Loyalty

It seems to me that loyalty means very little, especially in the corporate world. You continue with one company, even at times when the alternative may be cheaper, because you think you know what to expect. You have had good service, and have felt that the little extra every month was worth it because they were such a good place to do business with. That is until something goes wrong for you. You have a little bad luck and they are no longer willing to work with you.

The first experience I had with this was years ago with Capital One. They stopped sending me bills, and then took me to court because I wasn't paying them. I called them to try and work with them, and they said (in a very polite way of course) "Go fuck yourself, we won't work with you". I could have paid them off a few times now, and I'm screwing my credit, but they will not get one penny willingly.

Then Qdoba fires me after over five and a half years on a technicality. My phone was shut off (because they didn't pay enough for me to pay my bills, but that's a whole other story) so I was unable to call in when I was sick. I jumped on the neighbor's wi-fi and messaged the assistant manager online. After I saw she responded I passed out, barely able to make it to my computer to message her in the first place. I got a no-call no-show because I didn't call the manager on shift. Wow, really? I missed 1 day before that in my five and a half years of working for them. I was making very little (less even than some of the people I was supposed to be managing). I even worked 7 days a week this last summer, just to try and help them out. None of this mattered. The new general manager didn't like me. He was incompetent, kept cross contaminating the food, had horrible people skills, and was lazy. He got the lowest two corporate evaluations in the store's history and never had a word said to him. He has his position covered because he has been friends with the regional manager for over 20 years. They blamed it on the assistant manager (who was the GM until they pushed her out of that job too). They will keep shielding him I'm sure. I got wrote up because a few tables weren't wiped down when the regional manager came in, and I got sick and I get fired. He gets constant customer complaints, horrible store evaluations, and treats the employees like shit and he's got job security.

Now Verizon. I've been with them for about four and a half years. I recently lost my job at Qdoba, and I'm in the process of finding a new one. In order to find a new job I need a phone. Guess what Verizon just did...I owe them some money, but I fully intend to pay it. I called them up to see if there would be any way to get a little more time with my phone so I could get calls from prospective employers. They basically said (in a very polite way), "sucks to be you. The only thing we'll do is take a post dated check for seven days from now". Really?!? If I just said I had no job, how the fuck do you expect me to post date a check for seven days from now?

Hell, even Comcast, when I called them to say we could no longer afford to pay so much for TV and I was canceling, they said "You can't dump us, we're dumping you" (in a not so polite or mature way). I've been dumped by some pretty immature women, but that was pathetic.

Even in roller derby. A few weeks ago, I was accused of being a "home town ref" (in a very immature and almost aggressive way) by a team I had an enormous amount of respect for, and had helped so many times over this last summer!

The one thing I am, is loyal. At times even to a fault. I have stood by people I thought cared, and been burned for it. I have missed opportunities because I was unwilling to turn my back on someone, even if I had no way of knowing if they would do the same (a few times, they were constantly turning their backs on me). I know other people play by different rules, and even with as many times as I've been burned I will continue to be loyal. But, I never forget, and rarely forgive. Once the bridge is burned, it can not be built. And I am not quiet, I will let everyone know when and why that trust was broken. Corporations, believe that it will not hurt them to be an ass to the little guy, but I feel it's my duty to warn others of their bad practices.

My friends and family know how and why I got fired, as do some of my regulars that added me as a friend on facebook because they thought I was nice and good at my job. Qdoba has and will continue to loose business because of how they treated me. I know a lot of people that will not go somewhere if they know that their employees are not treated with respect. Verizon will also loose customers because of how they treated me. It looks like the only way to get loyalty is to teach companies that they can't get away with being a duche.