Back when I was working for Prentice Hall, they started a project to upgrade the software that ran their warehouse inventory. The project ran weeks over schedule, and for too long no textbooks got shipped. When they finally got the system working, they found they had a few months’ backlog and were in danger of losing sales big time.
So, they put out an open call to anybody who wanted to work in the warehouse after hours and over the weekend. They offered free meals – pizza in the evening, and donuts in the morning. (Mmmm… donuts….) They offered time and a half and (I think) double time past a certain hour limit. So I and some of my compatriots took them up on it.
I look back fondly on the weeks that I did that. I’d been doing application development and support for a sales automation project, and so was particularly sensitive to the hardship the backlog was having on the sales staff. It felt nice to give them a hand by getting those textbooks out the door, especially when their bonuses (and livelihoods) were on the line.
Plus, the monotony of some of the activities I engaged in was refreshing. I used to refer to it as a paid vacation for my brain, because while my hands and arms worked my brain really wasn’t much needed.
We had rolled out a new-fangled thing called “email” to the sales reps as part of the sales automation project, and I took advantage of my position to send out daily email blasts letting them know what was happening “on the line” with their orders and customers. It was a lot of fun, and I did get some appreciative responses from reps. (At least, from the ones who could figure out how email worked.)
When we finally cleared the backlog I had mixed feelings. I enjoyed the work, and especially the extra money, but knew it would be nice to spend that time at home for a change.
Thus ended my one and only warehousing gig.
Editor’s note: Somewhere around here I have a picture of me working the line…