• steve (unregistered)

    At some point this woman's boss said, "Always call! Always! If you don't call I will fire you!" Is that enough to turn down a job? Equivalent question: are you applying for an HR position?

    Doing something stupid that takes two minutes is easier than risking termination.

  • Bo bo (unregistered)

    She just wanted your phone number.

  • (cs)

    snoofle: considering the frequency of your sidebar comments making it onto the front page, perhaps you should start a blog of your own :)

    whatever you do, don't quit - we need you there for our entertainment

  • Anonymous Coward (unregistered)

    Depends on her mood, but often nerds are oblivious to flirtation. Maybe she just wanted to get his phone number.... Anyhow, we've all seen what can happen when a company doesn't check out at least some basics before hiring someone. Playing this little game did serve the purpose of verifying that it really was his own phone number and I'm still willing to suppose that there might have been a friendly wink and nudge thrown in, however subtle. Cheers.

  • jk (unregistered) in reply to jtl
    jtl:
    Secretaries have it hard. My fiance' was fired for not picking up the phone before the 2nd ring.

    could have been worse, (s)he could have been fired for not picking up the phone before the 1st ring...

  • (cs) in reply to Peter Gibbins
    Peter Gibbins:
    This story would be great if it were real. Do you recognize my name? You should if you worked at Initech, which you didn't because it is a fictional company. Next time you make up a story try some original material.
    Alex & Jake (I can see that on the top of a car windshield, somehow. Make it a pre-owned cop car in Chicago. There may be a movie in this): this is clearly a failure in your ISO9001 process.

    Please fix it now, for the sake of all our unborn children.

    And for Peter Gibbins, who I don't give a paramecium's arse about.

  • NeoMojo (unregistered)

    HEY! I think I've read this before!

    And who's this snoofle guy, posting on the main page?! Isn't he just a forum memeber?

    What's next?! Spectate Swamp posting an article about how bstorer's conversion of SSDS to .NET is a WTF because .NET is bloatware!?

    What is the world coming tooooo?

    </insanity></sarcasm>

  • pipi (unregistered)

    FAke

  • rumpelstiltskin (unregistered) in reply to an anonymous coward
    an anonymous coward:
    rumpelstiltskin:
    I'd be wary of a developer who shows so little regard for process; most (almost all) developers suck, and process, no matter how stupid process seems, is the only thing keeping them from really fouling things up.

    I'd be wary of a developer that didn't object to a phone call from someone standing within arm's reach.

    It's one thing to disregard coding standards in favor of your own, and it's another to call something that's stupid "stupid."

    So, what exactly are you calling "stupid"? Is the process "stupid", or is following the process "stupid"? An edge case caused a secretary to lose 5 minutes of time. Would you rather pay a process modeller thousands of dollars to try to cover the edge cases, and force the secretary to undergo days of training in the edge cases? Or would you rather say, "here are our processes, but you don't have to follow them if you think they're stupid." Or, would you just let the secretary lose 5 minutes?

    Idiot developers (that's most of them, as I've said before) would choose the second option, just like they would choose to try to bypass a migration process because "only one line changed". Because, you know, it would be stupid to make QA develop test cases, and CM document the change, when you should really just be able to change it in production.

  • (cs) in reply to real_aardvark
    real_aardvark:
    NCBloodhound:
    <snip agiley buzzwords>

    'nuff said oh yeah, you've definitely said enough...

    http://agilemanifesto.org/

    You want an agile secretary now?
    I was trying to so hard to think up a snarky reply about the agile stuff, but I could never top this. Many props. Anyone know if agilesecretary.com has been taken yet?
  • (cs) in reply to Jared
    Jared:
    For example, another article was about someone who got fired on the spot after handing a child a 15 cent candy in order to stop the kid from screaming and disrupting other customers. Doesn’t make sense, but the rule was that no “freebies” were to be given. Period. If a company has a rule, and your boss is a dick and wants to fire you, then you follow the rule even though it’s completely stupid and counter productive.

