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IT worker charges 16 hours to 2 hour job when management instates new painstaking time-logging system: '[The] client refused to pay'

If you've ever worked a job that relies on timesheets, you know how this goes… Management (usually of the upper variety) wants to keep better track of how and where staff are spending their time, they pressure staff to charge out more hours to jobs, trying to keep them from posting “unproductive” uncharged hours. Suddenly, clients are getting charged more hours, and therefor paying more, for services implement The really interesting thing about management wanting to better track
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‘Fix your mess’: IT worker skillfully complies with micromanager, puts in 16 hours on a two-hour task, resulting in client's refusal to pay the hourly rate

‘Fix your mess’: IT worker skillfully complies with micromanager, puts in 16 hours on a two-hour task, resulting in client's refusal to pay the hourly rate

Large companies function like machines. The managers and employees are in charge of keeping the machine operating as efficiently and profitably as possible. But occasionally, people become so engrossed in their work that they lose sight of what needs to get done right now and what can wait. In the story below, a devoted IT worker has had enough of his supervisors' ridiculous expectations. Since the Original Poster (OP) has been employed by the same company for quite some time, he is familiar wi…
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'Do it or you're fired': School technician refuses to do science teacher's bidding after she demands he install 'wireless electricity', leaving her high and dry right before class

'Do it or you're fired': School technician refuses to do science teacher's bidding after she demands he install 'wireless electricity', leaving her high and dry right before class

The twenty-first century is notorious for its unstoppable and quickening pace of technological progress. That being said, some people may find it challenging to keep up with the rapid pace of development. What follows is a story about a tech support guy who is completely astonished. The Original Poster (OP) is employed at the primary school in his community. Therefore, part of his daily responsibilities is to assist teachers and ensure that their classes go off without a hitch. But OP wasn't re…
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'It’s satisfying watching the management scramble': IT department brought to a standstill when upper management decides they need to approve everything

There's this thing that happens every now and again in organizations where someone, usually high up on the food chain, decides that everything—every decision, order, expense, or report—needs to pass across their desk. They do so severely underestimating the gravitas of what they've just requested, with little comprehension of just how many things they're going to be handling, dependent on their pen stroke to proceed. Of course, maybe not right away, but at some point, things are going to begin…
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'You can't be serious...': Employee quits after PTO for wedding and honeymoon is denied by micromanager, leaving company high and dry

'You can't be serious...': Employee quits after PTO for wedding and honeymoon is denied by micromanager, leaving company high and dry

There are brutal individuals in the corporate world. They would stop at nothing to make sure they succeed, and they are willing to pay whatever price to do so—even if it means compromising their morals, closest friends, and most reliable colleagues. Having stated that how would you respond if the latest hire sought to seize control by instilling fear? Regardless of how absurd her demands were, would you submit to them in silence or would you resist and hold your ground? The story that follows,…
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'No exceptions!': IT Manager says "no overtime," has to drive to site in the middle of the night to fix emergency himself when team complies

If you're in a line of work that frequently deals with emergency break-fix scenarios where you're effectively permanently on call and might be expected (or required) to spring into action at a moment's notice at any time, having an expectation set that you'll never work overtime doesn't really work. Yet, that doesn't stop petty managers from setting petty rules for their frontline staff who are handling these types of situations. But, to be fair, it's not as if they really understand the indust…
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'You should have paid us on time': Boss sends IT employees to recover all their tech equipment from a company that failed to pay their dues

'You should have paid us on time': Boss sends IT employees to recover all their tech equipment from a company that failed to pay their dues

Handling payment between two companies is never easy business. Each company has its own regulations and policies regarding their money, it is often hard to manage even the most simple payment. Much like the companies in this Reddit story. The person who wrote this story (OP) is an employee in a tech company that supplies and installs tech equipment to other small companies. Their policy states that until the payment for the equipment is fully paid, the ownership of it remains in the hands of th…
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School Admin insists on name-based email address policy, teacher gets unfortunately inappropriate email upsetting parents: 'I went ahead and followed orders'

When I was in middle school our school had an unfortunate naming convention for our school usernames that consisted of the first five letters of your last name followed by the first four letters of your first name. Naturally, my username was thus “DicksBra” and you can imagine how much fun we, being a group of 11-year-old boys had with that. Any time my username was required it was gleefully announced or entered to the tune of stifled laughter
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‘Let’s round it up, then': Customer demands compensation after accidentally turning mobile data off, tech support laugh and offer him 2 cents

‘Let’s round it up, then': Customer demands compensation after accidentally turning mobile data off, tech support laugh and offer him 2 cents

