This morning, Al sent a Snapchat while I was on-air (Early Breakfast with Paula MacSweeney 5am weekdays!) telling me that yesterday was his first day back at work and he managed to sleep in, he was 2 hours late, missed meetings and couldn't bear the thought of the day ahead.
To make him feel less fearful, I told him about the day I spilled tea all over the studio about a year ago. All the lights on the desk turned green and started making a hissing noise - I had broken a very expensive radio studio. I avoided all eye contact with the tech department for a few weeks after that - the guilt!
Myself and Al aren't the only ones who have ballsed up in work though - have a read below and rest assured that your work day will be juuuuust fine. The listeners of the Early Breakfast never fail to amuse...
Hi Paula, while working as engineer for [a phone company] about 10 yrs ago, I accidentally turned off coverage by upgrading software incorrectly to counties Kildare, Laois, Wicklow, Carlow, Kilkenny for about 2 hours. No contingency plan so technicians had to go to sites. I needed to protect myself with senior management at the time so...I blamed someone else. John
I am a German and was a team leader in Poland. We had a team meeting and I was asked if I booked the meeting room. I replied, no we do it the German way - occupying it. As soon as the words came out of my mind I regretted them. Fortunately the Polish guys laughed and saw the funny side.
Hi Paula, before I became a driver I was a mixer in a factory, mixing flour for a bakery. I was hungover and chewing gum to mask the smell and I accidentally spat the gum into the mixer. I had to open the mixer and shovel out a tonne of flour, with a hangover.
While working for a busy haulage company, (50 lorries the same colour) one evening when I was very hungover, I decided to take a 9hr break in my lorry in the yard. Woke up on the boat to France. Got into the top bunk on another lorry. Not good.
Paula a guy was installing a sunroof in a garage I worked in years ago. I asked him if it ever went wrong for him while cutting the roof. He told me a salesman in a large dealer wanted a sunroof put in a car that wasn't selling to improve it. Salesman pointed out the "silver one over there". It turned out to be a customer’s car in for a service and they'd fitted a sunroof by mistake lol. Niall in Tipp
Paula. I'm a cabinet maker and was installing kitchens in a new housing estate. Well I put the wrong kitchen in the wrong house complete with all built in appliances and granite work tops - the couple that owned the house never said anything to me!!!! I found out later that it was they were supposed to get the cheapest kitchen possible. Not a 30k kitchen!
Morning Paula, when working in a busy ferry port I once accidently sent a camper to the wrong country on the wrong ship....not my finest hour!
Hi Paula a retailer cancelled a promotion with me once when I was hungover and I forgot to pass the information on. The company bought the stock and ended up losing 45 grand oops my bad!!'
I once got the wrong field surveyed which involved digging up some farmers barley crop with a track machine wasn't a nice phonecall!
