I just got fired for fixing a computer

AlphaNeonic · 2 years

You got fired for going outside the bounds of your job description. You should have asked before opening it up and messing with anything.

Most employers don't want initiative anymore, they want obedience.

CharlieDancey · 2 years

Background- I worked as an elf for Santa, my first job

I just cannot figure this at all, photo-editing software? Shift? Your boss said she would lose her job?? Overheating PC? At the North Pole?

GeneralRobert · 2 years

That kind of shit went on all the time in the military. If you got tired of waiting for official channels to fix something and did it yourself, you were censured. People died as a result of non-action.

SAugsburger · 2 years

On the plus side, on your résumé you can list your reason for leaving as "Being too awesome."

notahax0r · 2 years

They're worried you upset the small gods who make the computer think. They only fired you in an effort to protect themselves from the tiny wrath.

RagingErectus · 2 years

If the IT department was really competent or omnipotent, they would have installed the computer in a kiosk or area where there is adequate ventilation in the first place.

EDIT: They would also not having the systems running as root/admin so it would be difficult for someone that didn't actually know what they're doing to meep things up.

KuroiDegu · 2 years

[deleted]

judgej2 · 2 years

I would call your boss back and apologize. Let her know that you were just seeking her best interest and intended no harm. Also let her know that you will not do it again without permission. She might reconsider her decision.

kinokonoko · 2 years

No good deed goes unpunished.

JimboBob · 2 years

Ignore the responses from IT dorks. The company hired you because you had computer experience.

Write a polite letter to your boss's boss explaining how you took initiative to correct a situation that made your work more efficient.

Point out how your boss without proper knowledge and insight overeacted and fired you leaving the company open to a potential lawsuit. Point out how she fired you because she feared for her job. This is sure the get the attention of her boss.

Horrible_Economics · 2 years

I worked at Best Buy in the computer department for my first job. One time a customer came in with is laptop and a MP3 player he'd purchased from us for his wife as a Christmas gift. This was in the olden days and Windows 98 was being a sonofabitch about acknowledging the damned thing.

So he's somewhat miffed that his excited wife couldn't furiously begin loading Shania Twain albums onto this Rio Whatever-the-hell on Christmas Morning. He asks for help, kinda begs for it really, so I throw the laptop up on a counter and install the driver and get it working. Took maybe 5 minutes. The customer is overjoyed, has a renewed faith in humanity as well as greater sense of loyalty to the store.

As soon as he leaves I'm sharply reprimanded by the department manager. We're not supposed to assist customers with technical issues in the department, if they have a problem they need to be sent to tech services where they're to be charged obscene amounts of money and wait days for a simple fix to be completed. The hell with customer satisfaction, the hell with seeing the big picture, the hell with just doing the - right - and easy thing. When you've got monthly numbers to meet that pure profit from installing this poor dude's mp3 player is more important than perhaps creating a life long loyal customer. Oh, and God forbid he should have problems later and blame it on us, this could come back to bite us! It's better to never go above and beyond because it's just not worth the risk!

Moral of the story (besides no good deed going unpunished) is that management leans towards thinking that protects management. The culture simply doesn't support those that stick there neck out to get something done, it's better to suffer through asinine protocol than to point out obvious flaws in procedure. So horribly sad...

azzaleo · 2 years

She said she could lose her job because the company she works for has magic jack so they watch everything we do. So I got fired. WTF?

Then tell that dumb bitch to get them to look up what the fuck you did.

SpiceMustFlow · 2 years

Magic Jack?

sweetdreamr · 2 years

I heard tell of a woman that was in charge of a nuclear reactor and ordered maintenance on it. That meant the world supply of medical isotopes would be limited during the maintenance window. The government overruled her, ordered the reactor not be shut down, and fired the woman for non compliance. Three months later, there was a leak. That meant unscheduled maintenance.

