To ask for stupid reasons you've been told off at work?

[chailatte123]

I once asked a member of the Senior Team if she had dyed her hair.
Apparently this was very rude.

I was recently told off for enquiring whether the train ticket that had been booked on my behalf for an event was the sort of ticket that required me to catch that specific train or whether it was usable on later trains simply because the journey to the station was twenty minutes walk and I wasn't sure what time the event was ending. I was just worried about navigating my way home from an unfamiliar city hundreds of miles away. I politely asked the admin staff member and the next thing I knew I was being told off by her boss for asking what type of ticket it was which is apparently rude. It was really strange and thankfully I was backed up by some colleagues. One of the most confusing things that's ever happened to me at work! I hadn't even met this staff member in person!

They do pocket checks?

For referring to 'my daughter' instead of by her name.

This was in response to a question from an unpleasant colleague who I knew didn't like me - she had labelled me a snob because of my voice - and I never trusted or felt at ease with her. So I didn't necessarily want her knowing about my family. To her it was just more evidence that I was a stand-offish snob, though!!!

Another one - my dad died and I told my boss I’d manage to come into work until the funeral and would need a day off for his funeral - all fine and agreed. Until the day after the funeral I got hauled up before my bosses manager and told that I hadn’t sought her permission to take the day off. I said but it was agreed with my line manager and it was my father’s funeral!! What a bitch she was.

I was taken to one side to discuss the fact that my voice was too loud during a phone call. A phone call where the hard of hearing customer had asked me to speak up as they couldn't hear me.

Also I was told I was "irritatingly cheerful"
🤔

Got told of for removing my mask during covid restrictions when serving a deaf customer who had requested i remove my mask because she needed to read my lips.

Yes we will.

Another work one:

Had an important presentation to give at work to the big big boss. My boss's boss stopped by my desk to check I was prepared. I said I was and am reviewing now. She began peppering me with questions not in the order of the presentation and I was hesitating in responses. She decided I wasn't ready, took my materials and gave them to my immediate manager to present. Two hours later my manager was getting questions from the big big boss that she couldn't answer, the questions were then directed to my boss's boss who also couldn't answer. I then asked if it was okay if I took the question and big big boss asked me several and I answered thoroughly. Big big boss then said to the other two, We'll re-convene when everyone is prepared. My boss's boss turned to me and, in a very threatening low voice said, Don't ever embarrass me like that again.
In a subsequent meeting she told me, The walls have eyes and ears here. Watch yourself.

That was a long time ago now, but I thought about this yesterday. 🤷‍♀️

When working in retail as a teen, we had a suggestions box around how we could help the company cut costs (this was a huge company at the time- think next, M&S, Debenhams kind of thing). Our area managers offices were at the back of our building so they often flounced through our store and made ridiculous comments and spoke to the staff like shit. Anyway, I suggested that we downgrade their company cars, seeing as they were driving brand new jags/mercedes, and mentioned maybe something more cost effective. Well I got an absolute bollocking that it was a ridiculous suggestion. I remember thinking, in my teenage mind, that I couldn’t see why it wasn’t an obvious cost-cutter as it would’ve saved them more than my entire annual wage! Never worked in retail again.

One call centre I worked at, we were only allowed water and mints at the desks. A colleague got discipline for having lime Tic Tacs

Asking a colleague a question. To be fair the question was Are you naturally this stupid, or did you have to take a course 😂😂

For having social media. Manger wanted me to close down but was told she can’t do that by HR.

Same manager told told me I was disrespectful for asking for protocol to be followed during my sick leave. Apparently, protocol doesn’t apply to her as she’s senior (it was a protocol for leaders!). She’s not even high up in the company.

I got called in to a meeting with my manager and this other woman.

Other woman was talking pictures of us for the website or something. She said do I want to see it etc I said no it's fine, I'll look just as bad in all of them.

Apparently this warranted a meeting and telling off 😂😂😂

So I walked out the meeting, packed up and walked out and didn't go back. Got straight on the phone to some agencies and started a new job the next morning.

Fuck that ridiculous cunt.

