Joe,
For those who are unaware, the hotel work environment in O.C. often gets EXTREMELY hectic and stressful, especially during the summer months. Many hotel employers are appreciative of their staff’s dedication and hard work, such as the Harrison Group who I’ve heard holds an employee appreciation event upon the conclusion of every summer season where many prizes are awarded, BUT… the following is my TRUTHFUL experience:
I had worked as the staff accountant for the Dunes Manor Hotel for 2 ½ years. I performed a great job for the hotel while dedicating a HUGE chunk of my valuable and irreplaceable life to them until…they decided to post a “blind ad” for my position (which I immediately knew was my position since this is a small town) in the Help Wanted section of The Daily Times while I was still working there. One obvious reason was to cut costs as you can clearly see from the blind ad for my position described as “entry-level” compared to the original ad of my position. This is the 1st time in my life (and most likely only) I have had the "pleasure" of experiencing and while it is not illegal for a company to resort to such ruthless measures, it definitely is unethical in my opinion.
Going forward, upon confronting my supervisor (none other than the GM’s sister!) face-to-face about the ad, she originally denied that it was my position, but then I was instructed to join a private meeting held by the “Controller” (my supervisor) & the assistant GM where they admitted that it was in fact my position. A few days afterwards, another closed door private meeting was held with me, the GM, the assistant GM & the Controller (the GM’s sister) and the expectations of my position increased tremendously along with the required workload. This occurred in the peak of the summer season when I was inundated with a substantial amount of work as it was.
On the days afterwards I nicknamed myself “Dead Man Walking” to co-workers who were aware of my situation because I knew I was doomed and my days were numbered at the hotel. After 40 “Anxiety-Filled” days of anticipating the day I would be fired (day in & day out for 9 hours/day), my inevitable doomsday of termination finally arrived which was a relief in some sorts. On that day the GM wanted to be included in on a meeting with me & the assistant GM (who is also the personnel manager) and I told her that I just wanted to speak to him about an issue 1-on-1 for the time being. She did not appreciate or respect that so she terminated me by YELLING the following to me…”GET OUTTA HERE OR I’LL CALL THE POLICE!!!” and off I went to my desk to pack up my belongings. As aforementioned… “I performed a great job for the hotel while dedicating a HUGE chunk of my valuable and irreplaceable life to them.”
Following the days of my termination, my unemployment benefits were denied because they LIED (and I have PROOF!) to Maryland’s unemployment office and I had to fight their LIES at my unemployment denial hearing with the TRUTH. Additionally, I also had to sue them for my severance pay that I was rightfully due which they refused to honor. I won my case at my unemployment hearing and defeated the GM, her assistant and their 2 Baltimore lawyers SOUNDLY in court by representing myself without the assistance of a lawyer that I could not possibly afford, which was an emotional victory for me since the hearing date was the day after my father’s funeral.
Maryland employees are “at will” which means that all employers can lay off or fire any of their employees at their will and “earliest convenience” for any reason whatsoever…and I’m o.k. with that. What I am NOT o.k. with is when employers fire their employees for any reason whatsoever at their will and “earliest convenience” and then do not compensate them for what they are RIGHTFULLY entitled to (such as severance pay) in addition to LYING to the unemployment office in order for their company to $ave ca$h.
I know my case is not an isolated one and realize that many other Maryland workers have had to UNNECESSARILY suffer through very time-consuming similar circumstances as mine. I have written to many politicians and Mayor Meehan regarding the unjustness of my case, including State Senator Mathias & Governor O’Malley in hopes of some sort of law being created and enacted in the future to support the rights of laid off or fired Maryland workers and to punish employers that do not abide by the law. In my opinion, employers possess enough power and control over their employees’ precious, valuable and fleeting lives as it is. An laid of or fired employee (especially one who has children & a family to support as I do) must cope with a TOUGH situation as it is, especially in this day & age with the astronomical unemployment rate and horrific economic condition. Mercilessly causing employees to suffer unjustifiably and unrightfully after being terminated should be unlawful and employers who purposely do so should be held liable and accountable for such actions via severe penalties.
