To ask if this would surprise you ?

[AquaBee]

Colleague who normally works at another site came over to help. She is well regarded and liked as well as competent and educated.
Firstly though she couldn’t open a padlocked gate. She had opened it and put in the right code but then hadn’t pulled the bar out so of course the gate didn’t open.
Couldn’t turn on a dishwasher. (this one maybe common as was a similar thread on here once about a colleague not being able to do the same )
When I asked her to go and collect something in the other room, obviously placed, she could not find it .

Aibu to be a bit concerned/surprised she is struggling with these things ?

You are being ridiculous.

I promise you I could find you a lock you couldn't open, a dishwasher you wouldn't know how to operate, and an item you couldn't recognise in my work place.

We all have bad days. Especially in unfamiliar environments.

What is your concern? Feels more like a chance to point out harmless mistakes a colleague has made tbh?

You say struggling, perhaps it’s being unfamiliar with a different site. The things you’ve described are common tasks but not universal. Every padlock, dishwasher etc is different. Has anyone shown her round, given her training?

Depends what the job is? I’ve worked with people who are managing conditions like visual impairment whilst being perfectly good at the job they are paid to do.

There are many different types of dishwasher. Maybe she doesn't have one at home. If I'm at my sister's house I don't know how to turn it on. If she's here she doesn't know how to. It's not that we're trying and failing, we just don't bother trying!

If you notice this is a change in behaviour then that is something to worry about.

It is not so surprising. If you don't normally open that type of gate or have a similar dishwasher, you don't have to know how to do it, even if is obvious to you. I sometimes struggle with some types of microvawes, I don't have one at home.

Not seeing something in front of you...it happens to everyone sometimes. It would be problematic it it happens continously every day.

It wouldn't surprise, interest or bother me. Just show her how and get on with your day. We all have different brains. We have a slightly complex coffee maker at work and half the team won't learn how to use it because it freaks them out. I'm not perturbed, I just make coffee for people.

All of the examples are such a none event. Go and help her!

Errrrr but she doesn’t normally work on that particular site does she so not familiar with those particular models???

Why would it be a suprise?

You're not coming across very well with this thread OP.

If you've not encountered a gate with a slide bar then you won't know you need to slide it back, you'll be used to just taking the padlock off and opening it.

At one point at work we had 3 different types of dishwasher depending on where you were in the building. Each worked differently and if you changed location then you weren't sure how this one worked

Obviously placed to you because presumably you either put it there or know that's where its kept.

We've all done dumb shit at work which should be obvious but for whatever reason just wasn't to us that day.

Maybe she was having a bad day.
Maybe she was nervous.
Maybe she felt judged (justified it seems).
Maybe her site has different gates/dishwashers.

Honestly, she sounds like most of my family! I imagine she's super good at lots of other, non-practical things. She's just different to you. Celebrate it.

No. It would not surprise me, in fact I would be the exact same in an unfamiliar place. I think most people would be like that, only very few seem to know how everything works straight away (my husband being one of them) , he always shows me how to work new appliances 🤣 ,of course after once I pick it up but I can totally see why your colleague wouldn't know straight away.

We have stayed in numerous holiday properties where I've had to get the dishwasher manual out, or google the make and model to find out how it switches on.

You can only do things you know how to do. I can't do dishwashers, because I've never had one, for example. But if someone showed me, I'd then be able to do it. Can she do the job she's paid to do?

We’ve had an identical thread to this not that long ago. Like, weirdly identical…

I do daft things like this all the time when I as I have terrible social anxiety and new places/people make me nervous so I forget how to function

She sounds like me, I have problems with a 3 pin plug. It sounds like she might have dyspraxia as I do, walls also jump into my path.

Was she brought over from the other site to help you with padlocks and dishwashers?
If so, you were sold a pup 🤷🏻‍♀️

Otherwise… are you really so dim as not to realise people have different skills?

Does her job description include duties that need use of dishwashers and padlocks?

This is me 🙈 If something practical is unfamiliar and I feel under pressure then I panic and can’t do it. I have 2 degrees and a professional job but it happens 🤷🏻‍♀️

What is surprising to me, is that you noticed these things, and they stuck in your mind to such an extent that you started a thread about it.

A person comes to help on an unfamiliar site for the first time, and isn't quite sure how a couple of things work that she has never seen before. From this description alone, she sounds like a completely normal human being to me.