Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 28, 2024, 02:40:15 PM

Login with username, password and session length

"There's nothing we can do about it. That's life"

Started by Adrian Brezhnev, August 18, 2006, 03:23:26 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Adrian Brezhnev

One of the most aggravating things that I find in life is when someone says "there's nothing we can do about that... you're wasting your time".

I had a particularly frustrating situation with a manager at work this morning. On of my staff hadn't received her money, because Head Office had got her bank details wrong and paid someone else by mistake. It's "company policy" that they have to get the money back from whoever they paid it to, authorise it for payment to her, and "put it in the system", which takes another 2 weeks.

In the mean time, she's stuck without any wages due to no fault of her (or my) own- and "that's just the way it is". My protestations about it being unfair were met with that old line- "life's unfair".

I'm just one of those people that doesn't want to give up and will make a point of hassling the head of wages at Head Office, even though I've been assured that it would be completely pointless.

Is it just me, or are there really some things in life that you can't do anything about?

SweetRosalyn

Your friend doesn't happen to be called Jade, does she?

hoverdonkey

Quote from: "Adrian Brezhnev"Is it just me, or are there really some things in life that you can't do anything about?

I was going to say the weather, but we're having a damn good go at that.

Adrian Brezhnev

No, she's not Jade.

And yes, we can do something about the weather. There's the whole thing about carbon emissions of course, but apparently the Russians used to have ways of manipulating the weather around Red Square on days that important parades were happening by having planes fill the air with lots of tiny things, whatever they were.


Adrian Brezhnev

No, a suspension of very fine particles.

The whole thing could of course be a myth.

Neville Chamberlain

Quote from: "Adrian Brezhnev"My protestations about it being unfair were met with that old line- "life's unfair".

That really is the most despicable, arrogant, squirming little phrase known to man. Anyone who utters that fucking "life's unfair" bullshit needs to be placed on the sex offenders register or something.

They do, you know.

Little Hoover

Yes people only seem to use that phrase when trying to justify injustices that are caused, by their own, laziness/selfishness/corruption etc. It's never used when things beyond people's control happens.


petercussing

Your going to die.

Definately.

But thats just a threat.

edit: It's nigh impossible to change that, i mean, it just sounds threatening the way i wrote that.

Seen that happen quite a few times.  The accounts department are being lazy shits if it takes two weeks to rectify.  Tell the "manager" that they're in breach of contract by not paying this person on time, that might incentivise them to sort it out post haste.

Circusfire

Adrian you should demand a cheque for her TODAY.  If accounts fucked up that is their fault, not hers.

ffogems


Joy Nktonga

Yeah, what the screaming man said just up ^there^. As a manager I never stood for "my" employees missing out through no fault of their own. Head office/finace/personnel can always raise a cheque at the very least. Ignore your boss, go over their head and sort it out. If anyone gives you shit mention the contract issue and add that you're looking afte the company's assets - not-Jade said she'd consider quitting after that outrageous incompetence. Even if she didn't say it.

hoverdonkey

Who is Jade and who is Adrian? What's going on here?

SetToStun

Quote from: "Adrian Brezhnev"No, a suspension of very fine particles.

The whole thing could of course be a myth.

Not a myth at all - the process to which you refer is called cloud seeding. Sorry for the Wiki link rather than an actual explanation, but I had to look it up first anyway (I knew it was silver something they used, but couldn't remember precisely what), so it seemed daft not to link it...

SweetRosalyn

My friend Jade has just had the same thing happen to her - hence me asking if Adrian's friend was called Jade, in case by some twist of fate he happened to work in the same office as her.

Borboski

Coming from a jobsworth that is so fucking frustrating.  One has to weigh up the negative impact of alienating the office admin with patronising and indulging them.

FOR EXAMPLE - I don't have the receipt for a meal while at a conference but am allowed to claim.  I print out my internet banking details which show the restaurant, the time, the purchase.  Clearly, if the claim was ever called into question, this information allow us to contact the bank to confirm the purchase.

But no... I can't claim, this goes round and round the office until the budget holder comes in and ends up giving me more than I was after due to utter frustration at the jobsworthyness.

That's a fucking shit situation.

I hope there's some way of getting extra to pay off fines if it causes her to pay bills late or anything. Nevermind the fact that it could confine her to her home - there's the emotional damage as well.

terminallyrelaxed

In this case "theres nothing we can do about it" means "I can't be bothered to do anything about it", as they will have to phone up Payroll, explain the situation, get a checque/bankers draft/CHAPS transfer arranged. CHAPS is your best option as its same or next day.
Your member of staff has earned this money. Its hers. It doesn't belong to the company. There are no legal grounds for hanging on to the money until they can "get it through the system".
If it was me, I'd already have the money. You just keep going up until you find someone who isn't a middle-management jobsworth. Thats if the Payroll clerk won't just do it once you've spoken to them and explained, which they can and might well do. Your member of staff could easily take go home until they paid her, she might not even be able to afford to travel to work.

terminallyrelaxed

Also CHAPS costs £35, make sure the company pays this on top of the salary ammount.

