Co-worker Trainwrecks

[andi9899]

Mar 14, 2017 12:22:33 GMT -5 swasat said:

Mar 14, 2017 12:20:55 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

Even more ironic, his dad they were living with was a police officer. My mom's side of the family is a cop family.

More irony still, my dad's side is always going to jail. One of my dad's brother's got in a bar fight and the responding officer was one of my uncle's from my mom's side. I can't make this crap up.

OMFG!!! Thats insane and hilarious at the same time.

How do you even keep stories straight!

Sometimes I can't even believe it. But I've been there a few times when it happened. Years ago we were outside at my grandma's house and these people had music blaring really loud. My grandpa asked them nicely to turn it down to which he got a really rude hell no. So my dad went over there and started yelling. Some girl started yelling at my dad so I went over there. My sister saw what was going on and followed. Next thing there is a full on brawl going on in the middle of the street with me, my dad, and my sister fighting these people. The girl who was yelling at my dad calls the police and one of the officers is a cousins husband. Everyone declines to press charges. Turns out the girl that called the police has a warrant so she goes to jail. I didn't want to press charges because I figured that I had just kicked the crap out of her, she'd had enough. I may or may not have waved like Miss America at her as she was being taken away in a squad car.

[Pants]

Work trainwrecks:

One of my first bosses was on his 4th wife. I was like, at some point dude you gotta stop. You're obviously not good at marriage.

One Woman who was embezzling funds. She'd been in a car wreck and had a stroke and some point after that started faking receipts and charging money on her corporate card. Because they never could figure out if this was related to the stroke or not she "retired" quietly and she forfeited her pension. Since she'd been working for 30 years for this company that was everything she had for retirement. I feel terrible for her, but beats jail.

Another woman sat close to me was always on the phone about her kids. Both sons were on the autism spectrum and the stress of it caused her and her husband to divorce. She was always planning those kids lives on the phone all day every day. She was let go eventually. (Plenty of warning, it was all very above-board, etc., but still you feel terrible.)

[spartyparty]

[NancysSummerSip]

Mar 13, 2017 12:13:22 GMT -5 Bob Ross said:

I've been at my current job since last fall, and I started the same day as another engineer, who saw me as his "first day start buddy" or some sh*t.  Being new myself, I was initially friendlier than I'd normally be if I had been here a while. The guy's friendly enough and seems to know his stuff from a technical perspective, but the problem is that he doesn't know how to STFU (Shut The F Up), especially about his personal life stories which include a bunch of topics which are highly inappropriate to discuss in the workplace, especially in my employer's uber-professional white collar corporate culture. Topics like his multiple DUIs, drunken run-ins with the law and subsequent probation(s), family brawls, penchant for strip clubs, past and present poor financial decisions (which he wears like a badge of honor for some reason), myriad of health issues, and his spoiling and entitling of his adult children, with commensurate results.

In recent weeks I've started giving him one-word-noncommital-cold-shoulder responses to his ramblings, but that hasn't quite worked 100% yet. Luckily, he's started working on a project with someone else, so the brunt of the ramblings have shifted from me to the other guy for the time being. I don't want to go so far as to go to management about this because I'll most likely have to work with him or rely on his technical knowledge for something in the future. Kinda hoping he ticks off enough of the more tenured employees here that someone else eventually says something.

Have any of you had to deal with this type of co-worker in the past, or have a similar co-worker trainwreck story you wish to share? If so, how have you handled the situation?

You work with the male version of my former office manager. Non-freaking-stop yakking all the time. Everything she did and owned was better than you. If you were sick, she had been sicker. If she asked you a question and you answered it, she'd tell you how wrong it was and "correct" it with a "better" answer. She was the one-up champion of all time. Fact is, she was a real shrew who mistreated clients, spent money like a ship of drunken sailors (creditors were calling our office looking for her) and looked like a dimestore hooker after a week of rough nights in Reno. The day I left that employment, I never even said goodbye to her.

[suesinfl]

Nancy, I think I have her twin in my building.

[NancysSummerSip]

Mar 18, 2017 12:44:26 GMT -5 suesinfl said:

Nancy, I think I have her twin in my building.

