Working in the dark hours of the night has never been appealing to me.
Those are the club's best hours.
But also, things do go bump in the night.
And in this timeframe is when workers are most alone.
If you're having to work those hours though, try to be in a cheery place.
You know, a location with living bodies, not dead ones.
Redditorgive-orange-houseswanted to hear from the people who work while we're asleep. What scares you? They asked:
"Night shift workers of reddit, what is your scariest experience while working?"
So why should we avoid working in the wee hours? I think I already know.
Frozen
Turning Around GIF by BounceGiphy"When I was 18 I worked closing shift at BK and we got robbed. Had a gun shoved in my face and they put us in the walk in freezer. They got away with over 10k but the morons stole the managers car and left a gun in it that was registered to one of them. Then he turned on the others."
mrsmith2929
The Morgue
"Taking my first deceased patient to the hospital morgue in the middle of the night. It's in the basement and getting to the morgue wasn't straightforward. There's a lot of turns and dimly lit hallways. At the time the morgue was being renovated. I was freaking out bc there was no room left in the morgue and there was an unattended, OCCUPIED stretcher in the doorway."
tae_unnie
Allsups
"I was working night shift in a gas station/truck stop in Tucumcari, NM back in the mid 90's. I had another guy working with me who ran the diesel side while I worked the gas side. We had a guy come in around 1 or 2 am and just looked at stuff in the aisles for a while before he left. Didn't really think twice about him."
"Later, about 6 AM, when I got off, I drove home past a convenience store named Allsups, they're big in the southwest. There had to have been 30 cop cars in the parking lot. There aren't even 30 cop cars in Tucumcari so where they came from I have no idea."
"Come to find out that some time during the night the Allsups had been robbed and the clerk had been taken into the cooler, tied up, and beheaded. I found that out when I (day sleeper) was awoken by the state police a few hours later and asked if I had seen anything suspicious during the night. That guy who came in and left was the only thing I could think of."
"The police took a copy of our security footage which led them to a suspect who was later convicted for the murder. I can't even begin to tell you how hard it was to go to work the next day. We kind of assumed that the guy was going to rob us first, but didn't want to deal with two clerks, so he left and hit Allsups instead."
eruditeimbecile
He still died...
"Trauma nights on general surgery. We had a teen who was shot 9 times. Ran the code, did all the things including thoracotomy (so we had opened his chest to access his heart). He still died. I was sitting outside the trauma bay writing the note, janitorial staff cleaning the trauma bay (lots of blood and debris), and about 9 minutes after the end of the code and calling it... he sits up on the table, full situp under the tarp, and belts out a gutteral groan."
"Janitor staff pretty much all died and/or pooped their pants. we all ran in and restarted the code, even got some pulseless electrical activity, but ya, story still ends with him dying. Lots of theories about what it actually was, lazerus effect or just spontaneous diaphragmatic spasm. But ya, was absolutely crazy."
SkippyBojangle
Falling Out
"Charter bus driver: Picked a group of drunk people up from night-life central around 3am. We were going around 50 km/hr on a main road at the time and one passenger opened the sliding door to throw up. Had to get the other passengers to hold him back from falling out the bus before I could safely stop and let him out."
Morrigan_Ondarian078
People are crazy! When you're drunk, sit still!
Grandpa Boomer GIF by MOODMAN"I had just started the night shift with him when he jumped up in his bed, nearly pulled his catheter out, and yelled 'THEY'RE BANGING ON THE WALLS! JOHN (not my name) GO GET THE GUN! THE NEIGHBORS ARE TRYING TO KNOCK THE HOUSE DOWN!!' He had a UTI and it made him hallucinate. Still scary."
WriterReborn2
Behind Me
"I was an overnight valet at a hotel and our overflow lot was a couple blocks away. I was walking back from that lot after parking a car around 1am and I started to get this really uncomfortable gut feeling. I looked around and noticed a guy in a hoodie about 50 ft behind me."
