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Re: Rant



Seems to me if you opened mail addressed to YOU, you were in the right.
And, the office manager was in wrong because she was opening mail addressed
to a specific person (you).  Now, as she is the former MD's sister, that
person may have given her (unofficial) permission to open mail addressed to
the MD.  However, since that person is no longer in that position, she
should have at least had the courtesy to ask if mail procedures under the
previous MD would continue to be followed or would their be changes, and
submitted gracefully to the changes.

Sound like large dose of spite on her part.

Tina Bernath
Archive Assistant
Library
TSU Dothan
Dothan, Alabama 36304

----- Original Message -----
From: "Thomas Berry" <tberry@HCEA.NET>
To: <ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2001 2:08 PM
Subject: Rant


> Many of you have read my accounts of the bizarre problems I had with our
> former managing director. Now that he's stepped down, a whole new problem
> has reared itself. I know that you don't care to hear about office
politics,
> but I need to blow off steam. Plus, the punch line might be worth the
tedium
> for those familiar with my saga.
>
> Ever since I've been here, I've generally been asked, expected or told to
do
> two things above and beyond the realm of the Archives. One was doing much
of
> the managing director's work for him, especially including taking an
active
> role in the general business of the Association. Now that he's stepped
down,
> this has continued to a lesser extent under direction of the President,
who
> has assumed much of his responsibility. The other was to help our
bookkeeper
> with various problems that she can't handle herself, especially at this
time
> of the year when she's inundated with orders for our calendars. I've also
> had the freedom to offer suggestions if I felt they might be beneficial to
> our Association.
>
> A problem came up over the weekend about cash received in the mail. She
got
> upset with me about it, saying that by opening mail that was addressed to
me
> I had violated policy that says she open all mail (although I had never
> heard of such a policy). When I tried to offer some constructive (to me,
> anyway) ideas about how we could avoid the problem in the future she blew
> her stack and said that I was the one making a big problem out of mail
> handling. I came back from lunch to find an incendiary memo from her on my
> desk, saying that she is the Office Manager, that she's getting fed up
with
> me overstepping my bounds in offering suggestions to her, that I'm only
the
> archivist and not the managing director, and that I'm essentially to shut
up
> and keep my nose out of anything not concerning the Archives.
>
> Frankly, I haven't encountered such immaturity in anyone older than 10.
I've
> worked for and with some pretty odd people, but I've never been told off
for
> doing something that I was under the understanding I was expected to do.
>
> Punch line - she's the former MD's sister. At least she doesn't think
she's
> an archivist.
>
> Back to putting my nose where it belongs. . .
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Thomas Berry, Archivist
> Historical Construction Equipment Association
> 16623 Liberty Hi Road
> Bowling Green, Ohio 43402
> Phone 419-352-5616
> Fax 419-352-6086
> tberry@hcea.net
> http://www.hcea.net
>
> A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
>
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>
> Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>
>
>

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>