Friday, April 18, 2014

Disorganization

Forgive my lack of daily participation in the blogosphere - it's a month out from our event and now, en masse, people who have been signed up since January are all seeming to say, "Oh fuck! We need to get going on this and get our shit together!"

So what happens is I get a flood of calls, emails, even texts from colleagues who apparently think that they have a hall pass to my cell phone, and everyone wants something RIGHT FUCKING NOW. This includes people I have been trying to work with for months at our local chapters, who have ignored all of my communications and offers of help, but now, suddenly, they feel it's time to panic.
Since when did technology allow us to become so pushy? I'm in a meeting and when I am meeting with someone one-on-one I think it's rather rude to pull out your phone to check email, so I don't. Three emails to my office from the same person. A phone call in my absence. Then texts. Then another text, "Are you in the office today?" All in the space of 45 minutes. 

One of my friends told me last week, "You don't want to believe this, but there are some people who are just stupid. Even if they are employed."

But you do expect - or at least I did expect - some level of organization and thought from some of the people I'm dealing with. I'm not trying to be a bitch. But we typically have 3,000 people at the event. I am a one-woman show. You do the math.

Example A: Someone signs up for the event and I send her a personalized email with a link to the event FAQ. She calls me and asks a question that is answered in the FAQ AND is right on the website that she used to register. I ask politely, "Did you read the email I sent you?" She said, "Oops, I do need to go look at the FAQ, don't I?" Then she proceeds to email me another question that is also in the FAQ.

Example B: A participant calls me and says, "The website isn't user friendly." I ask why. She replies that she is trying to make donations from other people using her credit card and doesn't understand why the other peoples' names aren't showing up as the donors - only hers.
 
So for instance, she is Amy (not really, but just the first name that popped into my head) and she wants the donation to show up as coming from Bob, but uses her own card and is then shocked that her name shows up as the donor. Has anyone heard of fraud? Do I really need to explain this?

Example C:  I tell everyone every year, over and over, that someone who isn't good at computers shouldn't be signing up an entire team of people online. Guess what they do? Guess who they call to unfuck things?

Anyhow - several people have told me after reading these that they'd never want my job, but it is really a wonderful gig to be able to go agitate for the good and get paid for it. There are just a few times a year it gets challenging...for some.

22 comments:

Christina Murphy said...

Here's your new mantra: Dumb it down. Dumb it down.

Lee said...

D'oh! It is a known fact that people are dumb...that they keep displaying the depth of their dumbness proves it!!

Elephant's Child said...

I am in awe at your patience. Hiss and spit would be the beginning of what I was thinking, and probably saying.

Life with Ragdolls said...

Sorry, it sounds like they're giving you a hard time. Most people are dumb; I'd say 89% of ALL people are dumb, that's probably very well accurate.I'm not really an ass but I think most people would probably agree with me on that one. I know for a proven fact that dumb people drive me insane, they're hard to deal with right? Lol.
;-)

Granny Annie said...

There must be times you can become untethered from your cell phone. Can't you just turn it off when you are in a place you don't want to be interrupted?

Debra She Who Seeks said...

The speed of technology and our constant connectivity to it truly do make people expect instantaneous response to their calls and emails. It's insane but that's the modern world we've created for ourselves. Hang in there, Riot Kitty!

CraveCute said...

Poor RK, you will get through this. Now and then we all have to deal with this. Dumbness has no boundaries! Almost everyone I know around here has a Master's Degree but they are so ignorant when it comes to common sense. I am astounded that they can make it through the day. When I worked as an airline booking agent, I would try to explain the time zones to people and they were still confused. I was thinking to myself, you are just too dumb to travel and how can you afford to fly to Australia when you are so stupid! Then I remember, inherited their money! Also there is a big difference between ignorance (too lazy to learn) and just plain dumb (unable to learn).

Claire said...

Good gravy. My friend Anna has a great quote on this - "Your incompetence does not make you my priority."

Thinking of you as you fight the good fight, RK!

Blue Grumpster said...

Nope, no need to explain fraud. We have brains. You may need a holiday though :) Do you reckon the human species invented communication?

G. B. Miller said...

As you well know, I know diddly-squat about computers. With that thought in mind the following incident happened to me earlier in the week at work.

An IT person who works the help desk at my job asked me if following the instructions (clearing cookies and cache) at a state website will mess things up on her computer.

Answer that was rumbling through my head quicker than feedback on the radio: "What are you that f'n stupid???"

Answer that I actually gave: "Probably".

Father Nature's Corner

Charles Gramlich said...

Sounds a lot like my students, who often spend all semester ignoring my emails to meet with me and then all want to do it in the last week and are upset when they can't find me in my office at exactly the 15 minutes they think they have for the meeting.

Lynn said...

Oh my - sounds so stressful!

A Beer for the Shower said...

This is why no matter how easy and automated gadgets become, we'll always need IT support. For people like this. A machine could have one button and one button only, and that one button could have only one single function, and stupid people would STILL find a way to break it or not understand how to use it.

Ms. CrankyPants said...

Quick observation: I think there's something wrong with your blog. I keep trying to post as A Beer for the Shower but it won't let me. Not very user friendly...

Cperz said...

Funny about your friend telling you about the presence of stupidity....I am pretty sure you were already aware that a certain segment of the population is stupid or rude and sometimes both because you deal with it so often.

But ANY workplace has it's share of aggravation and at least with your job you get to do something that is worth while and matters.

Riot Kitty said...

I'm glad it's not just me!

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Your comment on my Wolverine Bunny post cracked me up, girl!

Rock Chef said...

I think you blog at your best when you are angry/frustrated.

Just sayin' :-)

Hang in there - the world needs more people who can unfuck things...

Betty Manousos said...

sounds so stressful indeed.
thinking of you..

big hugs!
xoxo

Betty Manousos said...

sounds so stressful indeed.
thinking of you..

big hugs!
xoxo

LL Cool Joe said...

Geez, I thought I was pretty dumb, but after reading this I feel quite good now. :D

Whatever you say, I couldn't do your job, but then dji-ng can be a bit stressful too. :D

Dexter Klemperer said...

Excellent point about stupid being employed. Sometimes I look around and wonder why it's so difficult to get hired.