Is it enough to simply do as you're told, exactly as told? (job opening, apply)
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I did everything the boss tells me to but I get yelled at for missing a detail I wasn't told to fix. I made phone calls and asked for a part to be ordered and the guy on the phone said it was in stock. told the boss about it, he drove to the store only to find that it isn't in stock. Now I got yelled at for it for not getting his name. He didn't tell me to write down his name.
Is it better to just do as you're told to do on the job, exactly as told, or do I go beyond? Why or why not?
I did everything the boss tells me to but I get yelled at for missing a detail I wasn't told to fix. I made phone calls and asked for a part to be ordered and the guy on the phone said it was in stock. told the boss about it, he drove to the store only to find that it isn't in stock. Now I got yelled at for it for not getting his name. He didn't tell me to write down his name.
Is it better to just do as you're told to do on the job, exactly as told, or do I go beyond? Why or why not?
I wouldn't have written the guy's name down either, but if my boss shellacked me over something like that I'd be pretty pissed. Your boss sounds like a dick.
It's always better to go beyond if you expect to be promoted. My boss used to say that your job duties earned you your past paycheck, it's up to you to earn your next one. You are definitely more likely to be promoted if you go beyond what you're supposed to do. Problem solvers and especially people who can anticipate problems and avoid them before they become a problem will always be paid more than people that simply do as they are told. I can tell anyone to do something exactly as I want it, but I need someone special to figure out what I'm missing.
That said, in this context, your boss does seem like a jerk.
Situations like what you describe (bad info from parts clerk) happen all the time. As you go thru life, you will learn when to anticipate these possible situations, and ask yourself, "what could go wrong here, and how do I protect myself if something goes wrong". Because as "Murphy's Law" says, "if something can go wrong, it already has".
So next time a similar situation arises ( having to depend on info from someone else), do what ever you can to make sure the information is correct, and get their name in case of such a problem.
(That said, my guess is your boss still would have barked at you even if you had got the clerk's name.)
You did nothing wrong. Your boss is just incompetent to be in charge of others. Keep your eye out for a similar job opening and apply to it. Someone else would appreciate you more.
Everyone makes a mistake like that once, and then you learn and don't make it again.
Your boss was out of line for yelling at you. He should have made the suggestion to always ask the name of the person you're speaking with, which would have been a good teaching moment for you. Instead, he was angry and his frustration was misdirected. The person who said the part was in stock when it wasn't is the one truly at fault here.
If your boss is quick to anger like this and yells at you - it's time to find a new job.
Back to the first scenario though, if you expect to move up either in your current or to a future position then yes it's expected you'd see details that are wrong and point them out to a supervisor. It shows a deeper understanding and awareness of what you're doing besides being a robot.
Now for the second, your boss was being ridiculous and I agree you would have gotten yelled at even if you got the name.
There are times people will find fault in what you do, even if you do it exactly the way they would have.
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