Current Events > Have a work issue. What do you think should be done?

(+) Yeah! (+)

So I had a client presentation to do. Client sent me a number to conference call into. Work provided me with a regular office phone to use will working from home, but I decided to set up in my living room and prefer to use the VOIP app for calls. However once I started I realised it was interfering with my VPN presentation quality, and I was worried about dodgy reception - so I decided to use my own mobile instead. More reliable signal that way.

I got a phone bill that was a whopping $100 more expensive than it normally is. I looked up why and it's because that call was a tariffed number.

So, in a nutshell: my personal phone number was charged an extra $100 for a work call, but to be frank it was my own doing. Technically I had the capacity to make the call using the work equipment, but it wasn't ideal for the setup and I didn't want a tech issue to interfere with the presentation.

So who should pay for it?

I'm not asking for legal advice here and I don't even really know where my contract stands on things like this. Part of me thinks this is entirely on me and the other part thinks...actually no, this is definitely a business expense, albeit an unaccounted for one.

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Tariffs on a phone call? Might want to start dumping cell phones into the bay.

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My job would pay for that, though my boss/finance would probably tell me not to do it again

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That's on you. Sorry.

Id try to get the company to pay for it and explain the crap quality of the call was so bad you were forced to use your personal phone to save the presentation.

Your decision, your expense. You could have told your boss you needed upgrades instead of taking it on yourself.

You could certainly bring it up to see if they may cover it regardless due to the circumstances, but definitely your own choice and own cost otherwise.

a very costly mistake.
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Cleo_II posted...

Id try to get the company to pay for it and explain the crap quality of the call was so bad you were forced to use your personal phone to save the presentation.

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I think it's kind of a middle ground issue atm. I can see it's my fault, but it was also genuinely for a work presentation, so eh.

I'll make the argument and see what they come back with.

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pinky0926 posted...

I think it's kind of a middle ground issue atm. I can see it's my fault, but it was also genuinely for a work presentation, so eh.

I'll make the argument and see what they come back with.

The problem is that you weren't solving a problem currently keeping you from doing the presentation, you were trying to cut off a potential future problem...and it kinda seems like that potential problem was only because you decided to use something other than the work line you were provided with...

i'd absolutely approach my superior with the story and request the company cover the upcharge and also work towards a more cost-effective solution going forward OR an understanding that the company will cover upcharge cellular bills as they relate to company business

e: the goal being that at least if you have to eat the 100 now, the subsequent months are at least on the table to deal with differently

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whats your company's t&e policy like? that will be your starting point. at my last job i would not have thought twice about expensing that $100, at my current one id be a little more wary because the policy isnt as generous.

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Tenlaar posted...

The problem is that you weren't solving a problem currently keeping you from doing the presentation, you were trying to cut off a potential future problem.

I kinda had to make the decision on the fly with only a few minutes before the agreed time, because nothing kills the momentum and excitement of a potential sales pitch quite like spending 15 minutes dealing with technical issues and a dodgy phone line.

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Just explain the situation to your boss and HR and see if they can reimburse

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pinky0926 posted...

I kinda had to make the decision on the fly with only a few minutes before the agreed time, because nothing kills the momentum and excitement of a potential sales pitch quite like spending 15 minutes dealing with technical issues and a dodgy phone line.

I was slow to edit it in the other post, so...wasn't the potential problem that you were solving only a problem because you decided to use a setup other than the work line that was provided for you?

You should be able to recuperate those costs. Perfectly valid and it's only $100 so your work should be able to afford that lol

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Romulox28 posted...

whats your company's t&e policy like? that will be your starting point. at my last job i would not have thought twice about expensing that $100, at my current one id be a little more wary because the policy isnt as generous.

Not consistent. It's the kind of company that will take you out for dinner and drinks one week and then count the pennies on your travel expenses next week

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pinky0926 posted...

Not consistent. It's the kind of company that will take you out for dinner and drinks one week and then count the pennies on your travel expenses next week

eh id still put the receipts into whatever platform you use and see what your manager says. if he/she rejects it then you eat the cost and use that as leverage to get a work phone

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Tenlaar posted...

I was slow to edit it in the other post, so...wasn't the potential problem that you were solving only a problem because you decided to use a setup other than the work line that was provided for you?

Could be argued, yes. But I would argue that I wasn't confident that the phone they provided was going to be satisfactory for this call either.

So yes I can see if they want to count beans I don't have much of a leg to stand on...other than I was pitching about $20k worth of product to the client at the time, so...lol

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pinky0926 posted...

Could be argued, yes. But I would argue that I wasn't confident that the phone they provided was going to be satisfactory for this call either.

You could argue that if you were using the work line, experienced problems, and then switched to your personal cell. But that's not what happened.

One of those things where you stand absolutely nothing to lose by asking for reimbursement, unless you were explicitly prohibited from using personal devices for work-related tasking.

The worst they can say is "nope, not gonna pay for that lol". Then you just wind up owing what you already do. But you won't know unless you ask.

I also work for an organization that will give you a pass on stuff the first time, like when I parked at the daily lot at the airport instead of the long-term lot >_>

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Worst that can happen is they say no, if you ask them to pay it.

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Tenlaar posted...

You could argue that if you were using the work line, experienced problems, and then switched to your personal cell. But that's not what happened.

