 Sean

 

Personal integrity is a major problem with those in management at Gelcotrop. This, of course, filters down. One girl used to make remarks about one of the managers in her department. She would make comments about how he probably had sex with his sister, was inbred, and was completely brainless. After being promoted to a supervisor position, she buddied up with the manager. She even took an angry and very defensive manner when asked, by one of her friends, about the previous comments. She claimed she never said them and nobody better say otherwise. This was only the tip of the iceberg for her integrity problems.

 

 26 Jake

 

One Supervisor came in and tried to break up a very old click allowed by the previous supervisor of three years. Those in the click were allowed to take very extended lunches (they were hourly employees), pick their own assignments (they got the easy work), and do as little work as possible since it might interfere with their socializing. The very existence of this click screams bad management. To make matters worse, when the new supervisor tried to actually make the members of the click work, he was in for more problems than he could have ever imagined.

 

Soon complaints of sexual harassment, vulgarity, and disparaging remarks were made by members of the click. None were true. It was just part of a game to the members of the click. To make matters worse, the manager and other supervisors who were friends with those in the click helped get the supervisor fired. About a week after the supervisor’s employment was terminated, a friend of mine from a different building called to ask if I knew of the supervisor. Another supervisor had apparently heard from one of the Human Resources managers that the individual was fired because one of the click members had supposedly caught him masturbating in his car. Just another shining example of our management and Human Resources doing what they do best.

 

 27 Pekebo

 

Why do we have so many people who have clear signs of depression. I know the treatment causes it and we have limited health care to manage it but is that what the health plan is for? Why not just have a workplace that doesn’t cause these problems? Doesn’t that make more sense for the bottom line? I don’t have a college degree in business or finance but is it too difficult to understand, track, or calculate?

 

 28 Claudia

 

One employee once lost his cool and said, "Fuck you, mother fucker" and then hung up the phone on a Customer. He turned around to see his supervisor standing right there. "Am I fired?’

 

"Not unless the call was monitored. We’ll find out in about one minute."

 

The call wasn’t monitored. The employee was not fired. Not even an entry was placed into his file. The employee was drinking buddies with the supervisor. In fact, the two told other employees about it while at Happy Hour. Had the supervisor disliked the employee, the result would have been different. The rules should be the same for all or we’ll have problems. That’s right. We do have problems.

 

 29 Jennifer

 

I like working at Gelcotrop and consider myself a very good employee. Yes, there are problems. Yes, many of our management team should be replaced with those of better character and intelligence. My coworkers also are not without blame. Far too often do I hear them referring to their Government counterparts as idiots. We should be happy to have that account as big as it is. If we are going to continue to cut them down and have an attitude of not providing them with the best service we can then we should not bid for the account. Of course, it also doesn’t help when they hear the same things from their management.

 

 30 Cliff

 

Moral is so low in the office where I work. Every year we have to take a survey on how we think the work environment is. Every year the results are at an ‘F’ level for most of the categories. Yet, when the results are released, we keep hearing about how management is providing us with a world-class workplace. It’s pathetic to think how an approval rating of less than 60% is world class but students are kicked out of school for the same grades. Are they really that stupid or do they think we are so stupid as to believe anything these people tell us.

 

 31 Ashley

 

What do you do when moral is low and you need a boost. If you’re Gelcotrop, you change the name of the department, put up a mission statement, and give out cookies. That’s all it takes. We should elect someone from Gelcotrop management as president of the United States. We would then be called Nations of States, hand out copies of the Bill of Rights, and give out apple pies. All our problems would be solved. The following year, we would then change our name to We The States, hand out copies of the Declaration of Independence, and pass out peach cobbler. The next year we could….

 

 32 Staci

 

I am not sure if you would call what I had a romance in the office. I have worked for Gelcotrop for over a decade. During a divorce, I lusted for a fellow employee. There was always an attraction to this man and I knew he felt the same but I was married and he always seemed to have a different girl every two weeks. One night while his girlfriend of two weeks was out of town and we were working late, we fooled around at work. Well, oral sex. Our relationship was just that for well over a year.

 

When one of us would work late, the other would make up an excuse like having to write an employee appraisal or something so we could be together. We never actually had intercourse but our other activities along with no encounters outside of work kept us friends. While many would consider this behavior disappointing, we were both exempt and therefore weren’t on the clock. It was actually beneficial to the employee who was getting his review written as we were was always in a hurry to complete the task at hand and in a better mood knowing what was going to happen.

 

 33 Noah

 

Gelcotrop does not recognize and reward the right people for innovations. Take the matter of one employee who was probably the most intelligent person that I ever met while working for the company. Back in the early 1990’s, he proposed and submitted details for an on-line system allowing Customers to electronically obtain details of their billing statements and generate any questions they might have about their accounts. The then infant Internet or direct link was the path of choice by this individual. The company chose to go with an online service. What does the company have today? An Internet site with the same capabilities as proposed by this employee. This employee as attempted to create company run system for the international customers. What does the company now have on its Web page? Basically the same thing. It’s simple. If you are of high intelligence and have the desire to make improvements both big and small, Gelcotrop is not the place for you. It also doesn’t say much for the company’s commitment to its customers or shareholders.

 

 34 Stephanie

 

Total Quality Management. Just like Teams. Just like the Special Values. Good concepts on paper. They don’t really exist at most of Gelcotrop but we will continue to pretend they do. It’s the people in management, Stupid. Sure is a good thing most shareholders and customers don’t really know the company’s inner workings.

 

 35 Mark

 

Several years ago, my office implemented a program called, Becoming The Best Place To Work. I’m no rocket scientist but doesn’t the word ‘becoming’ indicate some type of action or imply that eventually it would be the best place to work? If I remember correctly, we may have gotten T-shirts out of the deal. We also did get pencils. How could I forget? I remember now that a coworker immediately broke her pencil into four pieces and taped it too her cubicle.

 

 36 Christian

 

One of the worst managers I ever met didn’t care about facts at all. Right or wrong, his perception was what counted. He said that he was under no obligation to seek out the truth. Even when the truth was found out, any previous decisions stood because how could he admit to being wrong? While he is no longer with the company, people still talk about what an asshole he was and how many promising careers he ruined by his bad mouthing employees and making sure any attempts to get promoted were blocked.

 

 37 Sheila

 

The problem with Gelcotrop is there is no commitment for people to do their jobs. Most of the review process is based on your boss’ integrity. A good employee may get a bad review and a bad employee may get a good review. How hard is it to follow the damn rules and give the correct performance appraisal? This job puts food on your table and a roof over your head. If you don’t want to do your job correctly then leave.

 

 38 Marv

 

Every year we are supposed to take surveys on the health of the franchise. The results are always horrible and yet nothing changes. Does the upper brass not care or just think we are a bunch of crybabies? How many years must this go on before anything is changed? Anybody who cannot see a correlation between the treatment of the employees and quality of service provided to our customers and shareholders must be retarded. Is our CEO’s name Frank Lee or Harvey Gump? Or is it that he doesn’t care?