People are always trying to get discounts. Wait, let me rephrase… Entitled people are always trying to get discounts. People who are bored, miserable, and like to play the underdog. Look, I don't see anything wrong with a discount, but I do see something wrong with the way folk tend to go about it. Instead of asking nicely, or speaking in a polite tone, they'll yell their heads off, be rude and condescending, and generally make the person on the other end feel awful. That's what this customer d…
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'I'm on to you': Employee discovers micromanager denied her a raise due to romantic interest in husband, employee settles scores with manager, getting them fired

'I'm on to you': Employee discovers micromanager denied her a raise due to romantic interest in husband, employee settles scores with manager, getting them fired

Any type of information is now readily available online. We can access any book, paper, article, or even blog we want with only one simple click of a button. Consequently, given how simple it is to access all of this information, one might assume that everyone—including you and me—would be more cautious about what we publish online. The following is the story of a frustrated tech firm customer support representative. The Original Poster (OP) describes a terrible boss from back in the early 2000…
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‘Dude, the printer is toast, just order a new one’: Tech employee reports printer that went up in smoke to IT contractor who strictly follows company script, refusing to order a new one

‘Dude, the printer is toast, just order a new one’: Tech employee reports printer that went up in smoke to IT contractor who strictly follows company script, refusing to order a new one

If a printer goes up in flames, you might want to order a new one, dude. These were the exact thoughts of u/mattthepianoman who posted his funny workplace story to r/talesfromtechsupport. See, a printer had smoke coming out of it, and it was his job as a tech employee to report the issue to an IT contractor. This IT contractor had a few brain cells missing, and instead of doing something about it, he first asked the original poster to take him step by step through the diagnostics. What do diagn…
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'You need to get me back online': Remote employee left with no internet at home after assuming company pays for it, then gets fired for blaming tech support

'You need to get me back online': Remote employee left with no internet at home after assuming company pays for it, then gets fired for blaming tech support

Instant karma is the best kind of karma. Nobody wants to see destiny play out slowly over time… We want karma now. One remote worker called up tech support on a Friday, just as the IT employee was about to head home. The worker was livid that their internet wasn't working, and they completely flipped out on the poor IT employee who hadn't done anything wrong. The worker explained that their internet wasn't working, and demanded IT fix it right that instant. After a couple of questions, the prob…
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‘She’s had this problem for over a year': Incompetent employee's manager insists IT messed up after finding out she wasn't doing her job following her promotion

‘She’s had this problem for over a year': Incompetent employee's manager insists IT messed up after finding out she wasn't doing her job following her promotion

Why does IT always get blamed? Employees always expect them to read minds, to predict the future… But they're humans with a lot on their plate, and they don't bow to snobby managers from various departments who are trying to cover for their incompetent employees. One such employee approached OP (who was working in IT) after she failed to receive emails. OP immediately began troubleshooting and found the problem relatively quickly. The issue was a rule that she had set up, and OP pointed her to…
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‘Take your time then’: Senior attorney refuses to give laptop to IT contractor despite security concerns, costing law firm thousands

‘Take your time then’: Senior attorney refuses to give laptop to IT contractor despite security concerns, costing law firm thousands

One IT contractor got paid thousands after a senior attorney stubbornly refused to give up his laptop for a new system installation. The law firm had hired OP to install new systems on 800 field laptops after a major data breach, and OP admitted it was a complex logistical operation that required a lot of time… and work. After fixing all the laptops, OP had one laptop left to refurbish. The senior attorney was taking his sweet time and driving OP crazy, which eventually led to inevitable curios…
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'She wanted me gone but got fired instead': IT employee refuses to fix demanding coworker's computer so she turns to upper management to get him fired

'She wanted me gone but got fired instead': IT employee refuses to fix demanding coworker's computer so she turns to upper management to get him fired

IT people really have it hard out there. It is a genuine surprise how they manage to keep a civil conversation with people while having to fix their constant silly tech problems they could have fixed themselves in less them two minutes. Honestly, the term ‘Technophobic' has lost all meaning when you hear what people need help with. No ma'am, you are not technophobic, you are simply too lazy to learn. And why would you learn if all you have to do to fix your tiny problem is to call the IT person…
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'This was how they thanked me': IT employee saves company from fines amounting to millions, they reward him with a $20 voucher

'This was how they thanked me': IT employee saves company from fines amounting to millions, they reward him with a $20 voucher

One IT employee resolved a huge financial issue for their company that left unchecked, would have resulted in fines amounting to millions. You would think that the employee would get rewarded, but remember, this is corporate we're talking about… Nobody ever gets rewarded for being a good worker. If anything, it's quite the opposite. Continue being a good little bolt in the machine, and you'll get some pizza. Gee, thanks, boss. People often blabber on about how 'Nobody wants to work these days',…
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