Murphy's Law in the Workplace

[flybye023]

They were playing this game on the radio this morning so I thought it would be fun to start a thread here.


I used to work in the back office of a retail store where all the money was kept. It was normally a two person job. It never failed that the one day I needed to be out early, my co-worker called in sick, the safe wouldn't balance, three computers on the sales floor would break down and I'd have to field stupid calls from customers (who I normally didn't have to deal with) resulting in my being 2 hours late going home.


Now it's your turn . What are your Murphy's* experiences?



* Murphy's Law: If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong.

[Ringtail Z28]

If you're doing a carryout with a large heavy item, more than likely the customer will drive a very tiny car.

Two points if the customer yells at you about it.

[RentalRacer]

It can be completely and absolutely DEAD...but the second you either start on a side project, or dare try to grab a quick bite to eat, customers appear out of the mist. And not normal easy customers..no...the "special" customers....

[DarthRetard]

When it's your turn to close, the District Manager will come in the next morning.

[myswtghst]

If a system is going to get hit by lightning and require a 52 line next flight out part request, it will happen 5 minutes before I'm supposed to leave, while my coworker is on a break, no one will respond to the pages I send, and the tech will have NONE of the necessary part numbers.

If a customer can be talked out of a next flight out request, it will take nearly as long to talk them out of it as it would to just do the damn thing, even though I'm saving them near $600.00.

The more important the customer, the more likely it is that the computer will freeze, a contract won't be uploaded into the system, or that the hard phone will spaz and drop the call instead of transferring it.

[flybye023]

"The more important the customer, the more likely it is that the computer will freeze, a contract won't be uploaded into the system, or that the hard phone will spaz and drop the call instead of transferring it."

I was just thinking of that one!

The one time you realllly need to impress a client is the day the janitor shows up stoned, the driver has a fight with his girlfriend in the parking lot, someone burns popcorn in the lunchroom.

[powerboy]

If you're doing a carryout with a large heavy item, more than likely the customer will drive a very tiny car.

Two points if the customer yells at you about it.

Been there, done that.

It can be completely and absolutely DEAD...but the second you either start on a side project, or dare try to grab a quick bite to eat, customers appear out of the mist. And not normal easy customers..no...the "special" customers....

Had that happened today, when I was helping my mom out at her work. She went to use the restroom. And ofcourse, 2 customers wanting to sign up to rent.

------------------------
When the main owner comes in, to look at a couple of files in the computer. Then uninstalls, a lot of programs, that is always being used. He took my Microsoft Office off.

When the owner doesn't want to advertise, then complains, that no hardly buys anything. The owner of my last job, was a Murphy's Law

[Raieth]

I just have to insert this here.

Murphy's law is an adage in Western culture that broadly states that things will go wrong in any given situation, if you give them a chance. "If there's more than one possible outcome of a job or task, and one of those outcomes will result in disaster or an undesirable consequence, then somebody will do it that way." It is most often cited as "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong" (or, alternately, "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time, in the worst possible way" or, "Anything that can go wrong, will," or even, "If anything can go wrong, it will, and usually at the most inopportune moment"). The saying is sometimes referred to as Sod's law or Finagle's law which can also be rendered as "Anything that can go wrong, will—at the worst possible moment".

And of course mine:
When working at a self-serve gasstation and having a car at every pump and have the main computer crash not once (oh not just once) but 8 times!! No gas can be pumped or payed for while that comp is down. Every reset takes 5-8min. And our system was just "upgraded" to be better a week earlier.

Then we find out it was cards that were doing it. We get things stable by only taking cash and then we assess the damage. We lost 300 dollars in gas that morning!!!

[Aldous]

The day the DM decides to grace our store with his presence is the day that co-worker shows up hung-over, and pissed off. We all left 30 minutes late because the DM had to "talk" to us about appropriate work ethic.

On the hottest day ever, the Icee machine and the shake machine will crap out.
Bonus points if the shake machine explodes shake mix everywhere.

The only day where you need off, for whatever reason, is the day that you're called no less than 3 times to help fill in because your co-worker decided to not show up.

On the busiest night of the year, when there are supposed to be 4 people working the front, one will call out sick, the other will not show up, because the two of them have plans to go see the reason that it's the busiest night ever (In my case, football game against rival town.) You will subsequently have nightmares about that night, and relay that night to the new recruits as "worst night ever."

[Geek King]

I" (or, alternately, "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time, in the worst possible way"

Just a heads up, this is actually Finagle's Corollary to Murphy's law. Murphy's Law is just the "If it can go wrong, it will" bit. Don't ask me how I know this.

--Geek King, who really needs to get out more.

[Emrld]

The day that you come on in to work even though your having ahem digestive issues . . . . is the day the phone will not stop ringing and you have to answer every call . . .because the call that holds the future of the company in its hands is coming in.

[lordlundar]

Just a heads up, this is actually Finagle's Corollary to Murphy's law. Murphy's Law is just the "If it can go wrong, it will" bit. Don't ask me how I know this.

Well, I know it because I have the 25th (oops! 26th) anniversary book of Murphy's law. 210 pages of murphy's law and all the variants therwith.

[Cyanocobalamin]

Any situations that need the manager's intervention will always occur when the manager is out of the office.

[Becks]

It can be completely and absolutely DEAD...but the second you either start on a side project, or dare try to grab a quick bite to eat, customers appear out of the mist.

Welcome to working in a gas station.

Or Goodwill, when half the staff is on break/lunch.

[GingerBiscuit]

When you are a store with three tills and all but one have been taken off by nearly closing time you will have a sudden rush while you have only one operational till.