What is it with people and deadlines?!?!?
We have a major work project due on the 30th. The funding ends at close of business on the 30th. The project's final report needs to go through internal legal approval prior to this. The individual who is tasked with this approval is not available on the 30th so will need the document on the 29th. The document also needs the attentions of a technical editor, which will take a day or two.
As the wrangler of the final report document, I set a deadline for the component parts of today at 5pm. It appears that one co-worker thought my statement that the FINAL documents were due to me at 5pm today really meant that he only needed to give me a draft and he could keep working on it until next Tuesday or Wednesday. I told him that was not the case and he proceeded to argue with me about how it wouldn't delay anything.
It won't delay anything. FOR HIM. It means I get stuck working a 20 hour day reconciling the document that went through the technical editor with the draft changes that get sent on Tuesday (assuming he meets the Tuesday deadline) because the Wednesday approval deadline CANNOT be missed or the report will not be able to be released to the people who paid for the work. I got stuck working several 20 hour days on the last two reports I oversaw. I am not doing it again this time, particularly when I also have other work to accomplish during the same time period. He's known for weeks that the report is due on the 30th and should be smart enough to have figured out from past reports that it also means HIS part is due prior to the final deadline. He should have learned from missing past deadlines too.
As if that wasn't bad enough, I'm trying to close the deal on selling my house tomorrow. It's only been on the market for a year and a half. I finally get everything sorted out and the closing is scheduled for 9am central time tomorrow. Except that the law firm handling the paperwork "forgot" to send me the paperwork until noon (Pacific time) today because they were moving their office location. Well, I have to work and can't just take off whenever, so I didn't get out of work until 5pm. It appears that 5pm is also when all the notaries in town leave work. The best case scenario now is that the notary at the local credit union is one of the people who starts work at 7am Pacific time (aka 9am central) and I'll be able to get the documents notarized then, followed by frantically trying to find a fax machine. I suspect it won't work that way and that it will be unlikely I'll get paperwork to them before 11am central time--two hours late.
I've sent messages to my realtor and the law firm advising them of the delay. Right now I'm assuming that I've just blown closing on my house. The buyer was already bitchy about repairs and other details. I'm going to be really pissed if the stupidity of the law firm costs me a bunch of money, if not the whole sale. I'm certainly not going to recommend this firm to anybody who wants a job done well. How hard is it to keep track of your company's business?!?!?!?
As the wrangler of the final report document, I set a deadline for the component parts of today at 5pm. It appears that one co-worker thought my statement that the FINAL documents were due to me at 5pm today really meant that he only needed to give me a draft and he could keep working on it until next Tuesday or Wednesday. I told him that was not the case and he proceeded to argue with me about how it wouldn't delay anything.
It won't delay anything. FOR HIM. It means I get stuck working a 20 hour day reconciling the document that went through the technical editor with the draft changes that get sent on Tuesday (assuming he meets the Tuesday deadline) because the Wednesday approval deadline CANNOT be missed or the report will not be able to be released to the people who paid for the work. I got stuck working several 20 hour days on the last two reports I oversaw. I am not doing it again this time, particularly when I also have other work to accomplish during the same time period. He's known for weeks that the report is due on the 30th and should be smart enough to have figured out from past reports that it also means HIS part is due prior to the final deadline. He should have learned from missing past deadlines too.
As if that wasn't bad enough, I'm trying to close the deal on selling my house tomorrow. It's only been on the market for a year and a half. I finally get everything sorted out and the closing is scheduled for 9am central time tomorrow. Except that the law firm handling the paperwork "forgot" to send me the paperwork until noon (Pacific time) today because they were moving their office location. Well, I have to work and can't just take off whenever, so I didn't get out of work until 5pm. It appears that 5pm is also when all the notaries in town leave work. The best case scenario now is that the notary at the local credit union is one of the people who starts work at 7am Pacific time (aka 9am central) and I'll be able to get the documents notarized then, followed by frantically trying to find a fax machine. I suspect it won't work that way and that it will be unlikely I'll get paperwork to them before 11am central time--two hours late.
I've sent messages to my realtor and the law firm advising them of the delay. Right now I'm assuming that I've just blown closing on my house. The buyer was already bitchy about repairs and other details. I'm going to be really pissed if the stupidity of the law firm costs me a bunch of money, if not the whole sale. I'm certainly not going to recommend this firm to anybody who wants a job done well. How hard is it to keep track of your company's business?!?!?!?
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