A former developer was unexpectedly called by his old boss five years after leaving a mail-order business, following the abrupt dismissal of the clerk who ran the system he had built. The boss believed the clerk had sabotaged the operation by unplugging the Pick minicomputer while it printed daily orders, but the apparent crisis was resolved largely by reconnecting its power.

The incident took place in early 1990, after the company dismissed the clerk with an hour to collect her belongings. The developer, identified as “Wade”, spent several hours restarting the machine, checking data and resuming the print job; he said the overnight call-out was worthwhile because his former employer paid his fee.