Long post. Read or read not, but no tl;dr, sorry.
Speaking of "I have watched [x] ruin many people", call centres suck. In a sickly-sweet ironic turn of events, the last place I worked before starting my own company, where I was repeatedly passed over for advancement despite a decade of experience when I started there, announced it is closing and laying off everyone.
A couple of years ago or so, a publicly traded multi-national (about which I had some prior knowledge) bought the place. We got small raises, new backend systems that improved access to information, updated training for supervisors--people were pretty stoked. Not me. I wonder if anyone here recalls the MASH episode when they reported a cease fire and everyone was excited about it but
Trapper John.
I warned everyone,
After the public announcement of the planned layoffs, I ran into my old boss; he's a great manager and Captain Obvious doppellganger, but no matter my warm feelings for him, I couldn't resist,
If you work in a call centre for a publicly traded company you have absolutely 0 job security. That place was in pretty much continuous operation in private hands for 15 years or more, then as soon as these motherfuckers took over, poof! 200+ jobs in the toilet.
Of course, the place was a branch office of a private company so no one here was going to have any impact on the decision to sell, but still, I fuckin' atodaso. I haven't got it in me to gloat beyond that despite the temptation. I essentially wasted 5 years working there so I have reason for a lot of hard feelings, but I find it sensible to direct them at the call centre environment and culture rather than the individuals working in it, most of whom are perfectly fine people. Here's hoping they find a new contract and stay open but I wouldn't count on it. Instead, this place will likely join the others that now open only on a contract basis, employ people for a couple of years or so and then close again until the next contract. That might be good if you're close-ish to retirement (some there are), but the younger folks will get fucked.
A part of me wants to crow just due to the (honestly delicious) irony, but it's cheap and too easy and anyway it's just impossible to not empathize with these people with whom I worked, considering I ended up coming back to PEI because the previous place I worked closed down also. Just had to get this off my chest in here where it is unlikely to impact anyone there: the next time I step foot in a call centre will be as a ghost.
