Tales from a lost PDA - The lesser damage

Posted on 2008/12/05 15:45:07 (December 2008).

[Thursday 4th December 2008]

Today I have found a PDA lying on the ground near my place. Being extremely curious and moreover wanting to return it to the proprietor.
After several hours, trials with wrong passwords and several exploits I decided that it was time to get brutal and I took the thing apart.

Finally after an afternoon spent on this thing I managed to access its memory but unfortunately there aren't any details about the person that was supposed to own the PDA.

What I found instead, was a huge amount of word files, apparently full with stories that this person must have written about his work related life.
Some of the stories are quite sad, some are simply a great laugh, so I have decided to publish them on my blog!

I will call the writer Mr.X, and remove any names or anything that might be deemed as an infringement of privacy or company secrets. Better be on the safe side.

--

The Lesser Damage

..[Word file all garbled at the beginning, might have been an image or something..]...So it happens that I manage to get in touch with some employees of the previous evil company where I used to work.

It seems that things are going completely pear shaped, with decreasing turnover and increasing unrest among the workers. The unrest is mostly caused by the incapability of Mr.EnolaGay (EN) to have a decent management style.
He's too instinctive, too gross, too uneducated to run a company.

He keeps on breaking any work-related law that he possibly can, treating people like beasts, in truth showing that he's an animal.

I remember when I was there, mobbing was the normality in that company, you could cut the atmosphere with a knife, and of the same knife you had to be extremely wary, because it was rather easy to find it protruding from your back thanks to some colleague that had to unload some shit on you...

I remember very well the day I made a big project that I supervised personally, and that bought at the creation of around 10000 shopping windows signs for the POP and POS that we used to have.
Apparently they were not capable of producing them for years, albeit the Commercial Directors (yes 2 directors) were asking for them.

Well I remember having to rush delivery of these board that were absolutely essential to the life of the company, I remember that someone had to make a decision on the picture that we had to use.
Of course as a mere mid-manager figure I could not make that call and I asked one of the two directors (Mr.Degree (DG)) how he wanted this board to be made and he approved design and picture. Technically Mr.Spud (SP), the "Art Director", had to take care of this aspect, but he was nowhere to be seen for days so we proceeded as it was approved.

Three weeks afterwards, Mrs.Snitch (SN)calls:

Phone: ....riiiiiinnngggg...
X: Yes, X speaking
SN: X, can you come a sec here to the meeting room?
X: Sure

walkity-walk....

X:Yes?
Ok I did not notice that EG, DG, SP and SN were in the room looking like if someone had died.
SN: Sit down a second.
EG: Listen, who told you to put this picture here on these boards?
X: (feeling more relaxed because I had it approved from the director)Oh, well it was Mr.Degree that approved it. I poroposed some opti..
DG: No, I never approved it.
X: WHAT?!
DG: Yes I told you that I needed a board for the shops but then it's up to you marketing guy to make it.
SP: (in a chirpy, but sad voice) Yes I never saw this board before, it's shit. Who ever approved this cut, it's crap. And all the lettering it's wrong!
EG: So X you did it!! You made the mistake. Why didn't you asked SP about it!?
X: Well, he was nowhere to be seen, he didn't come in WEEKS...
EG: You should have called him, he's always available on his mobile!
X: Sorry? How can I get a picture approved on the mobile?
EG: (getting red, I think that he understood that an Art Director that doesn't come to the company clashes with the "director" bit of the title, but...)Well, you could have sent the picture on the computer!
SP: Yes, I always check my mail every day! (false as a two Euro banknote)
X: Well, I could have done that, but we did not have a lot of time, DG, who approved the project and was informed of every step, told me that the stuff had to be in in a week!
EG: Stop blaming the other people for your mistakes, you must learn to relate to the superiors in a different way. Consider this a warning!
SP: Yes it's a "youth-mistake" I am not angry with him, but this thing is shite...

Follows a complete re-design of the board, with a different picture, a different size and of course double the cost for something that was already there but did not express the "true image of the company".
Incidentally this board was too big for the boxes that we had in the shipping department, so when we sent the material it was normally added to the shipment outside the box, and arrived to the customers and shops completely broken.

But they had a go at me for that and therefore nobody noticed...

The lesser damage, yes I moved to a different situation, in a very shaky context, but the damage to myself of having to endure those type of treatments would have been much higher. Lesson learnt?
Get people to sign things that they approve. Never rely on words. Unless you trust them a lot.

Very interesting indeed sir! A delightful little story. I am intrigued how you managed to access the memory by taking it apart? And I did think the pictures from the trip were great, I was in two minds whether to leave a comment, but didn't and I wish I did now!

Posted by Simon W at 2008/12/08 13:29:09.

Simon W: I will disclose more details in future posts, I can see a thread of "Tales from a lost PDA" coming up in the future... So for now I'd much rather keep things a bit more mysterious... As for the pictures thanks a lot, and please never refrain to leave a comment I really appreciate the reader's feedback (even when it's not nice!!).

Posted by Lox at 2008/12/08 22:36:09.

Nice, as shall wait in anticipation.....

Posted by Simon W at 2008/12/09 13:29:38.

Sorry that should read 'I shall wait in anticipation'.

Posted by Simon W at 2008/12/09 13:30:22.

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