It's not an unprecedented scenario because I've had troubles on that equipment before, so I didn't want it to even be a chance of a problem. I've lost out on hefty client contracts before because the CEO was just too damn annoyed at the line quality to bother continuing.

I suppose the argument might be, why wasn't this addressed sooner...

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pinky0926 posted...

It's not an unprecedented scenario because I've had troubles on that equipment before, so I didn't want it to even be a chance of a problem. I've lost out on hefty client contracts before because the CEO was just too damn annoyed at the line quality to bother continuing.

I suppose the argument might be, why wasn't this addressed sooner...

Yeah, that line also leads to you not addressing a problem with work equipment and just going around the equipment instead. Still on you.

Tenlaar posted...

Yeah, that line also leads to you not addressing a problem with work equipment and just going around the equipment instead. Still on you.

My argument is basically "That's $20k of work we're going to close on, cut me a break" lol

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I should probably add that I still think you should ask if they'll cover it, just because a hundred bucks is guaranteed to be a bigger hit to your personally than it will be to a company budget. I just don't think that you should lie and make it out to be a problem that the company caused if that's not true.

pinky0926 posted...

It's not an unprecedented scenario because I've had troubles on that equipment before, so I didn't want it to even be a chance of a problem. I've lost out on hefty client contracts before because the CEO was just too damn annoyed at the line quality to bother continuing.

I suppose the argument might be, why wasn't this addressed sooner...

And the counter-argument would be that it doesn't really matter. Why play the "would have, could have, should have" game? You didn't foresee it being a problem because what the shit is a "tariffed number", and it was a one-off circumstance with a one-off consequence that you won't be repeating in the future. You ask, they say yes or they say no and you proceed appropriately.

Look, the odds here are stacked against you just given the situation. But just be polite, respectful and undemanding and maybe you'll get good things. If not... well, you're out $100 and use the company equipment again.

I'd be curious if this is a thing they deal with on a normal basis to begin with (conference calls that rack up absurd bills)?

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Tenlaar posted...

I should probably add that I still think you should ask if they'll cover it, just because a hundred bucks is guaranteed to be a bigger hit to your personally than it will be to a company budget. I just don't think that you should lie and make it out to be a problem that the company caused if that's not true.

Yeah, that's fair. I've been upfront with them about what happened, so we'll see.

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pinky0926 posted...

Yeah, that's fair. I've been upfront with them about what happened, so we'll see.

This would definitely be the time to push for them to get you a better setup at home, too.

Hexenherz posted...

Look, the odds here are stacked against you just given the situation. But just be polite, respectful and undemanding and maybe you'll get good things. If not... well, you're out $100 and use the company equipment again.

I'd be curious if this is a thing they deal with on a normal basis to begin with (conference calls that rack up absurd bills)?

as a controller of multiple companies, CPA, and having worked on hundreds of books, the odds are not stacked against him.

I'd honestly be surprised if the bill is not reimbursed.

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krazychao5 posted...

as a controller of multiple companies, CPA, and having worked on hundreds of books, the odds are not stacked against him.

I'd honestly be surprised if the bill is not reimbursed.

Interesting that you'd say that, since they provided him with all the equipment he needed to perform his work functions.

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You're responsible for that payment. Work gave you the tools needed to set it up. You didn't think they were good enough and made the decision to do so with your phone instead. Not knowing there would be a bill included, but still not the fault of your job.

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Just ask your boss.

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Hexenherz posted...

Interesting that you'd say that, since they provided him with all the equipment he needed to perform his work functions.

cost of doing business. $100 is chump change for a company. They'd pay that cause it's a drip in the bucket.

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Update: They're going to write it off to expenses. Got an officious "but seriously bro don't do that shit again lol" email. Happy days!

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krazychao5 posted...

cost of doing business. $100 is chump change for a company. They'd pay that cause it's a drip in the bucket.

I'm not saying it's a big expense, but that also doesn't necessarily mean they are obligated to reimburse it given the circumstances.

But... @pinky0926 I'm glad it worked out for ya!

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Hexenherz posted...

I'm not saying it's a big expense, but that also doesn't necessarily mean they are obligated to reimburse it given the circumstances.

It's generally not a good idea to potentially piss off an employee over that little amount of money.

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krazychao5 posted...

It's generally not a good idea to potentially piss off an employee over that little amount of money.

Also definitely don't disagree with that, but I've seen my fair share of companies that don't give two effs about their employees despite their penchant for core values and forced teambuilding exercises and tasking.

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Hexenherz posted...

Interesting that you'd say that, since they provided him with all the equipment he needed to perform his work functions.

Even the best set-ups run the risk of not working as needed during crunch time. Pinky tired to resolve the issue as best as he could to not risk the presentation, even if it wasn't the optimal solution. No decent company is going to fight him on that. Not for $100.

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Tbh I'm just annoyed I agreed to use a stupid conference call number in the year 2020


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pinky0926 posted...

Update: They're going to write it off to expenses. Got an officious "but seriously bro don't do that shit again lol" email. Happy days!

Ask and ye shall receive!

(But seriously bro don't do that shit again.)

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Enjoy your $100 christmas bonus!

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pinky0926 posted...

Update: They're going to write it off to expenses. Got an officious "but seriously bro don't do that shit again lol" email. Happy days!

Nice! Glad it worked out.