Halleluia!!
DH has finally found a job. He will be working at Bell Canada, starting Monday. The children and I have been praying for him to find a new job for a long time now, and he has been to umpteen interviews.
Some background on the subject:
DH was working for Canfor in Prince George BC when he found a job in Montreal, working for a company called Trisotech. Trisotech sent him on contract to work at the Molson Brewing Company in old Montreal, which wasn't too bad in terms of commuting, (from Saint-Jean-sur Richelieu) it's no more than a half an hour by car (when traffic is good) and maybe an hour by bus and metro. When you live in a city the size of Montreal, spending an hour on a bus is not extraordinary. So to commute an hour from a city outside of Montreal is pretty good. He didn't get along too well with his supervisor at Molson though. The whole point of him being there, is that HE was the expert on VIP the program that he was supporting and sometimes making changes to, to adapt it to better meet Molson's needs. Apparently the supervisor didn't like his suggestions. She wanted to do things her way, even when sometimes, her way wasn't possible with the program. She would even go to another guy, also working with VIP and ask him the same question and then receive the same answer DH had just given her. After DH had been working there for 8 months or so, the people above his supervisor decided to move her to another department, and replaced her with a different woman, (with whom DH got along with very well.) Apparently she did not like this move at all, and complained to her husband who just happened to be the president of Trisotech, the company that had hired DH. They called him inot the office one morning, not long after, to bawl him out because they had apparently received an e-mail from Molson saying he wasn't doing a good job and didn't fit the job description very well, etc, etc... and if he lost the job at Molson they wouldn't be needing him anymore. Needless to say DH was a little shocked and went straight to his new supervisor to find out why Molson was complaining. Well, that was the first his new supervisor had heard of that, and they finally figured out that the so-called e-mail was actually his previous supervisor complaining and pretty much blaming DH for everything. I don't know what she had to get so upset about, since she was only transferred not fired, transfers happen all the time in a large company. DH was transferred from one place to another so many times while working for Canfor, and he's had more than two supervisors at Molson.
Anyway, after about a year, Molson decided they didn't want to hire their own personnel and contractors to work on VIP anymore, so they put the care of that program into the hands of a different company, Ceridian. From then on, it was employees and contractors to Ceridian who took care of VIP. DH could have lost his job then, but he was transferred along with the program instead. So get this: now he was hired by Trisotech but working at Ceridian, for Molson. Things do tend to get complicated in the world of computers. He was also commuting two hours in the morning and two at night. He would leave before eight in the morning and come home after eight at night. The only time he had to do things around the house and/or relax was on the weekend.
When DH's contract came to an end, Ceridian talked of hiring him themselves, and it would have been a good move since they could have given him a raise in salary and still be paying him a lot less than what they paid Trisotech for him. A win/win situation. But in DH's contract with Trisotech it was stipulated that he had to wait (I think) at least 6 months before (maybe it was a year) before he could solicite work from a company he had been hired out too. DH mentioned that to everyone, or so he thought. But a few months ago (DH had already been working without a contract for more than a few months by then) when the manager either found out or had forgotten and was reminded, he got upset and accused DH of hiding things. Then a couple of months ago, DH found out they had hired someone else to do his job. I think part of the problem was also that Ceridian is a Winnipeg-based company and they preferred to have someone in Winnipeg instead, but DH didn't want to move, he'd just moved back to Québec, and wasn't ready to move back west again.
Anyhow, now DH had to train this new guy that is supposed to replace him. Actually, two people will be sharing his workload, the one they hired is supposed to do most of it, but someone else will be taking care of other things DH took care of. This new guy is in Winnipeg, but is incompetant and incapable of learning. DH has told him things repeatedly and he still makes the same mistakes. For example the computer the new guy was using couldn't support VIP at high speed (it was an older computer) but the guy had put it on at high speed and suddenly wasn't working for him anymore. DH finally figured out the problem and told him to reset it to a lower speed, because his computer couldn't support it at high speed. A week later the guy called him again (because DH still does support) because VIP was no longer working. He had reset it to high speed again. He said someone told him it was better at high speed. DH explained to him that even if it was better at high speed, the computer he was using did not support VIP at high speed and he had to lower it. Another week or so went by and the same guy called DH up, with the same problem, he had done the same thing again. DH couldn't believe it. This guy is supposed to replace him? Also when Molson gave Ceridian their version of VIP it was on a user-only basis. So when DH talked to the two guys who will be supporting VIP in Winnipeg, one asked if they could install it on their computers and DH told them they couldn't install it onto their computers, they could only use it from the CD ROM. A couple of days later, DH gets yet another call from the new guy saying he was trying to install the VIP program onto his computer but it wasn't working, he needed help. DH called up the other guy, and asked him, "wasn't he right there? Was I not explaining clearly?." (It had been a telephone conference) And the other guy said, "Yes he was there and yes it was clear."
