Worst Job You've Worked

[Tyrgannus]

Ah yes, a good opportunity to do what we love here on the forums: try to one each other AND complain! This should be fun for everyone!


Ok, the worst job I've ever worked was as a political canvasser for various political and social organizations through a third party company. If you live in a city, you see these guys on the street with a clipboard. This job is hell.

-First off, I worked in the summer like most canvassers do. It was a very hot summer that year (at least for where I live) and I had to spend 8 hours a day 5 days a week in 95 degree weather, often times without effective shade. I couldn't move as we had designated "turf" that was worked out with other non-profit organizations. So, well before we get into the difficulty of this job you literally have to bake yourself. Yum!

-Next, we had quotas. Yes, these fundraisers have quotas. If you don't meet them, you are fired. Yum! This puts many people into an overzealous desperate and manic disposition that is actually counter productive for effectively signaling down people and getting them to contribute money. Frankly, that leads me to another point...

-You are a stranger on a side walk essentially in people's way asking for their money, and you must make sure you are present and heard or you won't make enough money and get fired. The job is essentially getting in people's way, in the summer heat, and doing classy and professional begging for your cause of the day. Wait, cause of the day?

-Yes. You don't always know what topic you will be reaping when you get to work. The third party you go for can pull or adopt organizations and topics quite rapidly so it is a very real possibility that you can go to work blind and have to sell the financial needs of an organization you know nothing about. Remember your quotas though! Just because you know nothing about what you're talking about doesn't mean you won't get fired if you're not bringing in enough dough.

-It's incredibly sketch and insecure. Some canvassers only deal with credit/debit cards which believe it or not is the safest method for everyone. Organizations that accept cash or checks entrust the canvasser to hold on to the money until the shift is over before it goes into a safe/deposited to the organization. That entire time you are at there, you are one mugging away from having your money AND A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY mugged, and this isn't a huge secret. People know that you're caring money if you're a canvasser.

-Lastly, and frankly the one that wears you down the most, you have to deal with hundreds and thousands of people that hate you with every fiber of their being because you are currently reaping an organization they are politically against. They will harass you. They will yell, insult, cuss, or demean you. Some will intentionally deter otherwise interested people away while you are just about to get a contribution. The worst part is there is very little, if anything, that you can do. You just have to sit there and be called a nazi/babykiller/beastiality guy/really sick stuff that doesn't vaguely apply and hope they get bored or don't mug you. After all, that money we collected from you isn't in a safe yet, so we really ARE good targets to get mugged.

Heat. Quotas. Invading Privacy. Uninformed. Insecurity. Harassment.

All for minimum wage.




What's YOUR worst job that you've ever worked?

[lunaru]

Worst job is working at Mcdonalds over the summer at 16

[Kellhound]

Ugh, Taco Hell when I was 16. Only fast food job I ever had...

[schwarzkopf]

Worked at a job where I had to do nothing 8hrs a day 5 days a week for 2 years.

Wasn't good.

[mercutiouk]

Tiny computers.

Selling computers like a moron would sell them when knowing what I was talking about. I get it's not a good sales pitch to confuse with technobabble so I won't say who was right but certainly the branch I worked at had truly awful people working for it (Meadowhall Sheffield) and a manager who to this day I wouldn't piss on if she was on fire.

Even McDonald's was better than the crap dealt daily in that place.

Half a life-time ago now though so can't really complain.

[Hooked]

Residential burglar alarm installer. Fiberglass insulation is the worst invention ever created.

[Deleted]

I worked the night shift in a small grocery store from 15-17 at minimum wage which was £2.14 an hour (around $3.50). The problem is I wasn't legally old enough to sell cigerettes for the first year, or booze for the duration - and who goes into a grocery store after 10pm? People wanting those two things and it was right next to a busy pub. I had to ring up the manager (who was upstairs in the office, I was usually the only one on the floor). The manager would get mad at me for interrupting her, the customer would get mad at me for waiting, I'd get yelled at / abused verbally multiple times an HOUR by both my boss (constantly telling me I was useless and she had no idea why I was hired - tip, I was hired because at the time you could pay under 18s next to nothing) & the usually drunk customers. So I'd deal with that shit all night, go home, barely get 4 hours sleep and then I'd have to be in school at 8am the next morning.

I was fired just before I hit my 18th birthday so they could hire a new 15 year old and save some $$.

[Deleted]

Worst and best... Cat shelter. I liked taking care of the cats, worst part was when nobody wanted to take them then we had to decide whether to put them down or if someone in the staff could house them at their place since we weren't allowed to have them at the shelter for too long. Most of the times they were put down. :/

[Forebode]

7-Eleven hands down, depending on your location it really can test your own personal threshold for restraining yourself from seriously hurting some of your customers. The same goes for retail/customer service as a whole really. Nobody in their right mind should work as a sales associate.

