
Image by Lukas Bieri from Pixabay |
I once was a restaurant worker and though the money was good, that period was definitely one of the more stressful ones of my entire life. I will never forget going to work at one restaurant... getting caught in traffic and arriving 45 minutes late (and then thinking I would be fired on day one), only to be thrown into a busy late shift with six tables at once. I wasn't even fully versed on the menu yet! Somehow I survived.
After Redditor JPetty97 asked the online community, "What is your worst or most memorable 'first day on the job' story?" people shared their stories and we have to say... we don't envy some of them.
"It wasn't a big learning curve..."
Most memorable: Interviewed at Subway for a summer job. Manager shook my hand, handed me an apron, and put me on the line because a regional school board convention was happening at the nearby high school. I was allowed to wear shorts as a one-time dress code exception that day as there was no time to go home and change. I at least got a shirt from the back room.
It wasn't a big learning curve because I ate at the Subway on campus so much that I already had most sandwiches memorized. We had a line out the door for hours. The manager was so grateful that I was allowed to make as many sandwiches as I could carry to take home for family dinner.
"Thankfully it was just a summer job..."
Got hired on Friday... showed up on Monday and the place was literally out of business and the building boarded up.
Thankfully it was just a summer job, but it was pretty confusing, to say the least.
"That was the day I decided..."
I went in to ask my former boss something about how he prefers client correspondence to be addressed. He starts telling me what to do. I pull out a pen and paper to take notes. He tilts his head to the side, looks at me, and condescendingly says, "if you need to take notes for this, we need to get you professional help."
That was the day I decided I wasn't going to last there for much longer. I ended up quitting a month thereafter.
"When I started my first internship..."
When I started my first internship I went to lunch with some women from my team. At lunch we found out that someone's mom passed away and here I was, a new intern, sitting at a table with four grown women that were all crying.
"I work at a hotel..."
Where I work now. I work at a hotel, been there over a dozen years. My very first day, my very first check out I remember this well: the gentleman's total was $800. I ran his card for $8,000. So the first thing I learned how to do wasn't a check-out, it was a refund (for $7200). I did wonder my first few days if I was cut out for this place, but a dozen years later here I am as night manager.
"My first ever job..."
So this was stupidly awkward of me. My first ever job was at a Safeway grocery store as a courtesy clerk. The store grunt basically. Showed up in the morning for the shift, it was quiet with nothing really going on. They told me to just man the bagging for awhile.
I somehow misheard that and thought they were telling me to go home. Don't know why that made sense to me, but it just did. So I left. About an hour later I got a call asking where I was. There was no harm done, but I got made fun of for awhile after that. Very embarrassing...
"He was deceased..."
First day was Thanksgiving. First call of the day (or first call ever for me) was an 18-year-old cardiac arrest. He was deceased for several hours. Parents did not want to believe so. Completely lost their minds. Blamed us for his death. Dad swept the entire Thanksgiving table set up on the floor with one huge arm sweep. Dishes and glasses flying and crashing everywhere.
"I began working at a supermarket..."
I began working at a supermarket in the bakery department. The majority of people I was working with were females a year or two older than me. Wanting to fit in, I wanted to say something funny and crude to join in their comments so far. So I decide to say "I may be vegetarian, but I still eat d***." Safe to say, that got me in their funny books.
It's been 4 years since I left that job to go to uni, and I still keep in contact with them.
"Spilled orange juice..."
Spilled orange juice all over an unpleasant woman on my first day as a flight attendant.
"Another guy and I..."
Another guy and I had the same start date. We arrived in the lobby, and while I checked in with the desk, sat down and waited to be taken back into the office area, the other guy went on back on his own (unescorted) and started to chat up the staff.
When the boss arrived, he took us both into the conference room and delivered the most red-faced, Tony Soprano @ss-reaming to the other guy that you can imagine, while I looked on. I spent six years there. The other guy, six months.
"Mouse Whisperer"
While I was waiting for my HOD on my first day in a new school, alone in the staff room, a mouse came out from under a shelf. It seemed to be looking for a way out, so I grabbed a mug and caught the poor thing to take it outside. The HOD came in while I was trying to calm the mouse down and that's how the department came to know me as the Mouse Whisperer.
ETA Definitely most memorable, not worst.
"But the first day was really awkward"
I was a maintenance supervisor at a hospital. And when they sold the hospital I did not like the new owner company and was sniffing around for a new job. One day I get a call from a big church and conference center and they are looking for a maintenance supervisor and said my name had come up as a possible candidate, so i meet for a lunch interview with the guy that does their hiring and firing.
