You know the security guys who always stop Michael Moore in the lobby

when he goes to confront a corporate big wig...... what do they do the rest of the time when Michael Moore isn't around? Are there that many people trying to crash corporate offices?

Lots of extracurricular activities.

When he's told that he can't, and refuses to leave, the receptionist then calls someone who sends down PR people who's job it is to interface with the public. They may also send in actual security guards from other parts of the building to reinforce the one or two who are normally stationed in the lobby.

Having recently worked at the North American headquarters of a major corporation, security is a huge component of day to day operations. Apart from the usual keeping thieves out of the employee parking lot and unlocking offices for those of us who left our keys on the desk when we went to the head, there is protecting executives (they can be worth a lot of ransom money) keeping disgruntled former employees, irate customers and over zealeous jobseekers out, guarding company secrets, etc etc.

But the fact is any executive with more than two brain cells to rub together knows about the dumbest thing you can do is refuse to talk to a Michael...Moore or Wallace.

They check everyone coming in to make sure they really are an employee.

They check all the guests to make sure they really are supposed to be there as guests.

As someone else said, corporate bigwigs can be nice targets for kidnapping.

Corporate offices can also be great places to steal computers, trade secrets, shit that would get the company in legal trouble, or just cause a lot of damage and havoc to the daily operation of the company.

Not to mention the people who might want to come in and shoot the place up.

The security at the companies I worked for not only staffed the lobbies into the buildings, but patrolled the hallways during all non-working times, making sure that anyone who's in the offices is actually an employee - and also checking for fires and water leaks and other possible disasters.

Don't short-sell the need for security.

when a guy came in looking for a part for a product that had been out of production for a long time. We had no parts or even any people who managed parts inventory. All the receptionist could do was give him the 800 number, but he would have none of that, started raising his voice, getting belligerent and making threats. If he would do that with me and a security guard right there, who knows haw far that would have gone if it had been just the receptionist and she would have had to wait for the police?

Not to mention the vindictive wives coming to wreak revenge on their husbands for divorce bullshit, or the battalions of sales-people who would show up thinking that they could have access to a 40-story office building to peddle their shoes, brushes, Thai food, electronic gadgets, purses, or fucking whatever-the-fuck they were selling.

I used to work at a call center and we had crazies show up all the time. There was the guy who tried to drive a semi through the front door because he thought we were the IRS and they put a tax lien on his house. The guy who asked to come in and fill out a job application and then started waving a gun around threatening to kill everyone (and I'm pretty sure that happened more than once). There was the woman who would wait out in the parking lot and follow people home, I suspect she was the same woman who used to call and make death threats on our employee pay phone in the dining room. Our security people earned their pay, they were kept pretty busy.

That makes me glad you have to have an employee badge to even get in the doors where I work. Most parking lots, though not the one I park in, you also used your badge to get the gate to lift into there. And you badge twice into my building, once on the outside door and then again on inner doors.

When I first started there you just needed a badge to enter the building but right before I quit they put a gate on the parking lots so you had to have one to park. I hated working there.

Over there.

Where's the bathroom?

Over there.

Where's the bathroom?

Over there...