Filed under Anecdotes

Meetings…

…and other work related matters.

One of my PCS colleagues sent me an email about a forthcoming meeting and asked me to let other members of the PCS Shropshire group know when it was taking place. The email also said that on no account should I forward the original email out to the group. I complied with those wishes and as the original email had an attachment I left that out too.

Apparently that was wrong but instead of phoning me to explain what was required he phoned a colleague who sits round the corner from me at work.  This second colleague then proceeded to phone me up and dictate a letter over the phone to me, which took some time.  I was in the middle of processing over 20 Priority operational buys through our section so I got rather irritated about the total waste of everyone’s time.  I began to feel like telling someone where they could stick their email…  Maybe that is why I did not get phoned by  the first colleague ;-)

I have also been trying to arrange a branch committee meeting and the first date I sent out was a disaster, only two people were able to attend.  So I suggested we change the date to a more suitable one. I suggested this to colleague A who told me to phone colleague B to get a list of dates when he (colleague A) was available to attend the meeting.  Didn’t he know  himself when he was available???  The other problem was that it is always very difficult to get hold of colleague B and he doesn’t work in the same place as me.  I did however manage to sort that one out although I still have to type up my dictated letter and send the email in my own time!

Now what were those girls up to today?  Well today it was comparing bra sizes (there had been a fitting yesterday). I tried very hard with my selective deafness, but when someone starts shrieking your name at the top of their voice it becomes just a little difficult.  Then there was the trying to see if the works pass with it’s cord would reach round the upper ribs,  I am not sure what that was all about.  To keep the peace I tried and was the only one who could manage this, it even overlapped.  Suddenly I was no longer required for the conversation ;-)

12 Comments CherryPie on Jan 27th 2010

12 Responses to “Meetings…”

  1. Andrew Scott says:

    You don’t work in a government department by any chance do you? :)

  2. Andrew Scott says:

    Just an educated guess, and it would explain a lot. Still, so long as the girls have comfy bras – I do appreciate that is one of the nation’s priorities right now :)

    • CherryPie says:

      And there was me thinking all that silly phone nonsense would have made it obvious ;-) I am so glad I sit with the Engineers in a cushion of sanity :-)

  3. Steve Hayes says:

    It’s amazing how people prefer to do things the hard way. It’s like those job evaluation things, where you have to spend more time evaluating your job than doing it.

  4. jameshigham says:

    Perhaps you keep your position by “feeling like telling the colleague” rather than telling the colleague. I tend to tell the the colleague and look where I am [or not] today. :)

    • CherryPie says:

      I think it is because I do speak my mind that he won’t phone me up. He doesn’t like being challenged everything has to be done his way and I won’t be bullied into doing something in a particular way if I can see a better way ;-)

      Although sometimes it does pay to be diplomatic, it depends on which way is going to achieve the most.

  5. Claudia says:

    Working with women can be infuriating! When I retired from my nursing position, I missed the work and the patients, but never the administration (so blind, at times, about the patients’ needs) and the gossipy, often malicious, group of nurses. I guess it’s the same everywhere. Maybe, also, with men’s groups?

    • CherryPie says:

      My own section consists entirely of men non of them are gossipy thank goodness. I steer well clear of gossip, I can’t be doing with it.

  6. Phidelm says:

    What a waste of time it is to dictate material! Factor in all the ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’ and then the need for it to be read back, etc. Why don’t these characters do the job themselves? Oh, silly me: typing stuff is beneath them – ha!
    ‘The girls’ sound dreadful; good thing you’re sitting in a civilised section :-) .

    • CherryPie says:

      There were lots of ums and ahs that guy is great at writing stuff. He should have just sent me what he thought and I would have tweaked it to read like me.

      They are quite nice really, but not very me ;-)