Last week I was asking my boss a question which led to a casual remark that my users were trying to zhng their toyota to make it look like a merc. I could relate to that analogy fully, but today my supervisor told me that I need to spend more time at my desk so that bosses can see me doing work, and I think the sequel to that analogy is that I am given a trishaw but I am supposed to make it run like a toyota.
I explained my position that the vendor helpdesk girl is having problems working with our main contractor. She sms-es me "I hate xxx", and I need to attend to her because xxx from the main contractor has pissed her off. So she is like the chauffeur hired to drive a toyota, but she is given a trishaw to peddle everyday, so she is already frustrated with her job. Imagine you like to drive, that's why you took up the job, but everyday you are forced to cycle. She feels that everyday she is doing unproductive work. She has to peddle very fast because the user boss has 4 assistants chasing her for 101 things everyday. When they escalate issues to me, I need to help peddle because of the "1 man takes 10 days, 2 men takes 5 days" logic. There is no other way to speed up when all you have is a trishaw. When issues gets escalated to my supervisor, my supervisor can't help us peddle, so it usually just ends up as a pacifier - just suck thumb. Not to belittle my supervisor's efforts, if he really had a way, I think things wouldn't be the way they are now because I am sure all these aged cheese issues had been escalated to him before.
It's ironic because usually when issues are escalated to me from my higher ups, I immediately need to start peddling. There is no other way. It's the only way to understand the underlying problems. When I try to get a field report from her, I waste more time listening to her sidetrack and complain than being able to gather sufficient information to diagnose the problem. It's her character though, that she wants to let people know that she has spent a lot of time trying to resolve the problem, and she hadn't been sitting on it.
As for me. I am the car mechanic hired to maintain a trishaw. Everyday I am faced with questions which when similfied to the lowest terms equals, why is my toyota so slow? why can't I have leather seats? why does the rain enter my car when there is a rain cover? but seriously, there isn't even an engine, and no petrol is needed even, that's why it's cheap right? So to improve the situation, I will need to change the wheels, fit in a small engine, and have to find some way to buy petrol to sustain the engine, but the trishaw has no rest, so you can just imagine how hard it is trying to change the wheels and try to fit in a small engine when your trishaw is lagging miles behind and constantly being whipped by 4 assistants. lol...
To make matters worse, the owner feels that they shouldn't be the ones paying for this mini engine even. To them, they have already spent the money to buy their toyota. To me, it's a trishaw with an toyota facade only, but it's too late to cry foul because the goods has been accepted and paid for. It's just unfortunate that now I am the one supposed to help them zhng their toyota-like trishaw to look like a merc.
I thought it sounded like a scene out of a chingay parade?
P.S.: zhng is a Singlish term used to mean "modify" or "add glitter".
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