I thought this was a Sri Lankan expression since I’ve only ever heard my parents and grandparents use it. I just found that The Dog in the Manger is a fable.
Dog in the manger (n): an ugly-natured person who prevents others from enjoying what would be an advantage to them but is none to him/her.
This morning, one of my coworkers informed me that Pratt employees get a discount when purchasing PCs from Dell. I needed a code which was buried somewhere deep in the intranet, but someone suggested I see HR because they would have it handy. I walked over to the HR department and asked a very friendly lady if she knew where I could find it. She wasn’t sure, so she asked another guy who looked pretty young. The conversation was something like this:
“Sure, you can find the discount code at such and such a place.”
“Cool. Thanks.”
“But wait. Are you a student?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure the special is only for permanent employees. So that means you can’t get it.”
“So you’re telling me I’d have to buy it through someone else?”
“Well, you could do that, but then the warranty and everything would be in someone else’s name.”
“That’s fine.”
“I’m also pretty sure they have contacts in the IT department here to verify all this is valid.”
He was acting like this was a major deal and trying to dissuade me. I looked him straight in the eyes with a slight smirk. The look on my face said: “Is the money for the discount coming out of YOUR pocket?”. Of course, I didn’t need to say it. I’m one of those people who’s face says it all. He immediately got defensive.
“Well, I was in your shoes a couple of months ago seeing everyone around me benefitting from discounts that I couldn’t qualify for.” He seemed a little bitter about it, and was essentially telling me “If I couldn’t do it, neither can you.” I looked over, smiled at the first lady [who hadn't said a word throughout this], looked back at the guy and said “Listen, it’s not a huge discount, so it’s not a big deal. In any case, don’t worry about me. I’ll talk to Dell and take care of it.”
I CAN’T STAND people like this!!! Let’s review: Best case scenario: What does he gain from this? Nothing. Worst case scenario: What does he lose from this? Nothing. Whether I get a discount or not has no effect on his life whatsoever, YET he doesn’t want someone else to have it because he couldn’t get it when he was a student. Boo hoo! With an attitude like his, this kid should NOT be working in HR where they’re supposed to be helping people!
Anyway, I spoke to Dell, and the girl said I would have qualified for the EPP (employee purchase plan), but then I wouldn’t have qualified for the other promotions I got (i.e the free DVD burner etc.). In the end: the deals I got came out better than the small discount, so I left it as is. It’s still on track and should be here next week!!