Sick and Tired of Incompetence

Sick and Tired of Incompetence

It seems like I just talked about this not too long ago, but sometimes I really feel like I'm surrounded by idiots! I don't know if it's that the people working for me are infected with sheer stupidity, or that they just don't care. They weren't stupid when I hired them, and I had ninety days after that to fire them if they just didn't care. So they either became stupid after I hired them, developed a careless attitude, or should pursue an acting career, because they sure had me fooled.

Last night someone sold an item that required some technical preparation before it could be delivered to the customer. I have instructed everyone on my staff to always tell customers that items like this will be ready for pick up at 5:00 pm the next day. The customer has been calling since 8:30 this morning to check on the status of their merchandise, which means that either the customer didn't listen or my employee didn't follow my instructions (or volunteered that they might call earlier to see if it was ready yet). Eventually, after the unit was ready to be picked up, they were told they could come in and pick up their new purchase.

They're here now. As I write this. But they're sitting in the waiting room waiting because some idiot pulled the wrong item for the technician to prep for pick up! This technician's Manager -- who is supposed to be my partner in the business -- has his head so far up his, well, let's just say that he couldn't see the light of day if he was standing on the surface of the sun. So rather than verify that the item his technician was prepping was the correct item, he did nothing. It's much easier to do nothing than it is to actually do something.

So now someone is busting their knuckles trying to get the correct item prepped while the customer sits impatiently waiting for their new purchase. I think if I were the customer, I wouldn't be very happy.

Now, to be fair, I can't blame all of this on the technician or his Manager. It was one of my Assistant Managers that was in the building last night when the item was pulled and taken to the staging area to be prepped for pick up. He left me no communication whatsoever (which I have also talked about before) that the item had been sold and needed prepped. And when he came in today he made no effort to follow up and ensure that the item was indeed prepped correctly.

Furthermore, just based on past experience with this Assistant Manager of mine, he probably is the one who told the customer that the bike would probably be ready before 5:00 and that they could call in to check on it.

And I really can't stop there with the blame, either. After all, I should have realized that everyone else involved is a total, blithering idiot, and I should have read their minds (if they even have minds) to discover that the item had been sold and required prepping, and I should have gone out and pulled the product myself, verified it myself, and prepped it myself. Then maybe things would have been done right the first time.

It drives me absolutely mad! Why don't people just think before they open their big mouths? Why don't they think before they invest the time and effort required to do anything? Why don't they think at all?

Now, in addition to having to prep another item for this customer, I have the incorrectly prepped item sitting here ready to go, in the way, unprotected by packing material, just hoping that someone will buy it, like some lost puppy in a pet store window.

Joe