Oh, Gawd, no! I should hope to spare you! The woman was a double horse's heinie. Vindictive, spiteful and always looking to get a putdown of someone into every conversation. I gave up talking to her because civility was just out of the question.

[alabamagal]

Mar 14, 2017 12:39:19 GMT -5 Pants said:

Work trainwrecks:

One of my first bosses was on his 4th wife. I was like, at some point dude you gotta stop. You're obviously not good at marriage.

.)

I used to work with 2 women who were on their 6th marriage. At some point don't you consider that you may be the problem. And they changed their name with each marriage. We just used to refer to them by first name because couldn't keep up with last names.

[NancysSummerSip]

Mar 18, 2017 17:58:10 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

Mar 14, 2017 12:39:19 GMT -5 Pants said:

Work trainwrecks:

One of my first bosses was on his 4th wife. I was like, at some point dude you gotta stop. You're obviously not good at marriage.

.)

I used to work with 2 women who were on their 6th marriage. At some point don't you consider that you may be the problem. And they changed their name with each marriage. We just used to refer to them by first name because couldn't keep up with last names.

Dayum. You can only hope they did not have business cards and decide to use all their previous last names. There would be no room for any other information except their names.

And six marriages? That's Liz Taylor/Zsa Zsa Gabor territory. WFT? What do you say when the preacher asks, "Do you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband?" at that point? Maybe something along the lines of:

 "Yes...until I find someone I like better."
"Yes...but he's filling a temp position."
"Yes...until I drain his bank account dry."
"Yes...for a trial run only."

[NastyWoman]

Mar 18, 2017 19:39:12 GMT -5 NancysSummerSip said:

Mar 18, 2017 17:58:10 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

I used to work with 2 women who were on their 6th marriage. At some point don't you consider that you may be the problem. And they changed their name with each marriage. We just used to refer to them by first name because couldn't keep up with last names.

Dayum. You can only hope they did not have business cards and decide to use all their previous last names. There would be no room for any other information except their names.

And six marriages? That's Liz Taylor/Zsa Zsa Gabor territory. WFT? What do you say when the preacher asks, "Do you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband?" at that point? Maybe something along the lines of:

 "Yes...until I find someone I like better."
"Yes...but he's filling a temp position."
"Yes...until I drain his bank account dry."
"Yes...for a trial run only."

For the sake of husbands #7,8,9,etc. I sure hope they leave the " till death does you part" out of the wedding vows 

[tallguy]

Mar 18, 2017 19:45:56 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Mar 18, 2017 19:39:12 GMT -5 NancysSummerSip said:

Dayum. You can only hope they did not have business cards and decide to use all their previous last names. There would be no room for any other information except their names.

And six marriages? That's Liz Taylor/Zsa Zsa Gabor territory. WFT? What do you say when the preacher asks, "Do you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband?" at that point? Maybe something along the lines of:

 "Yes...until I find someone I like better."
"Yes...but he's filling a temp position."
"Yes...until I drain his bank account dry."
"Yes...for a trial run only."

For the sake of husbands #7,8,9,etc. I sure hope they leave the " till death does you part" out of the wedding vows 

Maybe these women think of themselves like those rare baseball players who try to play one inning at each position in the same game?  Should we just hope they don't go extra innings?    

[NancysSummerSip]

Mar 18, 2017 20:02:27 GMT -5 tallguy said:

Mar 18, 2017 19:45:56 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

For the sake of husbands #7,8,9,etc. I sure hope they leave the " till death does you part" out of the wedding vows 

Maybe these women think of themselves like those rare baseball players who try to play one inning at each position in the same game?  Should we just hope they don't go extra innings?    

Or maybe they keep putting husbands on the injured reserve list?

And speaking of trainwreck coworkers - I have an office manager now who things the sun rises and sets on her needs. She was hired after me, but has taken five weeks off since she started. None of that was paid or excused time, and in all but one case, she refused to divulge to HR why she needed the time (other than it was personal and family-related). But the worst part of this is that she simply goes over to the wall calendar in our office and writes in her name and days off - does not ask our boss or discuss it with anyone. Just thinks it's OK to leave when she wants. I got her good next month - I took four days she wanted, and the boss refused her five other days she asked for.

