Manager tries to take away employees phones, ends up losing $100k because of it.
A manager tried taking my phone away and it cost him $100k.
therandomuser84 writes:
I have worked in warehouses for years. A few years back, I was a contractor. Companies would hire us and bring in 20+ people for a few weeks when they desperately needed help. I was a shift lead, usually the highest-ranking person on site, and needed to talk to my boss regularly throughout the day on a company phone.
One warehouse had a policy where only managers could have their phones on the floor, and technically, I wasn't a manager. Everyone under me was instructed to leave them in their car or a locker. However, I needed mine.
One day, I was talking on the phone to my boss, and one of the managers for the company we were working for saw me and demanded I hand him my phone, but I refused. He then threatened to kick me out, so I rounded up all my workers and said we are taking a break.
We all went outside, and I told my boss what happened. He came to the site instantly and started talking to their boss, telling him I needed my phone on the floor. However, since I didn't have "manager" in my title, they refused.
So my boss decided that if I can't do my job, then nobody under me can do theirs either. At the end of the day, the other company was pissed because we didn't get any work done and decided to cancel our contract.
This cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars because it's written in the contract that they will have to pay to send us home before the original end date. We all still got paid and got 2 weeks off before having to go somewhere else.
Commenters shared similar stories:
soap_coals says:
I used to work for a company that went the opposite way. In the call centre, every agent had the title "resolution manager" everyone else was a lead or a supervisor.
So if you wanted to talk to a manager you were talking to the employee with the least power in the company.
Bigdavie says:
A few years ago, I was working the night shift as a back door employee for a large supermarket. During the night, we received deliveries of bread, milk, and newspapers from third-party suppliers. When I wasn't unloading deliveries, I was on the shop floor, restocking shelves.
Unfortunately, I couldn't hear the backdoor bell while on the shop floor. However, this wasn't an issue because each night, I would take a manager's internal mobile phone, which the delivery drivers would call as they arrived.
One night, we had a spot check by security. They asked me what I had in my pockets, and I replied that I had keys and a mobile phone. Security then informed me that I was not allowed to have a mobile phone or any keys except for the locker key. I tried to explain that it was a store phone and that the keys included the forklift key, but he wouldn't let me finish, interrupting with a firm "no exceptions."
As a result, I returned the phone to the office and placed the forklift key back in my locker. The bread and milk delivery drivers would only wait for 15 minutes before leaving, and they would come back at the end of their runs, which was well after the end of my shift.
In the morning, the store manager was quite upset because there was no bread, very little milk, and none of the bulk stock that was kept on the racks had been restocked. I explained that the security guard wouldn't listen to my explanation.
Interestingly, the security guard must have faced consequences for his actions, as he later attempted to get me fired over a minor mistake I made while shopping in the store. However, I immediately corrected the mistake when informed.
Thats_what_im_saiyan says:
In my current job, the new Project Manager (PM) attempted to implement a strict no-cell-phone policy for everyone. Now, I understand the rationale behind not allowing cell phones on the production floor, as they can be quite distracting.
However, I rely on my phone to communicate with the PM multiple times a day when I need answers to various work-related questions. Additionally, some of the machinery we use requires us to call vendors to check on parts, obtain drawings, or seek assistance with troubleshooting—tasks that necessitate having my phone readily available.
I can assure you that I tried to explain this dynamic to the PM, but my explanation was promptly dismissed. I had a feeling that something like the following incident would occur, but I didn't anticipate it happening so quickly. Consequently, I chose not to argue and simply returned to my work.
About an hour later, one of the machines experienced a breakdown, and we began trying to determine the cause. The PM came out seeking an update and asked, "Has anyone called Dude Guy at Company yet?" There was an awkward, silent pause of about 10 seconds before I replied, "...... with what?"
The PM's narrowed eyes conveyed all the acknowledgment I was going to receive, so I retrieved my phone from my pocket and resolved the issue. The no-cell-phone policy still exists, but it has yet to be strictly enforced.
Do you have a similar story about a dumb company policy? Let us know in the comments!