Surprising the guard was doing its job..
From my experience, they are only in charge of handing out passes to whoever desires one, and that is the paper ones you receive in a plastic sheet with a clip, you know, the ones you end up throwing away every day because you forgot to hand it back in (it's fun to do though - it confuses them because it normally never happens).
I took on a job somewhere in London, and was duly issued a badge, valid for the 3 weeks that I was there. Come the next day I wake up late, scramble to get there in time and realise on entry that the badge is still at at home. I also notice that this is another group of guards, so they won't recall giving me a badge. I have 3 choices. One: I go over there, ask them to issue a day badge. Risk: they may have to ask the client, and I look stupid. Two: I can ask the company to let me pass and again get a day badge. Risk: I'm certain to look stupid (short note: this was early days, I'm no longer that sensitive). Three: take a shot at getting in without a badge.
I naturally take the risky option (men do BBQ because there's danger involved) - I tailgate and get in without anyone the wiser. OK, it wasn't *that* risky, for reasons that will emerge in a minute, but I got in without a badge.
It had now become a challenge, so for the rest of the entire 3 weeks I kept the badge in my pocket and tailgate. Only on the very last day a guard decides to ask for the badge.
Now, my job was to review & fix my client's IT security...
Biting the hand that feeds IT