I keep thinking, "Sheesh, this is your first real corporate job, you twenty-something twit. Everyone in our office, other offices and even in Corporate doesn't like you and your attitude. Where are you going to go in life if you keep thinking it is all about you?"

[taz157]

How is she still there??

[zibazinski]

Well, if this was the "Olden days" I could tell you why she's still there.

[NancysSummerSip]

Mar 19, 2017 14:10:44 GMT -5 taz157 said:

How is she still there??

GM refuses to fire her and go through training another office manager. And yes, I am looking for a new job.

[MarleyKeezy78]

I have received new intel about my cousin... She broke up with her loser BF(again) and now expects her brother to move out of his apartment, and get a place they can both live in together  Apparently Her brothers reaction to this was one of quiet shock and probably a whole lot of HELL NO!!! In his head! Her bro has lived in his apartment for at least 12 years and is a bachelor with a great job and doesn't want her drama (he has enough of his own). This woman is delusional 

[Bob Ross]

Mar 18, 2017 17:58:10 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

Mar 14, 2017 12:39:19 GMT -5 Pants said:

Work trainwrecks:

One of my first bosses was on his 4th wife. I was like, at some point dude you gotta stop. You're obviously not good at marriage.

.)

I used to work with 2 women who were on their 6th marriage. At some point don't you consider that you may be the problem. And they changed their name with each marriage. We just used to refer to them by first name because couldn't keep up with last names.

Would these people be clinically diagnosed as narcissists?

I had an ex who was one.  Basically, they stick it out until they realize that you (nor any other human being for that matter) can't fill their bottomless pit of need, and then it's on to the next untapped victim.  Rinse and repeat.

[MJ2.0]

Mar 20, 2017 13:41:22 GMT -5 @sroo4 said:

Oh dear... was reading Ask a Manager and found this gem.   Start with the first links for the back story.    I'm not sure if this guy is YM or not


I racked up $20,000 in personal charges on my company credit card

The short version of the story is that I genuinely misunderstood the way my corporate credit card was to be used. I have been using it over the last few years regularly for personal reasons, including medical, car payments (a car is required for my job, but not covered under expenses), and general personal shopping. My girlfriend did not have income for two years, and I used the card to cover expenses beyond my paycheck.


...



Somehow I have managed to rack up a rolling balance of $20,000 on this card and I can’t ever pay it all off in one go. I had a bankruptcy a few years ago and cannot qualify for a loan to cover the full amount.

ROFL!!!!

It's the COMPANY card! Why would it be okay to use it for personal expenses?!?!

[Deleted]

Genuinely misunderstood how a corporate credit card is to be used?  Wow.  What an idiot. 

[Wisconsin Beth]

I think there were down payments for three different cars.

There was one today about someone walking out after bring pinched twice at work due to St. Patrick's Day. Theor manager was wondering how to give a bad reference.

Ask a manager has some truly awesomely bad trainwrecks.

[Apple]

Oh, the company card...

We had a trainee who had been in the air force, and he still had his government travel card.  Turns out, he had used the card for personal reasons and was finally afraid he was going to get caught.  So, he tried to claim he had used it, but only because he was having financial difficulties and had to buy groceries, but he would pay it back, but...

The "I needed groceries"-- they would have worked with him.  But, they looked up his purchases on the card and they included flights to Hawaii and multiple trips to strip clubs.  Last anyone at work saw him, he was being escorted out by some very serious looking military men...

[Apple]

Two more trainee/apprentice stories.

One guy "owned" a "minor league" football team.  Someone was restocking the medical emergency cabinets and noticed the neck braces, bandages, etc, were missing.  Flyers for games would be left in the copier.  He had been a welder at another location (full time, permanent) and was trying to get his old job back, but they wouldn't take him (wonder why...)  Suddenly, he left the job to go "start a truck company".  A few days later we got a "Thou shalt not use work computers to watch porn." "Especially when you are coming here to do it at midnight."  We tend to get those lectures after someone gets fired for watching porn at work as he last straw.

