RW 16

It never ends.

R made a mistake. Surprise. People do make mistakes. The polite thing to do is say "Oops! let me fix that." When New Boss approached R about her mistake, the following yells were heard all over the office:

THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! I DID NOT MAKE A MISTAKE! THE COMPUTER MUST BE BROKEN OR YOU MUST BE WRONG BECAUSE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO MAKE A MISTAKE!

and so on.
When NB came back to me to (needlessly) ask if I'd heard that, I showed her the proof that was still on my computer screen that R had indeed made a mistake. NB went back to R with this proof. A minute later, R slams something down on NB's desk and yells some more:

THERE! IT'S FINISHED! I FIXED THE MISTAKE! THAT'S WHAT YOU WANTED RIGHT? GODDAMMIT!

Later...
She slams something on my desk. I ask her to please put it in the box where it goes. She throws it in there. The following conversation takes place:

Can you please not throw things? For one reason, I don't want things coming out of the envelope.
There's nothing in that envelope.
Regardless. I know you have a sign over in your area that says not to throw things. It's only fair for you to respect those wishes of others. (And yes, I am extremely condescending when I'm annoyed.)

She throws the thing again. "YOU KNOW WHAT DESIREE?" she checks herself. "HAVE A NICE DAY." Now that last part was not said in a nice tone, though I realize she wanted to say something much worse. I wanted her to as well, because I know that NB is right next to me AND I would go straight to Office Manager and President. One of us would be walking out that door never to return, and R knows it would be her.

As it is, I don't need to say anything because NB, OM, and P have meetings to discuss R. Since NB's desk is right next to mine, she's automatically a witness to anything R says to me.

Now I realize that R very likely has mental problems. If the company wants to keep her employed, they should get her counseling or something. However, yelling fits aside, she is still a horrible worker and should be fired. Yelling at your boss is not cool, yet she gets away with it. I sent an email to NB saying "I've just about had it with R. Nobody deserves to be spoken to the way she speaks to all of us, especially you and I." We'll see what comes of that.

RW 15

I've come to the conclusion that R is not going to ever be fired, even though she screws everything up. Which is why I'm looking for a new job to leave as soon as possible. (If I leave before July without a new job, I won't have rent money.)

Yesterday was the first of the month. When I create invoices for customers, today's date is the default. This is fine for all times except the beginning of the month, when some jobs may still be from last month and I need to ensure they are billed for the correct month. When I got the jobs to bill for yesterday, I went up to R and asked her "are these for April or May, because you have them listed as May and I have a feeling these are yesterday's" She assured me they were for May. So I did them for May.

When I come in this morning, there is a note from the Company President saying that they should all be in April. Meaning, I have to re-do hundreds of invoices because R lied to me. I sent an email to President and Office Manager*, but the point is I still have to re-do a sizable portion of yesterday's work, which I did try to avoid doing wrong in the first place.

For the record, I updated my resume yesterday and have already sent it out twice, with more to follow. If it wasn't for R, I could have done the polite thing (that I was going to do) and give 6 weeks notice so they can hire my replacement and I could train her (for some reason, I'm sure it would be a woman). But, because of R, I may not even give the polite 2 weeks notice. And I'll tell them why, too. I just need to be sure I can pay my rent this month and next, and I am gone.




*As a response, I got "sorry" so I thought that they were not gonna go anything about R and that is was my fault. But later, I heard President asking R why she told me that.

RW 14

I thought I could hold til tomorrow, but nope. I need to vent, or someone (and we all know who) will die.

New Boss and Office Manager have basically told me to be a tattle; anything R does wrong, give to them. Which I have no problem doing. There are "meetings" going on about the "problem," as told to me in secret by New Boss.

Gee, what can R do that infuriates me? How about EVERYTHING!

A little background:
We have 3 shopping-cart-type things to wheel the jobs around for billing. We have 3 carts: one for 1st draft billing, 1 for final draft, and 1 extra.

Tough to follow isn't it?

Today R comes looking for a cart. I have 2, one of 1st draft and 1 of final draft, like I should. She wants me to combine them so she can have a cart.
No, because they are different things and combining them would not make life easier. Where is the extra cart?
It's full of filing.
Then do the filing.
No.
Then don't do this stuff until you have a cart.
No, they don't want me to have anything on my desk. (Is that because it gets lost?)
Then you should have kept the cart you had until you were done with it.
They don't want me to do that either.
Well don't put them over here because there's nowhere for them, and I can't do anything until there is a free cart.

