Something's burning

[MadMike]

I've posted this one several times before, but never when we had an "Oops" section...

I was working until close one night at the supermarket, and had to clean the floors. The way we did it was to run a huge dry mop up and down each aisle (it was wide enough that one pass up and another one down covered the whole aisle), and then go over it again with a machine that washed and rinsed the floor.

I was pushing the mop along, when I thought I noticed a faint burning smell. As I walked past other people, they were commenting on it as well, so I figured whatever it was, it was all thoughout the store. I just kept going, not thinking anything of it.

When I got up front, I saw some cashiers standing around, waiting for their drawers to be counted. One of them looked at me, looked down at the mop, then looked back up at me and said, "You asshole! That thing's on fire!"

It wasn't actually on fire, but it was smoldering. Apparently some stupid customer, who felt the "No smoking" signs didn't apply to him, discarded a still-lit cigarette butt somewhere in the store, and I unknowingly snagged it with the mop and pushed it all through the store, with it slowly burning up the mop along the way.

As soon as I realized what happened, I stomped the hell out of the thing.

[Slave to the Phone]

As soon as I realized what happened, I stomped the hell out of the thing.

IMHO, stomping on company equipment is always good.

[evilhomer]

Ah yes, I remember that story. Still funny after all these years.

[Rapscallion]

I remember being told by a delivery driver about a guy who was smoking bacons in one curing house. They had to call over to him and tell him his apron was on fire.

Rapscallion

[Tria]

IMHO, stomping on company equipment is always good.

Percussive maintenance is your friend.... Cheaper and works better.

[Slave to the Phone]

Percussive maintenance is your friend.... Cheaper and works better.

Most especially when the POS computers start dieing because they are too close to the ovens. And we aren't allowed to exchange for a refurbished one until the tech support people can document the interminent problem.

If the make-line computer flames during rush, nobody has time to call tech support. After rush, the computer works and things are wonderful when they call tech support.

Having said all that, and knowing that I've fully identified myself to the world on this Board, I'd like to say that I've never, ever kicked or stomped company equipment. Those times that I have dropped computer equipment were accidents that happened because I am a little old lady who didn't have a ladder.

[JustaCashier]

I remember being told by a delivery driver about a guy who was smoking bacons in one curing house. They had to call over to him and tell him his apron was on fire.

Rapscallion

That is a perfect example of the hazards of smoking bacon. Not only is long term use very dangerous to one's health, but as portrayed in Raps' post, as well as in the 1937 Movie "Rasher Madness", there are also more immediate dangers when one is under the influence of bacon.

[Johnny C]

Could be worse

One night I was alone at the little photography outlet in one of the local malls where i worked, it was slow so i was smoking in the back room (the lab actually, we had a callous disregard for our own safety) and I stubbed out my cig and thinking it was extinguished, tossed it in the trash bin by the door to the shop.

About 20 minutes later I smell smoke, but can't figure out where its coming from. Turns out that butt wasn't completely out. Well I finally track it down and dump the bin out the receiving door and 'WHOOSHH' fire everywhere, someone on the day shift probably cleaned up a spill and just dumped the towels in the regular garbage can. It amazes me to this day that I didn't blow myself up by accident in that job, but I never did smoke in the lab again right up until the head office closed the place down.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I don't blame MadMike one bit for that story. I blame the idiot who thought it was OK to smoke in the store.

[Anakah]

I once worked in a shoe store where they want the customer to feel at home or whatever and we had to make popcorn for them. Well, the popcorn maker was really old and you had to be really careful with it.
Anyway, I was opening the store that morning with a close co-worker of mine. Lets call her Karen. It was my first day making the popcorn by myself. I figured it's not that hard...
Well, after I thought I did everything right, I turned on the machine and closed the little plastic cabinet type thingys on it and went into the back for a moment. Idiot.
When I came back out there was SMOKE everywhere! I was like OMG. Karen came out and told me that I left the machine on and without enough oil or something like that.
Well, I thought 'It's just burnt popcorn not much damage there..." Suddenly there is a siren noise going off. I had set off the Mall's fire alarm! The smell was horrible and I set off the fire alarms! Karen and I were frantically trying to grab things to kind of fluff the smoke out. Yeah, right.
Security came up to the store and asked me what happened. I had to explain how I fudged up the popcorn machine. And probably not even an hour later everybody knew it had been me who set off the fire alarm and filled the mall with horrible smelling smoke.
It sucked.