    That was Tim Horton's, a Canadian coffee-and-donut chain and cultural icon. She gave the baby a free Timbit (donut hole). The woman was fired, but was reinstated after public outcry. The official response from corporate was that the franchise manager made the wrong call. This wasn't some random McJob kid, either, this woman had worked there for years and had already proved her loyalty.

    What puzzled me most when I first heard that story, apart from the fact that Tim Horton's builds their image based on warm fuzzies and friendliness, was that they DO give away freebies. All the time. They sell Timbits in boxes of 20, but frequently I get a box stuffed with way more. I never think to count, but it's gotta be 25-35. I get disappointed if I order a box of 20 and "only" get 20!

    I'm glad they reversed that decision, though I wonder if it would have played out the same way without the high-profile backlash from the internet.

  • (cs) in reply to Leahn
    Leahn:
    Jeroen Brattinga:
    OMG! What's next? People e-mailing someone who's just 10 feet away? Oh, wait...

    I actually have to do this where I work because every decision has to be logged.

    Yes, I consider this prudent too. I'll often go to someone and discuss with them the problem and suggested resolutions. Then once we both know what we're doing I'll send them an email saying exactly what we just discussed. ("This is to confirm our decision to ...")

    Works especially well when dealing with managers that have a habit of changing their minds or blaming you for making decisions that he "disagrees" with, despite the fact that you thought you'd agreed...

  • Math (unregistered)

    This so reminds me of one time in Canadian Tire. I had a box, it was shrinkwapped and completely shut with glue and those huge tacks. The airhead at the register still opened the box (not without great struggling) to see if I had slipped something into it. "It's the procedure" she told me, not realizing the utter stupidity of what she was doing.

  • Paul (unregistered)

    You should've told her all requests for employment verification must be sent via mail on company letterhead.

    VERTO--Direction you go when receiving a wedgie.

  • (cs) in reply to JimM
    JimM:
    real_aardvark:
    NCBloodhound:
    <snip agiley buzzwords>

    'nuff said oh yeah, you've definitely said enough...

    http://agilemanifesto.org/

    You want an agile secretary now?
    I was trying to so hard to think up a snarky reply about the agile stuff, but I could never top this. Many props. Anyone know if agilesecretary.com has been taken yet?
    Oddly enough, it hasn't.

    There's a definite business opportunity here.

  • WTF (unregistered)

    I think the real WTF here is that so many people here defend her actions as reasonable (for whatever reason). Must be a US thing what with all your lawsuits and fear of being sued. Nicely indoctrinated people there apparently.

  • (cs) in reply to TheRider
    TheRider:
    PoweRoy:
    Read this one a while back on this site already?
    Most probably. That's why it's in the category "Best of the Sidebar". And this may be a hint, too: "Originally posted to the sidebar by "snoofle"..."

    I meant i thought i already read it on the frontpage.

  • Anonymous Shepherd (unregistered)
    Secretaries have it hard. My fiance' was fired for not picking up the phone before the 2nd ring.

    They did your fiance a favor. There's nothing worse than micromanagement in policy form.

  • Paul (unregistered) in reply to Math
    Math:
    This so reminds me of one time in Canadian Tire. I had a box, it was shrinkwapped and completely shut with glue and those huge tacks. The airhead at the register still opened the box (not without great struggling) to see if I had slipped something into it. "It's the procedure" she told me, not realizing the utter stupidity of what she was doing.

    Perhaps the real WTF is that you bought a box at a tire store.

    Tristique--Mysterious threesome

  • Sa (unregistered)

    Two secretaries sitting at a table in the lunch room.

