Indignation

That is the only word that I can think of to even begin to describe what I am feeling right now.  And really, when you look at the definition, it fits perfectly.

"Anger or annoyance provoked by what is perceived as unfair treatment."

Here is the truth.

I am angry.

I am annoyed.

And I most certainly was treated unfairly; it is not simply a perception in this instance.

But I think that indignation still applies here.

Reminder how I got a job, and then I lost a job all in the course of less than a week?

It gets worse.

I'm so frustrated right now I could pump my fists in the air and scream.  OK...well, maybe just the part where I scream.  But I am envisioning myself pumping my fists in the air, angrily screaming about the injustice of this entire job situation.

I asked Kris to watch to make sure the temp agency actually payed me.  You see, I don't trust them.  I didn't from the start.  Perhaps the run down condition of the building, the lack of a real "office" type setting, and the people that made me feel uneasy should have been enough to send me running the other direction.

But I needed a job.  And if this agency had something for me, I'd at least go interview.

Well, by now most of you reading this blog already know the outcome.

But what about my paycheck?

Here was my concern.

I signed something saying that if I didn't work at this job for 30 days that I would be responsible for the background check and the drug test.

Please do not misunderstand me.

I understand WHY I had to sign that.  I understand that if I hadn't signed it, I wouldn't have been able to work.

What I don't understand is why there is a $70 wage garnishment on my paycheck because the company that started to train me didn't think "my personality fit with theirs".  Which we all know was just an excuse.  Most of the people I have talked with do not think that this was just because they saw me as a potential health risk.

What the general consensus seems to be is this:

I was a threat.

Plain and simple.

I halfway believe that.

I asked a LOT of questions.  I wanted to make sure that I did the very best that I could and that I understood my role completely.

Well, guess what...

These people make commission.

So, if they see someone who could potentially take away from something they felt belonged to them, or they felt threatened that I may eventually take over their job (I'm told this is not uncommon), of course they would come up with some lame excuse about my personality.  If you know me, you know I have a terrific personality and would be great to work with.  If you've worked with me and don't think that, you're wrong.  ;-)

Anyway...my understanding, when I signed this document was that if I started working for this company and chose to quit because I didn't like it or got a better job offer in those first 30 days, I would be responsible for those costs that the temp agency incurred.  That makes sense.  They are protecting their interests.

HOWEVER...

How on earth is it fair to hold me responsible for a company not finding me to be "compatible" with them?  It really makes me wonder how often this type of nonsense happens with what I already felt was a shady temp agency to begin with.  How many companies are they buddy-buddy with, and how many other people desperate for jobs being punished when something like this happens?

If I had done something WRONG to provoke being "let go" by the call center, then I could understand it.  But I didn't do ANYTHING wrong.  They said they didn't like my personality.  Whatever.  They had their reasons.  But it isn't my fault.  I wasn't lazy.  I wasn't disrespectful.  I wasn't anything that would warrant their sudden, inexplicable dismissal.

In my opinion, the temp agency should try to place me somewhere else.  They should give me another opportunity to work with a company that values me and knows my worth, BEFORE they garnish my wages by $70.

And, to make matters more irritating to me, they didn't use the direct deposit they had me set up.  They mailed me a check.  Maybe it's because I got "fired".  I don't know.  But I was told that the money would be deposited into my account.  When I got off the phone with the lady from the temp agency last week, she said she would "keep looking for something" for me.

I felt this at the time.  And I feel it now.  That lady is NEVER going to call me back.

I'm not going to fight the $70.  I know that I signed a document stating that I could be held responsible for these things if I didn't work for 30 days.  But when it isn't my choice, when I am not ALLOWED to work for 30 days, I do not think that I should have to pay for it.  Especially if the company is planning to keep looking for a job for me (which I don't really think they are).

The whole thing just leaves me with this feeling of indignation.

It's not right.

What happened to me.

In a moral sense.

I have no faith in either the temp agency or respect for the call center after the way that they both treated me.  And you can believe that if I ever do work with a temp agency again:

#1.  It will not be with the creepy one.

and

#2.  I will be asking up front what happens and what charges I am responsible for before considering any job, on the off chance that whoever I work for doesn't like me.

Also, while I'm venting...

Since I paid for those things, shouldn't I get possession of both the background check AND the drug test results?  I bought them after all.

This all just leaves me frustrated all over again and just shaking my head at what happened.

And now that I have written about it, I can commence getting over it all over again.  At least I have the good sense not to defame them by mentioning their names at all.  I'm not that stupid, or that bitter.  It's not right of me to do that, but I do have a right to express my opinion on the matter.

And there you have it...

What are your thoughts on this?