She ignores me and begins piling them onto a cabinet where they absolutely do not go, because if they fall behind the cabinet they are lost forever. She ignores me again when I tell her this. I go complain to New Boss, who has heard the entire conversation. New Boss has the same conversation. R continues putting these things where they will get lost, but now she rubber bands every 2 together. They are still small enough to fall behind, only now 2 will get lost instead of one. Super.

She finally gets an empty cart and brings it over. "Do you have type 1?" she asks me.
What are you talking about?
I'm looking for these. (She lifts up and "shows me" the stuff she had left here earlier that I had told her not to leave.)
Well I haven't touched them, so whatever you put there is still there.
JESUS CHRIST! (She slams everything in the cart and storms off.)

Of course, New Boss heard all of this too because she sits right next to me.

I can't take much more of R, and New Boss knows this. I may be quitting my job earlier than expected....or going to jail for murder.

RW lucky # 13

No... not that lucky.

Do you know that song "Flight of the Bumblebee?" Now imagine something that sounds like that, but more annoying and beepy and videogamey. Now picture hearing that annoying thing extremely loudly about 10 times a day. That's R's cell phone. Now guess how I know that.

After the first few times, people were starting to grumble about how the receptionist should not be spending her day on her cell phone, and also about how that ringtone is the most annoying thing anyone's ever heard in their entire life. After about the tenth time, I couldn't stand it anymore and I yelled across the office (something I never do, but I was that insane) for her to put her phone on vibrate or something.

Amazingly, I didn't hear it for the rest of the day. However, I think it was just coincidence that she didn't get any more calls. I don't think my yelling had any bearing on the case, though it did make me feel better.

So today, still cell-phone free, I go to get the mail.* When I come back, R tells me that another coworker, Sally, yelled at her for opening mail that was addressed to her. At first I am shocked that Sally would yell at R, because Sally is very meek.
"Sally yelled at you?"
"Well, she didn't yell. But she told me not to do it."
"Next time tell her I did it. And tell her that I did it not to read her mail but to get the checks that are in there 95% of the time, so I can do my job."
"She doesn't want her personal mail being read."
"She shouldn't be getting personal mail at the office anyway. But I don't read her mail, I take out the checks and move on. I take full credit for my actions. "

Lo and behold, there is an envelope addressed to Sally. I can see the check through the envelope. Then it turns out there is a question about it, so I go to Sally.

"Oh that silly. He was supposed to put my name on it so when it came in, I could give you the job number for it."
"It was addressed to you, but I took it because I saw the check." (See how I admitted it?)
"Oh that's no problem. That's what you're supposed to do. That's your job."

So wait - Sally is not only ok with me opening her mail, but expects it? That's not the way R put it....
R is not only a bitch to everyone, now she is trying to turn us against each other. She doesn't know that it won't work because we have all worked together for a lot longer than she has and know things like the fact that Sally doesn't yell. Plus, we don't hate each other. We hate her.




* I had asked New Boss to tell R that I am going back to getting the mail because

a) I know which articles of mail go to which people
b) nobody has to cover me on the phones
c) I don't take 30 minutes to go down 2 floors and come back

R didn't listen to New Boss (because she's new, so she obviously has no power. Except for that she's still the boss!) So New Boss went to Office Manager. Now, for some reason, R doesn't get the mail anymore...

RW volume 12

Just an update.

It's Tuesday after New Boss has taken over, and R is still here. R hasn't done anything to piss me off yet. Well, nothing out of the ordinary, anyway. But I'm counting my hopes that soon she'll be gone.

A while back she asked me to make her some jewelry. Due to her past behavior, (she's the pin-person) I told her I needed a deposit. She said no problem. Then I went to CA. When I came back, she asked how her jewelry was coming along. I told her that
1) I had just gotten back from a trip and hadn't made anything for anyone.
2) She never gave me a deposit, so I never started anything.

She said "oh, right, you need a deposit. Well that's just good business sense. Hang on, I'll go get it."
She never came back, which is fine with me. That was last week. Yesterday she once again asked me how her stuff was coming, and I once again told her I needed a deposit. But now I'm reluctant to start anything (provided she ever gives me any money for it) because my hopes are up so high that she will be gone soon and I'll never see her again.

