Most stupid requests you've ever had at work?

BBJBIG

sadie06 wrote: »

I worked in the music industry and once had to babysit a diva for a day. This person had been famous from a very young age and could do nothing for herself. She was about 24ish when this all happened.

She asked for room temperature water. I gave her a bottle. She checked the temp against the back of her hand, then handed it back to me to open, as she claimed she couldn't open bottles.

She next became agitated and asked for everyone to leave the room but me (the only female). She became tearful saying she couldn't concentrate as something was wrong with her cardigan. After much confusion I learned that it was itchy at the back of her neck. I cut the label off, and she acted like I had solved a major world problem.

That was a strange day….

You should have given de Diva a good kick up the arse followed by a few good slaps .... :pac:

secondrowgal

sadie06 wrote: »

I worked in the music industry and once had to babysit a diva for a day. This person had been famous from a very young age and could do nothing for herself. She was about 24ish when this all happened.

She asked for room temperature water. I gave her a bottle. She checked the temp against the back of her hand, then handed it back to me to open, as she claimed she couldn't open bottles.

She next became agitated and asked for everyone to leave the room but me (the only female). She became tearful saying she couldn't concentrate as something was wrong with her cardigan. After much confusion I learned that it was itchy at the back of her neck. I cut the label off, and she acted like I had solved a major world problem.

That was a strange day….

BBJBIG wrote: »

You should have given de Diva a good kick up the arse followed by a few good slaps .... :pac:

I actually think it's kind of sad....

phill106

Do you have a cable for the wireless?

New Home

phill106 wrote: »

Do you have a cable for the wireless?

Unless that was an elderly person looking for a cable for the radio... :rolleyes:

BizzyC

More of a dumb worker one.

At a restaurant with my parents;

Dad: What's the special fish fillet?
Waiter: It's a pan fried fillet...
Dad: Yes, but what kind of fish is it?
Waiter: ......it's a fillet.....

jrmb

miezekatze wrote:

I can't imagine they'd be that expensive tbh. I'm from Germany and every bank there has one, even the branch in the small village I'm from that only opens twice a week. it's generally operated by the staff though. Couldn't believe it when I found out I have to count my change myself here.

PTSB (which has the best service I've used) only accepts coins if they're full bags (€10 in 10c etc) or if they fit in the cashier's tray. It was very embarrassing when the cashier rechecked my bags by hand at lunchtime when there was a queue.
Plan B was to use them at supermarket self service tills but even they only accept a certain number of coins. I don't mind using the conversion machine but I'm not giving up 12%. It's cash like any other.

Paddy Cow

ColeTrain wrote: »

In fairness a lot of pubs leave a few 1.5 litre bottles of coke/7up on the counter and let the customers have a dash. That's what she was probably on about.

She was claiming that this pub served her a dash a week ago, which clearly they didn't.

Capt'n Midnight

phill106 wrote: »

Do you have a cable for the wireless?

"we lost one of the cables so now it's got a wire less"

Wanderer2010

I work with a woman who narrates EVERY SINGLE THING SHE IS DOING on the computer, she works part time 3 days a week, but sits opposite me and her stupidity is mind-boggling. She is in her early 50s and terrified of computers but 3 years after starting she still treats he computer station as a booby-trapped torture device which must be operated in a fixed and linear manner lest it should explode.

It starts in the morning when she logs on...."Ok, so Control Alt and Delete, ok so type in my password...ok im in, now Word, Start....Microsoft Word, where was I last on that document. Ok...highlight the sentence and go to format.....
This goes on every single day, I actually thought she was joking when she started but no, shes dead serious. I requested a move but the office is full so I have to wear earphones the 3 days shes here. People might find this funny but its actually incredibly stressful and its not something thats easy to bring up with someone.

Worst incident was when she opened a funny email attachment that was floating around the office that played a funny chipmunk Happy Birthday when opened. When she clicked open and it filled her screen, she violently jolted back in her seat and covered her face as if someone had thrown acid in her face, shes that scared of what computers can do. We had a laugh over that but my God, shes stupid. :mad:

Jawgap

sadie06 wrote: »

I worked in the music industry and once had to babysit a diva for a day. This person had been famous from a very young age and could do nothing for herself. She was about 24ish when this all happened.

