The Promotion Story

As a follow up to my post in March where I stated I was taking the plunge into managment (possibly), here is my story of how that turned out:

I applied for this position with most of my colleagues' confidence and support so I felt really strongly that I was a shoe-in.  Interviews were conducted internally, I was up against three others in my department (Snort, Mr. Race, a temp) and I had the most seniority/working knowledge of our current position so I felt really confident.  I had my turn to interview and while I felt it went well overall, I was completely pissed off by MastiffLady.  She looked like she had bitten into a cow pattie the whole time.  It was the most sour facial expression I have seen on her-ever!  Some of the questions were actually slight shots on me but I answered the questions with a calm demeanor and grace (I thought).  I have never been in an interview where I felt those interviewing me were attacking me & it was no fun!

After the interviews were all done, we were told they would be making a decision "soon".  Soon turned out to be 4 weeks later.  There was some talk from Snort that he heard it wasn't going to be either of us & I tried to brush it off as just rumors.  That guy gets so abuzz with gossip that it drives me nuts!  He was talking to a bunch of us about the same stuff for a good 2 weeks until the decision came out.  We were told the reviewers would be consulted for their opinions on each applicant.  On that note, I knew that they would unanimously state I was the natural choice.  Lo and behold, they were never consulted about any of us!

Each candidate was told that they would be informed before the announcement was made as a professional courtesy.  That didn't happen, an email went out to all staff with the announcement & my name was not mentioned as the deserving person who was promoted.  It was Mr. Race who has been here exactly 6 months and 2 days as of the announcement.  Hmmm.....nobody can be promoted unless they have been on the job for 6 months minimum!  Coincidence?  I think not.  What a slap in the face!  I almost lost it, but as soon I finished reading the announcement, I congratulated him instead.  I wanted to storm into MastiffLady's office and flip out on her but figured she may be expecting some sort of backlash so played it cool instead.  Dumb idiot! (her not me)

Just for comparison's sake, lets see how the three of us stack up against eachother:

Me: 10 years industry experience both retail & hospital, I have taught at a vocational college-developing new job candidates and subsequently turning out very competent graduates, I have been here for almost 5 years, I know almost all of the health plans' intricacies off the top of my head, I have twice flown to other states to train new hires and their supervisor for my company, and I am a constant resource for the reviewers when they need help.  I am here 99.9% on time every day.

Snort: 5 years experience in pharmacy-retail, not quite 3 years experience here, fast but not very accurate, not entirely knowledgeable of all the health plan inticacies, dodges responsibility, no leadership experience.  The reviewers can't stand him, he drives them crazy with his errors, commonly referred to as a monkey by the reviewers.  Always late by at least 7 minutes daily.

Mr.Race: 3 years industry experience in retail pharmacy, fast data entry but not always accurate, limited knowledge of all health plans, has been here (as of the announcement of promotion) 6 months 3 days.  Errors drive the reviewers nuts, knowledge is really lacking, and he has also been referred to as a monkey. Comes in on time mostly, but comes in late a lot more than I do.

Based on this information, I felt I was the clearly qualified candidate.  However, I was wrong so what happened?  Here's my theory: 

I have challenged Mastiff Lady on certain new procedures she wants implemented based in their impracticality & have suggested alternative action that is more practical, I always have pertinent questions she hadn't thought of before, I have been the only one to stand up to her, I have gone to HR about her shady antics within my department, and I have not shown any fear of her likelihood of retaliation while remaining very professional in every situation.  In my interview, I asked about autonomy level of the position-I may have sealed my fate by opening my mouth.  Last winter, we were slammed with work so they asked for volunteers to work weekends.  I voluntarily did not work weekends so I have a feeling that factored in as well.  Overall, I am too strong of a person for the position because she wants a puppet.

Snort is not afraid to speak up, he asks dumb questions-some are actually relevant & thoughtful, he shirks responsibility, feigns ignorance to get out of certain things, and is late all the time!  He was one of the "Overtime Whores" who worked every stinkin' weekend because he is money hungry.  He isn't always reliable, he isn't puppet material either.

Mr.Race goes along with whatever MastiffLady says, he is a "Yes Man" therefore, he is the clear choice because he is the perfect puppet she can control.  He was the other "Overtime whore" but is also single and unattached to much of anything so he has the time.

Any opinions?

Crossing my Fingers!

I haven't written in a while and a lot has happened since my last post.  I am taking the plunge into management (maybe) and I'm a little excited/a little scared.  We'll see hwat happens, I will keep the blog updated as much as possible.

Wow, super wow! Part One

So since my last post, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, and all of January have gone by.....wow!  I knew it had been awhile, but not that long!  So much has transpired since my last post! 

Here's the December rundown:

Two weeks before Christmas, I took my very first business trip-3 states away.  I was asked to go for 2-3 days, consented, then the bosses came back and said that actually, it would be 6 days!  I was not happy, but had already committed based on the original duration stated to me.  I went on my trip the following Monday.  Did I mention they asked me on Thursday afternoon if I could go?  Scrambled to get flight, hotel, and rental car figured out on short notice-got it all reserved and confirmed. 

During the weekend, my little family and I went Christmas tree shopping.  We found the most gorgeous Noble Fir that stood just shy of 10 feet tall, was tagged as a 7-8 ft. tree, so was $40 cheaper than it should've been SOLD!!!!!  We brought our lovely tree home, hosed it off, shook out the loose needles, and blow dried it with our leaf blower.  I was thrilled to decorate this tree that required use of our ladder to put the angel on top as well as string the lights.  It is the biggest tree we have bought to date.  I spent most of Sunday perfecting my tree, putting away the ornament boxes, etc. and packing.  Our house smelled amazing!!!  And then I had to leave the next day.....

Left Monday mid-morning from the airport & got to experience flying post 9/11 for the first time as I haven't flown since 1997!  I switched planes in Phoenix, the gate I was to go to was not displayed correctly on the monitor, so I went to the gate which told me the next flight was to Mexico.  (I was not going to Mexico!) I went to another monitor to check my gate, saw that it was the original gate displayed on my ticket, and by that time, I had to sprint thru the terminal to my actual gate to catch my connection flight.  I boarded out of breath as my asthma had flared by that point, and I tried to breathe normally as best I could to avoid stares.  It took me a good 20 minutes or so! 

When I reached ginormous airport, I claimed my suitcase, then headed to the Avis desk to pick up my rental car.  (Yes, I'm calling them out!)  By this time it was 8:45pm, I was famished, and I had a long drive ahead of me to my final destination.  I went to the desk, the guy is trying to get me to upgrade this & that and as a good active listener, I'm responding with the uh huhs as he's talking.  Little did I know that with every uh huh I uttered, he's tacking on everything he mentioned inflating my charges to almost double what I expected.  I never stated, "Yes, add that on or I want that".  He slides my credit card and announces to all around me that my card was declined!!!!!  I'm immediately embarassed, and confused at why on earth it would decline.  I ask to verify the total, to which his answer was waaaay more than I expected so I ask him where that figure came from.  Long story short, he turned me away telling me maybe another company could help me.  I go to another rental desk, stand in line for almost 10 minutes only to discover all their cars are rented out.  Livid, hungry, humiliated, and dying to get on the road, I go to another car rental desk and ask them if they have cars available.  As I'm giving the guy my info, jerkface from Avis comes over to me offering to match the price at another company if I will allow him.  I told him he better get me a damn good deal because I am royally pissed off and he better make it worth my while.