Anonymity is priceless

My main function where I am employed is to solve problems.

The company where I work has three buildings situated situated next to each other on a corner lot next to a quiet lake with a small covered dock that we can enjoy a free beer on Friday afternoons after work. I the course of my duties I am needed in two of the buildings so I have a desk in each of them (by desk I mean a cubicle). My original starting desk and my alternate are well known by all of my regular "customers", but it is a quasi requirement that your name and job title be posted on the overhead of the cubicle.

I had thought about making a prank placard with the name "That Guy" but did not want to tempt fate and anger the rule mongers. But I did when asked what my name was by unknowing cube mates tell them my name was Guy, and say "when you need me just ask for - that guy" and actually had one nice coworker that believed it as there was not a placard to contradict otherwise displayed upon my cube.

You are probably wonder what all of this has to do with the title, and I thank you for bearing with me so far and I promise that I am almost there.

My alt cube sat right outside of a managers office(it even had a door}, of a person that dealt with purchasing. Now in the whole time of my tenure I was responsible for buying one product that the company needed to aid in the making of its end product. It was the only thing that I purchased and had a clearly traceable pattern. Since this item was a large purchase of material it was done in SAP and put into the inventory system to be pulled (used) in small quantities and charged at the time of use to the sub department that needed it.

The manager (I will call Teka) had decided to clean up the Buyers list as she thought there were too many people on it and could reduce costs a bit to make it look like she was doing something. I did not know this at the time though.

   Here it comes!

On this day, one of my regulars came up to me and used my real name as the nice gullible cubemate was passing by and did a double take, stopped and asked for clarification. To which i acquiesced and admitted to my true name. She gave me a weird quizzical look and i could see some gear falling into place. She immediately turned around and sped into Teka"s office and almost yelled "i found him", to which Tika asked - Who?

Nice gullible cubemate (NGC} responded, That Guy, the one we have been looking for.

Teka, which one?

NGC the buyer we have been trying to find for like six months.

Now since I sat right outside of Teka's office I could hear the entire conversation and became quite amused. Teka had me in her sights for to be removed for her list for her own purposes and walked by me for months.

Teka almost ran out to where NGC had led her to, ME.

Teka asked me if I was the guy she was looking for and I responded that yes I was then followed up with a question of my own

How could you not know who I was since I had to create a special breakdown report for you for several months as to your usage of my services, especially when I did not have to do that for all of the other managers that i helped. She responded that I was wrong and that she had never requested them.

I just looked at here with an expression of total disbelief.

Yes, she did remove my Buying privileges. Yes, the system went belly up and caused several months of pain for all of my customers until a usable replacement system could be cobbled together that took more work hours to accomplish than my original system.

I still do what I do, and the people I help appreciate it, but Teka is no longer in that position. I guess she was promoted upwards for such a wonderful job.

I guess the moral of the story is that its not who you know, but what you do, that gets the job done.