What I mean is you could be doing your job, and still get screwed over.

jbsinger · 2 years

You just got promoted out of the wrong job.

rubadub · 2 years

How dare you show some initiative, you're supposed to be a mindless drone don't you know. Don't worry though, a couple more jobs and that'll soon be soon be extricated from your being.

serverslayer · 2 years

I would send them a bill for computer repair.

bolhuijo · 2 years

As you experience more of this crap, you'll learn to "unleash your inner Wally" as I like to put it. Type-A Dilberts tend to stress out and try to achieve success even if that means going outside the job description. But Wally? Nah, he's happy to stand there with his coffee mug smiling because he knows that it ain't his problem. In this case, you shoulda been Wally.

bolthead88 · 2 years

Forgive my ignorance, but how does Magic Jack assist in spying on your employees?

kevestyles · 2 years

one of my coworkers got a grievance filed against him for changing a light bulb above his cubicle....He got tired of waiting for the (unionized) maintenance staff to do it.

bsmeteronhigh · 2 years

The rule is simple: No good deed goes unpunished.

Commit it to memory.

lungdart · 2 years

You were not issued a warning? I have not met a single employer who is willing to fire someone without a verbal or written warning, just to cover there tracks.

jayesanctus · 2 years

wow, they're stupid and fearful.

bcndtdfbbxc · 2 years

You should have asked.

Also that sounds like shit work, fuck that job man. ;-)

CuilHandLuke · 2 years

[deleted]

[deleted] · 2 years

You should learn a lesson from this. 1.Sometimes people are simply idiots. 2. Elves should stick to 'elving' on their first job. Adults don't really like it when a young person comes in and starts doing things with their equipment that they are not familiar with themselves. Even if you know what you are doing, it's a bit crass.

CatsAreGods · 2 years

Send the company a bill for fixing the computer. Make it reasonable and legal. They just might pay it!!!

solzhen · 2 years

Don't do IT if you're not IT. Overseers don't like that stuff. Sucks, I know. But just gripe about the crashing issue until they get one if their people over to fix it.

c0rnd0g · 2 years

Go apply for unemployment... probably something you can do online. It's not just for people that are "laid-off" but also for people who think they were fired for the wrong reasons.

You might have to go into the unemployment office for an interview to explain your side of the story and like fighting a traffic ticket... the other side might not show up to tell their side of the story in which case you will probably win the day.

It sounds like you were fired without (enough) cause because even if you overstepped your boundries... you deserve to be warned about it and given a second chance. The unemployment office should care that a company is indiscriminantly firing people but this depends on a lot of factors.

bongozap · 2 years

Your (former) boss is a fool who over-reacted. But lets be realistic...she's a head-fucking-elf. What kind of high-calibre management talent gets attracted to that job in the first place.

There are a lot of employers who wouldn't give a shit. You drew an unlucky straw. Forget it and move on.

rocor · 2 years

A pleasant bunch of co-workers there. Grassing you up at the first opportunity. Not so much elves, as goblins.

[deleted] · 2 years

There is a reason that lady works at a Santa shop.

tekhertz · 2 years

i think a lot of people on here are misunderstanding the situation. If it had been a company car overheating and he decided to add coolant or clear debris from the radiator so he could finish his rounds would you still believe that instant termination is appropriate. The most i might do is reprimand him for not asking permission first but only a complete dick would fire someone on there first notice for fixing something. If they are that concerned about the security then he shouldn't have even had permission to launch dxdaig.

darkkish · 2 years

Majic Jack is a Voip service... how would they watch what you do?

DoorFrame · 2 years

Elves are notoriously bad at fixing personal electronics.

oddmanout · 2 years

Is your boss Mrs. Clause? Santa was going to fire her for what you did?

brbrbrad · 2 years

Now you have a GREAT story for job interviews. When they ask if you've ever been fired, tell them what you told us. A potential employer with any sense will consider it a sign that you will be an asset to the company. Any employer who holds this against you would be a bad match and is not the kind of person you want to work for in the first place.

assumetehposition · 2 years

Beware, if the solution you tried hadn't worked, you would have been blamed for the problem. (I know this from experience.)

[deleted] · 2 years

Go all bad santa on them: rob the mall, burn it down afterwards.

