December 30, 2004

>> WTF?

[ Fools ]

Hacked Off writes...

"My sad story is about a woman I used to work with (best day of my life was when I left the company).

It's so hard to know where to begin with this silly cow. However, we'll start by calling her "Ashley". I was the receptionist/administrator for the department and saw all the potential hires (and read most of the resumes) for "Ashley's" job. She was certainly not the most suitable applicant by a mile but I digress.

Let me describe her to you. Let's see, early forties, thin, hard and lined face but it was the hair that had us all cracking up! It was bleached blond and quite long. Here's the kicker...she used to (and still does as my friends there tell me) backcomb this nasty weave to within an inch of its life. Not only that, it must have been too long to get the ends because they stayed straight and it looked like she'd had a perm from a year before going on with it. It was a sight to see.

Anyway, "Ashley" was the Executive Assistant to the manager of this department. He must have liked her 80s clothes with skirts that could have doubled as belts. Or was it her hair?

So, "Ashley" wasted no time in putting peoples' backs up. She sent out a memo to everyone (including the regional head) that was so horribly constructed my 9 year old son could have done a better job. The spelling was awful, she used caps on a whole paragraph and used so many exclamation points that I thought she had lost her mind.

It was basically critizing the way certain people dressed under the guise of company policy. Considering she dresses like a two bit hooker, I thought this was a bit ironic.

Then, every time someone would stop by my desk to chat to me, "Ashely" would walk up and interrupt us. This was done to piss me off. Or was it just because she was an ignorant bitch? I think probably both as she did it on a regular basis. She was the most aggressive person I have ever worked with.

My best friend, who is the calmest and kindest person I know and who still works with "Ashley", is so put out by her behavior that she has gone to her boss. "Ashley" actually accused my best friend of being too aggressive!!! Not that there's much they can do about it because they are not over "Ashley". "Pat", who is her married boss, is an overweight loser who takes more vacations than anyone I have ever known. He was there two months and had already taken three weeks off. He fawns over this crazy bitch like she's the best thing since sliced bread.

To top this story off, she got "Pat" to hire her daughter and her daughter's friend. I will tell you their nicknames around the office. They are called Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber. Neither of them have grasped how to use the photocopier or check the answering machine for messages! How difficult can it be??? The daughter had been working there only four weeks when she took a whole week off to go to, get this, Bible Camp!!! When I worked there and my ex fell seriously ill I was told to suck it up and put on my "game face"!

Another friend of mine who works for this company has to go around all the employees to get their opinions on the working environment and there have been shedloads of complaints about "Ashley".

I could carry on forever but I am sure you get the gist of this. How she carries on in that positon being the ignorant, prickly bitch she is, we will never know."

01:03 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 29, 2004

>> Tights + toolbelts = not good

[ Rant ]

J T writes...

"Sometimes, whether you belive it or not, you might end up being a fool, as was the case for me not long ago.

I work for a building supplier in Sacramento, Calilfornia, and generally deal with a lot of manly men who like to spit, grunt, and wear tool belts and the like.

Anyway, one day my friend the IT guy invited me along to grab a hamburger up the street at McDonalds. I, having brought my lunch from home, declined and instead retired to the lunchroom to chew on my half-squished mustard sandwich and page through the dull excitement of trade magazines. But after reading about the many advantages of cinder block structures, I found myself wishing I'd gone along for the hamburger, a wish that quickly turned to mischevious jealousy.

I grabbed my radio (you know, the little cell phones with the two-way function and the annoying chirpy noise). I called back my friend. I knew that at this point, he would probably be standing in line ordering a Big and Tasty meal and there would probably be a bunch of people standing around.

"I LOVE UNICORNS," I called out into the radio. I waited for his responce. Nothing.

"I LOVE UNICORNS!!" I screamed again, and again I waited. This time the phone beeped back, "Uh hello?"

I quickly used my lightning fast wit to come up with one of my best lines ever, "HEY, LARRY FROM LARRY'S BALLARINA SUPPLY CALLED. HE SAID YOUR TIGHTS ARE READY!!"

I tried to imagine the look on his face, standing there trying to be manly while his radio was announcing to the whole restaurant that he was a big giant ballerina. My tummy wriggled in delight.

"Very funny. Look I need you to help-"

Something was wrong. The voice was suddenly not the voice of my friend. It was deeper, more serious. I looked at the display on my radio and to my horror, I realized that my boss had called me in the middle of my lunchtime foolishness! My friend had never even called me back! I just assumed that is was his voice when my boss called!

Oooops!"

01:11 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 28, 2004

>> Teaching with fools

[ Fools ]

teacher writes...

"I am at teacher who works with students with intellectual disabilities. My classroom has two paraprofessionals who are supposed to work as my teaching assistants. One of the paras is so completely incompetent that I cannot leave her alont with the children.

The first day we worked together I sent her to the kitchen to "teach" two of the students to make rice krispy bars in the microwave. I gave her a huge recipe (file folder size) with directions that my students could follow. She mananged to ruin the bars, isolate the students and then proceeded to tell me "I don't really know how to work with a microwave."

On another occassion she was sitting in the gymmasium watching our kids during P.E. and she fell asleep. Our principal walked in and didn't say anything to her.

Another time she must have noticed that I was documenting her incompetencies and went into my desk while I was out of the classroom and read all my documentation. Then she proceeded to yell in my face for several moments until I went to my superior.

She repeatedly turns away from one of my student's who has a severe choking disorder while he is eating. One time I walked into the classroom while this student was eating and she was on the internet with her back turned to him.

I can't trust her to do anything with the students. Even when I ask her to do an art project with them, she takes it over and goes to her desk to finish it for them.

She wears high heels and mini skirts and low-cut shirts to work, which renders her useless to run after kids, bend over to help them or sit on the floor with them. Not to mention, we work in a middle school, so it's probably not the best clothing decision anyway.

Lastly, she consistenly forges her sign-in sheet. It is so blatant (right in front of the principal) and yet nothing ever happens to her. She supposedly fell, however the administrator who saw it said it wasn't that bad and so cashed in on some workman's comp for several days. A real gem, I tell ya!

I've documented this out the ass and reported to my principal on many occassions and yet I'll be returning to work with her for another year."

01:02 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 27, 2004

>> I got quit for no reason at all!

[ Rant ]

On a sinking ship and the only one without an oar writes...

"No, you read that right. I got quit from my job. That's a cross between getting fired and quitting.

After being at my job for almost three years and working six days a week (Mon-Sat) with no overtime mind you, I submitted a letter to the owner of the company requesting Saturdays off. I wrote a full detailed memo in regards to an illness that has occurred in my family which will leave me without care for my two young children on Saturdays. I worked from 8:30 until 12:00.

Not only did they "unfortunately" deny me Saturdays off, they warned me that if I did not "meet or exceed" their work expectations for the next two weeks, they would treat it as my personal resignation. The fool on this day was me for signing that stupid-ass memo. I only signed so they would see that I received their response. I had no intention of resigning.

