Signing Off The X, Y, Z, Should Be Your A, B, Cs
Our office setup was very simple: one room for the tech people, one room for the administration/logistics people. At the end of the admin room, there was the boss’s room. Whenever we techs needed to talk to [Boss], we would go to the admin area.
One morning, I am going to ask a question to the boss and find him in the admin area, talking to one of the secretaries:
Secretary: “What should we do with [Customer]’s order?”
Boss: “Do [X, Y, Z].”
I see [Secretary] typing down the instructions, printing them, and handing them to [Boss], asking him to sign them if they were correct. I am fairly new to the company, and I cannot hide my surprise at seeing what [Secretary] is doing. [Secretary] notices and just gives me a quick glance, which clearly states, “I know what I am doing”.
[Boss] gives a sarcastic laugh upon seeing the printed-out instructions he just gave and says:
Boss: “What, you don’t trust me?”
Secretary: “Better safe than sorry.
She keeps holding the printed instructions. [Boss] signs them off and walks away, followed by me asking my question.
One week later, while I am again in the admin area, I hear [Boss] storming off from his office, screaming that he wanted to know who did [X, Y, Z] with a customer.
[Secretary], without breaking sight from their monitor and the work they were doing, handed [Boss] the printed instructions signed off by him himself.
[Boss] reads them and, clearly defeated but unwilling to admit it, walks away shouting:
Boss: “It’s not my fault if you cannot understand what I say!”
[Secretary] looked at me with a triumphant expression.