Debbie in Purchasing

Like many people, if not most, I hate homework.
Especially I hate homework that has no purpose other than to inundate the student with busy work.
By the time I finished sophomore year I had had enough. I was burnt out. I needed a break.
I felt the impending wave of despair and desperation that would envelope me if I went into another semester of pointless homework and reading for classes whose ultimate purpose in my life was unclear to me.
The obvious escape route to this unending torrent of pointless busy work was to withdraw from school for a semester. But this was not a simple matter. There were two channels and only one of them was cost-effective: a co-op job or paid internship.
Before school let out in the spring I was reviewing all of the opportunities I could find and, eventually, I settled on one that met my needs and whose requirements I met. I interviewed for the position and I got it.
I commuted an hour each way, into the next state over, and I began my first "real-world" work experience in the realm of Management Information Systems.

I started on a Monday.
I began with a tour of the facility and introduction to the rest of the team.
Then, without much additional fanfare, I was tossed "to the wolves."

I worked on things that could be handled via phone for the remainder of Monday and through Tuesday.

Wednesday morning I arrived to work and, promptly at 8:00am, the phone rang. All of the other team members looked around and smiled. "Let's let the new guy take this" the sysadmin named Dave said.

Admiral Ackbar, with his most famous line from Return of the Jedi, popped into my mind as I replied "ok" and answered the phone.

The call was from Debbie in purchasing. Her computer would not turn on and, yes, it most certainly was plugged in. I promised her I would come down to check it out and got off the phone.

"Where's purchasing?" I asked.
"Go that way" Dave pointed "and stop at the end of the building. She's, literally, against the far wall."

I began my trek down the building, passing through accounting then the main lobby. I passed through manufacturing and shipping. I passed through service and another area of offices that I have either forgotten who they are or never knew and entered into the domain of purchasing.

Debbie was easy to find as she was standing, impatiently waiting for her solution. Her expression of sternness melted a bit when she realized that I was there to help her and that I was new.

I took a look around and verified that the computer would not, in fact, turn on.

My investigation ended a moment later when I discovered that the plug for her computer was only barely in the outlet, enough that a haphazard glimpse made it appear to be plugged in but loose enough that it was not making any significant contact with the terminals inside the outlet.
I reseated the plug into the outlet and tested the computer.
It sparked into life and Debbie was able to begin her workday.

I began my trek back through the various departments, pausing momentarily to note the terminal in manufacturing with the Budweiser Frogs screensaver that was burning frog images into the screen and the machine operator that was playing solitaire over the front of the CNC operation program.

I logged the case of Debbie and went about my day.

8:00AM on Wednesday, the following week, I answered the phone. It was Debbie. Her computer would not boot.
The process was identical in every respect. My journey, the nature of the problem, the solution, etc.

8:00AM on Wednesday, the following week, I answered the phone. It was Debbie. Her computer would not boot.
The process was identical in every respect. My journey, the nature of the problem, the solution, etc.

After the second repeat of this I inquired as to what was causing this and my colleagues provided me the answer. Apparently the housekeeping crew vacuums Purchasing on Tuesday nights and they fail, every week, to properly plug Debbie's computer back in. No amount of effort has managed to make them accomplish this simple task so, each Wednesday, Debbie calls MIS with the same problem.

8:00AM on Wednesday, the following week, I answered the phone. It was Debbie. Her computer would not boot.
This time, though, I deviated from the routine. I explained to Debbie what we had discovered and what we thought was causing the issue. I outlined that it was as simple as pushing on the plug to ensure it was fully in the wall. Debbie, accepted that this was possible, and watched me prove it.

8:00AM on Wednesday, the following week, I answered the phone. It was Debbie. Her computer would not boot.
I realized, then, that Debbie was never going to do the simple task of plugging her computer in to I began my trek.
The process was identical in every respect. My journey, the nature of the problem, the solution, etc.

I repeated this journey every Wednesday for the duration of my experience with the company and I had the great fortune to have my replacement and I overlap by a week at the end of my time.

On Wednesday, that week, at 8:00AM the phone rang. This time I got to be the one to say "How about we let the new guy handle this one?" as everyone else smiled.

He began his journey to Purchasing moments later.