Another rant

[from_the_corner]

Under the cut, because it's very long, very hysterical (and not in a good way), and very work-related. You have been warned.

I’m losing it, and it starting to show. I mean – more than ever. It’s like I’m running fast, only to smack against a wall when turning on each new corner.

I’m sick and tired of people coming to me, asking for a solutions, when I can’t give them any. Or rather I can, but it’s nothing more than words, as I have no power to actually make it happen. I have no time to hunt everyone responsible and make them implement the changes. IT’S NOT MY FUCKING RESPONSIBILITY!!!

I’m operating a stock of 8000 + items, overall value more than 1 000 000 USD, and I don’t have a damn stock keeper, actually responsible for this. The guy who’s job it (supposedly) is, spends more time driving a van, than doing anything else. He doesn’t give a damn, why would he since he doesn’t pay for any discrepancies? Only, why is it me then, who has to answer stupid questions “how is it possible that it’s not there?”. I DON’T FUCKING KNOW!!!

It’s not my responsibility to keep the pricelists up to date. Especially when I inform everybody over and over again, about changes in products range. Why am I questioned, when we are changing production from paper A to paper B, when it’s up to the salesmen to agree this with customers? I’m not the right person to decide what prices we should charge. And it doesn’t matter, that I know how to calculate correct margin. It’s not up to me to make sure, the customers get correct samples. I’m a purchaser for christsake, why should I make sure we don’t sell below production costs? Just because I work here long enough to know everything inside out, and just because it’s easier to talk to me, than to our boss (he’s English, actually, very good professional with a wicked sense of humor) - it doesn’t mean I can be treated like a damn all-knowing oracle or something.

I often talk with our CFM and it’s mostly senior staff stuff. I don’t feel like senior staff and I’m not senior staff. I’m just one person department who in fact works like three different ones. And get paid like a half of one.

*bangs head against the wall until reaches zen*

We are moving the factory to a new location. Not an easy task. My moronic colleague, our operations manager, plans to do it with our own stuff. Guys from shipping, slitting, printing. Guys who never worked with machines like that and needs to be constantly supervised. Why not hire a company, that specializes in movings like that? Money is not the problem. But noo, he’s taking it as a matter of his damn honor, to do it his way. He doesn’t even want to hire temporary driver for a fucking driving 8 kms between old and new warehouse. A job, that will have one our crew occupied until the end of the year…

You know what this means? Not only we get maybe 1/3 of our usual production (recalibrating the machines is a tricky process and takes time). But whatever we actually make, probably won’t be shipped, because there will be nobody to pack it and send it. Sure, he made this fantastic plan, how the guys will work overtime and everything will be hanky dory (is that how you say it in English?). Bullshit. I know how those guys work. Or to be precise – manage not to work.

I used to feel sorry for Darek, when he first agreed to this promotion. He’s so not the right person to be managing people. Especially the ones, who he drunk a sea of vodka with in last ten years. I tried to make him understand, that he can’t treat them like the same, equal pals anymore. He says he can make it work. Results? One guy wastes 20 000 meters of cardboard, totally his fault, and I don’t think he was even reprimanded, let alone faced any real punishment. But it was me, who has to find a way to clean this up in our paperwork.

The machine should easily slit 150 rolls a day. Peter managed to slit a little over 200 in five days… I asked Darek if Peter works now just part time. He didn’t get the joke. Just made up bunch of excuses for the guy.

We have so many returns, because the wrong stuff is being sent to the customers, that I sometimes wonder if the guys preparing packages can actually READ. Can you believe they are capable of sending black fabric instead of white?...

There is no repercussions, ever, except for the girls from Customer Service, who then have to deal with pissed off customers or me, to clean the mess up in our system. I really don’t know how this company still works.

And I don't feel sorry for Darek anymore.  Most of the time, everything he does or says just pisses me off.  If he just listened every once in a while...  It's also a bit sad, because we used to get along so well (too well, sometimes).

It’s four weeks until the end of the year, and I have workload worth of two months. And a prospect of PriceWaterhouseCoopers audit watching over my shoulder, during main stock taking. It’s gonna be fun…

For the last two days, I snapped at people, I snarled at people, I spitted venom, I cursed, I told them to get out of my room, and at one moment almost cried with the frustration (courtesy of Darek). And I smoked a pack of cigarettes when I got home.

I know I should probably control myself better. But I’m just so damn tired and it’s all too damn much. The stupidity of some people is so unbelievable, I have no words for it.

There are four new people in Customer Service, and they probably think I’m batshit crazy, acting like I do. Maybe I am. I still work here, after all.

I can’t even take few days off. I mean, I probably could, but when I got back I’d probably have to stay at work 24/7, to catch up with everything. It’s not like I have someone to delegate to even a part of what I do. So, why bother?

Tomorrow I’m going to Cracow again. Five hours in a car, do the stock taking, make a list of all outstanding orders, pack the most important papers and another five hours on the way back home.

I'm gonna take a bath and try to catch few hours of sleep. I need to be up at 4 am. Not that usually manage to sleep a lot longer.