Accounting Department out of control

[Average at Best]

Is anyone else out there having issues with the Accounting Department? This might be a thread more for the management people, but our friendly local accounting people are handling the recession/rising cost of gas by making us keep track of every expense, literally. They came up with a spreadsheet to input everything we buy during the month (uniforms, office supplies, etc), and we are literally budgeted for PENS. You know those cheap twisty brown pens? They are 50 for $2.00 in the ordering system....and I am only allowed to by 100 this month. I have to update it every time I incur an expense, and if I go over, I am getting a sit down with the CM and controller.

Really? Are things that bad that they need to keep me within $4 of my monthly budget? Anyone else have this coming up, or is just my insanely micromanaged district?

P.S. to drivers: any of you delivering naked or in raggedy uniforms? Because those are budgeted closely too. I am only allowed to order three pairs of shorts for my guys this month....

[dilligaf]

I guess getting a new hand truck is out of the question. LOL

[old brown shoe]

I love those cheap brown twisty pens and so do my customers.

[dilligaf]

Those pens write on absolutely everything. Every time there are extras I grab a few. Maybe that is why acct. is budgeting them. LOL

[brownrodster]

Originally Posted by Average at Best

P.S. to drivers: any of you delivering naked or in raggedy uniforms? Because those are budgeted closely too. I am only allowed to order three pairs of shorts for my guys this month....

Not only is my uniform getting raggedy. I only have 2 uniforms. I've been begging for another uniform for a year. I might file a grievence.

[myback]

can a driver file a grievance if a female sup is too hot?

[soberups]

Originally Posted by brownrodster

Not only is my uniform getting raggedy. I only have 2 uniforms. I've been begging for another uniform for a year. I might file a grievence.

Turn both of your uniforms into the laundry service. Show up at work the next day without a uniform, and clock on. You have an 8 hr gurantee, if they want you to work they can find you a uniform. Your center manager has the ability to have a uniform shipped Next Day Air if necessary. It is simply a question of motivation. Paying you 8 hrs to sit in the office because you dont have a uniform will provide that motivation.

[helenofcalifornia]

Whatever! And do you mean you can only order three pairs of shorts in one month for the entire center? I see drivers raiding the place where the dry cleaners hang the uniforms!

[brownrodster]

Originally Posted by soberups

Turn both of your uniforms into the laundry service. Show up at work the next day without a uniform, and clock on. You have an 8 hr gurantee, if they want you to work they can find you a uniform. Your center manager has the ability to have a uniform shipped Next Day Air if necessary. It is simply a question of motivation. Paying you 8 hrs to sit in the office because you dont have a uniform will provide that motivation.

LOl. Sounds nice but not my style. I figure when I'm down to only 1 uniform I'll let it be known that I only wash it once a week and I don't care what it smells like. And if I ever develop any choice holes in the uniform I will still wear it and just hope for complaints.

I think it would be classic to file a grievence though. I can imagine upper management just laughing their asses off over it. Or at least I'd hope they would have a sense of humor about it.

[soberups]

Really? Are things that bad that they need to keep me within $4 of my monthly budget? Anyone else have this coming up, or is just my insanely micromanaged district?

We go thru this crap from time to time...no pens, no delivery notices, no DR bags. The best way to deal with it is to not worry about it. Leave the package in the rain. Dont leave a delivery notice. Dont write a service cross on the box. If UPS cant afford to provide me with the equipment I need, it isnt my problem. UPS is making a business decision, and I will allow them to deal with the consequences of that decision.

[soberups]

Originally Posted by brownrodster

I think it would be classic to file a grievence though. I can imagine upper management just laughing their asses off over it. Or at least I'd hope they would have a sense of humor about it.

I actually did file a grievance to force UPS to provide me with a hat. Mine got stolen; I filled out a requisition to get it replaced; my OMS told me that the center was "over budget" on clothing for the month and that I would have to wait. Since I wear glasses and I need a hat in the winter to keep the rain off of them, I filed a grievance. When the Division Manager heard what was going on, he got on the phone and a new hat miraculously came NDA for me the next day.

