Author Topic: Epic FU money stories  (Read 2794877 times)

Dicey

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1550 on: March 11, 2017, 09:38:48 PM »
Great story, FIT_Goat! Good for you for recognizing your limits and standing up for yourself and good on your mom for treating you like the adult you were. I'll bet no matter what she said to him, she was supremely proud of you.

The last line reminds me of the time I told someone at a book sale to stop using a scanner. He asked me why I singled him out and I replied that there was a "No Scanner" sign on the end of every row and I could hear his beeping. He got pissed off and said he was going to complain to my boss. I told him I didn't have a boss, I was retired and a library volunteer. The asshat actually had the nerve to call the library and insist that I be fired! The library staff had a good laugh at that, since they know how much time I spend raising money for them.

However, the conflict-averse President of the Friend's Board was actually going to contact him and apologize. I told her if she did, I'd quit the board. (I'm the VP.) Not at all an Epic FU money story, but it was still terrifically fun to stand my ground without worry of repercussion.

SwordGuy

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1551 on: March 11, 2017, 09:48:49 PM »
I replied that there was a "No Scanner" sign on the end of every row
Why does the organization care?  You want to sell the books, you set the price, what's it to you if they want to scan the book before buying it?

Dicey

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1552 on: March 12, 2017, 04:07:02 AM »
I replied that there was a "No Scanner" sign on the end of every row
Why does the organization care?  You want to sell the books, you set the price, what's it to you if they want to scan the book before buying it?

Thanks for asking, Sword Guy. Apologies to everyone else for the slight hijack, but I gotta answer this.

We care for a number of reasons.

- We are the Friends of the Library. We are not the "Source of cheap inventory for book resellers." We take a more cheap books for everyone approach, not just leftover crap that the book resellers don't want.

- The booksellers are the ones who asked us not to allow scanners in the first place. They feel very strongly that it keeps the playing field level. As in, you gotta know your stuff if you want to score the deals, you can't just scan everything.

- Our space is very limited and it gets really tight during peak hours. There simply isn't room for people to move if someone is monopolizing a section with a scanner.

- Next, those fuckers beep and drives those of us who are in the room all day nuts. 

- We work every day the library is open all year long to process the book donations. A large team of dedicated volunteers works for a solid week+ to set up and run the quarterly book sales. We've earned the right to set a few rules. BTW, our price is fifty cents or a dollar for almost everything. Typically, less than 2-3% of our inventory is flagged as "Special" and sold for a little bit more.

- We don't have a lot of storage space, so our culls and leftovers go to a large organized charity (SVdP). If we don't sell something, they are somewhat more likely to, as they operate typical retail stores. They also pick up, which is nice.

Pro Tip: If you really want to score the deals, you become a volunteer at the library. Then you get first pick. #askmehowiknow

EnjoyIt

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1553 on: March 12, 2017, 07:46:58 PM »
Agree with ARS, this is by FAR the best thread on this forum.
Although I have been a guest lurker for a long time I have finally made myself legit -->http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/profile/?u=31677 on the forum, but mostly to follow this thread more easily.

I suppose I am lucky that my work around the salted cured meats industry has proven to be filled with top quality folks and no working through the 'meat grinder.'
Pastrami is the most sensual of the dried, salted meats.

Is that Constanza?

Taran Wanderer

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1554 on: March 12, 2017, 09:56:28 PM »

- Next, those fuckers beep and drives those of us who are in the room all day nuts. 


All good reasons, but I liked this one best.

BlueHouse

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1555 on: March 13, 2017, 12:31:18 PM »
As for my boss?  He called my mom and told on me! 

That was an awesome story and I LOVE that he tattled!  Too funny!  congratulations!

dividendman

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1556 on: March 14, 2017, 11:00:50 AM »
Agree with ARS, this is by FAR the best thread on this forum.
Although I have been a guest lurker for a long time I have finally made myself legit -->http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/profile/?u=31677 on the forum, but mostly to follow this thread more easily.

I suppose I am lucky that my work around the salted cured meats industry has proven to be filled with top quality folks and no working through the 'meat grinder.'
Pastrami is the most sensual of the dried, salted meats.

Is that Constanza?

Obviously!

Eric

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1557 on: March 14, 2017, 01:15:14 PM »
Agree with ARS, this is by FAR the best thread on this forum.
Although I have been a guest lurker for a long time I have finally made myself legit -->http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/profile/?u=31677 on the forum, but mostly to follow this thread more easily.

