Friend
Professional
- Messages
- 2,670
- Reaction score
- 882
- Points
- 113
The British IT specialist was not allowed to leave the African country where he flew to set up an IT system. He was forcibly detained in the country until he repaired a not very modern printer, but even after the repair he was not allowed to go home. He had to find workarounds that led him to the presidential suite, hundreds of kilometers away.
Corporate CEOs can't be trusted
An IT specialist living in the UK risked being stuck in an African country for a long time without the opportunity to go home because of a malfunctioning printer and a promise that the head of a large local corporation did not keep, writes The Register. The publication does not give the name of the IT specialist and the country in which he was held hostage – it calls the hero of this story Tom. He told the story to the publication personally, without specifying the date when all these events took place.
On duty, Tom traveled from the UK to an African country, where he was supposed to implement and launch a messaging system for a local mining company with its partners. The client of the British firm where Tom worked at the time was the direct owner of the mining company, which also owned the local national airline.
The printer messed up everything
Tom's job, in fact, was to set up a messaging system. He needed to launch it and teach it, among other things, to connect to the so-called "teleprinter" of a third-party company supplier.
This device, also known as a teletype machine or simply a teletype machine, has more in common with a typewriter than a printer. However, it is able to print messages and documents sent through various communication channels.
Teleprinters are more typewriters than printers
It was this far from the most modern gadget that let Tom down, refusing to work as required of him. Tom's attempts to connect to the teletype machine of an African mining client were unsuccessful, but he did set up the system, albeit belatedly.
Africa - a new home
The owner of the company was very unhappy with the result of Tom's work. He was so enraged that he ordered the national airline under her control not to let Tom out of the country under any circumstances, and not even to let him board the plane without the personal permission of the owner of the company.
And he wasn't going to give that permission until Tom's work was fully done. Obviously, this meant establishing a connection between the mining company's messaging system and the teletype of one of its clients.
Tom himself was powerless in this situation. A technical specialist from the teletype company came to his aid, and together they managed to solve the problem, spending a minimum of time on it – only half an hour.
However, the ban on Tom's departure from the African country, contrary to expectations, was not lifted.
Anger at Mercy
The reasons why the national airline of the country where Tom was held against his will, continued not to let him on board, The Register does not give. Tom himself was already beginning to think that he would have to stay in this state for a long time.
However, the head of the mining company suddenly changed his temper and suggested that he fly on a different airline and even pay for his flight. He provided Tom with the details of his offshore bank account and provided promises about future payments.
But the other company only flew to Brussels, so Tom was faced with a new challenge-to get to the UK after the flight landed in the Belgian capital. He flew, by the way, on an ancient Boeing 707 aircraft, no longer used for flights by European and American airlines.
Tom knew the city well and had no doubt that he would find a place to spend the night, but in the end he was wrong. A major event was being held in Brussels that day, and there were no empty seats in any of the hotels – even the presidential suites were occupied – in fact, they even had to be temporarily divided into separate mini-rooms to accommodate more people.
In desperation, Tom visited a chain hotel where he had often stayed before, in the hope that, as a regular customer, they would find a free room. At first, he was informed about the lack of seats, but after a while the hotel employee reported that there was still a place.
This place turned out to be a fenced-off nook in the presidential suite, where instead of a full bed or at least a sofa, there was an ordinary cot.
Tom didn't seem too upset, though. Yes, he didn't have a comfortable bed, but at the same time, he had two luxury bathrooms, his own kitchen and a separate dining room.
Another good thing was that when Tom left the hotel the next morning, he paid like a regular room.
"Unfortunately, without movie stars and a hot tub, but it was my night in the presidential suite," he told The Register.
Tom had no other adventures on the way home.
Corporate CEOs can't be trusted
An IT specialist living in the UK risked being stuck in an African country for a long time without the opportunity to go home because of a malfunctioning printer and a promise that the head of a large local corporation did not keep, writes The Register. The publication does not give the name of the IT specialist and the country in which he was held hostage – it calls the hero of this story Tom. He told the story to the publication personally, without specifying the date when all these events took place.
On duty, Tom traveled from the UK to an African country, where he was supposed to implement and launch a messaging system for a local mining company with its partners. The client of the British firm where Tom worked at the time was the direct owner of the mining company, which also owned the local national airline.
The printer messed up everything
Tom's job, in fact, was to set up a messaging system. He needed to launch it and teach it, among other things, to connect to the so-called "teleprinter" of a third-party company supplier.
This device, also known as a teletype machine or simply a teletype machine, has more in common with a typewriter than a printer. However, it is able to print messages and documents sent through various communication channels.
Teleprinters are more typewriters than printers
It was this far from the most modern gadget that let Tom down, refusing to work as required of him. Tom's attempts to connect to the teletype machine of an African mining client were unsuccessful, but he did set up the system, albeit belatedly.
Africa - a new home
The owner of the company was very unhappy with the result of Tom's work. He was so enraged that he ordered the national airline under her control not to let Tom out of the country under any circumstances, and not even to let him board the plane without the personal permission of the owner of the company.
And he wasn't going to give that permission until Tom's work was fully done. Obviously, this meant establishing a connection between the mining company's messaging system and the teletype of one of its clients.
Tom himself was powerless in this situation. A technical specialist from the teletype company came to his aid, and together they managed to solve the problem, spending a minimum of time on it – only half an hour.
However, the ban on Tom's departure from the African country, contrary to expectations, was not lifted.
Anger at Mercy
The reasons why the national airline of the country where Tom was held against his will, continued not to let him on board, The Register does not give. Tom himself was already beginning to think that he would have to stay in this state for a long time.
However, the head of the mining company suddenly changed his temper and suggested that he fly on a different airline and even pay for his flight. He provided Tom with the details of his offshore bank account and provided promises about future payments.
But the other company only flew to Brussels, so Tom was faced with a new challenge-to get to the UK after the flight landed in the Belgian capital. He flew, by the way, on an ancient Boeing 707 aircraft, no longer used for flights by European and American airlines.
Tom knew the city well and had no doubt that he would find a place to spend the night, but in the end he was wrong. A major event was being held in Brussels that day, and there were no empty seats in any of the hotels – even the presidential suites were occupied – in fact, they even had to be temporarily divided into separate mini-rooms to accommodate more people.
In desperation, Tom visited a chain hotel where he had often stayed before, in the hope that, as a regular customer, they would find a free room. At first, he was informed about the lack of seats, but after a while the hotel employee reported that there was still a place.
This place turned out to be a fenced-off nook in the presidential suite, where instead of a full bed or at least a sofa, there was an ordinary cot.
Tom didn't seem too upset, though. Yes, he didn't have a comfortable bed, but at the same time, he had two luxury bathrooms, his own kitchen and a separate dining room.
Another good thing was that when Tom left the hotel the next morning, he paid like a regular room.
"Unfortunately, without movie stars and a hot tub, but it was my night in the presidential suite," he told The Register.
Tom had no other adventures on the way home.
