This IT pilot fish manages the company’s cell phones along with his other duties, so he’s the one who has to deliver a replacement phone to a remote site.

“This was close to my house, so dropping it off was not a significant issue,” says fish. “A week before, the user was told I was going to be there on that day and to make sure the phone had a current backup.

“It’s not a complicated procedure — all three buttons on the phone just need to be pressed. There was no return call or email, so we presumed the request was understood and done.”

But fish’s first clue that this won’t be a quick drop-off comes when he gets to the site and learns the user is too busy to meet with him. Instead, fish meets with the user’s assistant, who assures fish that he’s got plenty of IT knowledge himself.

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