We chit chat for about an hour and then he says "ok I appreciate you time , I gotta get back for a meeting " I'm thinking this didn't go well because he didn't ask anything about my background or experience and I mentioned that as we were walking out .
He says I'm not concerned about that, I need good attitude and honesty, as you know we are a non profit and exist totally on donations, you gotta be nice to everyone , and if there's something you don't know , we will pay for whatever training you need , and you're working for mr smith at the hospital, and he only hires the best.
So a few days later they offer me the job and I agree to start on a certain date .
So I show up on that date and walk in and tell the receptionist I'm the new maintenance guy and I'm here to see mr Jones .
"He's not here, he's in China for a month, I have all the paperwork for you to fill out"
So I do that and then ask : " uh, wheres the maintenance office ?"
"Oh there's not one, he's said you'd need to find some place to use as an office" "And you would need to buy some tools"
So she calls the two custodians to the office and I have to introduce myself to them as their new boss and neither one speaks English except a few words.
And then I have to wander around and find a big closet to turn into my office and then go buy some basic tools to fix the doors that won't close and to troubleshoot the Air conditioners that don't work etc .
I wound up working there nine years , but the first day was really awkward.
"Horror flick"
I once ended up on what turned out to be an accident plagued set of a horror flick. "The Room" Tommy Wiseau level bad leadership meets Final Destination style injuries everywhere. Everyone's day was bad and one guy almost lost his balls.
"Left me alone"
I taught horse lessons. When I arrived the barn the owner showed me around and asked about my experience for all of 5 minutes. Then she introduced me to two people on horseback, said have a nice lesson, and left me alone with them in the arena. It went okay, but it was just the first indicator of shoddy management and I only stuck around a few more months.
"Elementary Level Math"
Mine is a little different. I worked at a burger place in a mall food court all throughout high school and in to college. I quit after 4 years and came back the year after to help during the holidays. My first day back, I was on the register helping a customer. I wasn't familiar with it yet because they had upgraded from the ancient ones they'd had when I worked there before, so I looked at the wrong amount to give him change back.
I noticed before I finished giving it to him and apologized. I said I had accidentally told him the subtotal instead of what it was with tax. He asked me how I could make such a stupid mistake, and proceeded to yell at me, telling me that it was "Elementary Level" math, and I shouldn't have told him the wrong total. Called me stupid a couple more times, then left.
"Suddenly this alarm goes off"
This isnt mine, but a friends and I was there during the whole thing.
So a friend of mine had gotten hired on at my work, and I was set to train him on his second day. I clock in and he shows up about an hour later, business as usual. I feel like I need to say here that we work in foodservice. So, around 5 pm, we get a really bad rush when people want their dinners. So, him and I are cooking and suddenly this alarm goes off in the back. It's loud and piercing. No one there knew what to do.
So, our manager walked into the back and shut it off. 2 minutes later, it's back. Manager goes back again to shut it off. We continue like this for about half an hour. Mind you, we were extremely busy at this time. Well, lo and behold, after 30 minutes of fighting the alarm to shut up, the fire department shows up. I saw one of them walk into the back with a detector and next thing we know, our manager is telling us to shut everything off and is ushering us all out the door.
As it turns out, one of the cookers we had in the back was having a carbon monoxide leak, and that's what the alarm was for. We basically got told to wait two hours for the air to clear out, then go in and quickly close then hurry out.
And yes. There were Karens who still demanded us to make their food
"One of the most memorable"
One of the most memorable... probably in my first job in retail for a grocery store. My department manager in the meat department was showing me around the store. We saw the assistant store manager and he said to my manager "she's not going to last" and chuckles. My manager told him don't say that, laughed it off, and continued to show me the recycling compactor.
We went to cooler (like a giant walk in refrigerator) in my department.
He lifted a half-filled box of raw meat and put it on the ground. Told me to try lifting it. The astonishment on his face when I lifted it up and put it back down. Then he told me to put it back on the shelf. I did so, and his astonished reaction again. He seemed to have high hopes for me after I showed him what I could do. He continues to show me around but I definitely proved those guys wrong especially that rude comment the assistant store manager said on my first day, I was there for 1.5y before I moved to another job. The store manager, my dept colleagues and most of the front end all loved me. Never underestimate people. Most my colleagues in all my workplaces still underestimate what I can do all the time, I am use to it.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
The Mandela effect is when multiple people share the same, incorrect memory.
