We can't fix the roof because...

[crazylegs]

They've finished one section of the roof (one that wasn't leaking to start with, thankfully, as it's over my office). The problem is, they couldn't test it to see if it does keep the water out...
...because it was raining.

We had similar issues when I worked at the Chemist. The workmen could find the leak when it was dry but weren't allowed on the roof when it was wet.

I worked at that building for a year & it wasn't fixed at all during that time.

[raudf]

Dad got fed up with a leak in a roof.. he climbed up, dropped the sprinkler up there, set it on high, climbed down. Waited an hour or two and watched where the water was coming from then went up on the roof with a can of neon-green spray paint and sprayed a circle around the area. HARD to miss, even when dry.

I wouldn't recommend this trick if you aren't the owner of the building, however. Most landlords and corporations frown on neon-green being sprayed on the roof

[Automan Empire]

Another good trick for dry day roof leak hunting is to take stiff wire into the attic, look for light leaks, and poke the wire out through them. Then go up on the DRY roof and fix them!

Usually it doesn't take a Mensa candidate to find leak points by visual inspection.

In one of my leased buildings, the roof had barely enough slope when new, but at age 50 years the rafters sagged enough that water ponded on the roof and was impossible to patch enough. The owners finally paid for a new roof when I sent them video of blisters of water forming and bursting in my beautiful new popcorn ceiling that I sprayed myself, and water dripping out of 2 light fixtures.

One building I looked at once, had shelf fungus growing on a 6X24 laminated roof beam, and effluorecense on the INSIDE of most of the cinder block walls. Pass!

[protege]

He'd just repeat the same process, put it in his radio, turn it on, and if it powered up, he dismissed the complaint.

...and I thought *my* boss was bad.

He simply refuses to spend money on decent equipment. Meaning, that when anything breaks, I get told to patch it up. That's why we have 9- and 10-year-old computers held together with duct tape and bailing wire.

That's why our company database is 15 years old, and doesn't always work with Windows 7. It works OK with the old (32-bit) ODBC drivers, but is slow when you attempt to run queries. Why? Well, it's built with Access...and most new databases are designed with SQL. The market's moving that way--even Micro$oft is going that way. Anyway, the database really needs a major update. What's holding it back, is money. Specifically, a *shitload* of it...is required to not only completely overhaul the database, but convert all the existing data as well. Boss doesn't want to spend the cash, since the old one works "fine."

Fine, my ass. Sure, it works great on the old XP machines, but it tends to cause the 7 ones to shut down! I know that they only freeze for a few minutes, but if you're running queries all day, it tends to add up.

Oh, and our roof leaks too

[TonyDonuts]

I worked for a guy who thought he was a hero for not getting equipment repaired.

Well, he was saving the company money, see, so therefore hero.

Which led to the 2 week stretch where we had to use the coffee makers to make hot water to wash dishes, mop the floors, and other such cleaning tasks. Because the water heater had gone belly up.

His boss came in, saw one of the cooks pulling an urn of hot water off the coffee pot and taking it in the back.

He asked my boss what that was about.

My boss preened and looked proud and said, "The water heater is down, so we're using that for hot water!" Sure he was about to be praised for his ingenuity.

His boss asked, "Why haven't you fixed the water heater?" And it was clear he was not happy. Not happy.

My boss got a concerned look, "Well, that's kind of spendy, and anyway, the coffee pot seems to do the job."

His boss, speaking very slowly, "And what do you tell the health inspector when she asks about the hot water? And how much time have you wasted waiting for the coffee pot to produce enough hot water to wash dishes? And what do you plan on doing when the coffee pots wear out because you're running them constantly?"

My boss, "But water heaters cost a lot, and ..."

His boss, "But nothing, you call right now and get that replaced." And then, when he saw that my boss was not moving, "Do I really have to watch you make that call and then stay here until the guy gets here with the new heater?"

My boss, "Well, I'm just really concerned with the cost."

His boss let out a huge, "Oh for Christ's sake!" and grabbed my boss by the hand and dragged him back to the office, sat him in his chair, and watched him while he called for a new unit to be installed, and left, with instructions that my boss was to call him when the guy got there, and then call him again when the work was done.

I thought my boss was going to cry. All that money, just spent like that. He complained about it to his boss's boss, just to make sure that it was clear that it wasn't my boss's decision to spend all that money.

