I go back to work, give out candy, and get up-to-date.
Monday: Everyone but LeeAnn was already in by the time I got there, and nearly everyone asked if I'd had a good time. Donna said we got your postcard, and James said did you bring us anything back? I said I'm glad you missed me.
I'd brought back some assorted candy to share out, including a couple bags of Reese's(™) PB Cups and PB Pieces. I was going to bring cookies, but you can get most kinds here now anyways. LeeAnn came in about then and I got her to try a PBC but she said it was too sweet. She said where did you go again? so I said back to home in Missouri. Amy said you look browner than before - I suppose you were sunbathing on the beach, then. I thought about showing her where Missouri is again, but decided not to.
AJ came over and said oh, you got back all right then - we've had a few problems with the PCs when you've got a minute to look at them. I said OK.
He called us together for the morning meeting and said he'd decided over the weekend to implement a "professional behavior" policy. We all have to be polite to our fellow-employees, however unimportant they are. He then said no, he didn't mean 'unimportant' as such, just maybe at a different level than we were. This also means we mustn't belittle each other, or make unkind comments, or imply that our fellow-workers are insane - especially to customers. He went back in his office and I grabbed hold of James and said what's been going on these last two weeks? what have I missed?
He came back over to my office with me and told me. Apparently someone at Head Office told a customer another salesperson from another sales section in the group had 'misled' him on a price and then offered him a 20% discount, by mistake. He'd thought the other salesperson was from a rival company. They've been working hard to repair the damage and they've gotten the customer to accept there was a genuine mistake, the first salesperson was correct, and the original price was valid - but he's still insisting on the 20% discount.
Tuesday: The only PC that's been having problems is AJ's laptop. It's running slow and apparently it won't print if he takes out the network connection. The first problem should be solved by cleaning the memory out, and the second problem by getting it a better user.
I'm still working through the shipping that wasn't done while I was away. Donna was supposed to cover the shipping while I was away but confessed to me she just couldn't manage to keep up - so she told any customer who rang her to ask where their part was that the warehouse was closed and only did the paperwork for the urgent ones. She also got Amy or LeeAnn to help her out sometimes as well, so she doesn't know which of them has got which part of the paperwork, and I don't think she's real sure what's gone and what hasn't either. I asked LeeAnn for any shipping notes she still had and she gave me a load, but Amy said she'd given all hers to Donna. Donna says she hasn't got any more though, so I'll just have to wait for them to remember where they put them all.
All the candy has gone now, and the PBCs. Amy fought James for the last PBC during the coffee break this morning and said you know, they are a bit sickly and I still can't decide whether I like them or not, or whether I prefer the little ones. I said I'll bring some more of both next time I go back to home so you can decide. AJ, Andy, LeeAnn and Steve from Stores all prefer the PB Pieces, while Donna, Mike and most of the Packers prefer the PBCs. Amy still doesn't know. Fiona doesn't like either - she likes Hershey(™).
Wednesday: Amy gave me some more shipping notes today and I've matched them up with some more of the shipment packs, so it looks as though I've gotten about two thirds of them now. Several customers have rung up Donna to ask if the warehouse is open yet and she's asked me to prioritize their shipments for her. I guess I'm going to be busy until the end of the week.
The big printer wasn't working after the lunchbreak again. Walked over, pulled Mike's mobile charger and plugged the printer back in. I've missed that.
LeeAnn followed me back to my office afterwards and said I think you ought to know - the big printer stopped working every Wednesday afternoon you were away. I know you know how to fix it, but you'd better stop it happening if you go away again, or show me how to do it. I get the feeling she's maybe getting suspicious of Mike.
Donna took some files down to the filing room, and brought back some more shipping paperwork for me. She'd left it down there so she wouldn't forget it.
Thursday: AJ came out his office about ten to tell us all he's going in to Head Office to discuss the new corporate image and he'll see us all tomorrow - so that means we all won't get bugged by him for the rest of the day. I asked James what was that about, and he said oh they're thinking about changing the company colors from blue and white to red and white - he's not actually going in to discuss it, he's going in to see if he can find out if they're really going to do it so he can tell us before we hear it from someone else.
Apparently, while I was away, AJ found out we all were getting information from Head Office faster than he was - but he still doesn't know it's from Donna's daughter Carly on the Head Office switchboard. Donna said Carly told me he's never stopped to talk to her like some of the CEOs do, so he's probably never noticed her nameplate on the desk and read that it's the same surname as mine. James said it's not that unusual a surname, is it? Donna said no, but he's obviously never read my personnel file either, because it says in emergencies to call my daughter on the Head Office switchboard.
Amy found some more shipping paperwork for me, and LeeAnn says she's positive she hasn't got any still. I'll wait and see, and look at it tomorrow.
Friday: AJ said at the morning meeting the corporate image won't be changing just yet, as the cost is prohibitive. Several senior people have decided the company shouldn't spend that much money on a futile rebranding exercise - and all our customers know our corporate colors are blue, so we'd lose that recognition. He went back in his office and James started a book on how many days before we all hear the corporate colors are being changed, and I started a side bet on how many minutes afterwards someone'd hear AJ say it was money well spent.
He came out again just before he went to the afternoon meeting at Head Office, and told us all Head Office Marketing were still working on trying to get the rebranding of our item through - the one that's nearly eleven percent of our on-site turnover but totally insignificant as far as Head Office are concerned. The latest strategy from the Marketing team is to say it's been sold as one brand name for so long now the customers are getting tired of it - they need a change of image.
Spent the rest of the afternoon matching the shipping paperwork up from the last two weeks to try to get it out the way. Amy came in with another load, and LeeAnn found some more where she'd put them safe in the bottom of her desk, so I'm hoping I've got it all now.
read 01/07/09-13 or read 01/07/23-27 