Is it me? | Imamother

twinkltoes

Sun, Sep 02 2007, 7:18 am

I'm venting.....

I'm the office manager in a 5-year-old start-up company - approx. 25 employees.

I feel I have been pushed into serving as the purchasing department and shipping department for the company and in my opinion, that is not part of my job description but I'm doing it anyway although I hate it and I'm not good at it.

So this morning I had three international shipments of the company's product to ship out by FedEx. Each shipment takes about an hour from start to finish. There is a LOT of paperwork to print out, multiple sets of each, labels of various kinds and quantities, etc. It is extremely tedious work and requires huge amounts of concentration in order to not get the paperwork mixed up and to make sure that the various parties involved get the copies that they need. Printing the labels is the worst part.

So.

A woman from the lab brought us 5 samples of our product to send out and the name of the product was written on each with batch numbers and weight. Fine. I set the wheels in motion, get everything labeled, all paperwork printed out and signed and was just about to close the box when 2 others from the lab turn up to inform me that I was given the wrong name of the material in the sample!!!!!!! Which means that EVERYTHING - paperwork and labels and all have to be redone! Do you have any idea how overwhelming that is? This is by NO means the first time a screw up like this has happened and I'm FED UP with it. I so totally lost it. I was yelling and I went to the intermediate boss and told him those in the lab have to get their act together and coordinate with each other because as it is now, none of them in the lab seem to know what the other one is doing, and that if X is the only one with the correct information then I have to work exclusively with X and I don't want to SEE Y and Z! It is SO FRUSTRATING to find out I have just spent the last hour working and being so careful for nothing! Like I said, this is not the first time it's happened. I don't mind doing it once but TWICE is just the limit!

You could say: OK. Everyone's human. Everyone makes mistakes.
Or you could say: My time is precious, I have other things to do besides sit here and re-do something because someone else keeps screwing up.

I just feel that as, IMO, all of this is not part of my job title, it's really unfair of them to be so careless and not to cross-check themselves in the lab. When I'm brought samples to ship out, I don't want to have to spend time checking and double checking to make sure the 7 people involved got it right!

I don't know if I'm being too harsh and unreasonable. Part of me feels that I did fly off the handle but it is just so super irriating.

Another thing, there is a chance that I might be pregnant - not sure yet - so those hormones could very well be coming into play right now and magnifying everything.

What do you think?

hila

Sun, Sep 02 2007, 7:47 am

I think part of it may be hormonal.

But I have found that it does not usually help to scream and shout at bosses. You end up sounding like a shrew and lose any respect he/she may have for you.

I find using a firm convincing tone, and providing a solution to my problem, while letting them know that I cannot carry on with the present suituation usually has a better effect.

And maybe if you do have to do more of this packaging - call to teh lab and check the names and labels before you invest your time.
Maybe ask teh computer wizards if they can write a little program to get those forms filled out by some program/macro etc - rather than wasting your time. Or make sure they fill in something and insist on double checking by email before you start.

usually writing something makes the writer take more care before he commits to the "send" button.

And if you want to change what you do - speak calmly and suggest someone else who CAN do this shipping stuff.

Anyway {{{{{{{{{ hugs }}}}}}}}

twinkltoes

Sun, Sep 02 2007, 8:00 am

I just feel SO tired and overwhelmed every time it happens. And today I just lost it.

Part of the irritation comes from the fact that when it became clear that I would be expected to wear the "shipping department hat", I quick smart made a checklist itemizing down to the last pips, what info I needed in order to send out a shipment and I distributed it to everyone involved in the process. Only ONE out of the seven people uses it and when he does, it's great and works PERFECTLY. I never have to pick up the phone to ask anyone anything. The others can't be bothered and I don't know why it's so difficult for them. I provided them with a tool to streamline the process and they are refusing to implement. Makes me SO MAD! There is NO reason it should have to be so tedious and complicated and me having to run around like a chicken without a head to get answers.

amother

Wed, Sep 19 2007, 1:16 am

I once had a boss who would give me a project to do - which I'd sit right down and do promptly - and then just as I was finishing up, she would come to my desk and say, "You know, I was thinking... let's do it like this instead... and use this information...." etc. So I'd end up doing the project twice.

I learned to not be so prompt! I gave her "thinking time" and then did the work. That little cushion of time spared me a lot of headaches!

But when I did need to redo work, I just did it with a smile and reminded myself that I was getting paid to do it.

I now have a client (graphic design) who often sends me an urgent plea for a flyer or whatever. I used to do the work right away... and then as often as not, he would come to me with new information and changes that I wish I had known before I started.... So again, I have learned to wait before diving in, even when it's "urgent." If I do have to do something twice, he pays me more, because I have an hourly rate.

Which leads me to my point. When you have to redo work, it's costing the company money that they would MUCH rather be spending on more important things. The bottom line is really what they (those in charge) care about. So... you have this nifty little form that saves you headaches and time AND BY THE WAY also saves the company money by preventing you from wasting your time. I would put something to this effect in a memo to the BOSS and have him/her insist that the guys in the lab follow your protocol and use the form. It will be more effective coming from the top, I would guess, and the boss will have a vested interest in making the whole process more efficient once you point out to him/her that when you have to waste your time, you are wasting the company's money!

Hatzlacha.