Truthfully Stated,
Andrew Berges
43 comments:
The OC council appears to subscribe to that same employee relations school of thought.
don't let the door hit you from behind!!
I know someone who painted a sign for them, and they screwed her out of a lot of money that they promised her.
Other side please. There is one. Do some investigative reporting.
godspeed Andrew, take pride in your victory over the enemy. I once worked for an employer who increased my goals every month until the point where they were unobtainable and then i was promptly terminated despite being the highest producer in my office. The only reason being was that i was there for 15 years and my salary was alot more than someone fresh out of college that they thought could do my job.
I hope the sun shines warmly on you and your family. Well done!
It seems that things have changed a lot since the passing of their great owner, Ms Conners.
The Harrison Group is no better. They only care about the $$$$$$$
not surprised by your treatment since the owners of the Dunes are
heirs of Thelma Conner
based on the rant, i say you were a cancer at work and they NEEDED you gone to boost morale. however, thats just a guess from your writings. i would be interested in the other side.
WELCOME TO MARYLAND
WHATS IN YOUR WALLET
WE NEED MORE TAX DOLLARS...
you need a union or if you were smarter than the average bear you would have tried to start a union while you were a dead man walking and the nlrb would have protected you from being fired....now that you are gone, if you want to get them back, try to get someone there to call a union and try to get it organized....will cost the hotel some $$$
The Harrisons are good to their employees
11:12 Ok John or Hale
Or, maybe they just got tired of having a whining, complaining, oh-poor-pitiful-me ass of an employee hanging arounf cataloguing every petty grievance.
Isn't it interesting that 10:58 suggests bringing in a union to "get them back" and "cost the hotel some $$$". Unions as a way to punish business owners? Yep, that's all they are good for.
Let me see, you want:
1. An employee appreciation day.
2. Prizes.
3. Severance pay (even though you only worked for them 2.5 years).
You're a free lance writer that has no reservations about contacting the Town Mayor, State Senator, Governor, and many politicians when someone disagrees with you. You obviously never expected anything you wrote about The Dunes and their management would ever get back to them.
You consider 2.5 years to be a HUGE chunk of your life. You must be pretty young.
You openly agitate employee/employer relations with your "Dead Man Walking" crusade at the hotel then you go to the public media with your accusations and sign your full name?
My only question is why it took so long for your employer to let you go. In your quest to get whatever it is you want (revenge?), you have made an absolute shambles of your work credentials. Are you actually anticipating the Dunes will be a good reference for you to use on a resume?
Philips has just let some long time employees go.
I work, they pay me. Neither of us owes the other anything. The days of loyalty are sadly long gone, but yet the employers still expect it. Good luck in your next opportunity.
He obviously was hardly a model employee for them to seek out his replacement behind his back! I'm sure whatever the real story is here, Mr Berges won't come out looking like a saint.
You people are just nasty.....this happens all over Maryland,heck all over the US but its bad here where there is no law protecting your job.Maybe you will shut up when it happens to YOU.
Sign me,been there,done that
PS-Phillips is laying people off because the younger generation took over and they are ruining the place.
9:58’s comment sounds like it may be the GM's (Vicki Morris) but perhaps I am mistaken.
Anon 10:58, the employee handbook that the GM required all employees to sign states that, "...we encourage all employees to support the principle of retaining their independence and remaining nonunion." Additionally, they held an "Anti-Union" manager's meeting while I was employed there requiring all members of management to report anyone discussing the subject of a union. The NLRB is well are of both & other cases.
10:36…in my opinion, the work atmosphere and the employee morale was the most dreaded I have had the displeasure of working amid during my 25+ years in the workforce. Furthermore…if I had only known that the reason I was hired was because the employee I replaced committed suicide, I would not have accepted the position.
