I’ve had that happen too. I don’t normally work on Fridays, but one week they needed me to work that day from 2 p.m. So I was sitting comfortably by my computer, reading the Dope, when at 2:15 p.m. I hear the phone ring. When I saw that it my Boss on caller I.D., it all hit me like a freaking tidal wave.
Everything was cool though, since I am usually on time. My boss doesn’t even say anything unless you are chronically late.
I’m lucky enough to be in a position right now where a little lateness is forgotten in about five minutes. I’m in a surprisingly casual environment, and though I make every attempt to be there on time (in fact early, most of the time) I’ve had three or four times when I showed up late due to oversleeping because my alarm didn’t go off (seriously, it actually has been a problem – but I use my PDA for an alarm clock 'cos I get to wake up to a favourite MP3, and sometimes chances to the system due to a misbehaving app or something can cause conflicts) or because I accidentlly hit “dismiss” instead of “snooze.” (I’m a really big fan of the snooze button) and other than a comment when I walk in that’s the end of it. I have worked at establishments where lateness turned bosses/supervisors into that creature from the Nicorette commercials, but most of those were the sort of jobs with revolving door employment, so it was no great loss when I moved on to something bigger and better.
I think as long as you’re normally a solid, reliable employee, the rare time when you’re tardy shouldn’t really be a big deal because your track record should speak for itself in backing your reasoning. If an employer gets bent out of shape because of it – well, he’s probably just an asshat.
Damn, why do you have to be all reasonable? I was gonna ask you for some of whatever you were smokin’! 
Err… I’m wondering about the “automatic organs” as well. Details? 
It’s the same basic principle as a player piano, only quite a bit more complicated. Buying them and restoring them was his passion, his teaching just a means to an end.
I, too, am on tenterhooks for Buckler’s story.
These are both true:
I was late once due to an elephant. 
There was a travelling circus using the main road just in front of my bus and the elephant cage door came open. So police stopped the traffic until the animal trainers could ensure the elephant didn’t get scared and charge through traffic.
I didn’t think anyone would believe me, but my boss was on the bus behind mine. 
Chess players are not morning people. At an international tournament, my mate overslept for the start of the round.
Which was at 15.00. :eek:
bites nails, waiting for Buckler’s story
How did you make your boss late for a meeting, do you carpool with him? If not, then HE was late for HIS meeting.
Hi all,
Thanks for all the tales - and the expressions of worry.
I only freaked out because he had such a death-rattle growl in his voice on the answering machine message. He can sometimes take relatively ‘little’ things and work them up until there’s no resolving the issue because he just can’t get it out of his head.
I ‘made’ him late because he is the owner of the bookshop I work in. I manage it for him. It’s just the two of us working here. We open at 9:00am, I start at 10:00 (most days). He has to drop his kids off at school by 9:00 so it makes sense for him to open up first, then he leaves early in the afternoon and I stay on until 6:30pm.
He had to go to a meeting involving a second business that he owns and needed to leave before 10. So I agreed to start at 9 with him and just work the extra time in the evening.
Of course, I totally forgot to change my alarm setting from the usual time and, though I woke before it eventually went off, (sleeping through all the phone rings… sigh) I was still late by 40mins. This did not leave him enough time to get to his meeting at the start time of 10.
He had to stay and keep the shop open for the time that I should have been there.
Now, I maintain that he could have shut the shop - he said there was nobody in - between 9-10 we do very little business, if any. But that aside, I still said I would be there and wasn’t - so I am not excused nor do I think that excuses me.
Well, when he came back at around 3pm - new holes were indeed torn. Being late to that meeting had messed up his whole day - I took full responsibility and apologised profusely. I have also refused to take pay for the hours that I worked on that day (Friday).
He told me to go home and he would call me ‘later’ to let me know if I still had a job. :dubious: I was not to some back in until he had called.
I thought this was unfair, but I like my job despite the boss ( ) and so kept my mouth shut and buggered off home to generally fret and worry/seethe and fume.