TOCMFIC

Fucking sucks doesn't it. I've had various nonsense like that. I remember Amazon once charging my card multiple times, putting it over the limit and incurring the monstrous charges I get if I go over. When they refunded it, did they pay for the charges? Nope.

Then there was when student loans started taking money from my bank account without permission. Only noticed when our fucking rent cheque bounced! Did they pay it back? Nope.

Then there was a time with the bank where through their OWN mistake overdrew our bank account, saddling us with $30 in charges... Which of course they never refunded.

So yes, there are many things that you just have to bend over, lube up, and take it...

Adrian Brezhnev

Yes, insisting on the cheque with Head Office is what I'll be doing on Monday morning- or even better, CHAPS.

I have already asked not-Jade to make sure she gets proof of the inevitable overdraft charges, as I will be claiming for this too.

The fact is, this has seriously demoralised her, and she now can't afford to go out over the weekend, even to do food shopping.

There's absolutely no justification for the way local and national management have behaved.

terminallyrelaxed

None whatsoever. Its not her problem that they've paid someone else by mistake, thats their fuck-up and they can bear the cost until its returned, she still needs her money.

Milo

Absolutely unacceptable. Of course, they don't give a shit as her part of the deal has already been completed and she can hardly demand her labour back until she gets paid. In theory, I'd probably keep shouting at payroll for cash and grudgingly accept a cheque. In reality though I would probably just put up with it. Most jobs I've had involve some kind of probation period and I wouldn't dare cause trouble in case of an arbitary sacking.

It's hugely frustrating how powerless employees are/seem.

biniput

TOCMFIC


Don't try in life will you.  I mean how defeatist can you get.  Surely there IS somethingyou can do or is there no banking credability in Canada (I assume thats where youre from).

Adrian Brezhnev

Quote from: "Milo"In reality though I would probably just put up with it. Most jobs I've had involve some kind of probation period and I wouldn't dare cause trouble in case of an arbitary sacking.
If she were to get an arbitrary sacking, I'd resign. I don't care about my job enough to see that happen and put up with it! I'd rather go than be involved with the kind of organisation that treats its staff with so little care.

Quote from: "Milo"It's hugely frustrating how powerless employees are/seem.
It is, and I'm determined to do something about it.

Artemis

"That's Life" is a setinment we're supposed to resign ourselves to in the wake of everything corporate becomming automated. Yet while everything might be automated, it's not out of human control.... look at bank charges for instance. Anyone aware of the 'Money Saving Expert' website and particularly this page will realise that you can quite easily claim back bank charges you've incurred stretching back the last six years, yet if you phone the banks, they'll tell you that nothing can be done and, in not so many words, you're fucked. However, in many ways we are fucked and it makes a far more simple life in Fiji with far less of the corporate hassle dominating life in this country worth the sacrifice of ambition and material excess you'd have to make.

What's almost as frustrating as all that however, is the way in which "that's life" is something that is soooo resigned to by so many people on so many levels.

I will leave you with this.


Pinball


Adrian Brezhnev

Quote from: "This morning, I"Dear Gail,

I tried contacting you this morning about Caroline M, but was told by Gemma that you are not taking any calls today.

Caroline has been working with us for over three weeks. When she joined, she filled in her application form, which was faxed and mailed to Promar as normal. Despite this, she did not receive payment. After several calls to Promar, most of which were ignored, some excuse was made about her details not being clear on the form. I faxed Jeremy J a typed letter with a reminder of the bank details, but she still has not received a single payment in to her bank account.

On following up, I have been given a rather lame excuse that the fax machine at Avonmouth does not work properly, and so when the fax was sent on to Head Office, it did not come through clearly, and nobody followed up on it.

Now Andrew E has been told that a payment has been made in to a bank account, but that nobody know's which account, and that the money has to be retrieved, and then a new payment authorised that "will take two weeks to go through the system".

I am sure you will agree that this is unacceptable. I was told by management at Exeter that attempting to contact you would be a complete waste of time, and I was given the brush off with "that's company policy", "it often happens", and "there's nothing that can be done about it, that's life".

The situation is very simple. Caroline M has not been paid- it's not her fault and it's not my fault. I would be most grateful if you could arrange a CHAPS payment for weeks 1 and 2, or failing that, raise a cheque today. All she has received so far is a cheque for £120 (today) for week 3, that will now take several days to clear. As a result, she can not afford to buy any food or anything else that she needs.



I look forward to hearing from you.



Yours sincerely etc.
I'l let you know what she comes back with!