• An Old Hacker (unregistered)

    The first comment is right around the corner.

  • 00000000000001 (unregistered)

    |||11|||11||11

  • (cs)

    It seems like John Henry won, after all.

  • Bub (unregistered)

    In my world, Larry would have to be scraped off the walls of his office if he dared speak to me like that.

  • Derp (unregistered)

    A story about a retail manager who likes to do things his way. Wow...

  • (cs)
    greyrat:
    Meh. I see nothing unusual here. Not even a WTF. And he should have kept his app to himself. When are people going to learn that keeping your head down in Corporate America is the only way to survive. And the only way to get a raise is to go somwhere else.
    Classic comment says it all.
  • (cs) in reply to An Old Hacker
    An Old Hacker:
    The first comment is right around the corner.

    You idiot! You've interfered with the deployment of the first comment! That does it, you're fired. With an attitude like that, you'll never work in this comment box again!

    "Process" does seem to be Enterprisey-speak for "obstruction"; where I work, the expenses form is actually available as a PDF you can download and print for yourself. However, Finance still insist on it being submitted on green paper (so, of course, my second form included one ream of green paper). Version 1 wasn't even typable: just print and write on it; version 2 had text fields and a script to add up the totals. Version 3 actually got the totals right most of the time, too! (v2 usually concluded the total was 0.00, for you to cross out and write over.)

    The really sad thing? We actually bought an Enterprisey electronic system for expenses and tracking annual leave ... but it doesn't work with NDS, only Active Directory, which we don't have. So, we waste hours writing or printing and sending paper forms, and employ a team of typists to retype it all next door...

  • (cs)

    This is what happens when smart people are forced to work for stupid people in menial jobs that ought to go to high schoolers and part-time college kids looking for a few extra bucks for the weekends.

    A thorn bush is no place for a phoenix.

  • LANMind (unregistered)

    Two questions. First, what's the name of this chain, so I can make sure I never buy anything from them, and two, why don't more people set fire to these places?

  • backForMore (unregistered) in reply to LANMind
    LANMind:
    Two questions. First, what's the name of this chain, so I can make sure I never buy anything from them, and two, why don't more people set fire to these places?

    I will if you fu*k with my stapler.

  • LANMind (unregistered) in reply to backForMore
    backForMore:
    LANMind:
    Two questions. First, what's the name of this chain, so I can make sure I never buy anything from them, and two, why don't more people set fire to these places?

    I will if you fu*k with my stapler.

    +1

  • (cs)
    You're not smiling enough
    That's because I'm underpaid. Now, how about that raise?
  • Earlchaos (unregistered)

    Not only, that their online shop sends mails instead of writing data to a database (which will be accessed by some kind of management tool and the work can easily be spread to the workers), no, they're printing the mails and type numbers out of that paper sheet into another system, how stupid and a big waste of time! That's the real WTF.

    Bosses are often idiots and/or morons, that's why they're bosses. If somebody CAN work or at least can do something of any value, nobody will promote you as you're a real value to the company.

    greetings

  • Bubak (unregistered)

    Seriously, he should keep that system for himself. In best case he would be maintaining that script on top of his daily work.

  • POUZZLER (unregistered)

    Once more, this is not a 'curious perversion in Information Technology' - it's just bashing the territorial boss. Territorial individuals are found everywhere from Tokyo to New York, and this has little to do with information technologies, if at all.

    If you want to improve people's ethics and fairness, a site about ethics would be more useful, and a tone other than ironic mockery would produce better result, than a mocking article on a site about "curious perversions in information technology".

    Best regards

  • (cs) in reply to frits
    frits:
    greyrat:
    Meh. I see nothing unusual here. Not even a WTF. And he should have kept his app to himself. When are people going to learn that keeping your head down in Corporate America is the only way to survive. And the only way to get a raise is to go somwhere else.
    Classic comment says it all.

    I disagree. This is only a temporary job while the job market improves. If it's shitty because of bad bosses then it is your moral duty to shake it up.

    Oh, and in your exit interview, tell Warren he's spineless and remind Larry that he's a prick.