Not to mention the fact that while I was at lunch she took something off of my desk (which I was going to give to her anyway because she hadn't done her job with it in the first place) and threw my note to myself crumpled up in my inbox. Here's why I was mad.

1) How dare she take things off my desk? I wasn't ready to give it to her yet - that's why I hadn't.
2) That wasn't a note to her or about her or having anything to do with her. It was my reminder for when I came back to lunch.
3) My inbox is clearly not a trash can. I do have a trash can, and it's not my inbox.

I will add that before Old Boss left, he and New Boss were speaking in hushed voices about R, and, though I was straining, I couldn't make out but a little bit. "They haven't called back yet." (the temp agency? please?) and "It's not your fault, it's just bad timing." (that we need a new receptionist?)

So I'm holding on to those overheard fragments, waiting.

RW volume 11

Today is Good Friday. It is a religious holiday. You still have to come to work, unless you are very religious and take advantage of the law that requires your workplace to give you religious holidays off (as long as you don’t get your religions mixed – for example, you probably can’t have Passover and Good Friday off). There are a few people in my office who have made arrangements far in advance to have today off. No problem.

Yesterday (Good Thursday?) R was throwing a fit about how Good Friday is a "national" holiday and she’s never worked anywhere that made people come to work on that day. She proclaimed that she wasn't coming in. Multiple people corrected her in saying that it’s not a national holiday, and she has to come in. She ignored everyone, including Old Boss, who said something to the effect of “Welcome to a place that doesn’t give Good Friday off, and if you don’t come in Friday then don’t bother coming in Monday” (and not in a good, 4-day weekend kind of way).

Her response to Old Boss was the same it has been to anything he’s said all week: I’M NOT TALKING TO YOU! GET OUT OF MY DAMN WAY!

Today is Old Boss’ last day. That means, yes, all week he has still been her boss. And she has been “speaking” to him in this manner. I’ve even heard him say “You’re going to regret your attitude” which leads me to believe that R will finally learn the consequences for yelling and cursing at not only her coworkers, but her boss.

This brings me not-so-secret joy, and we are all continuing to hope for New Boss…..

ps - much to my dismay, R is here today. (It rhymes so it must be true.)

RW volume 10

I really hope I am nearing the end of this series. On Monday, New Boss takes over for real and we all pray that she will do what needs to be done (i.e. firing R).

Old Boss has had it. R keeps screwing things up because she's not paying attention. How hard is it to look at things? Does the invoice match the envelope you're putting it into? Is something not on the list because it's a completely different customer? All these questions and more could be answered if R would just look at what she's doing. But no. Problems arise and Boss and I have to spend time fixing them. R's defense? "I've never done it that way before!" No shit, sherlock. That's why boss is pissed. You've always been wrong.

Not to mention the other day when she went to check the mail and came back with 1 check and 1 bill. "That's it." Boss and I told her that that can't be it. No junk mail? No magazines or catalogs? I get more than 2 pieces of mail every day at my house. The company always gets a giant stack. Is it possible you just missed these when you got the mail yesterday? Our mailboxes are on the top shelf so it's very hard to reach and impossible to see. I've done this myself.
"NO WAY" she yelled. I calmly told her that I would go check the mail again later. She got all defensive like I was blaming her for the entire world's problems.

Then when I did go check, secretly praying that there would be more mail so I could shove it down R's throat, she threw a fit about how she already checked the mail and how dare I question her. What do you know? The real mail was there - 2 boxes full. I showed Boss and he cussed at R not-so-under his breath.

New Boss has been around for all of this, not to mention when R totally yelled at both of us for some stupid thing. So NB's first act should definitely be to replace R. She's seen the incompetence, the rudeness, and has not seen any reason to keep her.

So if we all believe real hard, wishes may come true.

RW volume 9

Of course I had to have a war on the last day of work before my vacation. Le Sigh....

I'm training New Boss this whole week. (Remember how I have not posted any blogs or read barely any?) T-R-A-I-N-I-N-G. This means I am teaching her how to do things, the way I do them. R comes stomping over and demands that New Boss change the way she does something. NB and I are confused. What are you talking about? R tries in vain to explain what we are doing "wrong" but since she has no idea what she's talking about and she's already inarticulate, we are stumped for a long time.

Eventually we figure out that when we are printing invoices, she wants us to pile all the jobs together, then all the rough draft invoices, then all the final invoices. The way we were doing it was matching them in piles of job-rough draft- final. Since New Boss is learning, this is easier for her, and it helps both of us ensure that nothing gets lost. But R throws a fit about how it takes longer for her this way. Because she has soooo much else to do.

