Work crisis!! Share em!

[FFC]

Alright, so I answer emails. My job is to take care of all emails coming in from 5 websites that belong to our company. I usually average about 220 emails per day - this includes processing refunds, issuing logon and passwords, navigating the site, sending feedback, and assisting with technical issues (just to name a few).

Well, I usually come in on Monday's with about 300 emails in my inbox, and with the inflow throughout the week, I usually have them down to about 0-80 by Friday afternoon.

Today, I had over TWO THOUSAND emails dumped in my inbox! I can't go into detail, but LONG story short, there were some technical issues and now I have 2200 emails in my inbox!!! I've never had more than 600 in my inbox at one time, and that was only once. Every single one of them needs to be reviewed.. and I'm the only person that does it!

What is your worst work crisis?

[grapefruit]

^eek! I hate answering emails.

I was a caseworker and one time my car broke down. One of my client had 2 appointments that day and I couldn't reschedule the appointment so we had to walk there... I was so frazzled and stinky from walking that when we went to the dr.'s, everyone stared at us.

[Nikita706]

My worst work crisis was when I got fired for being pregnant.

Anyway, now I work for a garage door company, and this morning we had a grumpy customer call (she wasn't even the homeowner, she was just a renter) all pissed off that we didn't fix her remote while we were at her house.

She's like 'Well, I just can't believe you're sending people so inexperienced that they don't know how to fix my remote.'

So I'm like 'Well, it says on your paperwork that we were just re-wiring the operator to get it working again. Nobody mentioned anything about a remote. Did somebody mention it to him when he was there?'

'No',

I'm like 'Was the remote there for him to check?'

She's like 'No, it was with me at work.'

So I'm like 'Well, we can't fix a remote if we don't know that the remote was having any problems.'

She's like 'Well, I would ASSUME that if he's fixing the operator that he'd check the remotes too.'

I'm like 'How can he fix the remote if it's at work with you?'

Yeah, this b!tch argued until she was blue in the face that we should have checked her remote that wasn't even there. Then I basically told her exactly what she needs to do to fix her remote, and she's like 'No, you're not listening to what I'm telling you, that's not the problem!' So I had the owner get on the phone and explain to her that what I had explained WOULD fix the problem. She said she was going to call her property management company and complain about our customer service. So the owner's like 'Go ahead. We've been doing business with them for years, I doubt that you're phone call is going to change that. In fact, I plan on calling them and letting them know that I don't appreciate you insulting my employees and that I don't care to do business with you anymore. Good luck trying to get your garage door repaired in the future.' (We're the only garage door company in our town, she'll have to call out of the area to get anything done, lol). I can't believe people sometimes.

:cloppy: <-----I should've hired my cow here to donkey kick her in the face.

[FFC]

WOW that's kinda funny. Not something that you laugh at right then and there, but something you can look back on later and have a good laugh :)

[Nikita706]

WOW that's kinda funny. Not something that you laugh at right then and there, but something you can look back on later and have a good laugh :)

Yeah, and he actually did call the property management company and left a message to have them call him back. We're waiting to hear back from them. I don't know what this chick's problem was, but MAN was she grumpy.

:cloppy:

[Parhelion]

I worked for four-and-a-half years as a wellsite geologist (read: collecting muddy rock samples and monitoring gas at drilling rigs) and saw pretty much one crisis after another. This one probably tops the list, however...

I was working with a really sleazy character out in the middle of nowhere, eastern Utah. (the sleazy part dosn't play into it really...I just couldn't stand the man) Our gas detector suddenly bit the dust one night. I spent two hours on the phone with one of the guys in the office (the equipment guru) about the problem, only to figure out that the equipment was indeed toast. Oh great.

I talked to the guy in charge at the rig site, who promptly screamed at me. (he hated geologists--and women--as a rule) The next morning I drove 200 miles to meet a guy halfway and get a replacement detector. Okay. Easy, right? Well, I return back to the rig only to discover that he didn't give me the power cord! I go back out again, 200 miles, got the cord, came back. By this time it was almost 8 p.m., I'd been on the road for 12 hours. My co-worker took pity on me and took it upon himself to set the new detector up. He was having a heck of a time getting our computer to communicate with it and called Mr. Equipment Guru to figure out the problem.

The problem: our computer ran Windows XP. The new gas detector couldn't run on anything newer than Windows 98!!!