You have to understand that this company does not fire people. They do not want to pay unemployment. No one has been fired from there in the years they have been in business. They also don't pay overtime regardless of the hours you work.

Long story short, I turned this memo in on a Wednesday. I received their bullshit response on Friday. Monday, I was called in the Manager's office because the owner wanted to know why I was at work Saturday. Of course my response was "because I friggin work here". A stupid question deserves a hostile response.

Work went on as usual for the next two days. When I showed up for work Wednesday (one short week after submitting my memo)the Manager was standing in the parking lot waiting for me with a memo which stated that I had (somehow) created a hostile work environment and they were excepting my letter of resignation. I was not allowed to go on the premises, retrieve my personal belongs from inside or contact any of the other employees.

I keep thinking they think i'm someone else. All I can do at this point is shake my head in disgust and be grateful that I now longer work for those fools!"

01:10 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 25, 2004

>> Fed up

[ Fools ]

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!
-D.W.

Anonymous writes...

"I have been in the United States a little over a year now, and am originally from Europe where I had a very satisfying career during approximately 15 years. I moved over here because I married a US citizen.

In August of 2003 I took on a temporary assignment as a receptionist (far lower job title than I had in Europe). I accepted the job offer as I thought one needed to start "somewhere" over here. After 5 months, my assignment was over, and in January 2004 I found a job in a commercial real estate company. My job description was "Commercial Division Administrator", and while I had to start out at a lesser pay than the temp assignment, I was promised a 2 dollar raise after 3 months, which should have increased my past temp salary with one dollar per hour., and another raise after 6 months. I was also required to purchase a cell phone, was promised business cards, etc., because of my job title/duties. Yet, none of those promises were kept; even better: I eventually discovered that my status was and remained "receptionist" while I indeed was doing what was described in the original job description of "Commercial Division Administrator" (of which I have a signed copy).!

After 6 months I realized that no one in the corporate department had ears for my complaints (no promised raise, no change of status, etc.), and neither did the manager of the branch I worked for, as he was never there. At some point I ended up virtually running the branch for him, without any recognition whatsoever, him being out most of time to run his wife's business. Meanwhile, the one and only other employee in the branch (the rest of the people there were real estate agents), who was a Transaction Coordinator, and was enjoying the maximum salary regardless of how many hours she worked, or how much effort she put in her job (she spent most of her time surfing the internet, or/and chatting up guys online, IF she decided to come in - being on a salary, she would get paid a full month anyways, regardless of how many hours she worked, while I was on an hourly rate), decided to take a couple of weeks vacation. Note that a Transaction Coordinator has a much higher wage, and on top of that receives bonuses for every transaction closed.

At any rate: at that point I was not even asked politely to replace her during her absence, I was bluntly ordered to do it, and this without the benefits of my promised raises, and without being able to get the bonuses for the files I would be working on. I also was made clear by the corporate department (when I again got in touch with them) that I did not have to expect a change of status, nor promotion. That did it for me, and I resigned. No one ever made the effort to try communicate with me when turning in my notice; at the contrary: the only thing they were worried about was who was going to replace the TC while she was on vacation. They were very rude to me, and refused my notice, trying to force me in (another) extra task/job duty (TC), without any compensation. It being an "at will" company (state of CA), I decided to call it quits, right there, right now. Never had I been treated that way, and refused to even consider being treated as such.

A couple of weeks later, I received a call at home from the vice president. He apologized for their behavior, and made it clear that they wanted to re-hire me, on better conditions (better status, better pay, and the option to become a TC myself). He wanted me to fax him my resume, and promised he would get back to me. After what had happened, and with that having lost my trust in those people, I e-mailed him asking to send me a job description and salary proposal before sending my resume. And apparently, this does not seem possible, as a week has passed, and I have not heard anything from him yet, and I doubt I will.

I am truly fed up with those people, and do not understand why they call me to offer me a better position, and then (again....) let me down. I really am angry, and would like to write to him or something in the like, expressing my disappointment and discontent. Needless to say that I am also getting very depressed with all this, which is starting to impact my marriage. In my 15 years of career back in Europe I have always been a very much appreciated employee. Over here, it seems like I am worth "nothing" or/and that people are taking advantage of me, and I truly feel like packing my suitcases and flying back home."

01:20 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 24, 2004

>> You must be kidding

[ Fools ]

zippy writes...

"Before we begin, we need a little background on this particular fool. Before joining us at a branch of a major southern university, our village idiot came from a local school system. She had been with the system as a secretary for 15 years, and has been with the university for 5...keep in mind she has always worked as a secretary...

Our department has a summer camp for junior high and high school students. Preparation for the camp requires a lot of work, and the village idiot (VI for short) is the secretary designated to coordinate the camp. Remember that she's been doing this for 5 years...

There are 2 other secretaries in the department. We have been designated as her assistants for this project and do a great deal of the work. It's a big project, and we don't mind sharing in the workload, but...(you know what's coming, don't you?)

After thinking she had dumped the database of campers (she really just misplaced it on her computer), she decided to start from scratch and re-enter all of the data. I was helping her re-enter records on a clone (before I knew that she had just misplaced it). Together we entered 900 pages of records. She took on the task of importing the records I entered back into her database. I was in her office when she was doing this, but I was busy with other work and not paying much attention to what she was doing. After 2 hours of hearing nothing but mouse clicks, she said "it would have been faster of I had typed all these records in myself". She had been importing the records field by field, one by one, taking a 15-second job and turning it into a couple of hours.

That afternoon, as 2 secretaries, 4 faculty members, 2 student workers and the department head were in the main office stuffing envelopes for a mailing that she should have done a week prior, VI turns from her compuer screen and asks, "Can someone show me how to insert a comma in this document?" (she was "editing" something done by someone else) We all laughed and went on stuffing envelopes. Five minutes later, she repeated the question. The department head looked at her quizzically and she said "I'm serious". Her excuse was that she hadn't worked with that program at her old school (5 years at the university, remember?).

After that, she decided that she needed to take care of some of her personal business, and spent the rest of the afternoon calling the gas company, her husband, ordering stuff from QVC online, then finally leaving early to get her nails done. This was just one day out of a couple of months of similar behavior. And for all of this, she gets a $5,000 bonus and the month of August off work, while the other secretary and I get a nice "thank you" from the department head."

01:09 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 23, 2004

>> Safety Rules are Important

[ Fools ]

Phil writes...

"I work for a LARGE Midwestern University in the Housing and Foodservice Division.

I have come to face with idiots on several occasions. One example is when I was the Foodservice Production Supervisor in a residence hall. In our industrial kitchen we had a stack steamer that began to malfunction and would leak VERY hot water/pressurized steam (200 degrees F) into the kitchen.

