VP Bullies Coworker Over Shirt, Doesn't Realize Who He's Talking To

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Eric Lund
Sep 26, 2021 1:00 PM EDT

It must have been interesting to have been a fly on the wall during the full swing of 80s business garbage, power plays and synergistic mumbo jumbo, but at the same time it seems like something that would be totally fine to have missed out on. Apparently this guy's "thing" was a cultish insistence on white shirts. For another stupid case of bosses mistaking someone's identity, here's this Walmart manager who fired a guy from a job that wasn't his.

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  • 01
    Screenshot - Posted by u/kiltedturtle 21 hours ago O 2 2 711 39 7 All of my employees wear white shirts oc M This is from the 80's. I was the East Coast expert on a big mainframe company network gear. I was associated with the manufacturing plant, but I did customer site visits to help field engineering either install or more often fix installations that were not working. On customer visits, it was suit and tie. Since I often worked in computer rooms I never wore white shirts because of the dirt
    via kiltedturtle
  • 02
    Font - Fly to Boston to work with a sales droid on configuration of a system they were trying to sell to a big bank. Sales droid says minor change, first we need to go to this mandatory sales droid meeting headed up by the regional VP of sales. Fine. Get there, sea of white shirts ties and me in my colored shirt. Sit in 5th row, room has about 50-60 droids. Regional VP gets on stage, doing his best "excite the troops to go out and sell millions" speech. Clapping and cheering, etc. Mid sentence h
    via kiltedturtle
  • 03
    Font - "Hey you, where is your white shirt?" Look around, figure he may be talking to me, so I point to myself. "Yea you in the blue shirt. ALL of my staff, everyone that works for me wears a white shirt". "Ok, good to know, thanks" "Thanks?!?! Get out. And don't come back until you are wearing a white shirt" "You want me to go, and not come back unless I'm wearing a white shirt?"
    via kiltedturtle
  • 04
    Font - "Yes, get out now" So I get up, walk to the aisle, turn and go "Hey, do you know who I am?" "No, I don't fing know who you are and I don't fing care. Out" "Super, then for the rest of you, I'm kiltedturtle the east coast expert in 'networking' product out of 'plantname' and I work for the Director of Engineering there. So I don't work for him, and it's unlikely that I'll be back since I don't own a white shirt." Left. Flew home. Frantic voice mails from the sales droid about his customer.
    via kiltedturtle
  • 05
    Font - Next day, dropped into Director of Engineering's office to give a trip report. He starts "So kiltedturtle, you were a big hit at the sales meeting. VP of sales called to apologize and wants you to come back." "Nope, not going to happen. He comes here, wearing a colored shirt and apologizes to me, Ill consider it." "He's not going to do that"
    via kiltedturtle
  • 06
    Font - "Fine, not traveling to that region, I'll talk to people on the phone, I can do my job that way just fine" and walked out. Called my sales droid and said we'd work on the phone, not coming back up. Droid not happy, but understood. Week later reception calls that I have a guest. Go to lobby and there is my director and the regional VP of sales wearing a BLUE SHIRT. Best apology ever!!
    via kiltedturtle
  • 07
    Font - Edited to add: /u/Striderfighter asked why it was such a fast apology. So in the 80's network stuff was crazy expensive. The networking part of the deal was worth -$1+ million tying customers existing mainframes (fast host to host connections were new and a big deal) and some new mainframes; together so all in all $4- 5 million. And it wasn't going fly without some help. So commissions for sales droid, manager, upper manager and VP of sales. So a ton of money on the table for them. They g
    via kiltedturtle
  • 08
    Font - tactman - 22h Even if you worked for the VP, he was a jerk for calling out a person in a big meeting over a shirt color. It was a big power move to show everyone who is the boss (he failed in this case) but I would never want to work for someone that is big on showing off his authority.
    via kiltedturtle
  • 09
    Font - bothsidesofthemoon · 21h This just goes to show that if you're going to start a d.k measuring competition in front of everyone like that, you need to be beyond certain you have the biggest d: :k or it'll backfire spectacularly. Vote Reply Share Report Save kiltedturtle OP · 21h Yea, I was pretty secure in my job and I had a few customers that said "If you decide to ditch 'mainframe company' call me first." Plus me going to customer sites was more of a ploy on getting out of the plant on m
    via kiltedturtle

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mistaken identity boss work apology lol story funny wtf shirt
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