She asked for room temperature water. I gave her a bottle. She checked the temp against the back of her hand, then handed it back to me to open, as she claimed she couldn't open bottles.

She next became agitated and asked for everyone to leave the room but me (the only female). She became tearful saying she couldn't concentrate as something was wrong with her cardigan. After much confusion I learned that it was itchy at the back of her neck. I cut the label off, and she acted like I had solved a major world problem.

That was a strange day….

Reminds me of my time working in fairly posh Dublin hotel as a commis chef. One weekend a then fairly famous rapper was staying and I was assigned to be the dogsbody for the superstar's personal chef. As it turned out the chef was as sound as pound and in between preparing meals, snacks and drinks for his boss he took the time to further my culinary education.

Anyhow, after the concert (in the Point) the entourage arrives back and as per the chef's instructions I'd prepared the veg he wanted. We're getting the 'midnight' snack together for the group when word comes down that the man himself wants popcorn - at about 1-30am!

So myself, the chef, the night general manager and a few others are trying to figure out where you can get popcorn at 1-30 in the morning in early 1990s Dublin (none of yer fancy 24 hours Tescos then!) when someone hits on the idea of ringing the new UCI Cinema in the Square - which we do and find people are still there.

The manager out there was quick enough to charge IR£100 for popcorn (big black sack of it) and IR£50 to bring it in!

srfc19

I'm currently teaching English in China. I actually came to this school because there was a friend from home working here who helped me sort the job. We grew up about 10 minutes away from each other so have a similar accent.

We occasionally have classes where the parents come and watch to see how their kids are getting on. This was my first one with this class, I took this class over from my mate at home.

At the end of the class, I asked through my translator if they had any questions/comments.
One of the parents asked : "How come your mouth moves differently to the last teacher??" Me: :eek:


I got my translator to explain very clearly - "Look missus, maybe it is because he is a different person and he's ya know, SAYING DIFFERENT WORDS!!"

Vojera

I work in facilities management. I got a call from a client one day asking if we could send someone out as "there's a smell of gas in the locker room, or maybe it's a smell from the sea."




(If you're interested, it was the sea :pac:)

RainyDay

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

I work with a woman who narrates EVERY SINGLE THING SHE IS DOING on the computer, she works part time 3 days a week, but sits opposite me and her stupidity is mind-boggling. She is in her early 50s and terrified of computers but 3 years after starting she still treats he computer station as a booby-trapped torture device which must be operated in a fixed and linear manner lest it should explode.

It starts in the morning when she logs on...."Ok, so Control Alt and Delete, ok so type in my password...ok im in, now Word, Start....Microsoft Word, where was I last on that document. Ok...highlight the sentence and go to format.....
This goes on every single day, I actually thought she was joking when she started but no, shes dead serious. I requested a move but the office is full so I have to wear earphones the 3 days shes here. People might find this funny but its actually incredibly stressful and its not something thats easy to bring up with someone.

Have you tried having a word with her, and telling her how annoying it gets?

Vision of Disorder

He's probably hoping she reads this thread but, in my honest opinion, it doesn't seem likely when one considers her awkward relationship with computers.

wendell borton

Tiger Mcilroy wrote: »

Imo it all comes down to the fact that banks simply dont want customers in the banks doing anything except lodging cheques...opening hours are so badly suited to anybody working and the service consists of a lad going down the queue trying to force aul ones to use the self service when they dont have a breeze.

The last day was in the bank queuing to use the self service they were trying to sign up people for online services. It seems the banks want rid of their physical presence all together.