  • (cs) in reply to POUZZLER
    POUZZLER:
    Once more, this is not a 'curious perversion in Information Technology' - it's just bashing the territorial boss. Territorial individuals are found everywhere from Tokyo to New York, and this has little to do with information technologies, if at all.

    If you want to improve people's ethics and fairness, a site about ethics would be more useful, and a tone other than ironic mockery would produce better result, than a mocking article on a site about "curious perversions in information technology".

    Best regards

    Sorry boss, um, yeah, I'll try and remember to smile a bit more. (Prick.)

  • (cs)

    Employee creates new system, on their own time and under their own initiative, that results in increased efficiency by at least one order of magnitude. Employee's boss calls them on the carpet for this and threatens their career. What should the employee do?

    Easy: submit a grievance to HR and the boss' boss, detailing what was done, what the results were, and what the boss' reaction was. If that goes nowhere, walk away, as the inmates are truly running the asylum.

  • (cs) in reply to Bubak
    Bubak:
    Seriously, he should keep that system for himself. In best case he would be maintaining that script on top of his daily work.

    ... now come to think of it, if this had happened in our glorious Socialist Europe, sharing this program out to his colleagues would have made him the shop floor hero and by the time of his appraisal he would probably have accrued more actual power in the company than Larry.

  • (cs) in reply to Matt Westwood
    Matt Westwood:
    frits:
    greyrat:
    Meh. I see nothing unusual here. Not even a WTF. And he should have kept his app to himself. When are people going to learn that keeping your head down in Corporate America is the only way to survive. And the only way to get a raise is to go somwhere else.
    Classic comment says it all.

    I disagree. This is only a temporary job while the job market improves. If it's shitty because of bad bosses then it is your moral duty to shake it up.

    Oh, and in your exit interview, tell Warren he's spineless and remind Larry that he's a prick.

    All jobs are temporary. Refer to the last line of the OP.

    Moral duty? Surely you jest! Also, "shaking it up" under bad bosses does not improve the working conditions for anyone.

  • (cs)

    Hmm, I wonder if that shiny new corporate office was located just off of 494, and is still only about half full. If so, there are many more WTFs relating to their online store.

  • (cs) in reply to POUZZLER
    POUZZLER:
    If you want to improve people's ethics and fairness, a site about ethics would be more useful...
    Who said improving anything was a goal for this site? What gave you that idea?

    The guy was reprimanded for innocently improving an inefficient process in an IT setting (his solution, not the store necessarily). Write off the whole story as "boss bashing" if you want, but I think a lot of us can relate to Christian's experience.

  • Bubak (unregistered) in reply to Matt Westwood

    He, I am actually from Europe and I grown up in communism. It would be same in here as well.

  • Larry (unregistered)

    So, you think that the guy who fixes PC's at my store should implement a change to the ordering system with a php solution he wrote in his spare time? Without telling anyone?

    This site is all about wanna-be's f'ing up code and screwing up systems, but THIS GUY did it right?

    It's no wonder you guys sit around and bad mouth the boss instead of BEING the boss.

  • (cs)

    Notice how Bill never makes another appearance in the story? That's because he was taken out back and shot by Larry.

  • backForMore (unregistered) in reply to Larry
    Larry:
    So, you think that the guy who fixes PC's at my store should implement a change to the ordering system with a php solution he wrote in his spare time? Without telling anyone?

    This site is all about wanna-be's f'ing up code and screwing up systems, but THIS GUY did it right?

    It's no wonder you guys sit around and bad mouth the boss instead of BEING the boss.

    Actually I am sitting around bad mouthing from the comfortable office chair and iPad that my boss bought me.

  • Fred (unregistered) in reply to Bubak
    Bubak:
    He, I am actually from Europe and I grown up in communism. It would be same in here as well.
    It is the same here (assuming "here" means USA) because we're rushing to implement every failed European philosophy, west or east of the Berlin wall.
  • Lone Marauder (unregistered) in reply to jas88
    jas88:
    The really sad thing? We actually bought an Enterprisey electronic system for expenses and tracking annual leave ... but it doesn't work with NDS, only Active Directory, which we don't have. So, we waste hours writing or printing and sending paper forms, and employ a team of typists to retype it all next door...

