The Ordeals File

Starting this month, I’ll focus on working outside the USA. This will be a series based on my experiences working in the USA and Europe for a company that I’ll call, ‘Ordeals’.

This company sent me to the Netherlands to work on a contract they had for outsourcing technical manuals for a client.

I was working in the client’s facility, in direct contact with people who had lost their jobs due to my company taking the literature contract. I didn’t make the decision to outsource the work, their management did. There was more than a little residual animosity.

My job was to get these people to help me do their company’s manuals. At the same time, I had to get my company to support me, from 3,000 miles away. Which was a bigger problem than working with the client’s downsized employees. The general consensus at Ordeals was that I was on vacation in Europe.

I must have missed that part, what with the 60-80 hour work weeks I was putting in at the site.

My aim is to keep this series humorous. It happened to me, but I don’t want it to happen to you.

Hope that you enjoy the laughs.