Don’t call us…………(and) we will (not) call you

 

By…Erik Schuman

Real quick. Before I start this entry, the NFL Playoffs start today. For those who want to know how every game will turn out here are the winners of every game. I hope - and doubt - will be the case:

• Tampa Bay, Rams, San Francisco……..Kansas City, Buffalo, Cincy
• Green Bay, Tampa Bay……………..Tennesee, Buffalo
• Green Bay………………..Tennessee
• Green Bay (wins SB 56)

 

The play/musical “Wicked” is the story of “The Wizard of Oz” but from the witches’ point of view, done to give a different perspective from the hugely popular story most of us grew up being told. I will have to believe this since I have not seen “Wicked” and really have no desire to do so.

 

Looking at things from a different point of view is something I have done many times in my life since I have been officiating games since a man named John Hallston changed my life forever my Sophomore year in high school. He came to a class of mine and said he was looking for people to umpire youth league baseball games. The games had a two-hour time limit and we would be paid cash after every game and be paid slightly more than minimum wage. Agreeing to do it was a no-brainer. Because I have been doing it for so many decades I am used to seeing things other did not because I knew where to look while others had their eyes focused elsewhere.

 

In the 2000 POTUS election in which George W. Bush narrowly beat Al Gore 271-267, there was a lot of controversy about Florida ballots and the 25 Electoral College votes the winner got. Bush ended up being declared the winner of the state and thus the election. Whether Gore got “hosed” in Florida is up for debate with Democrats saying he did and Republicans saying he did not. I have no idea what the truth is. I do know that if Gore had won HIS HOME STATE of Tennessee OR Bill Clinton’s HOME STATE of Arkansas, he would have received either 11 (TN) or 6 (AR) more EC votes and would have at least 273, or enough to win the election. If your home state does not want you as POTUS do not cry about what happened in any of the other 49 states. In 1984 Ronald Reagan embarrassed Walter Mondale, beating him 525-13. Mondale won 3 EC votes from DC (District of Columbia) and…………..HIS HOME STATE of Minnesota (10). If Mondale can win his home state when he won nothing else, Gore needs to shut up and accept the fact HE lost the race – not Florida ballots and the unforgettable images like this.

On October 14, 2003, the Chicago Cubs were 5 outs away from making the World Series for the first time since 1945. They led the Florida Marlins 3-0 and Wrigley Field was set for a party almost 60 years in the making. The Marlins got a runner on then Luis Castillo hit a ball that drifted towards the stands. Cubs left-fielder Moises Alou was near the railing and tried to catch it but could not do so. On the play some Cubs’ fans reached for the ball – like any of us would have done – and Alou felt those fans kept him from catching the ball. He went bonkers. The fan singled one was Steve Bartman. He was made one of the most hated people in Chicago. EVER! Given a second chance, Castillo drew a walk and an RBI single made it 3-1. The next batter, Miguel Cabrera, hit a PERFECT 6-4-3 double play ball to Cubs’ shortstop Alex Gonazlez. He booted it and the Marlins made the Cubs pay by putting up 8 runs in the 8^th on their way to an 8-3 win and then the next day won 9-6 to make the World Series and deprive the Cubs from doing so. Steve Bartman needed police protection from Cubs fans. Somehow Gonzalez escaped any blame even though if he makes the play he is supposed to make, the Cubs lead 3-1 after 8, they win and make the World Series, and no one knows who Bartman is. Blaming Bartman is a travesty but one that still exists almost 20-years later (Side note: ESPN did a “30 for 30) on this called “Catching Hell” – for those who have not seen it I highly recommend it. It is a well-done piece that does the right thing – exonerates Bartman) - Bartman's play is 6-minutes into the clip:

How do the above examples relate to this entry? Simple. All too often these days when we assign “blame” to something or someone we usually get it wrong. And it’s almost always not even close!

 

If you ever have the misfortune of spending time in the most racist big city in America, Boston, and need help finding something you will often be told something along this line:

• “Go a block, then make a right turn at the Dunkin Donuts. Then go another few blocks and make a left turn at the Dunkin Donuts, go another block and it is the building on the right, just before you get to Dunkin Donuts.” It is the same with “ABC Stores” in Hawaii.

