> Also every time the manager wanted me to assure him I wouldn't waste time by writing a script like that because that's not what they were paying me for.

It eternally baffles me (although no longer, sadly, surprises me) how often this happens. Clear evidence of a simple change which dramatically improves efficiency and therefore profits, and someone complains and tries to prevent it ever happening again because "that wasn't what I specifically wanted to do right then."