Written by Dennis K.
Disclaimer: In Real Life is a platform for everyday people to share their experiences and voices. All articles are personal stories and do not necessarily echo In Real Life’s sentiments.
I was hired as a Business Development Manager for a food supply company based in Kuala Lumpur. They were switching things up in their business model, as their original business suffered due to the pandemic. I had come on board to develop the business to a new direction so that the company can survive financially.
After a year, the business began to see positive turnover with me bringing in key accounts that our competitors had difficulties securing. As such, SOPs were put in place by me because we were dealing with MNCs which look into many minute details.
However, our company was still operating with many of the senior management employees, who are family members of the owner. It was frustrating to work with them, especially since they operated with no sense of professionalism. They often exuded the “I don’t care” attitude, even when the work given is well within their scope.
“We don’t earn enough to buy software,” said the owner
Due to that, I began to inherit more work responsibilities and often worked till late nights to meet clients’ deadlines. From business development, I took on logistics, procurement and product development because our line of work also involves importation of goods to supply to our clients.
That was when I suggested buying some accounting software that reduced my workload as well as increased productivity. It was turned down by my owner because as he explained, “We don’t earn enough to buy software.” I found it deemed untrue when we were having enough turnover which was able to absorb the cost.
Since we operated using the current software available, all important details were stored in spreadsheets created from scratch. The paperwork can be taxing if you do not understand all the paraphernalia of the business we built.
New employees were required to undergo intensive training because each of the positions held requires years of experience and knowledge. However, my department colleagues still depended on my instruction since a lot of decision making could affect us financially.
Decisions were rejected because it challenged my boss’s ego
Soon I began to see the owner’s true colours when the original business could start operating again. I often got into arguments with him and the other family members because they felt the business I brought in did not yield as much as their previous business. But in fact, my business brought higher margins than theirs.
I was disliked, constantly gaslighted and badmouthed among themselves, and it came to my attention when one of my subordinates told me about it. They would belittle and spread negative remarks behind my back. A lot of business decisions I made were denied or rejected because it challenged my boss’s ego.
The truth was, ever since I came in, not only had I helped them to go through bad times during the pandemic, but I also reduced company cost by 40% due to my years of contacts with direct suppliers and supporting the company financially with the new business I built.
A lot of company issues required thinking on our feet which none of the owner’s family could do due to their nature of work.
My boss denied all budgets for business growth but set sky-high targets
Over time, despite the shortcomings I went through, I built the company a reputation for providing quality services and supplying goods consistently which the market is unable to do so now.
Then my boss denied all my business budgets for business growth but set sky high sales targets which our department could not meet due to limited resources. They invested more resources in their original business than the newfound business I brought in.
These budgets were set to align with the contracts we obtained for the following year. But we required them to be confirmed earlier because in our industry, all business projects must be ahead of time.
If we do not meet the requirements, the company has to compensate the clients losses as stated in the contracts. I reminded them of the consequences but they turned deaf ears to my warnings. Regardless, I swallowed it and continued working.
“He is helming the company like he is the owner himself!” People said about me
In the second quarter of 2022, things took a turn for the worse: I was called upon by the owner for an “emergency” meeting which involved the other senior management team.
My gut feeling told me something terrible was about to happen since we had NEVER called for a meeting with the senior management members.
My feelings were true when the owner announced that I was asked to leave all office properties, pack my belongings and leave on the very same day without notice period and offered me 6 months severance pay.
It was disheartening but I simply agreed to it and signed the necessary paperwork without hesitation. I was later secretly told that they laid me off because they felt “he is helming the whole company like he is the owner” instead of themselves.
On the day I signed my severance package, I blocked everyone I worked with including the owner and his family members. Since I left on such short notice, no proper handover was given and therefore all contracts were left unattended or followed up.
“Why were you let go?” Clients asked me. I directed them to the owner for an explanation
Soon enough, problems started to happen. It began with customers not getting their supplies on time which resulted in minor losses. Then it trickled down to multiple customers switching suppliers.
The worst has yet to come in my opinion. Because these clients do not have physical contracts and therefore switching to our competitors would not affect them that much.
Intuitively I know clients would soon look for me for an explanation which in return I had to apologise and reveal my sudden termination which they found bizarre. Nevertheless, I directed them to the owner or competitor for solutions.
Even then, to have clients switch products will be very detrimental to the company’s reputation and you will have a hard time with clients coming back to you again.
I went off to do my own thing. Towards the fourth quarter of the year, my ex junior managed to get hold of me and asked me for help, which I declined. The owner of the company also sent an email, asking me to return.
I ignored the email and went on with my life.
The company was sued by their clients for major losses
Then I started receiving surprise visits from the other senior management family members asking me to come back, which I politely declined.
Remember those signed contracts that they ignored? Those clients started sending them lawsuit letters for causing major losses to their company because of insufficient supply.
The last I heard of them was they ended up losing the trial and had to pay a hefty sum of compensation.
The company wound up soon after. While I pity those who lost their jobs after the company closed down, I truly believe the owner deserves what became of them.
You may think that no one is irreplaceable, but also bear in mind that there is no guarantee you can get a new employee with equivalent experience and work quality to replace your previous employee who has helped you through bad times.
Have you been replaced at your job before?
Share your story with us!
Drop an email at hello@inreallife.my and you may be featured on In Real Life Malaysia.
Read also: My Boss Replaced Me Then Begged Me To Come Back And Save The Company
My Boss Replaced Me Then Begged Me To Come Back And Save The Company
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