Experiencing Technical Difficulties

Admin Gal walked into the office yesterday morning to find that not a phone in the building worked, the software program that ran her business unit has been taken hostage by gremlins and Monday has officially crapped all over Tuesday.

Spending the entire day sending email after email as to why the telephone system has the attention span of a gnat, the internet is as loyal as a cat and various programs have become recalcitrant has become maddening.

Here is the plain and simple truth.  Admin Gal did not break any of the following:

1. The phone system.
2. The internet.
3. The software.

Yes, she has called all the appropriate agencies to fix the problems.  No, hovering will only annoy her.

If you ask Admin Gal again 'Is it fixed yet?', no court in the land will convict her for the wrath she will bring down upon your head.

Have a nice day.

Workplace Dance

How many times have we felt overwhelmed, over-worked and over-utilized by the people we are suppose to be supporting?  It's sad that we seem to be able to do their job and not get their pay.

An Administrative Professional is a special breed of employee.  We have a special ability to be able to see globally while managing the details that get the job done.  Unfortunately, there are co-workers that see this as an opportunity to pass on parts of their jobs to the Admin.  

This is where, we the Admins, must have clearly defined roles in our workplace.  I'm happy to help people out, but only my boss has the authority to add to my workload.

I'll be blunt, I'm not paid enough to do their job and mine.

Chemical Warfare

Over the weekend, an unfortunate accident happened to the coffee machine in the office kitchenette. The water supply became disconnected.  Someone came in Monday morning to a spectacular geyser of water.  Who knows how long it had been going on.

Frantic calls were made to get the water shut off and the carpet mopped up. The next day, the all important coffee maker was still off-line, repair people had been called in for its revival.

The building maintenance people were working on drying out the carpet. One bright soul decided, in the middle of the work day, to lay down a layer of the foulest smelling carpet cleaning chemical on the affected portion of the carpet.  Let's list the effects on the working populace:

• Headaches
• Nausea
• Sore Throats
• Irritability

When a complaint was filed, the response was to lay down a layer of aerosol fragrance to cover up the smell. 

Does anyone see a problem?  Anyone?

Admin Gal is currently on the building maintenance hit list. She is a witch of epic proportions for defending hers and others well-being.  She is waiting for the company facility rep to parlay with the building maintenance to fix the problem. 

Air filter masks have been purchased for the duration of the stand-off.