Another guy.  Very weird guy.  He had a tattoo on his arm and would show it to the electricians and ask "Do you know what this is?!  If you don't know, you aren't a real electrician!"  It was a tattoo of an amplifier circuit.  On the other arm, he had a tattoo of ohm's law, which, for an electrician, is like learning the alphabet in kindergarten--it's something you memorize your first week of school.  

He demanded that they put a hand sanitizer dispenser in the stall of one of the single-toilet, lockable bathrooms.

Anyway, this guy was just a wreck in so many ways.  One time, he didn't show up for work for about two days, didn't call in, was just gone.  When he came back he was black and blue, his face and arms were all bruised up.  His mail-order Russian wife had beat the crap out of him.  Again.  He ended up quitting the job because it was "too stressful".

Good times.

[andi9899]

Mar 20, 2017 16:58:30 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

I think there were down payments for three different cars.

There was one today about someone walking out after bring pinched twice at work due to St. Patrick's Day. Theor manager was wondering how to give a bad reference.

Ask a manager has some truly awesomely bad trainwrecks.

My sister said some weird lady that works with them was walking around pinching people not wearing green on Friday. She walked toward one girl and was told that she should get away from her unless she wanted to get throat punched. She didn't get pinched.

[zibazinski]

That's elementary school stuff. Sheesh.

[suesinfl]

I worked with lady that "accidently" used her gov't procurement card to pay for restaurants, clothes, etc. Her excuse was that it "looked exactly like her personal CC". Ummm, no it doesn't, it states that it was only to be used for gov't purchases and it had the organization logo.  

There was no need to carry it everyday. Mine was locked in my desk drawer and only taken out when I knew that I would be using it to buy approved purchases.

[wvugurl26]

I heard a story from our old administrative assistant. It was when she worked for DOD. Apparently this girl charged her boob job on the government credit card. The general didn't fire her, she did have to pay it back though.

I keep mine in my wallet but mine's for travel not purchasing and I don't always know when I'll be booking it. And it looks very different from any other card I have.

[NastyWoman]

Now this is not a coworker/family member trainwreck story --- I don't know this woman from Eve, but this is as good a place to post it as anywhere. Talk about overextending yourself and not learning anything:

www.yahoo.com/style/wedding-dress-accidentally-donated-to-goodwill-sparks-viral-search-effort-155602455.html

“I totally understand that it was a great deal and just a complete steal for them,” Natalie Gelbert, of Durham, N.C., told WNCN on Wednesday. “It sold for dirt cheap, but to me it’s priceless. So if they could find the kindness in their heart to return it to me, or let me buy it off them, it would mean the world to me.”

Gelbert, who married her husband in her dream dress Oct. 2015, first posted about the missing $1,000 dress to Facebook on Tuesday afternoon, explaining her plight and asking for others to help spread the word.
“Yall,” she began, in a post that has since been shared more than 18,500 times. “My husband accidentally gave my wedding dress to Goodwill and it was sold last Saturday… It was a total mistake and we are actually still paying on it. I’m so, so, so upset and posting this in hopes whomever bought it might see this. I would really like to buy it back.”

I don't know about anyone else's calendar, but mine says 2017 clear as day... 

[dannylion]

Mar 23, 2017 19:24:06 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Now this is not a coworker/family member trainwreck story --- I don't know this woman from Eve, but this is as good a place to post it as anywhere. Talk about overextending yourself and not learning anything:

www.yahoo.com/style/wedding-dress-accidentally-donated-to-goodwill-sparks-viral-search-effort-155602455.html

“I totally understand that it was a great deal and just a complete steal for them,” Natalie Gelbert, of Durham, N.C., told WNCN on Wednesday. “It sold for dirt cheap, but to me it’s priceless. So if they could find the kindness in their heart to return it to me, or let me buy it off them, it would mean the world to me.”

