Are there still people who don't realise the dangers of Facebook?

I received an email from a friend with this attachment and thought that everyone had realised by now that PEOPLE CAN READ what you write online - especially when you are friends with them on Facebook.

It seems that no matter what happens with technology & communication there is still dim people out there who don’t think about their actions or how to utilise it effectively.

Before this, emailing or texting your whole address book with a personal email was a popular blunder of many and embarrassing enough but insulting your boss and your work has got to be one of the dumbest of all – especially in the current economic climate.

I can’t imagine this particular individual is going to be filling out applications and putting reason for leaving last job: “I was asked to leave for insulting my boss on Facebook”. Perhaps, prospective employers would be sympathetic if her work was s**t, as she said but I don’t think anyone wants to employ someone with such lack of common sense.

To summarise then, hate your boss, hate your work, slag your boss to close friends if it won’t get back to your boss – that is all acceptable , but don’t do it on Facebook when your friends with your boss – that’s just plain STUPID!

Car dealerships? Should legal technicalities outweigh moral responsibility?

Usually my blogs are my perspective or opinion on current events or news stories that relate to the recruitment industry or work in general but I've got a bee in my bonnet today about a car dealership that up until yesterday I thought was the best of a bad bunch so had to talk about this.

Without naming names I know that a great majority of any drivers who have experience buying used cars has a horror story or less dramatically a bad experience with the company they have dealt with – we all know the main players in this industry. Well this one is another one of these that has really annoyed me and I would appreciate your perspective or advice on the issue.

Basically, I bought a used car almost a year ago and it came with one year warranty - which I thought was great. Since I've had the car there has been a noise coming from the left hand side when I drive on motorways or expressways for any longer than 15 minutes or so. I have had the car in to get looked at on numerous occasions and still the noise persists. I was aware that if the warranty expired without this being resolved, I would have to pay so called the company who I will not name for assistance twice and was promised a call back – which never happened after a few weeks, no surprise.

Then out of the blue someone called from the company, I presumed to deal with my car issue but it turned out it was actually to sell me a ‘service’ which I politely declined as I was unhappy that the other issue had still not been resolved. The man I dealt with seemed very helpful and insisted he would help me even though it wasn’t ‘his job’ – he booked my car in to get looked at and I was satisfied that finally I was getting listened to. Just as the details of the appointment were being confirmed the man asked if I wanted a ‘service’ on the car at the same time – you can’t blame the man for trying. I again politely declined and said that if this issue was resolved I would consider getting my car serviced with the company when the MOT was due and kill two birds with one stone. The call ended and I was happy that the issue may finally be resolved.

A couple of weeks passed and the day my car was due to go in arrived, a man came to collect the car and my husband handed him the keys and signed to say it was picked up – so he was told. I then received a call to say my car was going to be dropped off and I was to pay the balance to the delivery man for the ‘Gold Service’ they had carried out. I was obviously slightly confused as I had at no point requested this work. I explained the original conversation I had with ‘Mr. Helpful’ and my anger that the man had booked me in for a ‘Gold Service’ when I made it perfectly clear I did not want that work carried out. He said he would look into it and I got a call back around 5.30pm from a woman in the services department to say I had to pay the £90 balance in order to get my car back – livid is the only word I can use to describe how I felt at this point.

I needed the car back to drop my daughter in the morning and to go to work so explained the situation again but was met with numerous responses that basically came down to pay or you won’t get the car back. They claimed that when my husband signed for the car to be taken in the morning that it was a ‘job card’ and it’s legally binding that I agreed to the work – in retrospect obviously he should have read thoroughly what he signed instead of taking the man’s word for it – we didn’t get a copy of what he signed for so I can’t be sure if it was or wasn’t. Maybe saying my car was held to ransom is dramatic but that’s what it felt like. I agreed to give them a cheque so that I could get my car back but was extremely reluctant and unhappy with the situation.

As it stands now, I contacted Consumer Direct to see if they could help me and they said that if my husband did sign a ‘job card’ then I may not have any grounds to claim the money back. I also contacted a manager at the dealership with my concerns and explained the situation and he said he would ‘look into it’ but I’m not holding my breath on that result either.

