Technically there is a bathroom and water - just not where we’re working. I was being hyperbolic because I’m so fed up with this crappy assignment, and their attitude of how they think there’s a chance in hell that I would sign on there permanently.
Wow, it is an odd thing. I did a few minutes of research and the Canadian law pages that I could find are totally silent on the subject of restroom breaks. There’s articles about a guy in BC suing over ‘kidney damage’ due to being denied restroom breaks.
Most US state laws are pretty explicit on the subject, but some employers can be dicks about it. One of the places I did Security work at (for one day only) tried to deny me the right to take a restroom break. That sure didn’t fly.
I’d take the restroom break anyway and force their hand on it. But that’s me.
I’d take the pee break anyway… just without the restroom. But that’s me.
Since we have no breaks other than the required unpaid half hour lunch, I drink a lot of water and tea so I can go use the bathroom (in a different building) and get a mini-break or two. It seemed like they were onto me when they let the water run out here.* :mad:
*I don’t think they actually did it on purpose; I think it’s just typical of a bad assignment, which is what this is.
I’m currently working at a small software company as head of product management & development. But it’s a small company, so I have to deal with an outsourced development team. We’ve been sending this company lots of work over the last year to get our newest product launched (late Dec) and now some major updates for version 2.0, 2.1, etc.
To set the right stage - we’re doing maybe 30-40k/month in new development with them, and then the standard maintenance and pickup tasks to clean up stuff. However, our estimates for the various pieces of the project were on a bid system (eg, we want ABC done, they tell us it’ll be $X to get that module developed and launched). The maintenance budget is it pick up little tasks that aren’t worth going through an estimating process for because they’ll be like a day’s worth of work and can all just get lumped together.
I finally - after asking and begging for 2 weeks, mind you - get sent a bill for our January maintenance tasks. It’s like 25k, which is outrageous, since we were expecting it to be closer to 2-3k and I don’t have money in my budget to cover a 10x difference. After a lengthy phone call yesterday to discuss, I’m able to get my account mgr to send me an itemized list of tasks that are included in this.
Holy shit, 75% of them are either new development that we’re already paying for or bugs connected to that new development, which we’re already paying for.
Toast on a pancake, stop trying to rook me!
Please Mr Client, save me some time and don’t make me play twenty questions.
I e-mail a client to reschedule an appointment. I have cancelled this appointment a few times before so I was trying to be flexible going in.
Me: I can come do this work on Feb 10th. My availability that day is good, please let me know what time works best for you.
Client: Feb 10th works for me. What time???
So now I’m thinking he has all or most of the day open.
Me: Well, how about 1:30PM ?( which I just kind of pulled out of my hat…the work was going to take 2-3 hours )so that is a general “afternoon appointment” start time.
Client: Can you make it earlier? How about noon?
Me: If you want earlier I would rather do 10 or 11AM. (When I originally said 1:30 I was thinking of leaving time to schedule another 2-3 hour appointment before, if I make it earlier I want to have time to schedule something else afterwards)
Client: That doesn’t work for me, the only time I have on the 10th is at noon.
OK, but why couldn’t you tell me that on your FIRST reply to me instead of making me play guessing games.:smack:
Me: OK, noon it is !
…and force their hand on it! :eek:
Or their nose in it.
The Spring catalog I am designing is half done. Yay. It’s very time sensitive because of some sales/events it’s promoting. So I will give it to my unable-to-make-a-decision boss, and I should be happy. But I’m not. Because he has FOUR of my previous jobs, jobs he assigned to be out the first of the year, sitting on his desk, going nowhere. 3 of them are, I think, dead to him, although he authorized them and I spent time with art and design, getting quotes, etc. The other is held up because he can’t decide on the mailing list, making it difficult to get quotes. And now this one. Needs to be out 3/1. Once I get his OK, if I do, do my pre-press and send it to the printer, he will harass me daily about why it isn’t out yet. 5 or 6 days to print, mail, etc. I have given this guy time-lines to try to help, hell, I design the things with no input as to what the product mix will be, and once it’s gone to press, there’s a mad rush to make collateral and distribute it to the branches.
2 years. 2 years.
I am a little late commenting here, but that is not only frustrating but the big question of “where did that copy of the manual come from?”
I was once semi in charge of training at a highly regulated health related place. On the days of new implementation the person in charge of the changes had to track down every version of the manual that contained that policy, but make sure the other copy was destroyed. Also that everyone who was affected by this change was trained and signed off before the date.
The existence of such a policy manual with such out of date information is baaaad news for well, you. And the person who owns that manual. I noticed further down thread that you think she got the manual from the boss. Where I used to work not having the manual updated was cause for an error report to go out. Any chance you can do this? Or would it be really detrimental?
Aargh, It’s approximately 900 degrees in here because the back offices get cold, but my area ALWAYS stays really hot. I hate it.
I’m seriously considering calling a company wide training session, men only, on how to take a shit.
You’d think that’d be common knowledge, but the men’s rooms in our office are fucking nasty. The men’s rooms get cleaned Tuesday and Friday nights. Invariably, Monday or Wednesday morning, I open a stall and do an Kurtz-style Heart of Darkness gasp - “The horror! The horror!”
Seriously, it’s not like dudes are shitting on the floor. But I routinely find common toilets with the inside of the bowl entirely covered in shit. It defies anal trajectory. The only explanation I can fathom - someone is taking a shit, lighting an M-80, dropping it in the bowl and slamming the lid shut before it goes off. Because no healthy human could project feces like that or in those directions. Whatever sick bastard is doing this needs to see a doctor, because shit just does not come out that way.
