Frank Pranks

A Facebook friend of mine recently posted a comment 'apologizing' for a Twitter post that went out under his name...not sent by him.   One of his opportunistic coworkers took advantage of his being distracted, and his Twitter account being left accessible.

DOH.

In my not-so-distant working past, the facility I was at had a general manager.  She was very professional, very accomplished, very articulate.  Equally at home, mixing with facility guests or tearing merrily into a financial document.  She gave as good, if not better, than she expected from those working there.

Having said all that, she was one more thing as well:  she was a four-star prankster.

Generally, she didn't go for the elaborate.  She was more of the 'quick hit' variety of prank, such as placing a small post-it note on the underside of a computer mouse.  But one her favored 'quick hits' was when she found a subordinate's computer left logged on, with the employee away on a break or errand.  At that point, the employee would return to find that they had been (my former GM's last name)ized.

For example, when a shift manager inadvertently left his computer logged on -- one who considered himself a 'man's man' -- and came into work the next day, to find dozens of email responses to one sent out under his auspices, "my pink fuzzy bunny slippers are missing.  Can someone help me find them, puh-leeease?"

He -- and everyone responding -- knew that he'd been (her last name)ized.

If she had the time to be a tad more elaborate, she might send out strange, funny pictures on the person's email (such as the one above).

Subordinates learned to log off their computers.  But someone always forgot.

Occasionally, though, there was retribution of sorts.  Like the early morning I was asked to access her office, by a department that would have authorized access to fix a computer problem, had there been one.  She arrived two hours later, to find every working device in her office securely bubble-wrapped.  Including her phone, which began ringing immediately.

So to my Facebook friend, a lesson:  NEVER turn your back on your tweeter, when you have woofers like your opportunistic coworker around.  And a warning to your opportunistic coworker:  Steffan, they don't call him "Angry Andy" for nothing...