Capt'n Midnight

wendell borton wrote: »

It seems the banks want rid of their physical presence all together.

if they cut back too far then there's a tipping point where customers might as well be with the likes of rabodirect

SuperS54

Worked in petrol stations when in college in the 90's, among many stupid requests I remember a young sales rep type coming in one day in a panic. He'd hit a small bird and it was sitting in his radiator grill, clearly dead but not squished or stuck however he was in a panic about how to remove it. I picked it up and placed it in the rubbish bin beside the petrol pump, Mr Sales rep was horrified and asked why I couldn't "bury it or something?".

one man clappin

Work in IT Support and got a phone call from a client yesterday.

Me: Hello, how can I help you?
Client: My screen is upside down.
Me: Ok, can you please press Ctrl Alt and up arrow.
Client: I have done that but nothing is working
Me: (Perplexed) That should work. Can you right click on Desktop please
Client: Nothing is happening again, the screen is still upside down.
Me: (really perplexed) There is something wrong, you should be seeing something. What screen are you at?
Client: I am at the log in screen.
Me: Ok you have to be logged in to get Ctrl Alt up arrow to work. Can you please type in your password and log in.
Client: Will I type in my password upside down?
Me: :eek: No just type normal (trying not to laugh)


Just the start to a day I needed.

Wanderer2010

RainyDay wrote: »

Have you tried having a word with her, and telling her how annoying it gets?

I havent had a word with her to be honest as I find it hard to confront people over such issues, she is a nice woman and good at her job and I probably have left it too long now (she is there 3 years) to suddenly bring it up with her. But i did tell my manager that she was distracting me and could I move to a different cubicle but there isnt enough room so I have to just use the headphones which does block her out but then when I want a few moments silence i straight away hear ".....when formatting a paragraph, I select the paragraph and wheres my toolbar oh there it is....." and I get annoyed again.

It can be funny sometimes though - on Tuesday she deleted an email by accident and with a look of horror she asked me "Oh no I have lost it forever, do I have to write a letter to the Head of the Computer Department for permission to get it back?"..stifling an extreme case of the giggles, I went around to her computer and pointed at "Deleted Emails", saying "Nope, they are all in there". Gotta take the rough with the smooth..

Youngblood.III

wendell borton wrote: »

The last day was in the bank queuing to use the self service they were trying to sign up people for online services. It seems the banks want rid of their physical presence all together.

PTSB?
Atm? Nah...I love queuing :-/

draiochtanois

This post has been deleted.

Manzoor14

Another, kind of, IT support one! Worked for a software development company in my last job. Receptionist was away so I picked up a call when it came in. It was somebody looking for John, regarding an update on their helpdesk ticket. I wasn't sure exactly what they were looking for (nobody called John even worked in the company), but presumed they'd logged a bug regarding our software, and somebody had given them the bug code for reference.

So I asked for the helpdesk ticket reference. As they called it out, it didn't match our usual bug reference codes, i.e it was in the form 123456, rather than AB1234.

So I asked what it was in relation to? She said she'd been locked out of her email account (in no way related to any work our company was involved in!). Something wasn't right about this!

Me: What company are you looking for?
Her: Company ABCD
Me: Oh ok, I think you dialled the wrong number, this is a different company, XYZ. I've never heard of company ABCD.
Her: Well can you put me through to somebody who deals with the email accounts?
Me: No, this is a completely different company, we don't deal with company ABCD, or email accounts, or anything related to that.
Her: Ok, can you give me the number of company ABCD then so I can ring them?
Me: No, i'm not aware of the other company, I don't have any dealings with them. You just rang us by mistake.
Her: Well John gave me this number to ring when I logged the helpdesk call.
Me: There's no John working here, we're a different company. I think you will have to try get back in contact with John another way.
Her: Well what am I supposed to do now then? Who should I contact?
Me: I've no idea, wait a second (Quickly Googles company ABCD phone number), try calling 1234567 maybe.
Her: Ok, thanks!

Incredible.

Frynge

Walking into work yesterday and some one was waiting at the reception desk, the conversation went like this.