Its name stems from when paranormal researcher Fiona Broome falsely believed that the future president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, died in prison in the 1980s.
A false memory she shared with a number of others.
Our memories have been known to deceive us, as we might frequently forget someone's name or one of our numerous online passwords.
But when we share a memory that turns out to be false with many others, convincing ourselves it wasn't the truth can be a very difficult ordeal indeed.
Redditor Mysterious_Boat_1701 was curious to hear people's most unsettling experiences with the Mandela Effect, leading them to ask:
"Which Mandela effect freaks you out the most and why?"
A mysterious gym
"Just had one personally."
"Went to a mall where there was supposedly a gym, asked around and nobody that worked at the mall knew what I was talking about."
"Looked around and couldn't find it."
"Come back a few months later and it’s right there in front of my face, you'd have to be strung out to not notice it."
"idk how or when it just appeared but it freaked me out."- prex320278
A "fruit"ful logo.
"That the fruit of the loom logo never had a cornucopia."
"What’s crazy about that one is that someone emailed the creator of the logo about it and he said even he remembers it having one."- mrcock2·
Less well intentioned than they thought.
"I Mandela effected my whole family once."
"Years ago there was a football player on a rival team that always did a dumb celebration after he got a sack and my family and I always hated it."
"One night after he did it my family started trashing the celebration and I said as a joke 'we are all going to feel terrible when we find out he is doing that celebration as a request from a make-a-wish kid'."
"Fast forward to years later and our team is playing that team again."
"The player got a sack and did the celebration."
"I rolled my eyes and said 'I hate that celebration so much' my mom instantly turned and said 'don't say that, he is doing it for a sick kid'."
"'I actually like it."
"So I was like 'what?'"
"'No there is no sick kid', my whole family then proceeded to argue with me'."
"They all vividly remembered reading articles about it, seeing special report segments before games about it, and other information."
"Some of them even thought they knew the disease the kid had and even extra details about why the kid chose that specific celebration."
"They all had these shared memories that they were sure were true."
"I was floored by all this and insisted none of that was true."
"So we looked it up.'
"Not true."
'No kid like that ever existed.'
"They still have trouble wrapping their heads around this one."
"Turned out human memory is not near as reliable as we think"
"It was American Football and the player was Jared Allen of the Minnesota Vikings and his cattle roping sack celebration."
"This was maybe 10 years ago."- AUSpartan37
His eyesight was better than we thought.
"Mr. Monopoly's monocle."- Additional_Day9903
It's not easy being green.
"I have a personal one that to this day a decade later still destroys my mind."
"I had an old(ish) 2001 dodge neon."
"With BLACK SEATS.'
"I drove this car for years and years, like 80,000 miles.'
'All through college."
"I took work breaks in my car, commuted hours every day total, to college and then the opposite direction to work and back."
"I even lived out of this thing on several occasions.'
'The day I go and trade it in, I'm pulling misc things out of the car at the dealer."
'And the seats are GREEN."
"Not even a little."
'Like very unmistakably GREEN."
"In my black Neon, with black interior, that ALWAYS HAD BLACK SEATS."
"My girlfriend then, wife now, goes oh they've always been green."
"EXCEPT THEY F*CKING WEREN'T DON'T LIE TO ME."
"This is still upsetting to this day..... life is a lie and nothing is real."- ZakuLegion
An urban legend was born.
"Not a global one, just a family thing."
"Back in 2002 my grandma had her 60th birthday, my father took us home at 10.00pm, ready for bed."
"We, me and brother, were 12 and 14 at this time."
'All went well."
"Over the years, a story was made up that we went missing after visiting the local playground after dinner at said grandma's birthday party."
"Some neighbors help to search us, the whole train of 'missing children in a smal village'-thing."
"Fun fact: we never went missing."
"Dad brought us home, put on 'Toy Story' on tv and left."
"My brother and I heard first about this in 2015.'
"From different people on different occasions."
"'Ah your one of the missing boys'."
"I first thought they were mocking me for a different event.'
"I got lost, but it was 2013, alcohol inflicted, different story."
"But then they ALL tell us the same story about us going missing."
'And the stories are damn close to 'true' in every story my mum is driving around the same neighbors to different locations to search, old wine yard, old mill etc."
"Sometimes I think I got lost on the most brutal way."
"I was lost and changed this plane of existence with another one."
