sometimes, like recently at my work i fixed a couple of fluorescent exit lights, re-lamped them and one of the starters was fried, so i stole the starter tube from a PL lamp and installed it in the starter can (one of those twist lock starters) , then reinstalled the can in the exit fixture, so now all four tubes (in the two exit lights) work, did all this while no one was watching, in about 5 minutes

It doesn`t bother me to see lights out at work, because I`m the one that fixes them anyway! , but it does bother me that no-one reports it!, I have to keep checking myself!
A light/lights can be out for weeks, and they will only say something when it comes winter with its darker nights, and they need them!, then its, "oh by the way, this went out a while ago"

Well at least they are honest, I always get it was working yesterday..

Could it be that they disabled the other lamps to save energy. Local telecom office did the same thing in their basement by removing one of starters in each 2-lamp fixture. So every fixture had one lamp out and always the same side.

No I don't think it was deliberate because eventually they relamped that part of the building all the lamps were working after they finished. Also be he tubes that were out were heavily blackened at the ends