NDC: The Good

Despite the rough start working at NDC, I actually got to the point in which I was able to enjoy the work I did after a few months. The most positive aspect was that I no longer had an abusive boss to deal with. I was able to go weeks at a time without having any contact with my supervisor. I also found that the days were going by a lot more quickly and would typically end before I knew it.

I started appreciating the job for what it was. After I started qualifying for the bonuses, I was coming close to the money I was making at my previous job. I wasn't having to make a lot of sacrifices to stay at this job. I also enjoyed having two solid days off to do what I wanted, even if they weren't on the weekend. With my last job, I pretty much had to show up every single day to ensure that the tapes got loaded and were recording. This meant that if I wanted to go up to LA, I could do that without having to worry about getting back in time.

I found there were a lot of other nice things about working at NDC:

1. It could be a fun place to work. They were always planning all sorts of events that the Dispatch Agents could take part in. They had a pie-eating contest, a talent contest, company outings to local sporting events, etc. There was always something to look forward to.

2. Sometimes, they provided free food. They would occasionally come up with special lunches. They would have a pizza day, a taco day, an ice cream sundae bar, etc. They also provided donuts on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays. When I started working there and had Wednesdays and Thursdays off, it appeared that they had free donuts every day. But what I saw was leftovers from Saturday and Monday. I did wonder why the donuts didn't seem so fresh on Sunday and Tuesday.

3. The company provided benefits for full-time employees. This was the main reason I wanted to work here. I knew things were off with my health and wanted to make sure I could be taken care of in the event of another hernia or some other crisis. They provided medical, dental and vision benefits. I was also able to enroll in a retirement savings program. You could also accrue sick pay.

4. Reviews and raises were scheduled on a regular basis. After your first three months with the company, you received a review and an increase in your hourly wage. Another three months later, there was another review and increase. This pattern continued every six months afterward. Except for Inventory Auditors, Inc., I've never worked with any other company that did more than one increase a year.

5. You could volunteer to go home early. If call volume was low, the supervisors would run forecasts to see how many people could be sent home. Because low call volume affected the number of Revenue Units I could generate against the hours I was working, I always volunteered to go home early on Sundays. Working my scheduled hours would not have made up for losing anticipated bonuses.

6. You could clock in a few minutes late. Everyone was given a grace period with regards to clocking in for their shifts. You were not considered tardy unless you clocked in five minutes late or more. This helped me on a couple of occasions in which my alarm didn't go off. It generally took me 15 minutes to drive to work. If I woke up 10 minutes before my shift began and sped down the highway, I was able to make it just in the nick of time.

7. Perfect attendance was rewarded. If you went one calendar month with perfect attendance, you received one extra hour of vacation time. This was special vacation time. It could only be used if you requested it. You could use it to cover any time that you were permitted to leave early due to call volume. You could also accrue it and use it as extra vacation time. It wouldn't be taken away from you if you used up all your sick time (like regular vacation hours could be). Also, if you went three months in a row with perfect attendance, you got to get something for free from the NDC logo store. There was clothing, cups, water bottles, key chains and more. The one time I got this, I chose a blue denim shirt. The Casbah in San Diego used to have a MySpace page that featured a photo of me wearing that shirt. (Although I did look drunk in that photo. I don't know how that was possible because I don't consume alcohol.)

8. There were plenty of opportunities for advancement. NDC prided itself on promoting from within. Many of the people in executive positions in the company started out as Dispatch Agents. If there was an area you felt you would be good at, like supervising, managing, marketing, sales, Human Resources, etc., you could probably find what you were looking for and move up quickly.

For most of the time I was there, working at NDC was a positive experience. But there were a few things I didn't care much for, some of which is related to the list above. I'll cover that tomorrow.