Obviously a repair was needed; so I put what is called a "lockout" on it and called the Physical Plant (repair shop). A lockout (in this case) is a heavy duty plastic guard that goes over the power switch and has a lock on it so no one can use the malfunctioning device until it can be repaired. The Lockout also has a huge ass tag on it written in English, Spanish, and French warning that the device is not to be used and that only the Production Supervisor has the key. Well about a week after the device was first locked out a now terminated cook busted off the plastic guard with a meat tenderizer mallet and used the steamer unbeknownst to management. Ten minutes later when he goes to get the item out of the steamer he gets pressurized steam (which flows like water but is 200 degrees F.) all down his lower torso and legs.

Long story short 3rd degree burns 60% of his body and a shit load of paperwork for me. Fortunately the moron couldn't sue the University for his gross negligence--thank god we installed all those cameras in the kitchen! SO the moral of the story: If something says, "Danger Do not Use" in three languages--DON'T USE IT!

Also as a side note-- Don't steal from a place that has cameras watching you! I typically fire 3-5 employees a semester for stealing food..."

01:18 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 22, 2004

>> "Upside-Down"

[ Fools ]

Cog writes...

"I work with a contracting firm. We're currently doing major renovation work on a brownstone. Recently, we started work on sound-proofing the walls and restoring all the window frames. Somehow, I ended up doing all the window frame restoration, a delicate yet tedious chore, while everyone else does the sound-proofing, a task that requires little more than a power drill and silicone caulk.

Anyway, I'm doing my best to concentrate on the window frame while my coworkers yack endless about baseball videogames and pop bubble wrap, when one of them starts complaining about how the others installed a piece of soundboard upside-down. Now, soundboard is just a material that absorbs sounds well -- you could no more install it upside-down than you could hold a playing card upside-down. I look up to see what they were talking about, and it turned out that one of them had cut the soundboard such that, when it was slotted into place, the BRAND NAME was upside-down. The brand name that was soon to be painted over anyway.

Now, this on its own is just silly. The thing was, these idiots then discussed the "upside-down" soundboard for TWENTY MINUTES, during which time they did no work. They argued about whether or not it was mistake, how it was like other mistakes they've made in the past, how details are important, and so on. I kinda wish I had a tape recording of their argument, because there's no way I could ever hope to recreate the sheer inanity of it by myself."

01:07 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 21, 2004

>> Sinking Ship

[ Boss ]

Jumping the sinking ship writes...

"I work in local government and all was well until we got a new boss. Lets call her Wandering Eye (for reasons that will be apparent later)

We used to have a nice happy working environment until WE started. Employing someone with ZERO people skills to manage a section of people would appear to a recipe for disaster..and so it was and is.

My team leader a bit flaky (well call her BF) but in a manageable way. After about 6 months of WE 'nurturing' which involved talking to her like a child, over riding all her decisions making her cry etc BF snapped. She talked only to the 2 men, treated everyone one else like shit .Her final act was to make up two 'issues' to put on my review (one accused me of bad dress despite never saying anything and the other apparently I used to order her to do things -as if and needed to 'learn to act appropriately! Then she left and now she is taking legal action against our boss.

Of course that mean that WE (so named as when you talk to her her eyes wander all over the room everywhere except you while going aha mmm aha constantly) had total control.

She caused one person to leave by starting an argument while standing in standing by my desk (the other person worked next to me)

She told another lady, who was our system support person, who was going on maternity leave that she would have a job to come back to, then reneged on that and when this person said that was it they were going (and a lot else) WE said well no one else is going to employ you like that (pregnant) They got the last laugh having got a job the day before.

Another time she called myself and two other employees in to blame us for apparently causing a negative environment (we used to spend a few minutes chatting before we started at 7am) and that 'someone' had complained but couldn't produce a name or proof! The other two people have since left after both being on stress leave and I am going in 2 weeks (yeah)

She has an empire of arse lickers -rather incestuously 2 are boy friend and girlfiend, another is there ex flatmate.she has been on numerous management courses but unfortunately none that have worked and so far 6 people have left a team of 11 in less than a year because of her"

01:16 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 20, 2004

>> Too Smart

[ Boss ]

Too Smart for This writes...

"I have been with this small company for several months now. As the oldest person working in the office, I have more work and life experience than my boss. I have stayed with each company I've worked for an average of 8 years, but after today, I'm ready to call it quits after 8 months.

When I started with the company I was given several HR functions (I assumed it was because I have HR experience) since we don't have an "official" HR department (my boss is the accountant and also does HR). I discovered several policies and practices the company wanted to put into place or already had in place were illegal, so I let my boss know. She brought this up at a staff meeting, argued with me and let me know (in front of other employees) that she had been with the company longer than I had and she knew better. I dropped the matter only to find out that after that conversation, she did some research and "discovered" that some of our policies and procedures were illegal. She changed the policies and is now being praised for saving the company from potentially expensive legal actions. I kept my mouth shut. Today she asked me about a binder I had on my desk. After several weeks of work, I had put together outlining and explaining the codes that back up our current policies and information on other HR questions that have come up since I've been there. The book was intended to be a quick reference for supervisors. In front of three other people (the executive director being one), she literally waved her hand at me and the book and said, "I don't need that." She then turned her back on me and walked out of the room. I was so angry I was trying not to cry when the executive director asked me if I was okay. I told her no, but I didn't really want to talk about it. She came to me later in the day and asked about it. I told her that when my work is dismissed like that, I feel upset and angry. Her response, "Well, if you're coming to work and crying then maybe this isn't a good fit for you." Now I'm wondering if I'm getting ready to get fired or if I've been sent a message to start looking for another job. Everyone else in the company is constantly praising my work and I have several letters from supervisors and co-workers about my work. My boss seems to be the only one with the problem, except now I'm wondering if the executive director also has a problem I'm unaware of. I'm almost 50 years old and I have never had a boss that treated me that way. Oh yeah, the reason I've been working so hard on pulling together that information? My boss asked me to."

01:05 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 19, 2004

>> Slackerpreneurial

[ Work ]

It writes...

"I have the pleasure of having a client that seems to think their company can gorw by itself with no intervention by the senior management.

It sucks for me, because as a result of their lack of business sense, they don't have enough planning or discipline to be able to pay the bills on time!

Whatever happened to the boss being the first one in the office and the last to leave? I mean, for a small business (less than 10 employees) someone has to put their shoulder to the wheel and put in some real sweat equity to run, manage, and grow the company. For people who can't handle this, go become a boss at someone else's company.

In this company, the boss has the biggest and best office, and he hardly uses it! He works from home. His second in command and CFO works from home as well! As a result, there's no management team present. You can imagine what people can and will get away with. Go ahead and come late, then leave early. Browse the Internet for a while. Go ahead and skip that deadline. Oh wait, they didn't give you a deadline. Now a customer gets mad when the non-existent deadline is "missed."

And they wonder why they're company is not growing... :-|"

01:14 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 18, 2004

>> Stupid is as stupid does

[ Rant ]

Crippled by Idiocy writes...

