Manager Ordered Contractor
This is a tale of how a pompous and officious manager ordered contractor to polish his shoes
A reader posted this as Comments after one of our articles
Clean Your Shoes
One time as a favour, without pay and in my own time (a Saturday), I went in simply to help out another team with a problem unrelated to my work. Except that it was holding me up.
While I was there the manager of that department, an ex-military type, gave me a dressing down. He said it was because my shoes were not polished.
I responded by giving him a dressing down that I was working on my own time to help him out. It was because the team he had hired lacked the resources to do their jobs properly and under the circumstances I’ll wear what the hell I like.
Since I was not under his direct chain of command I suggest that if he had any thing to say he should direct his comments to my manager. To the best of my knowledge he never did.
No Smoking Breaks
Another bank had the audacity to instruct my team leader to tell me that my smoking breaks were not acceptable. I had to tell my team leader that they were putting her in a bad position and I will not accept this from her. It was her job to defend me against abuse.
However, she lacked the experience to give upward bollockings. So I took the manager to his office myself and pointed out to him that the bank’s policy for all staff was that every hour one should take a five-minute break.
If I choose to smoke during my break that is my business not his.
Resigned From Contract
I resigned a week later. I would have resigned on the spot but, for maximum psychological impact, I timed my resignation so that the last day of my notice period would fall on the very same day that all the critical paths of his fubar project converged.
I’ll never forget the gutted look on his face, especially when I described his project as ‘fubar’.
So, that’s the story of how a manager ordered contractor to clean his shoes. Have you met managers like this?
