Negativity in Quality - Crazed Rant / PSA
Quality works better when you're nice
Well.. there is a difference between negative and stern/strict. You can be nice and negative. You can be positive and a jerk.
I'm nice.... but if I get another sheet from the bagging line that is missing information I'm going to nicely wig out on them. :dalek: :cyberman:
Well.. there is a difference between negative and stern/strict. You can be nice and negative. You can be positive and a jerk.
I'm nice.... but if I get another sheet from the bagging line that is missing information I'm going to nicely wig out on them. :dalek: :cyberman:
Sorry, I took down a previous...long...rant...that was more.. crazy.
I was really frustrated with someone and their weird manipulation of quality. It's confusing and scaring my employees and I am simultaneously shocked by the gross incompetence and inconsistencies yet awed by the power gained from the ruthless attitude.
Anyway I had a visitor that spent 12 hours insulting me and making me feel bad. This person really, really insecure about their job/status, so they keep changing standards once we meet them so they can have power or look smug.
I spent a really long time writing it and putting a bunch of hilarious jokes in it so people would be compelled to read it, but in the end I came off sounding bitter and crazy instead of sad and sane. So I edited to a tl;dr comment that even a sane person would say.
I'm just stressing out because it's our first food safety audit. I have to tell myself I can't just walk out when I hear the batCENSORED insane bullCENSORED spewing. It'll be fine -
First: Embrace your insane moments... they are more fun than censoring yourself.
Secondly: I had a quality manager that had your back if you were right but any time she thought you did or said something wrong she would literally scream at you for... well at least an hour.
For example: One time I was sick and tired of putting product on hold because some asshat (I'm sorry I just had to) didn't check the metal detector within 4 hours... this one guy did it 3 times being off about 4 minutes each time. Now that was a deviation of course because it was our policy he had to do it every 4 hours... in a 12 hour shift. THAT'S 3 CHECKS!!! really it's up to 5 because you had a start check and an end check so it could be like 3-5 checks... and this guy did it off 3 times in the span of a few weeks. I talked to the employee one time (which I nearly got yelled at... who the hell was I a Quality Technician to talk to an operator) so I suggested a system that would shut down a packing line if it got to 3 hours without a check... it was an off the cuff suggestion just thrown out there for conversation. She proceeded, in a group setting of the 4 quality techs and the QA manager, to yell at me about the unintended consequences of my suggestion. Shutting down processing blah blah blah. Another QA Tech said we could have an alarm at 2hrs and 50 minutes... but she already knew what she was going to do. When we got back to the lab I was called into the managers office and yelled at again... this time for an hour straight... now I was thinking "Well your paying me if you want to pay at me to yell at me that's your problem." and stood there and took it (I was in the Navy I can get yelled at...). Hours later I was called into her office again and yelled at for another hour.
She was psychotic.
Another example: The most senior QA tech was sending out information on a product that was out of spec for dimensions. He sent it to everyone that deals with the product including the demand planner... his rational was that... being the demand planner she needed to know that we might need new inserts soon and we may have to wait to make more of that cut. Literally about 20 seconds after he hit the send button (I literally heard him click send) she was flying out the door screaming why did he send it to the demand planner. She didn't understand that information (even though the out of spec dimensions were highlighted red and the spreadsheet isn't hard to read) and yelled at him for... at least 30 minutes.
The moral of the story is some people, for whatever reason, think that they have to be loud jerks to be heard and so when you end up dealing with them that's the only thing they know. Should I have suggested to shut the line down? Your damn right I should have. Holds and rework costs a lot of money that that turd kept doing it over and over again. Should she have, in a reasonable way, explained to me that shutting the line down wasn't a good option? Yes. But that wasn't her way.
Though if it wasn't for her I would never have been in Food Safety/Quality so I forgive her. And I think that for a woman breaking into QA was probably a difficult thing when she was doing it (she was older than me I'd peg her in her mid 40's) so maybe being that way was a result of her having to be loud to be heard...
*Quality Hug*
Quality works better when you're nice
Or at least you can explain WHY you may be coming across as a B**** (less than nice person)
For Example: *I* don't care if you want to wear short pants in a refrigerated/cooler zone, but my auditors do. And THEY determine whether or not we are SQF certified and THAT determines whether or not we have Costco as a customer, so I DO care. I like having a home, clothes, car, etc...
