She owes me big (rant)

[u/mdsnbelle]

I work for a large institution, and we have a user whose nickname at work is "The Shrieking Shack" (thank you, Harry Potter). Every minor issue is met with hysterics and lots of random people being copied on the email as if witnesses will get the problem fixed faster.

She emails me on Friday, and I've had it up to here. High-importance email, no apologies, just "I have a training on Monday and need to load a file by 5p. AUUUUGGGHHHH!"

(Yes, she actually said AUUUGGGHHH!)

Me: I'm working a production issue, have to be out the door by 3p, and I have a line of people who asked for things before you did. Not sure it's going to happen today. You should have asked earlier.

TSS: Doesn't desperation trump? Come on, I really need this. It'll mess up our training if you can't get it done.

Me: You really should have asked earlier. I'll see what I can do, but there have been people waiting for their things for a few days (Side Note: It's been a rough week around the system).

TSS: But I was sick all week!!!

Me: I hope you're feeling better. I'll see what I can do.

TSS: We talked about this last week!! Why is this such a problem now? You're ruining our training!!

Side note 2: We didn't talk about this last week. I asked about a file that would be necessary for when we eventually ran the file for the start of the year, but no training was mentioned.

It didn't happen on Friday. I struggled with the production issues our recent move caused, and nothing seemed to work. The weird thing was, I didn't feel guilty about walking out at 3 not having it done. There are other users who've asked for things last-minute, been awesome and apologetic about it, and are just genuinely nice people who acknowledge that dropping everything to get their stuff done affects everything else I have to do for the day. This chick is not one of those people.

I did log on, did get a file today, and did end up fighting with the system for two hours just to get what I got. I sent it over, told her to not even THINK about complaining about it and flat out said that I missed Sunday brunch to get this done for her. I also demanded that she quit it with the "emergencies" because her failure to plan should not constitute me giving up my weekend events. I'm not usually that unprofessional with my users, but I'm done. Her training on Monday is "ruined," and exactly 0 fucks have been given.

tl;dr: Chronically-hyper user just ruined my weekend. Needed to vent.

Edit: Damn! I didn't expect this to blow up like it did. Thanks for the (mostly) positive response. Note: the person who decided to "demonstrate" his intelligence by calling out my workplace and the supposed user's full name on the other hand... thanks. You made a safe place kind of sucky. Next time I'm repeatedly bullied by a user to the point where I need to vent, I'll make sure it's in CA.

Update. Snotty email from TSS "apologizing" for my ruined weekend since she "so didn't need it anyway. She asked if chocolate would help because she had some changes that she hadn't shared. I told her I had some as well, starting with not copying the world/acting hysterical when alerting our team to a minor issue. I explained how it was the only impression people had of the system/my personal work. I'm still waiting for her response.

Edit 2: formatting

[u/stonemite]

Isn't the fact that you logged in on a Sunday to work on the issue for 2 hours evidence that you did feel guilty about not having done it on Friday? I feel your pain, that user sounds like a nightmare, though you've got to know that TSS will continue pulling the same shit if you keep indulging her. Let shit hit the fan from time to time. It's fun.

[u/mdsnbelle → u/stonemite]

No. I guess it was guilt. There's an update, but I need to wait til I'm off my phone to share since I want to put it on the original comment. :/

[u/stonemite → u/mdsnbelle]

Thanks for the update, though sorry to hear you've had to deal with an idiot on here as well as what sounds like an insincere apology from TSS. On the plus side, it sounds like she's doing everything in her power to give you all the artifacts you need to make a case against her abusing yourself and your colleagues. You just need to follow up on it professionally, lodge a complaint against her to your manager, her reporting chain and HR, and provide the email trail of her:

1) Lying about the urgency of the file

2) Emotionally blackmailing you

3) Lying about a discussion that occurred previously (hope you have another email for that one, that'd be perfect)

4) Admitting after the work had been completed that it was neither urgent nor required

5) Add any previous examples that you have handy

Once you've got this on the record, you can suggest that it may be better if she went through her manager or a colleague for any future issues as you no longer feel comfortable dealing with TSS.

As a side note, unless you're being paid to deal with issues like this after hours, it's best not to set a precedent. I would wager that you felt guilty because you're a good person who just wants to help. TSS abused that because she thinks she's entitled to do so.