 

These days you can’t go more than a few feet without seeing a sign up in the window of a business saying, “Help Wanted.” While I have sympathy for those seeking help, I also have no sympathy for them. While all we hear and are led to believe is that people simply do not want to work, just like with the 2000 POTUS Election and Steve Bartman, there is a whole other side that is not being covered. These are also the same companies who were letting go of everyone in 2020 because of Covid.

 

I will grant you there is a worker shortage. and it is serious. The wait for an order at a dining place is longer. While getting upset is easy to do, doing so is not the right thing to do. Don’t take out frustrations on those there. They are doing their best and they want you on your way more than you do.

 

But employers need to be “called out” for their actions, Or, more appropriately – inactions! For some reason, employers think it is acceptable to (mis)treat potential employees and not have any problems with it.

 

Today, Saturday, January 15, 2022, marks the 100^th day for me of being “ghosted” by Hertz.

 

I first interviewed with Hertz at their Newport Beach location - the one near John Wayne - and less than 10 miles from where I live. The interview was on September 7, 2021. I was told they wanted to fill the position soon. I did not hear anything from them after 3 weeks, so I sent something to the HR person I had been emailing and on October 7 she sent me something saying they were moving on without me. While I was not happy, I did not get the position, the fact she emailed me allowed me to put it behind me without any anger or bitterness. Although I am pretty sure had I not reached out I still would not have heard anything from them. In all honesty I knew midway through the interview I was “dead meat” and had no shot at the job.

 

Strangely enough, that same day, October 7, 2021, I made the 280-mile drive to Las Vegas to interview for a position with Hertz at their Las Vegas airport location the next day, Friday, October 8. My sister has called Vegas home for almost 30 years so for me to move out there is something I don’t mind doing.  I was told I was the first one they were talking to and all next week they would do more. After the interview I sent a "thank you" email to the person I spoke to - whose email address I obtained from LinkedIn (since I could not obtain it any other way). I did not hear from them so about a month later I sent the Human Resources person an email - that has yet to be replied to. I even sent an email and private LinkedIn message to the CEO Paul Stone. I told him how I interviewed and had yet to hear back from anyone and how that was not good and made Hertz look bad. No reply. I then sent a CERTIFIED LETTER (and I have the return receipt showing it was signed for, although not by either, but their secretary/executive assistant meaning neither ever got to see it) to Stone and acting CEO Mark Fields also explaining my situation and how I was not upset I did not get the job - just that I was ghosted. NOTHING!

 

Once again - my gripe with Hertz is not that I did not hired! It is just that today marks 100 days since my Vegas interview, and I have heard NOTHING from them. I know what it means. I also know it is disgraceful for ANY company to interview someone and then leave them hanging and not have the courtesy to take a few seconds to send a 2-3-line email saying something along the lines of: "Thank you for applying for the (Whatever it was) position. We have decided to pursue things with other candidates. We wish you the best in your career." But these days - NOTHING! I know that of all people Hertz interviewed for that Las Vegas position I am 100% certain everyone else who failed to be hired was also ghosted and left hanging. For a public company and one that doesn't exactly have the best reputation out there, to be treating potential employees like "manure" is inexcusable. I probably would have received more attention from Hertz if I rented a car from them since they have a history of reporting cars legally rented by customers as being stolen to the local law enforcement.

 

Not that they have ever done something like that or mistreated customers who had existing reservations, right? I think maybe Kate Klonick might disagree: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-12-02/hertz-mistakenly-took-kate-klonick-for-a-ride

 

Maybe I would have gotten a reply from them if I brutally murdered my ex-wife (If I had one) and her lover. Once again, Hertz has never gotten involved with anyone like that, right?

