My worst job is a toss-up between working the counter at a fast food joint (.75/hr.) or being a pharmacy tech. at mega mart. My first day (and only) they started me at the busiest time. I wasn't trained on how to work a cash register, yet it was immediately part of my job. Never been yelled at so much in my life. I still have "cash register phobia). Being a pharmacy tech in its self wasn't bad. It was pretty interesting. The bad part was the irritable pharmacist in charge and having THREE cash registers to work with, each with a different code to remember. I have bad flashbacks just walking in mega mart. Oh.....and what you learn in their store training and policies has very little to do with reality.
What was your worst lowly job?
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pb4uski
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First job was as a dishwasher at our college cafeteria. Grossest thing was plates that came back on the conveyor belt that had mashed potatoes with cigarette butts in them.
Later worked pumping gas and that job included cleaning the restroom toilets.
Later worked pumping gas and that job included cleaning the restroom toilets.
Potatoes with gravy were pretty bad, but butter was worse. They didn't serve individually wrapped pats of butter back then, just pre-sliced pats that were kept chilled. Students would take lots more than needed, and it would come back melted and often all messed with as the idle college minds often thought that spreading melted butter around a tray was in some way fun.
Sarah in SC
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Oh, that brought back memories of my brief career as a pharmacy clerk at the "midnight Eckerd's" which was the only pharmacy open after hours in our area. The pharmacist was a snobby elitist and I worked only weekend, 11 hours at a stretch. I only worked there about a month, because I was trying to earn extra money to pay my landlord after a roommate skipped out owing 2 months of back rent. It was a financial catastrophe at the time, I was only 18, and determined I'd do the right thing by my contract. I recall it was $400 she left me owing, and I thought I'd never get it paid back.
ShokWaveRider
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I had a paper route when I was at school, but that was trumped by stacking shelves in a supermarket in the UK. Lasted 1 month on the Par Route (Like Sleep) and about 2 weeks at the Tesco. All before I went to college. These were VERY good incentives to do something with my life. I would highly recommend sending one's kid to do a menial mindless job at some point before college for this very reason.
HFWR
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Excellent point. It's easy to say that folks should "do something with themselves", but the fact is that some folks will be more or less permanently employed in these jobs. Perhaps only a small percentage are worthy of sympathy, but most at least deserve some empathy...
My DH wanted me to add his worst job ever. He bagged 100% rotten potatoes in a potato sorting warehouse. The bags were big canvas bags. He was just 17 and would be covered in rotten potato by days end. It didn't help that the sorters on the upper floor thought it was hilarious to throw rotten potatoes at the workers on the lower floor. He stayed with it for two weeks. He got paid $1.00/hr.
MasterBlaster
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Worst job:...
Arifriekinel
Recycles dryer sheets
I've also always loved the temporary jobs. I take promotional jobs when big events and festivals come through town, usually handing out free samples. Just two weeks ago I got to run around town handing out all the free ice cream I wanted (And of course eating it too!). I usually been the people for 3 to 5 days, then they leave town and continue their sampling tour, I take my money and don't see them again. Lots of fun and you meet lots of interesting people.
Worst job by far was telephone-based customer service. I'm surprised the terrible things people would say to a teenage girl because they were behind a phone. I couldn't handle the abuse, so I ran as fast as I could.
Worst job by far was telephone-based customer service. I'm surprised the terrible things people would say to a teenage girl because they were behind a phone. I couldn't handle the abuse, so I ran as fast as I could.
drb391
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I'm pretty hung up on MickeyD's. mind you, not all fast food; will have BK or even Taco Bell once in a great while. but am pretty proud of the fact that I haven't eaten McFood in 45+ yrs
GalaxyBoy
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My very first paying job was clearing rocks from a 20-acre field before it could be disked. It was pretty hilly, making for hot and dusty work. Then, I accidentally broke out the back window of the old pickup truck we were using.
Then I got a job mucking out horse stalls and doing odd jobs around a small horse farm. Now that I look back on it, I really should have been enjoying being in the great outdoors, getting my exercise. I like to say that my first job was shoveling horse cookies, and that it still is. It's just that now, I shovel it from one pile to another, where before I got rid of it.
Then I got a job mucking out horse stalls and doing odd jobs around a small horse farm. Now that I look back on it, I really should have been enjoying being in the great outdoors, getting my exercise. I like to say that my first job was shoveling horse cookies, and that it still is. It's just that now, I shovel it from one pile to another, where before I got rid of it.
Executive Director of the local Chamber of Commerce. The job itself was great. But, the Board of Directors was highly dysfunctional. Dysfunctional to the point they had nearly run themselves of business before I was hired. When officer elections came around they elected the most dysfunctional member as president. I resigned shortly thereafter. He had treated me like ****.
I also worked at a local homeless shelter as thrift store manager. The store was used to teach program participants a useful skill. They say postal workers go crazy because the mail never stops. Thrift store managers must be a close second. Crappy donations never stop. Day after day of sorting trying to find the needle of good stuff in the hay stack of junk. Why in the world would someone donate dirty underwear? Broken console TVs? Used dentures?
I also worked at a local homeless shelter as thrift store manager. The store was used to teach program participants a useful skill. They say postal workers go crazy because the mail never stops. Thrift store managers must be a close second. Crappy donations never stop. Day after day of sorting trying to find the needle of good stuff in the hay stack of junk. Why in the world would someone donate dirty underwear? Broken console TVs? Used dentures?
chief04010
Recycles dryer sheets
Dishwasher at a cafeteria, Loaded trays full of dirty dishes and put them on a conveyor to run through a big steam cleaning machine. Then remove the super hot trays and handwash any dish or utensil that didn't get completely clean.