 

 39 Nancy

 

Recently, all Customer Service claims were transferred to this office during a very large consolidation effort. During the reorganization, which didn’t go smooth at all, many of our Customer investigations exceeded the ILTD (Fair Credit Billing Act) time frames. We are told by our management that if we exceed these time frames, the government can charge us $10,000 per incident and the Customer can take us to court for an unspecified dollar amount. Although the government will never fine us, we are talking about many millions of dollars of potential exposure. This whole migration was poorly planned and poorly managed.

 

 40 Kent

 

I know a few people who worked in a now defunct Customer Service department. A few years ago, some of their function was being transferred to a different site. They were, however, supposed to handle any existing inventory. They handled those Customer claims in a unique way. They closed out the inquiries and sent the Customers a letter saying the new customer service department would assist them. This violated federal law and I think there is suppose to be a large fine not to mention what the customers must have thought.

 

 41 Kristin

 

In the last few years, Gelcotrop has laid off many employees. It happens. They did go many years without having to do it. The company had to change its policies on severance packages because of it. While jobs shifted around, I think the Madrid area of operations actually had a gain in the number of employees.

 

Most of those laid off had the option of taking a good severance package or receiving a similar job in a different area within the company. Far too many good people have left having been disgusted with the company and its management. Instead of dealing with the cause of why so many people wanted to leave, the company changed the policies to enable future dislocated workers to be ‘placed’ in similar jobs instead of being able to wait for their jobs to leave and then collect the money.

 

 42 Jeff

 

While it has never happened to me, the practice of giving bad performance appraisals regardless of job performance is alarming. Likewise, excellent ratings are given with no rhyme or reason. The message sent is clear. Kiss up. Don’t make waves. Don’t demonstrate intelligence beyond your current function as you do not want to intimidate those above you. Do your job and nothing else.

 

 43 Valerie

 

I was once pursued by a manager. I felt uncomfortable about it but eventually gave in to her pressures. After several times of being with her sexually, I had to break it off. Afterwards, she turned vicious. Not wanting to lose my job, I gave in a few more times. She acted like she owned me. How could I file a complaint admitting to having had lesbian sex? She was a manager who had been employed for years and I was just an employee. She was married with children and I was single. I eventually left and went to work for a good company where not only did I never have any more problems with unwanted sexual advances but employees are actually treated as human beings.

 

 44 Stephan

 

If Gelcotrop ever did go to a drug-free workplace, I think the number of management-level people who would test positive, would be embarrassing. I know those highest up think only the younger and lowest paid employees are doing it since they are in a different socio-economic class. It’s leadership by example. Why should the lowest paid employees do anything different? Then again, If they did institute a drug-free workplace and given their past record, I am sure their would be different penalties based on your position within the company.

 

 45 Bill

 

After my divorce, I started hanging out with the employees under me. They were mostly unattached and younger. While I never had sex with any of them, we did party pretty hard for a couple of years. Drinking and what not till 3 or 4 A.M. and then going to work at 7 A.M. did not make for bright-eyed and bushy-tailed workers. Fortunately, my boss never cared much as the expectations were so low we could cover up the fact that not much work was being done. Every now and then, we would just invite him to party with us.

 

 46 EllieMay

 

The company in their never-ending pursuit of trying to con the employees into believing what the see every day is not true is always coming up with cheerleader programs to tell how good things really are. They take buzzwords and other pro environment words and change the definition to fit their needs. Their definition of the word Meritocracy would certainly earn an incorrect mark on any 5th grader’s vocabulary test.

 

 47 Iris

 

One of the most interesting programs that I ever experienced at Gelcotrop was called Putting People First. All employees of the X division were sent. It was your typical corporate attempt at changing the workplace for the better. The great thing was that many of us got to travel to attend the two-day seminars in other cities. It was fun and we all returned to work thinking an evolution would be forthcoming. Other than the buzzwords being used, nothing actually changed. About a year later they had the first, and I think only, in-house follow up session for my department. The topic was Integrity. It didn’t help when the two Supervisors conducting the class were known to have no personal integrity at all. We had all pretty much given up on the program by that point but that session was the nails in the coffin.

 

Years later, we had Team building which pretty much ended in the same fashion for most areas. Why shouldn’t it have? It had the same problems. Great idea, but no enforcement with a management who couldn’t or wouldn’t understand how it could improve the workplace. Teams did actually develop in some areas but with all of the reorganizations taking place, it is a dead issue. It seems Gelcotrop management will always rise to the lowest standards possible.

 

 48 Patricia

 

We keep a lot of information on microfiche. Given the volume of charges processed, it is one of the only ways to store all of the information. One time a month’s worth of fiche for airline charges was missing. Instead of spending $500 of the department’s resources to pay for the replacement, it was decided to just write off any charges questioned by Customers when the needed information could only be found on the missing fiche.

 

The figure for the write offs I heard was about $40,000. It seems there was no money in the materials fund for the department to order the replacement fiche but the write off fund could accommodate the problem. When it’s someone else’s money, some people just don’t care how they spend it.

 

 49 Stella

 

When we get behind in matching our letter with the correspondence, we simply throw them out and start fresh. So what if a few merchants are billed incorrectly. I think if management wanted to improve this problem they would either hire more employees or improve the process.

 

 50 Rick

 

If the Three Stooges were living today and still making pictures, they would be cast as management at Gelcotrop.

 

 51 Stuart

 

The workplace is filled with apathy. The employees get it from their management and pass it along when they deal with the customers. Our customers must be apathetic as well since they stick around. If Gelcotrop closed its doors tomorrow, who would care? Customers would get their services elsewhere and the employees would go work for the competition. Unfortunately, the competition would hire the bad with the good and the whole cycle would repeat itself.

 

 52 Francis

 

One supervisor I had was a racist. She was Hispanic and would only help promote other Hispanics. Her reputation was legendary for this and also being a troublemaker. The non-Hispanics in her group would have to do more work while the Hispanics would get to socialize and have extended lunches and breaks. If this had been the only experience I had ever had with Hispanics, I would hate them all. Fortunately, it wasn’t. Trash comes in all forms.

 

 53 Wilma

 

Things are bad. We cannot even discuss the issues freely because we know the little pets will spy and run to management. The puppies are then patted on the head and often promoted or given special assignments to make them look good. I really thought this would be a professional workplace.

 

 54 Lawrence

 

What do Madonna, George and Barbara Bush, most of the Jackson clan, and many other well-known celebrities have in common? They all use Gelcotrop products or did at one time. The information has also been circulated and reviewed by employees for no other reason than curiosity. Print outs have even been taken outside of the building for who knows what purposes. Policy prohibits these actions but no one seems to care. Unless a special block is put in to only allow certain people to look up their account, celebrities are providing personal information, including addresses and telephone numbers, to those who probably have no reason to have them. It’s ironic since they probably chose Gelcotrop because of its perceived reputation.

