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Original poster

Share with me your big f%#ck ups at work to make me feel better!

293 replies

Hotankles · 01/05/2021 19:32

Absolutely ballsed up at work today. It was a big one. Totally my fault and had an upset client. I was mortified and apologied profusely. I can’t say what it is as it’s really outing.

It’s really knocked my confidence and can’t stop obsessing about it Sad

What dingers have you done ?

OP posts:
Original poster
Hotankles · 01/05/2021 20:27

@PositiveAttitude

I once paid a supplier about £33,000 more than I should have because I missed a decimal point out! Luckily the supplier was honest and phoned the boss and asked what he was paying for.

Another time I was totally fed up with my boss (a different one) and I wrote out a long email to my friend expressing my frustration and my thoughts on this man. I definitely did not hold back! As I clicked the send button my life went into slow motion as I saw my boss' email address in the address bar instead of my friend's. After a sleepless night I had a VERY awkward conversation with the boss the next morning. BlushBlushBlush

I have done similar 😭😭
OP posts:
AuntieDolly · 01/05/2021 20:29

Imagine being the workman who set fire to Windsor Castle. That always puts my mistakes into context.

Original poster
Hotankles · 01/05/2021 20:32

Thanks so much for the posts! Putting mine a bit in to perspective! 😅😅🥴

OP posts:
Zancah · 01/05/2021 20:36

I once paid a supplier about £33,000 more than I should have because I missed a decimal point out! Luckily the supplier was honest and phoned the boss and asked what he was paying for.

We once had about £100,000 transferred to cover an invoice that was a couple of grand Grin
We did give it back.

AlmostSummer21 · 01/05/2021 20:39

Your client was upset, which is GOOD, the silver lining here is that if they're alive to rant/cry/whatever, they're not dead & the situation can be resolved 🤷🏻‍♀️

HeyMicky · 01/05/2021 20:42

I used to run the social media for a certain media company.

During the Leveson enquiry, I accidentally posted on the corporate Facebook account instead of my own personal page. "Ever noticed you've never seen Mr Burns and Smithers in the same room as Rupert and James?"

Cold sweats when I realised what I had done

AmandaHoldensLips · 01/05/2021 20:47

I sent an email to an outside colleague describing the new social media manager as an inept fuckwit who didn't know what he was doing and had the skills set of a pot plant. Except I sent it to the new social media manager. Awkward.

Catslovepies · 01/05/2021 20:52

I was working doing data entry at a uniform company as my first job out of school. I messed up and the result was that one worker was left without any trousers. It probably sounds worse than it was, in that he just had to wear his jeans at work that day I think. But I got shouted at so much I'll never forget it- this happened 30 years ago!

Youdontknowwhatyoureonabout · 01/05/2021 21:00

When I messed up at work I used to think to myself “could be worse, at least the whole country doesn’t know”

David Cameron has been caught on camera talking about how the Queen “purred down the line” after he phoned her to say Scotland had voted no to independence
www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/sep/23/david-cameron-queen-purred-down-line-scotland-no-vote

BlowDryRat · 01/05/2021 21:02

As an office junior, I once ordered 20 reams of A4 paper instead of 20 packs. They were delivered to the small office on a lorry. I was horrified as they just keep unloading and unloading. Luckily my boss thought it was hilarious. I found a new job before we ran out of paper.

WestendVBroadway · 01/05/2021 21:02

Years ago I was a section manager in the produce department of a well known supermarket. I had meant to order 4 crates of apples but due to fat fingers I accidentally ordered 44 crates. The thing is the system had a fail safe in the case of unexpected large orders, but I was obviously away with the fairies and manually overrode it. Fortunately it was a long life item, would have been sh*t if it had been lettuces or spinach.

LucysSkyDiamonds · 01/05/2021 21:03

Not me, thank god, but I went out for a drink one Friday after work (a hundred years ago when the travel industry was still a thing) with a colleague. She was going the following day to get transit visas for a group of clients going to China. She had their passports with her when we got to the pub...

ChunkyMonkey2020 · 01/05/2021 21:08

I didn't lock the office door properly and the office ended up getting burgled.

All the computer equipment got stolen. Peoples Christmas presents that were in the office. The place got ransacked.

