I'll start off my story by saying this. I'm a 24 yr old mother with a 3 1/2 yr old special needs child, I'm a Lincoln Tech grad and as everybody knows the job field for mechanics hasn't been all that great. When I got the call from Diran I was thrilled because I hadn't had anything in awhile.
I show up for my interview, first off let me say if you've ever been to the Suzuki service center on Jericho Turnpike it's anything but impressive. I was some what greeted by Matt the manager of the joint. Until this day I still don't know what the man manages but hey.
He directed me to Diran who conducted my interview. Diran then informed that he noticed that my resume was for a automotive technician position, he told me that he didn't need a tech, that he needed someone to answer the phones and to keep appointments, and post cars for sale on craigslist. He asked me if I thought I'd be able to do this and in my head I'm saying to myself wow answering phones... Whats so hard about that?
So I tell him yes and he tells me that I can start on Monday. Monday comes and I come in expecting a nice sized desk with my phone and computer ready to use. There wasn't anything set up and I was crammed into a corner next to the manager facing the window. Diran sits me in front of the desk hooks up some dusty phone for me to answer.
He instructs me on what to say, and walks out to go handle his business. The majority of my day is spent looking out of the window and waiting for the phone to ring, and taking messages for Matt who spends most of his time out of the office checking on the work in the shop I suppose. Diran's son came to hook up my PC by the end of the day.
Diran and Matt are two pieces of work I swear between the two of them I don't know how this place is remaining open. Diran disappears for the majority of the day, if he's not around he's telling me to TELL people who call for him that he's not there. Matt on the other hand in my opinion is quite rude to the customers and seems to care less about wether they are satisfied with the work that has been done to their vehicles.
For example: a man stormed in one morning and very angrily explained to Matt that one of the techs who were working on his vehicle forgot to put the wheel lock back into his vehicle. The man further explained that as a result of that mistake when he caught a flat in New Jersey he had to have the vehicle towed as compared to having the tire fixed right there on the spot.
He also complained that he was still hearing all the noises that he brought the vehicle in the shop with. Matts seemed noncholant and this irritated the man further I thought that he was really going to punch Matt in the face. All I could think was man I'm not trying to get caught in the middle of that.
Several times throughout the day people would call with very expensive problems and remember I'm really a tech not a receptionist so I know ball park figures of what these things should cost. Matt's lazy self would not want me to schedule them for an appointment until next week. Another thing about him that pissed me off and ultimately cost me my job was he'd never follow up with his customers/collegues.
They would call me back and ask me if he was finished doing whatever it was he was doing, I'd say yes but he didnt call you back? And they'd tell me no he never called them back etc etc. I wrote down all the messages I was supposed to and I gave them to him as soon as he walked through that door. It's not my job to make him call anyone back.
I posted their crappy cars on CL and people called several times because of those posts. I fixed up their botched postings without even being asked, Diran is so computer illiterate I really wonder how he got the positon he has. Guess he faked it till he made I don't know.
Then came the complaints that people couldn't hear me on the phone I really wanted to point out it was because the phone I was using was pretty goddamned stone aged. No matter how loud I spoke sometimes it seemed like no one could ever hear me. Then the owner called and faxed over some ridiculous script that I couldnt even get out because people weren't even trying to hear it.
Next thing I know there's a help wanted sign going up. People start streaming in for tech positions and this fat guy Matt doesn't have the grapes to tell people that they're not what he's looking for. He tells them to call at a certain time and when they do he's busy dodging them and giving them the slip and leaving me to deal with his dirty work.
That night Diran called me into his office and he said I'm letting you know that we've tried you out for a week and a half and we can't go any further with you. So I'm going to have to let you go, and I asked him what was the cause and he says well you just weren't giving the customers what they wanted. And I asked him what he meant and he just repeated that line over and over.
Bottom line I spend a week and a half covering these stupid morons derier's and then i get the bottom of their boots for thanks? Now my son is out of school because I cant afford to pay for his therapy and they've got some new guy there who's barely whispering into the phone... Go fig...
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