Nobody should be querying porn sites at work unless they work in that industry… or for TMZ… {
Automotive sites and searching out regular things, well, technically it violates most workplace policies, but as long as it doesn’t interfere with one’s work it’s generally accepted UNLESS there’s classified information on the computer.
@MikeInNH, I didn’t think you abused the privileges associated with your job. No one can retain a responsible position if they abuse it. I was just having a little fun, as I’m sure you figured out.
The computer is specifically there for the mechanics to use. The boss has a computer for his own use, in his office
I can see no scenario where going to automotive websites to look for parts and TSBs, for example, would violate workplace policy
Most of these are “factory” websites
such as . . .
General motors
Ford
eaton/dana
grote
whelen
If that somehow violates workplace policy, then they need to provide an old school terminal, with absolutely no possibility of accessing the internet
I might add . . . as all of us know . . . that the solutions to many automotive problems are located on the internet. Some of them are on the car manufacturer’s technical website, for example. Being able to find the proper part number and name of the component is also important. Sometimes what I call something is completely different from what Ford calls it, or GM, or the guy at napa auto parts . . .
I remember during one job interview, the guy asking the questions was actually hoping you would mention that you’ll look on the internet for the solution . . . or at least additional information . . . if you were trying to solve a difficult automotive problem. Being resourceful like that, was actually considered an asset
The last job I had in corporate America, my immediate supervisor spent half his days on the internet doing fantasy football and seeking bargains on ebay. The guy was a real tool. Monkey wrench, I think… Of course it was against the rules, but he never got caught by anyone who mattered. After I left, he was moved right up the ladder, over about ten years, to the point where he became the boss of the really decent guy who had been his boss when I left. There is no justice in corporate America. I’m glad I’m my own boss. I can surf the net anytime I want.
MG
Stories like yours really make me cringe
It amazes me how losers like the guy you mentioned can advance in a company. Maybe he plays golf with the “right” people. And then his golfing buddies recommended that he be promoted, when such and such manager retired.
I can’t stand social climbers who get promoted for the wrong reasons
I suppose it speaks more about the people who are doing the promoting, versus the dope who’s actually getting the promotion
Sickening
He’s not the only one to be promoted beyond his capabilities, higher than the Peter Principle would allow. It happened a lot. We called it screw up and move up. My wife stayed with that company for another 12 years, and finally figured out that they were trying very hard to get her to leave due to her high pay, seniority, and slightly older age. She took early retirement rather than sue for age discrimination, although an EEOC specializing lawyer said she had an excellent case.
Cronyism and office politics play much too great a role in corporate promotions it seems. I recall a book written about fast tracking promotions in a large corporation. The author insisted that the truly ambitious must look closely at his corporate employer’s key scales for measuring their performance and find a way to jump to the top. When employed as a customer service representative answering calls from unhappy customers the author said he began each hour answering a few calls and just as the caller began unloading his rant he’d hang up. That would lead the caller to call back in a total rage that would take a great deal of time to deal with. That strategy would result in the unscrupulous new guy having the geatest success and the greatest chance of promotion because the other reps were cleaning up his messes. It might be just that easy to manipulate the corporate system.
yeah, the guys that talk a good game do well. I never understood it myself.
@wesw
it’s really quite simple
If your boss asks the office if we can do such and such . . . and everybody says no, because they know it can’t be done, but you say yes, that will be noticed
The fact that, later on, it’s clear you can’t do it, is irrelevant
The higher ups have noticed that you are a “yes man” . . . and that’s what they’re looking for
actual competence is, unfortunately, besides the point. They’re just looking for somebody with the “right” attitude
Don’t shoot the messenger
i’m just reporting what I see
Rod Knox
I have “fond” memories of a guy who behaved in a very similar guy to the one answering the phone
He was a mechanic, and he sure talked a good game. I suppose he was a fairly decent mechanic, and a pretty smart guy, but the way he talked, you’d think he could do anything
Anyways, he always “set it up” when he thought his repair attempt would be unsuccessful
He’d arrange to do the repair on monday, with a gut feeling that it would be unsuccessful. He figured the customer would come back tuesday or wednesday, because the problem wasn’t fixed. He’d arrange to have those days off
Sure enough, the customer would come back on tuesday or wednesday. The fact that a certain mechanic just worked on it, doesn’t mean the car has to sit until the guy comes back. it got reassigned to some other poor slob, who now had to clean up the other guy’s mess. And when the second guy complained that it wasn’t really his problem, the answer was always “It is now. Deal with it.”
The first guy, he was also a “yes man” who rapidly rose through the ranks. Never mind that most or all of the other mechanics couldn’t stand him. he always impressed the company big shots with his fancy talk, but I believe he was mostly comprised of hot air
Personally, I think people have gone a little wacko over the whole internet issue but whatever. We had the IT manager fired for viewing porn sites. He was a Baptist minister on the side too. Problem was it was the IT Security Director that set him up and made it look like he was viewing the sites and was totally innocent. I believed him but everyone else went nuts. So they both were gone and the manager had the good sense to not come back into the rats nest again. So much for the IT police.
I know quite a few people that should have never gotten to where they are at work…or in life in general.
Then I knew a few way back that I thought were the biggest dopes, and 20 years later you have to deal with them and you realize how smart they have become.
The other factor is that many of those people that we feel are not deserving…are great for the “Company”. We think of them as lazy, slackers, and unresponsive to the customer. Yet the boss looks at them as getting results because they handled the situation and in a speedy manner without getting too involved, and moved on to the next problem.
Some of us get too involved, use too many of the companies resources, and spend too much time pleasing the customer. Leaving the next complaint unheard for too long.
Yosemite
Promotions in corporate America and the unfair treatment is nothing compared to what goes on in colleges and universities. I was passed over for a promotion 38 years ago because the people on the promotion committee were candidates,for promotion. Fortunately, I had tenure so I took on the institution. I did win the fight and then decided to become an advocate for colleagues who were being treated unfairly. I won some and lost some for my.colleagues. I was even called in on a situation last summer–3 years after I retired. It was really,satisfying to win this,one and put a high level administrator in his place.
The sad thing is that colleges and universities which should be role models can be so unethical.
Hi, I think this one’s gotten a bit away from the initial topic. (It was more forum-related than car-related, anyhow, if I am honest.) Could you please bring it back around? Thank you.
I was just having a little fun, as I'm sure you figured out.
I did…and I took it that you were joking…but it is amazing of the amount of people who do take advantage of it.
Problem was it was the IT Security Director that set him up and made it look like he was viewing the sites and was totally innocent. I believed him but everyone else went nuts.
It is not hard to prove or disprove if someone was actually on a unapproved site. The software used has been passing the legal standard in the US for years. We found it easier to just block the sites. But that approach costs more money.
Back to the cartalk forum and the “badges”…
I just scared myself… I just realized that I had already been frequenting the site for some years when I bought my current car in June, 2005… 9-1/2 years ago. Cars have even changed since I started hanging out here.
glad you are here mountainbike…
Thanks. Me too.
Yeah I couldn’t believe it had been 25 years. I’m glad I’m here too, otherwise I’d be dead. Not many car problems up or down there. I check the obits every day to make sure I’m not in there.
That reminds me, a politician had an operation and in the recovery room the shades were drawn. He asked the nurse about it and she said there was a big fire across the street and had the shades pulled because they didn’t want him to wake up and think the operation failed. Just another doctor joke. No offense intended.