["Pomp and Circumstance"]
You know, sometimes I feel sorry for people who have to run an office set up,
especially if it employs a number of girls.
So darn many things can develop, out of nothing.
I've always thought it was good common sense to ignore petty situations, but then
again, you never know.
George Barnes, or G. Bennett Barnes as he signs his name, had the same idea.
George runs the office end of the service department.
This involves considerable correspondence, special records, and
complicated systems of filing.
Eight or nine girls work for George, and Betty here is
what you might call the leader of the group.
I guess just about every office has someone like Betty, a little short on
personality maybe, but darn deficient.
Fact is, she's been here almost as long as George.
Many of the procedures and filing systems
were set up by Betty in the first place.
Well, to get along with my story, George hired a new girl.
Joan, it's good to have you with us. We hope you'll like it here.
Thank you, Mr. Barnes. I'm sure I will.
It's not very often we have the opportunity to hire
someone with your extensive background.
I'm sure your college training, and particularly your past working experience in
the service field, will be a big help to us.
Well, I certainly hope so.
You'll find we're a friendly group.
Look around, get acquainted, see how we do things.
Then who knows? With a fresh viewpoint, maybe you'll come up with some new ideas.
Yes. Thank you, Mr. Barnes.
Come in.
Oh, Betty.
This is Joan Thomas.
She's replacing Sylvia.
Joan, this is Betty McCormick.
How do you do, Joan? I'm glad to know you.
Hello, Betty.
Betty, will you take Joan and show her around the
office and introduce her to everyone, please?
I'll be happy to.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Barnes.
Bye, Joan.
Well, Joan proved to be an intelligent girl, quick to grasp
things full of sound ideas.
A couple of weeks later...
Oh, Betty, do you have a minute?
What is it, Joan?
Well, I'm having an awful time checking anything in these guarantee files.
It's all alphabetical, and there are millions of them.
Takes forever to find any particular one.
Well, we haven't been having any trouble.
Well, the way they did it to Malco, Betty, saved a lot of time.
There, we broke the guarantees down by cities.
And then alphabetically.
That way, when you wanted to check one, you could do it in a jiffy.
Seems we could save a lot of time if we do it that way here.
Well, we've been getting by all right so far.
I don't see much percentage in changing now.
Well, Mr. Barnes said...
Well, I just thought it would save time for everyone.
Especially me.
Well, I'm sorry we don't do things more to your way of thinking.
Perhaps Malco was better organized.
No, I didn't mean it that way, Betty.
I just thought it would be easier for everyone if we were to do it the other way.
That's how the situation first developed.
A little friction between a competent old employee and an
intelligent, experienced new one.
Well, it wasn't long until...
Knocking on door Come in.
Oh, good morning, Betty.
How are things going?
Mr. Barnes, I've never had any trouble in the office as long as I've been here.
I think you'll agree I've always gotten along with the other girls.
What's the matter, Betty?
It's that new girl, Joan Thomas.
Just because she's been to college and works in a couple of other places,
she tries to lord it over everyone.
Everything we do is inefficient.
Now, she says, our guarantee filing system is no good.
When I developed that system, Mr. Barnes, over eight years ago, in its work,
now all of a sudden it's no good.
Well, this is probably my fault.
I did say something to Joan about new ideas.
Let her make suggestions.
I'm sure it's nothing personal as far as you're concerned.
Even the other girls, even they're getting critical.
And I spent years getting those files to where they are now.
Betty, you've done a good job.
We all think a lot of you.
We appreciate what you've done.
I count on you to keep things rolling out there.
I'll tell you what.
I'll talk to her and...
Now, don't worry. I'll talk to her.
Barnes speaking.
George Barnes is an efficient, conscientious man.
But he's also a busy man.
He didn't talk to Joan that day, or the next day, or the next.
As a matter of fact, George Barnes thought the whole thing would blow over.
That he could avoid making a mountain out of a mole hill.
Stopping a chain reaction of disharmony in his department
by just letting it alone.
And he could be right.
But one day, a couple of weeks later...
Joan, do you see Alpine Service Company's monthly and
warranty report file on your desk?
I can't find it anywhere.
Alpine?
No, I don't, Betty. It must be in the file.
I've been looking in the file for half an hour and I can't find it.
It's one of your files. Are you sure you're up to date?
Yes. Oh, I know. I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you.
The girls and I were talking the other day and we figured out it would save time
if the end warranty reports were separated.
Because, well, they have to be filed in products anyway.
Here, let me show you. All I need to know is, who do you think you are?
I fixed those files in the first place. And let me tell you,
Mr. Barnes is going to hear about this.
But Mr. Barnes, you've changed the whole file around. I spent
an hour looking for just one report.
She's tearing down everything I spent years to build up.
What did she say when you talked to her?
Well, I...
You didn't talk to her, didn't you?
No. Frankly, I forgot to do it. It slipped my mind.
I thought of it later and then I thought,
well, it'll probably take care of itself.
But I told you she was becoming impossible.
Mr. Barnes, I thought you appreciated all I've done here.
I do. I do, Betty. I just didn't expect such resistance to new ideas.