I about tore my hair out. By now the dude in charge at the rig site was FUMING. (though the geologist for our client company was understanding--the equipment failure was NOT our fault). As it turned out, Mr. Equipment Guru was on his way out to meet us with a brand new gas detector that COULD run on Windows XP. An eight-hour drive. Bless him.

He got there at about midnight and everything was finally back together.

Until THAT detector busted a week later.

I still work for the same company, but in the office now. It was a pay cut, but well worth it for the sake of my sanity.

[WebLady]

hmmm ... one time at a shoe store I worked with, we were at a new store that had just opened and we were doing something in the stockroom and a water pipe busted! The room flooded with like 2 ft of water within minutes :bbeek:

It was me and two other people in there when it happened; no one got hurt, but we were frantic trying to get shoes and boxes of apparel off the floor.

Lets see, what else ... I have been in various customer service jobs and had people try to return stolen merchandise. There were several occasions where I was yelled at for not taken someones return; that is always fun to deal with :bbrolleyes:

I have had things beyond my control go wrong and get blamed; I have even threatened with a lawsuit a few times.

Fun times :worm:

[FFC]

I had a customer on the phone one day that reamed me a new one.... By the time I got off the phone with him I was SO shook up I had to take my break early and go outside for some air. I was seriously feeling faint (I"m a big girl, i've NEVER fainted!!), and I almost cried!!!! Emotions suck!

[Nikita706]

One time when I worked at Borders, I had this gnarly truck driver guy come in and was like 'I like your hair' (I'm a redhead). I was like 'Thank you'. And he's like 'Yeah I love redheads. But have you ever noticed that red haired guys are just butt-ugly?' I was so pissed, I was like 'Yeah, my son is a redhead, thank you for making that observation.' He was like 'Well, is he cute?' I was like 'I think so.' And he's like 'Well, he's the exception then.' He was obviously thinking he was being really cute and funny, but I was SO PISSED! Who says that to a red haired person?!?!?!?! My Dad, my Grandpa, and yes, MY SON are all redheads, and I think they're all very handsome guys. Some people have no tact whatsoever.

He was lucky I was at work and I liked my job, cause that would NOT have been the end of it if I wasn't.

[WebLady]

I just remembered this one time as a photographer I took some studio photos for this older (50'ish) lady. She even brought her grandchildren with her to the shoot!?

Long story short; when I got the pictures back and she came by to look at them, she didn't like them (other than the subject, there was nothing wrong with the pictures) and proceeded to complain and yell at me calling me names and saying all kinds of cr@p.

After telling her to leave and I'd mail her a refund, she said she wasn't leaving without a refund or something in writing saying I'd send it to her ... I was so pissed at that point I yanked up the pictures and scribbled out a refund check and lead her out the door! I slammed it behind her too!

I was happy to shred her pictures after she left too!

[Nekochanpurr]

Wow, i don't have any real big stories like you guys..

When i worked at a daycare, once, (it was a skanky place) it was me and this other girl in the 'big kid room' which was ages 3-11. Anyway, at night we just mixed all the kids together cuz there was only a handful.. We'd put them on cots and turn on a movie till their parents came.. Well, when i was changing one of the kids diapers, i noticed bruises.. Like.. EVERYWHERE. I freaked and told my co-worker, who of course came in and looked. The kid was like 2. Of course, first thing we do is try and call our director (head of the daycare). And of course, she didn't answer her phone.. She liked doing that a lot when she was trying to dodge her job... Cuz she got paid anyway. Well, fed up, my coworker ends up sending the pics to her mom, who's friend is a cop. We HAVE to report it.. There was no if and or butts about it. This wasn't just from falling. Its comfirmed when the grandpa picks him up, grabbing him roughly by the arm (almost exactly where we had seen some of the bruises..).
Anyway.. Instead of being a considerate and worried boss.. She proceeded to tell the grandpa the next day that SHE had nothing to do with the calls, and TELLS THAT MY CO WORKER DID, BY NAME AND WHERE SHE LIVED. Um, yeah. That's safe. So.. yeah. Nothing happened to her though, thankfully.
There was a couple of times where i was following the rules at Kroger, called one of our old managers over to confirm so i could kick their asses to the curb.. Only to have them side with the customer, even though i would have got reamed for it.. YaY looking like the bad guy.

[FFC]

I totally understand the whole Mandated Reporter rules.... I am a Mandated Reporter, as is anyone else who works with minors, from teachers, counselors, group home staff, day care, school bus drivers, cafeteria workers... the list goes on. Glad that someone got notified though, at least that shook up grandpa a little bit (at least we hope).