Thread to post any embarassing/awkward/cringe-worthy work stories.

 

I'll begin...

 

I was a teller about eight years ago. A regular customer would come in who had lost a leg in an accident. He was on crutches. Nice guy, pretty open, and not a complainer. We were a small branch and had high counters. A girl I worked with was pretty "dingy" as it's called, and the man came in one afternoon and his crutch hit our line divider. As he moved up to her, she said "Oh hey there! How are you?" and he said "I'm doing okay. Sorry about that." referencing hitting our divider. She said "Oh no problem! When will you be able to get off those things and start walking normally again?" Everyone in the room just stared at her. He said "Not anytime soon.." and she said "Must be a bad sprain!"

 

It was just painful.

I was Co-Oping at a local accounting firm during my junior or senior year of college. I had went to a friend's house for a party the night before (she lived about a 3 minute drive from my office), and decided to just stay there as I was clearly too intoxicated to drive. Went to bed/stopped drinking at 4:30 am, woke up in time to get to work by 8 am. Felt really good all things considering, except I was incredibly tired. Went to the copier to make some copies, and fell asleep standing at the copier! What made it worse was the person who caught me was one of the partners! He laughed, tapped me on the shoulder and asked "Rough night?" before walking away.

I was Co-Oping at a local accounting firm during my junior or senior year of college. I had went to a friend's house for a party the night before (she lived about a 3 minute drive from my office), and decided to just stay there as I was clearly too intoxicated to drive. Went to bed/stopped drinking at 4:30 am, woke up in time to get to work by 8 am. Felt really good all things considering, except I was incredibly tired. Went to the copier to make some copies, and fell asleep standing at the copier! What made it worse was the person who caught me was one of the partners! He laughed, tapped me on the shoulder and asked "Rough night?" before walking away.

 

Those things always seem so much more traumatic in the moment when you're younger than they do now when you realize all of the senior managers have been young adults at one point, too.

 

I had to open the branch one morning, and woke up about 10 minutes before opening time after a long night out. I was 20 at the time. Didn't brush my teeth. Put on some khakis that ended up being too short, chuck taylors untied, and a sweatshirt and ran up to the branch which was thankfully only 10 minutes away. I thought I'd be fired lol. Instead my boss told me to go home and brush my teeth and put on perfume and laughed the whole day as I struggled through work. Lesson learned.

At my old job I worked on the 2nd floor and there was a retail branch underneath on the 2nd floor. After doing my business in the restroom I flushed only to see that dreaded water coming back at me. It overflowed, no plunger in sight I had to leave it and search. I went downstairs looking only to discover the water was coming through the ceiling into the retail office. Not a good day.

A LONG TIME AGO, one night, I was working night shift for an IT problem. It was so long ago that my building was just refitting restrooms to be handicap accessible. At that time, the men's room on my floor was closed for renovation. Doors between floors were locked (I only had a key for my floor). I needed to go and I would have to go find a security guard to let me in onto another floor. Forget that! I marched into the ladies room and made myself comfortable. About 5 minutes later, the door opens and a woman walks in and finds a different stall. I thought I was alone on the floor at that hour! I just knew I was going to be fired for this. With my feet up in the air and my heart pounding in my chest, I made it quietly until she left. I have no idea if she ever figured out that I was there, but I'm guessing I know who she was and I know we are still both at the company years later.

Too many to recount.

 

Nearly all a result of foot-in-mouth syndrome.

I've had foot in mouth a few times as well.

 

I wasn't paying attention when I was helping someone once, and glanced down at my phone and saw a text from my mom that said "I love you." I said "I love you, too" to the gentleman I was helping and told him to have a good day.

 

He actually couldn't decide whether he was flattered or uncomfortable. Maybe both.

Have a branch manager I deal with from time to time; but it's always

been on an email basis. Managers name was Lou and they had screwed something

up that we had ordered. I call to give Lou the business over the mishap when

I asked for Lou the sweetest lady named Lou answered the phone and said how

can I help you. I had always pictured an overweight guy as Lou. I was dumbfounded

couldn't even say anything. I had to hang up and call back later.