I suppose I am lucky that my work around the salted cured meats industry has proven to be filled with top quality folks and no working through the 'meat grinder.'
Pastrami is the most sensual of the dried, salted meats.

Is that Constanza?

Obviously!

It was actually George's girlfriend that said that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvSEVOIbEMU

dividendman

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1558 on: March 14, 2017, 02:01:27 PM »
Damn you Eric.

longstrangetrip

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1559 on: March 18, 2017, 11:49:22 AM »
Changed my 401K contribution from 4% to get full company match to max amount

Difference in taxable income of ~$20,000

FU - Not paying for a stinking wall or WW III

JoeBlow

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1560 on: March 18, 2017, 09:56:55 PM »
Changed my 401K contribution from 4% to get full company match to max amount

Difference in taxable income of ~$20,000

FU - Not paying for a stinking wall or WW III

Sorry but you are still paying for it with your remaining taxes.  You will also gain from the wall (not sure about WWIII) with your investments.

runewell

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1561 on: March 18, 2017, 11:14:57 PM »
Maybe a better way to put that is that your country is paying for the wall in spit of your decision to defer your taxes to a later point in time.

Dicey

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1562 on: March 18, 2017, 11:21:28 PM »
Maybe a better way to put that is that your country is paying for the wall in spit of your decision to defer your taxes to a later point in time.
I, too, spit on the decision to build a wall. May it never happen and Dog bless Cemex!

SwordGuy

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1563 on: March 19, 2017, 08:46:33 AM »
Walls are invincible.

However, I expect sales of rope to go up in Mexico. :D

Quote from: Karl Marx
The last capitalist we hang shall be the one who sold us the rope.


firelight

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1564 on: March 22, 2017, 04:06:42 PM »
Need to vent: I'm at my second job ever and this is the first time I'm actually seeing it live. I'm seeing layers of office politics and this is a company that is well run and field that is usually less political. I was thinking of trying the management route and used to not understand why so many on this forum hate it. Now I get it! Man, office politics is serious s**t. I might be affected by it a bit (due to being in team, past projects etc) but I'm so so glad I don't have to do that stuff day in and day out.  And I'm super glad that FIRE date is so close and we are not spending on random crap instead.

How do people even deal with this office politics for years and years?

msilenus

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1565 on: March 22, 2017, 04:16:35 PM »
How do people even deal with this office politics for years and years?

It's a game, like chess or poker.  Some people like it well enough to do it professionally, or else suffer it for the pay despite not liking it.  Biggest real difference is the number of positions in the pro leagues.

scottish

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1566 on: March 22, 2017, 05:03:50 PM »
Quote
How do people even deal with this office politics for years and years?

It's a game, like chess or poker.  Some people like it well enough to do it professionally, or else suffer it for the pay despite not liking it.  Biggest real difference is the number of positions in the pro leagues.

I just stick to the facts.    The political types can suck it.   (I don't present this attitude directly at work though.  :-) )

Mel70

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1567 on: March 22, 2017, 05:08:39 PM »
Walls are invincible.

However, I expect sales of rope to go up in Mexico. :D

Cmon! Anyone heard of tunnels? Talk about an exercise in futility!

SwordGuy

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1568 on: March 22, 2017, 06:34:45 PM »
Walls are invincible.

However, I expect sales of rope to go up in Mexico. :D

Cmon! Anyone heard of tunnels? Talk about an exercise in futility!

Oh!  That's what the Republicans meant by "shovel ready".

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1569 on: March 23, 2017, 06:59:35 AM »
Walls are invincible.

However, I expect sales of rope to go up in Mexico. :D

Cmon! Anyone heard of tunnels? Talk about an exercise in futility!
I think you have your political parties mixed up! :P

Oh!  That's what the Republicans meant by "shovel ready".

exterous

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1570 on: March 23, 2017, 08:40:41 AM »
How do people even deal with this office politics for years and years?

It's a game, like chess or poker.  Some people like it well enough to do it professionally, or else suffer it for the pay despite not liking it.  Biggest real difference is the number of positions in the pro leagues.

Heh - I don't like playing the game but it seems I have at least some aptitude for it. Not a FU Money story but a FU I don't need this job story. I worked long hours during and at school for a profession with some serious CYA needs. Turned out to be a terrible career choice but I forged habits, connections and a work ethic that has served me well since then. I changed fields and got a new job where I worked on teaching myself a new career.

