Skor's Question of the Week (9/20)

[Skorixor]

Everybody has had to work some shitty job to get by, either as a teenager or an adult. Or maybe there's just part of a job you hated?

What was the crappy job you had to do? (or still do)

[X'an Shin]

I temped for a guy while I was in college who was a total jerk. He knew ONE THING that I didn't know how to do in a graphics program, and would rub it in incessantly. Nevermind that I knew the software backwards and forwards and he didn't.

The guy ran a "consulting" firm out of his old house, and had me working on an old Mac Classic style mac (the little Dalek looking ones with the 5" black and white screen on them). This was in 1994. My computer lab in college (notoriously late for swapping out old tech) got rid of theirs in 1992.

The day I couldn't take working for him anymore was the day he threw a temper tantrum, and was screaming at how shitty all of the charts I had made for him were (mind you, I had better ideas, but when the client is dumb, rude, and insistant you do what they ask) and began tearing them off the wall while losing it. I had to sit there through the rest of the day afraid that he was going to come and attack me or something, because I couldn't leave as I didn't have a car and was dependant on my Mom for a ride.

I told my agency that I had never refused an assignment before this, but that I was sorry to inform them that I would not accept placement at his "company" again. They then thanked me for my honesty and informed me that I was like the 4th person to refuse assignment with him, and that he hadn't paid them yet for the 4 other people and that they were now going to sue him.

[Keer]

At the video store I worked as a teenager, my manager set me up to take the fall on the theft of $6,000 worth of video equipment.

We two were the only ones to work the store. He went across the street to the bar. While I was alone one conman came in to distract me, asking me everything under the sun about video. My manager "Jim", left the back door unlocked for a separate thief to sneak into the storeroom. I'm oblivious, the con man leaves, Jim comes back from the bar, and we close the store like nothing.

Next morning, the owner of the chain is there bright and early screaming at both of us. "How in the hell...?" And Jim is all like, "Well, I was across the street at the bar. The Kid (his nickname for me) was here by himself so I dunno...".

It all came out months later when, based off of that robbery, the owner put in covert surveillance. He had "Jimmy the Gent" (we all had knicknames from Goodfellas, ironically) on video recording mixing drugs in the back room, and making "special bags" of the fresh popcorn we made for customers (the top two inches of the bag were popcorn, the rest underneath was marijuana). Jim's customers would come in and get their bags of "PopWeed" and be on their way...

I was there the day the FBI arrested Jim. Seems that he was more bigtime than equipment theft and twenty sacks. The feds had been on & off of him for over a year. Also, it seems that Jim had a crack habit and the weed sales and robbery were to finance his habit.

The owner had been a friend of his for years and knew that he could be shady (they gambled sports and ran card games together). He suspected Jim in that theft and that's why he never fired me.

Just went to show me that crooks can be anybody. That store was in the best neighborhood in the city. Jim even had contacts in the Mayor's office.

Sooo, there's my crappy ex-job. Set-up by your boss to take a fall, and two inches away from being an accomplice in a major drug enterprise...To this day, I'm glad that thief in the storeroom was as quiet as he was. Knowing me when I was young, if I had heard a noise I would have went back there, tried to fight and got knifed-up-and-down by two junkie thieves.

[Dwilah]

I've worked a couple different jobs. Most of them haven't been bad but there have been some memorable moments in each.

--finding a chock-full, poop-smeared diaper underneath a pile of clothes in a dressing room (Kohl's Department Store)
--getting yelled at by a customer for accepting her cash, then not washing my hands after touching it before dipping popcorn (movie theater concession stand)
--having a guy come in and piss his pants at the counter while buying a candle, then run out (Bed Bath and Beyond)
--being cussed out various times (non-profit telemarketing)

[KirtViza]

Well I hated the job cause the pay sucked, but I cant complain at the same time, back in 2002 I worked at a Shell gast station the 11pm-7am shift and at midnight I lock the doors as i was told well, after a week of this shit I said fuck it and brough a pillow and alarm clock and at 1am I put a BRB 15min sign up and went to sleep in the backroom, the alarm would go off at 5am and I would make my coffe runs, and unlock the door and remove the sign..

[trasgo]

I have been pretty lucky, or stubborn depening on your point of view. But I have tried to avoid the crappy jobs and done a pretty good job of it. I have had some really cool jobs, and right now I have the coolest job ever.