I have no internet access at home which is why I didn’t post for the last two days. Internet use is not monitored at work and he doesn’t care what I do online or how much of it, because I do manage his store well and everything gets done.
Anyway, he finally called on Saturday night and grumpily offered a semi-apology and asked me to come back to work. Feeling game, I asked if this was going to happen anytime I was late in the future but this seemed to be pushing it too far so I backed off.
I have a feeling I have someone to thank for his eventual apology. There is an old friend of his, let’s call him Harry, who rang before my boss returned. Harry is a friendly, affable, laid-back Englishman who always wants to chat to me for a few minutes when he calls to speak to the boss. We make some casual Monty Python references and he makes some jokes about my age (I am 22 but rather annoyingly look much younger) and we chuckle a bit and then say goodbye. He noticed I was sounding ‘a bit off’ when he rang, but I brushed it off and tried to sound normal. He tried a few more times to get it out of me, but to no avail. He was going to come in on Saturday afternoon to see the boss. I have a feeling he might have dragged out of said boss what had happened and perhaps made him see that while I was at fault, he was probably being a bit too harsh. Boss is not a man who often apologises of his own volition, and Harry rang here this morning just to see how I was getting on. I also have a feeling I might need to have a bottle of wine delivered to Harry’s office.
Thanks Harry.
I also apologise if this post is somewhat disjointed - I am the only one in the shop at the moment and keep having to get up to tell people we don’t have any copies of ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ left.
Anyway, thanks for all the encouragement and the stories. I didn’t mean to sound so childish and doom-ridden in the OP, I just felt I needed to tell someone before I completely wigged out waiting for my Angry Boss™ to return and get the hole-tearing over with. I also hoped that other people’s stories would distract me.
Thanks everyone. Sorry I don’t have a more exciting ending for you!
S’okay. I’m just glad you’re still employed.
That was plenty exciting. It’s good to hear that you still have a job.
I’m really glad it all worked out, Swash . . .
. . . although I think your boss needs to switch to decaf . . .
. . . and maybe explore the joys of transcendental meditation. :dubious:
But in any case, I’m glad it worked out.
He seriously sounds like a tough boss.
Your boss sounds like my dad. That’s alls I got to say, except that I’m happy you still have your job.
But if I were you I would start typing up my resume. YMMV.
Glad to hear that you’re still employed, Buckler. Although I have to say that this part:
made me think your boss is really overreacting. Even if he’d decided not to keep you on, you still deserve payment for the hours that you worked.
Buckler seems to have asked the boss not to pay him.
However, the sending you home so he could make up your mind and call you later was cruel. That’s like saying “maybe, I’ll think about it” when someone asks you out. Ouch.
Yeah - I thought the ‘go home’ part was dubious too. I also found out that what actually messed up most of his day was that he forgot his wallet. He had to leave his watch at a petrol station just to be able to get some fuel. This pissed him off more and he fairly obviously took that out on me. I deserved to be ticked off heavily for the lateness and I thought not taking any pay for the day was a pretty workable self-inflicted punishment.
Well, I was already considering quitting for other reasons. I’ll just add this too the list.
I’m glad you still have employment. That was a great relief to hear.
However, let’s get one thing straight –
He drops his kids off to school at 9:00am. Which means that he doesn’t show up to work until well after that. Then you go on to say that he leaves early in the afternoon? I’m assuming this is before 5pm? That doesn’t sound like a full 8 hour day to me. Whereas, you’re working 10:00am to 6:30pm which (if I do the math correctly) is a full work day.
I think that he needs to cut you a little slack for a common mistake.
What I want to know is, why is there a run all of a sudden on copies of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’? Will this trend be coming to the states? Should I buy up all the copies of the book I can find so I’ve got the corner on the market when the frenzy gets here?
It’s a pity because it sounds like a cool job…bookstore always does. Yet you have a sucky job.
Glad to hear you still have one, though!
It’s on a lot of kids’ summer reading lists.