movies and CL
Diabolica decided to do something slightly drastic, and the fates replied: NO, IT SHALL NOT BE.
My dvd collection is getting pretty well rounded. I’m very close to having the basic “must-haves.” Last weekend, I learned that a little used book/music/movie store actually buys vhs. So, last night I ransacked my vhs shelves for unwanted and unloved movies, and then ransacked it again trying to get it to the bare bones. Now most of the movies are taped movies so they’re pretty much worthless to anyone but me. Then I spent a good hour ripping off the old price tags or “previously viewed” stickers and sorting them into piles of good, ok and crap. After work I headed to the used store and tried my luck with about 40 of them. They took 11, which isn’t too bad. Apparently they do not buy “previously viewed” tapes, but they will allow trades ins……..only for other vhs movies, not for dvds or books. Bah
But I think this is a good thing. I’m not really sure that I’m ready to close the door on the dark ages. It’s nice there.
Luckily, the 11 they took were good for cash, so I turned around a bought a few used dvds………including Evil Dead 1 and 2 (wooooo Ash fest!), Ginger Snaps 2 (shuddap, I’ve already heard the bad reviews but damn Ginger is hot), and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
We have a NY investigator (we’ll call him CL for short) who lacks ALL common sense. He’s botched a number of my cases and his payrolls/reports/attachments/videos are consistently late, but yesterday - omg - yesterday was first time I’ve ever had a “dumbass in action” on one of my cases.
He worked a surveillance case that was scheduled for 4 hours and began at 8am. The goal was to find out where the claimant lives and get video of his activities. (This guy has been dodging the insurance company and giving bad addresses for a while now.)
So at the 3/4 hour mark, CL calls me and he advises that he followed the claimant from the hearing to a flower shop in Bklyn, where he was currently working. Fantastic! I asked CL to stay on it (((note: herein lies my tragic sentence of "stay on it"))) and see if he can follow the guy home and try to find out all the info he can on the flower shop (store hours, employees, etc). Here’s where the surveillance goes downhill.
CL stays on the guy - but doesn’t find out ANYTHING about the flower shop except it’s name.
CL stays on the guy - but doesn’t call me, doesn’t call the FM, doesn’t call the client
CL stays on the guy - but he doesn't get any video of his activities.
CL stays on the guy - and just sits there...... FOR SIXTEEN FUCKING HOURS!!!
He stayed there until midnight, which was after the store closed. It’s a 4 hour case ya fuckwit!! At the 8 hour mark (note: 8 hours is the standard surveillance day) CL should have updated SOMEONE. Weeeeeeell, technically he did call in..............at 10:40-something PM. I’m not at the office at 10:40pm. I didn’t get his message until 7something this morning. Uggggggh.
Ok, not to panic - just find out from idiot-boy...err I mean CL...WHAT he found out.
So after calling him, calling our scheduler, calling his FM, calling everybody under the sun, - no luck. By mid-afternoon CL finally calls me.
Apparently, the claimant went to the flower shop and started working. He worked until 10pm. He then closed the shop (but didn’t lock the storefront gate) and remained inside the store until CL finally broke off. (note: everything shut down at 10, which basically means that the guy is probably staying in a backroom or went out the back door or something.)
Ok - the guy is working - halleluiah! The case is salvageable!!!
Um, wrong
CL can’t remember how much video he got. His first “guesstimate” was 15 minutes. WHAT? Err could be 30 or maybe 40. WHAT?!?!?!?! Are you telling me that your ass stayed out there for 16 hours and MIGHT HAVE gotten 40 minutes of video? Tell me you’re fucking kidding. This is a joke right? You're being funny? Please fucking tell me that you're not THAT STUPID! No? You are that stupid?
Well shit. Ok, so what does the store look like - windows in front? " Yes" Can you see the claimant through the windows? "Yes and through the door, which was open" SO WHY DIDN”T YOU FUCKING VIDEO TAPE IT?!?!?!