"It sometimes made me think about my whole life."- tjorben123
Memories are a fascinating thing.
They can be changed or altered with even the tiniest suggestion.
And making the truth seem less believable than lies.
One last time. One last meal.
How do you chose a last meal?
Let's hope we never have to find out.
People on death row get that option.
Do they deserve it?
Whose to say?
But they have it.
A steak. A pizza... Burger King.
The food world is their oyster.
Oyster. Also an option.
The menu is endless...
Redditor No-Caterpillar4212 wanted to know what our menu choices would be if we faced the end. They asked:
"You're on a death row, you have one hour left, they ask for your final meal - what is it?"
I'd want 2 hours in a Golden Coral with a bar. Covers it all.
Years
"I want a nice filet mignon, medium rare, a baked potato with everything on it, and a nice Cabernet from a good year - I'm thinking 2135."
cleon42
"'Sorry, we couldn't get the Cabernet from 2135. So instead of what could have been a great wine request from a more plausible period of time, you get this crappy stuff we sourced from Wal-Mart. Enjoy your meal, I hope that maintaining your sense of humor was worth it."'
Until_Morning
Take Me
"Something badly cooked so I will be sick and want to die sooner and have diarrhea so bad it will be a last revenge!"
ratchet0101
"Taco bell it is!"
No-Caterpillar4212
"If Taco Bell makes you poop a lot, it's a sign that you probably need more fiber in your diet."
RDAwesome
The Yuck Factor
"A huge bowl of baked beans, a bowl of shredded wheat, a six egg omelette, and a gallon of apple cider. I'm gonna make it awful for everyone."
"Save yourself the hassle of eating all that, just ask for one pack of sugar free Haribo gummy bears. Should make for an interesting time for the folks watching you die."
MamaSweeney24
"You void your bowels when you die too so that should be lovely."
IDontControlTheFood
Perfect
"Fried chicken with some Fanta."
Aggravating-Year-776
Fried chicken is on the top of everyone's list!
Details
"150mg of MDMA. I’m dying happy."
W0nderfu1W0nder
"This should absolutely be allowed. If our leaders insist on the practice of capital punishment then the condemned should be able to ingest any substance they damn please."
forewontoi
Broken
"McFlurry. Those machine are always broken. I just bought myself some time."
Curiousuk_South9566
"Is this like an American thing? I worked at a McDonald's in Denmark once and our machine was never once broken when i was there."
oliv111
"I saw a video about this once. I'm a little fuzzy on the details but I think it has something to do with the contract that was signed in America. Only one company is allowed to do maintenance on the machines and they basically lock out if it's cleaned incorrectly. It's a crap system."
grilled-pbj
Sorry
"Cabbage!! Add some cabbage. I don’t know if an hour if enough to take effect but there was an old coworker on a cabbage diet. Omg she smelled, like it was coming out of her pores. She knew she smelled and kept apologizing and reminding us of the diet."
ImStillaPrick
The OG Always
"Olive Garden. Unlimited soup and breadsticks."
thegodfaubel
"I saw a sketch once, can't remember who it 2qs from. But a an inmate ordered the all you can eat buffet and had been eating for like 8 years. He's constantly on the toilet and takes micro-naps between bites."
KingOfTheGoobers
"Unlimited for 1 hour. Cool."
anticlockclock
How Golden
"If my grandma is still alive her potato soup and cheesecake. Hopefully I'd be able to cook said meal with her one last time."
ATLAS_IS_LOST
Let's hope none of us has to make this decision.
Most people have friends they've been close to for most of their lives.
But at the same time, friends evolve, and everyone finds themselves losing touch with any number of people they at one point considered their friends over time.
Most of the time, this isn't intentional, but just simply happens.
On rare occasions though, people might realize that their friends were not exactly who they thought they were, and didn't like who they revealed themselves to be.
Redditor One-Refrigerator69 was curious to hear stories of people who realized their friends were not exactly the nicest people to be around, leading them to ask:
"When was the moment you realized that your friends are assholes?"
Compared to others...
"When I started hanging out with better people."- Darklink326
All it took was getting my life together
"When I quit drinking ‘cos it was killing me."
"There were people I literally saw every single day who just disappeared as if by magic."
"12 years ago this week, as it happens."
"I’m not anti-drink, far from it."
"Some people, me included, just can’t enjoy it without it becoming a problem."
"Everyone is different."- bigdaftgeordie
A little perspective goes a long way.