    You should look into Novell Domain Services for Windows. It makes eDirectory (NDS) look like AD.

  • Roger Walters (unregistered) in reply to Fred
    Fred:
    ...the Berlin wall.
    Oh, that? I tore that down years ago.
  • itsmo (unregistered) in reply to POUZZLER
    POUZZLER:
    Once more, this is not a 'curious perversion in Information Technology' - it's just bashing the territorial boss. Territorial individuals are found everywhere from Tokyo to New York, and this has little to do with information technologies, if at all.

    If you want to improve people's ethics and fairness, a site about ethics would be more useful, and a tone other than ironic mockery would produce better result, than a mocking article on a site about "curious perversions in information technology".

    Best regards

    Troll

  • (cs) in reply to Larry
    Larry:
    So, you think that the guy who fixes PC's at my store should implement a change to the ordering system with a php solution he wrote in his spare time? Without telling anyone?

    This site is all about wanna-be's f'ing up code and screwing up systems, but THIS GUY did it right?

    It's no wonder you guys sit around and bad mouth the boss instead of BEING the boss.

    I think businesses should have a clearly defined process improvement mechanism in place. I think employees at all levels should be encouraged to seek process improvements using this mechanism. I think that, in a business lacking such a process improvement mechanism, employees should not be punished for implementing informal process improvements. I think that, even in a business with such a process improvement mechanism, employees implementing improvements informally should be encouraged and directed toward the formal mechanism rather than being crucified.

  • bluesman (unregistered) in reply to Larry
    Larry:
    So, you think that the guy who fixes PC's at my store should implement a change to the ordering system with a php solution he wrote in his spare time? Without telling anyone?

    This site is all about wanna-be's f'ing up code and screwing up systems, but THIS GUY did it right?

    It's no wonder you guys sit around and bad mouth the boss instead of BEING the boss.

    +1

  • Jeff (unregistered) in reply to CaptainSmartass
    CaptainSmartass:
    Employee creates new system, on their own time and under their own initiative, that results in increased efficiency by at least one order of magnitude. Employee's boss calls them on the carpet for this and threatens their career. What should the employee do?

    Easy: submit a grievance to HR and the boss' boss, detailing what was done, what the results were, and what the boss' reaction was. If that goes nowhere, walk away, as the inmates are truly running the asylum.

    Indeed. I mean, there's no way HR are simply going to automatically side with the manager, or anything. Not when all the guy did was deploy non-approved software on their systems, possibly in violation of their IT policy. Yeh, sounds like a winner. Go the whole hog: constructive dismissal!

  • DrWebster (unregistered) in reply to RichP
    RichP:
    Hmm, I wonder if that shiny new corporate office was located just off of 494, and is still only about half full. If so, there are many more WTFs relating to their online store.

    My first thought was that this story was about McroCnter, but you're correct too.

    CAPTCHA: haero -- A flying hero, aka Superman.

  • English Man (unregistered) in reply to jas88
    Christian ... had an impressive level of knowledge about their products, so he accepted a position in Technical Sales.
    He must've been the only one!
  • bene (unregistered) in reply to Fred
    Fred:
    Bubak:
    He, I am actually from Europe and I grown up in communism. It would be same in here as well.
    It is the same here (assuming "here" means USA) because we're rushing to implement every failed European philosophy, west or east of the Berlin wall.
    Well, at least you're improving things, then.

    We (Europe) - well, our so-called representatives, anyway - are rushing to implement every brain-dead American idea (despite Americans' bad experiences) and everything is going to hell in a handbasket.

  • ullamcorper (unregistered) in reply to Larry
    Trolly:
    So, you think that the guy who fixes PC's at my store should implement a change to the ordering system with a php solution he wrote in his spare time? Without telling anyone?

    This site is all about wanna-be's f'ing up code and screwing up systems, but THIS GUY did it right?

    If you can't tell, you have no business reading this site..

    It's no wonder you guys sit around and bad mouth the boss instead of BEING the boss.

    Ah, thought so. You're a PHB.

