Ch-ch-ch-changes...

[KuariKaydrith]

Normally I'm not too bad when it comes to handling changes, but right now I'm frustrated beyond belief. With the change over between security companies happening in a little over a week you'd think we'd have more clue about what is going on but we don't. We absolutely have no damn clue right now beyond knowing that the new company wants to keep us. Oh, and they're getting uniforms put together for us.

Beyond that I have heard pretty much nothing from my outgoing employer and nothing really of use from my incoming employer. While I appreciate that I am keeping my job and will be getting paid more, I'm getting more than a little angry about not having a clue how this is all going to play out. It is NOT going to be a smooth transition, that much I can easily tell at this point.

I've asked for blank reporting forms for the various reports we will need to do. I've asked for guidance about how we're going to do the new post orders. I've asked about site cell phones - the current ones belong to the outgoing employer so the incoming employer needs to replace them (I'm NOT using my own damn cell phone for work purposes). I've requested schedules so that we know what's going on as of July 1st - we don't even know when the take over officially starts other than some time on the 1st, and I need to know so that I can get all the scheduling for the outgoing employee done and submitted ASAP. Take a while guess how much of this info I've received. If you guess the grand total of zero you win. No prizes, sorry.

I have given up counting how many times I have had to remind the new company where everybody works - they keep trying to say that I work out of my other site, one that I only go to when I need to speak to somebody there in person or cover a shift. I have also given up counting how many times the new company has called me asking me to contact my guards because the new company forgot to get some information from them - I finally told them that they had to start to reach out to these people because while they are my guards, I'm not the one that is forgetting to gather all their information when the guards go into the office for stuff. Oh, and then the folks at the new company don't bother to call my guards even though I've told them to! Like, holy fuck. It makes me wonder how they're going to handle it when they officially take over.

The outgoing company...oh man. Where to start? I haven't heard from them in over a week, and then it was only to find out why they decided to deduct a charge for our uniforms. I was told that it was because we were never deducted for them in the first place, and that the CEO told the comptroller to do it! I haven't heard back since I told the guy that it's always been that we're provided two uniform shirts a year free of charge, and that any over that we have to pay for, and it was that way since before I joined the company. Oh, and that it would have been nice to be given a heads up about the deduction in the first place. Crickets. Not only that, but they decided to deduct for more than the uniform shirts actually cost!

I've been after the outgoing company to give me some sort of direction as to what they will require back from us as of the end of their tenure here so that I can start getting it all sorted for them. Again, crickets.

Oh, and the folks from the new company still need to come through both of my buildings for tours so they know what we do each day! Have they bothered to schedule a time? Of course not -_-

I hate uncertainty, but this is getting a bit nuts. After dealing with the folks in the area office for the incoming company I've been left wondering how they've managed to hold onto their jobs for so long. Unorganized would be putting it mildly. There should be a specific process in place for how they handle new folks coming in so that nothing gets missed. Right now they are doing things haphazardly and it's making a mess of everything. And I know I'm not the only one at my sites who is pissed off with all this.

I think once we get settled I will wait it out a month or so to see if the office can get their act together. If it continues to be a clusterfuck of epic proportions I am going to contact their head office and make a complaint because this is horrible.

[Shyla]

Did the new company get the contract because they're cheaper than the old company? There are only so many ways to be cheaper. They sound like they're cutting some corners.

Charging for uniforms your last week on the job is shady. I wonder if there's anyone you can ask about it.

[EricKei]

On the uniforms: Check your state laws regarding deductions -- in some, any deductions that have not been agreed to in advance are flat out illegal.

[Crai]

Seems to me you have a good reason to be frustrated. Hope it improves.

[KuariKaydrith]

It's a bit confusing about how the security contract thing has come about so bear with me! At one point the Atlantic provinces were under one company and had their own security contract with the outgoing security company. The rest of the country was under a different company and they had their own security contract with the incoming company. The two telecommunications companies merged, and things have slowly been getting switched over to how the other telecommunications company does things, including contracted stuff like security. Because the other telecommunications company was bigger they pretty much get to be the decision makers in all of this, and they recently made the decision to use the incoming security company for everything they've got their fingers in. I wouldn't say they're cheaper, largely because I'm going to be getting a nice raise out of the change - trying to get raises out of the outgoing company required a LOT of arguing, and even then they were very rare.

I have gone as high as the CEO about the uniform thing and I'm waiting to hear back from him. I'm pretty sure that the email and the voicemail I left him makes it pretty clear that none of us are impressed with him at all over this. It feels very much like a money grab, and I don't give a shit if they try to call it a 'deposit', the fact remains that nobody saw fit to tell us they were going to take this money in the first place. And I can pretty much guarantee that once we are no longer on their payroll that they won't give a shit about any of it. From what I can figure out, any job requiring you to wear uniforms must supply them and only charge for them if they are not returned, that money coming off of your last pay. But, with everything I'm learning about the outgoing company I am really not surprised with what they are pulling.

By this time next week I should be finalizing everything for the handover because next Friday is the first day we're with the new company. And I still have no idea about the cell phones...and from looking at questions posted by folks at other sites affected by this change over we're all clueless about it all. And nobody from head office is answering our questions!

I had one guard tell me today that he's going to give the new company two weeks to get their act together and if it doesn't get better he's gone. And I will admit that I've been looking at the job bank website as well because this is just nuts.