Contractor pilot fish is doing support work for this big client, and he takes his job seriously. "I would frequently be the first support tech to enter the building at 7 a.m. and often had several calls waiting for me when I arrived," fish says.
Fish knows where the problems are coming from: The network is being used beyond its capacity, so users are starting to drop off on a daily basis.

Then things get worse. "The servers started to time-out and needed to be rebooted to reconnect to the network," says fish. "This is when I learned that my key card, which allows me access to the server room, will not work before 8 a.m.

"The network manager talks with the security manager to get me access, but no dice. He is told contractors cannot have access to the server room before 8 a.m. Security won't budge, and many people are unhappy that they have to wait until 8 a.m."

Network manager and security manager go back and forth, but the security guy won't budge. The rule is the rule: No access for contractors until 8 a.m.

Then early one morning fish gets a call from the security manager. He needs access to something on a server that has dropped off the network.

"I politely reminded him that I am an outside contractor and will only be able to access the server room at 8 a.m.," fish says. "He had someone open the door for me and the issue was resolved.

"After that, I was still not allowed to have access with my keycard.

"But every day, someone from security would prop the door open and leave it unguarded."