There's a woman dead in South Africa because her boyfriend mistook her for a burglar, there's kids being shot up in American schools, and there's dead horse being flogged in ready meals.
And still the bloody Work Programme continue their tedious incompetence!
I return home from lugging heavy bags from Tesco (where I nearly lost the plot, carrying around baskets of poorly packaged muck in a busy hellhole) to find Mrs Adviser has left a message. Naturally these people only ever manage to ring me when I'm out (which isn't often, actually), and yet never manage to pick up the phone when I ring them (I've rung 4 times as often as they have since they were supposed to - for those keeping count).
Now I don't mind them leaving a message to say 'hi Mrs adviser here, just letting you know I'm trying to get in touch, I'll call back later (which she didn't say)'. What I do object to, having explained this to them after the last fucking time, is: 'hi, this is Mrs adviser from Employment Plus at the Salvation Army, just trying to find out how you're getting on with your ESA claim and wanting to know what you want to do about stuff, bye'.
I explained to her after Bully Adviser did this before. I explained to her fucking face that this was not acceptable. She seemed to understand, and honestly it's not that difficult. You can identify yourself by name my dear, I know who you are. Anything else is not just pointless, it causes me problems. Yet again these people just don't listen! So now I'm looking forward to another awkward experience where I have to, again, explain this, tempting more indignation from these clueless people.
Oh they are useless. The incompetence is truly staggering. No doubt you'll be fobbed off with the usual platitudes and excuses when you do get to speak to your advisor. These people are utterrly incapable of dealing with the complex needs of many of their clients. The Work Programme should be abolished now!
ReplyDeleteIt's just a continual lack of basic competence. Just everyday uselessness. That's what's so particularly sad about the whole thing. They can't even manage the basics. I don't think there was any malice in it, mrs adviser doesn't strike me as nasty, just a bit hopeless really.
DeleteI bet she can make the same claim as bully to have a history of years in 'the business'. But given how this business seems to work, an echo chamber that doesn't take into account the actual needs and issues of the people it's there to help, that means very little. Filling in forms, creating action plans, drawing down ESF money; that's really what seems to constiute help, as opposed to actual help.
Is it possible to complain about them to the ICO under the Data Protection Act? Just wondering as they are sharing information on a public machine that you've not given them permission to share about yourself. As it causes distress, surely the ICO would be willing to investigate? Hope they can offer some help as you shouldn't be treated like this by these incompetent providers.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a public machine technically, it's an answering machine that I share with other people.
DeleteIt's one of those situations where complaining about it would probably make things worse, and they'd likely give the benefit of the doubt to the provider. Like I said, mrs adviser isn't malicious, and, this time fortunately, no harm was done. If it kept happening that would be different.
It's just an example of how these people think and how useless the work programme is.