It's never a good feeling to be called into your boss's office because you truly never know why or what's coming next.
And it might be for a trivial reason, but still, your heart pounds and you sweat while waiting for the reason to be presented.
And then if it's for a dumb reason, the adrenaline crash is crazy.
u/Sinifish asked:
What is the weirdest reason you were called into your boss's office?
Here were some of those answers.
Set You Up A Glass(es)
Giphy
My glasses didn't match my uniform. He told me to change them. I said no because I don't have vision insurance. I told my boss I am not paying $600 or more just because my blue glasses don't go with my Olive Garden uniform. He was still insisting I change them. I told him to pay for my glasses then. Needless to say my boss shut up real quick.
Luuuuunch
I used to grab a chicken sandwich on my first break at work. Apparently, some new hire assumed I was going to lunch 2 hours into my shift. After I came back 15 minutes later (our standard break time) I got called in to ask why I felt I should be going to lunch. Told them I didn't and to check my time card.
Monkey In The Middle
Back when I was an intern, a coworker told me to give a pile of papers to my boss and to tell him that he is an "*sshole". He told me explicitly that I have to call him that way. I went to my boss's office, told him who send him the papers and then I told him "Well, he also said that I should say something to you, which is really unplea" -
"Is it that I am an *sshole?"
me:"Well yes but"-
Him:"It's ok, he's one too".
It turned out that those two guys are basically bffs and that they constantly do something like this.
All Good Deeds
- To pull me away from a customer, who was yelling at me, who my manager knew was f*cking crazy. He even pulled the whole " IN MY OFFICE! NOW!" down-the-hallway gag. The customer just gave me that smug "ha ha" look as I walked away. I was shaken up by it but as soon as I walked in and closed the door, he apologized and told me that the customer who was just yelling at me had been banned from our business for causing sh*t with employees and other customers and as soon as my manager saw them walk in, he called the cops and the cops were on their way.
He then pulls up the cameras on his computer and says "I'll be right back. Watch this" and he leaves his office. I watch the cameras and see him walk right up to the cops who just entered, take the cops to the customer, and has the cops escort the customer out of the building. He then turns to the camera and gives a big thumbs up.
2. To promote me to a supervisor job I didn't even apply for, or was aware of.
Rude Customers Don't Run This Joint
"Hey, u/Closer67, could you come to the office?"
"What's up?"
"Someone wrote a review complaining about doing your job too well."
"...???"
"I'm serious. Take a look."
Review goes on to talk about how the reviewer's son and friends had attempted to see Deadpool, I had denied them entry, sold them tickets to a different movie, found them trying to sneak into Deadpool and consequently kicked them out of the theater and denied them a refund. Then, it talked about how I, and a second employee who was involved, should be fired and how good of an employee a third employee was who gave the kids their refunds.
"Are you serious right now? He gave them a refund, and now this person is complaining about me following policy while acknowledging exactly what was going on?"
"Yep. Don't worry, I'm not gonna write you up or warn you or anything. Just wanted to tell you 'Good job". Now, could you do me a favor and send in (third employee who gave the refund)?"
Edit: you can always tell the people who never had to do any kind of customer service job. If you have a job, then you have to uphold the rules and policies of the place you work for. If you don't, then you get in trouble. You don't get a pass just because it's a movie theater or a fast food restaurant. That's not how any of this works.
Wiki-Wut
In the early 2000s my boss called me in so he could show me Wikipedia, which he had just discovered. He says "ask me anything and I'll find the answer!" I asked how many tacos are sold per day in San Antonio. He was angry because that's "obviously not a question that Wikipedia can answer".
Sparrow Attacks
The new policy of not transporting wildlife in the work van had to be explained to me, because a) I was the reason the policy came into existence and b) I was the only person on the site it would ever apply to.
It was a sparrow that had flown into a window. I carried it back to the mailroom, found a box, and took it to a wildlife rehabber that night. The employee driving the van was VERY concerned about this tiny half-ounce bird getting loose in the van and attacking her.
Reward For Dumb Behavior
Used to make levels for Quake while taking tech support calls. One day, while modeling a level and doing an FFR (Fdisk, format, reinstall) I notice a boss out of the corner of my eye. F*ck it. I'm busted. I don't even try to hide what I'm doing. Mute the customer and ask if he needs anything. "Put youself in time when you get off this call. I'd like to see you in the pit."
The pit was a corner of the call center where all the lead techs and bosses sat.
My stomach lurches.
"Ok." I turn my attention back to the caller and finish up in about another 20 mins. I loved this job. I'm really bummed. I switch my status and start walking back to the pit, except now there's THREE bosses right outside my cubicle.