 

 55 River

 

Reverse discrimination exists at Gelcotrop. Women rule. Forget the glass ceiling. Women can say and do whatever they want without fear of reprisal. One man I worked for complained to Human resources and was told, "You’re a big boy. You can handle it." That was it. End of discussion.

 

 56 Louis

 

Human Resources has always been a joke as a resource for employees faced with many issues. Even when clear evidence is provided about mistreatment, HR usually doesn’t try to fix the problem but rather ensures the employees to drop the matter. One HR manager used to tell people, "Before you anger someone higher up, you have to ask your self, ‘Is this brain surgery?’ It has to be that important. Otherwise you probably should not pursue the matter."

 

 57 Ralph

 

We did the Team building thing. We met every week or so with someone in management supposedly educated enough to be our trainer. After several months, it was obvious that all the training for us would not affect the attitude of management and therefore no change in the workplace would take place. We blamed management for the majority of the issues. The trainer disagreed. When asked who then was responsible, she could not reply. At least where I worked, the attempt was a lie and then later more lies were used to cover up why the effort was not successful.

 

 58 Tina

 

I was a friend with someone in a different department who was a Supervisor. When I became a supervisor and reported to the same department, our friendship ended within a year. The way she would go out of her way to mess with her people was bad. She always went for the weaker ones who would cry instead of fight. I inquired why she would do this and she said that it was fun and they were undesirables so no one cared. Someone I thought was such a nice person ended up being something quite different. After my required year in the position, I posted out and with the exception of the occasional small talk, if we see each other in the hall, we don’t socialize.

 

 59 Christina

 

I once caught two supervisors in the supply closet. They had been going out for about a year so this wasn’t another common case of adultery. Her skirt was hiked up and he was performing oral sex on her. They knew that I saw but nothing was ever said by them or me about it. They eventually got married. I guess they were just looking for an adventure.

 

 60 Gloria

 

Why do employees go to jail when caught stealing but those in management are just fired? Right or wrong, the employee’s life is ruined. Those in management just walk across the street and get a job elsewhere. Since Gelcotrop does not release the reason why employment was terminated, those in management can just say that they were looking for a change. I’m sure that’s how we get some of the trash we have here.

 

 61 Rosie

 

Technologically speaking, in some ways Gelcotrop is ahead of the competition but in other ways it lags behind. In many areas, Supervisors just recently received PC’s on their desks. Sure not many of them know really how to utilize them but it is a start.

 

Last I heard, despite a fix being available seven years ago to automate the process, the sending of inquiries to its foreign centers are still keyed in manually. The reason why the process was not automated was a result of poor management.

 

First, seven years ago, or more, a director killed the fix because on the final day of getting signature approval it was the employee who created the fix who approached him, not one of his management staff. The day happened to be when all of those in management under the director were at an off-site meeting making it impossible to have any of them walk the forms to the director for his signature. Later, the project was resurrected only to have it killed when a consolidation effort was to take place in the immediate future and the problem would no longer affect the department who had been working on the fix. And they tell the employees to ‘Own the Problems’.

 

 62 Calvin

 

I remember being in a Let’s Talk lunch. These lunches are employees breaking bread with management with the pretense of allowing a relaxed and open forum to air areas of concern. Excuses for identified issues, apathy, or broken promises from the management-level person conducting the meetings are usually the result.

 

One particular luncheon had who I think was a director from Human Resources. The topic of incompetent leadership at the supervisor level was brought up by one of the employees. The complaint was voiced that many of the supervisors did not even know the job function of the people under them and they therefore could not answer questions or understand the needs of their employees. This director from Human Resources said that the supervisors did not need to have an understanding of the job functions they were over in order to successfully supervise their people. When the employee pressed on about how they were also abusive, the director replied, "What would you have us do? Fire them? We must allow these supervisors to make mistakes." What an attitude. Don’t fix the problem. Ignore it. As you can guess, we are very proud of our management and Human Resources departments.

 

 63 Gwen

 

I like my job a lot. I receive very good reviews for a job well done. It’s the bullshit that gets to you. I come in every day and do my job. Why is it so hard for most of the supervisors and above to do the same? I have to follow rules or could get into trouble. They have rules but don’t seem to have to follow them.

 

 64 Shelley

 

Here is a clue. A college degree doesn’t really seem to have any bearing on how well one can manage a group of people. Trash is trash, ‘educated’ or not. The worst person I ever met was educated with a major in relationships. Unfortunately, she used this to act superior and label those who would challenge her. Once labeled as this type of personality or that type of individual, she easily could ignore everything they said.

 

On the other side of the coin, I have met very intelligent people who simply never received a college degree. These people did more, had a better understanding of the business, and were clearly leaders to all but those who felt threatened. Label them troublemakers to negate them and the fear is gone.

 

 65 Clem

 

I used to work 3rd shift. We used to get high at lunch or breaks or whenever we felt like it. We just went outside to supposedly move our cars. If it were cold out or we didn’t want to make the effort, we would just light up in the bathroom and blow the smoke into one of the vents. Hell, the manager used to drink in his office. He didn’t care as long as we weren’t too obvious. He had his drug and we had ours.

 

 66 Susan

 

We were all happy to get an Ombudsperson. Think of the possibilities. This guy was going to be independent of any politics. We had a neutral party to go to when management was unjust. Then we woke up.

 

The old Human Resources was a bad enough lie. At least they took action, although it was usually a form of punishment to the employee, unless threatened with a lawsuit. This guy, our Ombudsperson, is either scared of losing his jobs so doesn’t make waves or is about as lazy as one man can get. I know of about 10 people who have sought his participation to resolve conflicts. Each and every they were brushed off.

 

 67 Gabriel

 

Why is it that employees get into trouble for being late from a break or lunch by only a few minutes but supervisors don’t. It is not uncommon to see supervisors disappear for hours to go shopping, eating (not business lunches), or in the smoke area. They are not doing anything work related during these times. It’s easy for them. They get behind and then just delegate their responsibilities to us or simply let the work pile up. Don’t they get paid more to do a higher function? I have even seen occasions when supervisors will show up to work two hours late, 45 minutes later disappear for a couple of hours, and then leave for home an hour later. They then gripe about how overworked they are.

 

I say we should get people in here who will do their jobs. How is this putting the needs of the customers and shareholders first?

 

 68 Alex

 

I worked for Gelcotrop for five years. It was the first real job that I had. When I moved to a different city, I thought I’d just do the temporary job thing for awhile. Assignment after assignment and every company had good work environments. People acted professionally and courteously towards each other and towards the job at hand. Had I stayed with Gelcotrop for life, I would have retired thinking all companies have the same problems. It is probably hard for most people at Gelcotrop who have not had jobs in other major corporations to understand how nice it is to have politics be far in the background, instead of being the main course.