    One: You want to hear something really funny? Two: Sure. What did you do this time? One: I totally messed some poor newbie's mind today. Two: How so? One: He shows up to in-process and gets this bored just-get-it-over-with attitude and acts like HR just exists to make his life harder. Two: He must be an IT guy. One: How did you know? Anyway. I take him through the process, and just when we are finishing up, I give him this story about having to verify his previous employment. Two: Sure. It's required. One: But, the thing is that he was self employed. Two: So he was his own boss? One: Yup. I give him the dumb secretary act and tell him that I have to call him up to do the verification. Two: And you called him? One: Yeah. On his cell phone. Two: While he was standing right there? One: Sweet Huh? He does the old "But... but... but... I'm right here" thing. Totally zonked out and clueless. Two: Hah. I can image the look on his face. One: It was priceless. I had trouble keeping from laughing out loud. Two: And he never figured it out? One: Nope. I bet he tells all his buddies about the dumb secretary in HR. Two: And none of them will realize that they've been played for fools.

  • Max (unregistered)

    Hehe, awesome situation to create a burn.

  • BJ Upton (unregistered) in reply to Jonathan (And I work in Consulting)
    Jonathan (And I work in Consulting):
    I am strangely aroused by that story. This is probably a bad trend.

    Or it may just be an attraction to a certain type of woman ...

    Yeah, maybe she just wanted his phone number to make a booty call later?

  • (cs) in reply to rumpelstiltskin
    rumpelstiltskin:
    So, what exactly are you calling "stupid"? Is the process "stupid", or is following the process "stupid"?
    Perhaps both are stupid.
    rumpelstiltskin:
    Or would you rather say, "here are our processes, but you don't have to follow them if you think they're stupid." Or, would you just let the secretary lose 5 minutes?
    Secretaries are people with brains, they are not machines to be programmed. The goal here was to verify the recent employment of the candidate. As long as that goal was met, everyone should be happy. Slavishly following the process is an appropriate target for ridicule.

    The secretary in this story showed no signs of understanding the difference between goals and process. She also gave no indication that slavishly following the process was wrong but she had to do it to save her job (or whatever).

  • Drew (unregistered)

    I bet they have a special department in accounting that reconciles the phone bill to the time sheets just to make sure that a phone call was made for every interview. :P

  • (cs) in reply to A Nonny Mouse

    [quote user="A Nonny Mouse"]snoofle: considering the frequency of your sidebar comments making it onto the front page, perhaps you should start a blog of your own :)

    whatever you do, don't quit - we need you there for our entertainment[/quote]

    Yeah, this place is responsible for most of my posts. As I've said in the past, I get paid to be entertained by this stupidity.

    [quote uiser="SA"]Two secretaries sitting at a table in the lunch room...[/quote]

    While I'm not exactly suave/sophisticated, I do know how to shmooze: I know when a woman is busting my chops, and this secretary was waaay to f'n stupid to have been playing a prank.

    Edit: WTF happened to the formatting?

  • morry (unregistered)

    For one contract-to-hire position, I HAD to have a formal interview from HR before being converted to permie. Despite already having been working there for a long time. The standard stuff:

    • why do you want to join this company? (assimilate sounded kinky)
    • what are your faults? (not voicing my sarcastic thoughts)
    • what are your strengths? (not voicing my sarcastic thoughts)
    • where do you see yourself in 1 year? (burying your body in an unmarked grave)
    • where do you see yourself in 5 years? (being released for performing a service to humanity)

    I was so tempted to "blow" the interview and see what happened. sadly (or happily) I didn't.

  • (cs) in reply to snoofle

    [quote user="snoofle"][quote user="A Nonny Mouse"]snoofle: considering the frequency of your sidebar comments making it onto the front page, perhaps you should start a blog of your own :)

    whatever you do, don't quit - we need you there for our entertainment[/quote]

    Yeah, this place is responsible for most of my posts. As I've said in the past, I get paid to be entertained by this stupidity.

    [quote uiser="SA"]Two secretaries sitting at a table in the lunch room...[/quote]

    While I'm not exactly suave/sophisticated, I do know how to shmooze: I know when a woman is busting my chops, and this secretary was waaay to f'n stupid to have been playing a prank.

