I was called back from vacation...for an empty soda bottle
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Anonymous
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I work as a contractor for a three letter agency. I was on vacation, and got an urgent message from one of my project managers that they needed me back for something...there was an emergency at work and they needed me. Since I am a technical expert, it is possible for that to happen; I searched the news, and saw a couple of things but nothing that would be so urgent to call me back. But, I left my family behind, paid the change fee for the plane, and flew home. I get into the office this morning to deal with the emergency -- and found out that the issue was an empty soda bottle under my cubicle which caused us to fail a safety inspection.
Most of what I do can not be discussed on an open line, so it never occurred to me to ask what the issue was. I picked up the bottle, threw it in the recycle bin, and left. I left a message with the PM, and am waiting to talk to my line management (I called him...he will be in at 9:00). My plan is to quit the project (I am only supporting it one day a week anyway). But, why the F*** could someone else have taken care of the bottle? I am not excusing the incident, but, I left my family on the oregon coast, and took a red eye home last night. I am tired and cranky now. |
Anonymous
| Is this real? That's insane. |
Anonymous
| Only tired and cranky...I would be livid |
Anonymous
| Holy crap. I'd be livid and ask for plane fare reimbursement. |
Anonymous
| Omg I would go postal. |
Anonymous
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OP here. Problem is being escalated. I have been assured that I will be reimbursed for the travel expenses, and I was told to bill my travel time to his project (saving vacation time).
Procedurally, it seems that I was called back illegally -- because the wording implying it was a national security issue. So, they are investigating what happened. The PM will be spending his time today justifying his action to very senior management. And likely, it will be his last act as PM. |
Anonymous
Isn't billing your travel time to the project in violation of time reporting for federal projects? |
Anonymous
Good!!! Oh, and have some chocolates/wine/beer waiting for your spouse when they get back from the coast!!!! |
Anonymous
| Did you leave the soda bottle? |
Anonymous
| I don't understand why a soda would make you fail inspection. My office fails often (thanks to GSA's lovely maintenance on our building) but they haven't said anything about my coke stash. |
Anonymous
| Not understanding the violation either. |
Anonymous
| I doubt your superiors would be happy that you are posting about this on the Internet. |
Anonymous
Yeah OP, I'm sorry that this happened. Your frustration/anger, etc is totally understandable and I think you should make sure it all gets addressed. But I worry you are easily recognizable right now. |
Anonymous
| Not the OP, but there is no identifiable information whatsoever in these posts. The only people who could possibly identify the OP are those who already know about the situation. |
Anonymous
I know. That's what I mean. They'd know and might not think well of it. |