Me; Hi, is someone looking after you.
Lad; No, I just want this passed onto Frynge.
Hands letter to me.
Me; Ok, what is this in relation to.
Lad; It's about a job.
Me; Right so, which job is it about then.
Lad; it is just about a fookin job, will you just give the fookin thing to Mr Frynge.
Me; Not necessary, I am Mr Frynge.
Lad; Fook sake.
Me; something the problem
Lad; I'm not gonna be getting a job am I.
Me; No, not here at least.

efb

Change the cover sheet on my TPS Report

ivytwine

Manzoor14 wrote: »

Another, kind of, IT support one! Worked for a software development company in my last job. Receptionist was away so I picked up a call when it came in. It was somebody looking for John, regarding an update on their helpdesk ticket. I wasn't sure exactly what they were looking for (nobody called John even worked in the company), but presumed they'd logged a bug regarding our software, and somebody had given them the bug code for reference.

So I asked for the helpdesk ticket reference. As they called it out, it didn't match our usual bug reference codes, i.e it was in the form 123456, rather than AB1234.

So I asked what it was in relation to? She said she'd been locked out of her email account (in no way related to any work our company was involved in!). Something wasn't right about this!

Me: What company are you looking for?
Her: Company ABCD
Me: Oh ok, I think you dialled the wrong number, this is a different company, XYZ. I've never heard of company ABCD.
Her: Well can you put me through to somebody who deals with the email accounts?
Me: No, this is a completely different company, we don't deal with company ABCD, or email accounts, or anything related to that.
Her: Ok, can you give me the number of company ABCD then so I can ring them?
Me: No, i'm not aware of the other company, I don't have any dealings with them. You just rang us by mistake.
Her: Well John gave me this number to ring when I logged the helpdesk call.
Me: There's no John working here, we're a different company. I think you will have to try get back in contact with John another way.
Her: Well what am I supposed to do now then? Who should I contact?
Me: I've no idea, wait a second (Quickly Googles company ABCD phone number), try calling 1234567 maybe.
Her: Ok, thanks!

Incredible.

This happens in my job a lot. Once had someone demanding to speak to a manager at Turkish airlines AFTER I explained he was thru to an online gaming company!!

RainyDay

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

I havent had a word with her to be honest as I find it hard to confront people over such issues, she is a nice woman and good at her job and I probably have left it too long now (she is there 3 years) to suddenly bring it up with her. But i did tell my manager that she was distracting me and could I move to a different cubicle but there isnt enough room so I have to just use the headphones which does block her out but then when I want a few moments silence i straight away hear ".....when formatting a paragraph, I select the paragraph and wheres my toolbar oh there it is....." and I get annoyed again.

It's your call of course, but you're not really doing her any favours by putting up with it. A gentle word might be all it takes.

berger89

annoys me when customers tell ME the price of times and ask me "is that ok"? for instance, a woman today came in and handed me a bag of sugar and as i was scanning it, said "thats 1euro, is that ok?"

or when they get hot food items, hold on to their bag, and tell you the price of whatever is in it:
"its 2euro!
yes, but i just need to know whats in it, so i can log it
it's 2 euro!!!
yep i understand that. i just need to know what food you have, for stock take/sales?"

making a sandwich for another lady who didn't want the end bits of a boiled egg on her sambo.

another fella wanted a pasty put onto a roll for him.

i could write a book.

eternal

berger89 wrote: »

annoys me when customers tell ME the price of times and ask me "is that ok"? for instance, a woman today came in and handed me a bag of sugar and as i was scanning it, said "thats 1euro, is that ok?"

or when they get hot food items, hold on to their bag, and tell you the price of whatever is in it:
"its 2euro!
yes, but i just need to know whats in it, so i can log it
it's 2 euro!!!
yep i understand that. i just need to know what food you have, for stock take/sales?"

making a sandwich for another lady who didn't want the end bits of a boiled egg on her sambo.

another fella wanted a pasty put onto a roll for him.

i could write a book.

Please don't.

berger89

eternal wrote: »

Please don't.

i won't. but i know i have some gems of things that customers ask for..im just too tired to think

marco_polo

berger89 wrote: »

i won't. but i know i have some gems of things that customers ask for..im just too tired to think

Please tell me you draw the line at toasting anything containing coleslaw