Work venting

[TD2K]

Argh, this client is driving me nuts. We had a review yesterday of some work we had done. The clients show up, aren't prepared, haven't brought any comments and spend most of the meeting hashing over the design that has already been approved (why are we doing this? Why can't we do this? Why does it take so look to get anything done? (answer: got a mirror?))

We also get crap for not using the latest version of their drawings. Fair enough comment, we find out where the new drawings on (there's no real rhyme and reason for their filing system) only to find out they are just a place holder and they haven't been developed yet and loaded into the system where they have stressed over and over if it's not in the system, they don't exist as far as we are concerned.

Idiots. I keep telling my boss I don't get paid enough for this.

[wvugurl26]

Must be something in the water going around. Alicia had a meeting with some real idiots the other day. Today my boss got the pleasure of dealing with idiots who couldn't accept there is more than one way to pick a statistical sample for an audit.

[BeenThere...DoneThat...]

...yep... the water has too much flouride, anyway...

[ummboutthat]

See that a great situation where it’s so unfortunate that you can not speak your mind!
Excuse me client(s) but these designs HERE have already been APPROVED!! So if you have NOTHING to add the meeting is OVER!! Now get the hell out!!!

[Miss Tequila]

I have to remind myself daily, "if not for my clients I wouldn't have a job"....it's either repeat that or randomly bitch slap my clients

[chiver78]

Jan 11, 2011 22:54:05 GMT -5 @ummboutthat said:

See that a great situation where it’s so unfortunate that you can not speak your mind!
Excuse me client(s) but these designs HERE have already been APPROVED!! So if you have NOTHING to add the meeting is OVER!! Now get the hell out!!!

oh, I have two projects that have done that to me in recent weeks. thankfully, I just had a vacation to get away from it all for awhile. tomorrow is my first day back in the office. my annoyance was one where 6 different internal groups have to approve designs, and for both projects one group demanded certain design changes be made before subsequent design documents would be approved. neither project's schedule, or budget for that matter, allowed for these major changes. luckily, tomorrow is most likely a work-from-home snow day, where I can dig out from my email inbox in the peace and quiet (and bar, if necessary) of my own living room.

TD, I totally feel your pain. if I'm stuck in the office during one of these "I'd love to bash your head against the wall in case I could knock some sense into you" times, I do everything I can to escape and go for a quick drive. I blast some tunes, sing along at top volume (or scream, whatever works that day) and return all refreshed.

[ummboutthat]

freaking clients!

freaking clients!!

freaking clients!!!!

[ummboutthat]

[TD2K]

"if not for my clients I wouldn't have a job"....


I do, boy do I do.

[verrip1]

Jan 11, 2011 22:41:57 GMT -5 TD2K said:

Argh, this client is driving me nuts. We had a review yesterday of some work we had done. The clients show up, aren't prepared, haven't brought any comments and spend most of the meeting hashing over the design that has already been approved (why are we doing this? Why can't we do this? Why does it take so look to get anything done? (answer: got a mirror?))

We also get crap for not using the latest version of their drawings. Fair enough comment, we find out where the new drawings on (there's no real rhyme and reason for their filing system) only to find out they are just a place holder and they haven't been developed yet and loaded into the system where they have stressed over and over if it's not in the system, they don't exist as far as we are concerned.

Idiots. I keep telling my boss I don't get paid enough for this.

TD. Chill. Billable hours. Out of scope. Get with the program.

[TD2K]

Yup, I do that. I write a lot of change alerts to my project engineer, they can decide whether to pay it internallly out of their design allowance or put it front of the client for approval.

[verrip1]

"Design allowance". Yah.

Slush fund. Been there, done that.

I was always a bloodsucker. I knew the Ts&Cs of every contract I worked on better than the Legal Department did. Lazy clients are wonderful for project enhancements and they never complain too much when you show them how it was due to their failure to perform - though in more 'friendly' language. Convince them to go back to their management for more approval due to change of scope. Add some technoBS for rationale and all is well.

Ahhhh, billable hours. Sweet!

[swamp]

Jan 11, 2011 23:23:26 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

I have to remind myself daily, "if not for my clients I wouldn't have a job"....it's either repeat that or randomly bitch slap my clients

Wow, I didn't know I worked with Tina..............

I'm working on a closing right now, it's a completely in family transfer. Gramma and Grandpa are selling house to son and DIL, and son and DIL are selling their house to son/DIL's niece aka Gramma and Grandpa's grandchild. The realtor is Gramma/Grandpa's daughter, son's sister, and grandchild's mom. The realtor is ordinarily pushy and unnecessarily adds drama to every transaction, and you can only imagine what she's doing in this one. I'm about ready to tell her to go fuck herself, I've been doing closigns for over 10 years now, I don't really need her help.

[Deleted]

it's not vendors or business partners who are making me want to bang my head against a wall (although they eff up on a regular basis)... it's my good-for-nothing co-workers. The one lady whines about how she's not involved in this stuff dealing with the new acquisition, but then when we involve her she whines about having to do the extra work and bugs me and my boss with a million questions, mostly dealing with stuff that has ALREADY BEEN EXPLAINED! I don't care if she's been here since Jesus's birth, if you don't want to/can't do the work, there's the door - BUH BYE!

[Deleted]

oh and the other guy talks/texts to his family and friends all damn day and gets maybe half his work done. And he had the nerve to come to our bosses and ask about a supervisor position. If he EVER becomes a supervisor in our department, I will move to a new department so fast everyone's head will spin.

[NancysSummerSip]

And this is why I keep working on my freelance, making connections, finding extra work (and extra money to put aside), so I can get the (bleeeeeeeeeep) outta situations like this. We've had far too much drama in the office lately.

Although I no longer use MSN as a home page, there is a fun Q&A about office princesses, and how they are not as safe as they think they are:

businessonmain.msn.com/questions/default.aspx?cp-documentid=26485570&source=msneditorial>1=25049

[Deleted]

Nancy, I'm hoping with my overall work experience and completing the communications Master's I can get into business consulting in about 10 years.

[NancysSummerSip]

I hear you, Jenny. I freelance in a field that has nothing to do with what I do 9-5, which is a help, because there is no issue with my two different lives becoming entangled. People who know me in one setting would not know me in the other.

It does take time, and the extra money is nice; I just did a piece on my blog about payment versus paychecks, and how to know when to go to the next place in life. I am working through the issue myself, and getting to the point where a decision is coming.