Should I report it to my manager that the client's security didn't help (eg show me around) like my instructions said they would?

Question

I have a side job where the office I report to is in another city. I used to work for them close to full time, but now I have a different job. Since it was such a great company to work with I still do small projects where they need someone physically in my location.

I recently worked with a different team of theirs and they sent me to a client site. Things went terrible. A lot of the instructions I was provided didn't work. One big thing was the client's security was supposed to show me around but they said they didn't know I was coming. I told them I could reschedule when things were better arranged but it seemed like they wanted to argue and make a problem. They eventually found the email that said told them I was coming and to let me in. In fairness, my manager should have provided me with a name for an on site contact. As such security had more trouble looking up this email. They still said things like "your work is going to take a long time so we can't help you!".

My question is: should I mention this in my report to management? If yes, how should I phrase it? I guess "security did not help or assist me as per my instructions" is better than "I found them rude".

I work as an employee who reports my own work hours. Since nothing was accomplished (aside from the fact that I can tell them things aren't what they think) should I still get paid for my time there?

Answer 1

There are two things to be mentioned here:

1. Definitely report this, but do not appear to be finger-pointing at someone. Report the incident as it happened without blaming anyone. You can say something like

   There was a communication gap about my visit. The local security team had no idea I was going to be present, as they had not seen the email regarding my visit. Since they were not actively aware of any prior information, it took much longer than necessary to confirm I was allowed to visit. Unfortunately, since they had no no plans chalked up for my visit, the visit itself was not fruitful, as they did not have any time and effort budgeted for me to have a look around. What can be done to avoid this in future? How can I help?

2. Definitely charge for the time you spent (extra), it was not your fault that the arrangements were not in place.

That said, next time before you plan to visit a site, please ask for a point of contact at the site, and call them up before (with enough time in hand so that any missing arrangement can be accommodated) you actually visit to ensure things are in order. This can help in avoiding surprises and ensure all are in the same page.

Answer 2

My question is: should I mention this in my report to management? If yes, how should I phrase it? I guess "security did not help or assist me as per my instructions" is better than "I found them rude".

Yes, having documentation like that can be important. It is very well possible that this blows up and becomes a "your word against theirs" situation. In such cases, people tend to put more trust in the person whose word they heard first.

When you report it, avoid subjectivity like "they were rude". Causing problems for people who try to sneak onto the premise without authorization is literally the job description of a security guard. Focus on the objective problem instead, like "The security wasn't properly informed that I would visit the site, leading to losing precious time".

I work as an employee who reports my own work hours. Since nothing was accomplished (aside from the fact that I can tell them things aren't what they think) should I still get paid for my time there?

Of course. They paid for your time, and you delivered as promised. When they didn't use your time well due to being disorganized, then that's on them.

Answer 3

Yes. I suggest that you have short format report form for all client visits: what went well, what didn't go well, things to do better next time.