Office Disaster - Don't know what to do

[Secretary99]

I have just come back from the dry cleaners (almost in tears) as they have lost my dry cleaning. I put a suit in for dry cleaning last week but they cannot find it.

This puts me in big trouble as I’m wearing jeans (not office clothes) and whilst my boss is not in again until Monday, I have to deal with a client at 11am to sign some accounts.


I have only been working as a temporary PA/Secretary at this firm of Accountants in West London for the past five weeks. It is a tiny office and there is just the boss and me. She and I don’t hit it off and presentation is her middle name.


I am broke until Friday, so I cannot buy more clothes and I live about one and half hours away, so I cannot go home.


What should I do???? I could do nothing and hope the client does not complain or ever mention me wearing jeans and no one is any the wiser.


But, if the client did mention it to my boss then I could be fired instantly and the employment agency would not give me any further bookings.


But, if I telephoned my boss to explain now then I still might get fired. It is so unfair. What should I do?

[turast]

Hi secretary99

Chillax! This doesn't sound like your line of work anyway. People who get on in these places would never wear jeans to work and would probably have spare clothing available at work, because they are so paranoid about all the nonsense you've been talking about. The clients, bosses, firms you've been talking about are just not worth it. Commuting into and out of London for three hours every day!!! It's crap. You're obviously not cut out for all this stress and worry. You sent the wrong files because you're just not functioning properly. You sound quite a young person, so get out now while you still can. Move to the country / up North / sell up and go round Europe. Whatever you do, do NOT continue with this. You're not sleeping, you're probably drinking too much, you are worried sick. If you carry on IT WILL KILL YOU! Why would anybody want to work for someone whose middle name is "presentation". I mean it secretary99, treat this latest incident as a stark warning. This is not the life for you.

[EDDIE51]

I have to agree with the last post , you just don't seem cut out for this type of job.
Get out and look for something else.

[factor-fiction]

I'm not sure I agree . This seems quite a cushy job in some ways- you don't seem to have a lot to do in this job judging by the amount of time you spent on AB yesterday.

[woofgang]

I mean this nicely but from what you have told us your work record is shakey to say the least. Disciplinary in your last job and major foul up recently, also the clothes mess up. If you want to get on doing anything, I would be focussing on getting my head down and cultivating old fashioned stuff like reliability and a good standard of work. Once you will get excellent references for doing what you do, then you can start exploring more interesting opportunities.

[EcclesCake]

I completely agree with Woofgang.

Secretary you'd do well to put your ambitions on one side for the moment and focus on the job in hand and getting good reviews and references. Once you have established yourself as reliable, accurate and able to have a contingency plan in your back pocket for unexpected events then you can start looking for career advancement.

[craft1948]

Having read all your reasons/excuses for things going wrong, I'd actually sack you.

[Mammar]

I think Woof and Factor both make good points. You spent a lot of time worrying about the problem and asking us rather than addressing the problem yourself.
Me, I'd have owned up to the problem honestly, spent time putting right the problem I'd caused previously so they had less cause to complain, taken the telling off on the chin and when I got home, I'd have contacted the agency and said "this job is not for me. Find me another".
Tomorrow is a new day.
And it wasn't "unfair" - it's just life.

[China Doll]

Agree with all the above answers. I'd have let you off the jeans but you'd have been hauled over regarding the emailed accounts if you worked for me.

[bushbaby_de]

What I don't understand is why, if the dry cleaners lost your clothes, they didn't give you the money to cover your loss, which would have allowed you to buy some new clothes? It wouldn't have stopped you being late for work, sending the wrong accounts or spending all day on AB but it might have got you out of your jeans!

[ladybirder]

Do as JTH says. DON'T start telling lies, no need to, you already have a perfectly good reason. Also, I would speak to your agency so they are in the picture if things should go wrong. Good Luck.

[turast]

Come on secretary99. What happened? A stray tiger escaped from London zoo and ripped your jeans up. A fairy Godmother appeared and made you into a Supersecretary? Your boss turned out to be an alien from a lizard-like species disguised in a human body? Or, to get really outlandish, you got sacked for inappropriate dress, downright incompetence and spending all day on AB using the office computer?

[Secretary99]

Thank you for your messages, I am very grateful. Wednesday was a disaster from beginning to end and I really want to forget about it as quickly as possible. I panic very easily and was glad on your ideas to avoid getting fired and being taken off the agency’s books.

Just to clear up a few unanswered points to those of you who thought I should get sacked:

1. Dry Cleaners do not lose clothes they just hand them to the wrong person. Therefore when an item is discovered as missing they require the customer to wait 3 weeks in the hope that it will be returned by whoever had been given the items by mistake. Therefore, there was no chance of getting cash from the dry cleaner on the first day of the problem to enable me to purchase more clothes.

2. I did not spend all my time on AB during working hours. I spent about 10mins in all. While some of you still type with one finger, as an experience secretary I can type at almost 100 words per minute and therefore 300 words takes me just over 3 minutes to type.

3. I do not have a cushy job. This week I have typed up many sets of accounts, reports, letters, opened files, made coffee for my boss and clients, and answered the phone –you name it.

4. OK is mixed up two sets of accounts, gave them the wrong file name and sent them on their merry way to the wrong people. A mistake: it happens.

5. I did not lie to my boss about why I was wearing jeans. During my telling-off on Wednesday she did not even ask or want to hear my explanation. She made up her own mind that I wore jeans because of my lack of commitment to her business and because she was away. She did not give me the chance of lying! In the end she was so nasty about the whole thing (and I was so upset at being spoken to like that) that I agreed with her assessment of the situation. It was because of that that I wore jeans the next day out of spite.

6. I was late by 20 minutes on Wednesday because I was arguing with the Dry Cleaners, so not really my fault.

As previously mentioned, if I was employed (instead of temping) I would get no more than a verbal warning – not fired as some you suggest. Agreed?

I am worried about Monday morning when my boss returns - any suggestions on how to handle the situation would be welcome.

[tamborine]

Good typing speed, exp legal/accounts/schedules/admin/computer/clien
t
liason/trust to work alone. You are underpaid if you cant afford business wear. Work elsewhere, you are in demand !

[tamborine]

That is my ifone presentation; cant touch type on androids!

[Secretary99]

Thanks Tamborine for the vote of support. Feeling very nervious about how today will go. Can't sleep!

[Secretary99]

Thanks Methyl. Done all that but just can't sleep so have got up again.

[Secretary99]

Trouble is the information is out there: wearing jeans, lateness, and sending the wrong accounts to the wrong people. Honestly, do you think I should be sacked?