 

 69 Luke

 

Employee sleeps with manager to become a supervisor. She then sleeps with a vice-president to become a manager. She obviously has special skills. I just don’t know how these skills help the company. The funny thing is she is still there and the guys are gone.

 

 70 Nicholas

 

I follow the rules and do my job to the best of my ability. Others don’t. It seems when others do things wrong like socializing and too many personal phone calls, they are not confronted on a case by case basis. Instead, a crack down is placed on everyone instead of just the guilty.

 

 

 

71 Jamie

 

This happened many years ago. We had a Sr. Vice President in charge of several thousand employees. He was very high up on the food chain. The guy did keep track of his business. Every morning he would read the reports from the many departments below him. On at least one occasion, he did not like a department’s report. He went outside of the manager’s office and quite loudly in a high pitched voice repeatedly called out his name. It was kind of like a bully asking a smaller kid to come out and play. I guess reading this you can’t get the nuances but it was pretty pathetic.

 

 72 Dustin

 

I grew up in what would be called a rough neighborhood. Many of those I went to high school with are in jail, have been in jail, or are now dead. Whether it was some type of theft, drugs, or violent crimes, they would be considered the dregs of society. I miss hanging out with them. At least if they robbed or killed someone it was quick.

 

Here, in the white-collar society, it is a slow painful death or robbery. Futures stolen and dignity taken, leaving people with little reasons to hold their heads high. They haven’t hurt me but some of these leaders sure have done a lot of damage to others. No one deserves such treatment. I don’t know why these so-called civilized people are allowed to do this or why they are still in their positions. In some areas, this type of trash might be a minority but one of them is still one too much.

 

 73 Emma

 

When I was younger, I smoked pot, did coke, and had sex in the office or on the property. Obviously, not too often. Label me a bad employee, if you want. At least I didn’t go out of my way at any point in time to make people feel completely worthless. Not that I have had the opportunity. I’m not in management.

 

 74 Johann

 

What bothers me the most is the lack of fairness. One example would be ILTD errors. Each violation is supposed to be a $10,000 fine. We never actually do receive a fine but its still considered to be a big issue. A violation is a violation. We all know the rules. Why then are some of these violations overlooked depending on who makes them?

 

 75 Arnold

 

We had a new trainee. Nice enough guy who tried his best to learn a complex job. We will never know if he really could have handled the job. The supervisor took a dislike to him and rode him hard. She made up errors that wouldn’t have been errors for others and allowed only one-fifth of the normal training assistance for him. He did confront her about the situation. She just smiled and told him that he could be fired or go back to the department he came.

 

 76 Beavis

 

(This is similar to that of number 75 from Arnold but the additional information received indicates it was not the same Supervisor or employee).

 

One of our clerks posted for a Customer Service Rep position. The Teamleader went out of her way to make sure errors not normally considered errors were given to him. She made things up as she went along so he couldn’t make the cut. It finally became an HR issue so, of course, he lost. Last I heard, he is still a clerical having had to return to his previous position. She was promoted to manager.

 

 77 Audrey

 

I was a very good employee. I was asked to be part of a new unit for a specialized product. While the rest of the members of the new unit were in training I was responsible for setting up the workflows and trying to manage the workload of four people. Everything was going fine. The supervisor seemed to understand the work would back up until we could get our additional staffing. Then one day she came up with an idea that violated internal policy for handling the work and would cause a serious rift in the relationship with the other departments we would have to be working with. I told her that she was wrong.

 

Her whole attitude at that moment changed. She then held me accountable for all the work that was done because of the inadequate staffing. I had scheduled a day off which she approved. The day following my day off, she claimed I had never scheduled it. She badmouthed me to the rest of the supervisors as being a troublemaker and dishonest. She then tried to write me up for taking a day off without permission.

 

I finally had to go to my manager. He said that in the interest of ‘fair play’ he would take my position on the scheduled day off but keep his eye on me and my performance appraisal would reflect me not keeping up with the work.

 

Years later, he was fired for integrity reasons and she went to another job and was demoted because of integrity and performance issues. I’ll admit there was a certain sense of satisfaction but it’s not like the company would ever admit that they could have been wrong in my case. That’s how it is at Gelcotrop. Even when management is found to be trash, those in charge never go back to consider correcting anything these people may have done in the past.

 

 78 Daria

 

Gelcotrop made me feel like a resource only to be used up. I developed tendenitis as a result of my job function. I went to the doctor, did everything that I was suppose to and still continued my load at an above-average level since no adjustment for my workload was given. When the doctor said that it was my present position or my arm, I went to HR.

 

After a couple of months of dealing with their staff, I was scheduled to meet with them and they implied it would be for my exit interview. Fortunately, another employee with the same condition had hired a lawyer and met with HR the day before my appointment. The Workers with Disabilities Act had recently past and the company had to change their position. I was allowed to leave on medical disability so I could get better. The insurance company they dealt with gave me an option, have surgery that would weaken my arm permanently with no guarantee for success or loose my benefits. To feed my child, I took the surgery option. A few months later I just went in and quit. I was so disgusted with them at that point, I couldn’t stand having the company in any part of my life.

 

 79 Roger

 

We need to make the work environment fun. We could give everyone IQ tests. Then when the average results for supervisors was shown to be less than most of the people they manage, the employees could have fun with the information. Upon receiving the results, the company would probably take a position that lower-than-average intelligence shouldn’t make a difference in one’s ability to manage a group. Blah. Blah. Blah.

 

 80 Phillip

 

Many supervisors and managers seem to always be on the telephone for personal reasons. That’s O.K. It’s acceptable behavior, regardless of what they are getting paid for by the company. Not! What is even worse is that they can then (and sometimes do) write up an employee for having just a few personal phone calls. Of course, it is only those they don’t like who are somehow identified as being guilty.

 

 81 Ned

 

Average money. Good benefits. Good work hours. A job must be done. That’s all it should be. Gelcotrop could be an A company. After all of the propaganda is removed, it is probably a D company to work at for many people. Obviously, Frank Lee thinks it’s an A company because he cares not to listen to the employees. He could fix most of the problems, end up with a company more profitable, and yet he chooses not to take action. We are all very proud of him.

 

 82 Annabell

 

I want to work for a company that has Special Values. Well, a company that follows them. Until I can find such a company, I guess Gelcotrop will have to do.

 

 83 Brenda

 

Employee makes mistake and it’s bad, they are punished. Management makes mistakes and seems to be rewarded. For being responsible for cover-ups and losing millions, what happened to the person in charge of the Icon Product? Wasn’t she promoted? It was just part of her learning process. What happened to those responsible for Wonder and CSY2k? They didn’t lose their jobs for losing hundreds of millions of dollars. I think that our priorities and definitions of what is right and what is wrong are just a little messed up.