Just now, R yelled about "conforming to everyone else's needs." Hello! You're a receptionist! I do more work than you. Boss does more work than you. If either of us gets slowed up, everyone gets slowed up. She is so lucky I didn't have something sharp in my hand. Luckily, New Boss AND Old Boss heard that exchange.

I told NB to keep doing it this way and R will just have to get used to it. Not to mention that NB is R's boss and she should not be talking to her that way, nor making demands of her.

I know the blogging community is with me when I say that I hope NB fires incompetent R when she comes into full power.

RW volume 8

Apparently R is allowed to bring her wife to work. So her wife sits there for several hours, distracting R from the little work she does, and walking around like she owns the place. She uses the employee bathroom. Sure, because she's an employee. Oh wait, no she's not.

I already don't like this woman because
1. she's married to R
2. she gives me dirty looks but has never said a word to me
3. She told R that my jewelry "looks like something a little kid made" and not in a good way

So who the hell is this person and why is she here? I didn't know we could bring guests.

Who's coming to work with me?

RW volume 7

Just a quickie today, but just as infuriating...

Yesterday was a day of peace because R was gone. Turns out she had been sent to a day-long "receptionist training session." That's a step in the right direction, Mr. Boss, but shouldn't you have sent her before she started working as a receptionist as opposed to after working here for several months?

Then she did come in at 2pm. Somehow it came up that I will be in CA for a wedding soon.* What does she say to me? "Here's how you get rid of those zits..."

Excuse me? Bitch! I admit I don't have perfect blemish-free skin, but I'm no teenager in a fast food joint. Besides the fact that I have Super Sensitive Skin, I have no real "zits" per se. Even if I did, that's not the kind of thing you say to someone.

des smash.



*The official story for work is that this trip is for the actual wedding, not just to help plan it. That assured that I would get the time off.

RW installment 6

That's right kiddos.... it's time for another volume of your favorite office piss off!

I've already mentioned how R thinks she is the boss' mom. Now she's my mom too, apparently.

I didn't have a normal lunch because I was out late and didn't feel like making lunch when I got home. I had some almonds and some fruit and various little things, but no mac & cheese, the main dish. So after the Accounting Department finished with this all-day "training" session (which is a whole 'nuther rant) I asked R to call up this local place and order me a bagel with veggie cream cheese.

"A bagel? That's is? No wonder you're so skinny! You need to eat more."

I explained to her that I do have other food, and I'm no stick figure, and I can eat whatever the hell I want, so leave me alone, and that the bagel is actually a vegetable sandwich and is quite filling. Then she argued that they won't deliver just a bagel, even though they have done it multiple times. I went back to my desk to begin snacking, since I hadn't been able to in the meeting and my stomach was already eating itself. I went back up to R with my money, and she said "They won't deliver it. They don't have any." It was most obviously a lie, but by then I had passed out 10 times from hunger and didn't care.

In order to further delay my eating, R insisted on telling me how she is the fattest person in her family, that everyone else is as skinny as me. Many things came to mind: She's not in shape, but she's not what I would call fat. I am in a little bit better shape, but I wouldn't call myself "super skinny" either (I prefer the term "curvy"). And I used my small bones excuse. You know how some people blame their huskiness on big bones? I blame things like my tiny girl arms on small bones - and to prove it, I've broken more bones than I can name because they are fragile. She argued with me that my bones have nothing to do with it, and that I'm super skinny, and I have great metabolism, and I'm so lucky, and she's so fat. I just walked away because I was hungry, she was insulting me and looking for compliments. Not to mention that she wa

RW volume 5

I jinxed it when I said I hadn't been mad lately...

There are 2 people in the accounting department. Payables and Receivables. When our customer calls and wants to pay their bill, it goes to Receivables. (Get it? We are receiving money.) When they are saying that we owe them money, it goes to Payables, because we are paying them. See how this works? R clearly does not.

I am Payables. In short, this means I do not talk to customers. So that probably means R should forward all the calls to me, and not to the correct person, right? Luckily, the receivables person understands that R is a moron so she doesn't think I am trying to pawn all my work onto her when I forward the calls to her, where they should go.

It's still a waste of time, and useless to try and explain it.

RW volume 4

I haven't done of these in a while, not because I haven't been mad, but because it's the same old crap. But here is a conversation I had at 9:30 am, 1 hour after I got to work.

