Silent Facade

Monday, April 09, 2007

Brilliance

The other day, one of my colleagues had to do an investigation and called down to Security to request them to check their records to identify a key number (on which department it belongs to). My colleague must have not showered that day, because she got a curt and rude officer who refused to simply flip the record book and check for her because the person in charge of keys record was already off duty.

Fuming, my colleague wrote a long email to the Assistant Security Chief regarding that incident who in turn played tai chi and forward to his boss as ‘he was a more appropriate person to handle it.’

Few days later, the Chief replied apologising for the incident but not apologising for his staff as he was giving him the benefit of doubt due to a different version from him.

In addition, to ‘prevent further such future misunderstanding’, he had a blinding stroke of brilliance and implemented a Security Service request form and apparently it is for our department only (as other departments had not heard of it).

With this form, should we even require the simplest thing like getting them to flip the record books to check the key number, they will not entertain us if we just call down and ask. Instead, we have to fill up the form, have someone send it down to Security, have it approved by him and his assistant before his officers will get back to us (but did not mention whether it will be by phone call or snail mail).

And beat this; the request has to be submitted three days in advance (as if we are psychic).

This is coming from someone who makes investigating his job. Well, two can play at this game. I can imagine the next time his department is doing an investigation and needs to ‘invite our room attendant for tea’, we ask him to fill up a similar form. Only instead of just three days for processing and approval from us, he will need to get approval from HR and the union as well. Oh, perhaps we should include the MOM as well, in case any laws are violated.
posted by Cylee at 9:09 am I