The job performance of AT&T technicians has always been based solely on numbers. Meet the targets and you get a pat on the back, fall below and you are a disgrace to the company. Long ago upper management set these ridiculous targets to meet and lower management shoves it down your throat. Here’s where it gets sketchy. A technicians job performance is based on criteria that the technician cannot control. The problem was known from the day that the numbers game was introduced. Instead of addressing the problem and grading technician job performance on criteria that the technician had full control, it was ignored. You could lie or cheat the system, but you better not get caught. Bottom line, you meet your numbers or find another job. Over the years many hard working technicians gave up and gave in to the system. Just explaining that customer’s are sometimes not home, or that you can’t help a customer’s service went back out 22 days after you worked on it are not valid reasons to miss your targets. You had to grit your teeth and pray for strength to not bust your managers nose while he threatened your job, harassed you and put you on an improvement plan. But oh how the tides have turned... Now that technicians are being laid off in larger numbers, less managers are needed. They know only the best of the best is going to survive. How is the best of the best determined you wonder??? THEIR TECHNICIANS NUMBERS!!! LMFAO!!!
I am sooo glad I stuck it out just to watch the sobs squirm and see the change of attitude. Now a phone call from the boss goes like this. “ Hey buddy! How you doing today? Your out of time on your job, are you almost finished? Oh, you still have at least an hour of work. Hmmmmmm, just go ahead and close the job out, dispatch on your next job and finish your current work while your dispatched on the next job. Wait that won’t work because then you will run over on it. I’m just going to make you a routine (bogus) ticket. Finish up your work while dispatched on it.” Here’s another conversation. Hey boss there are no more available jobs. “ Ok buddy let me check to see what I can find..” few mins later “Well I don’t see anything. Hmmmmm, Just show exception time. Something like truck breakdown or ifd issues and DAMMMNMM did you see that game last night? How’s your uncle doing? I’m trying to change the subject so you forget the unethical thing I just told you to do.” These are common occurrences that are not going away. To my fellow technicians, Most of us don’t have a lot of time left before we get laid off. My guess would be 2-5 years for the highest seniority guys. Tell you family what could happen, so they all can be prepared. Save your money and put together a good resume today. Start applying to better jobs NOW. You may not get a better job, but the point is to get your name out there. If you do get laid off, then you can lower your standard. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. It will save you a lot of stress if it does happen. From now on it’s going to be a lot of back stabbing, tattle telling and cheating in the management world. Once your a witness there is not much that your boss can do to you if you follow the rules of cheating the system to make your and his numbers. Enjoy the newfound freedom and let the show begin! It’s going to be a bloodbath...
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