The Vortex of Robert reaches 58 miles!!

Robert's Vortex of Confusion Strikes Again!!

Did you ever know someone who had a knack for attracting problems. Many not of their own doing, but most issues get in because they leave a window open for problems. Well there is a guy Robert. It sometimes feels like something goes wrong with every one of his orders. Seriously, weirdly wrong in ways that one cannot imagine until they happen. It has gotten to the point that, if I see his initials under salesperson in an order involving my department, I -first panic then - I check the order with a fine tooth comb. Most of the problems I manage to head off before they get bigger - kind of like a thunder storm on a summer day. Sometimes I can't because of all different issues - most of which involve him miscommunicating, either he doesn't listen, or he doesn't tell the customer the whole issue. Mostly in if the carpet is ordered today, and it comes from X vendor it will be here either a week from Monday or the WEdnesday. Now it is true that it may (10%) come Friday, but you can't count on that. And don't tell the customer there is an outside possibility of Friday. If you tell the customer Monday or Wednesday and the carpet gods smile on you and it shows up on Friday - you're like the hero. Also you better call the mill and make sure there is carpet available. But NOOOOOOOO. Robert tells the customer Friday or Monday, So I make him call and track the carpet. D tells him if we have a truck Friday it will be on there. So he goes and tells the guy his carpet will be in at 1pm on Friday!! Ok usually we get carpet at 1 - but I have to unload it and check it in and then it needs to be cut nd what if there is a giant accident on the turnpike in the morning???? Now the guy already took part of his order, and it wasn't chcked out right. By this morning the Vortex of Confusion had spread to include the contractor desk manager, their expeditor, the special service auditor, the store auditor, the receiving auditor and of course RObert. So this flock of confused people descend on me, so I get to figure it out!! Ok, I do that - the fix is going to cost me money - not a happy camper. I now need to destress and vent a little - sending me to the special order age and dan's ear. And I get a sinking feeling deep in my flooring bones causing me to call D at the trucking company. She checks the routing. I am not on the sheets. I tell her she gave an idiot the impression I was getting a bill today. She looks up the bill number. She is then sucked into the Vortex of Confusion! The bill tracking says the bill is out for delivery today. She double checks and each entry is signed off and everything. She's all apologizing and I tell her it's not her fault the Vortex of Confusion has apparently grown outside the confines of my building.
I now figure, if a truck shows up I'll have the carpet , if not I won't (it was the only carpet supposed to ship) After an hour I really can't take it anymore, so at the risk of C changing his # I left what one of the salesmen called the saddest most pathetic voicemail in my saddest little girl voice ( yes, I sent feminism back 20 years) ending with sigh if you don't have my carpet I'll see you when I get out of my incarceration. C does call me back about 30 minutes later. He did his first 2 stops and then was in NY ( as in not NJ) He called the dock mgr who is in charge of loading all the trailers to see if my stop got put on a different run. Nope. The four big stops and handful of mom and pops between stop number 2 and me had nothing. So even though we all know I'd unload C at whatever time he shows up as long as someone else wasn't already in the dock. They won't put my roll on "hoping" I'll take it early, because I can tell him he's got to wait 7 hours, at which point he'd leave and the roll would get destroyed when every other stop had to move it to get to their stuff. So I tell everyone involved. They all think I can fix it. I mean I'm a knitter but I can't come up with 50 feet of carpet. i think they were trying to get some from another store when I left. None of this would have been a crisis if only the guy had been told Monday or Wednesday.


Rant over, thank you for listening