In video #2 of my interview series “The Pain Of It All,” Christopher Cloud discusses the best job he ever had, and it suddenly went away. When US Fidelis begain laying people off, it was only a matter of time until Chris got word that his job had been eliminated. A once high-flying company with executives driving Lamborghinis and building $27 million houses was now crawling with state attorneys general and lawyers trying to figure it all out. $100,000 in go karts went missing. Really?
Two aspects of this interview that really strike me:
1. I want a Lamborghini. To think these brothers, the co-owners of US Fidelis, had Lambos and Ferraris, and somehow pissed it all away…. frankly it pisses me off! Oh yeah, and St. Louis lost 1,400 jobs too. That part also sucks!
2. When bad things happen to me, I tend to chuck aside the entity or individual that thrust the badness upon me. I find it hard to say nice things about those that put me through pain! US Fidelis chucked Chris aside, collapsing under the weight of massive superduper fraud. And yet, he still feels it was the best job he ever had. He worked incredibly hard, and really liked the place. (I mean, they had a basketball court there!). While extended auto warranties are not the absolutely cleanest business, Americans do still buy them. This company could have been run differently, and a whole bunch of St. Louisans could still be employed there.
Chris is a really nice fellow, and I thank him for chatting with me about his job loss. Find Chris on LinkedIn here, and on Twitter, he is the world-famous iAmCloud.
A few interesting links on the shenanigans at US Fidelis:
US Fidelis Owners’ Lavish Lifestyles At Risk
Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against US Fidelis
Many kudos to you for this series Chris! This interview was indeed a great one. With so many people out of work (including myself) through company closures and layoffs, it’s refreshing to see someone bringing to light “The Pain Of It All”.
Thanks Vinny! Are the interviews truly interesting? I was wondering…. I’m personally fascinated with this subject matter… the pain of job loss. But honestly, I’m not sure if anyone else is interested in it. So long story short, thanks for the honest feedback!!!
Yeah, it truly was interesting to watch and I’m looking forward to the other interviews. I like hearing what others have done or are doing to find work. It let’s people like me know we are not alone in this grueling battle. I think you will find out soon enough that there are many who are interested. Keep it up!
Awesome, Chris. Every time I see a video interview, I get all tingly 🙂
I learned by watching you, master. I got a long way to go…
Keep pumping it out. You are doing good 🙂