I think this will do:
Today I spent most of the day thinking about my last post, and realizing it wasn’t very accurate. My boss adores her daughter, and guards her off-time very jealously. We are not encouraged to call her at home at night or a day off unless she has specifically asked for a call.
I, on the other hand, have been known to spend my whole day off running around to other stores picking up transfers of merchandise. I don’t mind at all if someone calls to ask a question…it makes me feel needed. My children are grown now, but there have been times when I have stayed late at work when I really should have gone home.
Today added a new development. We were discussing our proficiency rating, and she kept mentioning having the ability to change a certain part on the equipment. I said I had never actually done it, but I had read the directions and understood the theory. Then I asked why she was stressing knowing how to do a seldom-needed maintenance chore, but hadn’t even mentioned the weekly and monthly tasks. I told her that in 7 years with the company I hadn’t ever had to perform that task, and she replied that she had performed that service four times since October!!! So I asked what the symptoms were that the machine exhibited, and she said that it squeaks.
“But that task doesn’t cure the squeak,” I said. “You have to perform the Monthly Task…it even lists it in the trouble-shooting guide. If the machine squeaks and squeals, you have to clean and lubricate the vise screw thingy. Replacing the brake pads won’t help, and that probably explains why the vise shifts. The brake pads need replacing maybe once every two to five years.”
“But the former manager said to replace the pads,” she said, “I’ve never heard about oiling the vise screw.” This from a woman who leaps to the phone every five minutes to call the home office to ask advice on everything from how to get more catalogs (they’re on the monthly order sheets) to what items should we display in a mall window display (whatever you want that is related to the current season). “No wonder the squeak comes back in a week.”
So now I’ve scheduled times to train her and the part-timer on the Weekly and Monthly Tasks. And I will learn how to replace the brake pads because they installed them wrong the last time, which explains why the vise shifts. And no longer will she brag about how she’s a pro at changing the brake pads. It’s win-win all around!