  • Jay (unregistered)

    At one job I had, we had some form we were supposed to fill out every year at salary review time that included a question that went something like, "What could management do to help you be more productive at your job?" My first two years I left this blank. The third year I put in a suggestion about streamlining the process for arranging travel. My boss wrote on the form that he had explained to me why the existing procedures were required. Two years later I had a different boss, and when I put a suggestion in that space he quietly approached me and told me that I'd better submit a new form with no suggestion or I'd get in trouble with upper management. I knew another employee a few years later who put a suggestion in and was dragged in to a meeting with his boss and his boss's boss and was yelled at for criticizing company policies.

    I just wonder: If upper management is not only not interested in hearing suggestions from employees ... Why did they ask? I can't help but wonder if, after "training" the employees that they must say that all current policies are just great, if management then sits around and congratulates each other on how happy all the employees are with their policies. Or do they sit around and agonize over why the company isn't making any money, and none of the employees have any idea on how to fix the problem?

  • John Doe (unregistered) in reply to Larry

    Well Larry, it's bosses like you that end up losing market share to bosses like me who listen and learn from those front end guys, and end up with a better system regardless of who conceived it.

  • (cs)

    I like everyone saying "he should have quit because this place obviously sucked to work at" when story started out by saying that he was desperate for money because he couldn't find other work and that's the only reason he took a job like this.

  • (cs) in reply to Jay
    Jay:
    I can't help but wonder if, after "training" the employees that they must say that all current policies are just great, if management then sits around and congratulates each other on how happy all the employees are with their policies.
    You bet your ass they do. If nobody complains about them, surely they are succeeding and thus deserve bonuses for their good work.
  • wtf (unregistered)

    Good job killing off TDWTF with re-runs and non-WTFs. Pretty soon the trolls will be all whose left.

  • regeya (unregistered) in reply to Larry

    "So, you think that the guy who fixes PC's at my store should implement a change to the ordering system with a php solution he wrote in his spare time? Without telling anyone?"

    I realize thinking is discouraged in corporate America...

  • mostlyDigital (unregistered)

    If his experience was anything like mine, he would have been fired and then they would have used his scanning system. But that's another story...

  • Larry (unregistered) in reply to John Doe
    John Doe:
    Well Larry, it's bosses like you that end up losing market share to bosses like me who listen and learn from those front end guys, and end up with a better system regardless of who conceived it.

    I encourage you, my worthy competitor, to allow your team to add macros willy nilly to their spreadsheets, and to let you sales team have access to the database so they can write and run their own reports.

    Your agile-ness will be the end of me.

  • (cs) in reply to Larry
    Larry:
    John Doe:
    Well Larry, it's bosses like you that end up losing market share to bosses like me who listen and learn from those front end guys, and end up with a better system regardless of who conceived it.

    I encourage you, my worthy competitor, to allow your team to add macros willy nilly to their spreadsheets, and to let you sales team have access to the database so they can write and run their own reports.

    Strange, I don't think he said any of one of those things. You're either a really lame troll, or a master of constructing men out of straw.

  • Aemon (unregistered)

    Actually this didn't happen in America, but in Europe. http://thedailywtf.com/Comments/Illicit-Process-Improvement.aspx?pg=3#312357

  • wtf (unregistered)

    So, help me out here: are we supposed to comment here or on the original article?

  • (cs) in reply to wtf

    Here, obviously. That way we get only the freshest trolls mixed in with the complaints about the story being a repost.

    DrWebster:
    My first thought was that this story was about M*croC*nter, but you're correct too.
    MacroCunter? Can't say I've ever shopped there.

    As for the WTF: I suspect Larry was among those championing the new system, while constantly making changes to the requirements. Or maybe it was Larry's boss and Larry was looking to win points by defending the new system.

  • (cs)

    We Morlocks (correctly) whine a lot when non-technical people are employed in technical jobs, and then make obvious (to us) technical mistakes.

    This guy is a non-sales guy in a sales job. Sales is all about dealing with people.

    Yes, his technical achievement is worthy of praise. IF HE WAS IN A TECHNICAL JOB.

    The WTF here is the way he dealt with the other people he worked with... in particular, his boss. There was a way to deploy this without making his boss look bad; this wasn't it.

    In the non-Morlock (Eloi) world, making your boss look bad is an "obvious" mistake.

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