Well the VP for the dept was an awful person with a history of backstabbing. She would regularly scream at and insult people publicly and drove several people to nervous exhaustion. With me as the lowly new guy there were quite a few layers separating us so it didn't really affect me as I kept my head down, did my job and learned my trade. I learned a lot in the time I worked there and started getting job offers from former and new contacts. My current company offered a ton of voluntary and paid for job training options so I continued working there although I did pick up a part time job with a standing full time job offer.

Anyway - my boss ended screwing something up badly. Really badly. He and the VP were best buddies so someone else had to take the fall. Enter the lowly new guy. Imagine my surprise when I was called out and dressed down in front of the entire department for something that I had never done and wasn't aware of. Apparently my raise and bonus were also going to be withheld. After a day of seething rage I confirmed that I still had standing full time job offer elsewhere and prepared my case. Suspecting it would get no where I still followed the proper motions and tried to work it out with my boss and VP - documenting everything. The VP thought I would be scared by the thought of losing my job and tried to lord her position over me so we got no where. When I left the meeting I turned right , away from my cube. She asked where I was going. I told her to file a formal HR review request. After some shock from both of them that someone would dare cross her instead of submitting meekly like pretty much everyone else she tried to tell me I couldn't do that. But I just ignored her and kept walking. I'm stubborn to a fault so I would have done this whether I had another job lined up or not but having the other job took all the stress out of what followed.

At my short lived previous career I had already been part of a few court cases and the formal HR review process had more in common with a court hearing than was probably healthy for a company. My boss and the VP clearly hadn't prepared very well. I'm not sure if that was ineptitude or misplaced contempt for my position but all of their comments involved phrases like "Well, around this time.", "I remember it this way" and he said\she said stuff

Meanwhile my argument was incredibly specific. By habit I had notes, files and emails with exact quotes and times. My boss tried to say that he never got the notes and emails but Microsoft Exchange and file versioning are wonderful things and I had already pulled logs in anticipation of the review process. I responded to his first "I never got that email" with "According to the Microsoft Exchange logs the message was delivered to your inbox at this time and you marked it as read at this time". When he tried to say he never saw my file on the server I responded with "According to the file server logs you made a revision to the file in question on this date at this exact time." I refuted his claim of sending me an email that he never did (he had made this claim in our previous meeting) with a dump of my exchange file logs showing no email like that had been received and asked him to pull his logs to show he sent it. He admitted he may not have sent that email.

The only downside to the hearing is that it was so short. I was enjoying myself more than I probably should have been. True to company form though it had devolved into a yelling match between my VP and the VP of HR. After the found in my favor she tried to obliquely threaten me that basically, my days there were numbered. I laughed and told her "I haven't needed this job for months".

People at my various new places of employment have occasionally tried to play office politics with me but its child's play compared to what I previously saw and dealt with so they've never persisted. I have no doubt that there are many people out there better than I am at it but I do add that to the list of things I learned from the first company.

JustGettingStarted1980

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1571 on: March 23, 2017, 10:56:44 AM »
Exterous -> this was awesomely epic, and amazingly anal/tech proficient of you. I'm in awe.

JGS

cobbb11

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1572 on: March 23, 2017, 12:49:41 PM »
So here's a sort of FU money story I guess:

2 jobs ago, I worked on a help desk for a public company that does HR work for other companies. When I first saw this job online, I realized quickly that I was going through a staffing company to get it. I never quite understood this concept, at least in this instance, since i only did 1 phone interview with the staffing guy, before meeting him for breakfast, before having to do an in-person interview with the HR company anyway. So basically this vampire was getting like half or whatever of my wages for the 6 month contract that I was working for the main company with the idea being they would take me on full-time as long as nothing went wrong. I was working the same hours as the rest of the helpdesk team and doing the same work, but got paid substantially less, no benefits, and had to take a shorter lunch for some reason too. Now I've worked in several IT capacities my career, but this was hands down the WORST.

