Stupidest rules your job has

[CrazedClerk]

Oh, how did I forget this one?

The stupidest rule I ever encountered was back when I was a McSlave. If a supervisor told you anything-- including food orders-- the response had to be "Thank You". Spoken with Capital Letters. "OK" was out. So was "Sure thing, boss!" Nope, it was "Thank You!" even if they were chewing you out.

My manager does this with SCs.

They are going on about the company sucks and he's full of crap and he just smiles and says "thank you".

[Spiffy McMoron]

If a supervisor told you anything-- including food orders-- the response had to be "Thank You". Spoken with Capital Letters. "OK" was out. So was "Sure thing, boss!" Nope, it was "Thank You!" even if they were chewing you out.

Man, when I was a stupidvisor at a fast-food place, I would have been shocked to hear a thank you after I said something! Mostly because we were all a bunch of slackers who didn't really want to do the crappy jobs, so I had to assign them all.

Me: Steve, do the dishes!
Fantasy answer: Thank you sir!
Likely answer: Stop cracking that whip! I'll get to it when I get to it!

Am I the only one who thought of Kevin Bacon in Animal House yelling "Please sir, may I have another?" during a hazing ritual?

I thought of that too--complete with paddling.

[tollbaby]

the airline is strict about grooming and apperance even though we have a scruffy looking uniform! I expect they will be very strict when our new, smart uniform comes in.

Female cabin crew must wear minimum make up of mascara, blusher and lipstick.

geez.... I'm allergic to most make-up (as of yet, I've NEVER found a mascara that didn't have my eyes swollen shut after 1/2 hour)... I can wear certain kinds of foundation and lipstick, but everything else causes me to break out in big ugly welts.

[Buglady]

I work at a call center for prepaid cell phones.. <snip>
Now, I have add and because of that I can't just sit and stare at the computer.. I have to be doing something else so I can concentrate on my calls.<snip>


I then tore him a new one,explaining that I have add and if he wants me to continue doing the great job I do, I will have my game boy and he will not do anything about it.....



They havent said anything yet.

CellPhoneSlave, if you can get a letter from your doctor or psychologist explaining why you need a fidget toy to do your job, under ADA rules your employers pretty well have to let you have it. That comes under "reasonable accomodations" if I recall correctly (however, you'd definitely want to check this with someone from the ADA, as I'm not a lawyer).

If the game is too much of a stretch for them, you might look into some of the other fidgets out there - I have a squishy squeeze ball, a wire flip-fold toy, and my favourite thing is to knit Oh, and you can try putting a squashy toy on the floor under your desk and play with it with your feet.

It's so hard to make a non-ADD person understand!

[evilhomer]

While it is an unwritten rule, I've had enough lashes across my back to obey this one without question. The rule of "must be doing something". There's a lull in the action, step 1 is completed and I can't go on to step 3 until someone else completes step 2. The customer understands and accepts this necessary evil, but my boss refuses to; I have to be doing something during this lull. Sweep the clean floor, organize the organized, drive to nowhere to do nothing... anything.... anything other than taking a well deserved rest.

[dizzy_starshine]

When the delievery driver is off we are not allowed to tell patients leading to bed bound old people phoning on the day their pills run out asking where their delivery is O_0. It's a death waiting to happen.

All we would need to do is tell people so they can ask a neighbour or family member to pop in for them. Staff members are not insured to go to patients homes with deliveries.

[mrtauntaun]

The dumbest rule we have here is about email notification. When a certain things happen, an email notification goes out. This is not big deal, an automated email. What is stupid is that every time an email notification goes out, an email notification of the email notification MUST go out shortly afterward.

"The email is to notify you that you have been sent an email notification of xxxxxx"

WTF?

[MadMike]

Not really the company's rule or even the boss's rule, but the stupid department manager's rule -- he always had to be the first one to go on lunch or break. That wouldn't have been so bad, except for all the times that he said he was going to lunch, and then later informed us that he got pulled into something and was just now going. Which of course, would push everyone else's lunch back.

Sadly, this was all too common:

"Mike, I'm going on my lunch now. You can go when I get back."