GameHat, you need to find out which employee has a prehensile rectum.
GameHat, I can only assume that you have never set foot in the Women’s restroom or in a unisex restroom, because I can assure you that females are just as guilty of this sort of explosive bowel distribution.
On our side, if we weren’t moving from this building in a month and if I were in charge, I would set up shop in a nearby cube and point a 24 hour recorded webcam at the door of our Unisex restroom, because for the better part of a year, some jackass has been locking it up as they leave. There is no key. We have to call building maintenance every time to open it back up for us.
Then I’d fire the stupid fucker who keeps doing this despite regular floor-wide emails about it.
You want me to apply online for a job, and you won’t accept my application without my Social Security Number? On an unsecured website? I don’t think so… I’ve had enough trouble with identity theft for one lifetime, thank you very much.
I can just picture how catching the idiot would go - all wide-eyed innocence, and, “Oh, my! I had no idea!” and then moving on to explain how they never read emails. :rolleyes:
I think my threatening floor wide “we have a camera now” email would say that the person will get an immediate Written Warning unless they attempt to use “didn’t see the emails” in their defense, which will lead to immediate termination for cause.
We are required to note cases with plans. They’re pretty simple - what was just done, what are you hoping the outcome will be, and what action you will take if the parties do/ do not follow through in a certain time frame. Example: Sent (letter name) to (party). Review in 45 days for response. If none, take (whatever) action. We also should note various other systems we have reviewed for any new info.
Pretty simple. Usually only 3-4 lines long.
Unless…
You’re velcro shoe dipwad who tries to jam the entire freaking case history in 5 lines, uses abbreviations that make NO sense, there is no way to figure out what she expects from the parties. Half the time she mails letters out and doesn’t note anything, so when clients call we’re clueless.
You’re computer post-it lady who has an entry for every little thing. She will note that she sent a letter. Then add a note dated a week later to make sure it wasn’t returned (she also sends mail verifications every time she sends a letter). She’ll add another note dated 30 days out to see if the person responded. And then another note 45 days out decide what she’s going to do next with the case. This is interspersed with separate notes for each system she has reviewed. Trying to review her cases, while easier than velcro shoes, takes significant time sorting the wheat from the chaff.
You’re Mr. Special whose notes are nonexistant. His plans consist of “sent letter, check for response”. Nothing more, nothing less. No idea what letter. No idea what he plans to do. When he talks to my clients, the notes are simliarly useless: “(party) called, returned call”. Thanks. That helps a hell of a lot.
This is not brain surgery. We work each others cases daily so some consistency is needed - and it’s all been laid out very clearly in our manual. All three have been talked to by the team and our boss to no avail.
Post-it lady is currently out on vacation. I’ve spent part of my morning consolidating some of her plans. I’m sure I’ll get flak for it from her - deadpan No, no, please don’t tell me you’re not talking to me. It will hurt my feelings. deadpan
Here’s my near verbatim post from the MMP: I believe it belongs here as well.
It’s been a messed up week in the newsroom, and today was the worst.
This week one of our four shooters was off on vacation. Monday was a fairly normal night, no real problems though I felt a bit off. By Wednesday it was apparent I was having a kidney stone attack, which made me unhappy, though by Friday it had calmed down.
In the midst of this Tuesday got a lot worse as word come in that one of our nightside shooters had been the victim of a hit & run Monday night as he drove home from work in SE DC (Suitland Pkwy & Naylor Mill for those who would know it). His car was totalled, and although he wasn’t hospitalized, he was roughed up enough to stay home the rest of the week.
By Friday I was feeling better and most certainly looking forward to the weekend when, well, one of the most FUCKED UP THINGS I HAVE EVER HAD TO DEAL WITH AT WORK happened. And the sad thing is it’s really kind of stupid, but I am left speechless as to why & who would do what they did.
Our shop, like many, has a fairly liberal ‘share the goodies’ tradition. There are three locations where community food is placed in the newsroom, and all are fair game for the masses; a table near the kitchen, on the assignment desk, and in microwave control. After our afternoon meeting I came down from the 3rd floor conference room and spotted a bag of what I thought was lemon taffy. A quick glance showed the bag was labelled in what appeared to be chinese writing. Without a second thought I popped one in my mouth and was immediately struck with a rancid, nasty taste & odor. I spit it out, fortunately not having chewed it, and thought ‘well that was odd’ and went on my day.
FIVE HOURS LATER, as I found myself still nauseated and unable to eat anything, I finally wandered back over to the bag in hopes of finding out what may have been this candy I tried to eat. Lo and behold, as I picked up the bag and looked it over, I found one single word of english I recognized.
Durian.
Fucking durian candy.
Some son of a bitch, in full knowledge of what this shit is , dumped a bag of durian candy in our newsroom for their coworkers to eat. I am beyond words.
Here it is ten hours later and I still taste it in my mouth. I had it in there for 5 seconds. I still can’t eat.
For those not familiar with what durian is, here is the Wiki link:
From that article I offer one passage of note:
Travel and food writer Richard Sterling says: “… its odor is best described as pig-shit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock. It can be smelled from yards away. Despite its great local popularity, the raw fruit is forbidden from some establishments such as hotels, subways and airports, including public transportation in Southeast Asia.”
So there we are folks, my week. Thank god it’s the weekend…