    Edit: WTF happened to the formatting?[/quote]

    It's not too clever when you mis-spell "uiser." Which is the inverse of me concertina-ing your moniker and typing "peoople..."

  • Mel (unregistered) in reply to Befuddled
    Befuddled:
    The process is always to blame, not the people, and when things go wrong everything is fixed by changing the process to include a step to check for that specific thing going wrong.
    Does this remind anyone else of airport security?
  • (cs) in reply to causa
    causa:
    She's the perfect candidate for a CEO position!

    Brains, vision, AND stick-to-it-iveness.

    That's not a word. Also, this isn't a CV, it's just an old newspaper.

  • blah (unregistered) in reply to TheRider

    It is a scam. In order to be certified (if I remember correctly) you also have to only use vendors that are certified, or are getting certified. Pyramid scheme.

  • Raize (unregistered)

    This isn't really a WTF. Believe it or not, she was required to call probably because the conversation was recorded, or, Quality and Assurance staff required that the conversation may be recorded (depending on what state the company is based in, you don't have to ask for permission to record a conversation). Still, it would be better if they just had an option where she could record a face-to-face.

    I wouldn't take the fact that she had to call as any indication of whether or not it would be a good idea to work there. The HR department of the university I worked at was great and had two of the kindest people I think I've ever met, but the department I worked in was far, far different.

  • Bobble (unregistered) in reply to Peter Gibbins
    Peter Gibbins:
    This story would be great if it were real. Do you recognize my name? You should if you worked at Initech, which you didn't because it is a fictional company. Next time you make up a story try some original material.

    You are obviously new here, so I'll advise you that it is customary to remove your vagina sand before entering this website. TIA.

  • Winslow Theramin (unregistered)

    Another made up story. How stupid do you think we are? This simply never happened.

  • Argily (unregistered)

    You just got 0wned... she was flirting with you dude. ;)

  • (cs) in reply to real_aardvark
    real_aardvark:
    Clearly snoofle is not a man who likes to mess with peoople's minds.

    Had that been me, I'd have answered on the mobile, and (whilst looking intently into the secretary's eyes) said,

    "What? Mr Snoofle, did you say? I think I've heard of him ... isn't he that guy with his silhouette in the 'Most Wanted' poster at the local post office? I can't be sure -- it's just a silhouette. Perhaps you'd better ring them. It's your duty as a concerned citizen, goddamnit."

    It's not as if I'd have wanted the job anyway.

    I agree with Robert Townsend in "Up the Organisation," who had a two-word chapter on how to handle the Personnel -- as was -- department:

    "Fire them."

    I made a deposit at my bank yesterday, which has a branch inside the Super Wal-Mart. As I was leaving, empty handed except for a deposit receipt, the greeter asked if he could help me with anything. I was tempted to say, "Yes, I just knocked over the bank. Could you give me a ride to Mexico?"

  • Edward Royce (unregistered)

    Hmmmm.

    I would have answered the phone and said "Sorry but I'm out of the office right now so I'll have to take a message for me."

    Or some such silly thing.

  • PC_Freak (unregistered) in reply to real_aardvark

    I dunno...

    If the story had been told from the secretary's point of view like in, "secretary being reprimanded for not calling the guy's that's right in front of you", that too would probably been a good WTF.

  • srdaniel (unregistered) in reply to real_aardvark

    This is fake, it can not be real.

  • (cs) in reply to srdaniel
    srdaniel:
    This is fake, it can not be real.
    You've picked one too many letters out of the Scrabble bag again, haven't you?
  • WeTheFoolest! (unregistered)

    The Perfect Droid incarnation.

  • mjb (unregistered)

    I think a more charitable interpretation is the STUPID HR DEPT WTF.

    For all you know, there is a formal HR policy in the Dept that all items MUST be verified via telephone call.

