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Admin
Me feelz happy
Admin
So TRWTF is Miss Scarlett taking 30 minutes to file a bug report response? An appalling waste of person-hours. Fire her immediately.
Admin
"there was a great deal of tut-tutting and finger-wagging about professional conduct."
That doesn't mean that no one was happy with her tone. That means they thought it was hilarious and that she was definitely right, but they felt like they shouldn't say that out loud.
Admin
The company should ask for its name to be revealed. They should be proud of this.
Admin
I think she was amazingly polite under the circumstances.
Admin
The clues were right in the article. Mr. Green was a former coworker. A dead giveaway.
Admin
No, if Cathy had been fired, Mr. Green would still have been a former coworker.
Admin
What does it say about our views of manglement... I mean management... that the logical outcome is the twist ending?
Admin
Good eye!
Admin
The phrasing leaves room for the possibility that Cathy is fired, too, even if the tone suggests something other than the typical most terrible WTFs this site showcases.
Admin
I'm not hopeful for the future of Cathy in that company, even if short-time Mr. Green was rightfully given the boot.
Admin
Well I never worked anywhere that would have happened, and I've had a fair few scrapes with death having filed responses like Miss Scarlett's.
I recall having to help a friend sit through a disciplinary meeting with the head of HR and his feckless fart-dribble of a manager after he had one of these extinction outbursts over some stupidity. Remember the company motto, dear boy, "Always shoot the messenger".
Towards the end of this carefully choreographed character assassination, the aforementioned useless mangler managed to "accidentally" slip in an account of how she'd had to offer words of advice to my friend following him describing me as "a complete and utter arse to deal with". I just laughed and said "For the record, I know, and I consider that a compliment".
Following the completion of the bollocking the head of HR sidled up to me and whispered under a barely suppressed giggle, "it's no wonder she [the manager] couldn't work out why he [my friend] had the good sense to bring you along!". Mind you, his reward for basically getting away with it was to get to carry on working there, so I don't think I did him any favours.
Admin
That we've been spending too much time on TDWTF?
The part I wonder about is "security escorting him out of the building." I know that's a common trope, but... does that actually exist? I've worked at a handful of different software companies, including one fairly high up in the Fortune 500 ranking, and never once been at a place which hired "security personnel."
Admin
There was that one time we had the cops come to escort out our (recently ousted) CEO. Perhaps "hire" is a strong term, but I think they qualify for "security personnel"
Admin
No necessarily. Former coworker only means you don't work with that person anymore. It could be because he left the company, or it could mean that you left the company. So as written, it's still ambiguous.
Admin
I interned at a defence contractor six years ago. On my last day, I had to turn in my badge at the security office, which was located pretty much in the middle of the building. Given that it was the planned end of my internship, I was allowed to be escorted out by my coworkers for parking lot farewells, but the general policy was that you had to wait in the office for a security officer. I know it wasn't typical of most TDWTFers' workplaces as most of the building was NOFORN with specific portions at various levels of classification, but getting escorted out by security would definitely happen if you were fired.
Admin
The article ruled out Darrin getting fired at the end.
Admin
What phrasing? The phrase in question says, "Mr. Green, a former coworker of submitter Darren A"
Unless you're suggesting Cathy IS Mr. Green, and they have multiple personality disorder, which would make for one of the most ridiculous articles on this site (which says a LOT), then there's no ambiguity.
Admin
I know of someone who wasn't escorted by security, per-se, but he was observed closely by management and HR as he packed his things and left. Said person had what could only be described as an epic meltdown that involved a litany of slurs and swearing towards everyone who worked with him in front of some investors and other stakeholders.
Admin
Twice I have seen departing employees actually "escorted out" by the actual security staff at the company I work for. Once was because he was being sacked, once because he was leaving to work at a competitor. In both cases, as soon as it is known why and whereto you're leaving, it's policy that you are no longer allowed in the badge-secured zone. Security has to come and show you the door. It's not like a hand-on-the-shoulder prisoner-march, but security people do come and make sure you leave promptly. Any personal belongings at your desk are packed up and shipped to you afterwards.
Admin
A long time ago, a cow-orker of mine (a programmer) at MCI took a job with Sprint, an obvious competitor.
He foolishly told HR where he was going as he turned in his two-week's notice. Minutes later, security was giving him the bum's rush to the parking lot.
Admin
Yes, Cathy definitely should have gotten at least a talking-to and maybe a slap on the wrist. There were plenty of ways to call out Green's mistake without resorting to such vitriol, especially in a public communication like a bug report. If she has a habit of treating other coworkers with such condescension, then her continued presence is not conducive to a healthy team atmosphere.
But that's the world we live in these days... people seem to (incorrectly) equate angry snark with intelligence.
Admin
Had a consulting client show up at my door suddenly one day in December (winter in northern California). Had his truck and horse trailer parked out front.
He owed me a couple of thousand dollars and wanted to pay his bill before he left. (He paid it.) I asked him where he was headed. He was going horsepacking, in the north Sierra Nevadas for the winter.
It turned out that he'd quit his job by having a fistfight with his manager! I don't think he was escorted from the office. I think he fled before the police got there.
Admin
Reminds me of the Beaten Into Submission entry from way back, except that because it wasn't the SMT that had jumped on the blame game from the start (and thereby had stakes in where the blame fell), the wrongly accused protagonist was exonerated.
