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November 04, 2005
Stupid Work Mistakes
My husband and I got a good morning laugh from this story we heard on the radio about a man who called the cops, because he thought someone had stolen his marijuana plants. When the police showed up, the plants had magically reappeared, and the man was promptly arrested for growing pot. Here's a shocker: He'd been drinking.
I'm sure after he slept it off, Mr. Pothead woke up the next day kicking himself for being so dumb. And while most of us haven't gotten hammered and told the police our illegal drugs were missing, brainless behavior happens, especially at work. Call it a brain cramp, call yourself a brain donor, but it happens to the smartest and most competent among us.
Just a few examples: I once edited a brochure detailing an association meeting's agenda and missed the fact that a networking breakfast was listed at 8 p.m. Oops. I've also spelled a source's name three different ways in the same story. And a relative once scheduled the doctor she works for to perform several surgeries -- on his day off. It took her all day to reschedule them.
What do you do when you mess up royally at work? Your best course of action is to admit your mistake and learn a lesson from the screw-up to avoid repeating it. From the breakfast-at-night mishap (no, the meeting wasn't being held at IHOP), I learned to double- and triple-check dates and times when I'm editing. And now when I spell-check articles in Word, I hit "ignore all" after the first reference of a name is picked up so any variations will be noted.
OK, I shouldn't be having all the fun. Care to share some of your workplace foul-ups?
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Posted by Christine on November 4, 2005 at 09:42 AM in The Daily Grind | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBack (0)
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Oh, man. I once left a voice mail message (this was before email) for my manager, complaining about a sales manager...except I actually sent the voice mail to the sales manager. Got a call from him the next day in fact, and I still remember how red my face got while I was on the phone with him and how my heart just about stopped. Oh the horror! Needless to say I groveled and sent him a note, etc. And did I mention that I worked in the HR department and was supposed to be a good little non partisan helpful person? Now every single time I send an email I check and doublecheck who is on the "to" line, and I also make it a policy never to say anything nasty. It just might come back to bite ya!
Posted by: Heather Mundell | Nov 4, 2005 7:11:28 PM
I hope that my former colleague does not read this. I felt so bad for him. However, this IS a prime example of an office brain freeze, and I felt that if I didn't share,..history may be bound to repeat itself.
My former colleague decided he wanted to expand his horizons and look for greener pastures. We worked in the IT department and had an internet connection at the ready at all times. He decided to use his working hours to look for a new job.
After looking through many job postings, he had found one that caught his eye. He got his resume and cover letter together and excitedly checked and double checked the email address to the hiring manager. When he felt prepared, he started to email his qualifications to the prospective employer from his desk at work. He carefully started to type the email address of the hiring manager in the TO: field of our Lotus Notes email application.
Unfortunately, he had the "auto finish" feature enabled on his email application! So, whilst being SO careful to send it to the right person, he paused in the middle of writing that email address in the TO: field.
Coincidentally, the hiring manager and the President of our company's email addresses started with the same four letters. Which is at the exact point that my dear friend decided to stop and double check the spelling of the email address.
I don't think I have ever heard such an agonizing sound come out of the work place than when he had realized what he had done. (Which, by the way, was a split second after he hit the send button.)
OUCH! Just as you can't un-ring a bell, we couldn't retrieve that email. (This was, after all, Lotus Notes Mail circa, 1997.)
So, boys and girlies...the moral of this story?
Don't look for greener pastures whilst standing in the bull pen?
Er...well... Maybe just try to do your job searching from home while you actually have a job,..or you may just wind up at home looking for a job with a sense of urgency that you hadn't quite known before.
Oh, and always check the TO: field before you hit send!
Posted by: Melissa G | Nov 7, 2005 3:57:59 PM
My comment to avoid spelling mistakes re important clients and fellow worker's names, and your boss's name; in Word I made my own custom dictionary and in 30 min input correctly all client and fellow worker names that I use frequently or names that are long and difficult to spell, and it works beautifully no more misspelling the same name 3 times in one document. Then spell check will catch the boo boos. Hope this helps!
Posted by: Linda | Nov 8, 2005 11:23:06 AM
I have a good one for you. I work in a computer/internet company, and I deal with speaking with a lot of sales reps all day. Anyways, we have some little high tech headsets we have to wear, and use the base of the phone to accept and hang up calls. Well, lets just say, I was a little new, and I guess I didnt have the hang up part down yet.
I had to do some work for the rep, not too bad, but it was a Friday, and I had a Ton of work to do, so when I got off the phone, the first thing I did was talk to the people sitting around me and complain about this extra work load. Well, not a good idea when you don't hang up the phone correctly.
Rep listened to all my trash talk, then called me back to let me know he heard Everything ( If you are reading this, Im so sorry once again!!! :( ).
Anyways, I have never felt my face get so hot during a 45 second conversation, and never felt so mortified.
Now I always make sure, even after I hang up my phone, keep my speaker on mute, so no matter what, no one will ever hear what I complain about again.
Guess I just didnt drink enough coffee that day :)
Posted by: samantha | Nov 8, 2005 9:23:44 PM
One time my coworker put her keyboard up on the counter and was using her typewriter in front of the computer.
I needed to use her computer for a second and asked her if I could.
She said yes and I proceeded to press a key to accomplish what I needed and nothing happened. I tried again, still nothing. I looked at her and said I think there is something wrong with your computer.
