Work Stories

So most of my blogging friends from work have posts that complain about the little things that happen at our job that we find annoying. Since nobody who doesn't work here cares about those things I'm not going to repeat them, but I do have a story that demonstrates the high intelligence of the people we serve while working in the on-campus computer labs that everyone should enjoy.

I work in the computer lab in the Taggart Student Center a few times a week. In the labs we have a no cell phone policy and we just ask that the students take their calls into the hallway outside the lab so that the other lab users don't have to listen to their conversations. During a recent shift I heard someones cell phone go off and then I heard that person begin a conversation and I did not see anyone getting up to take the call out of the lab. I got up to go find the person on their phone so that I could invite them to take their call outside. For all of you who don't work in the labs let me give you an idea of the layout of the lab so you can better understand the story.
What you can't see is that there is an alcove of computers off to the right that can't be seen from this camera angle. The person on their phone happened to be in this section. Because it's a little pocket of computers I didn't feel like I needed to walk all the way back in there to tell the person to take their call out so I stood about where the boy is standing in the picture and I just motioned to the person on the phone that phone calls needed to be taken outside. He nodded his head in understanding (everyone knows the rule we just have to remind some people to be polite). I decided to continue to the back of the lab where there is a drinking fountain. I went and got a drink and started back to the consultant desk. When I was coming down the aisle I could still hear the man on his phone. "You've got to be kidding me." I thought to myself. But when I got to the opening of the section I couldn't see him. I could hear him, but I couldn't see him. I thought this was strange so I went back to my desk and brought up a second camera that we have in the back of that alcove for situations such as this one.
This is that back little area of computers. The man on his phone was pictured front and center of this photo on his cell phone, bent in half, hiding under his desk. I wish I had saved the photo so that I could show you all how ridiculous he looked. But unfortunately when I refreshed the photo so that all the employees who were there could enjoy the show, he got off the phone and sat back up in his chair, so the pictures were lost. I walked back to tell the guy the reason I had asked him to leave and his face when I was walking towards him was priceless. He was probably almost 6 feet tall but he looked so afraid of me like I was going to beat him up. I just laughed and told him that in the future he would need to take calls outside because we have a policy. I did also tell him that hiding under the desk doesn't work because there are webcams everywhere. He mumbled something about his phone dying as I walked away, not a good enough excuse for looking as silly as he did if you ask me.