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Office Desk Saver

To prevent someone from stealing your chair and/or desk at work
 
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I currently work at a call center (want to know how it is to work there? Watch the movie "Office Space") and there is a constant stream of new-hires, and a shortage of desks, so the new-hires tend to just take any desk they find unattended (many of us come into work to find our desks claim-jumped). The boss doesn't do anything, saying they have nowhere else to go. Well that's all fine and good, but this presents an inconvenience for me and my seasoned co-workers.

My idea calls for a chair with hollow arms and spring-loaded pegs that come out of holes in the side, which are extended and retracted with the turn of a key (or a properly-entered combination). The arms slide into 2 rails on the underside of the desk, with holes along the sides for the pegs to pop into, locking the chair in place under the desk, preventing any newbies from stealing your workspace.

21 Quest, Oct 11 2006

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       a) paint your name on your chair in big letters.
b) leave moldy food on the chair and desk.
c) get a better job.
DrCurry, Oct 11 2006
  

       OK, I'll ask the question. Why hire more employees than you have desk space for?
  

       I'm with [DC]. c) looks like a really good option.
augusta, Oct 11 2006
  

       6 months-ish and you're seasoned already?
po, Oct 12 2006
  

       I'm surprised that your job hasn't been outsourced to India, [Quest]. You must be brave to work at a call centre - I wouldn't have the guts to do it, what with all the abusive people, mindless boredom (if it involves reciting off a sheet of paper), etc.
froglet, Oct 12 2006
  

       I'm curious as to what you do if someone takes your desk. Do you have to work standing up?
xandram, Oct 12 2006
  

       [+] for the notion - although I find a suitably draped jacket does the trick rather effectively.
zen_tom, Oct 12 2006
  

       Mysterious stains can be effective. But a bun for a fun idea.
Galbinus_Caeli, Oct 12 2006
  

       po, how long do you suppose it takes to become a master call-answer-er?
  

       xandram, we have to take someone else's desk.
  

       We're supposed to be getting more desks in soon, but no definite date has been given yet. As far as outsourcing, my company has 3 call centers in the U.S. for incoming calls from U.S. customers. There are overseas centers, but only for the European market.
21 Quest, Oct 12 2006
  

       I dont know if an $8 an hour telemarketing job is worth my investment in a chair and desk lock (as described) when a standard bicycle chain will do. When I worked in telemarketing I kept people out of my cubicle by slightly altering the connections on the computer and headset. I wouldnt completely unplug the stuff because that would only prompt someone to troubleshoot it and fix it. So I would manipulate the connections ever so slightly so that it would malfunction just enough to be an annoyance. And when things get really busy, they would be more inclined to just find another desk than to try to fix my desk.
Jscotty, Oct 12 2006
  

       Jscotty, it's a $10.25 an hour answering job. I don't call anyone. Customers call me with questions and I answer them or transfer them to a department that can. It's very stress free (once I *find* a desk in the morning, I'm golden for the rest of the day), no quotas or anything like that, and it's very hard to get fired here, they just don't like websurfing when the corporate big-wigs are prowling the floor.
21 Quest, Oct 12 2006
  

       You're the f****r on the help line?! Now I know who to send the hate mail to!
DrCurry, Oct 12 2006
  

       [DrCurry] And I am the f****r he transfers people to. And I make quite a bit more than $10.25/hr
Galbinus_Caeli, Oct 12 2006
  

       21 Quest, could I interest you in a maintenance package that provides call centre support for desk shortage problems?
Ling, Oct 12 2006
  

       [Ling] - that cracked me up!
energy guy, Oct 12 2006
  

       Oh hahaha..... You know, DC, you sound like the kinda guy I hang up on... or transfer to the Spanish queue. It just so happens, my company won the JD Power & Associates award 5 years running for outstanding customer service.... before *I* started working there, hehehe...
  

       (I never claimed to be a people person. Nobody will work more for a customer, until I feel disrespected.)
21 Quest, Oct 12 2006
  

       Actually, I'm the kind of guy that fires your sorry ass. But for the moment, I'm doing some PMO stuff, so you're probably safe.
DrCurry, Oct 12 2006
  

       seems to me you invented something to have fun with inside the call center. could you make the chair like a puzzle, so that you catch the newbie trying to steal/assemble your working space?
sweet, Oct 13 2006
  

       Hmm... definitely worth giving some thought to, sweet. Thanks for the food for thought.
21 Quest, Oct 13 2006
  

       Yeah, but then somebody will steal my bean bag... and my PDA... both are highly pilferable.
21 Quest, Oct 13 2006
  


 

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