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So, fun morning today. So much fun that I think if I have any more fun that I will be required to drive my car into an wall at high speeds.
I work now in the same industry I worked before. Different company, of course, but same old story.
Now, a little background on our industry. Whenever, and I do mean whenever, an order is placed for items to be manufactured, it needs to be precise. It needs to contain the exact specifications, the corresponding data backed up with drawings, and everything needs to be double-checked for errors. Why? Because if you try to put something up which is the wrong measurements, it won't fit on the building.
Seriously, that is the first thing you learn about this industry. It's so important that every single company that does it hammers it home, constantly.
So what do I get today (from the company I used to work at previously, no less)?
Three orders. Not one thing right on the damn things.
Firstly, measurements are all over the place, and items are duplicated constantly. Where one should be listed as X, it's listed as X and Y at the same time, while Y is listed as a seperate item also. Which is fine if you want two Y's and an X, not so much if you want one of each. So, I look over that before calling the company we're doing the work for to get it clarified. This amount of X, this amount of Y, and... Z? That leads to...
Secondly, we quoted for two items. That's all we were given the specs for. Z is bigger than Y, and Y is bigger than X. Y is more expensive than X. Why on this little planet of ours would you possibly think that we'd end up giving you Z for the same price as Y? Of course, a little more research showed that Z shouldn't have been on the damn order in the first place, since it was for a completely different product!
And Finally, this one was the real kicker. Okay, we understand that one of your orders need to be sent out this week. It's not a lot of time to get the work complete, but by the gods, we can do it. We're just that good.
However, sending us an order allowing us to charge you exactly $0 is not going to get us to start work immediately. It's going to make us laugh at length before calling you back and informing you of your mistake.
Now, you can give me all the excuses you want. You were in a hurry on Friday evening and had to get home (and sent us the orders after you know this office is closed). You haven't been feeling well.
I don't buy a bit of it. You know why? The three orders for various amounts of X and Y are, when all is said and done, exactly the same order , only for different locations. There is no reason these shouldn't have been filled correctly the first time. That and I had your damn job and I never let being in a hurry take me away from doing my job right first time out.
Bonus: Of course, this whole thing leads to a third problem. A while after I left that company, they changed things up. This person sending us the orders? She's not even supposed to be doing so. You know what that means? Company is going to come to us and ask us why we filled them.
Of course, the well known response from our company is "that's not our problem. One of your staff stepping out of line is no reason for you not to pay us for work completed." One of the reasons I love this new place, really.
I work now in the same industry I worked before. Different company, of course, but same old story.
Now, a little background on our industry. Whenever, and I do mean whenever, an order is placed for items to be manufactured, it needs to be precise. It needs to contain the exact specifications, the corresponding data backed up with drawings, and everything needs to be double-checked for errors. Why? Because if you try to put something up which is the wrong measurements, it won't fit on the building.
Seriously, that is the first thing you learn about this industry. It's so important that every single company that does it hammers it home, constantly.
So what do I get today (from the company I used to work at previously, no less)?
Three orders. Not one thing right on the damn things.
Firstly, measurements are all over the place, and items are duplicated constantly. Where one should be listed as X, it's listed as X and Y at the same time, while Y is listed as a seperate item also. Which is fine if you want two Y's and an X, not so much if you want one of each. So, I look over that before calling the company we're doing the work for to get it clarified. This amount of X, this amount of Y, and... Z? That leads to...
Secondly, we quoted for two items. That's all we were given the specs for. Z is bigger than Y, and Y is bigger than X. Y is more expensive than X. Why on this little planet of ours would you possibly think that we'd end up giving you Z for the same price as Y? Of course, a little more research showed that Z shouldn't have been on the damn order in the first place, since it was for a completely different product!
And Finally, this one was the real kicker. Okay, we understand that one of your orders need to be sent out this week. It's not a lot of time to get the work complete, but by the gods, we can do it. We're just that good.
However, sending us an order allowing us to charge you exactly $0 is not going to get us to start work immediately. It's going to make us laugh at length before calling you back and informing you of your mistake.
Now, you can give me all the excuses you want. You were in a hurry on Friday evening and had to get home (and sent us the orders after you know this office is closed). You haven't been feeling well.
I don't buy a bit of it. You know why? The three orders for various amounts of X and Y are, when all is said and done, exactly the same order , only for different locations. There is no reason these shouldn't have been filled correctly the first time. That and I had your damn job and I never let being in a hurry take me away from doing my job right first time out.
Bonus: Of course, this whole thing leads to a third problem. A while after I left that company, they changed things up. This person sending us the orders? She's not even supposed to be doing so. You know what that means? Company is going to come to us and ask us why we filled them.
Of course, the well known response from our company is "that's not our problem. One of your staff stepping out of line is no reason for you not to pay us for work completed." One of the reasons I love this new place, really.
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