'The most expensive phone calls on the planet': Hourly contractor makes thousands of extra dollars after bosses force them to answer the phones

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jul 23, 2024 3:00 PM EDT

You can ignore a contract all you want, but that doesn't stop the contract from existing. It's a pitfall that many a worker has fallen into… and a few bosses have had this problem too, especially u/Altrissa's boss at an oil and gas automation company. 

At this job, many of the coworkers had one shared responsibility. They had to take turns working a 24/7 phone line. This usually wasn't an issue, because as the original poster shared, there were so many people that they only had to answer the phone every once in a blue moon. Easy! Well, almost easy… This person usually wasn't put on phone-answering duty, but in a tale as old as time, their reliable boss left and a new manager appeared in the role. From there, things went downhill. 

A new manager who won't listen to the current employees can be such a pain. They want to prove that they're the smartest person in the room, but by refusing to listen to those with experience, they're proving the exact opposite. 

Up next, this construction worker tried to warn his boss that a rain storm was brewing, but his boss wouldn't let him move anything, and the result was… "The concrete bags… began to harden into just big rocks." 

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  • 01
    'He scoffed and told me I obviously didn't understand how business worked'
    via Quino Al on Unsplash
  • 02
    The most expensive phone calls on the planet Many years ago (more than 15), I worked as a programmer for an Oil and Gas automation company. This means we would design and build the computer systems for oil and gas plants, commission them, and support the operators during day to day operations.
    via u/Altrissa
  • 03
    Because of this, my company ran a 24/7 support phone. Every week a member of my team would get the phone and be expected to be available to answer calls 24/7. We had enough people on the team that it would roughly equate to getting the phone twice a year. Most of the employees of this company were salaried, and the 24/7 phone was written into their
    via u/Altrissa
  • 04
    contract. For every phone call they took, they could charge a minimum of 1 hour in banked time. This was a good deal for them, and made the 24/7 phone easier to handle.
    via u/Altrissa
  • 05
    I was a little different than my coworkers in that I wasn't a salaried employee - I was an hourly contractor. My coworkers would bank their time but I was just paid out biweekly. My contract also stated that if I was being paid by the company, I had to be available exclusively to the company. This was added by
    via u/Altrissa
  • 06
    their HR department because a few years before they caught an hourly contractor running side jobs for other businesses at his desk. This also meant that if they wanted me to be available exclusively to the company, they had to pay for my time.
    via u/Altrissa
  • 07
    For two years I knew the 24/7 phone existed but had never had to take it because according to my contract, if they wanted me to be available they had to pay my hourly rate after normal work hours to ensure that I was available to answer the phone when it rang.
    via u/Altrissa
  • 08
    Then, as in most corporate stories, my completely awesome manager left for greener pastures and was replaced with an absolute tool. After a month of being in the office, he decided it wasn't fair that everyone took turns on the phone except for me. He declared that I would be put in the rotation effective immediately.
    via u/Altrissa
  • 09
    I didn't want to cost the company a ton of money, so I tried to explain that if I'm on the 24/7 phone that means they have to pay me 24 hours a day for 7 days. He scoffed and told me I obviously didn't understand how business worked. I told him he didn't understand how my contract was laid out and that I'm
    via u/Altrissa
  • 10
    an hourly contractor, not a salaried employee. He insisted that to be a team player I had better take the phone or look elsewhere for employment.
    via u/Altrissa
  • 11
    I didn't want to seem like I wasn't a team player, so I accepted the phone..and started my clock.
    via u/Altrissa
  • 12
    7 days later I handed the phone off to the next guy, and submitted my biweekly invoice. It came out to just over $10000, with $8400 being just that one week of having the phone.
    via u/Altrissa
  • 13
    I waited about 15 minutes before I was pulled into the manager's office. When I arrived the manager, the head of HR, and the manager's boss - the head of the department were there with my - most recent invoice sitting on the desk. The department head just looked at me and asked what the I was thinking when I gave them that invoice.
    via u/Altrissa
  • 14
    I waited about 15 minutes before I was pulled into the manager's office. When I arrived the manager, the head of HR, and the manager's boss - the head of the department- were there with my most recent invoice sitting on the desk. The department head just looked at me and asked what the I was thinking when I gave them that invoice.
    via u/Altrissa
  • 15
    I explained that the new manager insisted I take the 24/7 phone even though my contract clearly stipulates that if the company wants me available 24/7, they have to pay for every minute I have the phone.
    via u/Altrissa
  • 16
    The new manager became redder with every word. When I was finished, the department manager turned to him and asked him why he didn't know this, since it's common knowledge that no contractors are ever put in that kind of position.
    via u/Altrissa
  • 17
    As he was stuttering for an answer, the department head dismissed me and told me to expect my cheque at the usual time.
    via u/Altrissa
  • 18
    The best part? During the entire week I had the 24/7 phone, it only rang twice - both during work hours and both calls asking for a specific person in the department. All I had to do was give them a phone number. Those two 3 minute phone calls cost that company $4200 each.
    via u/Altrissa
  • 19
    After that the new manager pretended I didn't exist and refused to talk to me for 3 months until he was moved to sales in a different department. I was at the company for another 2 years and never saw that phone again.
    via u/Altrissa
  • 20
    Counter Street When opportunity rang... (•_•) ( •_•) >~| ☐) You took the call.
    via u/Counter Street
  • 21
    martybalaweisi Ahehehe. Nice work OP. And very loudly subtle I must say. You schooled him on how business actually works.
    via u/martybalaweisi
  • 22
    Aetherpirate This is malicious compliance at its best.
    via u/Aetherpirate
  • 23
    [deleted] You are a malicious genius! Bravo!
    via u/[deleted]
  • 24
    yamaha2000us I had a VP throw a hissy fit and told my manager to send me home for three days, PTO or loss of wages. I had done nothing wrong and I verified with HR to determine what I should do. HR instructed me to go home. When I came back no one wanted to admit that the incident occurred. I stated
    via u/yamaha2000us
  • 25
    that I am comfortable if everyone walks away. HR agrees. My manager tells me to put the time in for the PTO. I refuse and he puts it in himself. I screen print the transaction and drop it off on the CEO desk explain the situation and ask him if he could find out what it is all about because no one is providing
    via u/yamaha2000us
  • 26
    me anything in writing about the incident. I also ask him to dock my wages since I need the PTO time for my own use. Since I was salaried, they can't dock my wages (I knew this). No one was going to dock my salary for doing nothing wrong. Hence my statement that everyone walks away.
    via u/yamaha2000us
  • 27
    I basically offered a vague apology to the VP for being confused. That | off the VP even more. They deleted the PTO from my balance. I got an apology from HR and a nice 5 day weekend on the company.
    via u/yamaha2000us
  • 28
    HammerOfTheHer... Every now and then the rules work in your favor, and it's awesome.
    via u/HammerOfTheHeretics
  • 29
    Thameus department head dismissed me Manager: Are you going to fire me? Head: I just spent $10000 training you, why would i fire you now?
    via u/Thameus

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