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I am a customer-service supervisor for the call center of a small company that ships worldwide…or I was. A few of the higher-ups (who are no longer with the company) made a poor business decision to the tune of *millions* of dollars.
Fast forward a year and a wildly successful, almost 50-year-old company is on the verge of bankruptcy. We reached out to several places for investment, and one of them said they wouldn’t invest but were interested in buying us.
We went for it. Didn’t really have a choice. To be fair, since they bought us, they paid all the back bills. They let around 70% of the company go – with generous severance packages – and have thus far been fair to those of us that they kept on. They even made sure that, although their PTO practices are different from ours, we wouldn’t lose any accrued time.
Their other supervisors – and overall most of their customer service and sales departments – are very friendly and helpful. They even gave me a shout-out at today’s meeting for being active in the supervisors’ group chat since they added me a week ago.
The problem is…their shipping/fulfillment staff. Being a previously small company, we’re all used to being one team. I have enlisted the help of, and often helped, the international- and domestic-shipping departments, as well as sales, purchasing, accounting, brand management, freight shipping, wholesale, etc.
The new company operates as though their various departments are very, very separate. Additionally, we’re in a southernish state, whereas the new company is not. I don’t know if it’s a culture or a business thing, but their shipping and fulfillment staff seem very disrespectful.
They talk over me or talk to each other as though I’m not there. They announce decisions without any understanding of how we operate, and when I try to help, they just interrupt with their decisions (even the employees that I technically outrank) and walk away from the discussion.
It’s not just me; it’s my boss and everyone else from any other department. They have been friendly and accommodating to our employees in shipping and fulfillment, but are so dismissive of me, my boss, and many others from other departments.
Am I just being too sensitive? Is it cultural (northeastern US vs Southeastern US)? I want to continue to operate as a team, but these guys treat me like I’m either invisible or clueless, and it’s wearing on me. My boss and team depend on my positivity and I’m struggling.
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