Work disaster - light-hearted

SummerBluez · 2022-02-28T17:48:27+00:00

After a disaster at work today I thought I'd start a light hearted thread about funny work disasters. My current job is PA to the principal in a secondary school. Today I made a phone call and TWICE referred to the principal as the prime minister before I realised what I was doing [blush] "Hi, I'm calling on behalf of the Prime Minister" I had been watching the news beforehand so Boris had infiltrated my brain [grin] My worst one was at my previous job as a Newborn Hearing Screener. It was a ridiculously hot day and as I entered my last room of the day one of my contact lenses literally dropped out of my eye. I had started so decided to just get on as best I could while being half blind. Set up my equipment then looked up and realised baby was in a chair with mum breastfeeding. I said "Ah she's feeding, don't worry about unlatching her, you finish and I'll pop back." Deathly silence. By squinting with one eye I slowly realised that in fact DAD with long blonde hair was having skin to skin with the baby. Anyone else as awkward as me?!

CounsellorTroi · 28/02/2022 17:54

This isn’t that disastrous but I was once typing up a note of a meeting I had taken. There was a Jodie at the meeting and I listed her in the attendees list as Jodie Kidd. And didn’t notice before sending it out for comments.

OneMistakeAfterAnother · 28/02/2022 17:54

These are amazing!

Mine isn't nearly so good but I temporarily worked for a company called Harry Fairbairn, only I kept getting tongue tied when people called and saying "Hello. Hairy Farnbarn.

Dogmatix34 · 28/02/2022 17:54

They are both brilliant 😂

ChessieFL · 28/02/2022 17:55

Hairy Farnbarn

CarrieBradshaw1 · 28/02/2022 18:00

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 28/02/2022 18:09

A long time ago I had a job which was often very quiet. I was in the office on my own a lot and I had unrestricted and unsupervised access to the internet and the printer. In quiet times I used to browse the internet and occasionally I printed things off.

One of my tasks was sending out application forms to people interested in our courses (long before online applications were possible). Every so often I'd print off a form and make 20 or 30 copies, double sided and stapled, and then every time we had an enquiry I'd post a form off.

It was only when the completed forms started coming back to me that I noticed that on one of these occasions I had accidentally photocopied and stapled not just the form but also a recipe for doughnuts I'd forgotten all about printing.

Nobody ever mentioned it. I wondered if they thought it was some sort of jokey freebie.

Ihopeyourcakeisshit · 28/02/2022 18:12

These are fabulous - cheering me right up!

Creeeper · 28/02/2022 18:13

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

A long time ago I had a job which was often very quiet. I was in the office on my own a lot and I had unrestricted and unsupervised access to the internet and the printer. In quiet times I used to browse the internet and occasionally I printed things off.

One of my tasks was sending out application forms to people interested in our courses (long before online applications were possible). Every so often I'd print off a form and make 20 or 30 copies, double sided and stapled, and then every time we had an enquiry I'd post a form off.

It was only when the completed forms started coming back to me that I noticed that on one of these occasions I had accidentally photocopied and stapled not just the form but also a recipe for doughnuts I'd forgotten all about printing.

Nobody ever mentioned it. I wondered if they thought it was some sort of jokey freebie.

This really made me laugh

OneMistakeAfterAnother · 28/02/2022 18:18

Also a former colleague(It really wasn't me) once sent an invoice to a company that we'd done some work for. Their building was called The Pump House but she'd accidentally typed "The Pimp House." Thankfully they thought it was very funny,

JeffThePilot · 28/02/2022 18:20

I am sure I’m not the only one to do this, but sending out a mail merged letter to 300 people referring to the County Council, except missing out one of the letters… 😞

Athena51 · 28/02/2022 18:21

@OneMistakeAfterAnother

These are amazing!

Mine isn't nearly so good but I temporarily worked for a company called Harry Fairbairn, only I kept getting tongue tied when people called and saying "Hello. Hairy Farnbarn.

That made me snort laugh

OneMistakeAfterAnother · 28/02/2022 18:25

The donut recipe is amazing! It reminds me of the time we were in Tesco and were at the checkout when the couple in front looked at their receipt and queried why they'd been charged for a melon when they hadn't purchased one. It was sorted out and we went our shopping through. Lo and behold we'd also been charged for a phantom melon. The guy said it'd happened to a number of customers.

He then realised that he had a melon pricesticker stuck to him so he kept accidentally scanning himself and the sticker. Tesco probably sold a record number of phantom melons that day.

Kitsmummy · 28/02/2022 18:28

I once had to minute a meeting and travelled there from home. Had forgotten my work notepad so grabbed my son's Marvel Comics notepad (complete with watermarked super heroes on each page.

Now, when I minute meeting I ALWAYS just type up the minutes afterwards and then distribute on email.