As far as 12:18’s comments, I exepected:
1) RESPECT & Appreciation, NOT an “employee appreciation day”
2) No prizes, but comp time (as some elite received), not to be called on my days off & expected to come in (I am not a doctor) and to be compensated for mileage expense from miles driven with MY personal car for THEIR required company errands during my 2 ½ year tenure, NOT afterwards.
3) My RIGHTFULLY due severance pay of a measly 2 weeks that all management RIGHTFULLY receives and which the judge knew I was RIGHTFULLY entitled to and ruled in my favor vs the GM's, Assistant GM's and their Baltimore lawyers' testimonies and for the Dunes Manor to compensate me the severance I was RIGHTFULLY & JUSTIFIABLY due.
As far as 1:05..I do not consider myself "Saint Andrew" and never will. If an employer is not happy with me as their employee then FIRE ME rather than insulting my intelligence and “trying” to be coy & sneaky via placing a covert ad for my position while I am still an employee. How COWARDLY!
I am so glad I left the Dunes. It was almost as if I were released from some kind of prison. Mr.Berges, I know how you feel and I also know that working with you was always fun and funny. I missed your jokes when it came to payday.
sounds like you proved my point, if you werent happy, you were going to see to it that no one was?
Kudos to you, Andrew, for standing up under pressure. Only someone who has been in the situation can appreciate your statements. I wish you well as you re-enter this horrid job market; and hope you maintain a positive attitude.
i have worked for the Harrison Group and they do the same exact thing!!! They will lay evryone off one week to make it look fair and the next week bring half back and the ones they will bring back are the lower paid employees who have not been there long!! The worst was Jon Tremellon at Pricess Royale this man is the scum of all GM's in Ocean City!!!!
I agree with 2:11 and am glad I left the hotel that was like a prison and was sad when Andy left. I enjoyed working with him and as 2:11 wrote he was a fun and great person to work with and always made me laugh, especially when he gave me my paycheck every Friday. He created a positive atmosphere in a negative one and from what I noticed, he was a hard working and dependable worker.
It is wrong and a shame how they replaced him and I believe that if Vicki Morris ever experienced the joy of having a spouse or children that she would be a nicer and more compassionate woman.
God bless you Andy!
The Harrison Group is no better. They only care about the $$$$$$$
October 31, 2011 10:29 AM
Is this the same group that owned nursing homes?
Listen, everybody cares about $$$$$$. Employers expect to make a profit so they can pay their bills and stay in business and employees expect to be paid so they can pay their bills. There's a contract between the two parties that is not an entitlement.
There is no way that an employer needs to inform any employee of their recruiting activities. Andy, just how soon did you begin looking for a new job after you became SURE they were going to replace you? It should have been the very next day because you have an obligation to support your family (not the Dunes) and, as it turned out, you had 4 weeks with pay to do that. Instead, you continue to bash your former employer in the open where potential future employers may chose to draw opinions on how you might not fit into their organizations. This is a HUGE chunk of your life you are wasting complaining about losing your job instead of looking for a new one.
..and yes, I've been laid off before, multiple times.
They are known for taking even their loyal & dedicated employees for granted. I imagine they assume there will always be another person to take their place. That attitude doesn't do much for morale or employee loyalty. I know there is alot of verbal abuse, and a hostile work environment in certain
departments - but no one speaks up.
The hotel thrives in the summer, (perhaps not the way it did in the past, due to the economy) yet if a possible pay raise is mentioned, the answer is, "Be thankful you have a job!". End of discussion.
Management is cold and indifferent. The management style is old school, and not in a good way. It's time to start caring about how you treat people - it matters more than you think.
I appreciate the people & co-worker’s kind words and support and I foresaw in advance of writing this that there would be a need to defend myself from current Dunes Manor employees, bashers and “haters.”
