Some people like complicating projects for no good reason. It usually makes things worse for everyone.

See the confusing mess this worker had to handle.

I Heard You Like Labeling Laptops

Summers here, which for us School IT Techs means project time. Currently, I’m upgrading a couple of hundred PCs to Windows 11.

Let me regale you with a brief story in frustration…

It starts off fine, but quickly becomes an exercise in futility.

Last year I had the “pleasure” of building 180 Chromebooks. Quite simple. Remove Chromebook from box, add inventory sticker, name Chromebook based off security number, build and pack laptop back in box, after writing the name on the box.

180 times gets a bit repetitive.

60 of these Chromebooks went to Student Services. They were received warmly and promised they would keep better track then they did last year.

A couple of days later, I was chatting with them, and they complained about the pain of opening all the boxes, labelling the Chromebooks and boxes and putting them back.

Yes, there were adding their own labels to the Chromebooks to track them despite there already being labels on them, which were directly related to their names.

It was a waste of everyone’s time.

This also meant that they planned to send us a list of their own, made up, names for the Chromebooks that had zero relation to what the Chromebooks were actually named.

This made their efforts completely pointless from an administrative point of view.

I had a sinking feeling and decided to check a box. They did not put the Chromebooks back in the correct boxes.

I explained their mistake as friendly as I could, but by then, the term had started so they didn’t have time to fix it. So gubbins here had to go through those 60 boxes and fix their mistakes.

Here is what people are saying.

That sounds easier.

I’m sure there are.

This sounds like fuel for a migraine.

I’m sure my dad has tons of similar stories.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.