So...

What a day at work.

I am so tired of babysitting fucking people to coax them to follow through all the way on their end of their jobs. Exhibit A: we do not pick on first shift. Picking is done on 2nd and 3rd shifts. I run the order processing area (well I don't get paid like I run it, yet here I am running it), we process the orders, shipping comes in @ 2 and sets up their day and 3rd shift's day. I am more than willing to say this: our shipping department is outstanding. I may be a bit biased because I am friends with these guys, but their shit is locked down tight. But we do not pick on 1st shift because its just not how we're set up.

So last week I do a favor for someone downtown. A container load has been arranged to pick up on a certain day even though the material for the orders supposed to go on those containers hasn't even been created yet. So this stuff gets to our facility last minute, and the woman arranging this is all frantic and needs it loaded NOW so the container can make its appointment. I knew I shouldn't have done it, but I talked to another department to borrow one of their guys to pick this stuff as quickly as possible and stage it with everything else so it can be loaded. Big mistake. Now this is EXPECTED.

So yesterday same thing. Container scheduled, material not here. This person now EXPECTS us to pick the material as soon as it gets in. I get a call from one of the shipping desks telling me this container is here but all the material for it isn't staged yet. I tell him thats because I only just now processed the order, and 2nd shift isn't here yet to pick (obviously). I get a frantic call from downtown demanding to know why the material hasn't been picked. I explain ONCE AGAIN that we do not pick. And every time I tell this person this little factoid they act like its the first time they ever heard it. So she proceeds to explain to me that she SAID in her emails that we would pick it. I explain that A) I never saw that little part (truth), and B) WE DON'T PICK ON FIRST SHIFT. So now she's having a heart attack, threatening to make phone calls to my bosses. Now please understand, I give a fuck if she does that. My bosses will back me on it, and worst case scenario they'll find someone to pick it instead of me having to find someone. Either that or they'd tell her tough shit, we don't pick on first. Kinda depends on their mood...good mood and it gets picked, bad mood and they can cram it.

So I go and get this other guy to help us again, and now the department lead he works for is kind of pissed that his help keeps getting absconded. All of this because of poor planning and refusal to go along with the established plan. I sent an email out after the fact and copied everyone involved downtown (so as not to single anyone out) and our shipping department and management. I explained nicely that even if you have a really tight deadline, please do not assume this material will be picked on first shift. In fact, do not expect anything to be picked as a sameday to be completed before 6pm. In short, poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on our part.

Exhibit B: I get an email from another department today detailing a loading order for deliveries on a particular shipment. The shipment is transmitted to us and as I print it out, I notice there's only one delivery on it. Hm. So I email the guy who put this order in that hey dude, there's only one order here. No response.

Now here's the thing with this particular guy: he's a dick. He will go out of his way to be difficult, my boss has gotten HR on this guy's ass because he is such a prick. I've called him with problems on orders and he has literally hung up on me before I can get 2 words out. We've gone to his boss, and his boss defends him with "well, you just have to get to know him". Bullshit. I know him, he's a dick. He half-asses most of his communications to the point I have to call him constantly (and I do mean constantly) to get him to send out proper communications and to actually give us information. I have to babysit him to do his job. So I call him about this and get his voicemail. Great.

Now keep in mind at this point we're now under 1 hour before cutoff and when I try to print out the daily shipping spreadsheet for shipping. I'm also trying to deal with shit internally, I'm on the phone with the help center trying to get them to solve an SAP problem we're having, and trying to get this shipment fixed. Multi-tasking FTW! So I'm on the phone, typing an email, and talking to people in the shipping department all at once. My head almost exploded.

And oh yeah, keep in mind that I don't step up and haven't shown enough to be even considered for a promotion to coordinator.

So the other woman in this department (not the one from earlier) responds to the email I sent out about this being all screwed up (I copied everyone) and tells me this guy has wandered off and asks if she can help. I explain to her the situation and she looks into it. I get off the phone with the help center and call her right away. I have some ideas to get around the problem and we're going over those, and she grabs her boss as he walks by to look at this. His solution? I should call the guy in charge of these transmissions. Me?? YOU. The problem was on their end, not our end. But hey why not, I mean we fix everything else for them. But one of the ideas I had for a workaround panned out and we were able to get it taken care of. But again, this guy wouldn't answer emails or phone calls. It was like dealing with my fucking ex wife.

So yeah, fun babysitting day for me. And thats not even including the shit that has nothing to do with my department that other departments forward on to me.

Did I mention I don't step up and haven't shown enough to be considered for a promotion to even a coordinator?

Still waiting to hear about the 3rd shift gig. I think I might hear something tomorrow. We got a call today (our department handles main line inbound calls) from a guy asking who he should send his resume to. I explained to him that we hire through temp services. Oh yeah, this call came in during the middle of everything I described above. So then he asks for a list of the agencies and their numbers. I tell him I can give him one, but I'm busy so he'll have to call back tomorrow if he needs more info. So I give him the number I have for one agency, then he asks if he needs to go through a temp agency if he wants to be a supervisor. Heh. So I tell him in that case he should contact HR at our corporate office and begin to give him the number when he tells me he already called them and was told to call here. Ok, pretty sure he's full of shit at this point but whatever. Not a great communicator either, obviously. So I put him on hold and call one of my bosses and ask him if I should transfer this yokel to him or what. He says to have the guy apply online, thats basically the procedure. So I get back to this guy and tell him just that, give him the web address and wish him luck. But I guess thats not good enough. He goes on some weird tangent about being on his way to Atlanta, and he could sure do a good job for us if we would just give him a chance. Um. Have a nice day?

Anyway, this blog is way too long as it is. Thanks for reading.