DH also asked Ceridian what they were going to do at night and on weekends if a French-speaking user calls (DH is the one on call for support all the time) with a problem. Neither of the guys replacing DH speak French. So the manager guessed he'd have to hire someone else part-time in the Montreal area to take calls on weekends and nights. So now it is three people they are hiring to replace him. Not bad. That's what you call good managing.
When DH found out he'd been replaced, apparently everyone else knew he was going to be let go except for him. The people working with him at the office here in Montreal pretty much told him they'd be wary of the manager too because if he did that to DH, he could do it to any one of them, and apparently he'd done it to other people in the company he'd worked for previously. (DH has actually been at Ceridian longer than this manager.) But it gets worse. Just a couple of weeks ago, DH arrives on the Monday morning, ready for work, sits down at the computer, and finds out he no longer has access to anything. He calls up security, and finds out that apparently the Friday before was to be his last day at work. The manager had not told him, and he hadn't called Trisotech to tell them either. He also hadn't bothered to change the date once he'd decided not to let DH go right away. DH had no idea. Security had mentioned that he had clearance until that date, but he hadn't thought anything of it. Security called the manager, who told them to put him back on.
So day before yesterday, DH comes home and says, "I think my last day is supposed to be the 29th." "Oh," I replied, he's told everyone else except you and someone else decided to tell you?" "No," he replied, "Security told me I have clearance until then." The manager still hadn't told him he was going to be let go, nor had he told Trisotech.
To backtrack a little, when Ceridian decided not to renew DH's contract with Trisotech, and then not to hire him themselves, Trisotech actually did an about-face and told him if he wanted to sty with them, they might be able to find another contract for him elsewhere. But cross DH once, and he'll want nothing to do with you again if he can help it. So he preferred to find work himself elsewhere, and not take Trisotech's offer if he could help it.
I am very happy that he finally has a new job to go to. He has been looking for months now for something suitable, while staying on at Ceridian. He really hoped to be able to leave Ceridian before they actually let him go, not only because of salary, but also just to be able to say "Bye bye!" to the manager and leave him to deal with his three employees that he needed to replace DH. (DH doesn't think that the manager will last very long at Ceridian.) DH just called me this morning at about 10:30 to let me know, and he was heading off to Ceridian. I am sure he will be getting much pleasure in calling up the manager to let him know that as of Monday they will no longer have his services. I only hope that his experience with Bell Canada turns out to be a much more positive experience.
Some background on the subject:
DH was working for Canfor in Prince George BC when he found a job in Montreal, working for a company called Trisotech. Trisotech sent him on contract to work at the Molson Brewing Company in old Montreal, which wasn't too bad in terms of commuting, (from Saint-Jean-sur Richelieu) it's no more than a half an hour by car (when traffic is good) and maybe an hour by bus and metro. When you live in a city the size of Montreal, spending an hour on a bus is not extraordinary. So to commute an hour from a city outside of Montreal is pretty good. He didn't get along too well with his supervisor at Molson though. The whole point of him being there, is that HE was the expert on VIP the program that he was supporting and sometimes making changes to, to adapt it to better meet Molson's needs. Apparently the supervisor didn't like his suggestions. She wanted to do things her way, even when sometimes, her way wasn't possible with the program. She would even go to another guy, also working with VIP and ask him the same question and then receive the same answer DH had just given her. After DH had been working there for 8 months or so, the people above his supervisor decided to move her to another department, and replaced her with a different woman, (with whom DH got along with very well.) Apparently she did not like this move at all, and complained to her husband who just happened to be the president of Trisotech, the company that had hired DH. They called him inot the office one morning, not long after, to bawl him out because they had apparently received an e-mail from Molson saying he wasn't doing a good job and didn't fit the job description very well, etc, etc... and if he lost the job at Molson they wouldn't be needing him anymore. Needless to say DH was a little shocked and went straight to his new supervisor to find out why Molson was complaining. Well, that was the first his new supervisor had heard of that, and they finally figured out that the so-called e-mail was actually his previous supervisor complaining and pretty much blaming DH for everything. I don't know what she had to get so upset about, since she was only transferred not fired, transfers happen all the time in a large company. DH was transferred from one place to another so many times while working for Canfor, and he's had more than two supervisors at Molson.
Anyway, after about a year, Molson decided they didn't want to hire their own personnel and contractors to work on VIP anymore, so they put the care of that program into the hands of a different company, Ceridian. From then on, it was employees and contractors to Ceridian who took care of VIP. DH could have lost his job then, but he was transferred along with the program instead. So get this: now he was hired by Trisotech but working at Ceridian, for Molson. Things do tend to get complicated in the world of computers. He was also commuting two hours in the morning and two at night. He would leave before eight in the morning and come home after eight at night. The only time he had to do things around the house and/or relax was on the weekend.
