IMC Communication at it's finest

For warning… this is all me bitching (even though I can’t figure out why any of this still surprises me). I guess I just don't understand why a school about communication is soo very poor at it.

Let me begin with the date. It is July 27, 2006. For over a month and a half, our school has supposedly been putting together some communication sheet with everyone's phone # and email. I hadn't received it yet, so I just assumed they were too incompitent to figure out how to copy and paste. However, several friends said they received theres over 2 weeks ago, so I sent our admin an email asking her for the list b/c I never received it. She responded that she thought she remembered sending it to me and did I still live on Barry. I found it odd that she would remember me specifically, but paid no attention seeing as who it was. When I arrived home tonight, I realized why she remembered me: my lovely Medill package was waiting for me in the mailbox. Why on earth did it take nearly a month to receive a letter that was dated June 30^th?

Next story: Midterm Reviews (I'm getting graded instead of being paid)

Let me begin with my final email out of several correspondences with John Greening, who is my faculty advisor.

John,

You are scheduled to meet Connie at 9am on Tuesday. I am assuming you will meet with me, 10 or 15 minutes prior. See you then.

Deb

I figure it’s necessary to say that John didn’t bother to reply to this, but I thought nothing of it since he never bothers to reply to any of my emails (even when I ask direct questions, but whatever). I also should mention at this point that my boss, Connie, and I were attending a focus group that started at 10 in another building.

Well, 8:50 came and went, so I assumed John had decided to skip me and was just meeting with my boss. Around 9:20 I could here his obnoxious voice clearly down the hall chatting it up, and became quite annoyed that he hadn’t even followed up with me after the meeting. Around 9:30 my boss and him nearly collide right in front of my open cubicle, both saying that they had come looking for the other. John then says, “Well, I assume we’re still on for 9:30.” At this point I definitely shook my head in disgust, I’m pretty sure my boss caught. Anyways, she responds that we have somewhere to be at 10 so it has to be quick.

Without further delay, John launches into a glowing report of his son Patrick (who also works for Element and has been standing patiently by daddy’s side the whole time) and how he pitched something for Gatorade, which is now going to be take to client. (Seriously, give me a break) At this point, Connie has to cut him off with “John, the meeting isn’t here.”

So, then John and I have our brief 3 min meeting where he cuts right to the chase: “How are things going here? Am I going to hear good things or bad things? You know, Connie didn’t want to take you and that I had to tell her that you would surprise her.” Yes John, I know that, you basically already told me not to screw up here. I met with my boss last Friday and she said that she was happy with all of my work, but that I am too quiet and she can’t tell if I like it here. Well, no shit I'm quiet; I don’t want to do anything to screw up. Thanks for all the support John, it means a lot. Not too mention, that you had to "sell me," a Northwestern grad student, to Element, but they were more than willing to take on your precious son who is still in undergrad and not even in a marketing program. I mean, seriously.

Anyways, the whole thing was over in 15 minutes tops and I got to go to VO5 focus groups that ended up being pretty entertaining. O, and later I told my boss that John screwed up the time not me, to which she shrugged her sholders and said, “Ehh… it’s John,” which made me smile.