Or at least you can explain WHY you may be coming across as a B**** (less than nice person)
For Example: *I* don't care if you want to wear short pants in a refrigerated/cooler zone, but my auditors do. And THEY determine whether or not we are SQF certified and THAT determines whether or not we have Costco as a customer, so I DO care. I like having a home, clothes, car, etc...
I'm much more abrupt than that. I would be like:
"No you do X because of Y" (No you can't wear shorts because the GMP's state blah".
If they don't understand then I go into Why... I don't just give Why out for any reason... I know when it's a waste of breath.
-edit because I had to fix a double negative lol.
I'm much more abrupt than that. I would be like:
"No you do X because of Y" (No you can't wear shorts because the GMP's state blah".
If they don't understand then I go into Why... I don't just give Why out for any reason... I know when it's a waste of breath.
-edit because I had to fix a double negative lol.
Oh that is not on the first 'correction' It may be the 3rd time we've talked about this, or at a training where I cover GMPs. "Hey, the rules aren't just here to make you miserable...here's why we do X"
The making you miserable part is a bonus. Bwah ha ha ha ha :giggle:
Sorry, I took down a previous...long...rant...that was more.. crazy.
I was really frustrated with someone and their weird manipulation of quality. It's confusing and scaring my employees and I am simultaneously shocked by the gross incompetence and inconsistencies yet awed by the power gained from the ruthless attitude.
Anyway I had a visitor that spent 12 hours insulting me and making me feel bad. This person really, really insecure about their job/status, so they keep changing standards once we meet them so they can have power or look smug.
I spent a really long time writing it and putting a bunch of hilarious jokes in it so people would be compelled to read it, but in the end I came off sounding bitter and crazy instead of sad and sane. So I edited to a tl;dr comment that even a sane person would say.
I'm just stressing out because it's our first food safety audit. I have to tell myself I can't just walk out when I hear the batCENSORED insane bullCENSORED spewing. It'll be fine -
Magenta, I was one of the lucky ones to read it. :smile:
We all get frustrated, quality is/can be a very frustrating role...being the cheese in the sandwich (trying to convince senior management and shop floor), listening to preachers teaching us at length how to suck eggs (customers, auditors). I always think it could be worse. Resilience, a never say die attitude and the ability to look and sound intently interested whilst thinking about everything else are useful skills. Even sometimes letting a customer/colleague pontificate, show off and BS. Despite all of this if someone is being disrespectful or aggressive (no matter who they are) I would put them straight. Again if they are wrong no problem politely arguing the point.
Good luck with the audit...I'm sure you'll do great.
We all need to have a rant sometimes. At least if you rant here, we understand where you're coming from.
Rant away, I for one won't take offence!
Caz x
I love your rants, identify with your rants, and they usually make me feel better, because I realize that I am not alone. It is easy to feel like I get every jerk on the planet to walk in my doors. Hang in there we are there for you.
Sounds like you need some rose petals, a good bottle of wine and some chocolate which can only undergo organoleptic testing at your home....good music would be a nice touch as well.
I love your rants, identify with your rants, and they usually make me feel better, because I realize that I am not alone. It is easy to feel like I get every jerk on the planet to walk in my doors. Hang in there we are there for you.
Sounds like you need some rose petals, a good bottle of wine and some chocolate which can only undergo organoleptic testing at your home....good music would be a nice touch as well.
I second that.
First: Embrace your insane moments... they are more fun than censoring yourself.
*Quality Hug*
And also that.
The adage of "you catch more bees with honey than you do with vinegar" comes to mind.
Also, for the sake of brevity in having to explain/not explain the derivation, justification, industry standard, prior food safety risk, customer specification, federal legislation, etc. that is the basis for your pre-requisite program, simply ask the interrogative staff if it is going to make a difference if you explain why or not. I'll admit that sentence is extremely run-on, but it takes the spotlight off of you and places it back on them.
In the end, life will never be perfect. Nor will line workers, management, etc. If everyone were perfect like QA staff, life would be boring. :sleazy:
I find that true, dog-gone, genuine honesty is usually the best policy. Staff, management, auditors, my girlfriend, etc. are all typically taken aback when the truth is the first thing that comes out of my mouth. It takes the edge off and removes all games.
You gotta be firm, you can't be a door mat, but man, I just don't have it in me to scream at employees and rule by fear. Can't do it. They don't pay me enough to make other people miserable.
At the end of the day, if an unpleasant visitor and and a long cummute are the worst parts of my day, it's been a pretty good one.