Virtually all current upper mangement were promoted up through the ranks by virtue of their ability to just say "yes" to almost anything suggested by their supervisors. Most have not performed the daily functions that we actually invoice for, some never, and have a distorted view at best of what actually goes on day to day. Management's egos play the biggest part in decision making, and there is an open sense of entitlement among them. Perception or looks has always been considered more important than substance in offerings to the customers.
Technicians and lower management are treated as livestock basically, with job duties that are difficult, dangerous, and sometimes unacheivable. Poor IT systems, tool inventory, information sharing, cooperation, and planning are big parts of this problem. Mandatory 24+ hour shifts have been implemented at times, more due to lack of planning, than any real necessity. Liability replaces safety, with the only effort being introduction of new forms to be filled out by the technicians that serve no other purpose than to put the fault of any accidents in the "employee misconduct" category.
No experienced technician has made much progress towards management level positions. The few technicians that were promoted spent little time in the field and were either related to existing management, or fit squarely in the aforementioned "yes" man category. Current technicians, and some lower management see the system as broken beyond repair, and just go through the motions of their positions. Moral is low, and non-compete agreements keep unsatified employees from moving on. Non-compete agreements may be a reason upper management feels no need to show respect or concern for subordinates also.
