Parcel Deliveries

[AlanHo]

I ordered some LED light bulbs over the internet from a UK stockist. I have given up on the ones from China - they have proved to have a very short life.

 

Yesterday I was advised by Email that the parcel would be delivered today and that there would be another Email first thing in the morning of delivery to give me the anticipated time slot da di da di da etc.

 

This morning I did indeed receive an Email announcing that delivery would be made between 10:43 and 11:43 am.

 

Our front door is visible from the lounge and I spotted a guy with a parcel standing by the door at 10.36 - I hadn't heard the door bell but I went to the door and opened it.

 

I put my hands out for the parcel but the guy said "I'm sorry pal - but I am not allowed to deliver it until 10.43 - which is why I didn't ring the door bell. I have to wait until your details appear on the screen of my goofer".

So I found myself chatting with him for 6 minutes until he was allowed to hand me the parcel in return for me signing his goofer - which is a bit of a laugh because my signature is nothing like mine on one of those machines.

 

During the chat I learned that his day is divided into eight one hour slots. His goofer tells him in what order to make the deliveries within each time slot. My delivery was the first scheduled for his current time slot and he had finished earlier than the computer anticipated in the preceding one which made him early.  He was totally frustrated by the system because he reckoned he could get all his work done and be at home at least 1 hour earlier each day if he was left to his own devices.

 

Aint computers and stupid management wonderful things.

 

[Belatucadrus]

I remember when our purchasing system was shifting from an old mainframe based system to a new Windows one. One of the computer bods proudly outlined one of the new features which permitted the entry of a departments cost code so that accounts could better track expenditure. Not new we say, the existing system already does that.

Oh he says that doesn't work, he barely escaped being lynched as everybody considered all the hundreds of man hours we'd put in to checking codes on requisitions that missed them out and verifying ones that were wrong. Didn't go down too well.