My issue is why these types of companies get away with firstly processing unauthorized work and then getting payment for work I did not want carried out by forcing me to pay or remain without a car? I know that the law is the law and it’s not a good idea to sign something that hasn’t been thoroughly read but that is an issue I have highlighted to my husband – I don’t think he will sign anything else without reading it.

Does anyone else agree that this company should face the consequences of morally wrong sales procedures, rather than using legalities to force payment for unwanted work?

Do you hate Debbie or Steve in your workplace?

According to an article in the Daily Record last week, managers called Steve and Debbie have been named as Britain's bosses from hell. A poll of 4000 people put John and Catherine in second and Alan and Anne in third place. Staff said they were the most challenging people to work for.

In short, the worst male boss names were: 1.Steve 2.John 3.Alan 4.Paul 5.Chris 6.David 7.Mike 8.Simon 9.Barry 10.Andy.

And the worst women's names were: 1. Debbie 2. Catherine 3. Anne 4. Linda 5. Jane 6. Liz 7. Fiona 8. Andrea 9. Pam 10. Michelle.

Although it’s obviously not set in stone that people blessed with these names would be a nightmare to work with, it’s a bit of fun and provokes some interesting stories when discussed in a group. I personally don’t have any experience of bad boss’s with those names. We have a Jane in the office here and she’s great to work with – we love you Jane. If you have any stories feel free to share, although there would be little point trying to omit the name of your boss for anonymity – share anyway.

The article also told of researcher’s who exposed horror stories of employees being asked to carry out tasks that were definitely not noted in their job spec when they joined. Among them was a female boss who insisted her toenails were cut while she made an important conference call. Another spoke of their David Brent-like boss who threatened disciplinary action if staff didn't turn up to monthly karaoke nights.

I know that I wouldn’t complain about the latter if it was a paid outing but on a more serious note it’s worrying that there are many people suffering in their jobs and they don’t have an outlet for their woes except anonymous surveys. I’m sure there are many technically illegal tasks and treatment people endure in the workplace that goes unreported, especially with the economic downturn and people’s fears of redundancy and job loss.

No one wants to challenge or question unfair treatment generally as it can lead to bad feeling and in some cases a more serious personal vendetta from employers. I think it is an issue that needs to be given more time – it’s all well and good having legislation and laws surrounding health and safety and working time regulations, etc but are these truly implemented in all businesses today and are there ways that the unfairly treated can really change things without the risk of unemployment or being branded a ‘snitch’? I’m open to opinions…

"Facebook police raid family barbeque..."

Has anyone else seen the front page of the Metro today? At first I thought it was a joke but now I can't actually believe so many resources were wasted on an innocent party - a little bit embarrassing for all involved I would imagine

For those who haven't read the story, basically four police cars, a riot van and a helicopter raided a 30th birthday party with 15 attendees. As the barbeque was going to get lit, eight officers wearing camouflage and body armour jumped out demanding 'the rave' be shut down, whilst this was going on the small gazebo was flapping wildly due to the helicopter's blades above them. Supposedly the party invite created on Facebook under the 'create event' app had been intercepted by police who had thought it was an illegal rave as it was described as an "all night party" online.

Whilst reading it I thought the police must have had an embarrassing apology to make afterwards but was even more surprised to read that the police had insisted that they were right to end the party due to their concerns that stemmed from how it was advertised on facebook. The host of the party was obviously not best pleased as he’d spent £800 on food, drink and a generator for the evening and the party was rudely interrupted and closed down at four in the afternoon, even before the music had been put on.

It just shows I suppose how much of the interaction we have online is viewed and can be easily misinterpreted. I’ll definitely be more careful about the information I put online and how it is worded as the “Facebook police” certainly don’t seem very reasonable so I wouldn’t want them paying me a visit.

On a more serious note, there should be an investigation into who made the decision to go ahead with this ridiculous raid, not only is it a complete waste of time, money and resources but it’s an infringement of the guy’s rights surely. Is it now illegal to have a barbeque or party in your own garden? I didn’t think so…