Did You / Do You Get To Work On Time?

[+ Avalon]

I always did; I was there a few minutes early.

 

I have had the Life Alert system for two days now. I wear it around my neck 24/7. When I awoke this morning the rope it's on had became unlatched and the "box" was gone. I searched the bed, I moved the bed, it was not there. I searched the bathroom - not there.

 

My apartment is long and narrow. The bedroom is in the back. The kitchen in the front. The phone - a landline - is the kitchen. So I walk down the hallway to reach the living room and then the kitchen to get the phone. I take it back to the living room.

 

I want to talk to the salesman. I wait a few minutes until the time he said that he'd be in the office. I get a recording. I go to check the bathroom again. I find the "box" in the hallway.

 

I don't know why I did not see it earlier. I still want to call the salesman. Maybe it has an alert system to find it when it's lost. 15 minutes has passed. I call again. Still get the recording,

[+ poolboy48220]

We got a similar system for my Dad a year or two ago. They have a 24/7 tech support number. That's who I'd call, not the salesman. There was a joke floating around the software company I worked at years ago...

 

Q: What's the difference between a used car salesman and a software salesman?

A: A used car salesman knows when he's lying.

[+ poolboy48220]

To answer your original question: I do get to work on time, I'm one of the first few people in the office. But I rarely pay attention to my phone. We work in an environment where email and instant messaging are, by far, the preferred methods of communication; followed by the impromptu "stop-by-your-desk". I realize this may not be a workable model for salesmen.

[+ sync]

I understand your frustration. An HR person once told me the first indication a person does not like the job is tardiness. Can't say for sure that's the case with the salesman with whom you are dealing, but it's a possibility.

[+ Avalon]

Thanks all!

 

I did reach him after half-an-hour. They don't have any tracking system for lost, missing devices he said.

 

A friend told me that where he once worked the secretary would log the employees in as they came to work. One employee came in early and went to the break room to get coffee. When he then got to the secretary he was told that he was now a few minutes late and would be docked one hour's pay. So instead of going to his desk he went back to the coffee room for the remainder of the hour.

[rvwnsd]

There are a few reasons other than tardiness you might be getting his voice mail:

• He is taking a vacation day
  
• He is taking a sick day
  
• He is out in the field
  
• He is on another call
  

That said, it must be frightening to find that your LifeAlert box is lost and I can see why rational thinking in time f crisis might be difficult. Take a deep breath and call the company's technical support team. They can help you. The salesman really can't at this point.

[+ poolboy48220]

We had a fun (?) false alarm with my Dad's system. He accidentally pushed the alert button while he was in the basement. The base unit, and the phone, is upstairs - the company called him when they got the alert, got no answer, so they called 911 for him, and then my sister and I (his contacts). My sister & I both headed over to his place, I was halfway there when I got a call from my sister saying it was a false alarm. Dad came out of the bathroom to find the paramedics in his kitchen. We tried to do a dry run of the alert system on my next visit to my Dad, to see if there was any indication on the base unit that it had been activated; that was difficult because he was embarrassed by the whole incident and wanted to forget it.

[+ poolboy48220]

A friend told me that where he once worked the secretary would log the employees in as they came to work. One employee came in early and went to the break room to get coffee. When he then got to the secretary he was told that he was now a few minutes late and would be docked one hour's pay. So instead of going to his desk he went back to the coffee room for the remainder of the hour.

In the late 90's I interviewed at a place where as an example of how progressive and friendly the workplace was, the interviewer told me they had just stopped using a punch clock for their computer programmers. I did not pursue the position any further.

[+ Avalon]

I still need to get the landlord to get a lock box so I can have a key outside to let the emergency people in. I don't want to leave the door unlocked.

[+ honcho]

I worked at a major west coast university for 38 years as a computer programmer. I think I can count the number of times I arrived by 8 am (official start of work time), on the fingers of both hands; it was usually more like 10 or 10:30 am, but I always stayed at least 9 hours, and nobody seemed to mind

[+ Funguy]

Try a "luggage locator" disc - thin like a quarter, glue to back of Life Alert box. You can get these and slip it on your key chain, etc. also.

