Alex

I just saw Alex in the car next to me, waiting for a green light. I waved but he didn't respond. He may have recognized me though. He's just that way.

Alex is a computer whiz kid. He could troubleshoot and solve any problem. He'd shuffle into work everyday in his jeans and one of two t-shirts, either the one paying tribute to Led Zepplin or the other one celebrating death and a heavy metal band. Alex would never greet anyone or even make eye contact. He'd disappear into his cubicle and just sit there with his giant glasses and weird hair sticking up over the walls, rescuing customers all over the world.

One day Alex realized that he was the axel upon which customer service rotated, and put forth his request for appropriate compensation. The management thought to woo him with a trip abroad. They bought him a suit and sent him abroad to present a course. The course was a disaster. Evidently, they didn't consider that the ability to make eye contact and to speak clearly might be necessary qualities to look for in a trainer.

Alex got a better offer and left the company. The management realized too late that they should have given him a title and the raise he deserved and let him keep doing what he does best.

The job of my manager has come vacant three times since I've started working here but I never went for it. You couldn't pay me to manage our group. For one thing, we're a bunch of perfectionists who like to complain. We can go for 20 minutes having a heated discussion on a comma. The other reason is that I couldn't manage my way out of a plastic bag. Just because someone is good at their job does not mean that they can manage other people. Let me do my technical duties and I'm happy as a pop tart on the front page of the National Enquirer. Luckily for us all, even if I went for it I wouldn't get it because our management is smart enough to know that technical skill does not a manager make.