Join me, get Linked In

Monday, January 25, 2010

My Supervisor shares his history

So every now and then my supervisor finds it necessary to share a story about a past work experience, and sometimes I find it very helpful and sometimes I just find it entertaining. I know a story is coming because he'll say "I don't know if I ever told you this" - did I mention he has a very short memory. He'll often finish with "my wife says I should write this stuff down". So some stories I have been privy to on more than one occasion and I thought maybe I would write them down for him. Anyway, here are a couple he shared recently:
The Cow:
He once got a call from the Mayor who wanted to donate a Cow statue to the parks and rec department to be used in a playground. The mayor insisted on him coming to view the Cow, and as it turns out, find a way to move it, in the drive way of a yard sale. So he went down there. Sure enough the Cow was about 1/3 the size of a real cow, but it was in no way appropriate for a playground. He pointed out that the Cow had sharp horns and a thick sharp base. It took some convincing but the Mayor finally let go and did not make him put the Cow in a playground.
The Contractor:
There was a problem with one of the pumps on the town's lake fountain. So naturally the whole town was aware of the situation and shared their concern and opinions till the fountain was fixed. But, nothing in government is ever done fast enough! So a citizen called and wanted to know "what the hold up was", that the amount of time to fix the pump was "unacceptably untimely". He also felt the need to tell him that he himself was a contractor and he had never scene a "project" take this long. So my supervisor kindly reminded him that government works at a different pace than the private sector. For instance unlike the private sector - we have to submit a project plan, then we have to get at least three bids, then we have to get approvals on the bids, then we have to enter into a contract and get that approved too. And at any time during this process we have to stop to answer questions and research alternatives. The citizen accepted this.

No comments:

Post a Comment