[+ Avalon]

Try a "luggage locator" disc - thin like a quarter, glue to back of Life Alert box. You can get these and slip it on your key chain, etc. also.

 

Thank-you!

 

https://www.thetileapp.com/en-us/luggage-trackers?utm_campaign=979862358&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=231822278594&utm_term=-b&adgroup=48726099495&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiprZrpTq2gIV3rrACh1k8gfrEAAYASAAEgJGYfD_BwE

[+ GregM]

I am always at least 45 mins early for work. I am very rarely late for work. My last job I was there almost 2 years and probably late two times. Current job, never late. Now as for the sales guy not answering his phone, he's probably having his calls sent to vm and he will get to you when he has time. I rarely get the person I'm calling at work. It's always vm first and then wait for the call back. Email and text is best communication I've found.

 

Hugs,

Greg

[luv2rim]

I worked from a big company for 25 years. When I first stated working, hours were a set time and I would always be at work a few minutes early. Over the years flextime was initiated and you could set your job to start anywhere between 6 to 9 am and again I was always a few minutes early. But when the whole department was terminated and my fellow workers released over a 6 month period I was not motivated to be to work on time and was late quite often.

[+ Charlie]

I work online. If I try to log in early, I am told I can't start working until exactly 8:30:00, and I am automatically logged off at 5:00:00, no matter what I am doing.

[BasketBaller]

I work as a civilian employee for the DoD. The military point of view is early is on time, on time is late, late is death. I'm always early!

[rvwnsd]

I'm in one of those roles in which my time is flexible. I typically work late into the evening, so if I arrive at the office at 9:00 no one is going to bat an eye. Of course, if someone schedules a 7:30 AM meeting, I am working at 7:30 AM.

[instudiocity]

Why can't you get your own lockbox to hide your key for the firefighter/paramedics to get in?

 

My mother had one of those systems. The first time there was a thunderstorm and subsequent power outage, she thought she was hearing from God as the monitor when off calling her full name. It took 5 calls of her full name before she finally responded to God and just slowed down the paramedics.

[amused1]

Always at least 15 minutes early. I make the coffee (self preservation as most of my colleagues make horrible coffee), run updates on my computer, check overnight emails, etc. I never touch my phone before opening hours.

[+ Keith30309]

My view... Time is money. Nobody cares what “hours” I work except me and I care to the extent to which it makes me more successful and happy.

 

When I meet these young Seekingarrangement guys and am talking to them about their careers and the importance of a work ethic I point out to them that the cars I see in my parking deck at 5:30-6:00am are the high-end Porsche’s, Maybachs and sprinkling of Maseratis. The Sentras and Corollas roll in at 9:00. That seems to get their attention.

Edited May 4, 2018 by Keith30309

[TruthBTold]

Simple answer: No.

[+ Avalon]

When I was working Monday mornings were especially bad. Not me but several co-workers were habitually late or called in sick.

[TruHart1]

I worked for a major government agency for over 20 years. For about 1/2 of those years, I was not often late but even though I accrued sick leave/vacation monthly which would carry over if I didn't use it, I took so many sick days and vacation hours due to despising management techniques & policies that I rarely had any sick leave or vacation hours left to carry over into the next year. My final 1/2 of the time I worked there, before I retired, I had a new manager (over my immediate supervisor, who was unfortunately just like my previous bad bosses) who had a true "open door" policy.

 

Not only did she treat all levels of her employees with actual respect, holding weekly meetings where she listened to every employee's ideas/complaints, but also rewarded all of us with periodic acknowledgement & celebrations for our work. It made all the difference and by the time I retired, I had accrued quite a large buy-out amount in unused sick leave and vacation. Good management gained the respect of the employees, including me, and instead of "mental health" days when I called in "cough, cough" sick, I became one of those employees who never used sick time unless I was scheduled to see my doctor, and even then, usually for only a few hours, not an entire day!

 

TruHart1

[+ Pensant]

For the last 18 Years I’ve managed my business from home, so no commuting. We let all of our people work from home.