I thought Mark was the only person who doesn't listen to me, but now I'm starting to worry. My co-workers aren't listening either. Not even when I write something down and a little window flashes it in front of them.
Case in point: here's a real instant message exchange I had with a co-worker in another office. I removed last names and identifying product names to protect the innocent (and my job), but otherwise, the conversation went down just like this.
At 10:01 a.m:
Adam: Hello Heather
Heather: Hi Adam
Adam: are you still the primary contact for Product ABC?
Heather: Yes. Also for Products 123, and XYZ.
Adam: can you update the migration documents with a valid migration quarter?
Heather: Yes, I will do that.
Adam: thanks!
Heather: n/p
At 10:10 a.m.:
Adam: Lorna is listed as the contact for Product XYZ, should I change that to you?
Heather: Yes, please. Also change Product 123 to me as well.
Adam: will do thanks
At 10:38 a.m.:
Adam: hey Heather, do you know if Lorna still owns Product 123?
Heather: Nope, that's me. >>Bites down on fingers to keep from screaming and/or typing something very negative.<<
Adam: ok thanks
Heather: Sure.
Heather: Sure.
You should note all absences of snark or "WTH??" comments. And you should be super (super!) proud of my professional demeanor, because honestly, it took more restraint than I thought I had to type the same answer three times in a row. To a man who clearly was not paying attention. And can't read.
Well, the upside is that even if Mark doesn't listen to me, it obviously won't hinder his job prospects.
1 comment:
I feel your pain. I work with programmers who A) are in another country (but it's Canada, so that shouldn't count)
and B) Are not native English speakers.
Even though I wrote an exhaustive style guide (WITH PICTURES) for the training videos that clearly spells out what the type should look like (size, font, color, when to bold) and what shape callouts to use, I STILL get type the wrong size, color, underlined instead of bold, etc. It makes me want to beat my head against the nearest flat surface.
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