A little morning warmth: The "limping legion" after climbing the mountain and birthday wishes
When I stepped into the office this morning, the sight of colleagues "limping" in the corridor had improved a lot compared to Monday. Over the weekend, I went with the QE team to climb an unspoiled mountain on the outskirts of the city. When going down, the steps were so steep that you could see the soles of your shoes. A group of us held on to the railing and inched our way down. On Monday, everyone at work walked in holding on to the wall, and the continuous hissing sounds at our workstations were all from people massaging their knees. Today, it's amazing. Xiao Wu next door can even climb the stairs normally. I tried walking a couple of steps, and the soreness in my knees has changed from a "stabbing pain" to a "dull ache". Finally, I don't have to waddle around like a penguin, and my mood brightened up a bit.
Just as I sat down and turned on my computer, the email alert kept ringing non - stop. Among the more than twenty unread emails, half were birthday wishes. A college roommate sent a meme of a panda holding a cake with the caption, "The birthday boy is not allowed to work overtime today!" When I opened the e - card sent by a former colleague, the piano melody of "Happy Birthday" played. Even in the QE group chat, there was a flurry of red envelopes, all with the note "Wish the new birthday boy not to be bothered by clients". Just as the corners of my mouth were about to reach my ears, an email with the subject line "New Pilot Run Lot 0815 Feedback" suddenly popped up. The sender was Linda, the customer quality engineer, and my fingers froze on the mouse instantly.
From "Warm" to "Cool": The First Customer Feedback for a Newcomer
The email content was like a bucket of cold water. During the SMT line mounting on the client side, it was found that the pins of the USB interfaces on 2 PCS of trial - production motherboards were skewed and couldn't fit the test heads, so they needed to be returned to RMA for repair. This was the first customer feedback directly related to the project I was in charge of since I joined the company three weeks ago. My mind was instantly filled with a string of question marks: "Does an occasional problem in the trial - production batch count as a customer complaint?" "Will a newbie's mistake affect my probation period?" "Will the customer question my ability because of this?" Cold sweat started to break out on my palms, and I could hardly hold the mouse steadily.
I hugged my computer and shuffled over to the workstation of the old employee S diagonally across from me. My voice trembled as I asked, "Does the 2 PCS of defective products that Linda mentioned count as a customer complaint?" S frowned and dug out the customer's quality agreement. The agreement clearly stated that "batch (≥5%) or recurring problems are defined as customer complaints." However, there were only 50 PCS in the trial production lot, and 2 PCS was 0.4%. The two of us read the agreement word by word three times but still weren't sure. Finally, S looked up, and we said in unison, "Let's ask the boss to confirm."
False alarm: It's not a customer complaint, but the problem needs to be solved
The door to the boss's office was open. He was staring at the computer screen – precisely at that email. I stood at the door and knocked twice, my voice as soft as a mosquito's: "Boss, regarding Linda's email... Does this count as a customer complaint?" The boss looked up, pushed his glasses up, and pointed at the agreement terms on the screen: "A customer complaint must meet three conditions: being in batches, being repetitive, and affecting shipment. These 2 PCS are sporadic during trial production, and the customer didn't stop the production line, so it doesn't count as a customer complaint. But you have to do three things: I. Confirm the express delivery number of the items returned by the customer today; II. Obtain the defective products for Root Cause analysis before tomorrow; III. Keep an eye on the 500 PCS of finished products to be shipped today and focus on checking the USB interfaces."
The nervousness that had been hanging over me for half an hour finally subsided. I quickly nodded and said, "I'll contact RMA right away!" As I turned to leave the room, the boss added, "It's normal for newbies to encounter problems. Solve them first and then summarize." Those words were like a piece of candy, dispelling all my previous panic.
Busy but not in a mess: A half-day of rushing orders and solving problems
The following time ticked by like a wound-up clock: First, I replied to Linda's email to confirm the return address and the SF Express tracking number. Then, I contacted the production department to bring in the 500 PCS of finished products to be shipped that day. I squatted beside the inspection table with the IPQC and inserted the USB interface of each unit into the test fixture. Only when the fixture clicked into place on the last unit did I heave a sigh of relief. At three o'clock in the afternoon, when the delivery truck came to pick up the goods, I realized that I hadn't had lunch and my stomach was growling. But as I watched the 500 boxes of finished products being loaded onto the truck, the corners of my mouth curled up.
Conclusion: A newcomer's "first time" isn't that scary
When getting off work, Linda replied to the email saying that she had received the return arrangement. The boss sent a message in the group: "The 500 PCS of Batch 0815 were shipped out smoothly. @ me to follow up on the RMA analysis." The setting sun outside the window shone on the office desk. Her knees were still a bit sore, but her mood was warmer than in the morning. It turned out that a newbie's "first customer feedback" was not a terrifying thing. One just needed to calm down and solve the problems step by step.
While packing up my things, a message popped up on my phone from a small group chat: "The birthday star doesn't have to work overtime today! How about getting hot pot tonight to celebrate?" I typed with a smile, "Sure! I'll treat you to milk tea!"
Today's story starts with the sweetness of a birthday, goes through the panic of customer problems, and finally lands on the stability of problem - solving. Perhaps this is the daily life of QE people: catching the little warmth of life on one side, bearing the little challenges of work on the other, and then continuing to run forward.