The first day at Microsoft: Don't just stand there

Raymond Chen

A second installment in a very sporadic series titled The first day at Microsoft, relating stories of funny things that happened on people’s first days at Microsoft. Today, we hear from Employee Y:

One of the things you have to do on your first day is get your photo taken for your identification badge, and I waited in line with the droves of other new college interns starting that same day. As a result, the line for photos extended out of the room into the parking garage. (ID badges are distributed from a room in the basement of one of the parking garages.)

     |-----
     | CAR
-----+-----
  * * * * *
     +-----*
ID   |      *
room |----- *
     | CAR  *
-----|----- *
     | CAR  *
     |----- *
     | CAR  *
     |----- *

As we waited in line, a car pulled up and wanted to park in that empty space near the door that people were blocking. The entire line of college interns just stood and stared in stunned amazement when they realized that the person driving the car was Bill Gates.

This stalemate lasted a good ten seconds before I spoke up and said, “Hey, everybody. I think Bill is trying to park in that empty space.”

That was enough to snap people out of their frozen state. A hole was made, Bill parked his car, crisis resolved.

I like to amuse myself by thinking that each of those interns that blocked Bill from getting to the parking space cost the company more money in wasted time than the intern will make all summer.

Raymond Chen

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