A Lesson in How to Get Fired

A Lesson in How to Get Fired Ive been dealing with the phone company for over a week trying to get a problem with my business line resolved. After rearranging my schedule to accommodate theirs for the past five days, listening to their lame excuses, and giving them more than their fair share of chances, I am about to terminate my service.   Because there are plenty of other carriers out there who would love to have my business. And because I have choices. Here are the reasons I am firing my phone company.Not showing up for work. I was promised a service call on Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday. The one day I wasnt promised a call and was told was not an option was Wednesdaya day when I was unavailable and the only day I received a call that they were on their way.Coming to work unprepared. The first technician that came to look at my phone line over a week ago failed to troubleshoot all of the technical issues he should have, which is why I am now waiting for another service call.Blaming others for the teams errors . The next representative that contacted me was quick to point out all the errors the first technician had made and assigned blame rather than focusing on resolving the issue.Not communicating with others. Since my phone fiasco started I have received phone calls about my issue from at least six different company representatives. Each of them knows that my phone isnt working properly, but none of them have any documentation on the history of my issue or the series of bumbling mistakes that each company representative has made.Telling the boss (me) you couldnt get a project done because it was understaffed. The next representative I spoke to told me that the reason that the technician didnt get to my ticket yet was that they had so many other jobs to take care of and were severely understaffed.Asking for a raise before you have proved your value. In the midst of all this, I have received not one but two calls from this phone carrier asking me if I want to upgrade my services.I know y ou all realize that any of these mistakes could get you fired from a job and Im not telling you anything you dont already know. Its funny how my phone company hasnt made the connection yet between their poor performance and my decision to terminate them.I do think however, that many employees have been coasting in their positions for years. And Im wondering if the free ride is going to end soon. According to CareerBuilders 2010 Jobs Forecast a trend for 2010 may very well be replacing lower performing employees and taking advantage of the large percentage of top talent in the labor force to strengthen their work force. Because in this economy, employers have choicesand there are plenty of job seekers out there that would love to be employed by them.