 

 84 Jax

 

I work in the customer service department. While we are now getting things back under control from the migration, what about the ILTD violations. Are these for real? I understand we must try to resolve our claims within given timeframes and I wouldn’t want it any different. Do we really get fined $10,000 for each time we don’t resolve a case within these timeframes? While its better now, it seems the last two years would have bankrupted the company. The worst part is that it was mostly avoidable. A little common sense during the migration would have helped.

 

 85 Dorothy

 

A long time ago, we used to have an employee who would make obscene phone calls to different ladies in the building. This was back before the phones would display the number of whom called. He would just sit at his desk and call them. He was caught and did get help. Not sure what ever happened to him.

 

 86 Lucy

 

This whole sexual harassment thing has gotten out of hand. The rules are good to help the victims but too many people use it for their own means. One Teamleader was seen joking around with a friend. The conversation did have a sexual content. The two had been friends for many years. Friends nothing else. Two women who did not like him, but liked to cause trouble overheard the conversation. Never mind they had said similar things or worse in the past themselves, they filed a complaint. The supervisor was moved to a different building and was practically labeled a sex offender. The female friend who adamantly denied the supervisor had made her feel uncomfortable was left looking like a tramp. The two women who filed the complaint are still causing trouble. Be careful what you say and who overhears.

 

 87 Lilly

 

There was a manager once from Nantucket. No, just kidding. There was a manager of a department that probably would have received votes for the most screwed up place at Gelcotrop. Backlogs, poor moral, bad management, and a very inefficient work process were obvious to most. When he would interview people for positions, he would tell them that the department was in the best shape it ever could be. If an idea was out there he had tried it, and he wasn’t looking for anyone who would want to try to ‘improve’ things. He later quit when pressed with a sexual harassment problem and most likely walked across the street to a higher paying job and to infect a new office since he had all of this ‘experience’ with Gelcotrop. Come to think of it that might be part of a great plan. We can ship all of our losers to other companies. Maybe upper management is smarter than we think. Then again, it looks like other companies have thought of this first. How else could you explain some of our people.

 

 88 Justine

 

I am relatively new to the company. I was hired from another company into management. Within weeks of starting, we had a leadership conference. I was shocked to see my new peers’ attitude about having to attend. They were all complaining days before about what a waste of time it was. More shocking was the propositions that I received from some of my female peers.

 

I’m married and the thought of fooling around is not one that I take seriously. These women would walk up and give me their phone numbers and tell me to call them for drinks or a long lunch. Flattering to some degree but I can’t believe some of these women. All who approached me were married. Later, someone explained it to me that I was just the new meat and most of this would dwindle after a few months. It did.

 

 89 Randolph

 

Good thing we have had a lot of new hires in the last couple of years. Otherwise, the employee survey results would be worse. The young and new are still naive, optimistic and believe the propaganda. I was that way 15 years ago. I thought those around me had serious attitude problems. Older and wiser, I can now look back and understand their frustrations.

 

 90 Kip

 

There is a guy that works here that is straight. Someone once got his Gelcotrop account number, ordered flowers to a gay man in another department and, of course, signed a loving card with the employee’s name. I believe they made sure to have it delivered when the recipient wasn’t there so people could read the card. I am not really sure about that. The same person who ordered the flowers also had an ad placed in the local free newspaper under the category Man Seeking Man. The words described this guy in such detail that even before the flowers were sent, people were wondering about his sexual preferences. This ad was also billed to his Gelcotrop Card account. They eventually caught the person by reviewing who had accessed his account and doing a little legwork.

 

The worst part is they had to interview quite a number of employees since many had been going in and viewing this guys account. It was and still is common for employees to view their friends’, relatives’, and coworkers’ accounts just to see what they are charging. Celebrities receive no better treatment as employees who are curious constantly look at many of other people’s accounts.

 

 91 Jody

 

The jobs themselves are actually pretty good. They always say that we need to tell them what we need to do our tasks better and more efficiently. When we do tell them we don’t get what we need. The biggest problem I see is they are not able to understand our needs or they don’t care. It is no secret many in supervisors or management positions aren’t that smart and never having done our jobs, do not understand what is needed.

 

 92 Adolf

 

Every year the company has what they call the Chairman’s Award. Its designed goal is to reward those who have made a significant contribution to the company through better process implementations or similar actions. Since all entries have to go through your manager, it is not uncommon for the best concepts to be killed or not recognized for further advancement in the selection process if it is better than the pet projects of the manager or his cronies. It is not uncommon for complete flops to win. It is also not uncommon for those who initiated projects to be not included in the nominated teams. Yes, there are major integrity issues that need to be addressed. These issues not only affect the morale of the people but also ultimately decreases the amount of service to our customers and return to our shareholders.

 

 93 Edward

 

On the day that I was hired, my soon-to-be supervisor was with me in HR. She was upset because some of her people had questioned one of her decisions. Very angrily she said something like, "Who are they to question my decisions. They are only employees and I am the supervisor. I was trained for this job." Over the next two years, her attitude became even worse. She was eventually asked to leave because of her attitude and actions directed at her peers. She went to a different department. The manager was happy to get rid of her. Not happy enough to correct the damage she had done to her people caused by giving unfair and undeserved bad reviews, the bad mouthing of the employees to other supervisors who may have interviewed them, etc. No, she was capable in her leadership skills to be on target there.

 

 94 Biff

 

I was a security guard back before they outsourced the position. Now and then I would get reports of ‘activity’ in the men’s rooms. It’s a good indication when you see two pairs of legs in one stall. Sometimes both pairs weren’t facing the same way. I was cool about it. It would just have my radio makes some noise to scare them. They would wait for me to leave and then get themselves together and take off. I didn’t take names or anything like that. I didn’t care to catch them in the act.

 

 95 Loren

 

We used to take extended lunches and drink. I can admit that we were just a little buzzed when we returned. The Customers who would call probably just thought we were incompetent or something. Well, we were for awhile. When we got a new supervisor, we had to quit. It was probably for the best, although others still do it.

 

 96 Joy

 

I had a friend who’s boyfriend also worked at Gelcotrop. On a few occasions they would slip away to a deserted meeting room, lock the door, and she would perform oral sex on him. I know they did this at least five times. I asked why and she replied that it was exciting to do it in the office.

 

 97 Lorna

 

One manager was in heat over one of the vendor’s rep. She deliberately kept him around doing things that were not necessary. She did get caught and I haven’t seen her for awhile. Those vendors aren’t cheap. Her flirting probably cost the company about $40,000 not to mention her lack of productivity when her attentions were diverted. Most of her staff at the time actually preferred her lack of attention as fewer things got messed up. Depending on how you look at it, the money wasted may be an outrage to some but money well spent to others.

 

 98 Lora

 

My supervisor is a college graduate. She is also one of the most unintelligent people that I have ever met. She was hired out of college with no real experience because she had a degree. By her getting the position, qualified people without degrees were passed by. Those who hired her, while seemingly a little more intelligent, wanted someone with a degree like them to perpetuate the great myth.

