Our tale begins on the corporate campus of the latest and greatest tech giant-to-be. Their meteoric rise saw them spread across a number of industries and, while they may not be known to the general public, their contracts were pulling in astronomical profits. With this rapid expansion, the campus grew, the staff demands exploded, and they had to turn to outside consultants. One such consultant is shaking the hand of his HR contact after finalizing the paperwork for starting today as one of the company’s many productivity consultants. Due to their high standards on hiring and long vetting process, the company is having to push for more work from the same number of people as they try to hire up.
After his tour of the recreation areas, the HR rep scans him out of the commons, scans him into the office space and then back out of it, and finally scans him into the sprawling dorm building just waiting for new hires to arrive. He questions the security and she says it’s to protect the company’s secrets and a requirement of some of their government contracts. Some departments are working on military and space contracts and that is under the strictest lock and key. She hands him his badge and let’s him know that it will only open doors to buildings, floors, and rooms he’s authorized for. He thanks her for the badge and the tour, bids her good-bye, and makes a mental note that his first recommendation will be a better system. Maybe if their workers didn’t spend an hour a day scanning doors, they’d get more done. An automated reader at the very least! If the company isn’t beyond these kinds of growing pains, this is going to be a lucrative contract.
He scans himself to the elevator and it automatically drops him off at his floor. The floor is quiet. Either they have good sound proofing or they stuck him away from the regular employees in an empty wing. It seems like both choices are equally likely. His room is decent and reminds him of his first apartment out of college. Just cleaner and not next to the train station. For a three month contract, they set him up on campus to avoid the commute and constant security checks when entering and leaving the campus. He doesn’t mind because it’s basically a three month stay in a hotel rent-free. And a productivity win. It doesn’t take long to unpack and scope out the snacks and drinks in his mini-fridge. A few notes on the desk detail when housekeeping comes by to restock and when they come by to do laundry. You have to coddle these engineers to keep them working, it seems.
The next morning, he logs onto his company laptop bright and early waiting to meet his first engineer. Who apparently does not do “bright and early”. It’s past 10 o’clock by the time he logs on so our lead tries to get down to business. Compounding the late start, they find that the camera isn’t broadcasting and the laptop microphone is working either. The engineer mentions he’s heard similar complaints from people that work out of the dorms, so don’t feel bad. Our lead already has plenty of notes and it’s only his first day before noon.
The week rolls on and while things go smoother now that he knows his engineer’s schedule and they’ve worked out a meeting plan, his tech issues remain unresolved. Come Friday, he’s ready for the weekend break and takes his notes with him for an early lunch in the recreation zone. After a hearty meal and work under a tree, he scans back into the dorms but walks face first into the door. Rubbing his nose and after a healthy amount of cursing, he looks at the key pad to see it flashing red. After a few more scans, it always returns the same result. Rather than be locked out for the weekend, he dashes over to the HR building, which he thankfully can scan into.
Meeting back up with his HR contact, he explains the problem with the door. She looks confused for a second and asks why he’d want to go back to his old room in the dorm. He returns her confusion and says that’s his only room. She then laughs and says she knows what’s going on. The company finished setting up his real residence and he was supposed to move out of the temporary dorm. They sent him a letter several days ago, but she laughs again and says they probably sent it to the NEW room instead of his current one. Growing pains with an international conglomerate! She jots down his new building and room number, and then lets him know somebody from services will move his belongings over during the weekend. He thanks her and shuffles off to the new building.
This door has the decency to relent to his badge and the new elevator takes him right to his new room, opening directly from the elevator into a small entrance space outside the door to his quarters. Another scan of the badge and he’s finally inside. It’s considerably roomier than his first room in the dorms, but also... considerably more pink. Pink walls, pink lace curtains, a hot pink couch, and a pink bed with hot pink silk sheets. He wanders a bit before seeing an envelope on the kitchenette. He flips through the paperwork and sees the same paperwork he had waiting for him before, but this one is addressed to “Mandy”. He groans and heads back out through the gauntlet of badge scans between him and the HR office once again.
When he arrives, the floor is dark and the offices empty and locked. He spots a man carting empty water jugs from the break room and flags the worker down. He says the office is closed up for the weekend and nobody will be back here until Monday. They part ways and wish each other a happy weekend, leaving our lead to grumble his way back to his pink error.