I genuinely thought I would see my P45.

GrumpyTerrier · 01/05/2021 21:24

I was the boss of a small company and was too consumed with my own ego and my chasing of a 25 year old staff member I wanted to bone, that I let my business go to pot around me, promoted those who were not capable for my own ends, and devalued hardworking staff who were carrying the business until they walked out. Oh wait, that wasnt me, it was my boss.

BikeRunSki · 01/05/2021 21:24

Borrowerd my boss’s new company lease car. It had less than 100 miles on it. Drove it down a farm track. Ripped off the sump. Oops.

Put some very specialist work out to tender. Only 2 bidders returned a price. Typed out acceptance and rejection letters on a Friday and left them to be posted the following week, whilst I was on leave. As I was packing to go on holiday that evening I realised there was a typo in the price I was agreeing to ..... fortunately I had a key to the office and went back to change the letter..... unfortunately this meant 2 hours on a bus at 10pm on a Friday night!

Original poster
Hotankles · 01/05/2021 21:25

@AlmostSummer21

Your client was upset, which is GOOD, the silver lining here is that if they're alive to rant/cry/whatever, they're not dead & the situation can be resolved 🤷🏻‍♀️
Bloody hope so! Waiting for the bad review to appear!
OP posts:
Wowzel · 01/05/2021 21:25

I vaccinated someone with the wrong vaccine... I then had to call her back and ask her to come back for the right one. On the upside, it meant her tetanus was up to date....

Original poster
Hotankles · 01/05/2021 21:27

@ChunkyMonkey2020

I didn't lock the office door properly and the office ended up getting burgled.

All the computer equipment got stolen. Peoples Christmas presents that were in the office. The place got ransacked.

I genuinely thought I would see my P45.

Shit!
OP posts:
Original poster
Hotankles · 01/05/2021 21:28

@Wowzel

I vaccinated someone with the wrong vaccine... I then had to call her back and ask her to come back for the right one. On the upside, it meant her tetanus was up to date....
Fuck! I think your the winner of the thread! Shock
OP posts:
Tambora · 01/05/2021 21:28

@WestendVBroadway

Years ago I was a section manager in the produce department of a well known supermarket. I had meant to order 4 crates of apples but due to fat fingers I accidentally ordered 44 crates. The thing is the system had a fail safe in the case of unexpected large orders, but I was obviously away with the fairies and manually overrode it. Fortunately it was a long life item, would have been sh*t if it had been lettuces or spinach.
I went into my fairly large local supermarket recently and was surprised by the complete absence of milk. Upon enquiry I was told that instead of the 6 caged trolleyloads of milk on their usual daily delivery, someone had decided to send them 6 bottles.
Original poster
Hotankles · 01/05/2021 21:28

@CardinalLolzy

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_classics/3936889-to-ask-you-about-the-worst-mistake-you-ve-made-at-work

Here's the classics thread! ^

Thank you!! Wine
OP posts:
frazzledasarock · 01/05/2021 21:35

I was going to say who me nooooo, altho I’ve managed to clear up my assistants. And I don’t mind as I’ve been doing my job for years so her mistakes keep things interesting.

But then I remembered. My first ever job after graduating. I was an accounts assistant. The accountants PA walked out, she also ran the payroll arm of the accounts he did.

Soooo I was told to do payroll for several companies. Fine.
Something went wrong with the biggest payroll we did. No problem, thought I would restore from the last back up... of course the back up was corrupt! I thought I’d have a heart attack on the spot.
I spent the weekend manually restoring the payroll.

BetterKateThanNever · 01/05/2021 21:40

I had been designing my friend's hen do invites on my work laptop during my lunch break and downloaded a penis border to put on the invite. Then got back to work and sent 3 emails to the CEO, an important client and my manager, all with a penis border. Thankfully they all saw the funny side and the CEO sent back a reply with the same border.

AnneElliott · 01/05/2021 21:43

My team once overpaid a public body - we paid them tens of millions instead of tens of thousands. Luckily as they were a public body they bounced it back to the bank. Had it gone to a company they'd have shut up shop and gone to the Bahamas!

We found out when the treasury rang us and asked why we'd buggered the daily cash forecast.