 

 99 Buffy

 

You could damn near walk on water but if management says shit about you, you’ll drown. It’s not like escaping to another area is easy. Supervisors and managers talk to each other when you post or interview for a job. Unless the future would-be supervisor knows your current supervisor is trash, who will they listen to? If they don’t know the other supervisor, whom will they believe? The employee or the person in the higher position?

 

 100 Melvin

 

The Fair Trade Commission must be lazy, in Gelcotrop’ pocket, or sleeping with Frank Lee. How else can the government jump all over Microsoft with such gusto (warranted for sure) and ignore all of the ILTD violations incurred during the different migrations? Management can blame the employees for the violations but it was poor planning and decision making that caused them. Give both credit and blame where they belong.

 

 101 Brent

 

I know a few other people who are writing in about management. The whole situation reminds me of when I was young living in California during a drought. Water conservation was a way of life. In the same way, Gelcotrop is very conservative. What they forget most of the time is that eventually you must flush the toilet.

 

 102 Alexis

 

We have Trust and Confidence in our Leaders. It must be true, that’s what all those signs say. I guess it took less energy to make signs and slogans than it did to make the statement a reality.

 

 103 Jerry

 

I’m on the phone a lot and my job really requires little interaction with management or even my coworkers. It sure would make it easier if Marketing would make more honest commercials. No hassle orders? While technically true, we call enough customers to the phone in order to verify funds in their checking account and shut them down, regardless of if they are current, when they are charging more than usual. That has to be done to ensure there isn’t fraud or that we will get our money. That’s O.K. I just hate having the customers getting all pissed off because they got the card because there was ‘No Hassle Orders’.

 

 104 Jimbo

 

The whole performance appraisal system is screwed up. We have standards in writing but that doesn’t seem to matter. Despite what the statistics may say, supervisor pets walk away with better than deserved reviews. How is this done? The supervisors falsify records. All anyone would have to do is pull the files on the employees and see how the information on their reviews differs from what is on their monthly stats. Better reviews mean better chances for promotion. How do we have the best people in management when those who don’t deserve the better reviews move ahead. Let’s not forget about the scum giving the better than deserved reviews.

 

 105 Janice

 

The whole world watched during the 1980’s when the Soviet Union had Glasnost and Perestroika. We wanted the same reforms but never got them. Of course, the internal problems fueled by these reforms helped the Soviet Union crumble. Our management must share the same fears. What they don’t understand is that without reform, we will crumble.

 

 106 Sevilla

 

I’ve been with the company for 20 years. In Madrid, when the operations was smaller, things were better. Sure, we had some in management that were incompetent but the ratio was much better than now. We also had more of a sense of teamwork (long before Teams). As we grew at a very rapid pace, many mistakes were made in regards to promotions. Gelcotrop should be studied by those companies in a similar situations now, one of incredible growth. It would definitely prove beneficial to those companies who want to retain the strong sense of professionalism they may currently enjoy at their smaller sizes.

 

 107 Jerrad

 

I want a job as an internal auditor. They go from center to center auditing all aspects of the work. Great lodging, great hours, good expense account. You would think with all of the efforts that we would have less exposure to fines from the FTC, customers, and shareholders.

 

 108 Justin

 

Along with most other stocks, ours has done pretty well lately. We often joke about how it would drop like a rock, if the public ever knew about the mismanagement and waste that goes on here. When the stock hits the skids, someone else could step in and buy the company. Would conditions still be the same if it were called GE GELCOTROP? Even though they would be buying it at a fire-sale price, I would think the new owners would fix most of the problems for a greater return on their shareholders investment.

 

 109 Marcia

 

The creator of Dilbert does not work at Gelcotrop. He must have, however, worked at a company very similar in the past.

 

 110 Cindy

 

There was no overthrow of the previous management. Why is it then that we should have so many ‘pigs in pants’ at our little GELCOTROP farm?

 

 111 Lucia

 

We had two supervisors who wanted to give their friend a very good review. Not that the manager who had to approve the review was a shining example of integrity, but she refused to honor their request. After the manager had signed off on the review for the more appropriate rating, the two supervisors went and changed its rating and then submitted it to Human Resources. The manager was understandably upset and took the matter up with Human Resources to see what type of disciplinary actions could be brought against these two supervisors who had clearly violated so many policies and the company’s code of conduct.

 

Nothing happened to the two supervisors as Human Resources felt they had made an independent executive decision. Huh? The employee kept the higher rating. The manager was still upset but could do nothing. In another situation, an employee could be fired for signing in a minute later than they actually arrived. It’s all about integrity. You either have it or you don’t. As a whole, our organization doesn’t. It is clear in examples such as this. It is demonstrated how we deal with the concerns of our customers and shareholders.

 

 112 Harvey

 

The local psychologists call this place Bad Place. Shouldn’t people be able to come to work and do their jobs without this much bullshit? To all of those people who know employees and think they are just whining. I have just two words for you. Believe them.

 

 113 Freddy

 

I’ve had oral sex performed on me in the parking lot. Is that what you wanted to hear?

 

 115 Scooter

 

Many in management (I must admit to being in the group) often wonder why we have no employee loyalty outside of the new hires. Most don’t treat their employees with dignity and respect and they get the same in return. They feel their position alone should automatically demand loyalty from their people. The definition of what is a good leader is so skewed here that I don’t ever see a change for the better. My peers are always telling me that I am too soft with my people. I have the best performing group in my area. What is my secret? Get the best people you can and retain them by treating them right. Treat them like adults. Treat them like a valuable resource. That’s my secret. Why should this be considered an almost alien concept?

 

 116 Marci

 

I worked at Gelcotrop in the Human Resources department while I attended college. After graduating, I chose another company to begin my career. It was the whole attitude and environment of that place that made me look elsewhere. In the last 3 years, I have seen nothing like the events that I witnessed during my time spent at Gelcotrop. The Human Resources personnel is void of any integrity. Some day an employee will bring a lawsuit for mistreatment. The company will, of course, settle before trial. They could never afford to have so many employees give testimony in open court. Perhaps then and only then will things change. Hopefully, when that happens, someone different will be at the helm. Someone who is actually willing to address the issues.

 

 117 Adam

 

What’s up with all the drug use in this place? I have never used illicit drugs but have been around enough to know the signs. Hell, I don’t have to know the signs. Those who use them here almost brad about it.

 

 118 Anastasia

 

The company could save a lot of money by just ending these damn employee surveys. We have the big one annually. We have smaller ones throughout the year. If no one is going to act on the feedback, why have the surveys? They would be easier to just create bogus numbers and not act on them.

