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Is there an appeal process for conference room booking decisions?

I attended the lunchtime workshop that Ellen hosted last week and I must say I was a little surprised. I thought Ellen did a great job talking about teamwork and time management and such, I thought the presentation was colorful and didn't take too long and I thought that the catering provided was appropriate given the scope of the event.

What surprised me was the behavior of the attendees.

When a co-worker puts in the necessary work to justify a catered workshop and then cares enough about the assembly to keep it brief, everyone should be on their best behavior. Getting up to leave after the first sentence and trying to take all the deserts with you is simply not acceptable.

I appreciate the temptation and trust me, I have made the mistake myself - but you have to believe me when I tell you that such behavior is counter productive to the future of catered events at work.

Teamwork begins at the buffet folks. If we co-operate, there will be enough desert for everyone.

When you think about it - wasn't that the point Ellen was trying to make in the first place?

More to come -

Mike

I love lunch meetings.

I have portable containers in my desk I keep specifically for lunch meetings.

The subjects of these lunch meetings can be interesting, even fascinating - but usually they are not. So why do I love lunch meetings? Catering.

Fresh salads, 'build your own' sandwiches with cold cuts and cheese and 3 kinds of bread, soda pops, brownies and cookies for desert - I love it. My strategy is to find a seat in the conference room with both access to the table for eating and within reach of the food itself. These seats are rare so it's best to be prompt. Then, once the consumption has begun, start small - one small sandwich, a little salad, eat slow and look modest. Then, when the meeting is in full swing, offer to quietly 'clean up' the plates and utensils of the staff members around you. There are 2 reasons for this, one - you remove from your co-workers the tools to take more booty and two - you have a reason to get up in the middle of a presentation and re-visit the buffet. On your second visit, you can take a proper plate of food and enjoy it.

When the meeting is done, feign interest in the speaker and the subject if only to allow other attendees to wander away and leave the remains of the buffet. At that point, take your containers and fill them to your satisfaction.

I know, right?

You're welcome!
Mike

I made a pot of coffee this morning because I wanted a cup of coffee and as usual, there was none. Now I understand the rules of the office and I am more than prepared to play by them - if one wants coffee and none is available - one makes coffee. It sounds simple - right?

So in the time it takes to prepare the coffee and actually pour a cup, I went for a stroll through the office. I visited Tuesday and Vince and played with the photocopier a bit only to return to an empty pot of coffee.

So here is my question - how do the coffee hawks know there is a fresh pot of coffee, get to it and empty it before the person who made it? If there are office rules, why are they not observed across the board? If one is owed coffee, how does one collect that debt?

Finally and perhaps most importantly - what does one do with the repressed frustration and anger created when ones good nature is taken advantage of.

Suggestions are welcome -

Mike