9/12/2009

‘Time to take a stand’ I said
’Sure is’ my colleague replied
’Always working, no perks, no bonuses, no thanks’ I grumbled
’Trying to get a Tender done on these old golfballs’ my friend said
’About time they gave us one of these new fangled Word Processors init’, I said
’Yep, let’s go see the boss’ my typing partner said
We walked along the corridor, moaning – ‘it’s not fair’
Outside the boss’s door we were having second thoughts when all of a sudden he opened the door and said
’Aah, waiting to see me, come on in’
By this time both of us were shaking like jelly as he invited us
to sit down
’Umm, Umm’ I started
’Yes, yes', what is it he bellowed
’Umm, Umm, Umm’…….
’Hurry it up’ he said
’We want Word Processors’ I blurted out
’Yes, better for Tenders’ my friend said
Much to our surprise he burst out laughing
’Well as a matter of fact the Tender Project Manager thought it time you two had a ‘Word Processor’ and next week a few of the ‘team’ you two included are going to see a ‘Commodore Computer’
We left his office wondering ‘what the hell’s a Commodore’……….

It was nearing Christmas – talk on the grape vine was of tendering for a big International Contract which of course meant work, work, work. It was inevitable that memos were flying around about ‘how important the contract was.’ If we got it -plenty of work, less chance of redundancies' or early retirement etc. Again the talk of ‘everyone pulling their weight’ ‘helping each other’ ‘no slacking etc.

My colleague and I were still producing Tenders on the Golfball Typewriters – been working on them for some time now. We were hearing about ‘Wordprocessors’ how easy to change things around on them etc. We wanted them – why couldn’t we have them? We were hearing of big bonuses paid to people working on Tenders as a ‘Thank you’ for work done. My colleague and I were ‘miffed’ at hearing this. If getting Contracts were that important to the Company they paid out big bonuses to ‘favoured’ Staff why couldn’t we get the proper machines to get our job done more efficiently. My colleagues and I had never made ‘waves’ never complained to anyone – never sought more than we were entitled to – but heck surely – getting better machines for typing Tenders on was important. So we thought ‘it’s about time we asked for something……………………..’
See you soon.
Date of post:25/11

20 November 2009

The Tender team was gathered together -
'this is how it works' he said
of course it was 'the head of the team' who said that
'we all pull our weight together'
heard that one before I thought
to put it simply:
a couple of people gathered the information from various places - compiled it into drafts - us two typists - then typed it. The typed drafts were then handed back -whereupon they pulled it about - changed this - changed that - struck through this, struck through that - scribbled things in - moved paragraphs here, there and everywhere - then gave them back to us to retype. Then guess what - 'want those drafts back yesterday' they said before they pissed off to the nearest pub for lunch.
Meanwhile we grabbed a sandwich in the office while furiously typing out a new decent draft which we handed back to our immediate bosses when they returned suitably refreshed from the pub. Yep, then they pulled it about again - gave the 'orribly changed draft back to us and we did it all again. Fridays were the worst - rest of the staff went home and we were still typing....
If the tender was to be in some far flung office - somewhere in the UK or abroad we went in Sundays to complete it with more or less the words 'hurry, hurry, hurry it up.' This was all done on Golfball typewriters - casually a boss would say -
'I want that part of the Tender done on a so and so font'
- so in all the hurry a font would have to be changed
HOW EASY THAT JOB WOULD HAVE BEEN TODAY ON A WORD PROCESSOR - but hey I'll be coming to our first Word Processor on a future post.

New Department Set-up

There was about 10 people in the new merged deparment. Myself and typing partner was to share a small side office. The other Staff were outside in the larger area. The idea being that our clattering away on the Golfball Typewriters wouldn't disturb their working and I suppose vice versa they wouldn't disturb us when we had deadlines to meet.

The IBM Golfball Typewriters had been around since the early 1960's, it was nearing the 1980's now - but due to the nature of our new work (to be) on Tenders we were given these revolutionary machines which were really the beginning of Destop Publishing (which I didn't realise at the time.) By changing 'golfballs' different fonts and symbols could be used on Manuscripts etc.

My typing colleague and I just fell about laughing when we started using them because we were waiting for the 'roller' to swing from side to side - instead the 'roller/platen' stayed where it was and the 'golfball/typehead' and ribbon moved side to side instead. At first we typed the usual office stuff, letters, memo, and technical stuff. Then two extra staff arrived who was to draft the Tenders for the Typists. My typing partner who was now a close friend and I started work on our very first Tender - very different kind of typing altogether ...........

Departmental Changes

The Firm was in tatters after the redundancy announcements, a few Departments were to carry on as before while others were to merge together. Well, this is always a good idea in theory, especially from the 'big I ams' point of view. Pruned Departments, less people - doing extra jobs, result - more profits for shareholders.
A Memorandum posted on Notice Boards showed the lists of changes and meetings to take place in respect of the proposed changes.
I was told to report to a certain Department for a Meeting where I was to be informed of my new position with the Company. When I got there I recognised a few faces and moved over to where they were sitting and we chatted about the situation until our new Boss (a short little guy)arrived. He introduced himself and proceeded to tell each of us of our 'role' in 'his' new merged Department.
For goodness sake I was only a bloody Typist - not much 'role' there. However, it seemed that myself and a Typist from another 'broken up' Department were to be the only Typists for the new enlarged Department. I shivered and thought hey wait a minute, this fancy name 'role' means we're going to be 'put upon.' In addition to typing technical stuff (which by the way appears to have been why I was saved from 'the chop,' myself and partner would now be typing Tenders for the Company. The 'positive' as far as I was concerned was I was still in a job and hey no more 'stencil typing' as we were to type on 'Golfball' typewriters.