"I work in city government. Trying to run a supportive/encourage workplace is a challenge b/c of all of the rules governing what can and cannot be discussed. For instance, sharing a link to a resource on Asthma to an employee who is frequently absent b/c of asthma is prohibited.

I recently rejuvinated an employee of the month program in an effort 1) to help the managers who report to me to encourage their staff and 2) to recognize the achievements of line level staff.

All supervisory staff contribute approximately $3 per month and their managers contribute $5 - $10. It is all voluntary. These funds go toward doughnuts and coffee for a meeting where my entire Division gathers to find out the winner. The winner gets their name and picture on a plaque and a certificate from the head of our Division that outlines their accomplishment.

This past Wed, my Administrative Assistant scheduled a meeting with me at 5pm (after I had told her I needed to leave at 5!) to tell me we were low on funds. During this meeting she explained that she approached line level staff to contribute which is completely counter intuitive if not disruptive. What makes this insane is that it is THE ONLY TIME she has taken any initiative to do something on her own.

Even better, she collected $ from everyone in order to organize a party for a staff member who was leaving. The staff member was adamant about not wanting a party and my assistant could not understand that the $ needed to be returned to people rather than given as a contribution to the employee. This was even after I explained that people had willingly contributed to something they could be a part of and NOT as a donation.

I am at a loss on how to utilize her b/c even asking her to plan meetings leaves me working side by side with her to get them completed."

01:03 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 17, 2004

>> Doublethink and Black/White

[ Work ]

In My Place-1984 writes...

"The company I work for is a Fortune 500 company and to say the least isn't so happy when workers actually have a brain and use it. This week was a clear example of what can happen if you question the company line.

A meeting was called several months ago to "introduce" us to our new boss who works in another state. He's new because the rats jumped the ship with their "golden life vests" after a governmental investigation. Thanks to those handy dandy campaign contributions, no one went to jail, but shake-up happens.

We were asked to air any problems we were having, so we did. Well, they didn't really want to know and they weren't really going to give us true answers so I guess our complaints about benefits and questionable practices just sent up a red flag. Here's the mentality-find the trouble makers and stop them at all costs. I guess those who have the balls to question authority are definitly in need of a little "coming to Jesus" session. I got mine but only after watching my co-workers-yes, the same folks I have to listen to complain day after day of the unfairness of it all, back-peddle like there was no tommorrow.

Fear is a funny thing because it can serve a healthy purpose but it can also keep us under the control of others. I know what fear feels like, but I get a little pissed when I hear how lucky we are to have jobs and that we work for a great company when so many of us are struggling to survive and the social programs we are forced to rely on are being cut.

My favorite fools:
Coworker said: We must remember that the company has to balance the business needs and can't afford to give too much time off!

Coworker said: I don't really use my FMLA much so I won't file one until my back goes out again.

Coworker said: If we are allowed to use our sick leave for the first day we are sick, then too many of us would be absent more(opens us abuses, you know).

Thanks guys and the next time I hear you crying in the breakroom because you can't afford groceries, I'll just remind you that the company has rights which are much more important than ours-who are we to question the mysterious ways of our corporate masters.

My "Coming to Jesus" Session:
I'm asked to go to a room with two managers and told that I was to "side-line" my concerns and discuss them in private with management after the meeting. It's not appropriate to discuss such things in a group setting and from now on, we will meet only one-on-one to discuss policy related issues. It's not that I "upset" anyone, I just need to understand that if other people are having issues, they need to take the initiative to discuss them one-on-one with management themselves and if they won't, that's their problem not mine.

After my past week's experience, I agree. I am not going to put my neck out again to get answers-and yes we did get some-for fools who run and hide when it's time to be independant adults instead of company dependants. No more standing up for my fellow "Fools"!

And I hereby award several with the coveted "Brown Nosed Coward" award for failing to have bravery in the quest for truth!

God Bless"

01:11 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 16, 2004

>> Complete Hypocrosy

[ Work ]

LFANJHAH writes...

"I have worked for a whole in the ground company for almost a year now (10 months). I truly hate this place.

Below is the gist a a 'surprise' meeting earlier this week.

Q1a- You came in late yesterday, what were you doing? Are you looking for another job?
A1a- (Note that it would seem to me if you have to ask that question, I SHOULD BE!) No, I had some personal things to take care of, thats all (looking STOOPAFIED, I'm sure).
Q1b- What were you doing and where?
A1b- (Now feeling seriously concerned) I had some things to address for my tenant.
Q1c- You were looking for a job weren't you?
A1c- No, like I said, I had some things to handle, requested the time from [my direct supervisor] and I was told it would be no problem.
Q1d- (Statement, really) I don't believe you. I think you are looking for a job and so is [my direct supervisor]. Blah, blah, blah, rant, rant! I have a guy who will come in here tomorrow and do your job for less than whatI pay you.

NOTES:
I do not call in sick, ever...
I have requested, maybe, two days off since I started.
Until about two-three months ago, I was taking support calls on the side of the highway both on the way to work and on the way home and then AT home until 9PM... the day officially starts at 8AM and runs Monday through Saturday. 70+ hours a week!
I have been working in my field for almost 10 years, and the pay I make here just became equal to what I was making at my second job.
---
After the first round of attack, the second pursued...
'If you are looking for another job, I can help you, just be up front with me. Believe me, I won't hire someone else and then fire you'

NOTES:
Did anyone read the stuff above? Let me point out that hiring me, then firing the guy I was supposed to work with, is exactly what is going to happen to me - soon. Trust is a four letter word around here.
Secondly, this guy knows that this job is not cutting it for me financially. So, you have a guy who would start tomorrow for less money, you have a way to aid me in making sure that I find a higher paying job, and you see me struggling to scrape up gas money to get here, and skipping lunch because I'm broke? I have been doing this for almost a year. Sure you will help.. F*****G LIAR!
Lastly, some would say, 'why did you take it in the first place? Well, after 6 months looking, anything offered was GOOD. Had to try to survive SOMEHOW.
---
Furthermore...
I eventually stated that 'Look, whatever [my direct supervisor] is doing is beyond me. If he's looking for another job or picking boogers is his business. However, in the event he does leave this company, I only ask that I have the opportunity to fill his position'
[Boss's Boss] = 'That will never happen... [CEO] has a 'bug' about yuo and your communication with him. Its tough to overcome once he has you in his mind like that. And, your emails don't make you look as intelligent as I know you are...'

NOTES:
WHAT THE F**K!!??!!
And I'm supposed to take this S**T?
I replied 'First, you have expressly PROHIBITED my direct interaction with [CEO]. How can he even HAVE that thought (unless you haven't TOLD him that you have given me those rules?
About the emails...
None of you dipS**Ts take time to read or listen to anything other than what you want to see/hear. The message he was referring to could not be mis-interpreted unless you did NOT READ IT IN FULL. This goes to the 'Hey, what happened to...?' and me saying 'It was in the status report 2 weeks ago {A****LE}.'
---
Even still...
My relationship with [direct supervisor] is cool. He knows and I know, that this place is full of greedy, demanding and back-stabbing mofo's.
[Boss's Boss] - 'General perception is your his little puppy dog'.