First off, to even call what I did a helpdesk was kind of misleading. This company was apparently so big and bloated with red tape, probably from being a publicly traded company, that we had a sub-department for EVERYTHING. I was level 1. Basically taking in all the incoming calls/e-mails and making trouble tickets out of them. If the problem wasn't related to a small handful of things we were in charge of fixing, we would push the ticket to the correct department. I'm talking a network team, microsoft team, apple team, hardware team, telecom team, security team, sales support team, development team...the list continues. It was a glorified call center. I used to work at a law firm where we had a small team of about 7 overall with only me and my boss in the regional office I worked out of that would do everything ourselves. Needless to say this was jarring. On top of that, being similar to a call center, our every action was monitored and recorded. You had to log into the phone system to get put in the call-taking rotation, and everyone's status was up on a big screen tv. We were in one open area of half-cubicles with our backs to each other. You got 2 15-minute breaks to use for the day, and if you wanted to use them, you had to go into break mode. So now your status on the tv changed and everyone could see how long you were in the crapper for. And heaven help you if you went to 15:01 in break mode. Then your name would go red on the screen and start flashing at about the 17 minute mark. Your calls were all recorded and 2 random ones were chosen to be evaluated and you would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for every time you went off script or your ticket wasn't up to what they considered par. The majority of my co-workers were annoying and almost always went overboard on their break times, but being full-time they didn't really get reprimanded as the contractors did.

Why would I put myself through all this you ask? Well I had discovered MMM a few years prior to this, and this job was only 4+ miles from home.

Oh the sweet sweet bicycle commute! And this was when gas was still pretty high up. Internally laughing every time I would receive the traffic report from reception about when to avoid the nearby interstate was one of the few things that kept me sane at that job. I quickly got rain weather gear (Florida sucks for that) and was bike riding rain or shine. My best month saw me only filling up my car once. I had to fight with building management to move the bike rack from being next to a pond (not even bolted to anything) to at least a covered outside break area.

So after 5 months there was some falling out between my staffing company boss and HR company boss, so they bought out my contract and took me on full-time a month early. But because there wasn't an official "opening" or whatever phrase they used, I was still in this weird holding pattern. I got an incredibly small pay bump, but still no medical insurance, 401k options, or even vacation days, so I was basically a "direct contractor". On top of that, they had hired another employee after me direct to full-time when I was still under 3rd party contract. I later discovered that the HR company also advertised for job openings on their own. So basically I was just the victim of clicking on the wrong application online. Unbelievable. The final nail in the coffin, was another 3rd party contract employee who started after me getting moved to full-time during a somewhat large re-structuring in my department, where my highly unqualified boss was let go, and a much more reasonable person came in from level 2 to take her place. However at this point the damage was done, I was fed up with going nowhere, leashed to my cubicle like a prisoner for fear of missing a call and having that statistic on my record, and generally being treated like crap despite the weekly metrics being posted and my always being in the top 3 for call availability time, calls taken, tickets created, and tickets closed. Not even bike commuting could help this in the long run.

So long story not made longer, I threw down the gauntlet and gave them one month to make me legit full-time or I would walk. 1 month came and went, I had now been there a week or 2 shy of a year, and I was not about to end up bluffing. FU money let me put in my 2 weeks and I quickly found a job doing IT at an elementary school. So quick in fact that I was leaving work early to go on interviews during those last 2 weeks. 2 of the 3 schools I applied to hired me on the spot (having a college degree for a position requiring only a high school diploma probably helped put me at the top of the resume pile), so I chose the closest one. It was back to a car commute and even worse pay, but holy crap the FREEDOM. I was the only IT guy on site. Got to run the morning news crew with the kids and come up with new intro videos and other multimedia stuff, had the district's helpdesk to call if I needed any assistance (I could only pray they weren't treated like my last job treats helpdesks), and basically got to hang around the school with a walkie talkie, helping out classrooms and computer labs that radioed for me. I even got all the holidays off teachers get too. But like I said, the pay was horrible and I was barely breaking even with just the bare minimum in bills. It's like they knew how little it would feel like "work" and paid accordingly.

So luckily an old friend asked me if I was still in IT and I now work at an accounting firm that she works at (the sad part is that I left the school a week into summer vacation :(((((((( ). But it's the best pay I've ever had, small IT team, no metrics or stats to keep track of, just a general honor system that everyone pulls their weight (and with only 4 of us you can't exactly slack off unnoticed), benefits (I just became eligible for the 401k w/ 50% match on the first 4%, and the best kicker of all is that although the main office that I currently work at is about the same distance the school was (~15 miles one way), they have a smaller satellite office just down the street from the HR company! I currently have negotiated getting to go there once a month, but have a verbal yes that I could start working their full time over the summer after tax season. The plan is to just stay the course and get enough reputation/power to make the trips to the main office become the rarity, since so much troubleshooting can be done remotely these days.