Apart from today. This meeting was different. OF COURSE the top bosses wanted to sign these notes, there and then, as a record of what was said. So they did. Right between Spider-Man and Captain America 😳

Thurlow · 28/02/2022 18:31

@OneMistakeAfterAnother

The donut recipe is amazing! It reminds me of the time we were in Tesco and were at the checkout when the couple in front looked at their receipt and queried why they'd been charged for a melon when they hadn't purchased one. It was sorted out and we went our shopping through. Lo and behold we'd also been charged for a phantom melon. The guy said it'd happened to a number of customers.

He then realised that he had a melon pricesticker stuck to him so he kept accidentally scanning himself and the sticker. Tesco probably sold a record number of phantom melons that day.

Ihopeyourcakeisshit · 28/02/2022 18:36

OneMistake Proper laughing at loud at that.

SnowyPetals · 28/02/2022 18:36

I love these! I once had to send an email to a man called Mr Tam, who also happened to be rather portly. I accidentally addressed him as Mr Tum!

Mocara · 28/02/2022 18:52

Cubs out door event ,message sent out telling parents not to worry if their children didnt have the right size willys as we have plenty of spares !
Obviously it was ment to say wellies!

Thefaceofboe · 28/02/2022 18:56

I’m so poorly right now and nothing is making me laugh but I’ve just laughed at loud at this. Thanks

Andariego · 28/02/2022 19:12

Hairy Farnbarn 😂

nagsarse · 28/02/2022 20:00

In my first job I worked for a director who was very keen to demonstrate that he wasn't the sort of boss who expected junior staff (especially women) to wait on him. One day he asked me to make tea for him and a customer, but pretended that he'd made it. Unfortunately the tea urn (usually cleaned, refilled and switched on by the site manager in the morning) had not been switched on that morning, so I made the tea with cold, rather stale, water. I realised the mistake when I tasted mine but by then the boss was in an Important Meeting. The matter was never mentioned but when I went to collect the cups after the meeting Boss's was full but the customer's was empty. I can only assume that he drank the whole thing to avoid looking rude.

Susu49 · 28/02/2022 20:03

@nagsarse

In my first job I worked for a director who was very keen to demonstrate that he wasn't the sort of boss who expected junior staff (especially women) to wait on him. One day he asked me to make tea for him and a customer, but pretended that he'd made it. Unfortunately the tea urn (usually cleaned, refilled and switched on by the site manager in the morning) had not been switched on that morning, so I made the tea with cold, rather stale, water. I realised the mistake when I tasted mine but by then the boss was in an Important Meeting. The matter was never mentioned but when I went to collect the cups after the meeting Boss's was full but the customer's was empty. I can only assume that he drank the whole thing to avoid looking rude.

Serve him right!

Poor customer though!

IsAnybodyListening · 28/02/2022 20:05

This happened a few years ago. I have wrote about this before. I caused an accidental mass walkout from the office.

I was having a bad day. Think the type of workday where you can barely draw breath, everyone wants a piece of you and your stomach is rumbling because you worked through lunch and also need a wee.

Anyway. I get a phone call and I can feel my lip start to quiver, I feel like I am going to cry and I NEVER cry at work. (Nothing I had done, but feeling like I am getting battered from every angle).

I'm a smoker. I realised I had to compose myself so grabbed my coat and handbag and went out for the first ciggy of the day about 2pm. Now. In my work place people are typically allowed a quick break around 3.30ish.

Here's where things went to shit. Whilst I was gathering my coat and handbag and coffee cup to go outside and calm my mad shit down/compose myself-Other co-workers assumed it was a ciggy break time, so whilst I had flaunted out of the office I was unaware at least 10 smokers saw me leave and randomly assumed it was a fag break and were following behind.

This led 2 separate teams on the other end of our office to see people walking out at 2pm, and randomly assumed the board room meeting had been moved back an hour. So they got up and left also to sit like ducks on their own in a separate part of our building.(I didn't find out about this until much later).

JosephineDeBeauharnais · 28/02/2022 20:08

@OneMistakeAfterAnother

The donut recipe is amazing! It reminds me of the time we were in Tesco and were at the checkout when the couple in front looked at their receipt and queried why they'd been charged for a melon when they hadn't purchased one. It was sorted out and we went our shopping through. Lo and behold we'd also been charged for a phantom melon. The guy said it'd happened to a number of customers.

He then realised that he had a melon pricesticker stuck to him so he kept accidentally scanning himself and the sticker. Tesco probably sold a record number of phantom melons that day.

That’s hysterical. What a lovely story!

MintyFreshBreath · 28/02/2022 20:46

I once invited an entire mailing list of about 50 people to a teaching session which was being hosted live on MS Teams. Loads of people accepted the invite and started turning up to a dentistry talk when they were all project managers (what the hell??) The trainer had to stop the session and tell them to bog off 🤦‍♀️ 😬

Deathraystare · 02/03/2022 08:54

An ex colleague caused a mass walk out at a car plant once.

In the loos was a notice about the black rubbish bags. Underneath some 'wit' had written, "Yeah give the black bags to the old bags". She mentioned this to her boss and he said "Right, that's it, all out". It was around the time you could not say anything and people striked all the time.