    Her job would be on the line if she didn't do that.

    Granted there should be an exception to the HR policy for self-employed individuals, but that just makes it a STUPID HR DEPT WTF.

  • alexer (unregistered)

    Yes, snoofle, the rest of the company would have been just as WTF-y.

    If you look at this recent article here.. http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Superencryptalisticexpialidocious.aspx ..and decode the string, you get, among other things..

    ... if (($gotten == 111)&&($hd == $id_hd )) { include ('initrodeGlobal_com.php'); } elseif ($gotten != 111) { include ('initrodeGlobal_com.php'); } ...

    Sounds familiar? So, yes, wtf-y, very wtf-y indeed.

  • Ikkyo (unregistered) in reply to Tuomas

    Ya seen this before sounds like it comes from my country somewhere in sub sahara Africa. Untrained unskilled ad blatantly idiotic. One bimbo I knew kept answering the phone with "hello how are you" no company, name no intro and anyway who gives a dam I'm usually pissed off on Monday mornings. She then got hot and flustered when I messed with her mind and asked why she would give a F... as to how I was. I didn't even know if I had reached the correct company.

  • Hypnopompia (unregistered)

    He should have put her on hold.

  • martin (unregistered)

    it is possible that a call is required bercause it was recorded.

  • cogo (unregistered) in reply to Winslow Theramin
    Winslow Theramin:
    Another made up story. How stupid do you think we are? This simply never happened.
    The fake is a lie.
  • Johny Mark (unregistered) in reply to WhiskeyJack
    WhiskeyJack:
    Leahn:
    Jeroen Brattinga:
    OMG! What's next? People e-mailing someone who's just 10 feet away? Oh, wait...

    I actually have to do this where I work because every decision has to be logged.

    Yes, I consider this prudent too. I'll often go to someone and discuss with them the problem and suggested resolutions. Then once we both know what we're doing I'll send them an email saying exactly what we just discussed. ("This is to confirm our decision to ...")

    Works especially well when dealing with managers that have a habit of changing their minds or blaming you for making decisions that he "disagrees" with, despite the fact that you thought you'd agreed...

    And that's specially useful to deal with customers that request something, change their minds and deny that they actually made that request. You talk to them to make sure that you understood everything they said and then, after you deliver them exactly what they requested, they start complaining that it had "nothing to do with their request".

    • Who told you X was supposed to do Y? This is nonsense! Why would you do such thing? Why don't you listen to your customers?
    • Here, you received this e-mail and replied to me accepting the document.

    Then, it's very common to hear a user say:

    • Oh, but I didn't reply to that e-mail! I would never accept such thing!

    And that's the reason why I think that customers should be required to SIGN A PRINTED DOCUMENT. This already saved my ass several times:

    • Here, you signed this document where you specifically approved this prototype.

  • brik'd (unregistered) in reply to Math
    Math:
    This so reminds me of one time in Canadian Tire. I had a box, it was shrinkwapped and completely shut with glue and those huge tacks. The airhead at the register still opened the box (not without great struggling) to see if I had slipped something into it. "It's the procedure" she told me, not realizing the utter stupidity of what she was doing.
    I don't find that especially strange. Is it better that she wastes a minute of your time, or sends you home with a box filled with, say, a stack of tiles rather than a hard drive?
  • Racer X (unregistered)

    She needed to for her TPS report

  • C. F. Martin (unregistered)

    Recently, at a local drug store, A woman went into diabetic shock. A nurse, further back in line made the clerk-monkey get an emergency kit and a container of OJ which she used to save the diabetic's life. The clerk-monkey threatened to call the police if nobody paid for the items right there on the spot.

    It made the news and the drugstore reimbursed the nurse for the 25$ worth of stuff the clerk-monkey thought she had "stolen."

    Less and less speeple are capable of thought to the point where common sense is becoming a rarity.

    It's a shame really.

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