"After I realized that other people don't sh*t on each other on every possible occasion in their circle."
"And that it isn't right when a 'friend' uses every known insecurity as an argument against you when you do not behave the way he/she would want you to."- ViscousPlateman
Lack of respect for other people's things
"I let my friend borrow my ps2 when I went to boot camp."
"When I came back, he said he sold it and gave me $50 I think?"
"This was in 2006."- madmike-86
Lack of mutual respect
"When he does sh*t to me and acts like it’s no big deal, then I do the same back and he gets offended."- Primary-Maybe-2749·
Constantly being taken advantage of.
"They only bothered with me when it suited them."
"I'd rather have nobody than have to deal with that."- zombi33mj
When they literally revealed themselves to be criminals
"When they robbed me at gunpoint."- Ok_Student8032
When they stopped liking them after a change of situation
"Fourth grade, when my parents economical situation went downhill and suddenly no one invited me to their birthday party."
"Until Seven years later no one had never invited me to their birthday, or to anything at all actually."- Justalittletoserious
Not being able to get a word in...
"When they tell me to shut up when I say anything."- the_golden_cheese
Violently playing with emotions
"She got a boyfriend and would let him listen to our phone calls and not tell me, even if I was crying about personal stuff that I would only ever tell her."
"Then they both started lying to me about my crush liking me back, forcing both him and me into awkward positions, telling everyone we liked each other so they'd play along, swapping places constantly to make us sit next to each other, pressuring him into giving me a lap dance, making him kiss the prettiest girl in the room, etc, and encouraged me to shoot my shot more and more."
"All the while they knew he didn't like me, he had told them both directly."
"One night I was crying on the phone cause I was so confused why my advances weren't working, and they just kept explaining it away, blaming some other bullsh*t reason and telling me to try again."
"The next day they told me they were laughing throughout the whole call, because I didn't get it and I was so upset."
"I should add I had no dating experience at all and nobody had ever liked me at this point."- Juliemj
It's always sad when our friends disappoint us.
But when our friends proved to be completely different people than we thought they were, it can be devastating.
As the saying goes, one never truly knows who their friends are.
When visiting any foreign country, one should always be familiar with the laws and customs of the land.
After all, what might be generally accepted on your home turf, might be frowned upon, if not illegal, elsewhere.
For that matter, even locals might need a refresher course on what they can and can't do while at home.
A recent Redditor was curious to hear what tourists and locals alike should avoid doing in the USA, leading them to ask:
"In the United States, what should you never do?"
Stay out of the skies!
"Don't fly a drone in Washington, DC."
"The whole D.C. Area is a no fly zone."
"It's a federal offense."
"Just don't do it."- PeytonCarrK
Cops can't be bribed.
"Don't try to bribe cops when you get pulled over."
"I had some Argentinian friends immediately pull out their wallets and start pooling their cash when they got pulled over once.'
"Fortunately someone in the car noticed and told them to put it away immediately."- PeytonCarrK
"Don't pay off the police."
"My dad has friends from several third-world nations where it is common practice to give the police some cash when you are pulled over."
"However, if you try to bribe a police officer here, you'll get into a lot of trouble."- JohnASmiley
Know your rights.
"Everyone, including foreigners, has the right to be silent and have a lawyer when being questioned."
"Don’t say anything."
"Also, even if you speak English fairly well, ask for an interpreter."- WickedLilThing
Enjoy all that nature has to offer... carefully!
"Don't wander off in the national parks."
"It's very real wilderness and you can get lost and die out there."
"This includes going over railings you aren't supposed to, or off trails."
"People have died accidentally falling into a steam geyser that looked like normal water, mauled by animals or left to the elements."- AlphaOhmega
Allow plenty of time!
"Expect consistency at TSA in airports."- WickedLilThing
Some terminology doesn't translate...
"If you’re from England, they’re called cigarettes here."- Yung_Onions
Make sure your license is up to date.
"If you come from a walkable country don’t come here expecting the same."
"There are some areas with good public transportation and bicycle/pedestrian friendly streets but for the most part, especially outside of cities, the areas are designed to accommodate cars more than anything else."
"The reason a lot of Americans drive everywhere is because, depending on where you live, we have no choice."- The_Cars93
Wait for instructions.
"Get out of your car and approach the cop when being stopped by a cop unless told to."- hildrash
Whether your'e waling down a street in a foreign country, or the street you've lived on for your entire life, it's always wise to be on guard and aware of your surroundings.
Not to mention, obey the law.