As I arrived late to work yesterday because public transport decided not to transport and I ended up having to walk, I found a group of professors outside my door discussing something in loud voices.
Not the way to start your day.
I dropped my bag, shrug off my coat, and dove in. It seems that all of the furniture in an office occupied by two professors is currently out in the hallway, the desks dismantled. Their room is empty, except for the circular file, perched on the window sill.
I head off to inspect the scene for myself, as I cannot imagine what is going on. Arriving on the scene I discover that it is a correct description of the situation. I ask my secretary to investigate, starting with the Building and Grounds department.
No one answers the phone. We try secret mobile phone numbers, no help. We call up and down the hall (it helps to know who sits physically next to whom). We find someone alive and answering the phone, and she promises to investigate. An hour later she calls back: my administrative assistant knows all about it. He doesn't. Neither does the groundskeeper he is currently consulting about something or other.
The proffies pick out the Important Papers and Other Stuff, put them in boxes, and we lock that away. We find no explanation, all day.
This morning I am on a rampage, and we get to the bottom of it: When we moved into the building 2 years ago, we had noted that this room was missing carpet. Last year, when they asked if there was anything else left to do, we had noted that the room was missing carpet and would it be possible for us to get carpet organized for it? [Note: we did not order anything, but asked if it was possible.]
Thundering silence for 9 months.
They took everything out and are laying carpet today. The room will not be usable for a week. Why are we upset? We are getting the carpet we "ordered"!
Why the Sam Hill they couldn't call and let us know this was happening is beyond me. My biggest worry now is that other people will think this is a pile of unused but good condition stuff and organize swaps - or even that the good pieces disappear....
There were apparently 9 months of other carpet installations ahead of you....
ReplyDeleteYour faculty have NICE office furniture, things that other people would think are worth taking? Well, la-de-da.
ReplyDeleteI hope the new carpet fades from all the beautiful sunlight that streams through the office WINDOW!*
* At least, this is what I would say if I wasn't sitting in my own office, with carpet and pretty good furniture. I still don't have a window so I reserve the right to be overly jealous when I feel the need.
Oh, Benny!
ReplyDeleteI have a lovely window, yet it's cloudy and rainy and some drops always settle at the bottom of the frame. Mildew! But I have my wipes at the ready to stop the spread of whatever mildew makes!
Any worker who contemplated doing this in my office (shared, with truly ancient carpet and furniture but a nice window) would take one look at the accumulated books, papers, etc. and give up. I'm surprised that turning out any professor's office resulted in a pile that was mostly furniture (rather than mostly paper and books with the occasional bit of furniture mixed in).
ReplyDeleteArm photonic-canon!
ReplyDeleteOops, I'd better return that chair and desk I thought was up for grabs because they were just lying in the hallway outside of an empty room...
ReplyDeleteCynic, I'll see you in my office Monday 9am sharp.
ReplyDeleteCassandra, I had just organized a move to empty the office so that professors from the same program have offices next to each other. Literally, the guy moved 2 days before this happened.
Today they delivered the carpet. It is in a roll next to the desks and chairs and stuff. In the hallway. If the security engineer sees this, there will be Hell To Pay, blocking the fire exit and such.
In other news, today the IT department did a doo-doo on the registration database and tried to do a backup. With the week-old tape, not the yesterday-tape. They didn't realize until the complaints poured in, and by then there had been so many changes taken that the database is completely out of control.
I want to roll the IT boss in the carpet and take him for a ride down to the river....