EXCEL rant - Nit picky boss

[bringthethunder]

So, I have a project whereby I am using Excel to calculate all Sales over a 18 month period, with some other intricate, fussy bits added in

[example: Add up total packets of crisps sold (its not crisps but don't want to be too specific as its a niche market we operate in)]

So, I've been working on this for 3 days, based on a 2 line email I received from my boss which offered very little info on what he really wanted. I was literally told "I want an 18 month breakdown of all sales, and total up all the crisps and all the customers".
I've had to go back to him umpteen times asking for further info on what he actually wants as some things just aren't countable! For example, I can count crisps, but I can't count how many people bought them as one customer could buy 1 packet, one could have bought 50!

Anyways, after 3 days I send him the completed project which was time consuming and frustrating due to the lack of info provided and having to employ some sort of psychic wizardry to estimate things. I was feeling quite pleased with how it was all presented and calculated. Sent it days before deadline.
But instead of even a basic "thanks" - he has come back to say that the "Crisps" column AutoSum function hasn't added all the way up the list 9making an incorrect total) and did I mean this or is it a mistake? stupid, passive aggressive question
OBVIOUSLY ITS A MISTAKE. JUST BLOODY DRAG THE AUTOSUM UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE. Why would he need to come and moan at me about one, tiny thing on a massive workbook, that literally takes him 1 second to correct?! I mean, I get that its my job and in an ideal world the mistake wouldn't have been there but I manage people also and I would never get at staff about such a thing.

So, my questions is: if you are a manger would you spend time writing out the email passive aggressively asking for the correction, waiting for it to be done and sent back, or would you just take 2 secs to fix the thing yourself and be chuffed that the work was done DAYS ahead of deadline?

I used to be a finance manager. This wouldn’t have sat well with me I’m afraid.
Columns and casting are basics to check on a spreadsheet?
I would have been more direct and said please correct and resend though.

I also wouldn’t say this is a minor mistake.

You’ll look a little silly and for me at least I wouldn’t like someone else determining the seriousness of the error. A wrong column can lead to all sorts of issues.

It’s ok though I wouldn’t dwell on it. As pp have said though, useless early and it being wrong, imagine if it wasn’t early, you may not have had time to correct it.

This was a simple calculation but you did it wrong and now you are blaming him?

When he asks for the number of customers, isn't he just asking you to do a COUNT on the number of transactions?

And surely he wants you to do it so that you have a reliable copy?

I don’t even think the boss was being passive aggressive. They were just asking if it was deliberate. A previous poster had an example where they deliberately left out a particular flavour. Everyone builds things differently so it’s worth checking.

I had a colleague work for me who massively over complicated excel and delivered early. I frequently found errors in her work which I did point out to her but also showed her how to build in check totals etc.

I did lose faith in her though as a team member and was relieved when she moved on to a role not using excel!

I’m with your boss. What goid is it giving him an incorrect spreadsheet - I would be annoyed not thank ful

If it’s nit your job to donut, shuddering job is it & why did he ask you?

If it is your job why are you complaining about having to do it?

Where were your cross checks?

If he hadn’t checked your results, which he shouldn’t have to, it could have Jed to huge problems and even possibly job losses depending on what your ‘crusis’ Actually are.

You’re expending energy in being pissed off your boss didn’t thank you, that would be better didn’t soent working out how you fucked it up, so it didn’t happen again

Sorry but YABU. He's done his job, you haven't done yours. Of course he may also be a dick for other reasons.

My boss is also nit picky. I've no issue with being asked to fix my mistakes, but sometimes she asks me to fix hers, and predecessor's, when she could have just as quickly done it herself.

How is this being nit picking? He grossly asked you to count something. All he was really interested were the total figures, it how pretty you made the columns, and you fail the most basic task. Have you even considered the consequences of having and potentially reporting the wrong total if he hadn't checked?

As a manager, I wouldn't be impressed at all, but if the person failed to understand that it was a basic thing to get wrong, I would seriously consider if they could be trusted in their role.

I'm sympathetic, but...

I screw up. A lot. So I'd say "Thanks for finding my error and hopefully that's the last one." type response.

I worked on a project where a spreadsheet was sent to the client with the sum formula not summing properly. We lost a million dollars on that. For a simple minor mistake. Damn right we check our maths and formula on every spreadsheet since then.

If I wanted to be a git about it, I'd reply along the lines of - 'Oops, that's the draft, here's the final version' having triple checked every last thing

Sorry, but I am with your boss on this one.
There may be other mistakes! Your boss does not want to go through the whole doc to find your errors. You should correct and check your whole doc and ensure everything adds up to what it should across all worksheets. I never send anything to my boss without double checking all calculations and formulae. You should take responsibility for what you do and have more pride in your work.

It's not nit picky, it's wanting the job done properly.

Funny how the OP rants about someone giving her feedback and then when the feedback here doesn't go her way, she disappears...

Your boss is right and not nit picky. That is why everybody has to use the same font and colour palettes. Check box must always be olive green etc.

I would absolutely point out an error in calculation in a spreadsheet. You need to know if you have done it wrong and correct it in the master document yourself. I can not see how you think he is nit picky for pointing out a mistake that made the final total incorrect!

My view would be to thank you and point out the error and expect YOU to correct it - how else will you learn. As my Dad would have said why have a dog and bark yourself.

agreeing with whoever upthread said that you need to understand your data completely, so you can spot errors, random formulae linking and just plain weird outliers.

if you don’t fully understand the data, you should have spent some time at the Planning stage getting a feel for the data rather than rushing out a big frosted Ta-Dah! spreadsheet ahead of your deadline that has wonky figures.

full disclosure: i was responsible for a weekly report which had been built by my boss (clueless with Excel) and had lots of linky bits and formulae, and one week i didn’t check the formulae for a tricky bit right in the middle that often had adjustments made.

the Marketing Director wanted me sacked. in the end i sfor a verbal warning, and you had better believe i checked that motherfucker with a fine tooth comb, and strategised who i could palm the bloody thing off on.

i fucking hated Tuesdays.

I've worked with Excel for many years, and I never send a spreadsheet on without checking all sums, etc. Checks can be built in.

Far better to take the time to check, because giving your boss an incorrect spreadsheet just so you can have your "Ta-Dah" moment will just leave him wondering if he can trust your work.

Pressed post too soon.

I saw a mention of pivot tables. I agree that these are good to get a handle on, I find them very useful.

Yeah if I was your manager then I'd have sent it back to you as well. If I wanted to do it myself then I wouldn't have given it to you in the first place

Think it's pretty clear from previous replies but I manage a lot of people in a data heavy industry where we rely heavily on excel. I get sent a large number of spreadsheets every week. It costs us both in terms of revenue and credibility if these are sent externally and are wrong. I check these with a fine tooth comb before I allow these to leave the building - I expect my team to do the same before they come to me. If there is one error there is often more.

If this is a one off for you I'd be sympathetic but would expect you to review the whole thing before sending back to me (nothing irks me more than sending something back and getting an "I fixed it" look how quick I did it email only to then spot another issue....). If it's symptomatic of a general lack of attention to detail I'm afraid it'd be part of a wider discussion.