"Can you do a level that's the floor plan of the call center, with the elevator and all?"
No sh*t.
I was promoted a month later.
Quick Conclusion Jump, No?
Had my boss call me in once because a parent accused me of hitting their child. Apparently the kid came home with a bruise. When they asked me what happened I explained the kid wasn't even in my room. They were in a class on the other side of the building and I didn't even see them the entire day. Turns out the kid had a hockey game that night before he came home. Guess where the bruise came from. Thankfully, once they had the facts they pretty much told the parent "This never happened. You are mistaken and we are standing by our teacher." It was scary though cause you seldom get out of these types of accusations without at least a suspension as they look into it.
Roma Romama
Giphy
I used to work IT in a school, my boss was the principal. I'm gay - this is actually sort of relevant to the story.
One of the rules in the school is that principal and VP doors are to stay open at all times, unless they are having a meeting with parents.
All the VP and Ps doors were closed. This is super super odd. There were 4 vps and a principal, so having them all closed is basically unheard of. Even the administrative staff were freaking out a bit.
Finally, I get buzzed into the principals office. Of course everyone is looking at me like "What did you do?!".
I walk into the office and my boss (an older lady that I totally respect) finishes up her email, pushes her glasses on her face and says "What do you know about lady gaga?"
As it turned out, they were all trying to one-up each other in the talent show and my boss wanted a gay opinion.
I told her she needed to do Bad Romance and kept it from everyone.
Trying To Understand The Youths
I worked at this ad agency and the creative VP on my team called me into his office one day and put on the video for "I Fink U Freeky" by Die Antwoord. He made me sit through it and then asked me if I could explain it to him, because his son was really into them and he just didn't get it. Since I was just a few years older than his son I guess he thought I might be able to explain it to him.
This One Is WILD
I worked a job where we had to wear ugly pant suits and we kept our blazers at the office. I walked in one day to find my blazer missing, and my boss called me and asked me to come to her office and let me know she'd borrowed it. I get to her office to find that she'd borrowed my blazer because she'd been "out partying at the beach last night and woke up late" so she was wearing a bathing suit bikini under her uniform. She'd borrowed my blazer to hide the bright orange you could clearly see through her work shirt. The best part was, the reason she'd been at the beach was that she'd needed to get a tan so that she could pull off "faking being on vacation in Hawaii". She'd lied to the guy she was sleeping with and said she was going on vacation to make him "miss her" and she'd gone tanning and even BOUGHT FAKE SOUVENIRS to make it seem legit. Craziest boss I ever had.
What A Tangled Web We Weave
To thank me for saving her marriage. My wife and I split, as she was in a full-blown affair with her boss, and left me. I was devastated. My boss was sleeping with her boss, and about to dump her husband. After walking beside me (great boss that she was) through my pain, she dumped her boss and focused on repairing her family.
Weird but cool. The Texas Tornado...
Thank Goodness THAT'S Taken Care Of, Byeeee!
My boss called me into a meeting room because I was having a private conversation while my scripts were running, which she knew meant we could not use or computers for several minutes.
She thought she heard me complaining about something and demand to know what I was discussing.
She also told her boss I was threatening to burn co-workers houses down.
Her boss flew into town for a week and we discussed these and other items over sushi. She told me she had my termination paperwork completed before she got to town, but wanted to observe and talk to me first. She left after she shredded the papers and my manager had delivered her own notice.
We Know We Said Smile, But We Didn't Mean It
For smiling too much while I was helping a customer. And it wasn't just my bosses office.. It was the store directors office. My boss's boss's boss.
The company I worked for is quite well known in the Midwest for its own terrible "A helpful smile in every aisle" slogan.
Ten years later I still can't wrap my head around it.
Stealin' And Sexytimes
Giphy
When I was 16 I worked at a restaurant. I was called in to the office with three other employees and one of the owners because the day before someone had made a pizza for the staff and not paid for it. It happened all the time and was never a big deal. I was a dishwasher and didn't even cook. So after a few minutes of yelling about it being made they dismissed me and kept yelling at the other two. When I left the other boss called me in to the back. Those two had been caught on camera having sex and smoking in the parking lot. Things had been coming up missing and they wanted to know if I had ever seen them stealing.
When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
Money Burn GIF by nog
Giphy
Who Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
south park wedding GIF
Giphy
See You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
homer simpson episode 23 GIF
Giphy
Holy Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso
Giphy
Happiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
Disney World GIF
Giphy
The horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.