Pittsburgh Friendliness: Hoax! (Penn: zip code, title, money)

[groar]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

If you wouldn't patronize a business because one if its employees shared their opinion on personally-held financial values contrary to those you espouse yourself (and with no attempt at linking those values to the employer) then you're not very reasonable. My hundreds of Facebook friends, most of whom list their employers, constantly post political rants, some of which I disagree with. Why would I then say to myself "John has a different outlook on gun control than I do. Therefore, I will boycott his employer." How is that logical? Saying people (in general---not specific targets) should make more of an effort to sacrifice to make their budget work instead of displacing blame elsewhere would make you boycott my employer for what reason, again?

you said you look at people's bank statements and judge them. then you posted on the internet about how "upmc employees" waste their money on a bunch of specific things. this is not just about you "espousing financial values" or expressing opinions. you even got all secretive about how you got this information, implying that you knew it was wrong to share it. but you did it anyway. you can go ahead and look at the posts, i quoted them in this thread for you.

i would not want to be served by a teller or whatever you were who is harshly judging clients' finances and gossiping about them online, even if it's not by name. if i discussed the patients where i work the way you discussed your customers, i would be fired too. and rightly so.

[ryanm3685]

Originally Posted by JustinCaseJr.

We don't want some loose cannon talking about our company all over the internet.

Doesn't everyone know about this? I thought we all learned that a decade or so ago. Every politician knows that he has to be careful, as does everyone who ever hopes for a security clearance, or even a promotion. Bosses can do searches, and so do HR people.

The desire to keep company issues in-house is understandable. After all, I don't ever under any circumstances discuss the personal affairs of my family, friends, or anyone else whom I'm acquainted with. Any kind of group should be able to resolve their dirty laundry in-house before it gets around They have a right to privacy, and if I need to bring up an anecdote, I'll just say "someone I know," instead of outright naming/identifying them. With that said, I hope it's not just people who identify themselves who get terminated after posting critical information. I hope the companies would have the sense to search IP addresses and whatnot of anonymous posters who may unnecessarily "spill the beans" of what's going on inside. Essentially, what I'm saying anonymous people shouldn't get off scot-free while self-identifying people get into trouble, all other things being equal.

I do believe in think before you type, and that applies whether or not you are anonymous.

On a semi-related note, isn't it ironic that people are getting a look at Prince Harry's military service on CNN? I almost think that is something that should be kept under wraps because of the dangerous nature of his work.

[selltheburgh]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

When my apartment community had this brought to their attention they were infuriated someone was impersonating them. When I brought that matter to the attention of the Fairfax County Police Department they told me fraud isn't a crime, so I let the matter drop.

To keep with the original theme of this thread, I'm at least happy to hear that this isn't a Pittsburgh problem.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by selltheburgh

To keep with the original theme of this thread, I'm at least happy to hear that this isn't a Pittsburgh problem.

Good point and creatively on-topic too!

[aw_now_what]

ScR, how in the world would some random person in Fairfax Co. VA or wherever know contact info for your future landlady? And why would they have anything to do with your getting fired from PNC?

[groar]

i am friendly as hell!

anyway it's time for bed, too bad this thread (and half the posters on the board?) probably won't be here in the morning.

1/22 never forget.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by groar

not saying you should have been fired, and i am sorry that happened, but....



here is what i am guessing your former employer had a problem with in that thread:

"I can tell you from personal experience that I KNOW many of these UPMC employees who proclaim to be starving to death are still squandering money away on "extras" like cigarettes, gambling, high-speed Internet & premium cable, vehicles outside their realistic budget, etc."

"Without revealing too much I do have access to the account history and spending habits of many at UPMC who proclaim they aren't paid enough and are "struggling", and I almost always see excesses that can be trimmed from their own budgets."

"Throughout the course of each day I have people at their wit's end who are already flat broke the Monday subsequent to their paydays and come to me to complain about overdraft fees. I already know I will be facing a workday replete with this nonsense tomorrow. My sympathy is minimal for those who sit in front of me reeking of cigarette smoke and who incurred such negative financial circumstances through living beyond their means. What business do you have eating at Cheesecake Factory or having a high Comcast bill and then screaming "it's not fair" when you receive a fee for going negative with your account? "

you might not be naming names here but you are certainly very clearly stating that as a PNC employee (and with the large amount of personal info you disclose, it is very easy to figure out that you work at pnc among many other things) you are looking at people's bank statements and judging the hell out of them. not very good PR for pnc. and it's a lot more than just talking about publicly available wages or what you personally think a person can live on.

The thing is, though, I made most of that up as hyperbole and supposition. I've actually never seen "Cheesecake Factory" listed in someone's ledger, and you can't discern what ATM withdrawals, for example, may have been used for. I wasn't looking up any random Tom, Dick, or Harry to critique their spending habits. I was looking into their financial history when I was specifically asked by the client to do so. Otherwise I only ever accessed client information when requested to do so by my employer to identify sales opportunities to deepen relationships. I would also access my own information about once daily just to check my checking account balance.

I'll be point-blank that I do NOT harbor one shred of sympathy for someone who claims to be broke when they're reeking of cigarette smoke. I've held that belief for many, many years. If you can afford an expensive luxury like cigarettes then you are NOT broke. I won't give any money to someone begging for it if they smell like cigarette smoke. There's a lot of things I'd like to buy that I don't because I know I know I can't afford them. I'd love to go to church but don't because I felt judged for not being able to afford to tithe more at my affluent Virginia church and don't want to repeat that up here. I wanted to take my partner out for our recent two-year anniversary but knew I couldn't afford to do so. I never started smoking not only for health reasons but also because I knew it was expensive and unaffordable for me. I refuse to "hide" such feelings just because someone is going to equate my personal conviction on a matter like that into boycotting my employer. "Don't spend more than you earn" isn't a belief held by me exclusively. It's held by many fellow fiscal conservatives. Apparently we have a lot of personal financial bailout proponents in this area. That's fine. I'm not amongst your ranks. I've made a lot of stupid financial decisions in my life, and I accept the consequences for them. I don't displace anger and frustration at my own financial mistakes onto others and expect a handout. If that makes me "unemployable" then I suppose I'll just have to launch my own business sooner than I had anticipated.

[aw_now_what]

If you can afford an expensive luxury like cigarettes then you are NOT broke.

I despise cigarettes too. But it's a very strong addiction. Quitting drama would be a lot easier for you than quitting smoking for them.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by aw_now_what

I despise cigarettes too. But it's a very strong addiction. Quitting drama would be a lot easier for you than quitting smoking for them.

"Quitting drama"? Care to elaborate? I don't "hate" smokers. I'm a Christian and believe we ought to love everyone. With that being said many employers nowadays offer smoking cessation programs because fewer smokers equates to lower overall health care costs. Smokers always have an excuse as to why "tomorrow" is a better day to commit to quitting than today. The problem? Too many tomorrows accumulate, and by then the damage in terms of respiratory health and strained finances has already been incurred.

Although I did love Les Miserables and Rent I am far from being "addicted" to drama.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

In any event I'm done discussing this topic for the evening and would prefer to return to "Pittsburgh Friendliness is a Hoax".

You sure you don't want to talk about Walmart now? We could get a good 20 to 30 pages on Walmart. I've seen it happen before.