I feel for him! Having been a systems programmer for a regional utility company in "a previous life", I recall all the times we had systems problems.

What always amazed me was when the boss would watch over our shoulders and ask "So what's wrong?" ... and I would have to try very hard to sound NICE when I replied something along the lines of "Well, if I knew the answer to THAT, I would have fixed it already!"

Actually... that scenario applies to pretty much all problems, not just those that are computer related.

!!

I am so sorry for the poor guy. I can only imagine how terrible he must be feeling already. I hope they aren't too harsh on him.

If this is the first time that he has made a mistake of this magnitude, and typically does good work, the worst that happens should be a written warning to document that it cannot happen again. When people deliver good work day after day and something happens that is clearly a mistake and didn't happen through their negligence, I usually just say something like "you know this cost us a lot of money and time, I am sure you feel badly and I sure that you will make sure that is doesn't happen again. If it does, I will be forced to take more serious action but I don't expect that to happen".

I can't figure out managers who always have to have someone to blame. You don't get the best out of people if they aren't allowed to fail occasionally. My mantra is 'if you didn't kill anyone, we can fix everything else'. :-)

I work in an area where people do die if we make mistakes. Like the others have said - no one died, that is good, and don't let it happen again, how can we fix it if it does? And thanks for 17 years of good work.

I'm thinking I wish your boss was boss of the CEO of BP right about now...

That is so unfortunate. Hopefully everything goes good with him

So...... What did happen to him? Did they let him go?