When DH's contract came to an end, Ceridian talked of hiring him themselves, and it would have been a good move since they could have given him a raise in salary and still be paying him a lot less than what they paid Trisotech for him. A win/win situation. But in DH's contract with Trisotech it was stipulated that he had to wait (I think) at least 6 months before (maybe it was a year) before he could solicite work from a company he had been hired out too. DH mentioned that to everyone, or so he thought. But a few months ago (DH had already been working without a contract for more than a few months by then) when the manager either found out or had forgotten and was reminded, he got upset and accused DH of hiding things. Then a couple of months ago, DH found out they had hired someone else to do his job. I think part of the problem was also that Ceridian is a Winnipeg-based company and they preferred to have someone in Winnipeg instead, but DH didn't want to move, he'd just moved back to Québec, and wasn't ready to move back west again.
Anyhow, now DH had to train this new guy that is supposed to replace him. Actually, two people will be sharing his workload, the one they hired is supposed to do most of it, but someone else will be taking care of other things DH took care of. This new guy is in Winnipeg, but is incompetant and incapable of learning. DH has told him things repeatedly and he still makes the same mistakes. For example the computer the new guy was using couldn't support VIP at high speed (it was an older computer) but the guy had put it on at high speed and suddenly wasn't working for him anymore. DH finally figured out the problem and told him to reset it to a lower speed, because his computer couldn't support it at high speed. A week later the guy called him again (because DH still does support) because VIP was no longer working. He had reset it to high speed again. He said someone told him it was better at high speed. DH explained to him that even if it was better at high speed, the computer he was using did not support VIP at high speed and he had to lower it. Another week or so went by and the same guy called DH up, with the same problem, he had done the same thing again. DH couldn't believe it. This guy is supposed to replace him? Also when Molson gave Ceridian their version of VIP it was on a user-only basis. So when DH talked to the two guys who will be supporting VIP in Winnipeg, one asked if they could install it on their computers and DH told them they couldn't install it onto their computers, they could only use it from the CD ROM. A couple of days later, DH gets yet another call from the new guy saying he was trying to install the VIP program onto his computer but it wasn't working, he needed help. DH called up the other guy, and asked him, "wasn't he right there? Was I not explaining clearly?." (It had been a telephone conference) And the other guy said, "Yes he was there and yes it was clear."
DH also asked Ceridian what they were going to do at night and on weekends if a French-speaking user calls (DH is the one on call for support all the time) with a problem. Neither of the guys replacing DH speak French. So the manager guessed he'd have to hire someone else part-time in the Montreal area to take calls on weekends and nights. So now it is three people they are hiring to replace him. Not bad. That's what you call good managing.
When DH found out he'd been replaced, apparently everyone else knew he was going to be let go except for him. The people working with him at the office here in Montreal pretty much told him they'd be wary of the manager too because if he did that to DH, he could do it to any one of them, and apparently he'd done it to other people in the company he'd worked for previously. (DH has actually been at Ceridian longer than this manager.) But it gets worse. Just a couple of weeks ago, DH arrives on the Monday morning, ready for work, sits down at the computer, and finds out he no longer has access to anything. He calls up security, and finds out that apparently the Friday before was to be his last day at work. The manager had not told him, and he hadn't called Trisotech to tell them either. He also hadn't bothered to change the date once he'd decided not to let DH go right away. DH had no idea. Security had mentioned that he had clearance until that date, but he hadn't thought anything of it. Security called the manager, who told them to put him back on.
So day before yesterday, DH comes home and says, "I think my last day is supposed to be the 29th." "Oh," I replied, he's told everyone else except you and someone else decided to tell you?" "No," he replied, "Security told me I have clearance until then." The manager still hadn't told him he was going to be let go, nor had he told Trisotech.
To backtrack a little, when Ceridian decided not to renew DH's contract with Trisotech, and then not to hire him themselves, Trisotech actually did an about-face and told him if he wanted to sty with them, they might be able to find another contract for him elsewhere. But cross DH once, and he'll want nothing to do with you again if he can help it. So he preferred to find work himself elsewhere, and not take Trisotech's offer if he could help it.
I am very happy that he finally has a new job to go to. He has been looking for months now for something suitable, while staying on at Ceridian. He really hoped to be able to leave Ceridian before they actually let him go, not only because of salary, but also just to be able to say "Bye bye!" to the manager and leave him to deal with his three employees that he needed to replace DH. (DH doesn't think that the manager will last very long at Ceridian.) DH just called me this morning at about 10:30 to let me know, and he was heading off to Ceridian. I am sure he will be getting much pleasure in calling up the manager to let him know that as of Monday they will no longer have his services. I only hope that his experience with Bell Canada turns out to be a much more positive experience.
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