Your worst work blunders and embarrassments--Admit them here

[marasbaras]

I was testing an computer fax-sending system (software+hardware) at a customer's site. I'd added some code to deal with international dialing, automatic selection of country codes, etc. It was pretty slick.

EXCEPT, I'd put in "11" rather than "011" for the "I'm dialing internationally" prefix. I hadn't noticed in all the testing that I'd done 'cause I'd never tested it live.

The client's phone system requires them to first dial "9" to get an outside line. So, we try a phone call ... the system dutifully dials. Fax doesn't go through.

We try again. Fax doesn't go through.

Receptionist starts running around their offices. Whatever, weird girl, right?

So, we try a third time. Fax doesn't go through. What's wrong? It's dialing properly. Everything sounds fine through the fax modem speaker.

So, I plug a butt-set (that's one of those telephone repair man phones that'll clip into lines) into the line, put it on monitor, and try again. Fax modem dials ... ring ... ring ... "911 operator, what is your emergency?"

Turns out, the receptionist was running around trying to find out why someone had been repeatedly dialing 911 and hanging up.

All over a stupid zero.

[radiocerk]

Crappy collectibles...

You know those little village things by Dept 56? Little porcelain buildings that cost upwards of $100 each. I was once, and only once, set to dust them before the owner came through.

I found one that actually had a light in it. Actually I found five that had lights in them, all attached to the same cord. That I pulled off the shelf by the first one. Sending the other four into the two lower shelves and the display table. I figure I did over $5000 in damage in little collectible houses.

[Supermarket Slave Girl]

I got some ham from the cold room, took off the outer plastic and proceeded to shave the whole thing, I put it in a dish and was about to put it into the deli case when i noticed bits of shaved up plastic all throughout the ham.

I took off the outer but not the inner plastic, everything had to be thrown out.

Oppsie

[Hello Kitty]

Ages ago when I first started working dialup tech support, we'd get the occasional 'relay' call from a service that helps the hard of hearing. The deaf person types into a device to an operator, who is their voice on the phone. Anyway, the customer is having your typical vague 'can't connect' error message. After checking his account, the first thing I ask is "do you hear the modem dialing out?". I immediately said "DOH. He can't hear it, huh?" to the operator, who did NOT relay my question, so at least the customer didn't hear my stupidity.

[spookysonata]

One time, at a previous job, my boss called me into the office to watch the cash room security tape from the night before.

There's me, counting out the night deposit, stuffing the (thousands of) dollars in the bag, sealing it shut and nonchalantly tossing it into...




...the trash basket BESIDE the drop safe


Thank god he noticed the bag count was one short when the armored car came the next day, and he figured out what had happened. I apologized profusely and he was pretty good about it. To this day I don't know how I pulled such a bonehead move. I can only say in my defense, that I was a brand-new manager at the time.

[powerboy]

Well it was about 2 years ago at one of my last jobs. I just completely forgot how to work the machine I was on. I had done it for a year by that time. But still.

At work now, I keep printing out the wrong sheet everytime, I needed to print out this one.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

You know how I've mentioned I used to tow illegal parks in the Kinko's lot?

Towed the boss's car once afternoon.

He came to work in a different car, didn't tell me, then rode with a co-worker to the other store in the hub and stayed there all day. Nobody claimed the car, noboy knew who's it was, so I had it towed.

Thank goodness he has a sense of humor. My tow guy didnt' even charge to bring it back and everyone got a good laugh out of it, but it was still embarassing.

[Difdi]

Towed the boss's car once afternoon.

I know how that goes. Back in my youth, I participated in the Law Enforcement Explorer program; Basically you have teenagers in police-like uniforms, learning how police operate. Some departments use them entirely for publicity, some use them as an unarmed auxiliary to the police...the department I was attached to was somewhere in the middle.

Among the duties we performed, to take a load off real officers, was parking enforcement in the city government complex. Right outside the jail wing of the police station was a small parking area, referred to as the "on deck" area in the department, devoted exclusively patrol cars; NO ONE could park anything else there, for any reason. Normally, to be towed, someone had to be parked illegally for 24 hours in the city parking lots, or parked period for 48. But that little parking area warranted towing immediately, as soon as we could get to a phone (faster, if we were carrying a police radio at the time).

So when I found this luxury car parked there, and having a radio checked out to me, I called it in. Tow truck set a speed record, and five minutes later, it was being hooked up to the truck. After it was hauled away, I went inside to file the tickets I had issued, and mentioned to the desk sergeant that I'd had a car towed from the "on deck" area. That's when everybody else in the room got this sinking feeling expression...and I just knew something was about to bite me in the ass...

Seems the police commissioner had decided to park in the police lot instead of walking over from city hall, and had found this nice, vacant spot right outside a very handily-located entrance door...

He was ultimately a good sport about it, but definitely not a comfortable situation...

[cinema guy]

Back when I worked at <UK supermarket now owned by Wal-Mart>, I unwrapped a pallet of paint tins. The tins had obviously shifted in transit, resulting in several tins of paint falling off and breaking open all over the warehouse floor and my trousers.

[hecubus]

When I worked at the movie theater, as manager on duty, I had to put together the opening bank for the box office, which we put into those zippered bank bags. Now, normally, in order to keep the banks safe as I went to the office, I would tuck the bags into the backpack on the back of my wheelchair to take them into the office.

Can we all see this one coming?

Yep. When I got home that night, I realized that I had never taken the bags out of my backpack and put them in the safe. So, there I was, at home, with $200 of the theater's money.

No major harm done, though. Luckily, my best friend was opening manager the next day, so he stopped by my place before he opened and picked up the bags.

[the_std]

Seems the police commissioner had decided to park in the police lot instead of walking over from city hall, and had found this nice, vacant spot right outside a very handily-located entrance door...

He was ultimately a good sport about it, but definitely not a comfortable situation...

Hey, everyone's gotta follow the rules, right? Even the Big Cheese himself! He should have been thanking you for being so attentive.

[Department stores *sigh*]

The day before I put in my letter of interest for the full time position in my dept I plowed my forklift through the milk cooler door causing a few grand in damages....

Through vid footage they knew I wasnt hotdogging on the fork but its still one of the most embarassing moments in my life....


I got the position though ^^

[AKWalMartCartGuy]

you guys make mine seem not so bad, having a fairly idiot proof job the worst i've done is one pay day i tried to buy something after work, only problem was i forgot to cash my check first and i was out of money

I've probably accidently told someone the wrong location of an item before

[Sheldonrs]

Once, when i was working at a state college in New Jersey, I watched while the IT lady was running some sort of systems check. When she finished, I was curious and bored so I tried running the same thing she did.
Lucky for me hse was able to see that i was trying it because she stopped it before I crashed the entire NJ state college computer system. :-)

[BrightEyedKitty]

Those are your WORST blunders?

I make 'em all the time. I feel extraordinarily stupid now.