h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It's been a long time since I've had a rant. And I'm fairly certain I haven't had a work-related rant here since I started my new job last year.

It's been a long time coming, and it's warranted, so...



rant alert



I hate making long initial posts, as it means visitors to my PS have to scroll a lot to get through it, so the official rant will commence in the following post.

First, for the back story. (You all know how I love to go through all the back story...)

Last spring, I started a new job, still in accounting, but in the healthcare industry.

In my previous position, I was the head of my department- Accounting Administration. I was in fact the whole department, but I digress. I reported directly to the CFO. However, thanks to my background in accounts receivable, when they started downsizing the accounts payable department, they reassigned all of the in-house accounts payable to me (in addition to the rest of my workload, not in lieu of).

Well, when I was job hunting, it became apparent that administration wasn't paying anything like what I'd been getting paid at my old employer, and no matter what I did, I was facing at least a 40% pay "cut". So, I opted for less responsibility, and went through a staffing agency which places accountants and accounts payable staff.

So I now hold an accounts payable position with a company that was lovely when I started- and which hired me because of the increased workload an upcoming merger would create.

Well... after the merger went through, it came to pass that the company which bought out the company I was hired by has a rather odd approach to how they pay their bills.

Basically, my company holds controlling interest in Ambulatory Surgery Centers.* We then take care of all the accounting, the credentialing, marketing, etc, on behalf of the surgeons, so they can get on with operating on patients. In return, we take 51% of the net profit and distribute the rest to the surgeon partners (i.e., those who have invested capital and hold a partner interest in the surgery center).

Well, for most of our centers, we calculate their distribution based on net profit *after all liabilities have been met*.

Sadly, the CEO of the company which bought us out- so, now our CEO- agreed with the surgeon partners in his organization at the time that he'd give them a flat rate every month regardless of profit.

Unfortunately, the net effect is that rather than paying invoices by due date, we have to pay them based on how much cash is available, and by which vendors have us on credit hold or which utility is going to disconnect service.

Even more unfortunately, the idiots who made this decision don't handle the calls from irate vendors, the AP reps do.

Well, I manage to maintain a good report and to sweet talk and befriend as many A/R and collections reps as I can, and they'll usually release credit holds for me, sometimes without even a promise of payment.

But today I had some really nasty woman, berating me for the way the company operates and making so many comments I could not even respond to (and I absolutely am not allowed to say we have cash flow problems)... and then she called my boss and told her I was rude and uncooperative.

This is the first time in my adult life that anyone has reported me to a supervisor, and I am furious.

I need this job. I'm already earning 40% less than I used to and we've adjusted our expenses accordingly... but summers here are getting hotter and the landlord here refuses to fix our a/c unit, so K and I need to move, and we can't do that without both of us being employed. Not with what housing costs are around here.

I try not to despair too often, or gripe too much to my friends, but I had such a horrible afternoon today. That woman actually made me cry- and then my boss calling me on it made it happen again. I'm so angry.

* an Ambulatory Surgery Center is a free-standing surgical facility which performs outpatient operations, such as cataract surgery, Lasik, tendon and joint implantation, etc.

I feel your pain, as you well know.

I know. And I, yours.

good grief PC, your job gets more unbearable by the day.

Quite a few official call centres here have warning messages before you speak to an operator 'Your call will be recorded for training purposes.' - which means that the abusive behaviour of those calling the help lines will get recorded too.

Thinking about it though, your bosses need you. I would imagine in a case where they have your word against an irate client, they'd take yours, as you've been basically covering their backs for the past ages. This complaint may give you the opportunity to bring up the fact that you've been personally taking all the flak due to the company policy, and the fact that the company is basically insolvent while you're not allowed to let this slip to clients.

Thanks, Lanza.

My boss pretty much just emailed me and told me she doesn't usually get that sort of feedback and wanted to know what was going on with that vendor. I told her that the vendor was irate about having to speak with each individual rep about the separate accounts, and gave a more or less verbatim account of the strange and inappropriate things she said to me. I said I was sorry if the vendor perceived that as lack of cooperation and that I wasn't being evasive, I just don't know how to respond to such inappropriate remarks without being more unprofessional, so I didn't respond to them at all.

And also that of the $32K the vendor was trying to collect, I was only responsible for $3K worth... so I am not sure why this woman was singing the praises of the other AP reps but trash talking me.

In the cold light of a new day, I could not care less.

oh blimey, PC, that is worse than most of the brown sticky stuff that comes my way


perhaps you can get your company bosses to install recording equipment? "for training purposes"?

I wonder if they would consider installing recording equipment so they can see what we are up against.

Sho, I'm in a better boat than you are, love.

This week was slightly better than last, but not good. Next week... I don't even want to think about it now.