FU money really does help make changes happen easier.

Thanks for sticking through the long read!

mistershankly

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1573 on: March 23, 2017, 01:20:17 PM »
How do people even deal with this office politics for years and years?

It's a game, like chess or poker.  Some people like it well enough to do it professionally, or else suffer it for the pay despite not liking it.  Biggest real difference is the number of positions in the pro leagues.

They work their way from being forced to wrestle the fat man to positions of pulling levers where they are further removed from the bloodbath of middle management politics.  Here is the description of the Fat Man and The Trolley philosophical debate I'm referring to.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/24/books/review/would-you-kill-the-fat-man-and-the-trolley-problem.html

Either way, they become more immune to the politics as well as the calls for compassion (in most cases) to survive and climb out of the immediate moral dilemmas of either caring too much or not giving a shit at all.  Sadly, no one wins as they compromise their humanity in exchange for delusional security and control. 

On the other hand, I've come across some great leaders but even they were (at times) perceived as turning a blind eye or indirectly contributing to damaging office politics.

Just Joe

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1574 on: March 23, 2017, 02:49:47 PM »
My argument was incredibly specific. By habit I had notes, files and emails with exact quotes and times. My boss tried to say that he never got the notes and emails but Microsoft Exchange and file versioning are wonderful things and I had already pulled logs in anticipation of the review process. I responded to his first "I never got that email" with "According to the Microsoft Exchange logs the message was delivered to your inbox at this time and you marked it as read at this time". When he tried to say he never saw my file on the server I responded with "According to the file server logs you made a revision to the file in question on this date at this exact time." I refuted his claim of sending me an email that he never did (he had made this claim in our previous meeting) with a dump of my exchange file logs showing no email like that had been received and asked him to pull his logs to show he sent it. He admitted he may not have sent that email.

So can anyone see these logs or are these something on IT support staff can pull. Nice CYA tool.

dogboyslim

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1575 on: March 23, 2017, 03:59:51 PM »
RE Office politics, but not really about FU money other than that I had plenty and "Jane" didn't.

I worked in a large company as the director of one of the research units.  One of our large data projects required integration across 13 different source systems to assemble a common record that was broken up into specific time movements based upon client transactions.  Needless to say, this required someone who had some serious data, ETL and SQL skills.  The original project estimate was that it would take 6 months.  Jane (not her real name) and her compatriot were able to compile and assemble the required input data-set in 2 weeks of major overtime in concert with me as a business resource.

Fast forward 3 years.  I'm the director of one of the largest business units and Jane is critical to my model development work.  Here's where the office politics get interesting.  Jane used to date Mark Andrew Holman (not his real name, but he was a M-AH).  Anyway, Uma Brady (not her real name) started dating M-AH, who was cheating on Jane.  UB and M-AH getting engaged is how Jane found out that M-AH was breaking up with her.  UB brown noses to the IT VP and gets put in a director spot over Jane.  Jane calls me up, explains story, says she's waiting for the ax to drop.  I say don't worry, there's no way they can replace your work.  I start an inventory of all the critical projects my department is working on and highlight all the work Jane was doing on each.  In my world, data is your lifeblood.  I had lots of talented analysts, but few data wizards.  Jane was a very valuable resource.  Anyway, I get the very polite notice from UB that Jane was being moved off of my projects.  I replied saying "Thanks for letting me know, can we have a quick meeting?  I need to understand how your department will be fulfilling the SLA it has with me."

We have meeting.  I had escalated issue to my EVP, so the IT VP was in room.  UB starts talking about how Jane had had some complaints from internal clients and they were moving her to work on more internal projects.  I said "How you assign staff is up to you, but I have an inventory of the projects that Jane is working on and I need to know how you are going to fulfill the needs."  Projects 1-5 were all on the CEOs list of talking points when he spoke about future project enhancements.  The work required to do what Jane did was exhaustive, and she was wicked fast and accurate.  At the end of my description of the project tasks and skill sets needed to replace her the IT VP looked at UB and said "That sounds like 10 people, not 1.  How are you going to source that?"  UB just looked red in the face.  I then innocently asked "BTW, who were the clients that complained?  Based upon your allocation of billing Jane is 100 percent allocated to me, and as far as I can tell she's amazing.  I know the complaint didn't come from me.  UB gets more red, IT VP looks at UB with a questioning look.  UB says "it was an anonymous complaint."