I would have to say the worst job I ever had was one I had recently. I was out of work for a couple months, and since I wasn't getting paid to play SWG I had to go and take a crappy job that paid almost half of what I was used to making just to pay some bills. I got hired for a sales position at an industrial safety supply company. They did not tell me when I got hired that I would have to "Train" in the warehouse for 5 weeks. So for 5 weeks I picked large orders in a huge 80,000 sq. ft. warehouse. I busted my ass, lifting boxes and pushing carts for 8 hours a day. I have a new respect for the people that do manual labor jobs, its not me though. I used my 6 vacation days over those 5 weeks to look for another job. I couldn't get out of there quick enough when I finally got another job.

Now I make almost double the money and I get paid to play video games!

[Oroho]

Although I've only had two paying jobs (the one I'm currently at as a Toys R Us cashier/customer service associate/human monkey and a former one as a vastly underpaid human Graphic Design monkey), each has had their 'fun'.

T'R'U ---
-the daily getting cussed out after seasons and holidays where we will not take back items without a receipt (i.e., summer items, halloween costumes, halloween candy...) or expecting a discount on EVERYTHING because they are military/a minority/helping the victims of Katrina by buying video games/a helper monkey...(I have nothing against the military, minorities, or Katrina victims but I do have it out for the helper monkies...)
-watching a child smear fecal matter from their own diaper onto the carpet of the clothing area and then the mother telling us 'well, aren't you going to clean it up?'
-having to explain to an irate mother why we will not sell the mature rated game to her little Johnny, then having her come back later (after she bought it herself to give to her little Johnny later), demading we give her back her money and how dare we sell this type of violent smut to her poor, angelic, impressionable young dear.

Graphic Design Monkey ---
-getting my designs blatently stolen and used by the person that was over me and him denying it when I had proof in the form of thumbnail sketches and the original in progress graphics saved on my disk. He later went on to steal an image I designed for a band and proceeded to not pay me for it when he applied it to tee shirts (which he still denies...).

I shortly after was 'fired' for that job on the grounds that I was going to college. No joke. <G> Aaaaaahhh.. only a few more semesters until I graduate and get to find a 'real' job, I suppose.

[Hashum]

I'm currently a Staff Accountant for a large manufacturing company. We have about 4 divisions within the company and about two years ago they did some restructuring which caused me to absorb about two and a half positions.

About 6 months after that the company announced their selling the division that I work for. So since last October I've basically under a constant state of being audited. And as the only full time staff accountant in the office I have to answer the majority of the questions.

The only way I can describe the experience is by relating it to what I imagine the deepest pits of Hell being like. And I swear if I swear those Sarbanes and Oxley guys have it coming.

[Jabe Adaks]

I worked at Dairy Queen when I was 16. It was the worst job I ever had.

Jabe

[Hashum]

I worked at Dairy Queen when I was 16. It was the worst job I ever had.

Jabe

yeah but I'd kill for a Blizzard right now.

[Jabe Adaks]

I worked at Dairy Queen when I was 16. It was the worst job I ever had.

Jabe

yeah but I'd kill for a Blizzard right now.

Unfortunately I was the guy flipping burgers. The funny part is that the other guy that worked with me in that hot, crappy kitchen is none other than Illbleed.

Then we ended up working at Best Buy together which was right next door to Office Max which is where Seret worked. Although I knew both Seret and Illbleed, they never met eath other in RL. I just thought of that... weird.

Jabe

[Keer]

Unfortunately I was the guy flipping burgers. The funny part is that the other guy that worked with me in that hot, crappy kitchen is none other than Illbleed.

Then we ended up working at Best Buy together which was right next door to Office Max which is where Seret worked. Although I knew both Seret and Illbleed, they never met eath other in RL. I just thought of that... weird.

Jabe

But they both knew Kevin Bacon.

[Jabe Adaks]

But they both knew Kevin Bacon.

You got me on that one.

Jabe

[Skorixor]

My worst job was when I was a teenager working in the grocery store.

Both X'an and I worked there for a time, and when the local moron couldn't do it, I'd get assigned to clean the meat room's grease trap...

this is not a small grease trap by any means, and it stinks so fucking bad you cannot get the smell off even after going home and taking a shower...

2nd worst would probably have to be cleaning the meat room's cooler, by removing all the meat etc...then washing the whole thing down with a pressure sprayer and scrub brushes...

[Zannon]

I worked at a veteranary hosptial as a vet assistant when I was in high school. I lasted at that job a month. Holding someone's pet while they put it to sleep is probably the most horrific and sad thing you could experience on a job when you're in high school....and then bagging the pet and throwing it in a large cooler out back afterward. Some people would want to be the ones holding the dog/cat as it was being put down. That was even worse. I have to stand there in the corner watching while someone played out a heart wrenching scene in front of me.

That sucked.