Tales from Monday Morning Management Meetings

I worked for Farmers from 2004-2007. I began as a Senior Claim Rep in a claims office near Seattle WA. As soon as I was hired, my immediate supervisor had also just been promoted. Apparently, her supervisor was demoted after Farmers relocated his family of 5 because they had implemented a new Claims Leadership and Development supervisor program and he did not pass. (This is Farmers way of getting rid of good people). Therefore, my supervisor who had only 2 years of claims experience as compared to his 8 years became his direct supervisor, and mine. As soon as I was hired, I was told by the office manager that if I did not go out and drink with management, and have drunk lush fest lunches with them, that I would not be promoted. I spoke to my direct supervisor about this comment, as I felt it was in violation of company policy (HA!) and she in turn, at a profit sharing after hours party, came on to me in sick and disgusting sexual ways and told me while intoxicated she would never promote me as I was a female and she has to be the best. (She was promoted within a year to office manager and was arrested for taking money from the company...go figure?) Within one year I was promoted to supervisor after passing the CLD program. This program is a hot mess. The office manager chooses who they want as supervisors, and thus "magically ignores their numbers" and promotes them no matter what. At this time, if I were to go back to Farmers claim office, there would be no one I knew as Farmers has promoted all of their new hires and gotten rid of all of their senior reps. Although being promoted is great, the other person I was promoted with had NO insurance experience whatsoever. So the merit was completely lost. As soon as I was promoted, I was told again that I needed to mingle and drink with other management. I was also told that I had to always have 1-2 Claim Reps on an "action plan" or I was not doing my job. My job was to follow through with the dirty work that management wanted me to do. I was not there to train, mentor, supervise anyone-rather get rid of people. Let me say this, the management atmosphere has always been since I was there is that of complete arrogance, selfishness, and stupidity. The managers and supervisors are there for themselves and the more people they can step on to get where they are going, the better. MONDAY MANAGEMENT MEETINGS: Lets just say I always felt dirty walking out of those meetings. It was the manager telling us that the claim reps all sucked, that they all needed to go, except for the chosen ones..and then the manager went one by one to each supervisor asking us for our "plan" to get rid of a certain claim rep. I was the only supervisor not willing to play their game. And they singled me out. I now had a target on my back. In fact, it was and is a running joke to all supervisors, "who has the target now?" In working there, I went through a divorce and started dating a co worker. This co worker was being screwed up the ass left and right by Farmers-coming back from serving our country and then HR taking his pay away, and management punishing him on his PPR as they included his time away as a big fat negative. (That is completely against the law but Farmers does not play by the law). This person was and is outspoken and would often speak up about how awful they were treating him. Because I associated with him, my manager then told me that I should "re think" my relationship with him. (I married him). My target grew bigger. My team consisted mostly of new hires. One of my new hires was awful in documenting files, and in fact he lied when saying he met with the customers. I caught him in a lie and I went to management, and I literally said, we need to fire him. This is an issue of integrity. What did management do? Hmmm....they promoted him to Special Claim Rep where he was making near what I made. And then what did they do? Sent him to the CAT team to make even more money. And when I again complained that he should be fired, what did they do? They then sent him to CAT team and turned on me saying I should have caught it sooner. When I initially had a new manager, and he knew of my friendship with the said co worker, he called a private meeting with me and then said this-I have been watching you, and I do not think your on board. Are you on board? WTF? This same manager who is still the manager at several meetings, would say when talking about loved ones, or customers with illnesses, "I dont care if they have fucking cancer, they need to die then and we can close our claim." Office manager. As I was hating working as a supervisor, as I could not be their puppet...I tried to move into SIU. I was good friends with SIU department rep and she had been mentoring me. I took the classes, and let my manager know I wanted to move into SIU. When an opening appeared I applied. I was interviewed and then told I could have the job but that I would have to take a pay cut to a starting claim reps salary. I had been a supervisor for 2 years at that point, and had 7 years claims experience. I asked they why, why cant they just move me to a higher claim rep salary and they told me HR would not do it. What did Farmers do when I laughed, told them I was insulted? They offered the job to one of my Claim Reps at a starting salary $2K less than mine. I thought they could not match my salary? I had had enough. That is when I left. At this moment, there are supervisors with less than 2 years claims experience sitting in their cubicle, plotting to get rid of someone next, promoting idiots that will kiss ass and bend over, come up with kindergarten level training and pat themselves on the back everyday. They actually think and believe they are someone important, someone that is qualified. Let me tell you, now that I am working for a superior insurance company, I realized how little I really knew about management and being a supervisor. Farmers throws a bunch of money at you initially (starting salary is now $42K with NO experience, company car, cell etc) make promises to you, send you all over the state, make you work 24/7 and not get any overtime and then when you speak up, they get rid of you. It is a pathetic mess and I understood while I was there that my job was based on shit. I did not take it seriously as I knew the office and the company has NO integrity and it is being run by a FUCKING NAZI! I forgot his name already, but VP of claims in LA, looks like a Hitler, if of German descent and said this at my supervisor class-The definition of integrity is doing what Farmers tells you to do. Wow, he should have saluted too. No class, no integrity, no professionalism (reminds me of a former APD supervisor that took a video on his work cell of himself having sex with a girl and then showed me) he later was accused of sexual harrassment and fired. Go figure? There is currently an APD supervisor that would say everytime he visited the office to all of the females, "boy, all of you look like women I would fuck" He was also promoted to APD Manager. The company is rotten. I was involved in a car accident in my company car, not my fault, a Farmers owned stolen vehicle targeted my Farmers car and hit me on purpose. What did Farmers do? Well the accident occurred in front of the claims office, everyone saw it, and they still had SIU invest the claim to see if I was faking my injuries. And I was an employee to boot. They do not treat their employees well, why would they treat their customers well?

I hear you - every word of this. I especially sympathize with feeling dirty coming out of Monday morning management meetings. For 2 hours every Monday morning, all management did in this particular office was bash the Claims Reps. We talked about who could be laid off, who could be put on action plans, etc. Farmers philosophy is to fill all desks with warm bodies (it is not a proud accomplishment to be hired as a Claims Rep, as anyone can do the job). They don't give a shite about turn over. There is no focus on employee development, coaching, etc. If management does not approve, you are on your way out - PERIOD! All Farmers management ever talks about is the need to be positive and a team player. However, it is management that is more negative than anyone else. Especially in the office I worked at. I thank God for every day I am out of that shithole. All the other Supervisors there when I was are currently miserable.

I hear you as well. Damn, it rang true. I just resigned (basically it was resign or get fired and I wasn't gonna give them that pleasure) because my morals and integrity were at risk. This company is full of the slimiest creeps I have ever met. There are some good folks there, but they are the exception rather than the rule.

YoinEB: Why would you choose to resign over getting fired? Good job cuting your nose to spite your face. Now you will not be able to collect unemployment. You did just what they wanted you to do. They manipulated you into quitting to aviod paying unemployement. Looks like Farmers had the last laugh afterall.