Everyone can be fussy now and again, and we all have those days when we’re just not keen on dealing with other people.
When the person having that day is your boss, the best thing to do is usually just say “yes, sir” and stay out of the way.
OP has a boss that’s generally good but sometimes cranky.
So, some background, my boss is usually a really cool guy and I love working at my job, but some days he’s just in a mood and decides that one thing is more important than anything else and makes me drop everything.
When he’s like this, he always ends his tirade with, don’t argue with me, just do it. So, I usually work to get it done as fast as possible while also getting my other work done.
However, today I actually had some answers he’s been waiting for, but he wasn’t here this morning (meetings happen, no big deal) and sent an email saying he’d be in this afternoon.
No prob, I’ll get done what I can.
On this cranky day, his boss told him to deal with a phone call that needed to be made, and would hear no excuses.
So he walks in and says his hellos and goes to his office to get settled. I always give him like 10 minutes before I hand him all the stuff I need him to deal with cause I hate just throwing it on him when he comes in.
So, I get all my stuff together to go talk to him, but he comes back out and slaps a paper on my desk. He’s asking why this hasn’t been dealt with yet.
I explain, as I had before several times, that I can’t get this done because it’s a government document and they will not let me make changes to our account on his behalf.
He says, I don’t need excuses, just get it done today. Don’t take calls, don’t do anything else, just get this done.
So, OP did as he was told.
I told him I can call them, but they won’t talk to me. He would need to speak with them. I also told him the last time I called, I was on hold for over 3 hours (because yay government).
He doesn’t care, don’t worry about anything else until this is dealt with. Don’t argue with me, just do it.
You got it, Boss!
I’ve been on hold for about an hour now and have won a few games of solitaire. Think I’ll switch to mahjong in a bit. We can deal with my other crap tomorrow 🙂
(Bonus, they have an option to leave a voicemail to get a call back, but last time I did that they called long after business hours. Plus…. well I WAS told to not worry about anything else)
Luckily, his boss saw the humor in the results.
Got through and got it done just in time for me to go home! He asked what account I worked on this afternoon and I said, I didn’t. I couldn’t do anything until I was off the phone.
He saw the humor in it, admitted his wording was his downfall. Like I said, he’s a pretty cool guy.
Plus, he knows I can pick it up tomorrow and get things done.
The top comment says every boss has a silver lining.
This guy sounds like a boss you try to keep.
This certainly would have been a bit more malicious.
Being able to laugh at yourself is a good attribute no matter who you are.
Too many people are missing that piece.
What a fun little tale.
It sounds like a nice place to work, all told.
If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.