Early in my retail manager days, I got promoted to manage a higher volume store. The first day is always spent meeting people and just getting a feel for what's going on. So I'm touring the store with my DM and my new assistants meeting folks. After meeting one of the department managers and touring her department, I was really impressed. Just as I'm getting ready to compliment her, she turns and starts to walk away, so I call her name. She never responds and just keeps walking. I call out to her several more times and she just keeps walking. There no way way she couldn't have heard me, so I get a little miffed , and say out loud, "what the heck! is she deaf?" When I saw the look on my assistants and DM's faces, it was then I suddenly realized, that, yes, she was deaf.

Early in my retail manager days, I got promoted to manage a higher volume store. The first day is always spent meeting people and just getting a feel for what's going on. So I'm touring the store with my DM and my new assistants meeting folks. After meeting one of the department managers and touring her department, I was really impressed. Just as I'm getting ready to compliment her, she turns and starts to walk away, so I call her name. She never responds and just keeps walking. I call out to her several more times and she just keeps walking. There no way way she couldn't have heard me, so I get a little miffed , and say out loud, "what the heck! is she deaf?" When I saw the look on my assistants and DM's faces, it was then I suddenly realized, that, yes, she was deaf.

 

Oh, ouch. lol

Early in my retail manager days, I got promoted to manage a higher volume store. The first day is always spent meeting people and just getting a feel for what's going on. So I'm touring the store with my DM and my new assistants meeting folks. After meeting one of the department managers and touring her department, I was really impressed. Just as I'm getting ready to compliment her, she turns and starts to walk away, so I call her name. She never responds and just keeps walking. I call out to her several more times and she just keeps walking. There no way way she couldn't have heard me, so I get a little miffed , and say out loud, "what the heck! is she deaf?" When I saw the look on my assistants and DM's faces, it was then I suddenly realized, that, yes, she was deaf.

 

Brutal

Several years ago (25 or so) I was at work late one Saturday night and ripped my pants out. There was no other manager working so that I could leave and go home to change. Went into the rest room with a stapler and tried to staple pants shut. Of course it didn't work for more than 10 minutes I was a long long night, by the end of the night I was just carrying the stapler in my pocket and would staple them where ever I was.

Early in my retail manager days, I got promoted to manage a higher volume store. The first day is always spent meeting people and just getting a feel for what's going on. So I'm touring the store with my DM and my new assistants meeting folks. After meeting one of the department managers and touring her department, I was really impressed. Just as I'm getting ready to compliment her, she turns and starts to walk away, so I call her name. She never responds and just keeps walking. I call out to her several more times and she just keeps walking. There no way way she couldn't have heard me, so I get a little miffed , and say out loud, "what the heck! is she deaf?" When I saw the look on my assistants and DM's faces, it was then I suddenly realized, that, yes, she was deaf.

 

Oh my... That's a rough one...

I know a guy that was at a job that required PT. During situps one morning he :poop: all over himself in the middle of straining to do a sit up. That may be the best/worst story I've heard.

At my old job I worked on the 2nd floor and there was a retail branch underneath on the 2nd floor. After doing my business in the restroom I flushed only to see that dreaded water coming back at me. It overflowed, no plunger in sight I had to leave it and search. I went downstairs looking only to discover the water was coming through the ceiling into the retail office. Not a good day.

 

Similar story. As part of my job I am in different companies/buildings/industrial settings all through the state. I'm in Paducah several years ago doing a special project. I had stopped to get breakfast, and when I got to the place I was going, my stomach wasn't doing too well. I started the opening conference, and after a few minutes had to excuse myself to use the restroom.

 

The restroom is located directly across a very narrow hallway from the break room. This is important to remember. So I do my business...and on that day, business was booming. So much so that as the toilet was flushing...well, nothing was going down, it was all coming back up, just enough to barely overflow at first. I panic. I start unrolling toilet paper to soak up the water. Unfortunately, every time I reached to get more toilet paper, the "auto eye" on the toilet triggered and flushed the toilet...again...and again...and again. No plunger in site. Water is everywhere, it's going under the bathroom door and heading towards the break room. I have no clue what else to do as I am standing in several gallons of toilet water now and the toilet is still running over, almost out of paper. Suddenly, a huge "burp" erupts from the toilet and everything flushes down. How or why it decided to do that, I don't know. I get almost all the water and everything cleaned up and go back into the conference room...about 45 minutes after I had left, red as an over boiled lobster, sweat pouring off me. I say I have had a little accident and that a mop and bucket might be needed to finish the cleanup. Whew, that was a LONG day.