 

 119 Dion

 

Being an employee means that I am automatically linked to the company’s stock. My 401K is heavily dependent on what the public thinks about the company. I am afraid that by telling all of the stories I could, the public would find out and the stock would be worthless. I want to tell in hopes reform could be brought but what do we do during the plunge in stock value and the rebuilding? Although apathy or a sense of hopelessness may cause a lot of people here not to respond, I think others may share my fears. It a Catch-22.

 

 120 Allen

 

Ask the company for the number of employees who chose not to find other positions within the company when their jobs were displaced? Kind of says it all right there.

 

 121 Lidia

 

What about the large reorganization that took place over the last few years? The Wall Street Journal reports that it is going to happen before the company can settle on a plan. The company panics and hastily throws together a plan and then dispatches some top brass to deliver the news. Honestly, moving all of the customer service positions to the Florida center, which was known for years to be the least competent of any center in the US, was just too much. You should also be asking Gelcotrop customers if they have seen a noticeable decrease in the amount of service being received.

 

I know, first hand, there were many ILTD violations that occurred during the reorganization. Ask the customers if they had mishandled claims or ones that took longer than expected. If the customers took action, they could win lawsuits and have Gelcotrop fined for each occurrence. Why would a good management team put themselves in this kind of position.

 

 122 Beth

 

Gelcotrop has great products and is often the leader in new ideas trying to stay one step ahead of the competition. They have to or die. There really is no real purposes for the company’s existence, given its rivals offer much of the same products. Those who follow a close second can achieve the same results at much less expense. Like Kodak with its new film system, they must try to create markets, regardless if the need for one exists. Once they fail to continue these creations, they will wither and die. Why then would they not want to operate at maximum efficiency?

 

 123 Simon

 

Many employees have been responsible for some great ideas at Gelcotrop. Many above try to call the ideas their own. This is no secret. When they can’t call the ideas their own, they can kill the project only to bring it back after some time has passed and announce to everyone what a great solution they have come up with on their own. This is our leadership. This is who we are. We are Gelcotrop.

 

 124 Adrian

 

We have Business Analysts who don’t even know Microsoft Excel even though it was a requirement for the position. Some of these Business Analysts were selected because they were friends of the manager or above. It may just be the best job here. You can drag a project on forever, find someone to do your work, accomplish nothing, look down on those who deserved your promotion, and take 3 hour lunches. No wonder nothing gets done here. What we need is some type of skill testing to determine who should enter these positions and who should keep them. Having them accountable for their performance or lack of it would also be nice.

 

 125 Eunice

 

I’m on the phone a lot so I don’t really have many interactions with my supervisor other than the staff meetings and performance reviews. What bothers me the most is some of the decisions that are made on a department or building-wide level. Some of these people don’t have the horse sense they were born with or were high when they came up with some of their ideas. If someone from the outside reviewed all of the decisions in the last five years, they would really be surprised.

 

 126 PeggySue

 

It’s like they make us lower our integrity. Many of our so-called ‘leaders’ have little or no personal integrity. Many have little intelligence. Many pick on employees just to be mean. They then tell us that we must have trust and confidence in our leaders. If we say otherwise, we get into trouble. The king is naked. Was that too much truth?

 

 127 SueAnn

 

After being here many years, I can honestly say that we are probably performing at only about 70% of our potential. I would like to see us gain the extra 30% before I retire and cash out my 401K but I just don’t see it happening.

 

 128 Rex

 

I was once in a bathroom stall minding my own business when someone came into the stall next to me. A couple of minutes later, I heard, ‘John, put it under the wall’. I said something like ‘What?’ Realizing that I wasn’t John, this guy got the heck out of there in a hurry. I couldn’t believe it. This happens here at work.

 

 129 Zell

 

I had one supervisor who was always going out, getting drunk, and having casual sex with many men. I’m not making a judgment on that. It was the day when she had her current ‘boyfriend’ come up to our floor to see where she worked that I do have a problem with. She was walking down the aisle with her arm around him and her hand was in his back pocket. She was grabbing his ass right in front of her peers and even in front of a few managers. What class.

 

 130 Darnelle

 

I like to work for a company whose management, as a whole is good. Until I find one, I’ll continue to work at Gelcotrop.

 

 131 Juan

 

It’s no secret on how to move up the ranks. Do a mediocre job. Display mediocre intelligence. Kiss Ass. Just ask (name deleted). He almost brags about it.

 

 132 Paulo

 

Here comes Mr.Lee. Look there’s Mr. Jones. They’re here to make an appearance. They’re here to talk to a group of employees. Too bad these groups are usually hand picked by our local management. Employees who will say how wonderful things are. Let’s not make any waves. The whole thing is a sham. We employees know it. Our local management knows it. Those at the top know it. What the hell is the point? Is it a game? ‘Hey, let’s see how many times we can insult everyone’s intelligence.’ Our top management comes to visit us because they care. Not!

 

 133 Shelby

 

I worked in one department where we had to complete our own quarterly appraisals. When they started the process, we had to do it for not the past three months but for the three months that had not yet occurred. That alone was stupid. What’s worse is we had to do them on our own time. As detailed as they were, it often took a few hours to complete. Mind you, we were hourly-wage employees. This violated labor laws and we questioned the practice. We were still told to do it on our own time.

 

After about a year of complaining that this practice violated labor laws, we were told we could take 45 minutes to complete the required task. People still had to take it home and complete the thing on their own time. In typical GELCOTROP fashion, we were told no instructions were ever given to have us do it on our own time. WE were in error and must not have understood.

 

 134 Maddy

 

It is like the movie Ben Hur. Just beat the drum faster, use the whip, and see how productive the employees can be. These people cut the staffing, don’t provide a better way to perform the functions, and then demand more from the employees. Some people have to stay and finish their work on their own time just to make acceptable levels of productivity. Management looks the other way, unless they don’t like the person. They then write the person up for staying past their time, if overtime has not been approved for them.

 

 135 Dixie

 

While not criminal, it should be. Just because someone has a higher paying job, this allows him or her to prevent others from advancement? I am talking about those who deserve it but can’t because they have been bad mouthed without cause other than the management individual was threatened or didn’t like the employee for some reason. This is theft of money, of a better way of life, and often happiness. Let’s not forget it’s also theft of services that could have been better if the correct people were in the right positions and theft from the shareholders who would receive better returns on their money if this was not allowed to happen. I say shame on those in Gelcotrop management like Frank Lee who knows about this and let it happen. I say shame on the institutional investor who can afford a lesser return for supporting this action by supporting the company and thereby hurting the smaller investors. We will boycott clothing and food products to protest problem areas elsewhere. Here in the U.S., we have big businesses helping each other extend the bad practices.

 

 136 Fredia

 

I am an employee in the GELCOTROP Travel division. One young agent seems to have the ability to come in when she pleases, leave when she pleases and make personal phone calls instead of working. Although it would be easy to assume some type of hanky panky was going on, I don’t think it is. Our Supervisor is afraid of confrontation, which allows this type of behavior and prevents many things from getting done. A nice person but definitely not what you would consider a leader.

