Testosterone and the Frito Empire

I work in a particularly Masuline environment. and yes "the Masculine" needs to be capitalized. There are 125+ route sales reps (these are numbered routes, the swing or weekend person is not named). Of the 125 named route reps, there are 4 women. yes, I said four. In the name of diversity and inclusiveness, I was informed by our human resources manager for this half of the US, that governement standard for this portion of our industry is 5% female. So we only need to have 6 women in the route workforce to meet minimum, and that to do more than that could invite a lawsuit. Gosh it's good to work at a place where the motto should be, "We do as Little as Possible". So understanding that I am outnumbered by gender 30 to 1, this entry is dedicated to the testosterone levels of my reality.

It goes as high as the vp for the area. His morale booster is the story of the college professor introducing his overachieving students to the concept of "The Big Rocks". This parable has the professor place large stones into a glass jar and asking the class if the container is full. When the class shouts, "yes", he proceeds to place gravel into the jar. Is it full? no. The teacher places sand into the jar. Full yet? no. As a final demonstration, the professor fills the jar with water. Now the jar is full. The moral of the story, you have to start with the big rocks first. So what does this have to do with potato chips? You got me. I have yet to figure out how a story that focuses on the important things in life, your family, your children, your significant other, what has that to do with potato chips? Now for the testosterone spin. We are urged to think of our big rocks in our job. accompanied by a picture of a rock that looks like an erect penis. when I asked to have a different picture rather than that phallic looking thing, it got giggles from the men in the meeting. even worse, in my neck of the woods, "Big Rocks" refers to testicles. "Y'all got some big rocks to be trying that... " We are having a round table with the vp that thinks this is an important point in goal setting, his "Big Rocks" campaign. I wonder what he will think if I tell him during the round table that big rocks refers to a man's "boy parts" and that last time I checked, I didn't come equipped with those. for God's sake, use some stupid sports analogy, would ya!

Then in the grandest display of male peacockery, we have the "Market Tour". In the insult to my feminine integrity, the men go forth and take all the temporary displays and put them out, filled to brim with chips for a 15 minute tour by upper management. This display of "Mine is Bigger" can take 3 days to set up, taking my manager out of the field, the route specialist out of the field, and all the cardboard for displays out of our district. The cost of hotel rooms, food, gas to get to a remote area, all for a "Mine is Bigger" extravaganza. A Dog and Pony show. and I'm supposed to respect upper management that doesn't ask a key question. Just one simple question, please. "How much does this account sell in a week?" at all the accounts that they tour. so if the Dollar General has a $4000 display sitting on the sidewalk when they sell $300 a week, that may be a bad, BAD use of our scarce resources. ya think? especially when those chips sitting outside start to sprout legs and walk away.

have I ranted about this before? I guess the idea of a presidential round table has gotten me all riled up again.

I guess I'm just a frustrated old woman who gets entirely irritated when I am ignored. I came back from a broken arm. told them in March of 2008 that "This is NOT the route I bid" - and gave them a list of the stores that had closed and the lost revenue to the route. Then I got to argue in Jan 09 with the same hr guy about my income and was told that it was "below Frito standard" - well, No Shit Sherlock. That would be the point of telling the zone manager, the zone business manager and my district manager in March 08. Told them there was a safety issue - was ignored and tripped. blew out my knee. my fault? I think not. I have been telling management that I need assistance in down loading the 14 foot tall stacks of chips - that the lifting to down load puts too much stress on the plates in my arms. Using the "bin stick" - a pole with a hook, to download only works if you don't use it much. Continual use of the bin stick is causing tendonitis in my elbows and carpal tunnel in my wrist. I need assistance because I have 3 plates and a dozen screws in my left arm, and I am very grateful to have it, since a hook is just SO unattractive on a woman. When asking for help, I am told that I can't have it. When I inform my district manager and the zone manager that, OH YES I CAN have some help under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), also known as an accomodation, they act like it's a big surprise that I'm not 100%. Dear God Almighty. I have never, ever said I was 100% upon my return to work from the broken arm. I told them right up front that I was handicapped. They told me that if I couldn't do the job that I'd better go back to disability. Well at the time, my inventory was stored in a trailer on Skid Row. That's right, the name of the street was Skid Row. old man Turner sure had a sense of humor. The city has since renamed it Turner Parkway. anyway, the trailer had an 8' ceiling. no worries about product being stacked 15 feet in the air here. So I worked away until we moved into our new facility. Now there's a problem. I just cannot downlift 50 pounds over my head. It puts too much pressure on the plates. The muscles bunch up and catch at the edge of the plates and cause a cross between a muscle spasm, a cramp and a charlie horse in the arm. When I try to shake it out, it makes a tendon in the wrist catch on a screw. no winning here. What I need is some help for about 15 minutes, one day a week. Official response? "We can't do that for you since we would have to do it for everyone". ok you dumb jackasses. how about you only do it for people with 3 plates and a dozen screws in their arm? again. Dear God Almighty. Please help me with the ignorant, for they are stupid beyond belief. so I am looking at a worker's comp claim for tendonitis and carpal tunnel when I have notified my management about a safety issue. and it will be my fault for continuing with the bin stick when I know it causes a problem. so my option is to just pull everything down and let it fall on the floor. I guess. I am thinking it's a testosterone, thinking inside the box issue. I am going to notify the zone safety manager this week and let him know there's a problem. no winning here. just stubborn male insistance on everything being the way it was in 1960. when there wasn't anything as ridiculous as women working as route sales reps. hmmp. women should be home baking cookies for goodness sakes. they should know better than trying to do a man's job. they get what they deserve. there are men out there that need this job so they can support their families. oh yeah, it's there. I feel it. I know they are thinking it. God is punishing me for being Prideful and Stubborn. yep stubborn as hell. I won't let these sons of bitches keep me from this job. even though Frito management has tried from the very start to get me to quit. but that's another day's entry.