Two weeks later Jane comes in my office closes the door, sits down and says:  "I just got a visit from the IT VP.  It seems that I'm being promoted and will now report to 'Other IT Director' instead of UB.  I have a new job accountability to train data literacy and ETL efficiency and am to be considered the model for how to partner with the business.  I asked ITVP how I'd gone from being told I was being moved away from client facing roles due to complaints to being used as the model for client facing roles and ITVPs reaction was odd.  She laughed loudly and then said that when a business unit Director would go to that much effort to make an IT Director look like a complete schmuck over what was clearly non-work related BS in defense of someone in a different department with the lowest analyst title possible, there was clearly a close relationship with the business.  I asked her to explain that further and then she just said ask you."

Sometimes office politics are the best defense for office politics.  UB lasted all of 6 months as a Director.  After that I got the email that said.  "UB no longer works for _company_."

RyanAtTanagra

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1576 on: March 23, 2017, 04:19:58 PM »
RE Office politics, but not really about FU money other than that I had plenty and "Jane" didn't.

One of my new favorite stories, bravo!

seanc0x0

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1577 on: March 23, 2017, 04:24:58 PM »
(snipped for brevity)

That's awesome!  I always like to hear people stand up for those getting unfairly abused. I've been in that position a couple times before learning about FI, and never had anyone stand up for me. Kudos!

JustGettingStarted1980

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1578 on: March 23, 2017, 05:09:16 PM »
Bravo Dogboy!!!

If we don't stand up for the good eggs, who will?

Blindsquirrel

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1579 on: March 23, 2017, 07:03:09 PM »
   Good Dogboy! That is a great tale!

firelight

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1580 on: March 24, 2017, 02:35:26 AM »
This is awesome, dogboy!! Thanks for sharing! Gives me hope that office politics is not a bad thing, just another tool for how you use it.

Guesl982374

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1581 on: March 24, 2017, 08:02:20 AM »
Sometimes office politics are the best defense for office politics.  UB lasted all of 6 months as a Director.  After that I got the email that said.  "UB no longer works for _company_."

Outstanding!

mm1970

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1582 on: March 24, 2017, 11:16:04 AM »
Exterous -> this was awesomely epic, and amazingly anal/tech proficient of you. I'm in awe.

JGS

+1000

mm1970

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1583 on: March 24, 2017, 11:24:47 AM »
Sometimes office politics are the best defense for office politics.  UB lasted all of 6 months as a Director.  After that I got the email that said.  "UB no longer works for _company_."

Outstanding!
Amazing!

Dicey

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1584 on: March 24, 2017, 11:38:12 AM »
Wow, three good ones in a row! You guys rock!

msilenus

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1585 on: March 24, 2017, 01:43:09 PM »
"It seems that I'm being promoted and will now report to 'Other IT Director' instead of UB.  I have a new job accountability to train data literacy and ETL efficiency and am to be considered the model for how to partner with the business.

I can't tell... after all that trouble did you still lose your data maven?

gerardc

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1586 on: March 25, 2017, 10:06:53 PM »
...

No offense but this looks more like an "I'm fucked" story than an FU one.

cobbb11

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1587 on: March 27, 2017, 10:32:11 AM »
...

No offense but this looks more like an "I'm fucked" story than an FU one.

Which part? I would think having enough money saved up to fight for what I felt I deserved at the HR company and not bluffing when threatening to leave would be a perfectly adequate example of FU money. The rest of the story was just to illustrate what happened since then and how things managed to work themselves out in the end to where I will (hopefully) be getting nearly the same exact bike commute with even more money and benefits than had I been forced to stay where I was if I was living paycheck to paycheck.

dogboyslim

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1588 on: March 27, 2017, 12:30:14 PM »
"It seems that I'm being promoted and will now report to 'Other IT Director' instead of UB.  I have a new job accountability to train data literacy and ETL efficiency and am to be considered the model for how to partner with the business.

I can't tell... after all that trouble did you still lose your data maven?
Yes and no.  I lost 30% of her time.  I never noticed the difference though as she still delivered everything needed for all my projects.  I suspect my projects got priority in her workload and that as involved as they were, she still wasn't at capacity.  Top notch performer.

