3 Day Blinds, Three Day Blinds Drove my mother literally to Suicide San Clemente California

3 Day Blinds was saddened to hear of Brendas condition. As Brendas sons explains in a later post explains 3 Day Blinds expressed great concern company wide, and joined together in a group prayer for Brenda. 3 Day Blinds prides themselves on continual improvement in all areas, including employee satisfaction. 3 Day Blinds has since began an employee survey program to gage the opinions of the workforce, and has taken steps to improve operations based on such feedback. Current feedback of the anonymous employee survey rates employee satisfaction very high.

As an ex-employee of 3 Day Blinds, I can truly understand the events leading up to your mother's suicide attempt. I was a Designer with the company for five years. When the company was purchased approximately two years ago, this opened the door to age discrimination and inhumane treatment of employees. Their policy appeared to be -- out with the old, in with the new. I was a Designer out of one of the last showrooms to remain open -- the company closed 100 showrooms last October, putting thousands of employees out of jobs, and then declared bankruptcy. None of the severance LETTERS were worth the paper they were printed on. My showroom was not part of these closures -- it was closed the following February. At our showroom, employees that had been with the company for more than 25 years collectively did not even receive a phone call, thank you note or best of luck email, let alone a severance package. I took the remaining employees (3) out to dinner and presented them with thank you presents for their very capable and dedicated performances over the years.

The company tried their best for one year to get me to quit. Remarks from my district manager, such as, "Don't you think it is time for you to move on? You don't fit into our new image; we are no longer designers; we are direct salespeople now -- were inserted into every phone conversation. The stress was unbearable, and I can totally understand why a person who has experienced depression problems would take drastic steps to "remedy" their situation. I did not try to follow in your mother's footsteps -- I fought back out of integrity, principals and moral issues until they finally let me go. I don't see why having a prayer vigile is stepping up to the plate.I was employed with 3 Day Blinds at the time this happened and never received any emails to pray for her nor was I ever made aware of the situation. Incidentally, I, too,am in my 60's. I know that towars the end of my employment, my income had decreased radically -- from $58,000 to barely nothing. By the time I was let go, my four month income had dropped to $3,000. I must admit that when I was let go, I became totally unprofessional -- this was the culmination of one year of the most unbelieveable stress I have ever lived through. I am so relieved not to have that "knot" in my stomach that many of the current and past employees have experienced. I am suffering terribly financially and I don't see 3 Day Blinds "stepping up to the plate" with me or anyone else they have abused.

A very unhappy but relieved ex-employee.

The latest update about this narrowly avoided tragedy is 3 Day Blinds has really shown true compassion and care for my mother. My Mother was told 4 Days ago that we needed a miracle for her to survive her attempted suicide. The doctors even said that even if my mother survived, she would almost assuredly have severe brain damage. I spoke with the Senior VP of HR for 3 Day Blinds and when she asked me what I wanted, I told her I wanted her to pray for my mother. If we needed a miracle then we all needed to pull together for this to happen. 3 Day Blinds did just that. The CEO of the company pulled everyone at corporate together and they had a wonderful group prayer and according to VP of HR there was approximately 150 People who contributed their hearts and efforts into the prayer for my mother.

With this as well as an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 others across the country, we got our miracle! My mother opened her eyes and the following morning, my mother looked at her daughter and mouthed the words, "I Love You". It truly is a miracle and I am honored to thank the company for pulling together in this time of need. The CEO of 3 Day Blinds as well as the Senior VP of Human Resources were in touch and genuinely concerned with the condition of my mother. In speaking to my mother yesterday (yes we are expecting a FULL 100% recovery!) she told me that it was not the HR Department of 3 Day Blinds that was so cold hearted but unfortunately her direct supervisor who seemed to really just make her job literally hell for the past year. 3 Day Blinds as a company, has really pulled through for my mother. All the officers of the company including their wonderful Senior VP of HR have contributed as well have ensured a tremendous release of pressure for my mother to help her get through her recovery in the months ahead.

Through prayer and pulling together, I am convinced that there are companies out there that can and will recognize the value of a dedicated and hard working employee such as my mother. I will continue to keep them updated as I believe we may have the opportunity to build new valuable friendships with all the people who have contributed so much to the amazing turn around of my beloved mom. When they removed the feeding and breathing tubes and my mother was able to speak, she didnt hesitate to ask for her samples! Here is a very dedicated employee who loves her work and takes so much pride in what she does to provide the best service and products to her customers. Thanks you 3 Day Blinds for stepping up to the plate and I am personally in debt to your kindness, your sincerity, as well as your dedication to my mothers well being! God Bless you all and please to not hesitate to contact me so that I can thank you personally. Corporate has my contact info.

Sheila,
Thank you so much for bringing important facts to support the content of the original post. Facts and/or constructive suggestions are valuable and relevant to RoR reports, especially, in contrast to opinionated rants. Thanks for having the courage to speak up.

Mlnguru,
Clearly, you are either self-employed or independently wealthy . . . or, just too self-absorbed to see what is going on in the workplace around you. For years, I have witnessed older employees systematically driven out of their jobs . . . just before the company had to honor whatever retirement benefits the employee had earned over years of dedicated service. Understand, we're not talking life-of-leisure money; we're talking basic survival provisions such as access to health insurance. Wake up and smell the coffee. This has been going on for years; I first saw it happen to a friend of my father's . . . over 30 years ago!