NOTES:
I am really trying to keep my cool, and I cannot afford to just quit.
Damn I want to tell him to SUCK A D**K!
The two of, both professionals in our field that have had a run of bad luck which brought us here, lean on each other for morale... we damned sure don't get any boosts from this place.


SOMEONE PLEASE CALL ME FOR A NEW JOB!"

01:02 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 15, 2004

>> It's not the heat...it's the stupidity.

[ Fools ]

Joe Merchant writes...

"Oh boy, where to begin?

At my last job, here in Florida, I had one "favorite" luser...er...user...umm..."Sandy." Now Sandy was one of those people that know absolutely nothing about computers...or anything electronic for that matter. She was also the type that would forget everything she had learned if she washed her hair...I'm sure every one knows at least one person like that.

Let me describe an all too often call that would come in.

Me: Hello, computer guy.

Sandy: Yes, is this the computer guy?

Me: Let me check... ... ... ...sure is.

Sandy: I have a problem.

Me: I'm sure you do, but unfortunately I can only legally help with technical issues.

Sandy: Huh? No, my computer won't work.

Me: Really? What is it doing exactly?

Sandy: I hit the power button, and the little green light comes on...and it sounds like it is working, but nothing comes up on the screen.

(I'm sure most of you can already sense where this is going...)
Me: So...you hit the power button on the box and the little green light comes on, but nothing appears on the screen?

Sandy: Yeah...I think my motherboard must be toast.

Me: Really...well...before we trash your system, let's try a few things...ok?

Sandy: Sure.

Me: Can you climb under your desk and look at the back of your computer?

Sandy: Umm, I guess so...but the floor is really dirty.

Me: That's ok, the dust bunnies won't bite...too hard.

(Sounds of a chair falling over...then some grunts...then...)
Sandy: Ok, I'm under the desk...but it is kinda dark down here. What should I be looking for?

Me: Well, I think you should check all of your connections to make sure that they are plugged into the right places...and that the plug is all the way in.

(More grunts)
Sandy: Ok, I've unplugged everything...now where do they go?

Me: Have you ever seen that toddler's game with the square peg and the round hole?

Sandy: Yes.

Me: Just use that as a guide.

(The point of said game is that each plug could only go into 1 and only 1 hole...totally lost on Sandy.)
Sandy: ...umm...er...a-ha!

Me: Now climb back into your seat and try it again.

Sandy: Ok... ... ...the same thing happens...nothing on the screen.

Me: Hmmm...where is your plug strip/surge protector?

Sandy: Under the desk.

(Wow...exactly where I screwed it into...imagine that!)
Me: Ok, well climb back under the desk and unplug everything and then plug it back in.

(In a less than enthusiastic voice.)
Sandy: Ok.

Me: Also turn off the power strip and then turn it back on.

Sandy: Ok...all done.

Me: Ok, now climb back out and try it again.

Sandy: Ok... ... ...nope...still nothing. I'm getting tired of going up and down all the time. So you think my motherboard is toast?

Me: Not just yet...I was gonna suggest this first, but...

Sandy: What is it?

Me: Do you see a little green light on your monitor?

Sandy: No, it's dark.

(Wait for it... ... ... ...keep waiting... ... ...a little longer...)
Me: ...

Sandy: Do I need to turn the monitor on also?

Me: Only if you'd like to view what the computer is telling you.

Sandy: Oh, I do.

Me: Then push the button on the monitor with the zero and the one.

Sandy: Oh...that did it! Thank you.

She didn't even know to be embarrassed about something that a four year old kid could have troubleshot.

But still...it was fun to make her get under her desk or run outside to check the "Static electricity factor" for the day and stuff. But I guess some people think that the helpdesk/IT department has nothing better to do than hand hold some folks through basic computer operation."

01:10 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 14, 2004

>> Call Center Dummies - I work with a few good twits

[ Fools ]

Chip Douglas writes...

"I'm going to (try to) keep this story short. I work in a call center. We receive customer service inbound calls here, and a lot of times, we have projects come in that require us to place outbound calls...sometimes to residential, sometimes to huge multi-national companies. That said, I would like to share a few stories of all time bone-head moves made by fellow call agents that I work on the floor with. OK. So, one recent project had us calling landlords to offer a free listing of their rental property on the project sponsors website. If they are interested, we gather extensive info about the property. I am kind of a perfectionist, so I try to listen in on co-workers to help when needed. One day I heard a female co-worker on one of these calls asking about a rental...address, location, smoking or non...she gets to the question about how many sq. feet...and says "and is there any square feet with that?" WTF...I almost rushed out for a lobotomy. No, there's no fucking square feet...it exists in a void getting swallowed by a black hole....damn. Here's another bone head move story. We had a project where we were calling multi-million dollar companies trying to set up a meeting with them and an advertising agency we were representing. In the script that appears on the computer screen, the prompt reads something to the effect of "We would like to show you how (ad agency) could help INSERT COMPANY meet your advertising goals." Obviously, when you get to the INSERT COMPANY part (listed in red no less) you say THEIR company name...personalizing it. I heard two of my big-brained co-workers on the phone say "INSERT COMPANY" to the director of advertising they had on the end of the line. I can only imagine the thought process of the dir. of ad. on the other end...something like this...did they just say that they wanted to insert something somewhere....or what the hell did they just refer to my company as? Is this a prank call? OK. The last one I will leave you with is a basic. The end of a lot of surveys have 'classification' sections...for demographics. The survey will throw in a Q. near the end that says RESPONDANT SEX *do not ask. Thankfully it doesn't happen much, but has. Yep. I've only heard it once, but someone did ask. I hope the person on the other end wasn't offended...perhaps they did the austin powers response on their toes and said "yes please." That's all I got. All real stories from my pathetic life with fools. I feel better and I hope you do too. . I just wanted to pound this out. Cheers all."

01:01 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 13, 2004

>> I once worked with fools...

[ Rant ]

c6 writes...

"I recently switched jobs. My previous job was hated from almost the day I started now that I reflect back. I was stuck there more because of the economy as opposed to career growth. Anyway, I realize no job is perfect but I needed to get off my chest just how insanely stupid the people were where I left. I agree it's hard to compare the two jobs since the industry and job functions are different so I'm just comparing comparable topics.

Meetings
New: They start on time despite people being in different buildings and on different floors.
Old: Never started within 10 minutes of the start time. Almost all meetings required telling everyone in the meeting that it needs to start or having a retarded, annoying loudspeaker announcement.

Free Food:
New: Sometimes we get free pizza and lunches and all soda is free.
Old: Sometimes we were offered leftover scraps if a meeting ended and they didn't finish the food.

Website:
New: It was well thought out and planned and updated daily
Old: It's just fucking ghetto. No really.