His reply to all of it: “Well, you told me to stay on it, so I stayed on it. I didn’t get any video because you said the goal was to find his residence. I guess the shop is his residence”
Um, CL, why didn’t you call anyone?!?! His reply: “I did. I called and left you a message” - At 10:40PM? Why not before? “Because you told me to stay on it” That was at 11am. "Well, you told me to stay on it"
Ok, so were there any other employees in the store? "I dunno" Was there a back door to the store? "I dunno" Was there a back room inside the store? "I dunno" Well if the claimant has a car registered to him and he is possibly staying at the store, don't you think his car might be parked behind or around the store? "Maybe, but I didnt see it" Did you look for it? "(silence)" oooooook, so what else is around the store? "a lingere shop and a liquer store" Did you get drunk and jack off to lacey nighties instead of doing your job?
So you basically sat for 15+ hours in your car watching a store. "Yes" Without videoing it? "Well I got some video, a good amount of video" But not hours worth of video? "no, you told me to find out where he lives" So you want the client to take your word for it that you were at the store not videoing anything? "well I got a shot every hour" of what? "the store" with a view of the working claimant? "no"
(at this point my stress reliever ball was shreded and leaking onto my skirt)
FUCKING MORON!!!!!! If I told you to shove farm animals up your ass, would you do it?
Now, I’m not an entire bitch. I will assume 90% of responsibility for this because I did say, “stay on it” - but quite frankly, I say that everyday and this is the first time I’ve ever had an investigator stay on for 16 hours without updating/consulting with anyone.
After yesterday, I will make a mental note to ensure that whenever CL works my cases I will spell-out-every-possible-detail-and-scenario-known-to-man-and-order-him-to-call-me-every-two-hours-just-in-case-a-new-scenario-comes-up.
They have field protocols that are quite clear about updating and what to do in certain situations. (For instance, if they go past a certain hour mark, they’re supposed to call the CM and get authorization before staying on any longer. However, good ole CL thought that rule didn’t still applied since he had already talked to me.......earlier that morning.)
So maybe at 5pm, when you’re tired of being out there - basically sitting in your car NOT FILMING SHIT and not getting any info - you think it would be a good idea to call me up and say, “hey heather, I’ve been out here for over 8 hours. The guy isn’t going anywhere. You want me to stay on or break off.”
Ok, ok, ok so basically you’re an idiot. I now understand this. It’s damage control time.
Let’s do the math - I can authorize 8 of the 16 hours with no problem - that’s definitely time the client will pay for. That leaves me 8 hours to justify to the client (ha, not fucking likely). Ok, so maybe I can justify 4 hours if the guy is working. (nevermind the fact that the guy’s injury is an eye injury, so having him bend, turn, lift, move, etc while he’s arranging flowers is hardly relevant). Major problem: I can’t even begin damage control without knowing how much video he got. Ugggh.
So, I called his FM, who upon hearing the name CL, groaned and started to give me a list of other CMs who wanted his head on a plate - basically, I have to wait in line. I assumed the responsibility for it and asked that he speak to CL about using good judgement in the field, thinking about the client’s needs, using a little common sense, and especially calling people and providing updates at appropriate times. Again, I assumed the responsibility because of that one fatal line spoken in the late morning “stay on it” - but (and this is why I sooooooo adore SB (his FM)) - SB said “that’s bullshit. He needs to take at least partial ownership of this one.”
If CL wasn't notorious for sending everything in late, I could at least have the opportunity to go through the video and see what we have and if it is salvagable, but I'd lay $50 on him not getting it in.
Worst case scenario: my company eats 8 hours of surveillance that we can't bill for. It's certainly not the end of the world, but with sales already low this month it's going to be painful explaining this one.
If I could act out my frustration on this particular investigator, I would strangle every breath from his body and have my demons feasting on his entrails tonight. Ah, such happy thoughts. I really don’t think that CL is going to make it as a field investigator unless he takes a class in common sense 101.
