SueWen'z Diary
这是我给校方的第一封信~
Case 1:
cleaning job—collect company’s rubbish and throw it on the way out.
Besides that, washed mugs and cups (used by staff and customer), clean
the table, arranged the tables and chairs (for our own use and night
time for client use). There are other tasks
such as fixing the curtain after it has been washed, clean the
storeroom (not often but it has been 3 times – UMS interns did it. We
fear that we might have to do this as their duration of internship has
been completed). There is also once where the toilet floor was wet like
any other toilet, but all of us got scolded and the male interns have
been ordered to clean the toilet.
Case 2:
extra job-- go to the post office, bank, and nearby market or shop to
buy things. The transport and parking fees are not provided for these
tasks. Besides that interns were assigned to go to nearby taxi station
find taxi for client, be a bellboy to take luggage or bag for boss from
his car, replace Customer Service (CS) job when CS is not around. We
also have to read and cut news paper daily (Chinese – Sin Chew; and
English – The Star) and stick in 1 file (regarding to economy, forex,
trading…etc. around 13 categories). Other tasks such as counting 500
pieces of letterhead for them (which was to be sent to the Photostat
shop) and also check the Academy courses filed
notes to see if the notes are all alike. The notes consisted of 162
pages in each file.
Case 3:
event job--be an operator to call customer 1 by 1 to invite them to an
event (not exaggerating—where we had to call thousands of people,
including those who were their previous customer, and ‘potential
clients’ where we had searched from online website and newspaper,
continuously for 2 weeks without doing other task while other interns
had to put their tasks on hold). The consistency of making phone calls
by using the company’s mobile phone gives me headache (due to the
radioactive) and sore throat (non-stop calling). During the event, we
have to do set up, registration, selling product, bodyguard and etc.
(start from 7am till 7pm, whole day on a Sunday
without accepting any excuse or reason that we have our own planning on
that day, unless you are not in Penang, air ticket and bus ticket have
to be shown as a proof). Although we did receive off day replacement for that day, but it is just 1 day.
Case 4:
unacceptable working time—the company operates 6 times per week (Monday
till Saturday, 10am to 6pm). However we work on alternate Saturdays.
UUM students are assigned to work on the 1st, 3rd and 5th week of
Saturday, full day. However, they change our working time randomly; we
always received last minutes inform about our changing working time,
and sometimes including Sunday also we have to work for an event.
The company does not practice on what they preached. “We tell you all earlier so that you can make your plans”. For
example, the company told us that we got few days off on which duration
they mentioned. The off day was during the weekday as they did not have
enough space for us to work due to a small seminar was being held on
that day and they need the training room for the seminar. The company
asks us to replace back the working days on the other alternate
Saturday (2nd, 4th Saturday). But when come to the day before the off
day, company last minute request us to continue working for that few
days, regardless to what reason we cannot make it, I remember the
people who in charge of the management told me, ”This is your problem, just cancel your plans, company’s priority come first…”
More
than once the same thing happened again and they don’t even tell us the
reason why we have to switch our working time on and off. Again and
again I cannot arrange my time properly and I have to deal with it. Due
to some family issues and personal reasons, I am unable to work on any
of the time as the company requested for the other next time or next
time after that. At one time we have to come back after working time
(after 6pm) to have a meeting, stay up late to complete the job without
OT.
Case 5:
Inadequate working environments — the training room is big enough for
us to do our work, it is good enough for us, but we have to arrange
tables and chair every morning when come to work and after finish work.
There are 23 people including trainee and 2 permanent staff that
watching us in one training room. Initially, the training room is
comfortable, but starting from July, we have been informed that the
amount of electrical bill is increase, so we have to corporate with the
company, to cut down the usage of air condition, where from 3
air-conditions to 1 air-cond. Seriously, the room is concealed with
walls, without any open windows so not only do we feel the heat inside,
it is suffocating and stuffy. We don’t feel comfortable with the
environment anymore. Besides that since UMS trainee has left, we UUM
and USM interns have to sit at the lobby. It is a small place for
customer to do registration and enquiry. Whenever got customer or the
CEO comes back to the office, we need to move back to training room or
meeting room, in and out.
Case 6:
mentally tortured—I would like to confess I’m mentally tortured by the
one whom in charge with the management; she is in charge to give marks
(internship) to us. When we are requested to do cleaning and heavy job,
we were told with sarcastic words such as “you are just a trainee”. I remembered well on what my teacher taught me when I was in school, “For other people to respect you, you have to respect them first”.
We are well aware that we are just trainees but by looking down on us
where we feel degraded is not how things should be. How are we supposed
to respect them when they don’t really respect us as well?
When
we are required to complete last minutes task, they asked us to behave
like a professional. No matter how tough the tasks that have been
assigned also I can accept, but then they usually didn’t inform us
earlier, every time they will tell us it’s urgent and need us to
complete it immediately. We would have to complete it by the same day
or after few hours, OT is a must to complete those task, multimedia’s
job is not that easy to do but, we are always been given this kind of
pressure.
When
a person is sick, obviously we are required to take MC. However the
management said that our report regarding to our internship would not
be a positive one due to medical leave. Whatever I have make request
from company will never get a response, for example my lunch time is
12pm until 1pm, I’m a gastric patient, I have to consume meal
frequently. Since the moment we were warned to not treat the office
like a canteen, I formally make a request from the management, can I
have a small break after lunch. Even though I have explained my
situation, I still only get the reply of “no hi tea please”,
no further feedback anymore. One thing is, trainee are treated this
way, but staffs are different, they can eat whatever time when they
feel hungry, they are taking more than 1 meal during working time but
we are forbidden. And whenever I ask about my off day so that I could
plan my activities like sending my mum to medical checkup but still,
there is no reply, not even a word of “I help u to check it first”.
Case 7:
Others-- We brings our own laptop, charger and external hard disk to
work. Due to multimedia job, we have to save all the softcopy regarding
to our task, even thou we have already transfer all the file to
company’s hard disk we still have to keep it, but we don’t have such a
big memory space to store all this data. I can’t afford to buy another
external hard disc just to store whole company’s file. Our task is
doing video, banner, name card, header and footer of a website, poster.
it’s at least something that related to our course, even though we are
given a lot of pressure, but other course trainee (UMS) like taking
networking are request to create a fake account of facebook of pretty
girl, and have to add new user daily, ask them whether interested in
foreign exchange, trading or so on, and whenever there’s an event, the
“Fake” facebook account is use to do promotion. As I know, now UMS has
already banned this company and will not send trainee here anymore.
Previously I have heard about other University like UPM, and TAR have
also refused to send their students here for training.
Some
other days that they treated us badly but I don’t know how to explain
in words. Therefore, I hope that the university would take note of the
situation here and also hope that future trainees to be would not be
sent here for their internship.