"This was in a business district so it’s unusual to see people walking around there late at night and it was also summer so a hoodie is a little out of place, but I didn’t want to jump to assuming this guy was some kind of murderer. I picked up my pace anyway just in case, and he picked up his. When I turned at the next block, he turned."
"He was also gaining on me pretty quick. I was REAL freaked out at this point so I pulled out my pocket knife and ran as fast as I could back to the hotel. I don’t know at what point he stopped following me but I refused to park anymore cars in the overflow lot that night and ended up finding a new job not long after."
Hanz_VonManstrom
WTF?!
"I was delivering some food once on a college campus and my wife was asleep in the car. When I started back towards the car I saw a college student looking in the window and taking pictures of my sleeping wife. I yelled at him as soon as I saw (something like, "what the f**k are you doing? get away from there!")"
"And instead of running away or apologizing straight up this motherf**ker said, "oh, I didn't realize she was with somebody. do you need help carrying her somewhere?" I chased him away but was dumbfounded... like... what the actual f**k?!"
golden_death
Jumper
"I'm a security guy at a paper plant. Night shifts are slow, it's mostly watching Netflix if there isn't any emergency or fire on the site. One night will dozing off I was woken up by a loud and near sound. Got up off the chair in panic. Right in front of me in the parking: a big freaking moose. He just jumped the fence and wandered around the lot for a bit and took off by swimming down the river."
TheObnixiousGoat
Check Out
Hannibal Lecter Killer GIFGiphy"Once had a lady check out, and pull me and my coworker (both women) aside and tell us the guy wandering around the gas station had a gun and was paying way too much attention to women walking out."
LeatherHog
This why I'll only work in daytime hours or from home.
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Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
The ones that have come to fruition but caused an uproar were mentioned when Redditor Future-Game asked:
"What is the most controversial TV shows of all time?"
Shows pushing the envelope were so risqué. Some aged well over time. Others didn't.
Taboo Topics
"I don't know about all time but the time it aired here in Canada, the original Degrassi High series. They covered so many topics that weren't really covered on mainstream shows back then. Even still somewhat taboo today. And everyone my age watched it and talked about it the next day."
– YEGMusic43
Outing Ellen
"When Ellen Degeneres's character came out as gay on her sitcom, there was a f'king firestorm."
– seanofkelley
Tame Drama
"Believe it or not the comedy SOAP was highly controversial when it premiered in the late 70s. It's done by the same people who did GOLDEN GIRLS. SOAP is so tame by today's standards a ten year old could watch it."
– ComedianRepulsive955
Chappelle's Show.
"I like South Park as an answer, but if we are talking about pushing boundaries, Chappelle's show at least deserves a mention. The Black, White Supremacist alone was wild to see on TV, and it was the first episode of the show to air."
– WaKa_
Reality bites. So did these reality competition shows.
Trash Talk Show
"Jerry springer, what a sh*t show."
– Jok3r609
When Looks Are Everything
"The Swan - a show about generally average, everyday women with low self esteem (due to a variety of factors), receiving plastic surgery and whole makeovers. Every episode would feature two ladies and a "winner" would be decided between them. At the end of the season, all of the winners would be put in a pageant to compete and see who would be dubbed 'The Swan'"
– DungeonFam30
Questionably Racist
"Takeshi's Castle / MXC wasn't exactly controversial at the time, but the production of that show seems awfully exploitative by today's standards (and for the English dub, horribly stereotypical and downright racist at times). We've since watered it down severely with versions like Wipeout, but the real ones know what the lineage of shows like that is."
– plasma_dan
Ultimate Exploitation Of Privacy
"Big Brother. How about we mix the worst people with the most exploitative form of entertainment whilst also casually normalising invasion of privacy."
– JFSOCC
Just because it was family friendly didn't mean everyone approved.
Representation Matters
"Sesame Street - When this show debuted in 1969, TV channels in the southern US refused to air it because it’s racially mixed group of children playing together was too controversial."
