..."I said that I had not received them YET."

Follows are some emails between me and this lady who works in my department. She obviously doesn't care much for me or my attempts to track down some supply orders. Some of these orders are as old as January, so excuse me for giving a shit. When those old orders weren't received, and the department this lady works for informed us that we were out of money (in March... three months later), they told us we would have to wait until July to start ordering again, and that all the old orders had been canceled and would have to be re-ordered. So. We did that, and it was tedious and time consuming (there are a lot of folks in my unit, and they need a lot of stuff), but we did it. On July 14, my orders were delivered, and when I followed up on July 28, I was informed that they hadn't been received by the person responsible for placing the orders. Her latest message implies that I'm a fool if I think that moving some papers from one desk to another should take anything less than two weeks.

I appreciate her spelling out what their "process" is - overly complicated and slow is all I needed to know, really. Would I be the "end user"? What is it with this language? I didn't "insist" on it because I'm a jerk, I did it because I thought my orders had been lost, which has happened in the past. They're not exactly known for being swift, efficient, or - dare I say it? - friendly. Maybe that reputation is starting to wear thin for her? If so, she's sure doing a great job of proving otherwise. Listen, lady: I just want my supplies within a reasonable amount of time, I didn't think I was starting WW III. That's OK, though. I can take it. And, I can blog about it, because exposing stupid people, even when I protect them by obscuring their real names, is lots and lots of fun. You should try it. Oh, and if I had a "I" after my job title, personally, I would omit it. Just a thought.

Please note: that signature is all hers. I suspect that the "power" behind her might be that of a 1984 Subaru GL.

Most recent message is first. Scroll down and read up for the full effect, as I've experienced it myself. After reading this message I packed up and went to lunch. I suggest you do, too.

...

From: Someone
Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2008 12:22 PM
To: Irene
Cc: Someone's Boss; Irene's Boss's Subordinate Managers
Subject: RE: Supply orders

Irene, I never stated that I didn't get your 1st set of request. I said that I had not received them YET. As I explained in the email below, we have a receiving process where as each requests gets a tracking number. This is all done to protect the end user. I didn't ask for the 2nd copy; you insisted. We're doing the best we can in Procurement to get you the items you need in reasonable timeframes and keep you updated. I will email you the vendor's confirmation as soon as the order is placed.

- Some Who Clearly Cares Not For Irene
Procurement Assistant I

"The task ahead of you, is never as great as the power behind you."

...

From: Irene
Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2008 11:46 AM
To: Someone Who Clearly Cares Not For Me
Cc: Someone's Boss; Irene's Boss's Subordinate Managers [All of whom have been waiting since January for their supplies]
Subject: FW: Supply orders

Someone, can you give me any idea when our other orders are going to be processed? I understand that you didn't receive them the first time, but if there is any way to expedite them now that they've been provided to you a second time, we would appreciate it. It does seem to me that this delay could have been avoided. I really need to give my people at status.

Thanks.

...

From: Someone Who Clearly Cares Not For Irene
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 12:12 PM
To: Irene
Subject: RE: Supply orders

Irene, I was just given a sizable pile of your requests. I'm sure that it's the items you were inquiring about. If there are any specific items that are considered urgent, let me know what they are and I'll pull them to be processes first. Someone has already marked your request for toners as "Urgent". I'll send you email confirmations as each order is placed so you'll know what's going on. For your future requests, I'd submit them as you did the last time. It's not a matter of them being lost in Procurement [obviously they were lost in Procurement] but a matter of them working their way to the procurement staff member. You should view this last submission as an indication of the delivery timeframes- with the exception of true urgencies.

- Someone Who Clearly Cares Not For Irene
Procurement Assistant I

"The task ahead of you, is never as great as the power behind you."

...

From: Irene
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 9:59 AM
To: Someone Who Clearly Cares Not For Me
Subject: RE: Supply orders

Someone, what do you advise that I do in the future? Should I get a receipt? Once I get these to you again, how long is it going to take? There were quite a few.

...

From: Someone Who Clearly Cares Not For Irene
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 9:32 AM
To: Irene
Subject: RE: Supply orders

When I receive orders directly via email, fax or in person, they are time-stamped and handed over to my supervisor, to assign a tracking number. I do not have the authority to place orders given directly to me nor do I recall all items given to me [OK, let's get this straight. She's my point of contact. I give her my orders. She timestamps them, gives them to her supervisor, who... does what, exactly? And then gives them back to her? This is a lame process. They have already been approved by a higher entity than her supervisor. How long do you think it took them to come up with this? Two weeks? Clearly I am working much, much too hard]. Please note some of the items on your request so I can help you.

- Someone Who Clearly Cares Not For Irene
Procurement Assistant I

"The task ahead of you, is never as great as the power behind you."

...

From: Irene
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 9:20 AM
To: Someone Who Clearly Cares Not For Me
Subject: RE: Supply orders

Someone, these were hand-delivered to you around July 14, and you called me to confirm that you had received them. My co-worker from another unit submitted orders the same day (she is the one who delivered my orders for me) and she has received confirmation that her items were ordered.

...

From: Someone Who Clearly Cares Not for Irene
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 9:18 AM
To: Irene
Subject: RE: Supply orders

Good morning, Irene, I don't have any outstanding orders for you. That could mean that (1) it hasn't reached my desk yet or (2) someone else has placed this order when I wasn't here. Please let me know a few of the items on the request so I can query the staff.

- Someone Who Clearly Cares Not For Irene
Procurement Assistant I

"The task ahead of you, is never as great as the power behind you." .

...

From: Irene
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 8:09 AM
To: Someone Who Clearly Cares Not For Me
Subject: Supply orders

Someone, can you give me an ETA on my supply orders? We sent them to you two weeks ago.

Thanks,
Irene