TheBuddha

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1589 on: April 03, 2017, 09:44:01 AM »
Not exactly an FU money story, but I think it's in the spirit of the thread.

Quote
BANK LOSES $1 MILLION DEPOSIT IN PARKING VALIDATION DISPUTE

February 21, 1989

SPOKANE, WASH., FEB. 20 -- A bank in Spokane learned an expensive lesson by refusing to validate a 60-cent parking slip for a destitute-looking man, who retaliated by withdrawing his $1 million account.

"If you have $1 in a bank or $1 million, I think they owe you the courtesy of stamping your parking ticket," John Barrier said in an interview today in the Spokane Spokesman-Review.

Barrier, 59, said he was wearing his usual shabby clothes last October when he pulled his pickup truck into the Old National Bank parking lot in Spokane. He paid a quick visit to his broker, cashed a check at the bank and then went outside to drive away.

The lot boy said there was a 60-cent parking fee, but that Barrier could take his slip inside to get it validated. No problem, he thought, because he had done business at ONB -- now U.S. Bank of Washington -- for more than 30 years. But a teller took one look at his grubby clothes and refused to stamp the parking bill.

"She told me the bank only validated parking tickets when a customer made a transaction and that cashing a check wasn't a transaction," said Barrier.

The millionaire said he asked the teller to call a bank manager, who also refused.

"He looked me up and down and stood back and gave me one of those kinds of looks," said Barrier, turning up his nose to imitate the manager. "I said, 'Fine, you don't need me and I don't need you.' "

Barrier withdrew all his money and took it down the street to Seafirst Bank.

"The first check he brought me was for $1 million," said Dennis Veter, vice president of Seafirst's main Spokane branch.

"You'd never know by looking at him, but you or I should be so lucky."

Phyllis Campbell, area manager for U.S. Bank of Washington, confirmed Barrier's story and said the incident prompted the bank to review the way it does business.

"Every customer should be treated as a guest. Unfortunately, this incident didn't happen that way," Campbell said.

Barrier's picture was taken this month for Seafirst so the bank can promote its new customer in its newsletter this week. While Barrier was standing in front of the Old National Bank building after the photo session, a destitute-looking man walked by.

"You see that guy?" Barrier asked. "Well, we're all the same. I'm no better than that guy or anybody else."

He says he was born a Texas orphan, made it only through the 10th grade and joined the Navy after marrying young. He came to Spokane in the 1950s and made a lot of money buying and refurbishing old buildings.

"Anybody can do it," Barrier said of his wealth. "God gives everybody in life 24 hours a day. It's just how you use those 24 hours that lets you get ahead."



SEAKSR

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1590 on: April 03, 2017, 10:09:55 AM »
Thanks for that post. I appreciate the inspiration!

Threshkin

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1591 on: April 03, 2017, 03:27:29 PM »
I dress very casually on occasion and have gotten looks like that on occasion.  No one has ever refused me service though.

On the other hand, having $1M+ in a bank savings account is not very mustachian.

markbike528CBX

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1592 on: April 03, 2017, 04:17:59 PM »
I dress very casually on occasion and have gotten looks like that on occasion.  No one has ever refused me service though.

On the other hand, having $1M+ in a bank savings account is not very mustachian.
I've pull out large amounts, dressed in a old biker jacket, nary a blink, didn't even ask for photo ID (had a bank card). 
It was going to a cashier's check and I think I had to sign for it.

$1M might be a small fraction of his stuff (cash allocation)?

Sydneystache

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1593 on: April 03, 2017, 05:02:34 PM »
Love it! Some people are so judgey...glad it bit that bank back. I can really see that teller's career skyrocket...to the bottom.

Along these lines, my DH has a story about a friend of a friend who is a car fanatic. A shabby looking man enters a car dealership.

Shabby to salesman: I would like to buy X car.

Salesman looks at him up and down: Sorry, I don't think you can afford our cars.

Shabby is shocked:  Are you refusing to sell me a car?

Salesman: Sorry mate, no can do.

Shabby: Get me the manager.

Salesman gets manager.

Manager: What can I do for you today [John]?

Shabby: I would like to buy X car.

Manager: No worries. What else?

Shabby: Fire your salesman.

Manager fires salesman. John is one of their best customers and always pays outright.

