Program depends on location. If you're ever considering the B&L constituents carefully consider it as they're essentially grandfathered in because "they have the biggest branch" (and they'll tell you this plenty), so there is quite the rift between them and home base in McKinney whether either party wants to recognize it or not. As an manager in training this made for quite the experience, as prior to even walking in the first day after accepting the job my "mentor" (the branch manager you're supposed to learn under) essentially sent out a branch wide email (remember this is the biggest branch) claiming a new SRS hire was starting at the branch the next week. This particularly made it quite interesting as I was being introduced my first day, as everyone thought I was some corporate nark from Texas Tech(red flag) (as thats primarily the college grad pool they hire from), and would excessively ask "so how long are you here for?" (red flag) when in reality I was a native of the city we were all from. I guess the old boys club in upper management at that branch wanted to flex their muscles, honestly I have no idea what they were thinking on that move. Evidently enough they haven't brought on a new MIT or SRS employee to that location. So.. that was my first impression, and a wise man always said you never get a second shot at a first impression.
Now, as someone who can think objectively I knew something isn't right and tried to explain things to the coordinator of the program, as he was largely unhelpful because mentioning SRS at B&L is like bringing up an estranged wife (which again, both parties are aware of), I started to feel very uneasy about being torn at the seems upon my first experience in "the real world" as I was told, and boy an experience it was .
However, I continued to work as I knew my time wouldn't be enjoyable I fixated on getting my program done as fast as possible so I could get the heck outta there, as I did get the heck outta there just in another fashion.
See, my "mentor" actually wasn't anything of the sort and if he should be considered one, well, he showed me things not to do. As I was informed routinely by the disgruntled warehouse/delivery/forklift/you name it on the daily, I should have just worn a shirt that said "yes tell me all your complaints" as the desperate workers I was working with were hoping that I were going to stay and actually help the situation (which no one truly cares about and I tried lord knows I tried). Not only was I starting to feel torn between the management and workers at the branch but also with the boys at corporate and the branch as I started to realize how severely messed up the situation was.
Example: SRS did a company wide disbursement of bonus checks to all drivers and these are people who need it. The next day the one of the President's at the branch walked in and took them back.
As I was given 3 days notice by the old boys in corporate that I had to help a failing branch in Mississippi (woohoo) after the branch manger flied his 2nd behavioral notice on me (idk what they really call them) for going to lunch with a TM. I went to Mississippi where I was fired out of state because the B&L location told them never to have me back? Truly nothing but all class by these guys.
