"NC/NS"
(Originally published April 10, 2015)
I don’t have an "Enemies List" - I’m not Nixon - however…
* * *
My first real job in Los Angeles was as a "recruiter" at a staffing company, putting telecommunications cable technicians to work in LA and Orange County. The job also involved bringing in new techs for in-office interviews, asking questions and watching them thread and terminate Cat5 cables into punch-down blocks. (Done right, the little colored wires spread apart like a Christmas tree.) Then, based on that and their work history, I’d assess their pay rate, upload their resume, and put their information into the company database.
When John the CEO implemented a call log for all recruiters, emailed weekly to the entire company, I discovered I hovered around 100 calls a day. The results of every single call also went into the database.
Why do I keep mentioning the database?
* * *
Each database entry contained a minimum of four things:
1. The technician’s name
2. Their contact information
3. A copy-and-pasted, or scanned, resume
4. A list of notes written by every recruiter who interacted with that technician
The first note would be based on the introductory phone call or interview. The rest of the notes varied:
"Good work history. Seems nice but struggles with Cat6 cable termination. Put him in field with more experienced techs, never alone."
"Showed up early to job. Did great work. Bump pay to 12/hr"
"Forgot to wear work shirt. Said he lost it."
"Came into the office for more work shirts."
"On a long term position. Will call back in if he needs work again."
"Called in. Desperate. I told him there were no jobs available at the moment."
For many, the final note on the list simply said,
"NC/NS"
Seeing an "NC/NS" always made me uneasy; the finality, the fact that it was rarely explained or given context. "NC/NS" stands for "No Call / No Show." The tech was assigned to a job and didn’t show up, and not only did they not show up, they didn’t call to explain their absence. An "NS" - a "No Show" - might be excusable, in case of emergency, but it would be noted accordingly:
"Assigned to a 6PM job but called at 4:30 to say his car broke down. Told him to wait until car was fixed, then call back. BE CAREFUL WITH THIS GUY!!"
But an "NC/NS" was never excusable. That tech would never work for us again. If a recruiter put a tech on a job after an "NC/NS," that recruiter would be fired himself, no questions asked. As recruiters we had to be careful, because the database was littered with "NC/NS"s.
* * *
Fresh out of college, I thought the zero tolerance policy about "NC/NS"s was too strict. Sometimes you would see an explanation or context, an"NC/NS" followed by a note that said something like,
"[Tech] called in two days after NC/NS to say his sister died suddenly and he was at the hospital. Told him he can no longer work for us."
You’d feel bad for the guy. Accidents happen, right?
They do. However…
The way specific people respond to unpredictable events is extremely predictable. Some techs would blow off a job last minute because they forgot to hire a babysitter, knowing days in advance about the job. Others:
“Got a flat tire driving to the site, but called AAA and a taxi and got there on time!! Foreman asked for him by name, for when future work comes up. VERY PROFESSIONAL AND GREAT ATTITUDE!!”
Comparing lists of notes between techs was like reading “Goofus and Gallant” in Highlights For Kids Magazine. Whatever happened, one guy would always handle it perfectly, another guy always wouldn’t. During my time as a recruiter, LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District) was updating the telecom wiring in K-12 classrooms across the city and needed 10-15 temp techs at a time; plum positions with great pay plus union benefits. Guess who got the LAUSD jobs? The guys who called AAA and showed up on time. Only after exhausting every other option would we even consider the guys who forgot to call a babysitter.
And, of course, “NC/NS”s never got called. Or you’re fired.
* * *
After I left the staffing company, I’ve been working in and around the entertainment industry. You meet a lot of people. You meet them by chance or through acquaintances, for drinks or coffee or a meeting or a phone call. You don’t get the benefit of a database that shows you how those people treat everyone else. Most of the time, all you can go by is how they treat you. Most fall somewhere between Goofus and Gallant, but because it’s entertainment, there are more Goofuses than there should be. Then there are people – LA is littered with them – who will happily make a commitment to you, then blow it off, then disappear. You’ll both agree on a time to get coffee, you’ll email to confirm, and they won’t respond, and they won’t show up, and they won’t apologize or even return a text.
“NC/NS.”
Weeks or months or years later, maybe you’ll think about contacting them again. Or maybe they’ll contact you first. Maybe what happened last time was a one-time thing. Accidents happen, right?
Yes. To some people, accidents happen again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again...
I don’t have an “Enemies List.” But I do note all the people I need to stop working with, or else I deserve to be fired.