Printers
New: All our copy machines are networked and used to print from our desktops. All print jobs have a cover page with the user and document name for organization purposes.
Old: All the copy machines were networked but not used as printers. Instead we had a bunch of personal class printers that held 9 sheets of paper and broke down every 5 seconds from misuse.

IM:
New: IM isn't permitted due to cost in productivity and security vulnerabilities.
Old: There were some days I spent all day on IM

Network:
New: I can commonly perform my daily function relying on network responsiveness and reliability.
Old: We commonly were subject to dial-up speeds and it was a crapshoot whether or not the file server would be available.

Subject Knowledge:
New: I work with many people who don't understand Internet technology, but they ask intelligent questions and grasp concepts rather quickly.
Old: 6% of the company understood Internet technology and it was the core business. Of the 94% left, they commonly asked moronic questions and never understood the explanation nor retained any information leading to the same people asking the same questions--always.

Freedom:
New: Work for a living and require being in the office.
Old: Stayed home at will. Nobody cared. (OK that I miss).

Willingness:
New: I wake up in the morning and commute to work looking forward to a productive day. I work hard and the day flies by. Then I get to go home. Weekends and paychecks are pleasures to get since they feel deserved.
Old: Snoozed my alarm 7 times, dragged my ass out of bed. Was half asleep at work. IMed, emailed, did some mindless work, wondered if the day was almost over, IMed, emailed, went to lunch, and repeated the morning. Went home feeling dumber than when I woke up. Stayed up until 2am because I was never tired.

Boss:
New: A professional adult with 20 more years experience then me. A real mentor.
Old: A completely ineffective and un-respected yambag.

Favorite Thing:
New: Being Challenged.
Old: Going to lunch.

Self Worth:
New: Feel important, respected.
Old: Felt useless.

Staff Meetings:
New: Once a week.
Old: Once.

Pride:
New: Enjoy talking and explaining to people what I do for a living.
Old: Told everyone I was a consultant and never admitted where I worked.

Network Operations:
New: A fully manned helpdesk and server engineering group dedicated to infrastructure and help desk duties. Ticket system allows you to track outstanding requests.
Old: HAHAHAHAHAHA. I could never see past all the pot smoke."
01:09 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 12, 2004

>> The WE situation

[ Rant ]

Bouncin_Dom writes...

"I work at major telecom company and what I do is make sure all the requests for customers that want to transfer their existing phone number to our service go through. It's called Wireless Number Portability (WLNP).

Well i have many people I work with that like to dish out thier work onto others becuase they feel that they are too busy to do it themselves. I often have a co-worker who comes into my cube and says he saw a ticket that I was working on (tickets are used to track customer requests) and thought that it would be best if "WE" handled it in a different way. That "WE" should contact a different department or "WE" should contact the old service provider. What this jackass really means is that I should do the work and "WE" will take credit for it.

FUCK THAT!

If someone takes time out of their day to go over my tickets and come up with a better solution than what I am executing, so be it. Fuckin fix it! Fuckin Do It! Leave me out of it. Don't come into me cube and give me this "WE" shit and expect me to completely change my process just becuase you think it will work out better even though you have your own work to do but you would rather look over mine for some fuckin reason.

Could someone please explain the "WE People" to me. I do not understand why people do not understand the definition of the word "WE."

This isn't much of a story. I'm sorry. But I did put it in the rant section for a reason."

01:18 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 11, 2004

>> Work Diaries: BRAIN DAMAGED!

[ Boss ]

Eman writes...

"There is this client who is really important to our company. The majority of our work is with him. And I must say, my boss just LOVES having business with him, and he is so proud of the story when the relationship between them grew from just a dull formal professional relationship, into a close friendship. So in December 2003, and while I was still getting familiar with the clients and all, I had some papers related to this client, they had to be signed, so I asked my boss to sign them, while signing he went like:
Boss: You know we should do our best not to lose this client. As you've already noticed, business with him is so fruitful.
I: Yes, I've noticed. I hope things will keep improving with him.
Boss: Yeah, I hope so.
(I took the papers, and turned around to go to my office)
Boss: You know Eman, the great thing about this client is that he's become a friend of mine as well. Yes, true friendship.
I: Really! That's good.
Boss: Wait till you know how we became friends.
(I'm sure it was obvious on my face that I had NO INTEREST AT ALL)
Boss: one day he had a car accident, a big one, and since he has no friends in this country, he thought of no one but me to call, I went to him immediately, helped him out, turns out his driving license was expired, so the police wanted to take strict procedures with him, yet I convinced them to give him a chance and paid a penalty in his favor. I invited him home that day to relax, he met my wife and ever since then we've become good friends and so did our wives.
I: Hmmm. (an artificial smile)
In January 2004
Boss: Eman, I'm going to have lunch with .. In an hour. We'll discuss some issues concerning the coming project. If there's anything you need, call me on my mobile, ok!
I: Ok, no problem.
Boss: This project is really important for us, this client is really important Eman. You know, he's not just a client, but we have become friends too. It's when one day he had a car accident, a big one, and since he has no friends in this country,..
I: he called you and. well I believe you told me this.
Boss: Really? Did I tell you that our wives also became friends? Now after I solved the problem with the police.
I: Ah, sir, I believe I'm already aware..
Boss: yes, but I didn't tell you how I got to invite him, so after I helped him out........ ever since then we've become close friends and so did our wives.
I: Hmmmm (a disgusted smile)
March 2004:
My boss calls early in the morning:
Boss: Eman, I wont come to the office today, have a meeting with . A very important client as you know.
I: Ok, no problem.
Boss: after the meeting, will have him come with his wife to my place to have dinner. Did I tell you we're friends.
I: Yes, yes, you told me ALL ABOUT IT.
Boss: Yes, it was a huge huge accident. I remember when he called me, and how I ran to help him. His license was.
( he went on with the boring details,I felt like breaking the phone)
June 2004
Boss: Eman, I don't have to remind you how important today's reception is. This client is really important. Tell the maid to clean the office really well. I want the office to be glowing today.
I: No worries. Everything's set.
Boss: .. He's a strict person. He loves his work, we can't lose him. Good thing he and I are friends. Although the circumstances that created this friendship weren't actually pleasant. You see, one day he had an accident.
I: and he called you, you went to him, then you invited him over, now your wives are friends.
Boss: not only this, but it turned out his license was not valid, a very big problem you know, but I convinced the police...etc.
(I wished I could kill myself)
July 13, 2004
The phone rings, I pick up, guess who's on the other end? Yep it's this extremely important client. He wanted to talk to the boss. I put his call on hold, and rang the boss' office.
I: . the important client, who once had an accident, then called you, then you went to him, helped him out and paid the penalty of his license, remember! This client whom you invited to your home and both your wives are now friends, (I catch my breath) he is on the phone.
Boss: Oh., it was a huge huge accident, remind me to tell you about the details later.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

01:07 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 10, 2004

>> Interview From Hell

[ Rant ]

Just a regular nurse writes...

