Sometimes you gotta be wrong to be right

[DrFaroohk]

And that's why I was never good at being a manager. I could handle all the managerial duties like paperwork and bookkeeping and stuff, but when it came to disciplining people, I just sucked at it.

Why?

I frequently got bitched at by my bosses for things I had no control over. If I order Marlboro Lights on the delivery, and the delivery guy forgets to bring them, how is that my fault? But the manager would blame me anyway. It's my fault, since I'm responsible for ordering them. Even though I am in no way responsible for the delivery guy's actions.

And I could NEVER do this to my employees. Whenever someone gave me a good excuse I let it slide, because I honestly can't fathom being that unreasonable with people. If someone was late, and it's because their power went out and alarm clock reset, seriously, how can you write someone up for that? Writing someone up for that is basically saying "You are in control of the global weather and all drunk drivers, and by allowing lightning to strike or a driver to hit a pole, you caused the blackout yourself!"

Never mind that it was probably bullcrap, because the way I looked at it, if I wanted to challenge the notion, it was my responsibility to prove they were lying. So I just let people get away with crap because I'm no good at being a total asswipe.

[Rageaholic]

I'm the same way. I mean, shit happens that you can't always prepare for. Sometimes, it's nobody's fault, and if it is, it's best to just cut them some slack and move on. Too bad there are many who view that mindset as a weakness and think the only strength is being a hardass to everyone.

[DrFaroohk]

Aye....and unfortunately, there's all these little "unbeatable" excuses that since no one can prove otherwise (not really, anyway) and people abuse them, it's just always assumed that you're lying. Which sucks. And unfortunately that's the way it has to be sometimes.

[MaggieTheCat]

At my last job, management would write you up for basically anything, regardless of if it was your fault or not. Power went out in the middle of the night and the alarm clock got reset? Too bad, so sad, should have had a battery backup. Garage door froze shut due to freezing rain the night before? Should have parked your car outside instead. In their eyes, it was only "fair" to write everyone up for every offense; otherwise, how do you tell one person that it's okay that their alarm clock got reset, but another person that because traffic was exceptionally bad that morning, they were going to get written up? Also, there were people who would very quickly figure out that certain excuses = no punishment and would abuse that as much as they could.

It sucks. I dunno what I'd do if I were a manager of a large-ish company and had to dish out write-ups and punishments. It sucks to have rigid rules 'cuz then you end up writing someone up when you know it's not really their fault, but on the other hand, if you "go by your best judgment" you're eventually going to get called on for playing favoritism or not being fair with everyone across the board, even if you're doing your damnedest to be fair.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

I frequently got bitched at by my bosses for things I had no control over. If I order Marlboro Lights on the delivery, and the delivery guy forgets to bring them, how is that my fault? But the manager would blame me anyway. It's my fault, since I'm responsible for ordering them. Even though I am in no way responsible for the delivery guy's actions.

Anyone who does this is an example of a poor manager. If you order someone to call the supplier and order "X" product and they do that (and can prove it) and it is out of stock, is forgotten, or arrives damaged, that is not the fault of the employee and chewing them a new asshole will lead to resentment and burnout.

If someone was late, and it's because their power went out and alarm clock reset, seriously, how can you write someone up for that? Writing someone up for that is basically saying "You are in control of the global weather and all drunk drivers, and by allowing lightning to strike or a driver to hit a pole, you caused the blackout yourself!"

That all depends on the situation.

Never mind that it was probably bullcrap, because the way I looked at it, if I wanted to challenge the notion, it was my responsibility to prove they were lying. So I just let people get away with crap because I'm no good at being a total asswipe.

Now the situation comes into play. Is the person consistently late? Or is the first time he's been late in the past several months. If the person is usually on time and reliable then I tend to take the excuse at face value and not pay attention to it. However if it is just one more excuse in a long chain of them...then I will not take it at face value and call them to task on it.