It’s Friday – Let’s ruin someone’s Weekend

5:30 PM Friday – I’m comfortably relaxing, enjoying and adult beverage, thinking that the stresses of the week are behind me and the weekend with long walks with Suki, a movie with Robyn, and a great Saturday evening dinner ahead. Yes, life is good. The phone rings.

This is Mary, Dr. Fahari’s assistant. We need for you to come in next week and repeat your blood test. Why? The test we have is abnormal. How abnormal? I don’t know. Click

Gee, it’s great to have someone call you on Friday evening and tell you that you are dying of cancer. There is absolutely nothing you can do about it until Monday. Except think about it. And your great weekend is ruined.

Of course it was nothing, but on Friday night, it was a horror. On Monday I could call the doctor and get a reading. On Friday Night I could simply worry.

This is a classic case of Mary clearing her desk of all the work she had put off all week and making her weekend perfect, and ruining mine.

I discussed this issue with Mary when I went in for the repeat test and frankly she didn’t understand. “I told you it was only abnormal.” To me, on Friday night, abnormal meant a slow, painful, miserable death.

Rule one – bring good news on Friday, bad news on Monday.

We had a sales meeting Friday afternoon. The idea was to review what happened in January and plan for February and March. January was a bit down from last year, and it looked uphill for the next two months. What the hell could I do about it at 4 PM on Friday? I know what I could do? Worry all weekend. My sales staff had made their reports, my marketing manager had given the data. They had done their jobs. They were finished. I was just beginning.

Nothing will be done over the weekend. No one will be thinking about it and if they are, you have ruined their weekend, too.

Rule two – Don’t hold any meetings on Friday unless you work for Mike and are serving Margaritas with the reports.

Its 4 pm on Friday afternoon. The service department is winding down. The trucks are washed and put away. The phone rings. “Hi this is Hector from WTC. Our gate is sticking up. I need a service call. How long as this been going on? About a week.” At this point the Quarduple time charges kick in. What is wrong with these people? We were across the street from WTC on Tuesday and Wednesday. The gate was sticking then. They call on Friday at 4 PM. Why? – Hector needed to go home and relax. It was off his list. And on yours.

Rule three – Never NEVER make a service call after 10 am on Friday unless you are hospital and the life support system is down. You may call the service department on Friday to schedule an appointment for next week.

Got it – DO NOT BRING BAD NEWS ON FRIDAY – DON’T SCHEDULE MEETINGS ON FRIDAY UNLESS ITS TO DRINK ADULT BEVERAGES – NO SERVICE CALLS AFTER 10 AM ON FRIDAY UNLESS YOU ARE SCHEDULING FOR NEXT WEEK. (Yes I am YELLING)

Dammit.

JVH