"I had been an unemployed nurse for a short time due to the Home Health Care company I worked for went out of business. This is a type of patient care that I really liked. After sending in a resume to another home care company, I got a call and made an appointment for an interview. I walked into a very busy office, where I was given an application and taken to a room and told to fill it out. I was in the midst of doing this when the woman came back in and handed me a stack of forms and told me that they were tests and I needed to take them. I was used to this as many home care agencies have simple competency tests to take, based on pharmaceuticals, treatments and disease processes. I filled out the application and then looked at the tests. They were basic reading tests that you would find on standardized tests in high school.I was appalled! I spent time in college to be a nurse and the last thing that I needed to do was take a simple reading test. I went to the front desk and turned them in and told her that I was not taking them and I was ready for my interview. She told me that was the interview. I was extremely irritated and told her the name of the person that I was to be interviewed by and she would not believe me. She called that person who acknowledged that yes I was to be interviewed and that she would be right with me. I waited 30 minutes and just as I was about to leave, finally came out to get me. We talked about that job and what it would entail. I took some notes in a small notebook. The person interviewing me wanted to know what I was writing and I explained to her that I do this so that after I got home if there were any questions, I could call and discuss them. She them demanded to see the notebook. I refused to show it to her as it was a help to me and it had no bearing on the interview. She became very wary. I then unloaded the stuff about being given a reading test, and how I was appalled that I would be required to take that since I not only could read, but took a state test to get my nusring license, and kept it renewed by study and taking classes. I was never so glad to leave an office in my life. A few weeks later, I got a call from a head hunter who stated that she wanted to meet with me and discuss a business oppotunity. She would not tell me what company she was looking to hire for, as she was afraid I would call there on my own and she would not get her commission. I agreed to meet with her even though it was out of my way. She and I met and she told me about the job in home care, and damned if it was not the same company that I had interviewed with, the one with the reading test. I told her that I would not ever work for a company that disorganized, and about the actual interview. She let me know that those people had been replaced and that there was whole new staff. Yeah like I would ever go there again! A couple months later, I read that the whole company went bust because people at the top were spending money like it was going out of style. Go figure!"

01:17 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 09, 2004

>> The Meercat

[ Fools ]

Mole writes...

"We have a young lady in our office, who, although the sweetest person in the world, drives us all nuts.

I call her "The Meercat". The reason is that whenever anything is going on in the office, from a private discussion to a "computer issue", to a document problem, to a joke being told, she is up on her feet looking over the top of her cubicle. She looks exactly like a Meercat looking about to see what's going on.

The popping up is usually followed by an inane "story", usually completely unrelated to the topic (if any) at hand, often something we have heard before, and to be repeated in detail with every new person who enters the room.

Example: "The server is down. After confirming that we all got booted out at the same time and that it isn't just one person, someone calls IT, and we find something else to do until it is up and running again.

The Meercat, howver, is up on her feet, scoping out the room, and then visits each cubicle in turn relating (loudly) the blow-by-blow of exactly what happened when SHE got kicked of, the error message (sometimes accompanied by her reading the error message (of course, we ALL got the same message, so don't need to have it read to us), and then some story about how this is exactly the same thing that happened with her dog, a relative, or some girl she knew in grade school (NEVER "the same thing", as the story usually has nothing to do with the situation at hand, and usually relates nothing more than her dog getting excited to see her when she gets home).

Again, as new people arrive in the office, the story is related again to each person, with "And so them I got the message blah-blah-blah!" and "So then my dog barked at me, and I said Bad Dog!".

This is repeated for every phone call she receives (which we all heard anyway, and when she answers the phone and it is for one of us (Which entails "I THOUGHT it was for you! The person said "Is Bill there? and I said Yes! and then I called you over, and that reminds me of this morning when my dog started barking because he was hungry....").

Unfortunately, she also sits facing the door so that every time you go to the copy room, the fridge, the bathroom, she pops her head out or over the cubicle to see who it is.

As I say, she is a really sweet woman ad I think is just lonely in her life outside the office. This translates into a need to chatter constantly and to "be involved". It also drives us all nuts."

01:06 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 08, 2004

>> We only have ONE elevator!

[ Work ]

ONEelevatorEDDIE writes...

Here is the situation at the hotel I work at - we have 2 lobby elevators, 1 maids elevator and 1 service elevator (the service elevator is a MANUAL elevator). One of the lobby elevators was out and so was the maids elevator, meaning that we had one elevator for the guests and one for the employees as opposed to 2 for guest and 2 for employees.

We had a group that arrived today. Their luggage came in before they did, so I decided to send all the bags up to each respective room of the group members with the service elevator. THAT would prevent a bottle neck later on when the people arrived - since we ONLY had one guest elevator and this group was 40 plus people.

BUT, I was wrong, because that tied up all the employees that wanted to use the service elevator - for 15 minutes.

The managers on duty approached me and told me I made a poor decision - mind you they were present when the bags arrived and they said NOTHING about how to hand this. While the bellman delivered the bags to the rooms, they SHARED the service elevator with the maids. You had one bellman hitting the rooms, while the other operated the elevator. NO ONE WAS TROUBLED WITH THIS SET UP, but the managers still felt I did something wrong. Manager number 1 said "you should leave all the bags in the lobby." Then manager number 2 said "no, thats a security risk." THEY didnt even have a solution to this problem.

The managers at this hotel are SLOW and in some cases RETARDED. You should see the paperwork these people pile up. One of them even said once, "management is kind of lax here,..." yeah to the point of them slipping into a coma!"

01:15 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 07, 2004

>> The Printer is Broken!

[ Rant ]

Baron Von Uberbrauten writes...

"This story does not come from my own experience, but it was so good that I had to share it anyways. It sounds a little ridiculous, but it occurred when computers were making their way into our modern lives, but that still is no excuse. I found it highly appropriate since "Anchorman" came out this weekend.

My father-in-law (We'll call him Bob) works in the TV industry and really enjoys his job. He has a prominent position working on the electronics for a major TV network. He currently works on various issues like getting the networks ready for HDTV and other improvement projects and such.

Around 20 years ago Bob worked for a station in a large market in Massachusetts. Sometime around 4am one morning Bob got a phone call from "Jim", the stations weatherman. See Jim had to get some printouts to do the morning weather for the first news broadcast of the day. Apparently the printer was not functioning and everything Jim had done to try and fix it wasn't working.

Bob offered a few suggestions of how to fix it and attempted to troubleshoot the problem over the phone. No luck, nothing Jim did would work, and Jim demanded that Bob come in to the station to get the printer working.

So Bob got out of bed, made the 45 minute drive into work to find out what was wrong. When Bob arrived, the solution was obvious, and Bob was sure to SPELL it out to Jim.

"Jim, do you see the O - N SLASH O - F - F switch? Well it needs to be O - N position." With that, Bob turned on the printer, turned around, walked out, and went home."

01:04 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 06, 2004

>> Email for Dummies

[ Boss ]

The Baroness writes...