Gelbert, who married her husband in her dream dress Oct. 2015, first posted about the missing $1,000 dress to Facebook on Tuesday afternoon, explaining her plight and asking for others to help spread the word.
“Yall,” she began, in a post that has since been shared more than 18,500 times. “My husband accidentally gave my wedding dress to Goodwill and it was sold last Saturday… It was a total mistake and we are actually still paying on it. I’m so, so, so upset and posting this in hopes whomever bought it might see this. I would really like to buy it back.”

I don't know about anyone else's calendar, but mine says 2017 clear as day... 

She paid $1000 for that dress?  Or $1000 plus whatever interest has accumulated since 2015.  Though I guess it does allow her to show off that classy tattoo, so there is that.  I find it difficult to dredge up much sympathy if for no other reason than the egregious misuse of "whom." 

[Bonny]

Mar 23, 2017 22:08:54 GMT -5 dannylion said:

Mar 23, 2017 19:24:06 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Now this is not a coworker/family member trainwreck story --- I don't know this woman from Eve, but this is as good a place to post it as anywhere. Talk about overextending yourself and not learning anything:

www.yahoo.com/style/wedding-dress-accidentally-donated-to-goodwill-sparks-viral-search-effort-155602455.html

“I totally understand that it was a great deal and just a complete steal for them,” Natalie Gelbert, of Durham, N.C., told WNCN on Wednesday. “It sold for dirt cheap, but to me it’s priceless. So if they could find the kindness in their heart to return it to me, or let me buy it off them, it would mean the world to me.”

Gelbert, who married her husband in her dream dress Oct. 2015, first posted about the missing $1,000 dress to Facebook on Tuesday afternoon, explaining her plight and asking for others to help spread the word.
“Yall,” she began, in a post that has since been shared more than 18,500 times. “My husband accidentally gave my wedding dress to Goodwill and it was sold last Saturday… It was a total mistake and we are actually still paying on it. I’m so, so, so upset and posting this in hopes whomever bought it might see this. I would really like to buy it back.”

I don't know about anyone else's calendar, but mine says 2017 clear as day... 

She paid $1000 for that dress?  Or $1000 plus whatever interest has accumulated since 2015.  Though I guess it does allow her to show off that classy tattoo, so there is that.  I find it difficult to dredge up much sympathy if for no other reason than the egregious misuse of "whom." 

She might still be paying on that tattoo; they aren't cheap either!

[tskeeter]

Mar 20, 2017 19:57:05 GMT -5 Apple said:

Oh, the company card...

We had a trainee who had been in the air force, and he still had his government travel card.  Turns out, he had used the card for personal reasons and was finally afraid he was going to get caught.  So, he tried to claim he had used it, but only because he was having financial difficulties and had to buy groceries, but he would pay it back, but...

The "I needed groceries"-- they would have worked with him.  But, they looked up his purchases on the card and they included flights to Hawaii and multiple trips to strip clubs.  Last anyone at work saw him, he was being escorted out by some very serious looking military men...

Maybe they put him back in the service so he could work off the credit card balance.

[dannylion]

I once had a colleague who was apparently attempting to emulate certain elements of the jet-set life on a government employee's salary. He purchased some sort of fancy boat (used) from some rich guy who had experienced financial setbacks and became even more annoying than he usually was with the sharing of his new fancy-boat-ownership status. A few weeks later, another colleague was in the credit union and noticed fancy-boat-owning colleague in one of the small "private" spaces (not really, just cubicles) where people talked to the loan officers.  According to colleague #2, FBOC could be heard screeching "but I have to have a loan, my boat exploded!"  A few months after that, the transmission on his 240Z failed or something, and he could be heard once again lamenting the unfairness of life.

A couple of years later, he had started hanging around with a bunch of horse-racing enthusiasts who persuaded him to join them in purchasing a horse from a claiming race.  He knew nothing about horses or racing, but was dazzled by receiving attention from the horse-racing enthusiasts and happily joined them in the purchase of a horse.  The outcome was predictably unfavorable for everyone relying on the horse to make their fortunes. 

After he retired, he found a new opportunity for being annoying by writing "articles" for the retiree newsletter about his various retirement activities.  The last one I remember seeing involved his bucket-list trip to China during which he managed to lose his passport somewhere between leaving the US and arriving in China. 

He passed away a couple of years after that.