Sarah in SC
Moderator Emeritus
I ran a Habitat store. You aren't kidding. I practically had PTSD after working there. The shoppers were crazy (at one time I had 5 restraining orders out on customers), the help was all community service "volunteers" working off their fines, and the stuff coming in could be totally disgusting. Ugh! You have my sympathy. I lasted 3 years and still reflexively duck when I drive by the place!
MuirWannabe
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Grew up near Houston. Had a summer job doing maintenance work at a company that disposed of chemical wastes from the many chemical refineries in that area. Many chemical sewage ponds, etc. We would dredge them sometimes. I liked most of my summer jobs. But this one I hated. Always worried me about what I was hanging around when I'd see insects and things like frogs jump into one of those ponds and then never see them come out again.
You have my sympathy. I only worked there for a year, and my customers were great (except the weird guy that was always buying womens shoes).
Working with the homeless was quite an education, though, for this solidly middle class young man. Had to teach one woman that yes, you do call in when you won't be coming; and, no, hot pants and a really tight halter top aren't appropriate. Ever. That was a tough one. She was about 40 and over weight. Mentally she still thought like a 16 year old. As she explained it to me that was when she started taking drugs.
Amethyst
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I'm from an earlier era than you, so I didn't get outright abuse when calling folks, but I remember being scolded for waking up old people who'd been napping, etc. (This was in Florida, I was calling during the day, and few people had answering machines).
Amethyst
Amethyst
Arifriekinel
Recycles dryer sheets
I was lucky enough not to have to cold call out, but unlucky enough to only get customers who were calling when they were already angry or upset about something that was happening with their service or bills.
I am black-- One customer called in asking for something the company wouldn't let us do. He went on a rant about how I was refusing to help him because 'my people thought we had some clout now that one of us is president.' And continued on with a few things I'd never repeat.
steelyman
Moderator Emeritus
I am black-- One customer called in asking for something the company wouldn't let us do. He went on a rant about how I was refusing to help him because 'my people thought we had some clout now that one of us is president.' And continued on with a few things I'd never repeat.
That's unacceptable. (the customer behavior)
SumDay
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Selling trinkets for our local MLB team, during the games. I was in high school, drunk guys hit on me all evening, I got a beer dumped down my ugly little uniform, and my two "partners" and I had to pay the stadium because our cash box was short at the end of the evening. I did it one night and quit. Burger King looked quite attractive after that.
Laborer at a copper refinery. Showed up in a pair of cotton overalls first day and although many smiled nobody said anything. Next day, went to put them on and there were more holes than fabric - Terylene is definitely the thing to wear there! Stuck it out for the summer though, as the pay was good and it counted as summer work experience for my ChemEng degree. The lunches were huge, greasy and free and came with 2 large bottles of pop - didn't put on an ounce!
None of my jobs were demeaning but I greatly disliked working the counter at McDonald's. I could never get myself to suggestive sell. " Would you like fries with that ? " Makes me cringe to this day. I also had a bad stutter back then but they wanted me on the window as I could memorize prices and make change - way back before the register did that for you .
Later, working the grill cooking in college was a blast. Bless Genny for never making me do the register. She also took pity on my overly skinny boyfriend . (Now DH) She gave him free food which of course just brought him back more often. Treatment nurse at a long term care facility was a good condensed education while in college getting my BSN. (naive) Shocking at age 20 at times but a job where I did some good even though I was part time.
Later, working the grill cooking in college was a blast. Bless Genny for never making me do the register. She also took pity on my overly skinny boyfriend . (Now DH) She gave him free food which of course just brought him back more often. Treatment nurse at a long term care facility was a good condensed education while in college getting my BSN. (naive) Shocking at age 20 at times but a job where I did some good even though I was part time.
I had several unpleasant entry level jobs.
- My dad hired me to dig post holes for a fence - in rock hard clay. I was very buff and tan by the end of the summer.
- I did one winter holiday season working in a gift shop at Sea World in high school. The management was terrible, the uniforms were powder blue double-knit polyester horrid things. And we were required to ask every single customer if they wanted to buy a souvenir plastic bag to put their purchase in. The bags cost 50cents - and we were required to ask even if the purchase was a 25cent bumper sticker. We were chewed out if we didn't ask.
- My closest brush with fast food was cashier at a community college cafeteria - that job was ok.
- I didn't like working at the discount dry cleaners - toxic fumes, rummaging through people's dirty clothes looking for pens, etc... All for minimum wage.
- My dad hired me to dig post holes for a fence - in rock hard clay. I was very buff and tan by the end of the summer.
- I did one winter holiday season working in a gift shop at Sea World in high school. The management was terrible, the uniforms were powder blue double-knit polyester horrid things. And we were required to ask every single customer if they wanted to buy a souvenir plastic bag to put their purchase in. The bags cost 50cents - and we were required to ask even if the purchase was a 25cent bumper sticker. We were chewed out if we didn't ask.
- My closest brush with fast food was cashier at a community college cafeteria - that job was ok.
- I didn't like working at the discount dry cleaners - toxic fumes, rummaging through people's dirty clothes looking for pens, etc... All for minimum wage.
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