An alarming experience

[offog]

I had a very upsetting experience yesterday evening. I'm writing this early in the morning after a sleepless night, and I'd like some opinions.

I do a lot of volunteer work for a friend who works for an organization we've both been part of for years She's an Administrative Assistant (AA). Yesterday afternoon I was helping out in her office, and at around 5:00 she had to go run an emergency errand. She asked me to answer the phone and take care of anyone who came in.

The office just got a security system installed, and the staff is still getting used to it. AA went out the back door, locked it and thought she could set the security system to cover just the back door. Well, it doesn't work that way. Everything was fine while I just worked at the desk. When I got up to go to the bathroom, I set off the motion detector and the alarm went off. I didn't have the security code number, so I couldn't turn off the alarm. Then the security company phoned, and I didn't have the password. Since they couldn't verify who I was, they couldn't deactivate the alarm. I got scared because I thought the police were going to show up any minute. I would have called AA, but she doesn't have a cell phone.

After about 10 minutes, the alarm stopped on its own, but went off again when I moved from the desk. I figured that if I sat still, the alarm would turn off again in a bit. The logical thing to do would have been to leave the office, but you need a key to lock the doors from the outside and I don't have a key.

I tried calling the Boss's Right Hand Man (RHM) on his cell, but got the voice mail. Then I very reluctantly called the Boss at home to explain the situation. He was nice about my bugging him at home, but didn't give me much help, and I didn't have the nerve to ask him for the password to give to the security company. Then RHM called. I explained what was going on. He told me to take any confidential information that might be on the desk, put it in a box, and take it to the back room in case the police came, but he too didn't give me much help. I told him I'd have to put the confidential stuff into the desk drawer because if I left the desk, the alarm would go off again. Then another volunteer (AB) came in and we had to sit and wait for the alarm to stop again.

The security company called to check in again. I told them everything was okay and I was still waiting for AA to come back. That's when they told me that for the first five days after installing a new security system, they don't call the police. (Whew!)

After another little while, another staff person (AC) called to ask what was happening. After I explained and told her I was afraid of being arrested, she gave me an alarm code so that I could turn off the system and go to the bathroom. Shortly after that, AA came back to the office. She told me I shouldn't have called the Boss at home.

I have handled confidential information and hundreds of dollars in cash for this organization. I have never “borrowed” or lost cash, and I have never given up confidential information, not even to my Smurf. I would think either the Boss or RHM would have trusted me enough to give me the code or password after the alarm was set off. They could always change the code or password the next day if they don't want volunteers to have that information. Or they could have said they'd call the security company to straighten things out. At the very least, they could have told me I didn't have to be scared.

I have stayed calm and polite when handling phone calls at the office from disgruntled, rude or weird people. I kept a stiff upper lip when I dealt with an armed robber at my last job. But this was too much. I was so upset by this whole experience that I couldn't work anymore and had to go home for a good cry and a stiff drink. AA couldn't understand why I was so upset.

Am I wrong to be a little perturbed with these guys for leaving me hanging? Please help me out here!

[Daniel]

Originally Posted by offog

Am I wrong to be a little perturbed with these guys for leaving me hanging? Please help me out here!

And "AA" is out of line. She is the one responsible and is worried about how she looks to the boss.

I think you did the right thing. And have nothing to apologize for.

Alarms activate the flight or fight response. This creates stress. And it seems that you responded as well as you could in the situation. In fact, from what you relate, you did better than Ok. You took charge and tried to correct the situation. Trouble is, no one helped you.

Time to take a hot bath and relax.

[Pablo Rafael]

I would say that you handled the situation very reasonably. New alarm systems always get set off because people do not know how to use them yet. As for calling the boss at home, I think it is always wise to take a little more action than too little. I would have done the same thing.

I worked at a school that put in an alarm system. It got set off several times in the first week. I did it once. I knew the password, but that would not shut it off once it started going; it only worked upon entering the building when i had the 30 second timeframe to turn it off. The sirens were wailing and I had to call the security company (fortunately the # was on the alarm), and they shut the sirens off. The police did come promptly. It doesn't sound all that major talking about it later, but it certainly was upsetting at the time.

[Poetic Awakening]

Of course the AA didn't want you to call the boss, because that would imply that she wasn't handling things good enough. That's how I'd think anyway.

Luckily you weren't arrested! I would hate for that to happen, considering you're just a volunteer. Crazy story. But seriously, you shouldn't have been left hanging. That's just poor handling of the situation.

[Rick336]

Originally Posted by offog

Am I wrong to be a little perturbed with these guys for leaving me hanging? Please help me out here!

You are right to be upset. Any normal person would have been upset by an alarm going off every few minutes. In fact, it would have been abnormal to have been calm through all of this.

The AA needs to accept responsibility for her lack of knowledge of how the security system works before leaving the office. She should have left a number where she could have been reached.

You did what any reasonable person would have done in the same situation.

Rick

[offog]

I feel much better about the situation, now that a few of people have given me some moral support.

[Poetic Awakening]

Anytime

[Gennee]

You did the right thing.

Gennee

[BruceChris]

You didn't do anything wrong, just hope it didn't give you any black marks.

Bruce Chris