My dvd collection is getting pretty well rounded. I’m very close to having the basic “must-haves.” Last weekend, I learned that a little used book/music/movie store actually buys vhs. So, last night I ransacked my vhs shelves for unwanted and unloved movies, and then ransacked it again trying to get it to the bare bones. Now most of the movies are taped movies so they’re pretty much worthless to anyone but me. Then I spent a good hour ripping off the old price tags or “previously viewed” stickers and sorting them into piles of good, ok and crap. After work I headed to the used store and tried my luck with about 40 of them. They took 11, which isn’t too bad. Apparently they do not buy “previously viewed” tapes, but they will allow trades ins……..only for other vhs movies, not for dvds or books. Bah
But I think this is a good thing. I’m not really sure that I’m ready to close the door on the dark ages. It’s nice there.
Luckily, the 11 they took were good for cash, so I turned around a bought a few used dvds………including Evil Dead 1 and 2 (wooooo Ash fest!), Ginger Snaps 2 (shuddap, I’ve already heard the bad reviews but damn Ginger is hot), and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
We have a NY investigator (we’ll call him CL for short) who lacks ALL common sense. He’s botched a number of my cases and his payrolls/reports/attachments/videos are consistently late, but yesterday - omg - yesterday was first time I’ve ever had a “dumbass in action” on one of my cases.
He worked a surveillance case that was scheduled for 4 hours and began at 8am. The goal was to find out where the claimant lives and get video of his activities. (This guy has been dodging the insurance company and giving bad addresses for a while now.)
So at the 3/4 hour mark, CL calls me and he advises that he followed the claimant from the hearing to a flower shop in Bklyn, where he was currently working. Fantastic! I asked CL to stay on it (((note: herein lies my tragic sentence of "stay on it"))) and see if he can follow the guy home and try to find out all the info he can on the flower shop (store hours, employees, etc). Here’s where the surveillance goes downhill.
CL stays on the guy - but doesn’t find out ANYTHING about the flower shop except it’s name.
CL stays on the guy - but doesn’t call me, doesn’t call the FM, doesn’t call the client
CL stays on the guy - but he doesn't get any video of his activities.
CL stays on the guy - and just sits there...... FOR SIXTEEN FUCKING HOURS!!!
He stayed there until midnight, which was after the store closed. It’s a 4 hour case ya fuckwit!! At the 8 hour mark (note: 8 hours is the standard surveillance day) CL should have updated SOMEONE. Weeeeeeell, technically he did call in..............at 10:40-something PM. I’m not at the office at 10:40pm. I didn’t get his message until 7something this morning. Uggggggh.
Ok, not to panic - just find out from idiot-boy...err I mean CL...WHAT he found out.
So after calling him, calling our scheduler, calling his FM, calling everybody under the sun, - no luck. By mid-afternoon CL finally calls me.
Apparently, the claimant went to the flower shop and started working. He worked until 10pm. He then closed the shop (but didn’t lock the storefront gate) and remained inside the store until CL finally broke off. (note: everything shut down at 10, which basically means that the guy is probably staying in a backroom or went out the back door or something.)
Ok - the guy is working - halleluiah! The case is salvageable!!!
Um, wrong
CL can’t remember how much video he got. His first “guesstimate” was 15 minutes. WHAT? Err could be 30 or maybe 40. WHAT?!?!?!?! Are you telling me that your ass stayed out there for 16 hours and MIGHT HAVE gotten 40 minutes of video? Tell me you’re fucking kidding. This is a joke right? You're being funny? Please fucking tell me that you're not THAT STUPID! No? You are that stupid?
Well shit. Ok, so what does the store look like - windows in front? " Yes" Can you see the claimant through the windows? "Yes and through the door, which was open" SO WHY DIDN”T YOU FUCKING VIDEO TAPE IT?!?!?!