I think it depends. If it’s a dye job that’s done to match natural hair colour and probably to cover greys, then I wouldn’t ask. If it’s a colour change and done more as a fashion/style choice, I might compliment it.

I had a job doing social media and the woman who owned the business was proper mental. She explicitly told me not to post anything for the first couple of weeks, and just spend that time getting a feel for the company and the place. About 10 days into the job she went absolutely ballistic at me and threatened to sack me…because I hadn’t posted anything yet 😵‍💫.

She had form for it - my office colleagues told me of a recent time she’d come in the office, put her bags down on the sofa just inside the door, did a minute or two of talking to colleagues, then turned around and saw the bags and went absolutely apeshit at colleagues about the bags being there, effing and blinding about what the fuck would clients think when they walked in and saw all that shit there etc. I repeat, they were her bags which she’d left there less than 5 minutes earlier.

I left within a month of starting. Oh the relief!

Apparently when I am concentrating on taking in something being said to me I don’t make it apparent enough that I am listening.

This was basically me not making enough eye contact as I am autistic.

@AvantCharde She had form for it - my office colleagues told me of a recent time she’d come in the office, put her bags down on the sofa just inside the door, did a minute or two of talking to colleagues, then turned around and saw the bags and went absolutely apeshit at colleagues about the bags being there, effing and blinding about what the fuck would clients think when they walked in and saw all that shit there etc. I repeat, they were her bags which she’d left there less than 5 minutes earlier.

Not being funny - to me, that type of behaviour raises medical concerns.

When I was around 20 I worked in a small, independent shop and got told off one day by the shop owner's mother (who had no actual role in the running of the shop) for not using a broom properly when I was sweeping up! It's not like I had the bristles the wrong way up or anything but the old baggage even gave me a demonstration on how to do it 😂

Yes I’ve heard she has BPD, and she is also a prolific user of cocaine and alcohol, which doesn’t help. All in all, pretty impossible to work for.

I wasn't really told off, but gently (bleugh) reminded we are an inclusive company and that me talking about Spring excluded our colleagues in India.
I am fairly new and then had to find a way to say ermm actually India is in the Northern hemisphere.
He took it well.

A parent of a y8 student who refused for her son to do an after school detention (for not doing any homework for a whole half term) insisted I host it at lunchtime instead. He came at the start of lunch and I asked him if he needed to go and get food (only a 30 min lunch break), he said no he'd eaten at break. Mum rang at the end of the day and went mad at me because I should've taken him to get lunch and I was abusing his human rights.

My previous job was the supermarket. Due to a combination of being on the sick and then on annual leave, I had to do the compulsory Think 25 (age restriction stuff) twice yearly training/test. It was due that day, which was my first day back at work for 3 weeks. Wasn’t allowed to serve customers until I did this.

I got a telling off from the bully manager that I should have done this before I was off sick. Yes if I was having surgery and required time off to recover, I would have done it my last day before I went for surgery. This was an asthma attack. You don’t plan these.

During one of our ghastly weekly teams huddles I was reprimanded in front of the whole team for daring to remove a file from an office. The file was for a joint project. I was told like a school kid that I should have copied the pages and put the folder back. I'd been planning on returning it straight after the stupid huddle in any case.

This manager is mostly responsible for over half the team quitting. After this performance the latest new hire handed their notice in. They were with us 12 weeks.

I'm also constantly being reprimanded for daring to show initiative, ask questions, have friends in other teams in the Trust, and just generally still be alive. After 18 years of NHS service this manager, who has been with us 2 years, has made me hate the NHS. As soon as I can leave I will.

For refusing to padlock an emergency exit door when we had hundreds of customers inside. Failing to answer the phone when I was on a break. Coming in wearing something over my uniform (literally just walked in the door, and it was December). Suggesting that storing frozen turkeys (destined for Christmas giveaways) in the gents wasn't the best idea. Actually enjoyed that job, apart from the daft managing director!

For replying to a correspondent using standard lines (because it makes it look like a standard response and isn’t personal), after being told off the previous week for personalising a response instead of using standard lines. Yes, that boss was a bully and I got out of there within 4 months.