The Offer

Finally.

Finally, I am sitting down to spill a few beans on this job offer process of Chris'. Can I just say, WHAT A TOTAL NIGHTMARE THAT NEVER ENDS?!

So, Chris was encouraged to apply for the position he has been doing out of Tampa, which he did in JULY (yes, 2 months ago). He waited and waited and waited to hear. Then, they finally called, and they offered him a lateral position. The job posted for his current job in Tampa mysteriously was removed and a new, lower paying job was posted. I was FURIOUS! Total game, right?

So, Chris interviewed. Yes, he interviewed for his own job. How stupid. Shocker, they offered him the job (as he was the only one to apply to the job which has been posted for 6 months!). It was pathetic with a tiny itty bitty relocation package that probably would not even cover the moving truck to Tampa Bay, Florida. Again, he was not happy. He counter offered, waited a couple more weeks, before they came back with about a penny more than they started with in salary. The new salary was basically consistent with his salary here but higher a bit for the cost of living increase in Florida. Um, really not worth it. He can work in Bellevue for that, right?

Oh, and there is Bellevue. His manager there started asking in August for a time when  Chris could come back to work in Bellevue. Chris was trying to find a stopping point in the Tampa project, assuming he would not be taking the position. He thought after this trip that he is on now, he could stop and return to Bellevue.

So, last week, Chris declined the Tampa Central Command position (yes, he works at Central Command at the air force base in Tampa. Nice and not stressful, right? Considering he is a civilian who worked in a little office by himself for 14 years before being thrown into Central Command....it is a huge transition to say the least). I arrived on Thursday (in another post) to find out that his Florida manager really wanted Chris to reconsider the Florida position. She believed they could negotiate something that all parties could agree on. She previously had been uninvolved, supposedly, in the negotiations.

Meanwhile, his Bellevue Manager IM'd Chris through their work chat and asked about Chris' return, stating they were short of staff and needed him back. She (Chris' Bellevue Manager) became aware that Chris was pondering the Tampa job and that he was to reconsider the offer.

So, over the weekend (you know, when we were to be relaxing), Chris pondered his next move, twitching, hyper analyzing, talking, talking to me about moving to Tampa, showing me neighborhoods and homes, etc, etc. He really thought they would agree to his terms and we would be relocating to Tampa. Suspiciously, we both thought, what if Bellevue decided to cut Chris so that he HAD to take this lowball salary presented for the Florida job? I could totally see them doing that as they had been less than cooperative and not really negotiating at all with him throughout this painstaking process.

Why did we not knock on wood?

Sunday night Chris submitted his counter offer. He thought they would laugh at him, but he still thought it was too low of a salary for the effort involved, the cost of living, the move, etc. Now, let's wait.

Tonight, Chris gets back to his hotel in Tampa and his work cell rings. It was his Bellevue manager's manager (yes, they have a ton of managers managing managers who manage managers), telling Chris to call HR in Bellevue (when did they get involved?! He had been working with some HR somewhere else? What happened to that girl?), and he encouraged Chris to accept the offer as he did not think he had anything for Chris to come back to. WHAT?? Chris' manager just said on Thursday that she needed him to return, and on Tuesday there is nothing? Did we not just predict this?!! The offer, the same. The HR guy was rude and blunt. I guess HR no longer means human resources, huh?!

Ever heard of getting railroaded  ("It means to be forced upon a railroad tie and carried out of town on a rail. (not a good thing")? Well, that is what this is. Chris was presented with no option but to take the pathetic offer where he would actually be losing thousands of dollars in relocation expenses (like the loss of money in selling our home, closing costs, etc).  They gave him until Friday to decide.

Decide what? WE ARE NOT STUPID! It is still all up in the air, clearly. Chris is not taking their measly little package, if you want to call it that. He needs to get a hold of his Bellevue Manager, who is currently not taking his calls (really, can this behavior get any more suspicious and unethical?), to see if she has any work for him, and for how long. If anything, it will buy him time, to work locally as long as they will have him (which clearly is not long as they must see him as expendable).

So, these last 6 months of 12 hour days, 50% of the time in Tampa, were for NOTHING. They will look wonderful on a resume I suppose. Lovely. Oh, I am SO LOVING his company. I am so loving it that I am about to go there to apply. Actually, I am about to go there to give them a piece of the tiny remaining piece of my mind that I have left after all of this! Seriously, where are the ethical companies??!! Are there any left anymore?! Chris wants to apply!

The drama continues. Oh, and you thought I took a trip to Florida on pleasure (really, it was supposed to be!). Every day there is something new. Just when we believe this will be the week we know if Chris will be staying here or moving, his company throws in another curve ball. Really, I thought this stuff only happened in the movies, people (companies) are not that bad. But, I was more than proved wrong here. They are that bad. What will Chris decide? Well, his decision changes from moment to moment. Can you see why I have not updated? My next update will be when this nightmare is over!

Options:
1. Go back to Bellevue where he will surely be cut.
2. Take the Florida job losing $$ in the process.
3. Possibly continue to travel/commute to Florida to work until a replacement can be found locally, where he will be cut.

Great options, huh?