Company A:
- May 9th 2005: after a verbal request followed by a twenty minute one-on-one discussion on the topic with my boss, the Development Director, I write an email as requested justifying my request for a 1600×1200 LCD display so that it might be considered by the directors.
- August 11th 2005: the order is placed. I’m told that I may be obliged to do without it for some periods if it’s required for customer demos.
Company Z:
- November 26th 2007: I arrive on my first day to find dual-head 17 inch 1280×1024 displays, like most of the people in the office. I’ll see how I get on.
- December 7th 2007: I wonder aloud to my boss whether there are any 1600×1200 displays in the office; I’d prefer one of those to two 1280×1024 displays as it fits better with the way I work. He says he’ll see.
- December 10th 2007: I arrive at work to find an email from him, dated late on the 7th (last Friday), offering two alternatives – 20 inch 1600×1200 or 22 inch 1680×1080 (widescreen), both Samsung. I choose the 1600×1200: more pixels. Five hours later it’s on my desk, bought and paid for.
I guess that’s the difference between a company run by an accountant and one run by engineers.
Of course, the punchline is that by 5pm my shiny new display was bust. Not my fault: it was a dud, an hour’s usage enough to trigger an underlying fault. Back in the box, back to the supplier, back to 1280×1024 for another whole day. I’m sure I can cope.
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