Secretaryzillas

HughFreakingDillon

Seriously. Anyone work somewhere that they have one or more secretaries to a high ranking employee that somehow think that gives them the same authority? I deal with one on a regular basis that tries to order people around and somehow thinks she's the boss because her boss is the boss. She books executive travel, takes minutes and orders food for meetings, and gets fucking coffee. She also seems to think she's the gatekeeper of the President's office. "Uh, I'm sorry, what is it you want?". "His door is open, I don't have to clear talking to him with you, especially since it doesn't concern you". A few weeks ago I put her in her place, all the while knowing he could hear everything. I told her to stop talking down to me and to treat me as a professional. She looked at me like I was an alien. It was fucking great. She apologized, surprisingly. that never happens with her.

It reminds me of when you watch a tv show and the assistant to a celebrity acts as if THEY are the celebrity, being bitchy, making demands. Fuck you.

now go get me some coffee. LOL.

badbrains

And make it light and sweet plz

Wobbie

how's she look?

HughFreakingDillon

imalive said:

how's she look?

she's closing in on retirement age.

rr165892

Hugh ,are you sure the boss doesn't instruct her to act in certain ways?
I have 5 ladies in my office and depending on the issue each one will basically run blocker between Every little issue in the field or with clients and what hits my desk.
I encourage them to take the initiative needed to handle the issues so I can spend more time being productive.(Not like when I'm on line here,lol) and not dealing with the little bullshitty things.I don't know about your field of employment ,but maybe she is just doing the same.

Wobbie

rr165892 said:

I encourage them to take the initiative needed to handle the issues so I can spend more time working on my post count.

fixed.

HughFreakingDillon

rr165892 said:

Hugh ,are you sure the boss doesn't instruct her to act in certain ways?
I have 5 ladies in my office and depending on the issue each one will basically run blocker between Every little issue in the field or with clients and what hits my desk.
I encourage them to take the initiative needed to handle the issues so I can spend more time being productive.(Not like when I'm on line here,lol) and not dealing with the little bullshitty things.I don't know about your field of employment ,but maybe she is just doing the same.

no, this is stuff he wouldn't even be aware of. and it's not necessarily just what she asks.....it's that she seems to think she has the authority to demand such things. it's hard to explain, I guess, without giving specific examples.

we have a pretty lax corporate culture. prez is very approachable, and has always stated his "door is open". just not when she's in front of it, it seems. most of the time it's just a signature I need on something, or something small. Nothing wrong with saying hi, either. if he's busy, he will close his door. we all know that. so if it's open, he's open. but she has some power trip she needs to enforce on everyone.

but I also have processes to follow, audit-wise. she seems to believe that "her executives" are above reproach, and rules can be broken to suit their needs, and she TELLS me when I am supposed to break the rules for them. thing is, the execs would never ask for such things. our industry (specifically, our former executives) has been burned in the public eye for improper dealings, so if anyone needs to follow protocol, it's THEM. and they know that.

and she's nobody. just like me. I'm pretty sure if he knew how she talks to people while supposedly representing his office, he wouldn't be pleased.

elen

I'm a secretary, a cool one
I worked with the boss' secretary who acted exacty that way... and she was soooo mean to us young and miserable "not-secretaries-of-the-boss".
But when the company surprisingly fired our boss, she became almost useless, and she retired few months later.
Haha.
Ok, I'm not a cool secretary. Secretaries are mean

rr165892

imalive said:

rr165892 said:

I encourage them to take the initiative needed to handle the issues so I can spend more time working on my post count.

fixed.

Damn,don't remember saying it quite like that.But thanks for the nudge.

chadwick

secretaries have fantasies. just sayin maybe she would go for it.

HughFreakingDillon

gross.

Last-12-Exit

imalive said:

rr165892 said:

I encourage them to take the initiative needed to handle the issues so I can spend more time working on my post count.

fixed.

That's gold Jerry. Gold!

2-feign-reluctance

Gatekeepers are important, and might need to be a bit prickly in their ways.

WhatYouTaughtMe

chadwick said:

secretaries have fantasies. just sayin maybe she would go for it.

Had a great laugh at that one.

Lizard

I have found this to be ture more often than not: If you stand up to people that are being complete jerks to you.. they suddenly become the nicest people ever..

Weird.

and i am a nice secretary... I couldn't give a hell who walks in on my boss..

ldent42

Man you'd be surprised how those big bosses in the big office can be. They think their PA is their mother. What they tell people about "my door is open" usually includes gate keeping instructions for their assistant that is exactly contrary to what the other employees are told. The assistant has to lie all the time for them, and if there's an issue they can easily be replaced. So it's "fetch my coffee, handle this problem with the employee that I don't want to directly address with them, and don't let anyone bother me unless it's really necessary, use your judgement." Because they still want the reputation of the cool, approachable boss, so it falls on the PA in situations like you're describing. Don't forget that many CEOs are sociopaths, this kind of stuff is far from uncommon.

PJ_Soul

Are there seriously still secretaries who are expected to fetch coffee for their boss??

HughFreakingDillon

PJ_Soul said:

Are there seriously still secretaries who are expected to fetch coffee for their boss??

Not this one. Just for exec meetings she does.

hedonist

I think people with those types of personalities are usually compensating for something lacking.

When I was "coming up", I'd ask my boss if he wanted a cup if I was getting something for myself from the kitchen. He was the regional head of a huge company (back then) and his family well-known within the real estate industry, but this man was one of the best, fairest and most honorable people I've worked for. Gave a lot and expected a lot, but not much beyond reason.

Me, as his assistant? I was 23-ish, still learning and in an awkward position at that age being in a somewhat higher title, whatever the appropriate word, than others older than I. Can't imagine (even now!) being a 'zilla of any kind.

One can be firm, but not a dick.

(sounds oddly contradictory, I know )

elen

ldent42 said:

So it's "fetch my coffee, handle this problem with the employee that I don't want to directly address with them, and don't let anyone bother me unless it's really necessary, use your judgement."

Our old boss was just like this and his secretary took advantage of her "privilege" all the time

ldent42

If you've never seen a privileged man in his 60s throw a temper tantrum, I highly recommend it for the entertainment value.