In response to 4:17…I am well aware of the fact that, “There is no way that an employer needs to inform any employee of their recruiting activities.”, but WHY is it righteous for the Dunes Manor to demand 2 weeks advance notification from their employees who wish to resign OR ELSE suffer consequences such as being denied their unused vacation leave? WHY you ask!? Because they have the ALIMGHTY POWER to do so with an “Iron Fist.”
I do not tolerate my children being “bullied” and would be a hypocrite that does not practice what he preaches if I allowed myself to be “bullied” and did not defend myself. In my opinion, I feel that other employees who are bullied, verbally abused and mistreated by their employees should feel likewise. If they are cowards who post your job in the paper while you are still working there...so be it!
I did not want to get into this, but I spoke up & expressed my opinion to the GM, Assistant GM & the “Controller” (her sister who could do wrong in the GM’s eyes.) Whenever I felt that an employee disrespected or belittled me, I let them know that I did not appreciate it...including when the GM & her sister did so on SEVERAL occasions. They did not intimidate or scare me or make me cower.
I also spoke up to the GM, her sister and the Assistant GM about my concern regarding illegal activities transpiring at the hotel, including the hiring of Non-U.S. citizens and “Anti-Union” meetings.
I began seeking employment IMMEDIATELY when I noticed the “Incognito Ad” of my job position which was unethically & “sneakily” posted in The Daily Times, but it’s no big secret to anyone that lives on the Lower Eastern Shore that decent-paying professional jobs are VERY scarce compared to job opportunities on Maryland’s Western Shore. Worcester County's unemployment rate is 1 of the highest of all counties in Maryland.
This is a “puny slice” of my life I am “spending” expressing my opinion (not complaining as you state) compared to the “HUGE CHUNK” I “WASTED” in order to work productively & produce profit$ for the hotel. In my opinion, many companies are comparable to Ponzi schemes these days and wrote an article about it here: http://andyberges.com/Career_3VOH.html
I am not whining, having a pity-party or expecting people to go running as fast as they can to their nearest tissue boxes to wipe away their tears after hearing my story...am just stating the facts and my opinion.
The letter I wrote to the editor would be non-existent If the Dunes Manor would have:
*** terminated me (rather than the sneaky method they opted),
***given me my mileage reimbursement cash during the 2 ½ years I was employed there (and not be threatened when asking to be reimbursed) driving THEIR errands with MY car & INSURANCE & not 2 weeks after my termination
*** given me my severance pay that I was RIGHTFULLY due (and not have to SUE them & FIGHT for it) & not LIED to Maryland’s Unemployment office
I’m sure that my story is not an isolated case…FAR from it in fact. As aforementioned, companies who LIE about an ex-employee to the unemployment office & purposely make them SUFFER should themselves SUFFER via SEVERE penalties.
There are NO 2 people that exist or will ever exist in the world that agree 100% of the time & I expected people to criticize my letter & to disagree with my opinion.
I totally understand that. What I am totally confused about & DO NOT understand is the negative critics, bashers & haters who have the "courage" to post their hateful remarks about me, but do so in a clandestine manner behind their computer screens & keyboards in anonymity and are too cowardly to identify themselves.
I worked in a number of hotels in Ocean City, MD (just about every management group except Harrison) and have to say all of those companies are terrible. Worked for Princess Royale and was only paid 37.5 hrs while working 40 due to lunch breaks, except I wasn't allowed to leave and was really still working during that un-paid time. Worked for another hotel 60hrs. a week at an hourly rate who told me they don't pay time and a half; told me I'm on salary at that point. All of these companies take advantage of workers, because they know jobs are limited and have the ability to hire cheap foreign labor. Finally, I left the shore and got out of hospitality all together. Ocean City hotels offer a shitty product, and restaurants are terrible and over-priced. Just look at Harrison's Plim Plaza... Didn't multiple people get Legionellosis?
harrisons are the worst of the bunch. pay peanuts but take home 20k a week each in salarary plus bonuses. I have seen them let longterm employees go when getting close to 20 years in.
