As I was reading the wires the other day to get the latest news, one story stood out. It stood out so much that I had to e-mail friends and family about it.
Radio Shack had decided to cut about 400 jobs. OK, we’ve all seen job cuts in our lifetime, sometimes impacting us or a loved one. But wait, there’s much more to the story.
Radio Shack was using its electronics background in a special way this time. It was notifying the employees of the layoffs via e-mail. Employees at the Fort Worth, Texas, headquarters received an e-mail early last week informing them they were being dismissed immediately.
I guess that was a sympathetic way to do business with people who had dedicated a portion of their lives to helping the company. Much more sympathetic than a store in England that fired a clerk by text message last month.
If it weren’t so sad, it would almost be funny. But wait, I’ve been down this road all too recently and it is far from humorous.
Back in March, I was let go by a San Diego magazine. From the first day I was hired in 2001, I was told by staff that this was a great company to work for, management always had an open door policy, come to us with any questions or concerns, etc., etc. So much for an open door policy.
On St. Patrick’s Day, I awoke to find an e-mail from my immediate supervisor, who worked out of our Texas locale, that the department I worked in was being “restructured” and that my services as the online news editor were no longer needed.
With the boom in the Internet, why would you let go the one person overseeing your online presence and a person who was told repeatedly he was doing a good job? A severance check was offered and I was told good luck in my future plans. Nice, real nice.
When I e-mailed the company owner asking for an explanation as to how this went down, he decided to hide behind his cronies at the magazine and let them do the dirty work. So much for a company that has been in business for more than 80 years in Southern California and touts itself as one that is open and up-front with its employees.
What made the situation even more frustrating was that the owner of the company sat about 50 feet away from my desk. Hmmm … seems like he would have had at least five minutes during the week to call me over to his office and deliver the details like a real man.
Was the layoff a total surprise to me? The answer would be no.
There were rumblings in the company that change was on the horizon, and when I got wind of these from another employee, I tried calling several of the higher-ups for an explanation and to inquire if my job was in jeopardy. Funny, they never returned any of my messages for several days.
I guess my reporter instincts said something was up as the week went along.
Anyhow, it was definitely an experience that I won’t soon forget, and one that showed me what some company owners are really like.
If they say that they have an open door policy, come to us with any concerns or questions, that basically means to always check your e-mail first thing in the morning.
Who knows, your pink slip could be in the form of an electronic message from a company that lacks something we were all brought up with ” something I believe mom and dad instilled in us from day one, this thing called manners.
With the company I worked for and with Radio Shack, I believe they didn’t get the e-mail on that subject.
Dave Thomas is a free-lance sports writer for the La Jolla Village News. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the paper.