Admin
You're a special little snowflake, aren't you?
If I'd been dragged back from Newark for a nonexistent prat-driven "emergency" that involved a length of twine I had already complained about, I am fairly sure I know what my reaction would be.
Thank God I am no longer in New Jersey. This is merely personal taste, and has nothing to do with the story at hand.
I'm spending seventy two hours[/] on this futile bullshit? (Plus, I should actually be dealing with my clients in New York). Screw you, little fat-ass buddy with the noddy little non-issue!
I've already detailed how to get this right. It wasn't difficult. After flying back, I did what you should have done and [b]plugged the network cable in to the right place.
Goddamn right, I am going to tear this useless heap of sub-human garbage a new asshole.
Now, that's just the way I see it. Your view might involve a degree more restraint. Which is fine.
IT in general is seriously need of delicate petals.
Admin
Must have been the 70s. Any company in the past 30 years would have then immediately sued him, costing him the other job, then hounded him for years with a legal team.
Admin
Apparently, Cathy got her talking and slap on the wrist. Do you think the the bug report filed by Green was anything professional? Wining like a kid, and I'll tell my dad attitude?
Admin
I was once laid off, rather unexpectedly I might add, from a software company and was escorted out by HR, but not security. My boss asked me to come meet with him, and I actually thought I was getting a raise as I was due one. He took me to a small conference room and there was my HR rep. While she was telling me I was being let go another person from HR was in my cube gathering my things. I was given the box with my stuff in it, and had to dig through it to find my keys and sunglasses, then walked out the door by HR. I had to email her a list of things they didn't gather from my desk and they had a courier deliver them to my house. That was just the way that company handled layoffs. It was rather cold and left me shellshocked for several days. Frankly I'm still pissed at them and it's been several years.
Admin
Well I've worked in several banks/corporations, and everytime someone is fired or just leaves, on his last day he is escorted out of the building by security.
Admin
It didn't rule him out later leaving of his own volition. Which would still make for "former coworker". There is nothing in the article the stipulates that he still works there.
Admin
The tone of Cathy's response is understandable, considering she spent three days traveling back and forth to change a snapped cable at a router.
But yes, "it is understandable" doesn't equal "it was okay for her to write it like this". Instead, she should've just written something like
"The cable of the router snapped, and I replaced it. Now everything works fine again and testing can continue."
and write the rest of the response to her manager, and maybe upper management as well. Minus the swearing and name calling.
Admin
Absolutely! That way, Mr Green's friends upstairs can sweep his endless stupidity under the rug so that it's not only a surprise for the next Cathy (and the next and the next...) but can continue to cost the company in lost productivity and allow the brass to say "nobody could've seen this coming" when it reaches a breaking point such as the loss of a major customer or even insolvency.
Admin
Ah yes. So, what did prevent upper management from sweep it under the rug in this case? Because her response contained swear words?
Admin
Because manglement takes the path of least resistance. Normally that path is to do nothing. However, in this case they were being asked to fire someone and it was easier (for them) to fire Mr Green than to have a debate about whether firings were justified, an idea that was already established.
Admin
"But that's the world we live in these days... people seem to (incorrectly) equate angry snark with intelligence."
I'm detecting a lot of snark. I'll be sure not to equate this post with intelligence.
Admin
I don't believe for a second that Mr Green was the only person fired. Typically, saving face is management's primary (or even only) concern. By exposing Mr Green's stupidity and detailing the direct consequences of that stupidity, Cathy caused whoever hired Mr Green to lose face. If Cathy's employment really survived this, more than likely they were afraid of losing even more face each time this story was recounted* - to the unemployment office, local employers where Cathy would've applied, colleagues who would reconsider an offer from the company, etc. After all, Cathy was not afraid to post that right where management could see it. Who knows where the story would travel if it was compounded by an unjust firing? At least this way, it stayed internal. And TDWTF.
*I did contract work for a few years. I learned to pick up on subtle signals. After I had to explain to DOL that one employer had not given me any assignments for three months before using "never turned in any assignments" as its justification, pieces started falling into place. If crappy employers didn't acquire crappy reputations, you'd never hear "don't badmouth a former employer" given as advice. Sites like glassdoor exist for a reason. And if you choose to turn this around as me being a crappy contractor, consider why an employer might have to settle for crappy contractors.
Admin
Given that they felt Cathy, by herself, could fly across the Atlantic to solve a year-old customer problem, I'm going to be that the only detriment to Cathy finding a new, equivalent (if not better) job within hours would be the need for about 16 hours of sleep, about 15 shots of a good Irish Whiskey, and 16 more hours of sleep.
Hell, I'd hire her just from what I've read, but I doubt I could afford her salary right now!
Admin
YES CATHY IS SO EMPOWERED OUT WITH THE MISOGYNIST WOMYN ARE MUCH SMARTER THAN MEN AND THIS PROVES IT I HOPE MR GREEN GETS KILLED BY EMPOWERED WOMYN FOR BEING A MISOGYNIST THANKS FOR PROVING THAT WOMYN R MUCH MORE EMPOWERING THAN MEN AND THAT MEN SHOULD DIE FOR THEIR MASCULINE TOXICITY AND THEIR MISOGYNY