[Deleted]

Tesco, i loathed the hours, 3 A.M start, 9 A.M finish.

Destroyed my already non-existent sleep schedule.

[PizzaSHARK]

Night stocker at Wally World, for sure. Paid a bit over minimum wage for the shift differential (was like $8.35?), they made you work 50-60 hours a week and refused to pay you for more than 38; they'd "adjust off" your overtime with next week's schedule... but still make you work more than 40 hours, so it was a neverending cycle. Illegal as fuck, but it's fucking Wal-Mart, who the fuck can take on their legal defense team?

I would rather live on the street than ever work for Wal-Mart.

[Deleted]

IKEA Call Centre, talking to people all day (And by talking, I mean being complained to, yelled at, emotionally blackmailed) over missing screws and deliveries not turning up.

Absolutely horrible job if you have a conscience.

[Tyrgannus]

IKEA Call Centre, talking to people all day (And by talking, I mean being complained to, yelled at, emotionally blackmailed) over missing screws and deliveries not turning up.

Absolutely horrible job if you have a conscience.

I can unfortunately relate to call centers. Canvassing has similar, terrible qualities. Still, you didn't have to deal with the people in person which is a plus.

[Dairios]

Corporate Hallmark Cards store.

I worked at a Franchise one before, which was fine. Easy to learn, easy to get the hang of, stock, clean, deal with customers. But a Corporate one? I applied to one after I moved, having worked at a franchise before gave me an advantage in application. I only made it 30 days before having a breakdown at work and almost walking out. Apparently HR wanted to fire me for it, but my boss allowed me the dignity of quitting instead, so I could put that I resigned on a resume, rather than fired.

Those 30 days were awful though... It feels like Corporate is breathing down your neck. There's counters above the doors that count movement, and you're expected to make a sale for each one. Absolutely everything MUST be done to code on a plan-o-gram, even if the store is too small for it. Sales MUST be above the previous years, you must wear such and such, etc. Normal things for most stores, but it gets DRILLED into your head, CONSTANTLY... and it creates such a high stress environment.

[Graeham]

I worked for three days at a GAME store about eight years ago. The manager was horrible. He made it a point to deliberately embarrass and criticise his employees at every opportunity. The final straw was when a friend of mine unexpectedly showed up to buy a game and the manager made a very inappropriate comment about her. So I quit then and there. Ironically a few months later the store was closed down due to struggling to make a profit and I'm pretty sure that a lot of people actively avoided it because of the manager's habit of standing around and yelling at his employees all day.

[Deleted]

I can unfortunately relate to call centers. Canvassing has similar, terrible qualities. Still, you didn't have to deal with the people in person which is a plus.

I don't get how people get frustrated at callcenters having worked at one myself. Just think happy thoughts and pretty much ignore it when they yell...it's your own fault if you get angry at people who aren't even near you imo.

[Graeham]

I don't get how people get frustrated at callcenters having worked at one myself. Just think happy thoughts and pretty much ignore it when they yell...it's your own fault if you get angry at people who aren't even near you imo.

No, it isn't their own fault as such an environment can become very grating and stressful if it ends up being like that day in, day out for months or years at a time.

[Auxis]

I've only had 1 job so far in my life, so I'll have to narrow it down to a specific time during it.

The previous store manager was a dick. I forgot to shave 1 day (I repeat, 1 day worth of stubble, barely anything), and he made me go spend 15 minutes shaving with a razor and shaving cream (note, I use an electric shaver because easy mode). I did pretty good, only 2 cuts but it was such a waste of time for such a menial thing. He kept threatening to make me dumpster dive/he kept threatening to push over the bins if anything was in there that wasn't meant to be in there.

If he wanted to talk to you, he'd walk up to you and stand there, and wait for YOU to say the first word. I used to see him in the corner of my eyes as he sneaked up next to me, and I'd keep working until I finished what I was doing, then just turn and look at him with a deadpan face and say nothing until he spoke to me first.

[mercutiouk]

I don't get how people get frustrated at callcenters having worked at one myself. Just think happy thoughts and pretty much ignore it when they yell...it's your own fault if you get angry at people who aren't even near you imo.

Call centre's (worked in one too) have the issue that often it's school leavers or socially inept older women who work there. If you have even an ounce of personality about you the whole "well, I get you're pissed at my company, lets see if I can't get it right" kinda idea can only not work for so long.

Take that, believe and act it and use it as something of a shield to stop wankers irritating you.

[Puupi]

I worked as a telemarketer for two days. It was so horrible I couldn't do it longer. Telemarketing should be forbidden by law.