Fortunately she had already turned the typewriter off and I did not ruin any of her work. It was embarrassing though because there was a customer at the counter with the keyboard right in front of her.
We all had a laugh, but I felt stupid. (By the way the typewriter was exactly the same color as the keyboard and had the same shape keys!)
Posted by: Aligator | Dec 2, 2005 10:19:28 AM
HEY! one time i went to McFlurries with mah boss, and they all gave me a chocolate pie! imagine that foozle! right in front of DA MAN, man! I was so utterly embarrassesdffg, I couldn't wait to get super duper smashed!
Posted by: Rgolomn | Dec 2, 2005 3:57:20 PM
I remember a good one that I will never forget. I used to work for a very big big intarnation corporation that I will not name at this time unless someone wants to know. This international company employeed over 100,000. One day, many moons ago, I received a personal email from an unkown company employee. It said something like, "Hi, I'm so and so and I just started working today. I just wanted to say hi to everyone that I will be working with and I'm at cubicle #____." I noticed that it came from our main corporate office. I also checked the "TO" address line and she had put our main "Coporate to all" addressee and not realized that the email went to all over 100,000. employees. I know that was a major embarassment for who ever it was. We were all lauging so hard at our office but felt bad for her. The next day, I checked our main coporate email file and noticed that her name was gone!! Good one, huh? Moral lesson, watch those TO: address line when you send out emails.
Posted by: ja | Dec 2, 2005 5:10:08 PM
I am completely humiliated in front of one our top vp's at work. She needed some data from me, and I got it to her right away. Assuming what I provided was correct, she asked me to revise it around three times, and we went back and forth for a few days. At the end of three days, we realized that what I provided was COMPLETELY not what she needed. I should have known---had a brain freeze. Feel like a complete moron and not sure how I'll ever regain any credibility in front of this woman.
Posted by: Jane | May 4, 2006 9:47:59 PM
Twice I've put things neatly aside or away, only to learn later it had caused problems.
One was an urgent overnight FedEx delivery to the receptionist desk of a ritzy office opening the new Galleria in Dallas. I had the deliveryman put it just inside the doorway of an unused room opposite the front desk, and I failed to let the recipient know, because "out of sight is out of mind."...
After learning they'd searched with FedEx and told the client they hadn't received it, you could just see them thinking, "How hard is it to be a receptionist???"
You'd think I would have learned from an earlier incident when young and new to the workplace. I'd put a calculator I used working late into a file drawer for safety from theft, along with the project I was working on, to finish the job another day.
Management assumed it had been stolen and bought a replacement. It was a public interest lawfirm on a tight budget funded by government grants, and they blew their smokestack when it surfaced, for which they later apologized...when I further embarassed myself by being so hurt and at the same time mortified that I couldn't speak/respond from choking back tears, so I looked churlish or sullen instead of reiterating how much I regretted creating such a flap, and then thanking/accepting their sincere apology.
Morals: It is possible to be too neat and tidy. And remember to consider others and keep them clued in.
Posted by: Ally O. | May 23, 2006 3:53:13 PM
After sending off an email I noticed that my cutting and pasting frenzy led to an email with the following ending. "Have a great weekend." and then 2 lines down was "if that's possible". oops.
Posted by: Ann | May 24, 2006 9:46:07 PM
How about this one today? I have never felt more stupid. Have been working with a client over the last 3 months on a "design" for their home. Between all the going back and forth and their beating me up on price, making changes etc., today I sent them their revised quote which included not only the NEW contract price, but also the "cost" (to us) in the adjacent column because I selected the wrong file when I attached it.t. Complete and utter oversight on my part. And to top it off, I couldn't tell my boss about it on his way out the door because he was on his way to a family funeral (timing timing!). Argh. I want to die right now.
Posted by: elena | Jul 3, 2006 7:00:12 PM
Hello there,
I work for this oil company. I"m like a shipper and receiver. I have been there for over 8 months. I just love this job. The people are so wonderful.
Anyhow I was shipping 2 packages off. And I got them mixed up.
This caused a lot of damage because it involved one of the field guys driving it up there. I guess it was like a 16 hour drive. This also caused over two thousand dollars.
It's so hard to believe that a little mistake like that could have such a devasting impact. I just feel so stupid for doing this and am still trying to figure out how I did such a stupid mistake.
Posted by: DAve | Aug 3, 2007 10:20:29 PM
Sometimes I cover the front desk while our receptionist is running errands or is at lunch. I normally answer calls within the office with "This is Sarah." One time the President called and replied with, "I know. I know." So I decided to change it today and say, "Yes?". However, I realized too late that it sounded rude and so he chastised me saying, "You worked at a spa before right? I'm sure they didn't train you to answer phones like that." I was soooo embarrassed.
Posted by: Sarah | Sep 7, 2007 12:18:37 AM
I cancelled a hotel reservation for a director in my department.
I thought he wanted it to be cancelled by his e-mail, and as it turned out he wanted only to know the cancellation procedure and costs, so I had a brian freeze and cancelled his room instead. 10 minutes later called the hotel and rebook his room because i realized that he didn't want his room cancelled! Now i have two bills one for the cancelled hotel room and one for his night stay. What should I say to my boss!
Posted by: Jeanne | Dec 30, 2007 2:16:16 PM
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