I was called back from vacation...for an empty soda bottle

[Anonymous]

And in the end the original project is a waste of tax money,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. First of all, the resignation letter was a stunt -- a bargaining position. I work because I enjoy the work...I could easily retire early (I am in my mid 50's, own my house, have made some good investments (thanks Apple).

I know have the whole story (I think). Our contract requires us to keep the space clean. Gov't PM told Company PM that our cubicles did not pass safety inspection -- and gave a laundry list. Said they had to be addressed by Friday. (Pre-inspection walk through was on Tues; final inspection no earlier than friday).

Company PM passed the issues to the owners of the cubicles with a message urgent problem at work; you are required back ASAP. There are three or four scenarios where that can (and has) happened. We can not talk about those details remotely. He could have told me that my cubicle needed to be cleaned....I would have arranged for one of my colleagues to take care of it.

Yesterday afternoon, the customer called me to apologize. He said if he knew I would be called back, he would have done it himself.

My line management is horrified. It went up to a senior VP, who called me in, apologized, and gave me a spot bonus to cover my expenses (actually, covered about 5x my expenses). And, I was told to charge my labor for my vacation (all week) to unbillable on the project, meaning it comes out of PM's profit and loss.

PM is currently in hot water because he intentionally misled me to get me back -- a violation of the company ethics policy. I spent two hours yesterday with a company lawyer to understand what happened. They will not tell me what happens to the PM, as it is a personnel issue. However, I have been assured that I will no longer work for him -- he is being replaced on the project. I know this is his only project.

Oh, and my manger ripped up my resignation letter.

I was commended for being dedicated enough to come back early. Officially, that was the basis for the spot bonus.

This all sounds like a crazy fantasy! I have to admit that I'm a little confused about all the players and who is responsible here (gov't or client), but maybe that's because I don't work for the gov't or a contractor. Clearly I should think about switching over if they are giving spot bonuses when someone else messes up (god, in my org, it's usually a giant blame game mess when something like this happens, and even the innocent party gets pulled into the muck)! I'm in IT...what's your specialty, OP? Do you need a bright young lady on your team?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. First of all, the resignation letter was a stunt -- a bargaining position. I work because I enjoy the work...I could easily retire early (I am in my mid 50's, own my house, have made some good investments (thanks Apple).

I know have the whole story (I think). Our contract requires us to keep the space clean. Gov't PM told Company PM that our cubicles did not pass safety inspection -- and gave a laundry list. Said they had to be addressed by Friday. (Pre-inspection walk through was on Tues; final inspection no earlier than friday).

Company PM passed the issues to the owners of the cubicles with a message urgent problem at work; you are required back ASAP. There are three or four scenarios where that can (and has) happened. We can not talk about those details remotely. He could have told me that my cubicle needed to be cleaned....I would have arranged for one of my colleagues to take care of it.

Yesterday afternoon, the customer called me to apologize. He said if he knew I would be called back, he would have done it himself.

My line management is horrified. It went up to a senior VP, who called me in, apologized, and gave me a spot bonus to cover my expenses (actually, covered about 5x my expenses). And, I was told to charge my labor for my vacation (all week) to unbillable on the project, meaning it comes out of PM's profit and loss.

PM is currently in hot water because he intentionally misled me to get me back -- a violation of the company ethics policy. I spent two hours yesterday with a company lawyer to understand what happened. They will not tell me what happens to the PM, as it is a personnel issue. However, I have been assured that I will no longer work for him -- he is being replaced on the project. I know this is his only project.

Oh, and my manger ripped up my resignation letter.

I was commended for being dedicated enough to come back early. Officially, that was the basis for the spot bonus.

This all sounds like a crazy fantasy! I have to admit that I'm a little confused about all the players and who is responsible here (gov't or client), but maybe that's because I don't work for the gov't or a contractor. Clearly I should think about switching over if they are giving spot bonuses when someone else messes up (god, in my org, it's usually a giant blame game mess when something like this happens, and even the innocent party gets pulled into the muck)! I'm in IT...what's your specialty, OP? Do you need a bright young lady on your team?

OP here. The thing is when you work on things that can not be discussed in the open, you have to assume that when you get called back, it is legit -- something happened that needs me, and they can not tell me what on my corporate email or cell phone. (see what Hillary Clinton is in trouble for right now). In my case, the company needs me more than I need them. Without me, they lose work -- and they will be unable to find a replacement.

