Workplace Folly
As I'm leaving work on Wed. morning, Isai (mentioned previously in "Musings From the Movie Man") tells me that I "forgot" to block off the parking lot, which I was supposed to do when I got to work on Tuesday night. I explain that this was the first I'd heard of it, so it didn't count as me forgetting. I then ask him if I am supposed to block the parking lot off on Wed. night too, but he says no, it was only for Tuesday night/ Wed. morning.
Thursday morning: The place is abuzz with frenzied anticipation. This is unusual for my experience at work, since I leave at seven in the morning, which is usually at least an hour before most people arrive. But this morning is different, because there is going to be a big meeting of 100 bankers.
One girl, who has seen me patrol the grounds many times, walks up to me. She sees me sitting behind the front desk, in my suit, typing up a document on the computer.
"Do you work here?" she asks without a hint of humor or irony.
Later this same morning, the engineer (who really is a very nice guy) demands to know why I haven't blocked off the parking lot.
"Didn't anybody tell you that you were supposed to do this?"
I explain that no, nobody had told me I was supposed to block the parking lot off, and, in fact, when I had asked Isai if I was supposed to do so, he had told me that those special instructions were only for the previous night.
"No," the engineer insists, "they're re-paving the parking lot today, nobody's supposed to be there. Security was supposed to block it off so that nobody would park there overnight." I point out that management really should learn that if they have special instructions for security personnel, it really only works if somebody informs security.
Then it occurs to me: On the same day that the parking lot is scheduled to be re-paved -- in fact, at the very exact same time that the parking lot is scheduled to be re-paved -- management has also scheduled a meeting for one hundred guests -- potential investors in the business, by the way. And exactly where are these one hundred people supposed to park? Well, the secondary clubhouse -- a five minute walk away -- also has a parking lot. With one dozen spaces. Something tells me that after these one hundred bankers fight over a dozen parking spaces and then walk in the rain for five minutes, they will no longer be considered potential investors.
Thursday morning: The place is abuzz with frenzied anticipation. This is unusual for my experience at work, since I leave at seven in the morning, which is usually at least an hour before most people arrive. But this morning is different, because there is going to be a big meeting of 100 bankers.
One girl, who has seen me patrol the grounds many times, walks up to me. She sees me sitting behind the front desk, in my suit, typing up a document on the computer.
"Do you work here?" she asks without a hint of humor or irony.
Later this same morning, the engineer (who really is a very nice guy) demands to know why I haven't blocked off the parking lot.
"Didn't anybody tell you that you were supposed to do this?"
I explain that no, nobody had told me I was supposed to block the parking lot off, and, in fact, when I had asked Isai if I was supposed to do so, he had told me that those special instructions were only for the previous night.
"No," the engineer insists, "they're re-paving the parking lot today, nobody's supposed to be there. Security was supposed to block it off so that nobody would park there overnight." I point out that management really should learn that if they have special instructions for security personnel, it really only works if somebody informs security.
Then it occurs to me: On the same day that the parking lot is scheduled to be re-paved -- in fact, at the very exact same time that the parking lot is scheduled to be re-paved -- management has also scheduled a meeting for one hundred guests -- potential investors in the business, by the way. And exactly where are these one hundred people supposed to park? Well, the secondary clubhouse -- a five minute walk away -- also has a parking lot. With one dozen spaces. Something tells me that after these one hundred bankers fight over a dozen parking spaces and then walk in the rain for five minutes, they will no longer be considered potential investors.
posted by Movie Man at
5:29 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home