Don't try the "they'll get social security" argument . . . fact: the average social security recipient over the age of 65 receives $1,155.00 per month. If they try to work to supplement their income, after a meager allowed amount, the money they earn means a dollar-for-dollar deduction from their Social Security check. Do you want to try to live on $1,155.00 per month when you retire? Thought not.

Before you rant, stop and think about someone else. Did your mother ever suggest that you "try walking a mile in the other person's shoes"? In fact, why don't you run your post by your mother - I'm sure she'll be too proud of you to speak. (Don't try coming back with some bogus story about her being dead. If you had experienced the death of your mother, you certainly wouldn't be writing such ugly comments to this family. Your mother isn't dead; she'll just wish she was when she reads your comments.)

This company was bought out a little over 2 years ago by what is known as equity group investors, Known for their aggressive elimination of employees to excell their
profit margins to groom the company for later resale. They do not come from a window coverings industry background and have no loyalties to anything other than the profit margin.
After their takeover they directed all their energies to telling the management staff
to hire younger people and get rid of the older and more expensive employee's
They were outright and ruthless in this pursuit. At no time did it have anything to do with the performance of the individuals. Most of the people that were laid off,
asked to resign, some fired were not documented low performers. Quite the opposite. They were mostly over a certain age or had too much related expense under the newly formed corporation. IE: invested retirement etc.
They also did not offer any of these people early retirement as an option.

Because of this action complaints have been filed against them with the EEOC.

Their ultimate goal is to make all of the in home designers independent of the
company,relieving them of the responsibility for benefits,mileage compensation etc
and saturate the market with salespeople that are outside salespeople only.

However the company previously was highly profitable and growing and was led by a very forward thinking visionary leader that had many loyal productive sales people working for Him. Because of his leadership they were a window covering company of worth and inspiration. No one talked about the issue of age. We talked about selling and teamwork.

The previous CEO was basically forced out.

Unfortunately just because people are older does not mean they do not have to work. It is a responsibility of our society to see to it that are attitudes support each other not degrade. Everyone gets old!

In interviewing for new positions since leaving 3 Day Blinds I have encountered companies that have employees that are 77 years old and so influential and productive that the company was deeply concerned about losing them.

I personally am only 55 but certainly will be working for 15 more years at least.
I do want to do that in the career that I am good at not some local shop that is "age friendly" and basically low paid work. Boomers don't seem content with this concept!

If the productive life of a worker is only gauged from 18 to 50 by companies then why is social security delayed until 62 to 67.

Brenda actually offered a reasonable solution for her on situation to the company.
By requesting being positioned in the showroom. She is not nuts but a victim of prolonged emotional strain.

The loss of a job under the pressure of age discrimination is emotionally devastating and is in fact illegal.

If they are able to justify this kind of thing under the keyword capitalism then I don't think we have much to be proud of in this country Known as the United States.

Your story is deceptive cause of the headline and she's still alive. You have said this woman's mental condition so she could be making those things up and you are absolutely trivializing the other rip offs with your sob story and soap opera plot. Just want to give you the consumer educator and informer point of view. Please do not follow the path of filing frivolous lawsuits that have no basis in reality. Hey, your not special neither is your mommy pal! Millions of old people find it hard to keep and find employment it's a product of the competitive environment and growing population what is this company supposed to do keep an invalid employed for the rest of her life, its a capitalistic country not a communist state.

Dear Angry Son --
I am so sorry to hear of your mother's critical condition and the malevolent treatment she received at the hands of her employer, 3-Day Blinds. Hopefully, the advances in our medical capabilities will provide you all with help. We will hold you all in our thoughts.

Having recently been with my mother through her terminal illness, I know how difficult this is; and, it can only be multiplied by the devastating actions which precipitated this needless catastrophe for your family.

Without knowing fully the scope of the employment issues or actions, I would encourage you and your siblings to investigate potential legal action. It seems as if there could be violations related to discrimination regarding age or health (depression).

At the risk of seeming insensitive, I just wanted to bring this up before you all address the task of straightening out her "business affairs" (hopefully, to take care of things until she can get back on her feet.) Having just done this, I can tell you it is very difficult, especially at a time when you are emotionally drained. My suggestion: be careful to save ALL employment-related documents, not only obvious stuff like HR communications and W-2's from tax returns, but also, actual check stubs (to document an earlier earnings base and then declining earnings), inter-office memos or newsletter-type documents in which employees were recognized for performance or comments were made about potential cut-backs due to the economy (perhaps referencing parameters about decision processes or criteria). Blah, blah, blah . . . you get the idea. Save anything that relates to her performance in the past and the nature of the company's communications with employees as a group, as well as with her individually. Save personal financial documents which might show things such as a pattern of falling behind on payments or overdrafting accounts coinciding with the drop in income.

Again, the first priority is your mother's immediate health. However, the paperwork will need to be managed fairly soon. Hard as it is, go through every paper (I found important documents mixed in stacks of what I thought were all old monthly newsletters from an organization in which she was a member just as I was about to toss the stack because I was so exhausted and overwhelmed.) It is very, very difficult. I'm sorry. But, if you do decide to investigate your grounds for a legal action, you will be so glad you didn't pitch stuff haphazardly as is so tempting at such a heart-breaking time.

When you feel better, try contacting the state office of employment practices and call a reputable attorney specializing in employment law. (Initial consultations are without charge at professional firms and can give you an idea as to whether you have a legitimate case.) Even if it is only lodging some kind of formal complaint, taking some kind of action to force accountability will help you overcome your sense of powerlessness in the face of such appalling circumstances.

My thoughts will be with you. Sincere best wishes.