[Anonymous]

That is completely insane. I've never heard something so patently ridiculous in my life. Making someone fly 3000 miles to clean up an empty soda bottle? Rather than spend 5 seconds to bend down and dump it in the bin yourself? I can't even begin to comprehend the thought process.

On the upside, OP, you now have the story to beat all other stories at family gatherings when people start bitching at work. You should get years of mileage out of this one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And in the end the original project is a waste of tax money,

All of this post is a waste of money.

[Anonymous]

This worked out quite well for you OP. All in all it actually was kind of a good thing, although I would have bene absolutely beside myself with rage when it first happened.

And you managed to rid yourself of an incompetent manager.

Nice to see this have a happy ending.

[Anonymous]

Who knows - OP could work at the white house, where possibly a small plastic container unattended under a desk could be a threat to safety.

But still, calling you back from your vacation was vengeful and reactive - they should have put it in the trash for you, and met with you upon your return, hence PM is in deep dookie possibly.

I hope you buy something wonderful for yourself with your bonus money - possibly a weekend close-in getaway with the family - how about 3 days in Bermuda? or Bethany? A day at the spa (his/her) followed by Ruths Chris.

[Anonymous]

Mi think OP is a load of shit. This is not real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who knows - OP could work at the white house, where possibly a small plastic container unattended under a desk could be a threat to safety.

But still, calling you back from your vacation was vengeful and reactive - they should have put it in the trash for you, and met with you upon your return, hence PM is in deep dookie possibly.

I hope you buy something wonderful for yourself with your bonus money - possibly a weekend close-in getaway with the family - how about 3 days in Bermuda? or Bethany? A day at the spa (his/her) followed by Ruths Chris.

right now, our plan is a trip to Key West in Nov when the kid is off school for a teacher workday, but nothing is booked yet.

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind when the Fed-bashers start foaming at the mouth that the moron behind OP's situation (assuming it is real) was not the Federal manager, but the private firm contractor's manager on the project.

So much for the illusory assumption (the myth) that private industry does [fill in the blank] better.

This private industry idiot manager just cost his company a bunch of $$ that they cannot bill to the government under the contract, so they have to eat it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind when the Fed-bashers start foaming at the mouth that the moron behind OP's situation (assuming it is real) was not the Federal manager, but the private firm contractor's manager on the project.

So much for the illusory assumption (the myth) that private industry does [fill in the blank] better.

This private industry idiot manager just cost his company a bunch of $$ that they cannot bill to the government under the contract, so they have to eat it.

p.s., as I saw regularly over the course of 10+ years, just as one example, the private IT contractors at my agency were vastly inferior to and more expensive than the federal employees who handled IT support for years before it was outsourced.

Higher cost, lower quality support was the result of outsourcing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mi think OP is a load of shit. This is not real.

I once worked as a contractor in the government office of a 3 letter agency. I'm sure I was nowhere near as important as OP because nobody gave a crap when I resigned. However, I certainly met a few project managers who operated on huge ego trips and would think nothing of forcing someone to return early from a vacation.

[Anonymous]

The fact that the OP says he/she works for a "three letter agency" and can't discuss details, yet posted plenty of details right here tells me all I need to know. I doubt very seriously they are trying to keep you. More likely, this was an effort to get you to resign.

I cannot even begin to the understand how you think posting this was a good idea. To me it shows a complete lack of common sense. Not exactly a desirable character trait in any workplace, but especially one where security is important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The fact that the OP says he/she works for a "three letter agency" and can't discuss details, yet posted plenty of details right here tells me all I need to know. I doubt very seriously they are trying to keep you. More likely, this was an effort to get you to resign.

I cannot even begin to the understand how you think posting this was a good idea. To me it shows a complete lack of common sense. Not exactly a desirable character trait in any workplace, but especially one where security is important.

Are soda bottles classified? Keep in mind that OP says he got a bonus and didn't resign.

[Anonymous]

So the private PM gets a message from higher ups that the cubicle area is a pigsty and have to be cleaned immediately, so he sends an email to all the folks whose cubicles have been identified as messy and tells them they need to come in asap for a critical issue. Except private PM doesn't know/remember that one of those people is on vacation. It just doesn't cross his mind. And now he is unemployed.

Nice.

Enjoy your big ass bonus, OP.