From the article: Starting a New Job
When you thought about making an impression on your first day at a new job, you meant you wanted to make a good impression. You didn't account for some embarrassing incident leaving you humiliated. But mishaps happen ... you just wish they didn't happen to you. Looking on the bright side of things, at least you have a story to share. It may have been a horror story at the time, but isn't it funny when you look back on it? Well, maybe not. Share Your Story
Don't eat the stromboli
- I will keep this short. First day, everyone in my group was getting lunch from the lunch truck so I joined in- pepperoni stromboli. Turned out to be a bit rancid, so as I got greener and greener my trainer said I should probably go home. So I headed out the front door, just in time for the stromboli to make an immediate northward exit from my body- and right on the hood of the owner's BMW. And then a trail from there to my car parked on the other side of the parking lot. Two days later, after the food poisoning wore off, they took me back. Yes, we can all laugh about it now, except the poor guy that had to clean up the mess.
- —Guest Dave
MrsO
- I was hired - my first job in high school - at about age 15, as an usher and candy counter clerk at the local movie theater. My first night the box office clerk didn't show up, and they stuck me in the box office! I had never even thought about how to make change and there was no cash register or even a calculator - just a little old tin cash box and a roll of tickets. I was totally FREAKED. A father in line stayed with me, outside the kiosk, and helped me make change til somebody told the manager I didn't belong there! I think they lost about $100 by the time they yanked me out and put me where I'd been hired to be - an usher and a candy counter clerk - WITH a cash register. UGH. It was scary! And then the manager who put me there chewed me out later! I didn't stay there long. He was a jerk. I still hate the smell of popcorn! And I can't watch Officer And A Gentleman - the movie that was on...LOL...
- —Guest MrsO
Start time
- The night before I started my first real job after college, I realized I hadn't been told the hours of the workday. I figured "9 to 5" and therefore was 30 minutes late on my first day of work. (Once I became a hiring manager, I cover all those little details like start and end time, what people do for lunch, how the cube/office is furnished, etc.)
- —Guest Bubbette
classic
- I was hired in at a thai food place as a server. I was talking to a fellow co-worker and I mentioned that our manager is "pretty sexy". My friend was smiling really big when I realized that my manager was standing literally right behind me.
- —Guest Logan
Caught senting email
- I was busy chatting with my previous co-workers when my boss entered my office. I tried to switch off the computer but it froze. All funny mails were visible on the screen.
- —Guest Shikoyeni
Upside Down Whoops
- It wasn't my first day, but I worked at an unnamed pizza shop, and I was left alone during a horrid lunch hour. Phones ringing, people walking in, making pizzas. Ugh. I was near tears and then I dropped a customer's order on the floor--cheese side down! I pretended to do something else (like get a box from a shelf) and I scooped up the cheese and toppings, slapped it on the pizza and sold it to him. No time to make a new one! It was horrible.
- —Guest Nancy