 

 137 Gerrard

 

At least now we have embraced Diversity at Gelcotrop. The word ‘nigger’ isn’t used quite as often by some of our supervisors as it had in the past. They don’t think anything is wrong with the use of the word when it is directed towards white employees.

 

 

138 Ambrosia

 

Integrity is very strong at Gelcotrop. It permeates the entire work environment. Integrity means management never has to worry about being questioned. When you do, it is somehow your integrity that becomes in question.

 

 139 Ivory

 

I wish you the best of luck. You probably will not get the number of responses that are warranted. You are dealing with a group of employees who have been lied to many times over the years, have taken too many surveys which resulted in nothing, and have been treated bad. Most are afraid of reprisals, are without hope that anything will ever change, or are apathetic. A lot also think you may be a spy for the company.

 

 140 Shadow

 

When I worked at Gelcotrop years ago, I remember supervisors ruthlessly picking on people. In one department, I saw two different ladies crying at their desks during a one-week period. The supervisors then acted like the employees had emotional problems. Human Resources, of course, sided with the supervisors. Never mind the supervisors had track records of this type of abuse and the employees had never demonstrated any instability when working for previous supervisors.

 

 141 Arlo

 

I just heard the most unbelievable news. We are getting a new manager of Human Resources at this location. That’s believable. The person selected is widely known to be one of the most unstable individuals around. Anyone who knows her from years back remembers her psychotic episodes. Another fine example of a good management decision. She actually will fit the shoes of her predecessors just fine.

 

 142 JR

 

Have you heard of the six degrees of separation? It is something like we are all linked to everyone in the world within six people. Basically, if you know of someone who knows of someone who knows someone working at Gelcotrop and you have an account, everyone along the path probably can find out what you charge or your payment history by letting the request get to some Gelcotrop employees. I’ve seen it happen where an employee was looking up the account for a cousin because her friend asked about her sister’s ex-husband’s account.

 

 143 Horace

 

We once went out for lunch and consumed alcohol. This isn’t an uncommon practice by employees or management. When I returned to work, I was a little tipsy. While opening a box, I cut my hand pretty bad with the razor blade. I had to go to the nurse and then to the doctor. I never drank at lunch again. I can’t speak for the others.

 

 144 Gwen

 

It was a director’s birthday. He along with a manager and a couple of supervisors were all huddled in a small office. With everyone sitting, there was no room to walk around without touching anyone. A young girl was asked to come in to cut the birthday cake and serve the men. They were all checking her out as she made her way around the desk to serve them. She was encouraged by others to say something to Human Resources but she didn’t. She figured the blame would somehow be put on her. She knew it was wrong but in the work environment, what could she do?

 

 145 Alvin

 

Let me tell you about these people. It’s bad enough they took 1% of our potential amount for raises away to allow us to earn it back based on the performance of the department, now they have gotten just plain greedy. When we do receive our ‘bonuses’ now it isn’t given to us on our paycheck.

 

We get a Gelcotrop product that is akin to a prepaid phone card. The monetary value is the equivalent to the value of the bonus. Sounds like a good idea? Pretty innovative? Need that cash for some luxuries like rent or food? No problem, just go to an ATM and withdraw cash. Sure you’re hit with the ATM fee from both Gelcotrop and the bank but it’s only your money. You could also charge something at any merchant accepting the Card so Gelcotrop gets back 4% or so from the vendor. What do you do when the amount goes below the minimum ATM withdraw amount and you don’t have anything needed at a place that accepts Gelcotrop? Just leave the money in there till your next bonus comes along. Gelcotrop will be kind enough to make some interest on the money.

 

Most of us employees do not earn the big money and bonuses. We need our money. They have already cut the wage ranges. This is a clear case of Gelcotrop treating its employees with disrespect and a lack of dignity. The jerk that thought up the whole retarded idea probably got a bonus.

 

 146 Scooby

 

Gelcotrop sends their leaders to learn the difference between the words Motivation and Incentives. The leaders came back to tell explain the differences and that was it. Look at them, they are educated. They are just so clever. Regardless of whether or not the words do have technical different meanings is pointless. Who cares if now in their time-wasting meetings they say, ‘ How can we incent the workers?’ instead of "How can we motivate the workers?" Thank God someone high above is getting paid good money to make the hard choices on what to teach these people.

 

 147 Dummy

 

I had a supervisor who felt nothing of referring to some of her crew as dummies. Oh, she would never do it to their faces. She would just refer to them as dummies to her peers and those reporting to her. She even treated them as though they had no value, always brushing them off or disregarding any of their concerns before they had finished their first sentence. There were many integrity and ability complaints made on her but nothing happened. She was a supervisor and therefore must belong in her position.

 

 148 Jester

 

I work in the Accounts Receivable department. I call people for money when they don’t pay. I get along with my co-workers and offer suggestions for improvement but am here to collect money. Why then are my efforts for my assigned task only worth half of my total points on my appraisal? Sure, attendance is important which accounts for about 10%. The rest is graded on teamwork and initiative issues. I have initiative, which is why my numbers are so good. I’ve never had an identified issue with my peers.

 

Instead of trying to make good little Gelcotrop citizens out of us, they should be focusing on our jobs. To make matters worse, the teamwork and initiative categories are completely subjective based on your supervisor’s opinion. They’re the ones who failed at implementing teams, backbite each other, have no personal integrity, and (in most cases) don’t know how to do my job or theirs for that matter. Why can’t we just be allowed to do our jobs and have a leadership that knows how to assist us when needed? Is that really too much to ask for? Unfortunately, it probably is.

 

 149 Velma

 

I remember two instances where employees were caught taking files outside of the building. These were files with sensitive Customer information (i.e. account numbers, addresses, phone numbers, dispute information). I don’t know what they intended to do with these files. Most likely, they were items not worked correctly or at all and were meant to be destroyed.

 

One time, many of these folders were spotted in an employee’s car in the company’s parking lot. Security, management, and Human Resources were notified. It was decided nothing could be done as it was in the employee’s personal property and therefore not subject to search. This employee was then even promoted to a higher position.

 

The other time was when this woman was caught red-handed with files while walking out of the building. While management was being located to report the incident, the employee was left alone and allowed to put the files back on her desk. She just denied ever having done it and no action was taken as a lack of evidence. She was later promoted to a Supervisor position.

 

I seriously doubt these are the only two times this type of activity has taken place.

 

 150 Eileen

 

What is diversity? It has to have a meaning different than what we use. The definition seems to be always changing. First there were a few things we had to be aware of. We then had all these special interest groups formed for blacks, gays, and Hispanics. Of course, white and straight people are not allowed to have their own groups. Isn’t that alone anti-diversity? First allowing the creation of groups to exclude those not like them and then not allowing others to do the same. What ever happened to simply treating others with respect and dignity deserved based on their actions? The clout these groups now have only means an increase in promotions based on things other than qualifications.