Engineering Their Own Demise

(My partner works in a specialised area of IT as an engineer. His job involves going from site to site with many different clients. My partner does not like wearing suits because he is an engineer; his boss lets him get away with wearing a plain shirt — not tucked in — and dark jeans. One day, he is called to a fancy office in central London. The receptionist asks him to sit down and wait for his contact at the company to show him to the server room. A few minutes later a woman in a suit marches over to him.)

Woman: “You’re late!”

Partner: “Excuse me?”

Woman: “You’re late for your interview with Mr. [Hiring Person]! We don’t hire people that can’t even be on time!”

Partner: “Okay.”

(My partner just sits back down in reception and patiently continues waiting for his contact at the company.)

Woman: “YOU CAN’T STAY HERE!”

Partner: “Did you ask for my name?”

Woman: “Excuse me?!”

Partner: “My name is [Partner] and I work for [IT Company]. I am waiting for Mr. [Client]. I am not here for an interview, but even if I was, it is never acceptable to shout at another person that way. Especially in a professional environment.”

(The receptionist called my partner through and he managed to get to work on fixing the problem. My partner mentioned the shouting woman to his contact, who happened to be the CEO. The woman was still on probation, which means that you can be let go with not much warning. When he went back the next month, she was gone.)