Paul's Listening Week

The incessant edicts that emanated from Paul's office were beginning to irritate and worry the rank and file workers of the company rather and the number and volume of their protests could not be ignored even within the cosy recesses of Paul's secluded world. And this protest was beginning to irk him. At first, he had tried to ignore it. But the grumbling only grew. Then he tried pinning statements to the company noticeboard explaining one or other of the schemes.

Nothing seemed to pacify the ungrateful, ignorant masses however.

"Paul," they would say, "we are worried about your plans for more competition with local companies for specific forms of hire. It won't be a level playing field as they just take on the high paying, easy trips. Look at the local firm wanting to just pick out limousine travel. How will that affect our service? Are we to deskill, only to be found wanting when a limousine request comes in over a weekend, when they are closed?"

Paul shook his head.

"Car UK will help provide our customers with more choice," he began before being cut short by one irate driver.

"And this decision has nothing to do with the chairman of Car UK giving you £21,000 to refurbish your office last year?" he challenged.

Paul shook his head.

"And when the British Ultimate Passenger Association takes most of our cases of Ferrari hire, how are we to train future drivers on those vehicles? I understand that they won't be teaching any."

Paul shook his head.

"I hear that you are going to publish data on who is the best driver in each section," another asked. "Given that it is very hard even for us to tease apart the multiple variables that go towards identifying who is good and who is not - and we understand what these parameters mean - how do you expect the general public to cope?"

Paul smiled and shook his head.

And so the objections went on.

*

And so it was that Paul had arranged a week of sessions to 'listen to the whole range of opinions and feed them back to higher management within the Department of Hire'. The drivers gathered in a plush lecture hall and were surprised when Paul arrived with the head of the Sedan and Hatchback Agency in tow. What had she to do with all this? Especially as under the new plans her agency would be abolished. Was she here as an apologist for the new changes or as a conduit for their views. No one knew.

Paul introduced her to the nonplussed audience and then proceeded to fire up the computer on the podium to display the first slide. It was crammed with text.

"Oh no!" whispered one driver. "Death by PowerPoint."

"Yes - Killing me Microsoftly," agreed another.

And so began a half hour of slide after slide with explanations of how wonderful the new reorganisations would be. Then, finally, time for comment from the audience. They raised the same points as they had with Paul but it seemed that the head of the Sedan and Hatchback Agency had very selective hearing for she choose to reply to only a few and just smiled fatuously at the rest, whilst producing the same soundbites that she had used in the first half hour.

When the full hour was up, on the dot, the drivers were dismissed and filed dutifully out to return to work.

"When they said 'Listening Week'," said one as they left, "I didn't realize it was to be us who would be listening."