Plus if you can, find out where your manager lives and start her house on fire with her inside, while she's sleeping.

Then when she runs out of the house, throw gasoline on her and start her on fire.

Talk about out of the pot and into the Fired!

...

I either need more or less Jack Daniels.

glitch83 · 2 years

I did this to a slushie machine at a movie theater once. I was pressured to leave soon after. I hear ya - don't despair though, you can fix real computers and make more money if you choose to.

[deleted] · 2 years

Background- I worked as an elf for Santa, my first job

GENIUS!! I love it, when can I see a script?

depmode · 2 years

"The computer didn't crash the rest of my shift." - I salute your initiative. Unfortunately, it's incidents like this that make Dilbert so popular. You should seriously send this in to Scott Adams. I can see the comic now:

Boss: "You fixed the computer this morning." Dilbert: "Yes, I showed initiative. It hasn't crashed at all since I fixed it. Guess, I'll be getting a raise." Boss: "Normally, you would. However, we have a company policy of not taking initiative unless you clear it with upper management first. Therefore, I'm going to have to recommend you not get a bonus this year for taking initiative without permission." Dilbert: sighs....

SortaKindaMAYBE · 2 years

And on that day Lohengrin9000 learned a valuable lesson. 90% of jobs do not value initiative. A company is like a religion. If you don't follow their ten commandments you're out even if you are right.

shaze · 2 years

First of all, magic Jack is a voice over ip service, not a delicious turkey sandwich like your employer fears.

Second, WTF, dxdiag? Why would you even check that, much less mention you checked that first, here on reddit?

saiyanate · 2 years

Better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission.

I'm deeply concerned at so many comments on this page saying, essentially, "Keep your head down, do your job and nothing more." It's a serious problem when idiots are in charge and all the original thinkers keep their mouths shut for fear of losing what little they are granted by the idiots.

guhdai · 2 years

working on company equipment w/o company permission is a big no-no, my friend.

tendonut · 2 years

You learned a very valuable lesson about the modern workforce that I learned myself when I was 17. When you get your first job, do just enough to not get fired. It can be applied further in your career too, but not always guaranteed. When you work hard, it never pays. Ever. You will either be rewarded with more work, or in your case, termination. As other redditors have been saying, they don't want intelligence/initiative. They want obedience. When you step into the workplace for possibly the next 5-10 years, just turn your brain off. Don't let your bosses know that you know your shit. You will most likely not get a job based off your experience with your current job. This will just get them to work you harder for the same pay. When someone at McDonalds is being super slow, I don't get mad, I respect them. They have figured out the game. Working hard will not benefit them. It will just bring them punishment.

My youngest brother is finally taking my advice after he got his first job last week at Izod. He was working hard at stocking shelves one morning and did it three times as fast as everyone else. Was he thanked? Did he get a break? No, he got more work dumped on him. So the following day, he decided to pace himself. He matched the speed of everyone else that worked there. What happened to him? He got screamed at by his boss for not working hard enough, even though he's going just as fast as everyone else. The bar has been raised. They would never have paid him more money, just given him more work.

[deleted] · 2 years

You simply say that you assumed you were there to increase profit and decrease overhead and you did it. So unless they want to decrease profit in settlement and increase overhead in legal fees then they better damn well give your job back..

As for AUTHORISATION to act on the computer, wasn't required as it swas implied that you were able to use those tools, the very fact they were avaiable does this.

As for the plastic your moved, FIRE HAZARD, again, you'd have to make a full report for the fire safety inspectors, which would decrease profit and increase overhead aswell as perhaps result in criminal charges.

thebezerker · 2 years

My only piece of advice: Don't get caught doing it. However, you did do the right thing.

hiicha · 2 years

You could threaten them for wrongful termination. You did nothing wrong and they have no proof that you did do anything wrong. You never signed any paperwork about computer ethics or a terms of use contract, so they can't terminate you for opening "unfamiliar" applications.

