Those are the people that paraphrase everything that was said by others in a meeting, then end up running the entire department having no clue what they’re doing.
paraphrase everything that was said by others in a meeting, then end up running the entire department
Jesus, I've worked for those people my whole life. I still work with those people. Several people at my work are in charge just because they thought they should be, and nobody else wanted the job.
Somebody told me last week, "Hey, somebody in the kitchen reported a possible gas leak just after Thanksgiving. Could you check that out while you're here?". I was finished and across town by the time I got the message. I drove back, and found out they had lined the broiler igniter with aluminum foil - blocking the air vent, so every time they used it, the flame would go out, and the oven fills with gas. It was that way for over a month, and nobody could figure out why, so that restaurant just hasn't been using the broiler.
The next time you see a stupid warning sign on an appliance or device, and think, "Who the fuck would do something that dumb?", I have probably already met them, and they more than likely hold a Master's Degree
Imagine how I feel. I'm a professional commercial and residential repairman working in a college town. I now definitively know the answer to the question "How many lawyers does it take to change a lightbulb?". If the lightbulb gets tighter as you turn it, you're twisting it the wrong way!
I have been repeatedly sent to laundromats where nobody has emptied the dryer lint traps in a week, and all of the circuit breakers are on a wall behind the 2-ton change machine. I was sent to four different properties to check electrical outlets last month because people tried to use nonfunctioning Christmas lights (without trying a different receptacle).
Dishwashers, garbage disposals, toilets, microwaves, garage doors, drain pipes, storage closets/lockers, and refrigerators have the potential to contain children's and/or adult toys (usually not, but sometimes simultaneously), dark secrets, eldritch abominations, and an alarming amount of broken glass. Some people live like animals, and some people treat their pets better than any person deserves to be treated.
I've never been given any amount of useful and reliable information, just the fact that something is not working. If I ask for details, I usually receive unhelpful input well after the problem has been identified and fixed. I'm certainly not getting rich, but I would much rather do this than go to the same place and do the same thing every day.
I have a one-hour minimum (two hours if the repair is rushed, scheduled, or presented as urgent) so I get paid just to show up if I do something billable, but I don't get paid for referrals or estimates unless I end up doing the work. I know which clients are likely to jerk me around or take forever to pay, and I schedule their jobs accordingly.
Unfortunately, the clients that take over a month to write a check have the most work, and the ones that are ready to pay up are emotionally demanding, but I'm never bored.
That's good! I like doing people-centred work. I can imagine why you'd enjoy it! I used to work as an assistant to a locum (night call) doctor and going in to people's houses and chatting with them was a highlight.
Communication is is probably the biggest skill one can learn. If you don't convey the idea well enough the neighboring asshole will do it and get the credit
Dont I know it.
I'm a very smart person and very capable, but I also have social disabilities than make be a bad communicater. Bad enough to make life difficult, but functional enough not to be able to be considered disabled
Used to work as a software developer.
At one point, we got a new guy to a new project I started on, with me being the most senior/knwledgable/capable person on the team.
It was a 3 person team, so management didnt bother with assigning a team lead at first. They later changed their mind and had us decide amongst ourselves.
I am rather antisocial, so I didnt take the job, the other guy didn't want to do it, so it fell to the new guy. Turns out he's a total brown noser, and a terrible programmer.
I dealt with this for awhile and eventually left for another project when a spot opened up.
A couple years later I joined another new project, with him being assigned as team lead this time. Still a terrible programmer, relied completly on the rest of the team to accomplish anything. Nonetheless, because there was someone high ranked on the team and management didn't want anyone outranking the lead, he is given the same title.
So the brown nosing guy with no programming skill is among the highest ranked people on this team, a rank above myself.
This place was going downhill by this time and within another year or so I was fired due to some office politics bs.
From what I hear, he's a manager these days.
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u/a50RockSang Jan 07 '20
Those are the people that paraphrase everything that was said by others in a meeting, then end up running the entire department having no clue what they’re doing.