What ever happened to etiquette? For that matter, is there no longer any respect?
Four hundred employees of RadioShack are now pondering those questions, after being informed by e-mail that they were fired!
Tandy Corp., the parent company of RadioShack, sent out the messages on Tuesday to the employees at the Forth Worth, Texas headquarters.
The electronic "pink slips" read: The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated.
Imagine sitting down at your PC or Mac with a cup of coffee to check your e-mail before leaving home for work, only to find an e-mail like the one above from your employer.
...."Dear _______, (your name)
....Good morning. We regret to inform you that as of close of business yesterday, your services are no longer required.
....Mr.________ (your boss' name)
....P.S., Your personal belongings have been packed and can be picked up at the Security Desk in the main lobby ."
Suppose you didn't check your e-mail and headed off to work. Wouldn't that be nice to be denied entry at the office by Security?
I'll bet their final checks are in the (snail) mail!
While the employees knew the layoffs were coming and that they would be sent out electronically, I'm sure they weren't ecstatic when they got them. This to me, is just about as low as any employer can stoop. They didn't have the kahunas to face these people one on one? They didn't have the decency to show their former loyal employees even a hint of respect and appreciation?
Just what is this electronic hyper-speed world coming to anyway? If this is a precedent stting wave of the future, one has to wonder if job security is becoming a thing of the past.
....How far-reaching is this going to be? I can see it now, we are going to be receiving e-mails and text messages for every facet of our lives!
Imagine: You've just gone to your doctor for an annual check-up. The receptionist informs you that the results will be available the next day. On said day, you receive an e-mail with the following prognosis:
"Our tests have found that you have a carcinoma of the lymph glands. As your health insurance is inadequate, we will not be able to treat you. By the way, we give you six months."
Imagine: You are at work, in the middle of an important business meeting with clients to work out a deal that will make or break your company, when you receive this text message from your wife:
"I just won the 250 million dollar jackpot in the lottery. Your belongings are in boxes on the front lawn. All the locks have been changed. I am with my lawyer and I'm filing for a divorce."
Imagine: You're the bride in a limousine on the way to the church for your big day, when you receive a text message from your fiance':
"Sorry, honey. But Jim and Larry showed up with three tickets for the football game. They're on the 50-yard line!
....I'll talk to you later about the wedding thing. Maybe we can reschedule, huh? ....I love you. Joey
Imagine: Your cell phone rings in the middle of the afternoon on a week end. There is a text message from your girl friend:
" The tests were positive. I'm pregnant. Now what are you going to do about it?"
....As if that message wasn't bad enough, it is your wife who answers the phone!
I don't know about you, but I think some things need to be said face to face.
Four hundred employees of RadioShack are now pondering those questions, after being informed by e-mail that they were fired!
Tandy Corp., the parent company of RadioShack, sent out the messages on Tuesday to the employees at the Forth Worth, Texas headquarters.
The electronic "pink slips" read: The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated.
Imagine sitting down at your PC or Mac with a cup of coffee to check your e-mail before leaving home for work, only to find an e-mail like the one above from your employer.
...."Dear _______, (your name)
....Good morning. We regret to inform you that as of close of business yesterday, your services are no longer required.
....Mr.________ (your boss' name)
....P.S., Your personal belongings have been packed and can be picked up at the Security Desk in the main lobby ."
Suppose you didn't check your e-mail and headed off to work. Wouldn't that be nice to be denied entry at the office by Security?
I'll bet their final checks are in the (snail) mail!
While the employees knew the layoffs were coming and that they would be sent out electronically, I'm sure they weren't ecstatic when they got them. This to me, is just about as low as any employer can stoop. They didn't have the kahunas to face these people one on one? They didn't have the decency to show their former loyal employees even a hint of respect and appreciation?
Just what is this electronic hyper-speed world coming to anyway? If this is a precedent stting wave of the future, one has to wonder if job security is becoming a thing of the past.
....How far-reaching is this going to be? I can see it now, we are going to be receiving e-mails and text messages for every facet of our lives!
Imagine: You've just gone to your doctor for an annual check-up. The receptionist informs you that the results will be available the next day. On said day, you receive an e-mail with the following prognosis:
"Our tests have found that you have a carcinoma of the lymph glands. As your health insurance is inadequate, we will not be able to treat you. By the way, we give you six months."
Imagine: You are at work, in the middle of an important business meeting with clients to work out a deal that will make or break your company, when you receive this text message from your wife:
"I just won the 250 million dollar jackpot in the lottery. Your belongings are in boxes on the front lawn. All the locks have been changed. I am with my lawyer and I'm filing for a divorce."
Imagine: You're the bride in a limousine on the way to the church for your big day, when you receive a text message from your fiance':
"Sorry, honey. But Jim and Larry showed up with three tickets for the football game. They're on the 50-yard line!
....I'll talk to you later about the wedding thing. Maybe we can reschedule, huh? ....I love you. Joey
Imagine: Your cell phone rings in the middle of the afternoon on a week end. There is a text message from your girl friend:
" The tests were positive. I'm pregnant. Now what are you going to do about it?"
....As if that message wasn't bad enough, it is your wife who answers the phone!
I don't know about you, but I think some things need to be said face to face.
No.735
15 comments:
There ain't no good way to present such news, but face-to-face is the only PROPER way. If you have to lay off more people than you can face, something is terribly wrong with your company.
Hi Mike, just another example of how impersonal the world is becoming.
Yep, I so agree. And the pregnancy thing...that was just an example, Mikey....right?????
I agree, so it grieves me to have to point out to you in this manner a minor error.
Kahuna is an Hawaiian god or surfer dude. Lol.
All joking aside, this is one of the dumbest ideas in the world of management. If you haven't got the guts to look 'em in the eye to inform them of their contract cancellation, then you should receive an email terminating you.
BTW, did I say how much I like this new blog format? I do.
It's one of those "what's this world comin' to" moments... geez!!
I had to giggle at the text message reference cuz my daughter & I do a lot of that nowadays. It's the best way to reach her at work since the company she's works for is being *poopie* right now.
I heard about this.....It's just tacky!!!
Have a great day!!!
damn, I would be PISSED if I got fired via email! I think I'd print it out and shove it down my boss's throat!
Hey Hale.
That's a crappy way to get the news...
I fear that things like decency, loyalty, respect and appreciation that you mention may be getting down-sized as well...If something as tricky as war has become an impersonal affair, then why not all the other stuff...(It used to be that you would at least see the guy you were about to kill...now it's as easy as the push of a button from very far away...I guess it's just another step towards efficiency and human progress...or something)...
Anyway, I hope you have a terrific long weekend despite all this.
Your Pal,
Zambo.
P.S.
I have been out of the loop lately, but I just did a quickie post about the latest IKEA catalogue and it seems that a disgruntled employee left his mark...(I guess he knew the e-mail was coming)...
You are SOOOOOO right, Mike!! That was a tacky, spineless way to do it.
Yes, this sounds like what our good ole Techi world is coming to. There hasn't been any job security for sometime and now with email everything is so impersonal.
i quite agree. it's just wrong to do business that way under such circumstances
Jules - yes, I assure you,it was just an example.
Wow, that sucks!
And, re: Kahuna - I think you meant "cojones", but I got it!
Jack and Christina - "Kahunas - has ben cropping up in street slang "as big ones." I think it is a derivation of cojones though, probably due to the ignorance of the users.
Sometimes I think the net and text msg. business is just a way to hide from reality. You're right, face to face, tete' a tete', mug to mug... some things need to be done in the here and now and present. Good post Hale. And I love your new look here :)
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