– virago72
Beavis And Butt-Head
"Surprised I haven't seen Beavis and Butt-Head on this list yet. When it came out everyone was freaking out."
– l06ic
Swearing
"Southpark, we went from outrage at Bart saying "eat my shorts" to Cartman feeding children their parents."
"I mean swearing on TV was less prominent , then Southpark pushed that forward quickly as well, all of a sudden "A**" and "Bullsh*t" were on standard TV."
– nonaestet
Every now and then a show comes out and sends audiences clutching their pearls.
But sometimes, even an episode from a relatively tame TV show can send viewers reeling with topical moments.
Examples of this include the much-hyped same-sex kiss on Melrose Place in the 90s that was ultimately edited to imply the act and the One Tree Hill arc that explored school shootings–which was considered daring and admirable at the time for addressing a malaise that continues plaguing the US today.
"Anyone here who decided to leave their job on the first day? What made you decide to run right away?"
Questionable Ethics
"They wanted us to make our first sales to friends and family members."
"F*ck that."
"If your first option is for me to make money off the people I care about most, there's really nowhere to go but down (morally)."- Mxysptlik
Thrown Into The Deep End
"They sent me to a room to do a bunch of on-boarding paperwork and those incredibly dull orientation videos companies love so much."
"Less than 10 minutes into it the manager comes in and tells me they need to cover the sales floor immediately because I was the only person for the department that day."
"No training, no computer logins, no idea where anything in the building was or who any of the dozens of other people wandering around were or even what was really expected of me."
"Just go and solo a department that usually had between five and eight staff at any time."
"I gave it a shot for like 45 minutes, and realized the whole place was staffed by miserable entitled f*cks who went out of their way to avoid work."
"I just walked out without saying anything."- SlothOfDoom
Being More Knowledgable Than Your Bosses
"I'm a fish hobbyist and I got a job in the fish department at PetCo."
"On my first day they wanted me to take out all the rocks (substrate) from each tank, scrub them and put them back in the tanks, one tank at a time."
"Moving substrate releases bad bacteria and can get the fish sick or kill them."
"I explained this to them and said that it was best to just do a water change for 20% of each tank."
"They said, basically, sorry this is what corporate says and you have to do it."
"I was like, 'Okay, I'll do it after lunch'."
"I never came back from lunch."- adura_grounded
Under The Sea GIF by Super SimpleGiphyNot Honoring Their Contract
"They lowered the rate from what was agreed upon and became upset when I spoke up about it."- Wonderful-Job3514
Mis-Management
"Wendy’s."
"There was an assistant manager whose only job seemed to be pacing around behind us during lunch rushes, repeating in a dull monotone, 'c’mon, let’s make those burgers. C’mon, let’s go faster, make those burgers'.”
"When I didn’t make burgers fast enough because my only training consisted of watching a 30-minute video, the manager sneered, 'why don’t you just go wash dishes, then? You CAN wash dishes, can’t you?'"
"That’s when I walked off the job."- LanceGannon
And You Thought YOUR Boss Was Horrible...
"I didn't even last a full shift."
"It was Pizza delivery."
"It was the early 90s; I was 20 M[ale]."
"My first shift was in torrential rain, driving a 1967 VW Beetle (with a flat windscreen)."
"Two orders required me to go back because the pizzas weren't the ones ordered."
"Then I arrived back to see that one of the other drivers had been shot in the leg with an air-rifle by Ricky the Shift-Manager.
I started at noon."
"Quit at 8.30pm."
"Can't remember if I was ever paid; didn't care."- EvilBosch
anna faris pizza GIF by Overboard MovieGiphyKnowing Their Self-Worth
"I was a car mechanic fresh out of school, hit up a local shop that hired."
"Their working conditions were trash, I bailed after the first day."
"Second one wasn't much better, in fact it was far worse, but I saw more potential in the work and needed the experience."
"It was a privately owned bus company that needed a mechanic to service their sh*t."
