Thursday, May 15, 2008

They say it takes someone about one full year to learn a new job fully, right? Apparently, it can take more like two full years and even that’s doubtful for Useless One #2.

Today’s dispute involved the date stamp, which is broken. So we’re using an old date stamp that only goes to 2007. That means we have to hand write an 8 over the 7. A slight hassle, but no big deal. Unless you are UO2.

She let me know that she received the latest packet of medical invoices, but still doesn’t know exactly what she’s supposed to do with them at this stage of the process. Amazing One is out again and not available to coach. So I told her what I get and we figured out what she’s supposed to do. And then I reminded her that the invoice pages from the contractor all need to be date stamped.

UO2: AO didn’t tell me that I had to do that.

Me: Yes, I realize that. I had to remind her about it all the time, too. But they need to be date stamped.

UO2: I don’t have the time to write all those 8s on each invoice. *more whining about how busy she is - blah, blah, blah* I’m not going to do it.

Me: We’re all busy. They need to be stamped. Please, just do it.  *in my head, I’m thinking “just do it and quit wasting your valuable time arguing about it"*

UO2 storms out of my office and straight into my boss’s office. I get up and follow her, to hear her explaining how busy she is and that she doesn’t have time to date stamp these so she isn’t going to do it.

Angels started singing. He backed me up without hesitation, “We got dinged in the audit because these weren’t getting date stamped. You have to date stamp them.”

And then they angels stopped singing because he walked her over to the date stamp to show her how to do it? What? She knows how to date stamp. Stop holding her lazy hand!

Although, part of me thinks he took her over there to have a quiet word where I couldn’t here him? Who knows.

Then the angels started singing again because he then came back to my office and apologized for getting me in the middle of that.

I looked at him like he’s crazy because, “You didn’t get me in the middle of it. And there’s no need for you to apologize.”

It’s time for UO2 and I to have a heart to heart behind closed doors. It has gotten to the point where we cannot have a rational work-related conversation about anything. It’s got to stop. I told my boss that I plan to have this conversation with her next week and he asked if I wanted him there. I declined his presence on the grounds that she and I have to try to work it out first. If I feel that she is still combative then I’ll drag management into it and I’ll ask to include the new Chief. Won’t he love that?

*sigh*

I’m going home now.