I got temp employment checking the 'tender' totals for the Jubilee Line extension
Somewhere around the early 90s I think......a calculator and piles of great big books full of teeny tiny numbers adding up to the millions each company was prepared to do it for.

And me, weeping and checking to see if their end fee matched all their figures within the telephone book sized breakdowns. Luckily, it did lead to another less crucifying gig.

..Part of the deal to OK the extension meant that there had to be a 24 hour hotline for any members of the public who might have sudden concerns about the whole shebang at 4 in the morning. So I would get in about midnight, roll my sleeping mat out, watch a couple of infomercials about miracle car wax before nodding off and waking at 6.30, when I'd put my mat on the back of my moped before anyone else got in, have a cup of tea and hand over at 8am.

Seeing as we were opposite New Scotland Yard, one day the filth decided my bike and mat was a possible bomb ( why not check with me first, I don't know) and closed the whole of Victoria, Westminster, St James' etc during rush hour.
While they were securing a cordon or something, no-one stopped my hopping back on the 49cc beast and pootling off home.

Maybe it was some sort of karma payback for the eye-blistering tedium of adding up the cost of every last nut and bolt of every shitty proposal but if that's the case, I think karma might have overdone it
( unclepills, Thu 14 Apr 2011, 17:21, 5 replies)

Not seeing the connection to greed
or the connection to Karma.

Are you saying that the police responding to a bomb threat and this in no way affecting you is greedy?

Thanks in advance.
( WormuIus, Thu 14 Apr 2011, 17:27, closed)

It's the old
QOTW title and question being two different things conundrum again. I imagine this is going to top even irrational/ rational hatred for question leeway.
( number5 has been fighting tramps and losing., Thu 14 Apr 2011, 17:31, closed)

maybe you're right
but at the time I wanted money so bad and would do anything....
The original q above is 'what is the worst thing you've ever done for money? ( working for Pizza Hut being the example ) and doing something so utterly pointless just for cash i.e. the call-less hotline thing, made me sacrifice some self esteem.
Maybe I should have written about greedy people I know, but it's my first time and all and all and indeed.
( unclepills, Thu 14 Apr 2011, 17:37, closed)

The "books" were called Bills of Quantities and I used to be one of the people that put them together.
I once got a bollocking off my boss for calling up a Contractor pointing out that he'd turned two pages over together when adding up all his "teeny tiny numbers" and had missed £10k's of work from his totals. I suggested if he got something to me by the end of the day we'd all pretend it was his first document.

I wasn't allowed to do that under the terms of the Contract, but I considered it the right thing to do. A form of anti-greed, if you will. Why should the client get to avoid paying the Contractor £10k for work he had to do, all because of a simple mistake?

(For those in the trade, it was actually an application for payment prior to my interim valuation under JCT and not a tender, but the principle stands.)
(dxg, Thu 14 Apr 2011, 21:22, closed)

Forgive me if I'm wrong
but isn't it the case if you know party A has made a simple mistake, and you benefit from it and don't tell party A, they can still take the matter to court where a judge will say, 'You greedy fuck, you knew this guy made a mistake you said nothing, hoping to get money that wasn't meant to be yours, now give it back before or you'll taste the back of my hand'.
( Sextant goes to him is emotionally erect, on this day, Sat 16 Apr 2011, 15:39, closed)