"It was the middle of winter and the garage had no heat, it was badly equipped, no car jacks so laying on the cold ground, etc."
"Also as it turned out, the fleet consisted of brand new buses that had to be serviced at the dealership to maintain the warranty, so I had no work whatsoever."
"Instead the guy wanted me to do basic maintenance work around the HQ."
"Mind you it was so cold outside that in 10 minutes I couldn't feel my fingers and if I went inside the main building to heat up, he complained that I wasn't working."
"Caught pneumonia after just 3 days, went back a week later when I was feeling better and quit."
"Third time was the charm."- DangerousTrashCan
And Yet, They Don't See A Problem?
"We hired someone to work at a freezer warehouse and he only showed up for one shift."
"He seemed ecstatic about the pay (20/hr for basic material handling, picklines, etc) but seemed to realize that humans hate being treated like machines and that's simply not worth it so we never saw him again."
"He was not the only one."
"My favorite time is when my manager hired 18 new people because he fully expected 80% of them to flake and not show the next day."
"Sure enough, only 3 even showed up."- ASaltyBiscuit
season 8 warehouse GIFGiphyDid They Actually Think They'd Get Away With It?!?
"Was supposed to be an office job, straight salary."
"Got there the first day and it turned out to be door to door sales, commission only."
"Not even people who had expressed interest."
"Just literally cold calling but in person at their door instead of on the phone."
"Didn't even stay to hear the end of their explanation of how really if you think about it this is the job they advertised and interviewed me for, just better because..."
"I don't know, some bullsh*t, as I said, I had left by then."- Zer0Summoner
Not Once, But Twice
"I actually did this twice."
"The first time was because I was a college student and needed a job to pay rent."
"Got a job working in a new call center that had opened up in my home town."
"It was awful.""The atmosphere was toxic, the boss was a horrific a**hole, and there were all sorts of shitty 'metrics' and goals, etc. you had to reach."
"I just never went back after the first day."
"Called them the next morning and told them it wasn't for me."
"The second time was a deal where I interviewed for a job that I was pretty excited about where I was going to be leading a team dealing with advocating for some issues in international politics."
"I was super excited."
"The interviews I had were done in a cafe."
"They sent me the address of the office and I arrived for my first day and it was some decrepit, barely standing office with the most outdated computers and office equipment."
"The 'team' I was going to be leading had been referred to as 'a small team' in the job interviews."
"In reality it was one lady who didn't speak either of the languages I speak."- mejok
Third Time Definitely Wasn't The Charm
"$20 for parking wasn't included in for being an employee."
"This was when min wage was 11.50.so you work 2 hour and pay your employer."
"F*ck that."
"Another place I worked open kitchen caught fire."
"All the customers could see this."
"They didn't make anyone leave."
"They kept putting food out!"
"They expected me to clean up their now burnt kitchen."
"Nope nope nope."
"Another place had defrosted chicken by leaving it outside of the fridge over night."
"On the floor."
"During the summer."
"Rats scurried away from it when we turned on the light."
"Called the safety department on that one."- Elfere
Inconsistent Would Be An Understatement
"Slowly started changing the terms of employment during the day."
"Started off '10 hour days 5 days a week £8/hour'."
"Shifted to 'sometimes you have to work weekends too'."
"Then 'actually it's crunch season right now so we're going to expect you to work Saturday and Sunday this week."
"Then 'actually we'll need you to stay Saturday and Sunday most weeks'."
"Then 'You'll be working Saturday and Sunday for the foreseeable future'."
"Then 'We'll need you to stay a few hours after work today'."
"Then 'Actually you'll be working 12-14 hours a day 7 days a week for the next 6 months'."
"Yeah nope."- NewRoundEre
Bye Bitch Get Out Of My Face GIF by Becky GGiphyWe've all had jobs we've hated, which we muddle through just for the money.
However, one's self-worth is always more important than a paycheck.
And when you notice your self-worth or safety being threatened, always best to act on it immediately.