I want to make one thing very clear: My gripe is not that I did not get hired. My gripe is companies ghosting me. And others. When a decision goes against me in life (no matter what it may be) I am OK with it if the reason was professional and nor personal. If a company feels someone is a better fit than I am for a position, as hard as it to accept it, I can. If the reason is personal that is not something I can accept. I know in every single case the reasoning was professional and as such I can accept what happened. As far as not getting the job. What happened after – I cannot!

 

How a company treats potential employees is how they treat actual employees. How a company treats potential employees is how they treat potential/actual customers. If your place of business can’t show decency and respect to those you took time out of your busy day to speak to about potentially being a colleague of yours then I can’t show any decency and support your business and hopefully no one else will, either!

 

I don’t recall how it started or even why it started but for some reason I have saved every single rejection letter I received. Back in the days before email and communicating with people was done via “USPS Snail Mail.” Here is a list of all of them. Almost 3.5-inches of letters. Most came after I received by Bachelor’s degree in Communications and I sent out a zillion resumes/tapes to all sorts of radio and TV stations. Unlike now, when they rejected you, they sent a letter or postcard informing you it is best to seek employment elsewhere because it won’t be with them.

I spoke to a few people about this to get their thoughts from “the other side.” One is a long-time family friend who has worked in HR for over 25 years and is one of the few people in HR who is good at what she does and is not as worthless as the other 99.99999% who do. I spoke to a few friends I see when I take our dog for a walk.

 

I asked the dog-friends why companies “ghost” people. The reasons I was given were borderline laughable and disgraceful but here they are: They said they don’t want to “open the door” to the rejected applicant sending them an email saying the company should still hire them and to reconsider; Not sending an email is “lawsuit protection” since the rejected candidate will think they were the best person and seek out a lawsuit against the company for not hiring them; HR people have a lot to do every day and just don’t have the time to send out emails to everyone.

 

Of all the reasons given, while all are not true, the last one is the most offensive. In my case, let’s say 15 people were interviewed. That means 14 people did not get the position. How long do we think it takes to copy/paste a rejection email? I will be very generous and say, 14 minutes, knowing full well the realistic answer is: less-than-5!

 

Not-so-shockingly the long-time HR person gave a completely different answer. She said she always sends emails to those her company did not hire, and some companies even have systems that automatically send emails to those not hired. She is one of the few HR people actual worth a damn. Most HR people are beyond useless and worthless and only have a job because their company likes them but knows they are incompetent so they choose to put them in a position they feel will do the company the least amount of damage when reality is 180-degrees. A 100-seat bus with 98 HR people in it that goes over a cliff is a true tragedy. The tragic part is those empty seats means 2 more incompetent people are still employed.

 

When I came up with the idea for this entry, I knew how Hertz and other companies have acted was not unique to me, so I put out a few posts on social media. I asked for people who were ghosted by companies and if they felt like venting any frustrations. I got some replies but only one felt like expressing their thoughts, even though I promised complete anonymity to all that sent me something.

 

This person had a trio of interviews with national companies for a position with them. I know the names of all of them and if I mentioned them everyone would say they have heard of them, so we are not talking about fly-by-night operations. He was very qualified for two of them. One he was not as qualified but was asked by the company to apply for it knowing full well his background. All were done via Zoom.

• Early-September: This was for the position he was not the most qualified for. Qualified, just not the most qualified for but only applied because they asked him to do so. Ten days later when he did not hear back from them, he sent them an email. Four months later………..
• Mid-October: The company said they will “Get back to you within 48 hours.” Here it is 3-months later, and he has heard nothing.
• Early-November: Was told “We will be in touch within a week.” Almost 2.5-months later………I think you know!

 

I am sure all three will be getting in touch with him some time soon. Around the same time the sun rises in the West and sets in the East. I’d sooner bet on Kim Jong Un being elected POTUS than of any of these pathetic excuses for mankind every getting in touch with him ever again.

 

Sadly, what happened to me, and this other person is more the norm then the exception. Companies need to take a good long look in the mirror and realize the problem is as much them as others. Keep mistreating potential employees and it won’t be long before this happens (Peter Finch from the 1976 movie “Network” in one of the greatest movie scenes EVER!):