Incompetence Turns IT's 15 minute Job Into Paid Time Off

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Eric Lund
Feb 11, 2022 12:00 PM EST

It's strikingly common to feel like you're the only competent person in your entire workplace. Whether that's true or not, the feeling is universal. In this case, an IT person really was surrounded by idiots, and to top it all off security concerns made everything that much harder.

At any other workplace, this IT employee would have this job done in a second, but it just so happens that things are wound up pretty tight for security reasons. Like, to the point that all the USB ports on everyone's computers have been made impossible to use. So after all the red tape gets cut through, that's still not the end of it. This challenge had a literal final boss. Luckily, OP ended up with some tasty paid leave, so the whole episode has a happy ending.

For some true workplace incompetence, here's the IT head who stole a coveted email, but couldn't handle the responsibility and got canned.

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  • 01
    Font - Posted by u/Dunnachius 5 days ago 2 26 S4 O Why I'm on paid leave over a $5.00 flash drive, with nothing of value on it, getting smashed Long Some back information, I work for a corporation and or institution where users handle enough information to be able to commit at least 2-3 felonies for every little query they touch (which isn't THAT hard to imagine), as such they have a lot of policies that seem like extreme overkill, But on some level I agree with the attempt, the actual applicati
    via Dunnachius
  • 02
    Font - So some info you need to know, there's an "internal" USB connector inside the case. All the "external" USB ports have physical blocks super glued in. This is another story i've already posted. So, Friday morning 8:00 am I'm sitting around waiting for a ticket/something to do. I get a call in that a computer can't login. There's no ticket because.. well they can't log in to start a ticket. Entirely understandable. The computer is network login, so there's 1000 different things it can be. H
    via Dunnachius
  • 03
    Font - I head up to their cubicle and start checking, everything is plugged in, the computer turns on and there's no internet. I switch her network cord with her neighbhors to check the cord/everything upstream, her neighbors computer connects with her jack. I log into the local admin account and there's no internet connection or network connection at all. Check device manager and there's the problem. The driver for the onboard network got corrupted or something, can't roll it back either. Great
    via Dunnachius
  • 04
    Font - I run down to the bat cave and download the driver for her computer and email it to my boss, with a note to stick it on a thumb drive. And then walk to his desk. "Hey boss I emailed you a network driver I need on a thumb drive, I also need you to submit my authorization form to cyber Sec for the use of a portable storage device" (yes that really is two forms) So we sent the form off to cyber security to authorize. request for USB storage device usage, Time estimated on the work: 15 minute
    via Dunnachius
  • 05
    Font - Half an hour later, no response. Head of IT calls down to cyber security to get an ETA. 10 minutes later the request comes back as denied. Reason : Just email the file So we got the biggest Idiot ever reviewing the request.. she has a tendency to just completely drop the ball, before they took the job in Cyber security she had neither experience in Cyber security, nor any basic understanding of IT. But it's OK, she can haphazardly enforce rules she doesn't understand and she spends her da
    via Dunnachius
  • 06
    Font - So my boss has to call her and explain the situation. After half 5 minutes on the phone he has to go upstairs to the boss of cyber security and explain why she's an idiot today. Half an hour later the approval comes from cybersecurity comes in to my email and my boss texts me to grab the form from him, and his spare keys and USB drive. So Now I have both authorization forms and I return to the woman's desk. She left a note for me that she's making a starbucks run and will be back.
    via Dunnachius
  • 07
    Font - So I power down her computer and turn it on it's side so I can get it open to plug the USB in. I'm standing there fiddling with the flash drive and someone yanks it out of my hand tosses it to the floor and he starts stomping on it. "What the hell are you doing?" "USB devices are banned" he replied. "WHOAH WHOAH.. first of all I have an authorization form from cyber security.. Second of all that's company property, and third of all, you just destroyed evidence" I tell the idiot. So I call
    via Dunnachius
  • 08
    Font - Cyber security overhears this exchange. Cyber security decides to open a file on mishandling of suspect data. AKA smashing evidence. Around about 11:00 am my boss comes back to the users desk with a different flash drive and the drivers for the network adapter and another stack of new forms for him to do the work. I spent an hour with cyber security filing out paper work about the destruction of a $5.00 flash drive, giving my statement on the data mishandling, and my statement responding
    via Dunnachius
  • 09
    Font - So it took 3 hours and 15 minutes of 2 techs time (including the head of IT) to reinstall a network driver. And now they have to pay a data recovery specialist god only knows how much to try to recover nothing of any value on a $5.00 flash drive, to prove there was nothing malicious on it. Oh and I'm on paid leave because they don't know for certain what's on the flash drive. Cyber security told me that as long as data recovery finds what I said is on it, or can't find anything, that i'm
    via Dunnachius
  • 10
    Font - Instead I can collect pay checks until the data recovery experts take a few cracks at the USB drive. But the good news is that I got to go home early on a Friday Also I get a long weekend... maybe I'll binge watch Stargate.
    via Dunnachius
  • 11
    Font - Sixinarow950 - 5 days ago Whoa! Paid leave is always nice. Who was this "someone" that snatched and smashed it? 899 Reply Share Report Save Follow MrScrib - 5 days ago Yeah, wouldn't want to be caught buying them a beer.
    via Dunnachius
  • 12
    Font - shell_shocked_today - 5 days ago the tune to funky town commences At a previous job it was impossible to get permission to use a flash drive (cyber), so I asked about a usb hard drive. Security approved a 1TB hard drive for me, and it was all good because it was a hard drive, not one of those dangerous flash drives
    via Dunnachius

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