TwistedSifter

The Manager Ignored His Subordinate’s Warning About Training, So A Label Printer Soon Became An Expensive Lesson In Undervaluing Your Employees

Source: Canva/StefanDahl, Reddit/PettyRevenge

It’s easy for management to undervalue someone’s knowledge – until it’s really needed!

One company learned this the hard way when they fired the only employee who knew how to work the label printer.

A high-stakes negotiation soon  turned into a big pay day for the employee!

Read on for the full story!

Talk to the secretary if you need labels.

Many years ago, when manufacturing was big in our area, my husband worked as the warehouse/shipping supervisor at a small manufacturer.

Technology worked a little differently back then.

Now, keep in mind, computers were mostly for business, and printers still ran reports on green and white striped paper at the time.

Label-making on a printer was still a big deal because, just a few years before, all the shipping labels were written by hand.

You still had to input into the program the size of the labels and alignment, and he was the only one in the warehouse who knew how to work the shipping label printer.

This wasn’t the best place to work, so her husband called it quits.

One day, my husband had just had enough of the people running the company treating him like crap and found a new job.

But he left one big warning for the boss.

When he put in his notice, he told the plant manager — let’s call him Bob — that he really should assign someone to learn how to work the label printer, even if they weren’t going to replace him right away.

Naturally, the boss ignored it and fired him on the spot.

Bob blew him off, and my husband dropped it.

Less than an hour later, Bob came back and told him the company was ending his employment effective immediately.

Cool beans.

He stopped at the new company on the way home, and they agreed to start him three days later.

But it didn’t take long for the boss to call back in a panic.

Before my husband even got home, Bob left a message on our answering machine demanding to be called back.

Nobody could figure out the label maker.

Instead of calling Bob back, my husband let his secretary (me) handle it.

Now, she was in control.

Right as Bob was scheduled to leave for the day, I called to “negotiate terms.”

I offered that my husband would come back on a short-term basis for $100 an hour to train someone.

We both thought this was a good joke and nothing more.

It turns out, his boss was willing to pay, although they were going to cheap out at every turn.

It turned out they really were desperate, and Bob said he would run it by the owners to see if it was possible.

By now, Bob was 15 minutes late getting off work.

Surprisingly, Bob called back right away with a counteroffer.

They would pay $15 an hour (slightly more than my husband’s usual wage).

This wasn’t going to cut it.

I told Bob I wasn’t willing to accept that, but would run it by my husband.

Ten minutes later, I called Bob back with an offer of $90 an hour.

This back-and-forth went on for over an hour.

Meanwhile, my husband was busting a gut laughing every time I hung up on Bob.

Eventually, they reached an agreement – and had a good laugh.

Finally, we agreed to $35 an hour with a two-hour minimum because they desperately needed labels for the next day.

My husband went in and spent less than half an hour teaching Bob how to work the label maker.

Best $70 ever.

Never underestimate someone’s skills – or negotiating prowess.

What did Reddit have to say?

Funny how special contractors usually end up making more than the company’s full-time employees.

The clever secretary deserves some credit too!

Even in a desperate moment, this boss was cheap.

This commenter would have driven an even harder bargain.

In the end, the no-good boss got his labels and the employee walked away with the last laugh and a paycheck to match.

It pays knowing how to push the right buttons!

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.

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