A manufacturing company, that had been around for ages, was celebrating the retirement of their most beloved tech support guy. He had the reputation of being able to repair or update any machine in the company. His repairs always came in under his time estimates and under budget. The tech's 49-year record was absolutely spotless. The company gave him a big party with lots of gifts, including an expensive gold watch and a generous pension.
Two months later one of the machines broke down. Technician after technician worked on it for hours and days on end, without success. Finally the boss made a desperate call to the home of the beloved tech. The tech said he would come in but he would have to be treated as an outside consultant. The boss, eager to get back into production, agreed. "Anything you want, you just ask." the boss said.
An hour later the beloved tech was standing in front of the machine scratching his head while the boss and several of the junior technicians watched. He looked the equipment up and down. He poked and prodded various parts for what seemed like hours, but it was really only just a few minutes. "I'll need a 20 oz. bottle of Pepsi cola and a piece of chalk." he said and walked to the break room. The other spectators whispered to each other.
Once the tech came back, he cracked open the bottle and drank the entire contents in one gulp. He then confidently walked up to the ailing machine, pulled a piece of chalk from his pocket and drew a big white "X" on one component. "Here's your problem. Replace that part and you'll be back in business in no time." Two junior techs ran to get the replacement part while the others prepared to install it. The boss shook the old tech's hand and thanked him. "Just send me a bill for your services and I'll make sure you get paid." the boss said.
A week later, the bill arrived. It was scratched out on a small piece of notebook paper. On it was a single number: $50,000. The boss was stunned. He checked the envelope to verify that id did indeed come from his beloved technician. Completely aghast, he called the tech. "Fifty thousand dollars?! Are you insane? That's what I paid you in a year! I'm not paying a year's pay for an hour's work!" the boss exclaimed. "You said 'anything'." the tech urged. "and how much money did you lose while that contraption was down?" The boss, defeated, agreed. But he demanded the tech provide him with an itemized statement before he would pay the sum.
The next day, another piece of notebook paper arrived. It read:
Equipment Troubleshooting: $50,000
Itemization:
$1 - 20 oz Pepsi
$1 - Piece of Chalk
$49,998 - Knowing where to put the "X"
The boss cut the check that same day.
1 comment:
$50,000 a year! that guy was getting screwed over. But, at least he had the final laugh at the end. (I bet he's on his bosses speed dial)
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