I work in a very small branch of a medium sized company. I
am the warehouse/logistics department for the Dallas/Fort Worth distribution center. I won't get into company financial data here, but it is safe to say that I move between one and four tons of materials every day, between incoming freight deliveries and outbound orders.
About a year ago, I stumbled onto blogspot as a way to pass time. I was tired of hitting a tennis ball against a bare wall and had moved my bicycle back home to ride there instead of in circles in the wide open warehouse.
Today, there are no bare walls. Many days there is not much bare floor space. I don't have much blogging time during the day anymore and have lost about 25 pounds since December, simply because I am moving all day long.
Three weeks before the Men's Conference I attended last week, I sent an e-mail to my boss in St. Louis requesting vacation time for Thursday and Friday last. I copied the two salesmen in the branch that know how to use e-mail (one does not have a terminal), as well as the office manager. The request was approved.
I spent the better portion of the two weeks prior to being away working to "tidy" up the warehouse and have all the product on the shelves. I find it much easier to locate that way than if it is haphazardly strewn around on pallets. I was arriving about 45 minutes early every day, leaving an hour or so late and working through lunches often.
On Wednesday, the day before I was heading south, I spent the morning pulling orders as usual, then hustled to get the final product deliveries put up. I did pull one order for our largest account that was scheduled for Thursday delivery; I know they prefer to receive their product close to mid-day and our bobtail truck courier has expressed a desire to be notified early in order to schedule his drivers. I advised him the order was prepared that afternoon, so he could pick it up first thing. I also told our office manager that order was ready.
Thursday afternoon, as I am speeding down I-35 toward the Texas Hill Country, I called the office to see how things were and if they needed any information from me (product location, where do I keep supplies, whatever). Our receptionist told me she was good, but to hold on and she would check with everyone else.
"Hold on, XXXXX (office manager) wants to speak with you," I was told when she came back.
"No problem," I replied, thinking there was some urgent need for valuable information only I would know, something critical to one of our customers receiving outstanding customer service. Oops. My bad.
After about five minutes of holding (maybe less, time gets warped when you are on hold. If they had asked Ken Keasey when he was on hold instead of acid, he would have got it wrong. Sorry, I digress.), XXXXX comes on the line.
"Hey, I was just checking to see if you had any questions for me," I said.
"No. We are finding everything fine. But there was only one order pulled for today."
"Yes, that is correct," I said. "The one for (ABC Company)."
Long pause. Extended pause. Like being on hold without music pause.
"Well, Larry and Curly (not real names) are pulling orders like crazy now." It was about 1:40 PM.
"Ok. I just wanted to see if you needed anything from me before I turned right and got out of cel phone range."
"No."
That conversation sort of ate at me for the next few days when I replayed it in my head. I knew something seemed off but could not put my finger on it.
Monday when I arrived at work, sure enough about every area of what had been open floor space across the laoding dock was covered with product delivered either Thursday or Friday. There was a stack of orders to ship and I worked my butt off. But on Tuesday, I still was sensing some unease between the two of us. Finally, when I went to her office for some other information, I finally had to say something.
"XXXXX, I have some confusion about a statement you made to me last week. I don't understand what you meant when you said there was only one order pulled, why I held for you to tell me that."
"You only pulled the order for ABC Company."
"Yes, that is true. I spent the last three hours of that afternoon making room for the deliveries to be unloaded. I knew there was going to be some, and there was not room for them."
"You did not do your job. You left it for someone else to do."
"Excuse me?" I was stunned to hear this. It was my expectation that arrangements had been made (with the three week advance notice of my absence) to cover my job for those two days.
"It was not fair for you to leave work for someone else to do. You did not finish your Wednesday work and left it for someone else."
"I worked my ass off on Wednesday, and have been for the past two months."
"Yes you have been but you did not complete your work Wednesday. And I also asked you to leave me a note if there was anything I needed to know."
"There was nothing unusual about how Thursday was going to go. I always pull orders first thing in the morning. I worked until I had to leave and made the decision to utilize my time so others would be able to function back there instead of having to be constantly moving product to get to shelves."
"You also did not let YYYYYY (the owner of another courier service we use) know you were not going to be in."
"I don't know how that impacts our company, but no, I did not. I think you and I will have to agree to disagree on our opinion of how I best managed my time."
"It was rude and disrespectful. I would never do that when I am getting ready to leave."
I walked away and started to go back and add something else. She put up her hand and told me, "I don't think there is anything more to be said right now." She had that right. She had said more than enough.
We are all very busy in this company. Each of us has to make decisions on how to use our time; everyone of us has some parts of our job that get put on the back burner while we tend to something else. Including XXXXXX. And we are all impacted by those decisions. Many times I am waiting for something to be finished before I am able to complete my job. I do not see it as anyone being rude, disrespectful of my time or selfish. It is part of working in the new millenium.
Edited add-in: It is my opinion that preparations were not made for my being out. There was a communication breakdown and assumptions were made by both of us which proved false. I accept some of that responsibility. But I do not accept it all and will not be made to be the bad guy. I have been called many things in my life. Most of them deserved. Rude and disrespectful to my co-workers is not, and I have not been called that before. I guess there is a first time for everything. Perhaps I am in some people's eyes. But my opinion and respect for XXXXX has been changed significantly.
Fortunately, my boss tells me I am doing a good job whenver he talks with me, as do my other co-workers. So, now lunch is over and I am going along to get along.....