R: Oh! I didn't see you come in this morning.
me: Because you weren't at your desk.
R: Story of my life.

WTF does that mean? That you're never at your desk? We know that!

Also, R has been acting like she is the Boss' mom or something. She tells him when to go to lunch. She makes sure he has enough to eat. She tries to force more food onto him. She chastises him for eating a small amount.

"Did you go to lunch yet? It's time to go to lunch!"
"Is that all you're eating?"
"I have some leftover (insert yucky food here). Do you want some? Here just take it. You need to eat this!"

And it's not like she's an old Jewish or Italian woman - she's just being a pest. And there's no reason for it. The boss is in fine health and I'm sure he eats whatever he wants. Lucky for her, she knows better than to tell me when and what to eat.

Ug.

RW, installment 3

I overheard this conversation earlier:

Coworker A: Where is R? Is she still the receptionist?
Boss: Yes she is. Why do you ask?
A: She’s not at her desk. She’s not answering the phones.
Boss: That’s because she’s filing.
A: No she hasn’t gone near the filing all day. And she’s never at her desk. We have a lot of orders to enter and it’s real hard for us all to do that when we have to keep stopping to answer the phone. And if we don’t enter the orders then nobody gets paid.
Boss: Well she has a lot of work to do.
A: Isn’t her job to answer the phone? Isn’t that why we have a receptionist? (President of the company) will get mad if I’m not doing my job, and when he does, I’ll tell him that it’s because I’m doing R’s job too!
Boss: Ok, I’ll talk to her.
A: It’s just annoying!

** Let me explain something here. A has been with the company since its inception. She has seniority. She and President are friends because they’ve worked together for so long (not the other way around). In short, she is important. Normally she is very complacent, so when she complains about something, you’d damn well better listen.

Later, I ask R if she has something I need on her desk. Her response:

R: No I don’t have it. I have to go get it from the shop, but I can’t because Boss told me to stay at my desk all day. I guess “they” were complaining about me because (in a mocking voice) “it’s too hard for them to answer all the little phones.”
Me: Well, the order entry people and the CSRs have a lot of work to do that they can’t do while on the phone.
R: So do I! (points to the to-be-filed pile.)

At that point I just walked away because I don’t want to have an office screaming match right now. But later I mentioned to A that I agreed with her, even though I don’t answer the phone myself. And it is sooo good to know that someone finally stood up to Boss about the non-working of the receptionist. (Seniority is key here.)

receptionist wars 2

See? I told you I would have more...

Today the boss had to leave for a few hours. As soon as he stepped out the door, R got on her cellphone and started yakking away. Then she disappeared for the remainder of the time. She knew the approximate time Boss was returning, so she made it back in time. However, there was nobody at the front desk during this time. Nobody answering the phones. Nobody filing. Nobody greeting customers (or delivery guys) when they came in.

But it would be too hard to fire her. Then we'd have to replace her, Heaven forfend. I think I'm going to start pulling crap like that too. If R doesn't get fired, neither will I.

receptionist wars

I complain about the receptionist at work. I can't stand her. She doesn't do her job and she argues with everyone over everything (including the boss). Not only do I want her fired, I want her fired out of a cannon into the sun.

To relieve some of this irritation, I have decided to let it all out into the blog world. No more bottling it in for poor Craig to hear about when I get home. Now all of you get to hear about it. I'm not even going to post it on True Employee Confessions, because I don't want it to be anonymous (or another mouse). I don't care who knows how miserable my workdays are because of this woman.

Some examples of how this woman inspires violence:

r: Your voice is getting better! Have you been drinking a lot of tea?
des: Yes, today I've 8 cups so far.
r: Oh. I hate tea.
(Then why bring it up?)

des: Brrr! I'm going to start wearing my coat when I go get the mail.
r: Don't you have a sweater?
des: This is a sweater. (a thick knit turtleneck I can only wear on the coldest days)
r: No, that's a blouse.
des: No, it's a sweater. It's just that it's 10 degrees outside, so I need a coat too.

des: Oh, next time can you do that this way (the correct way)?
r: This is the way I was taught to do it, and the way I've always done it.
des: That's not true, because I've worked here much longer than you and it was never done this way until you came. Hence, you are doing it wrong.

And so on.

Thus begins my featured installements on the Receptionist Wars, to be continued whenever I feel the need to vent.

Stay tuned....