He was shocked when his boss's boss gave him a verbal fisting for not getting it fixed right away. I think he really did cry that time.

[XCashier]

I worked for a guy who thought he was a hero for not getting equipment repaired.

Well, he was saving the company money, see, so therefore hero.

Which led to the 2 week stretch where we had to use the coffee makers to make hot water to wash dishes, mop the floors, and other such cleaning tasks. Because the water heater had gone belly up.

He thought that was a good idea?!

He was shocked when his boss's boss gave him a verbal fisting for not getting it fixed right away. I think he really did cry that time.

Both of the upper bosses rock!

And the cheapskate...I hope he really did cry. His cheapness could've put the company in major, major trouble. He fubared and he knew it. How long did that idiot keep his job?

[TonyDonuts]

Jim's guiding light and first principal was this: Spending money, any money, on anything, is always BAD. Always.

At some point he got the brainwave that he could make his labor cost goal by going through payroll and shaving 30-45 minutes off each employee's time sheet for the week.

Which somebody noticed and called Wage and Hour. Cue unfriendly inspection, fines, and a verbal fisting from his boss. So naturally he tried it again, because saving money is important, which somebody noticed and called Wage and Hour. Cue unfriendly inspection, fines, and another verbal fisting from his boss.

After which Jim figured that the Powers that Be really didn't like that, and didn't like being on the Department of Labor and Industry's List of Bad People (not the actual title). So he retreated into cutting actual hours from every shift that he didn't work (well, you wouldn't want him working a register, would you?)

His thought process ran along the lines of, "Theoretically, if I could cut costs enough, I could turn a profit without selling anything."

Jim left voluntarily for another job.

[EricKei]

EVERYTHING PROTEGE JUST SAID

My boss back at AccountingOffice must have been his clone. In 2009 I was dealing with systems that could barely handle XP (one still had 98 on it) with 512MB of RAM (because they couldn't fit any more than that!) and 60 gig hard drives >_> Every last one filled with enough dust to KNIT a better computer.

We did eventually have no choice but to replace some of them (note that he always had the best ones -- usually a desktop linked to a laptop with a nice HD monitor and an HDTV as a secondary monitor) -- but the process was excruiating. Do you have any idea how hard (and embarrassing) it was to go shopping for a PCI video card in 2009? x.x Let alone have to then explain to the boss why everything slowed down to a crawl when in multi-monitor mode?

[Andara Bledin]

Yegods.... Penny wise and pound foolish, indeed.

I am so glad that the place I've been for the last 16 years would never do that. If something doesn't work, it gets fixed. If something can't be fixed, it gets replaced. And if there's an upgrade that will cost a bit now and save a lot down the road, it gets upgraded.

^-.-^

[XCashier]

At some point he got the brainwave that he could make his labor cost goal by going through payroll and shaving 30-45 minutes off each employee's time sheet for the week.

He should've been fired just for that! Or served jail time for stealing from the employees.

Jim left voluntarily for another job.

I can't imagine who would be desperate or stupid enough to hire him with that track record...

[Racket_Man]

I worked for a guy who thought he was a hero for not getting equipment repaired.

Well, he was saving the company money, see, so therefore hero.

.

not my any of my GMs but my company in general. they started to cry poor and preventative maintenance got slashed and yes we did suffer. belts on several HVAC units and the cooler AND freezer units were worn to literal threads and shreds. and the leaking rood issue still needs to be addressed.

[dragon_wings]

He was shocked when his boss's boss gave him a verbal fisting for not getting it fixed right away. I think he really did cry that time.

This is one of the best lines I've read ever. Love it. ^_^

[Seshat]

Stuff can't leak uphill...unless your engine has exploded. In which case you have slightly larger problems than a leak

And now you have the engineer in me thinking of siphons, Archimedes screws, and other ways to make 'leaks' go uphill.

[Andara Bledin]

Pressure.

I had an oil leak that spurted up higher than the site of the leak. The entire engine compartment was a mess, actually. Had to have it steamed before they could even find the leak itself.

^-.-^

[houdini]

I have an update: they fixed the guttering! We had a huge rainstorm today, just to give the repairs an extra test.

Annnnd the leaking...wasn't the guttering.

The roof was dripping while the Inspection Person was checking on the repairs