From what I have gathered from people’s comments, there are some SERIOUS issues in Worcester County that need to be discussed & resolved to make some SERIOUS changes happen...for the BETTER!
What is going on in this town!? I have lived almost all of my entire life in the state of Maryland, most of which in Bowie. Even though Bowie is only 130 miles away from Worcester County, I sometimes feel as though it is 130 MILLION miles away because during the 4 years I have lived here I have been referred to as a/an:
***”Stranger”
***”Outsider”
***”Over The Bridger”
***”Come Here” (instead of a “From Here”)
***”Western Shorer” and a few other “non-friendly” terms, as though I am some type of invader or terrorist intruding on the Eastern Shore’s “turf.”
I have even been ‘scolded’ by many in the area that…”If you don’t like OUR ways, then MOVE!” This is the U.S. & I have the freedom & liberty to live wherever "I" CHOOSE to live & DO NOT need any advice from anyone regarding my preference of where to live. It is MY ultimate decision where I choose for me & my family prefer to live OUR lives in the U.S.!
In closing, let me remind every & anyone in Worcester County who does not “Embrace Change” (ESPECIALLY the "ELITE" @ the Dunes Manor Hotel who 'think' they are INVINCIBLE) of a song they may have forgotten. I am going to sing it for you now & JOIN IN (with your children) if you like!............
“This land is YOUR LAND, this land is MY LAND...From California, to the New York Island...
From the redwood forest, to the gulfstream waters........
THIS LAND was made for…YOU AND ME!”
Mr. Berges, you are truly a LOSER! You were fired from your job -- like so many people in this country. You sued your former employer and won. Give it up! Get a life and move on! Quit beating this dead horse!
Joe...this is Andy Berges.
PLEASE do me a favor & delete that last post.
I did not type it...in fact, I am done posting anything or defending myself.
Again, PLEASE delete the last post & just so you know, I will not be posting anything else, so do not allow any posts of people claiming to be Andy Berges.
what a LOSER 7:36 is for being too scared to identify himself as andy stated. i was a former employee at the dunes manor and it was the worst place i have ever worked at. they treated me like a slave and always threatened to fire me. vicki morris yelled at people a lot. they also like to keep a lot of bad things quite like bed bugs and hiring illegals.
You must be a real WINNER and have a lot of character calling people losers 'Mr. 7:36.' IS that your name?
From what Mr. Berges claims Mr7:36, he was not fired until 40 days after they posted his job in the paper seemingly to cut costs as he states. I wonder why they did not fire him immediately...do you think maybe because they wanted to squeeze as much work out of him as they could and make sure they had a replacement for him before throwing him away like a piece of trash? I do. Sounds like a terrible place for people to work at judging from what I have heard and that they shuld be sued for lying to unemployment. Talk about losers Mr. 7:36.
I worked at the Dunes Hotel and even TRAINED my replacement. Vicki and Susan knew it and I feel they even got a rush out of watching me train this lady. I trained her very well just to be told I was "Fired" The word "fired" was thrown around on a daily basis to all of us. This goes back a few years.
Too bad you act like your the only one who hasever been screwed by an employer. Get over it and move on, what did you expect from that cesspool in OC. You think you are so smart try starting your own bussiness although you will probably blame someone else for your failure. As far as OC is concerned the whole place stinks from the mayors office (including the ex mayor) to the punks from out of state who tear up the place with support from the bums in city hall. Why do you think they prey on the foreign students?
Trizes
Sounds like 7:36 may be written by one of the bums in the city hall of OC or the stinky mayor or ex-mayor 7:56 refers to and that it is not a dead horse Mr Berges is beating but a bucking bronco that is alive and kicking that they and the scummy hotel owners would rather be kept hush-hush from the public and tourists in order for OC to retain its beautiful image that Rodney advertises.
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