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Aug-24-2006 01:11

I'll start. For me, it's a toss up between two singularly horrible exercises in gainful employment.

At 17, I worked door canvass for Greenpeace. This entails hopping in a van with 7 or 8 other people who, like you, can't POSSIBLY find work in elsewhere, and enduring a ride of a least an hour with some dude who is trying to think of a way to make underwear last six days between washings (His name was Tony, and his idea was that all underwear should have three leg holes, and that the wearer would just move over one leg-hole every day, then turn the whole thing inside out after day 3 and start anew). Upon reaching your destination, you jump out and have about six hours to wander around knocking on doors and asking for money. And they all have dogs.

I started carrying a knife. One man told me he didn't have time to give me money because he was giving his wife her monthly enema. Not kidding.

#2: when I was 21, I was a waiter/cook/maintenance dude in a Mexican/Lebanese/disgustingly over-chic part of Toronto called Yorkville, where people go party when they want to look like they're at a casting call for extras in a Fitty cent video. The tips were for crap but the work wasn't so bad. BUT: my boss had these two gigantic dogs she would bring to the restaurant every day. Part of my job was to sweep up their fur (which daily amounted to the weight of a small chow-chow) and to prepare their (organic) vittles.

In the same food processor we used for human food.

Hummous out, raw kidneys in.

Kidneys out, avocado in.

Avocado out, steamed rat livers in.

Yuck much?

There's more (bridal registry for illegal Mexican ceramics in the back; forcing me to go hawk gay pride T-shirts) but the kicker is she would scrape up all the customers leftovers, invite me to 'buffet' and serve the rest the next day.

Incompetent bosses. Micromanagers. Freaky co-workers. 'Dave' from accounting who scratches himself in public. What are some of your worst jobs or job experiences, sleuthies?

Aug-24-2006 01:28

heh. When I was 18, in the holidays, I used to occasionally be a chicken-catcher... and I think that's all that needs to be said on the subject really.

Aug-24-2006 03:10

I have been sitting at home for almost 2 years taking it easy, yet I am being paid a senior management wages for it. Still it's the worst job ever. :)

The worst job that I had by far was, yes I am shamefully going ot admit, was selling newspapers for telemarketing while I was in college. Even worse, I was pretty good at it. However, one day I was called in to my bosses office, as they had eaves dropped on one of my calls. I had an old lady on the line, the mixed up, easy to take advantage off, forgetful kind. She first said she couldn't afford a newspaper, because she also doesn't have money to buy her grandkids presents for their bday. Then she said her son didn't want her buying things on the phone, because she is forgetful and can't say no. My concious said, that I should not make the sale. My boss said that I should have made the sale, convinced her that if the put a guilder in a jar every day, she'd have enough money to buy a subscription at the end of the month. I went home, and the next day I went back. I told my boss to make those kind of calls himself, considering I wasn't planning on selling my soul as a lawyer for 350 guilders an hour, I was going to start doing so in telemarketing either for 15.

As a teenager I worked in factories for baked goods. This may seem bad, but I always had a tun of fun with the people there.

The last job I did before I got sick, though being the best, was probably the worst. I started working with the Russian crew at 7 AM, then the European crew would come online at 9 AM, at 3 PM the American crew came on. I finished work on most days at 1 or 2 AM, and some weeks I went by with 2 hours a night. My boss obviously loved me for doing this. Yet our board of directors, evil scum ass suckers whom actually come from the MCI clan some of which now in jail. They continuously tried to get me to break the law on my name, so they could stay clear.

Aug-24-2006 03:15

They eagerly pointed at me, if they needed a fall guy. They tried to get me to sign multi-million dollar bogus illegal contracts, that if discovered by the law i would get in trouble for. They tried to get me to use and abuse the people that worked for me. And after years of saying that I should get a pay raise, and the company not being able to afford it, i discovered I made less cash then most people who worked for me. I eventually started a works council, to prevent employee abuse. I nailed my senior management. And killed my career in there as a result. Theyput increasing pressure on me. Until I fell apart in September 2004, and got ill.

Two years later they are legally forced to pay me. And as the treated me so crappily the government has intervened for them to pay me for an additional year, and for me to ease back in to a new job ELSEWHERE. Yet they still need to pay my wages.

And I may take them to court for them to pay dammages......anyway.

Don't f*ck with Nikkie.

Aug-24-2006 03:18

(Can we tell I am a tad bit angry and emotional around this, hahah.)

Aug-24-2006 04:34

I don't get it what was your last job?

Aug-24-2006 10:27

News paper delivery.

Kidding, senior manager at an IT company, program manager director.

Aug-24-2006 10:46

Worse job ever? Hummmm.....I'd say being a Gal Friday for an accountant during tax season. In case noone knows what a 'Gal Friday" is.....its a gal that is basically a "go for" girl. Run their errands, bring coffee and shit like that to them, when they are having meetings.(i was even picking up their personal things, such as their clothes from the dry cleaners, etc..Im like wtf? lol) I got tired of being a slave for them lol (they were a husband and wife,and they were both asses) I dont cater to anyone......so that definitely was the worse job I ever had. I was a teenager then, so, just needed a job. Blah!

Aug-24-2006 10:55

Nik, I thought your worst job ever was your 12 hr stint working for EuroDisney.

Aug-24-2006 11:48

lol why only 12 hours?

this should be good....

Aug-24-2006 17:17

I have ticked people off at many jobs in my life :)

1) my first job was at Dunkin Donuts, where I was running the illustrious drive-through. Let me tell you, people are NOT happy campers in the morning when trying to get their coffee and go to work, I pissed off many

2) while in college, i took a work study job as a telemarketer calling alumni for donations. I learned very quickly that people did NOT appreciate my calling them during dinner and asking them for money when they already paid thousands upon thousands of dollars to go to my school *note that I hang up on said telemarketers when they now call me during dinner for money i dont have b/c ill be paying them for the rest of my life

3) I then proceeded to work for a collections agency. Of all my jobs, this might have been the one which produced the most insults and cursing. Not only are you calling them for money during dinner, but its money they owe and you're threatening to screw up their credit for life

4) Ahh the illustrious life of a worker's compensation investigator! I got more ppl fired than I care to admit for various offenses such as carrying their crying children, grocery shopping, going on vacation, going out to dinner, etc.

5) now, I work at a tool company which is linked with a construction company where every person hates us for overcharging their jobs for the various things that we provide, and hates my boss even more, and so now come to me with all their issues with him pissed off and yelling at poor little me whos just trying to be the nice office manager that i am.....