[tieguy]

Originally Posted by soberups

Turn both of your uniforms into the laundry service. Show up at work the next day without a uniform, and clock on. You have an 8 hr gurantee, if they want you to work they can find you a uniform. Your center manager has the ability to have a uniform shipped Next Day Air if necessary. It is simply a question of motivation. Paying you 8 hrs to sit in the office because you dont have a uniform will provide that motivation.

you gotta be kidding me. You actually going to give someone some advice like this? you'd be borrowing someones uniform. too small or too big tough crap.

[Average at Best]

Originally Posted by helenofcalifornia

Whatever! And do you mean you can only order three pairs of shorts in one month for the entire center? I see drivers raiding the place where the dry cleaners hang the uniforms!

Yes, I given a specific list of how many of each item I can order this month. They did some analysis in their cost planning program, put a price to each article of the uniform, and how much I can spend. Granted, I may be able to buy FOUR pairs of shorts, so long as I buy one less shirt or whatever.

I think the uniform thing is a unique issue with our local accounting folks. I heard that when an accounting sup went out to help with peak this past year, he saw two huge boxes full of brown toques, and when he reviewed that center's cost in january, they had the biggest uniform expense in the district.

It's just irritating, because they made us start buying cheaper quality uniforms that need replaced more frequently, and then they make us limit how often we replace THOSE. They made us switch to cheaper copy paper (we now buy the kind that sticks together), and we now have to limit how many boxes we buy.

I understand that times are tough, but sometimes you have to spend money to make money, and sometimes cheaper isn't better.

[feeder53]

I think every company goes through these episodes. We go through it here, and they find out it cost more to track the small items and it get too far down in the weads and they stop the scan. If they want to pay me to track pens.....I track pens, the pay is the same.

[upsdude]

I’ll bet uniform costs are way up. Especially considering our center alone replaced probably 50% of the issued shirts, jackets and vests. Why? They had the old logo so someone somewhere pushed their chest out to demonstrate he is the dominant male and ordered the old logo gone forever. I was forced to replace 6 excellent condition shirts, what a waste of money. Fortunately he didn’t order the destruction of 6 package cars showing the old logo. That would have really been expensive!

[JustTired]

If they can't afford these uniforms that don't fit , rip easily, and are made in "Communist China", then maybe they ought to look elsewhere. Like Viet Nam, Idonesia, or Darfur. Gotta love this "global economy" stuff. Maybe they can start a uniform company in Iraq. It's a relatively untapped market. Just contact Haliburton for details.

[Average at Best]

Originally Posted by JustTired

Maybe they can start a uniform company in Iraq. It's a relatively untapped market. Just contact Haliburton for details.

Give Blackwater a uniform-factory contract in Iraq...

[cachsux]

Originally Posted by tieguy

you gotta be kidding me. You actually going to give someone some advice like this? you'd be borrowing someones uniform. too small or too big tough crap.

Gotta agree with Tie on this one. the last guy to try this in package,looking for a day off, was handed uniform parts dug out of the bin of clothes heading to the cleaners. Never tried it again.

[soberups]

Originally Posted by tieguy

you gotta be kidding me. You actually going to give someone some advice like this? you'd be borrowing someones uniform. too small or too big tough crap.

The contract states that "the Employer will provide suitable uniforms for summer and winter". It also requires the company to provide laundry service. Only issuing 2 uniforms is a contract violation, he cant use the service if he only has 2 uniforms....and a stinking, filthy, dirty uniform is not "suitable".
If the situation happened to me, I wouldnt be borrowing ANYBODYS uniform. My sup would have to find me one. Every day. It would become such a pain in the ass to him that he would probably just order me some new ones...which is what he should have done in the first place. Problem solved.

[brownrodster]

Originally Posted by soberups

The contract states that "the Employer will provide suitable uniforms for summer and winter". It also requires the company to provide laundry service. Only issuing 2 uniforms is a contract violation, he cant use the service if he only has 2 uniforms....and a stinking, filthy, dirty uniform is not "suitable".

There is no laundry service here!!!

[toonertoo]

Originally Posted by brownrodster

Not only is my uniform getting raggedy. I only have 2 uniforms. I've been begging for another uniform for a year. I might file a grievence.

You know those new delivery notices, the big long ones, in two languages? Well I have rather large mounds underneath the pockets, and my pocket edges are worn from the notices I carry in my pockets.
But we are watching costs here in North east Ohio also. Soon I will be thread bare, and then too, it will be my fault.