A similar incidence happened with me awhile back. We were testing remote connections to make sure our router forwarding was configured properly and employees would be able to work when deployed. A newly hired assistant walks by and sees a webpage on my screen with our IP and a ton of ports listed and reports it to the manager. I get home, can't RDP in, figure a setting got fucked up so I'll fix it in the morning.

When I came back in to work the next day, boss is freaked out wondering what's going on because the new assistant had literally shut down everything from the server racks to the damn cable modem itself pending an investigation into why I was "hacking" our network.

Just another reason why if people have suspicion, just fucking ask before assuming.

LohenGrin9000 · 2 years

So I am curious, did she undo what you did afterwards? Did she move the foam back into place after she fired you?

[deleted] · 2 years

Reminds me of one the computer stupidity quotes where the librarian freaks out at someone for using telnet to check their email because "That doesn't look like hotmail. Everybody uses hotmail".

[deleted] · 2 years

Hone your skills. When you are so good at your job, youve become irreplaceable, the fun begins. Ive got them to the point of screaming YOURE FIRED! And then when I try to walk out they locked me in! Dont sweat the santa stand incident.

LohenGrin9000 · 2 years

People are already taking pictures with Santa?

WTF?!?

AnIdleCoconut · 2 years

My dad works for a larger company as a quality manager. It specifically states in his contract if he installs or alters anything on either of his work computers he can be terminated. Thus he has become a technophobe.

HaroldEtMaude · 2 years

You should read some David Sedaris... I think you will appreciate his santa elf story.

Modfagcensor · 2 years

I can haz pink slip?

2foofoo · 2 years

Who wants to work for assholes like that anyway?

ogtyrant · 2 years

id replace the foam, times a helluva lot more to boot. make sure they crash just how they like it, but worse.

thats my 2 cents..

solusolu · 2 years

wtf elves in november?

LohenGrin9000 · 2 years

[deleted]

kking254 · 2 years

She said she could lose her job because the company she works for has magic jack so they watch everything we do.

What? Please explain how magic jack lets somebody watch everything you do.

Modfagcensor · 2 years

I had the same thing happen to me at work, this bizarre ass woman that had watched too much CSI decided I must have been sending all the companies money to offshore accounts because I had attached an external drive to a pc to sneaker net a file over to another machine since it was too huge to bother copying over the network. As her tiny pig brain observed me set up the file copy, it looked way too much like several scenes she saw in spy movies, she was on her period so she lost her shit entirely and thought she was saving the world by trying to grill my ass over.. gasp connecting some unknown device and opening all sorts of windows I shouldn't know how to open and blah blah .. thankfully that blew over and later in life I was able to watch her reduced to a quivering crying sobbing mess when she got her payback.. it was near orgasmic to hear her sobs of pain.. I only wish I had recorded them.

deerface · 2 years

Never underestimate the power of stupidity.

sorakiu · 2 years

I'd go back to your boss and say if they have magic jack, they can prove that you were only trying to fix the machine. If they review the footage, it will prove your innocence. I would talk to your manager's manager. don't take this lying down. you have to fight for yourself. if get you no joy that way, I'd complain to your state's attorney general about what happened.

you were definitely fired without just cause.

WrongSubreddit · 2 years

So much for thinking outside the box and taking initiative. We can't have that kind of autonomy in our worker drones now can we?

lemurlemur · 2 years

"Most employers don't want initiative anymore, they want obedience."

AlphaNeonic nailed it. It took me years to figure out that most bosses would rather have complete control over mediocrity than partial control over excellence. I guess I just didn't want to believe it. The PHBs [sigh]

T400 · 2 years

welcome to the real world. strive for mediocrity.

rabbitspade · 2 years

STFU elf!
Christmas is practically here, and you're on reddit!? W.T.F.
(posted from a workplace computer)

willies_hat · 2 years

I hate to say this but you shouldn't have fixed it on your own. I have had two different users who attempted to "fix" their computers, to only end up totally screwing them up, both requiring reformats and hours of my time to get them back up and running. While your intentions were good, it's best to not over step your bounds at work. The rules are there for good reason.

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