Work

This is going to be an interesting week.

It started yesterday morning when my boss left me a voice mail message asking me to call him back because he had something to talk to me about. Although I'm usually an optimist, this voice mail message made my heart sink as I imagined I was about to be reprimanded for something that happened last week.

I got into a bit of a testy email exchange with the manager of our production dept because I'd been asking for an ETA on a client's product for a week. I wasn't asking for the completion of the product that day, just an ETA I could give the client. The manager ended the email exchange by telling me I was being "disrespectful" and suggested that if I were dissatisfied by the answer I'd gotten from him, I should work with my manager, who was cc'd on the email.
At first I deleted the email in disgust, but after I'd settled down a bit I decided to apologize by writing this:

"I'm sorry that my email seemed disrespectful; it was not intended that way. Obviously I am frustrated at my inability to provide our client with an ETA for their project. However, I am confident that you are now fully aware of the situation and I will wait for word on the progress of the project from you or a member of your team. If the client prompts me to escalate, I will work with my manager as you outlined."

10 minutes later I got an email from one of the team indicating the project was now complete. Remember, I wasn't asking them to complete it that day, I was asking for an ETA for the completion, but I just left that alone. My manager was cc'd on the emails and I trust that he understood.

Until I got his voice mail, requesting me to call him.

So I took a deep breath and called him, but didn't reach him, so I left him a voice mail to call me at his convenience, and tried not to think about the subject again until he called back.

When my phone rang I knew it was him because of the caller ID. I tried to sound cheerful and upbeat when I answered, as if I couldn't possibly be thinking the dark, negative thoughts I was. After our initial greetings, he told me he had a unique opportunity for me.

As it turns out, he is interested in setting up a new department that initially will handle telecon reservations, and will later expand to include customer service too. In his discussions with upper management about who would be a good candidate to train and manage this new department, my name came up. My manager was calling to tell me about this new department and find out if I would be interested in managing it.

My 1st thought was "Whew, thank god I'm not in trouble for my "disrespectful" email!" Then my 2nd thought was "Wow, they actually talked about me at HQ."

My manager suggested I take the weekend to think about it and make a list of my questions, and that we'd talk about it more this week. Unfortunately, at this point I believe I have more questions than I have facts.

I'm flattered I was considered for this new position, and the scope of work is interesting to me and definitely utilizes much of my experience in training and customer service. But I really like many of the aspects of my current position, like working hand-in-hand with my clients to be sure their projects turn out the way they want them. Although I am capable and have managed people successfully in the past, its not a duty that brings me particular satisfaction. In reality I've enjoyed not managing people for the last 5 years. Then there's the whole salary thing to consider. Currently I make a good annual salary and also get a small commission on the revenue my accounts generate. The new job would definitely not have the commission potential so I'd have to get a raise or else I'd actually be making less money.

There's much to think about, but I'm going to be on leave tomorrow and Thurs while Spouse's mother is visiting. She's actually being dropped off this afternoon by Spouse's brother Louis and his wife Karen on their way to Cape May. But Spouse & I didn't want to take the entire day off today, so we'll both quit working early today, and are both taking tomorrow and Thurs off to be with Evelyn. Hopefully we'll have a nice relaxing visit with much less stress than when we stay at her house. Louise & Karen will return here Thurs evening, we'll all go out for a nice family dinner together, they'll stay overnight, and take Evelyn home with them on Fri.

I'm sure Evelyn's visit will provide me with weeks of blog fodder so stay tuned.

Crush du Jour: Rusty Joiner