Moral of the story: Don't be a dick to someone who wears shabbily. This is probably why they are richer than you. Especially in Sydney, our dress standards imply the shabbier you are, the richer you are especially on weekends. The phrase beachbum applies especially to the millionaires up and down our coastlines. My friend who lives on a Sydney point is happy to look like a hippie bum. I have had to tell him off when he decided to wear thongs to a club because of their dress code.

On the opposite scale, people who wear Italian designer suits are insecure and wannabe millionaires.

CowboyAndIndian

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1594 on: April 03, 2017, 05:16:37 PM »
I have had to tell him off when he decided to wear thongs to a club because of their dress code.

I think a translation is needed here.

Thongs is Australian for flip-flops (Thanks Quora, just read this there).

Sydneystache, Thongs in American is extremely minimalist underwear. Do a google search and see the images ;-)

« Last Edit: April 03, 2017, 05:20:04 PM by CowboyAndIndian »

Sydneystache

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1595 on: April 03, 2017, 05:22:58 PM »
Yeah sorry about that. It's like fanny packs too ;-)

markbike528CBX

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1596 on: April 03, 2017, 05:25:39 PM »
A Thong is the underwear,   Thongs is a pair of flip flops.     I fortunately did not confuse the two on first reading.

If your buddy is wearing thongs, the underwear, it might defeat the purpose :-)

Signs as--- Temporary Deputy Grammar Sheriff.

CowboyAndIndian

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1597 on: April 03, 2017, 05:26:00 PM »
Yeah sorry about that. It's like fanny packs too ;-)

Yup, as someone whose English was a mix of American and English growing up, I had some issues with the terms in the US.

e.g Rubber -> Eraser (English/Indian English) -> Condom (US)

Fag -> Cigarette (Indian English) -> Deregatory term for a gay person (US)


TheBuddha

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1598 on: April 03, 2017, 06:21:48 PM »
I dress very casually on occasion and have gotten looks like that on occasion.  No one has ever refused me service though.

On the other hand, having $1M+ in a bank savings account is not very mustachian.
I've pull out large amounts, dressed in a old biker jacket, nary a blink, didn't even ask for photo ID (had a bank card). 
It was going to a cashier's check and I think I had to sign for it.

$1M might be a small fraction of his stuff (cash allocation)?

I think he had $8M with the bank altogether. The manager at the new bank says "first" check:

Quote
"The first check he brought me was for $1 million,"


I got the story via /r/MaliciousCompliance. I like that version a little better and it has more details.

Quote
Sorry if this is a repeat. I just stumbled across this sub and immediately thought of a story I read in the Spokane Spokesman-Review about 30 years ago. I looked for the original, but could only find this Washington Post article

The original article had many more satisfying details, and it's likely my memory has added some. For example, I remember the parking fee being 50 cents, not 60.

Anyway, weathered looking guy wearing old jeans and a wrinkled shirt had just cashed a check at a downtown Spokane bank. Spokane had paid parking, but you could get your ticket validated at downtown businesses. With enough validation, parking was free.

As he's leaving, he remembers he didn't get his parking stub validated. He gets back in line and asks the teller to validate the stub.

"I'm sorry, sir, we only validate with a transaction."

He explains he was just here and shows her the receipt. She won't budge. He asks to speak to an upper level bank exec by name. "I'm sorry, sir, he's too busy."

He asks for a manger, explains, and again asks for the upper level exec by name. The manager explains that he's in a meeting and that the customer should leave.

The guy says, "If I make a transaction, you'll validate the ticket?" Yep.

"I'd like to close my account."

The teller gets a snarky look and starts complying, only to have her face fall as she pulls up the details. Suddenly, they are all apologetic and go to get the exec he'd asked for.

He's just as firm as they were and insists he wants his account closed. I recall it being around $8 million.

He took the cashiers checks, walked across the street and opened a new account at a competing bank, after getting his parking validated.

The bank changed their policy. They would validate parking sans transaction.

farfromfire

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #1599 on: April 06, 2017, 07:43:14 AM »
Awesome thread!

FIRE is 10-12 years away for me, but when I do finally quit I definitely want people saying, 'Wow, now that guy got canned!'.

A few years ago, the company I worked at was purchased and they proceeded to fire my whole department (~100 people). So one of the fired employees says goodbye to everyone, calmly steps out the door, and sets an SVP's car on fire. It was glorious.