Do they really look at your badge?

In case you've ever wondered if the security people are really looking at your badge as you walk through the door, yes they are! Nothing like having security call in a supervisor on you during your 2nd week of work. I had gone out one door to get lunch, but I came back in a different door that I had never been through before. The security lady there stopped me.

"That isn't what contractor badges look like." Um, well, it's the one they sent me on Monday of this week. "No, this is what they're supposed to look like," and she pulls out a binder. They have color pictures of what the badge designs look like, which I actually think is pretty smart, even if it is causing me an issue. "Have you been using this ID before now?" Yes, I've gone in the West Peachtree door every morning this week since I received my badge on Monday, and no one there has stopped me. (I would like to thank my grandfather for teaching me to make friends with everyone I work with, no matter their "station." I think knowing the names of three of the main door security people helped me.)

"Let me call in and see if they've sent a memo about changing the badge design." She was very nice about it, and she was quite certain that's what had happened. "We're always the last to be notified," she said. But still, it is her job to verify. Her supervisor radioed back and said there was no memo on file or in email, so they sent down the head of security. ::sigh::  Again, everyone was very nice about the whole thing, even apologizing to me for holding me up (I was standing there with my hot sandwich getting cold). I was not in any way being accused of something or treated as a suspect/threat. Security Chief C took a look at it, verified that the hologram sticker was genuine, and made a phone call to corporate just to verify. "Yep, that's what happened, they changed the design last week sometime. You're one of the first new ones we've seen. Would you mind if I made a copy of your badge?" Um, sure, go ahead. So guess who is now in the binder as the example of what a new contractor badge looks like? My lasting legacy....

Note to corporate: please inform security at all buildings *before* you change the design of the contractor badges.It will save everyone a lot of grief.

Currently feeling: well guarded