30 minutes later, I'm getting hungry, and ready to go to lunch. I seem him coming my way, and expect him to tell me I can go.

"Sorry Mike. I had to help a customer and didn't get to go to lunch. Now I'm going."

Sadly, it was not uncommon for the same exact thing to happen several more times, anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes apart.

Why did he absolutely have to go first? And if he found he wasn't able to go when he thought he would, he could have told one of the others to go. I think he finally quit doing it after finding out the hard way how cranky I get when I don't eat.

[Thrifty]

We don't have many coupons for my thrift store, maybe 3 or 4 a year. The new one can be found on a local grocery store reciept, but can only be used between 9am and 12 pm Mon-Thurs.

I understand they want to get more customers to come in during the morning hours, but as well know customers do not like to read the small print, heck they don't like to read the big print. Can we all hear the complaints that are going to be forthcoming when a customer comes in at 2 pm on a friday afternoon?

[EmiOfBrie]

It's so hard to make a non-ADD person understand!

When I first told my current employer about my own ADD, he basically told me to wish it away "Tell yourself you do not have this condition" were his exact words.

[iradney]

When I first told my current employer about my own ADD, he basically told me to wish it away "Tell yourself you do not have this condition" were his exact words.

It's that easy? Well in that case "I do not have mild OCD, I do not have mild OCD, I do not have mild OCD" *clicks red sparkly slippers*
</sarcasm>

what a tool. The only dumb rule we have here is the only time we can terminate a call with a customer if they swear AT us. So they can eff and blind throughout the whole conversation, but if it's not levelled at us, we can only ask them to tone down their language. You can guess how well THAT works!

[Drakstern]

The only dumb rule we have here is the only time we can terminate a call with a customer if they swear AT us.

You're lucky. We can't even drop a call then.

We have to put them on hold and go get a supervisor. Who can then drop the call. If they'll come with you.

[tollbaby]

It's that easy? Well in that case "I do not have mild OCD, I do not have mild OCD, I do not have mild OCD" *clicks red sparkly slippers*
</sarcasm>

hm. I would think that would go more like "I do not have mild OCD, I do not have mild OCD, I do not have mild OCD, I do not have mild OCD, I do not have mild OCD, I do not have mild OCD, I do not have mild OCD, I do not have mild OCD, I do not have mild OCD, I do not have mild OCD, I do not have mild OCD, I do not have mild OCD, I do not have mild OCD, I do not have mild OCD, I do not have mild OCD..."

(and yes, I do have OCD... )

[MadMike]

When I first told my current employer about my own ADD, he basically told me to wish it away "Tell yourself you do not have this condition" were his exact words.

I wonder if he tried telling himself he's not a clueless jackass.

[myswtghst]

Wow, there are some impressive ones here. I'm glad the call center I work in now is pretty relaxed about dress code (we can wear jeans, and I get away with sweatshirts since I usually work 2nd or 3rd shift, so there are no tours going through) and about me having my DS and a stack of magazines at my desk for between calls.

When I worked as a valet, however, it was a different story. (I worked for a company who provided valet service for a hospital at the ER and outpatient entrances. I also sometimes drove a "shuttle," which was either a golf cart or an ancient maroon van)

~The uniform was black pants, a dark maroon polo shirt, and we were allowed one of the (shared) jackets they kept around if it was chilly. That was not fun in the summer sun, in 95+ degree heat.

~You couldn't use an umbrella or catch a ride with the shuttle out to pull cars if it was raining, but you were magically supposed to not get the seat wet in the customer's car.

~Even though we had several employees (myself included, at that time, I can now!) who could not drive stick, our manager didn't want us putting a mark on the tickets of stick shift cars. This led to me running all the way out to the lot only to find out I couldn't pull the car up, then having to run back up and find someone to get it, or trying to swap cars with someone else out pulling a car.

~If we weren't busy, you couldn't have a book, run inside to get a drink, have a smoke, etc. You had to stand there, look friendly and available, even if we were dead. This includes days like Sundays, when you would work alone, with no one to talk to, and you pulled maybe 5 cars total, all day.