Big Enough Umbrella

Saturday, 26 February 2005

Resignation

On Thursday, my supervisor came up to me and asked for my resignation letter. I guess they want to start the process for replacing me and couldn’t put in a requisition until they had formal notification from me that I was leaving. So I resisted all urges to put “So long suckers” and typed up a two line letter making it official. My last day of working will be March 31st.

I think it’s a good idea to remember what it is that I detest about my job so much. Maybe during my deepest darkest hours over in Bulgaria I can pull this entry up and recall why I have it so much better having left this place. I’ve been warned by multiple sources that there will be very acute ups and downs whilst I’m there. I think it’s good to know about before hand that way I can do things like this to try and prepare myself mentally for what lies ahead.

My day usually starts off with me running late (mostly due to my staying up late every night). I usually give myself 15-20 minutes from when I get out of bed until I’m pulling out of my driveway. The drive in is a 45 minute exercise in frustration with me doing my best to speed without getting caught and avoiding getting behind slow people. Since the vast majority of my drive is on a freeway, it’s pretty mind numbing.

I get to work in time to sign in on my phone before my 8:00 start time, but usually don’t really make myself available to take calls until 8:10 when I’m finally fully logged onto my computer. My computer seems to get progressively slower every day I’m at work. Once upon a time it was the newest one on the floor. The problem with that is that since all the other computers have since been replaced, it’s now the oldest on the floor. That in and of itself wouldn’t be bad if being the oldest didn’t make it over 4 years old. There’s things I know I could do to it to make it faster, but it’s a corporate computer and consequentially I can’t download any silly things like spyware protection.

I have six systems I use on a daily basis for work. Over the last year there’s been an increase in the powers that be forcing new passwords down my throat. Now it seems like I have to create a new one every 6 weeks or so. That’s probably one of my biggest pet peeves. On a day to day basis I usually end up having about 5 additional web browsers opened in addition to those other programs. One day my computer will just start smoking and I will be forced to chuck it across the floor.

The first hour is usually my favorite. The people I sit around usually end up talking about one of two things – either sports (football or baseball), or a television show from the previous night. Lately there’s a lot of talk about American Idol, Lost, The Apprentice, The Amazing Race, and The OC. On Friday’s breakfast is brought in by some of the LFS’s. This usually consists of bagels, which I tend to hate. Sometimes doughnuts or muffins are included.

My job is to talk to people (aka participants) who had 401k’s through a previous employer. I’m to explain options and tax consequences and send out paperwork as needed. I also sell IRA’s to those people who are interested and qualify. This is actually the major thrust of the department. Now, when properly motivated and in a good frame of mind I do a very good job of this. This is especially good considering that I get paid an commission based incentive on top of my base salary – so the more I sell the more I get paid. Unfortunately, in all honesty, I long ago burnt out on being on the phones.

Of course, there’s also a huge customer service aspect to this job. I check the status of distributions for people. I take overnight information, resend paperwork, and key distributions for those whose 401k’s offer verbal requests for distributions. Yes, after about 20 calls of customer service type issues – my mind tends to just go numb.

On busy days management will bring in lunches for us so that we can work without break. It’s a wonderful concept – getting a free lunch along with the hour of overtime. But when you’re already burned out the thought of being tied to your desk for an extra hour a day is it’s own special circle of hell. I also partially blame my weight gain over the past 5 years to having phone attached to my ear 8 hours a day and limiting my movement to a 3 foot radius around my desk.

Now, you must understand that many call center representatives go through burn out. Many times people can work through this burnout. Some just are unable to do so. There are people who quit after a week or so of training. There are people who try to stick it out and after a year switch jobs to another part of the bank. I had one friend who had ulcers and ended up in therapy due to the job. Some are able to push through the burnout wall and keep working.

I originally started in the customer service side of my companies own 401k plan in order to get a series 6 & 63 license. The hope was that I could quickly become a Financial Specialist and make big money. Unfortunately for me my department got outsourced due to a merger. I was lucky in that I was able to switch over to the customer service side that serviced external clients after being unable to secure another job with the bank. There were some side issues involved that held me back. After about 6 months I managed to be tapped to start a new department handling stock options. After a year of this I moved over (and up) to my current position where I’ve been for the last 18 months.

Why tell all this? Whilst I’ve moved around a bit, I have been with the greater department, and more importantly, on the phones for over four years now. There is not a single person who has been there as long as I have. Or at least been there and still answering the phones. There’s a few who were in my current position until a little less than a year ago. But they now are the ones I send IRA leads in order to open accounts. Whilst the manager has remained the same jerk, almost all the supervisors have left. I’ve worked through and pushed past more walls than I can count.

If all had worked out as I had planned from the start – I would have left the company last November. But alas I’m still answering calls. And it sucks hearing that beep when a new call comes in. And it sucks having the same conversation for the 50th time in a given day. And it sucks being stuck in a corporate environment where you’re a number and not a person. And it sucks that I sometimes answer my cell phone, “Distribution Support, this is Michael, how may I help you?”

I actually have a fantasy where I walk along the bridge that connects my building and the parking deck on my last day. I’ve imagined that day for years now. The good news? The sun rises every day. I can see the end of my time at the bank now.

And the best part is that it’s not just an end to my time there, but the beginning of something wonderful and new…