His reply to all of it: “Well, you told me to stay on it, so I stayed on it. I didn’t get any video because you said the goal was to find his residence. I guess the shop is his residence”
Um, CL, why didn’t you call anyone?!?! His reply: “I did. I called and left you a message” - At 10:40PM? Why not before? “Because you told me to stay on it” That was at 11am. "Well, you told me to stay on it"
Ok, so were there any other employees in the store? "I dunno" Was there a back door to the store? "I dunno" Was there a back room inside the store? "I dunno" Well if the claimant has a car registered to him and he is possibly staying at the store, don't you think his car might be parked behind or around the store? "Maybe, but I didnt see it" Did you look for it? "(silence)" oooooook, so what else is around the store? "a lingere shop and a liquer store" Did you get drunk and jack off to lacey nighties instead of doing your job?
So you basically sat for 15+ hours in your car watching a store. "Yes" Without videoing it? "Well I got some video, a good amount of video" But not hours worth of video? "no, you told me to find out where he lives" So you want the client to take your word for it that you were at the store not videoing anything? "well I got a shot every hour" of what? "the store" with a view of the working claimant? "no"
(at this point my stress reliever ball was shreded and leaking onto my skirt)
FUCKING MORON!!!!!! If I told you to shove farm animals up your ass, would you do it?
Now, I’m not an entire bitch. I will assume 90% of responsibility for this because I did say, “stay on it” - but quite frankly, I say that everyday and this is the first time I’ve ever had an investigator stay on for 16 hours without updating/consulting with anyone.
After yesterday, I will make a mental note to ensure that whenever CL works my cases I will spell-out-every-possible-detail-and-scenario-known-to-man-and-order-him-to-call-me-every-two-hours-just-in-case-a-new-scenario-comes-up.
They have field protocols that are quite clear about updating and what to do in certain situations. (For instance, if they go past a certain hour mark, they’re supposed to call the CM and get authorization before staying on any longer. However, good ole CL thought that rule didn’t still applied since he had already talked to me.......earlier that morning.)
So maybe at 5pm, when you’re tired of being out there - basically sitting in your car NOT FILMING SHIT and not getting any info - you think it would be a good idea to call me up and say, “hey heather, I’ve been out here for over 8 hours. The guy isn’t going anywhere. You want me to stay on or break off.”
Ok, ok, ok so basically you’re an idiot. I now understand this. It’s damage control time.
Let’s do the math - I can authorize 8 of the 16 hours with no problem - that’s definitely time the client will pay for. That leaves me 8 hours to justify to the client (ha, not fucking likely). Ok, so maybe I can justify 4 hours if the guy is working. (nevermind the fact that the guy’s injury is an eye injury, so having him bend, turn, lift, move, etc while he’s arranging flowers is hardly relevant). Major problem: I can’t even begin damage control without knowing how much video he got. Ugggh.
So, I called his FM, who upon hearing the name CL, groaned and started to give me a list of other CMs who wanted his head on a plate - basically, I have to wait in line. I assumed the responsibility for it and asked that he speak to CL about using good judgement in the field, thinking about the client’s needs, using a little common sense, and especially calling people and providing updates at appropriate times. Again, I assumed the responsibility because of that one fatal line spoken in the late morning “stay on it” - but (and this is why I sooooooo adore SB (his FM)) - SB said “that’s bullshit. He needs to take at least partial ownership of this one.”
If CL wasn't notorious for sending everything in late, I could at least have the opportunity to go through the video and see what we have and if it is salvagable, but I'd lay $50 on him not getting it in.
Worst case scenario: my company eats 8 hours of surveillance that we can't bill for. It's certainly not the end of the world, but with sales already low this month it's going to be painful explaining this one.
If I could act out my frustration on this particular investigator, I would strangle every breath from his body and have my demons feasting on his entrails tonight. Ah, such happy thoughts. I really don’t think that CL is going to make it as a field investigator unless he takes a class in common sense 101.