Bad Atmosphere

The atmosphere in our office was really really bad. The 4 members of staff who each worked in a corner of the Department and who had never spoken much to each other before suddenly became different people with the word 'redundancy' hanging over them. We were becoming 'a talkative group,' even 'meeting up' in a corner to discuss the situation, telling each other about the different rumours we'd heard. The 'boss' didn't seem to know any more than we did, and was obviously worried about what was going to happen to 'his' Department. This sad state of affairs of not knowing anything continued for another couple of months. I believe I'd been in the Publishing Dept. for about a year when the next bombshell happened. My boss and another member was 'taking early retirement' and the other member was informed he was being made redundant. That only left me...........

Reorganisation

Well, the holey thingy (pic. below) was a help with the infernal stencils by managing to erase unusal shaped characters which I'd typed wrongly due to misunderstanding technical words. In time I got used to the stencils, technical terms and the boring office routine of the Publishing Department. The other 3 staff were too far away to talk to even if the Boss had tolerated it, which he didn't.
On lunchtimes I visited my old office for a laugh and chat with my pals there. About 6 or 7 months later there was another whisper going round...... the big 'I ams' from the large Company who was taking us over had decided on reorganisation. Well, hell, after thinking I'd just had a narrow escape from redundancy by being taken on as the one and only typist a new threat of redundancy was looming .... talk was the Department I was now in was to go.

New Job, New Department, Same Firm

About 2 days after interview I was informed I'd got the job as Stencil Typist. Well, now I was really panicking - I didn't even know what a stencil looked like let alone type on the damn thing. The first morning in the new department was a revelation - huge Department - only 4 staff (incl me.) A member of Staff each sat in a corner doing his or her thing while in the middle of the office -tables were piled high with technical manuals, pamphlets, book binding, drawings etc. You'd have needed a bloody loud hailer to speak to the other Staff. I was given a pile of stencils (template - 3 layer thingies, a waxy coated top layer, a middle layer and a firm back layer.) It was hell getting the thing in the typewriter, it creased, it curled, it bent. Evenutally I started typing.

I was copying from handwritten technical stuff. The technical jargon was new and quickly scrawled - I muttered under my breath about the lousy stencils, lousy department, lousy job. It was difficult rubbing out as the pencil rubber was inclined to rub out two characters instead of one. It didn't help that the lad who ran the completed stencil through a messy inky stencil machine was waiting for my finished stencil. My boss hovered nearby watching to see how I was coping on my first day. If I hadn't needed the job I'd have told him where to go..... After I'd finished my first stencil I removed it from the machine, handed it to the Boss and quickly made my escape to the nearest Ladies Toilet.

After work that evening I made for the nearest Stationers and purchased a holey metal contraption with various shaped holes for use on my 2nd day on the dreaded Stencils.

24 July 2009

Desperate!

The rumours turned out to be true - we were going to be taken over by a well known large Company.
Office gossip was rife. 'They' talked about 'the hatchet man' coming in to prune the Company. That was when the panic started - no one wanted to be made redundant. I got really worried when 'whispers' went round it was to be last one in - first one out. That meant me!! There didn't seem any way I could avoid the 'chop.'
I started looking on Internal Notice Boards to see if there were any typist jobs that might miss 'the chop.'
It seemed to me there was only one available - a stencil typist - no one wanted that, typing on stencils was apparently hell!! I was desperate to save myself and decided to apply for it.
I filled in the relevant forms - sent it through the internal post and waited. About a week later I got a reply I was to attend for interview. Other 'desperate' typists in the same position (last one in) had also applied. Just my luck I thought. The interviews were short listed to 6 and I was one of them.

See you soon

23 July 2009
Just Jogging Along

TYPE TYPE TYPE - 9 till 5, day in, day out. What a way to earn a crust. It was a large concern, 4,500 people when I started there in the early 1970's. There were 7 or 8 typists in the office where I worked clattering away on scruffy electric typewriters which had seen better days. Word Processors were unheard of then in the UK.


Our Boss - a woman in her late 50's - a spinster (although we did hear tales she had a fella). Well, I reckon she could spot an erased letter on an A4 page standing on her head. To her credit she passed a few rubbings out. Once while day dreaming about going home I put an A4 page into her tray with 4 carefully erased characters. Well hell, I knew I'd overstepped the mark when I heard her high heels click clicking along the marley tiled corrider, the heels stopped outside the Typists room. It was at that moment I knew why the men bosses and Union Officials feared her because I was quaking in my boots. Why did I have to put that bloody awful typing in her tray I thought as she flung open the door and marched over to my desk. The typewriters had come to a stop - all eyes were on me. The Boss was shaking with anger. She slammed the piece of work on my desk and furiously said
'Im not accepting ........ t h a t' dragging out the last word for emphasis. The other staff swivelled round in their chairs and quickly got on with their work as she shouted at me
'Get that typed up properly with NO mistakes and make it quick'
'Miserable old git' I muttered under my breath as she walked out of the room.
I suppose in her own way she was a wise old bird, during slack periods she tolerated coffee breaks getting longer and longer and even turned a blind eye to the crosswords we hurriedly hid in drawers when she entered the room because when it came to really heavy work loads she got her own back by marking the trays 'Priority and Urgent' (no such thing as a tray with 'can wait till next week.'

I expect I'd have jogged along like that until retirement except for the office grape vine whisper
'there's a rumour going round we're being taken over.....'

See you soon