"I work with an older man who, while generally very nice, believes that technology is out to get him. I generally try to make things as easy for him as possible, but I really thought he had grasped the concept of email at least. Was I wrong!

I received an email from a potential client that I forwarded to "Ed" to respond to. This was the ensuing conversation.

Ed: I tried to respond to that email but it wouldn't go through.

Me: Okay, why don't you just email your response to me and I'll send it to [potential client] under your account name.

Ed: I haven't written a response yet.

Me: Oh ... then how do you know the email won't go through?

Ed: Because when I type the email address in the bar at the top of the screen, I keep getting a message "site not found"

It was all I could do not to laugh in his face!"

01:13 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 05, 2004

>> Family of Fools

[ Rant ]

Mrs. Patience writes...

"Our family business is amazing. All the shareholders are family members (including myself). Two of these shareholders work at most, 30 hours/week - on a good week. One has actually smoked dope in the parking lot. The other one takes off weeks at a time (unauthorized) to attend to his crack binges.

The punishment for their behavior? Drug rehab (fully paid by the company) and continuation of their regular pay during their absences.

They also regularly complain that they don't get paid enough money.

The shareholders that do work honestly are prevented from receiving pay raises because it would make the other two angry. Yes, there's actually a penalty for being normal, showing up to work and not getting hooked on drugs.

Moral: Unless you're on drugs and looking for minimal work, stay out of family businesses!!!!!!!"

01:02 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 04, 2004

>> My Car Ain't The Company Truck

[ Boss ]

Tondra1 writes...

"I worked for this company, that had a supply warehouse. The warehouse was a quarter of a mile away from my job. At first, when they'd ask to go there in my car and pick up supplies, I didn't mind, because it gave me a break from the place. However, after they began thinking, that my car was the company truck, and started wanting me go there 3 and 4 times a day to pick up things, I asked my boss for money for it.

After he had the nerve to offer me $10 a week for gas, I laughed. So, the next time, that he wanted to go to the warehouse, I held out my hand, and asked him for his car keys. "I can't afford to be putting wear and my car", he told me. When he said, that I'd have to use my car, after I took my registration for my car out of my wallet, shoved it in his face, and asked him to read whose name was on it, we got into it. He fired me on the spot.

A couple of weeks later, after somebody shot out my former bosses' windshield at the company's supply warehouse, the cops showed up at my door. Of course, at the time of the incident, since I was with somebody, they couldn't pin it on me, and I was never charged.

After I found a better job, I hired a lawyer and sued my former boss and that company. I ended up with a nice out of court settlement."

01:10 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 03, 2004

>> The stupid bitch at work

[ Boss ]

John writes...

"So i work at a popular superstore, most people know of it as being a pretty wonderful store, the true politics of it is that its really overpriced junk and nothing really is quality goods there, trust me i have worked "guest service"..

So i started working in the food court and decided to help out, and this manager i had, out of nowhere she was reha niceest manager you ever would know , it seems people are putting her up to doing things but she is beocming incessingly annoying, it started one day when they asked me to do the cleaning of hte bathroom, so they suckered me into sweetping it, so i come out and im like onk eerything is all finished and they go, no i dont htink so, nothings clean yet, so i said you know what, forget it im not going to do it, i am no ta janitor, so then in an attempt to use reverse psych on me, oh well guess we'll have to find someone else to do it, DAMN right you will so anyway im working today in the food court and we have a cookie tray, the new cookies leave oil on the wwax paper and it loks kinda nasty, i usually clean it off because im a dilligent worker like that and i do whatever to stop us from getting shut down due to incompetendt coworkers there. So today ***** comes over and says hey this wax paper isnt clean so i was a little angey at first ilm like, to myself, you know what i s Started doing that for the hell of it , now its expected?1!???! so im like ok ***** ill do it, so i do it in a few minutes and a few hours later we had to make cookies again today, so my friend eric who i worked with didnt really clean it up becasue he doesnt do that, and ***** comes over to me and says verbati --- "hey i come over here and ask you nicely to cover, have it clean for the cookies,"to which i responded yes i did it trust me, she goes no you didnt don tliee, i says---(at this point i was thinking to myself hey wait, what the hell is wrong with you, doesnt my word count?") so i say yeah i did it, so i have my friend eric back me up because he had not cleaned it but its amazing how someone who barely speaks english is able to come over and yell at me for something that isnt even required, let alone the rest of hte place is even worse, shit on the floor, retarded (literally retarded) not cleaningbut staring at the walls moaning , and stupid customers who cant understand why their pizzas cant cook faster than 7 minutes, not to mention they like bouncing off of the walls and cant sit down and wait like normal human beings."

01:01 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 02, 2004

>> When your hot, your hot.

[ Boss ]

Palmetto MP writes...

"I'm a National Guard MP recently returned from Iraq. Now in an MP Company you have about 150 soldiers in four MP Platoons and 1 headquarters platoon. The MP Platoons do the missions and the Headquarters Platoon supports the MPs. They are cooks, medic, mechanics, supply, and clerical people.

Iraq was absolutely the hottest place I've ever been. I have pics of a digital thermometer reading 140 degrees. It would be so hot in the Humvees that touching any metal would scald you. Weapons would scald you if you didn't handle them by the plastic parts. We worked twelve hour shifts in this heat. Several soldiers became heat casualties.

On this particular day I happened to have some business in the TOC (Tactical Operations Center) which was a nice cool air conditioned modular unit where the headquarters people "work". I finished up there and was leaving to walk the 1/8th mile to the dining facility for lunch when I heard a senior NCO that works 9 to 5 in this air conditioned oasis say "Man, it is just to hot today to walk to the chow hall (1/8th mile). Now, just think of all the MPs sweating their nuts off in harms way in 140 degree heat and this numbnuts thinks its just too hot to walk 1/8th of a mile from one air conditioned building to another."

01:10 AM - Posted by Disgruntled

December 01, 2004

>> The boss and the vacuum chamber.

[ Boss ]

BillL writes...

"This tale took place back in 1970. Maybe it's too old a tale to bother with. Anyway, I worked as a development engineer on some of the very first electronic flight contol displays that created little symbols to project on the inside of a fighter's windshield/combiner glass so the pilot could read his instruments out in space ahead of him.

Part of the testing had to be done in a chamber that simulated altitude by pumping the air out so the pressure matched, say, 50,000 feet.

The need of the testing team was a door on the chamber that had reach-through controls so settings on the equipment could be changed "in-flight." The door was about five feet square. The cost of the door and it's control hands was to be about $6,000. We had a meeting on the cost. The PRESIDENT of the division was running the meeting. He questioned the need of the "reach-through" door. He was told of the need to simulate operation of pilot controls at very high altitude.

He said: Why can't you quickly open the door, change the settings and close the door before the pressure changes?

There were a couple guffaws from soon-to-be-ex-employees who thought the man was joking."

01:19 AM - Posted by Disgruntled