What has been your worst job?

[Belulah]

Mine was door to door sales when I was travelling. I’m naturally a very timid and reserved person to the idea of knocking on strangers’ doors were literal hell. It used to be 6 days a week- in a mini bus and dropped off in some random Melbourne suburb with a list of doors to knock on. I was terrified at each door and pray they wouldn’t answer. People could be very rude (one person set their dog on me!) but most people were polite.
It was a typical backpacker job where they sold it as “marketing” and hyped up parties in exclusive clubs with free alcohol (most of which was gone by the time any of the sales people got there) and chants in the morning. It was hell. So many people would come for one day and then we would never see them again.
One week they drove us out to the sticks and I knocked on this Englishman’s door- he invited me in (I sat in SO many stranger’s houses, luckily they were all nice and would feed me!) and told me to go back to Melbourne he could see how miserable I was. I just left and took two buses and three trains back to Flinders Street. I felt so relieved.
Even 10 years later when I’m having a crappy day at work I think back on that awful job and I still feel I want to apply for any jobs I see advertised as if I’m still trying to escape it!

 

[TeaNoSugar]

After a few months taking a break from leaving school I spent 4 or 5 months as a checkout girl at B&M. Hated it!

The till machine was always failing. Or the conveyer belt would break. Some of the customers were quite obnoxious as well.

 

[Ohflogoff]

Sorting the jewellery in Matalan. duck me it was bad. I left after one shift.

 

[ginamarcella]

I worked at a local bakery for four months after A-levels. The working hours were horrid, even though I wasn't baking, only selling. Would have to get up at 4:30 three times a week but not get off until 4 pm, because I had these really odd shifts with a 2 hour lunch break. It messed with my sleep schedule so much, because I just couldn't get into a routine. My colleagues were all super annoying, I got so many inappropriate comments from older men while working there and I mostly had to do the jobs my colleagues didn't want to do (clean, make salads with oddly specific instructions etc.).

 

[Pinkblush]

In north queensland, I worked on an avocado farm putting stickers on avocados from 6am - 6pm. The farmer was an irishman who was always so bad tempered. Always screaming orders. One day I'd missed a few avocados in my batch and he threw one at me leaving me with a black eye.
I packed up and left that evening making sure I let down the tyres on his truck on my way out.

 

[Ohflogoff]

In north queensland, I worked on an avocado farm putting stickers on avocados from 6am - 6pm. The farmer was an irishman who was always so bad tempered. Always screaming orders. One day I'd missed a few avocados in my batch and he threw one at me leaving me with a black eye.
I packed up and left that evening making sure I let down the tyres on his truck on my way out.

What the actual name of hell? Jesus Christ. That’s hardcore.

 

[bubbadabut]

Data input. My first ever job and I left after 2 days. The work was boring as hell, basically what it says...you were given a pile of receipts and had to input the numbers off them. I don't mind a bit of monotony but combined with the people that were also working there, nope.

 

[Phoenix Lazarus]

combined with the people that were also working there, nope.

What were they like?

 

[under the ivy]

I applied for a job in marketing (or so I thought) prior to going to university. It turned out it was one of those jobs where people try and sell you internet , sky TV etc in the street. I didn’t know it was this and got set up with the stall. Said to the guy I was with I was just nipping into Boots to get a bottle of water... and never came back

 

[Pixipoppy]

I worked in a call centre part time when I was about 20, it was around uni so I only used to do a few shifts a week but my god it was soul destroying. I just felt so sorry for the people that worked there full time! It was good for me at the time, they paid weekly and it was just extra drinks money - I did it for about 6 months then couldn’t carry on as I was dreading every shift!

 

[ClockworkDolly]

In north queensland, I worked on an avocado farm putting stickers on avocados from 6am - 6pm. The farmer was an irishman who was always so bad tempered. Always screaming orders. One day I'd missed a few avocados in my batch and he threw one at me leaving me with a black eye.
I packed up and left that evening making sure I let down the tyres on his truck on my way out.

Ha, ha, at least you got your own back on him.

I would have shoved an avocado up his exhaust too.

 

[Ohflogoff]

I applied for a job in marketing (or so I thought) prior to going to university. It turned out it was one of those jobs where people try and sell you internet , sky TV etc in the street. I didn’t know it was this and got set up with the stall. Said to the guy I was with I was just nipping into Boots to get a bottle of water... and never came back

Haha I did this with my first shift in MacDonalds. I was 15, the boss propositioned me. He was old. Looking back he was trying to groom me.

 

[Phoenix Lazarus]

I worked in a call centre part time when I was about 20, it was around uni so I only used to do a few shifts a week but my god it was soul destroying. I just felt so sorry for the people that worked there full time! It was good for me at the time, they paid weekly and it was just extra drinks money - I did it for about 6 months then couldn’t carry on as I was dreading every shift!

I worked in a call centre. Let me guess, about three-quarter to four-fifths of callers per night were fine but 20 percent to 25 percent gave you all the grief?

 

[DuckDuck]

Pretty much all of them .. ( bar one which was my dream job but I had to give it up );the one I have at the moment is bleeping disgraceful .. the manager swears at me and she’s a narcissist bleep .. I want to kick her in the fan but it’s not allowed apparently

 

[bubbadabut]

I worked in a call centre part time when I was about 20, it was around uni so I only used to do a few shifts a week but my god it was soul destroying. I just felt so sorry for the people that worked there full time! It was good for me at the time, they paid weekly and it was just extra drinks money - I did it for about 6 months then couldn’t carry on as I was dreading every shift!

That was my second awful job after the first one mentioned above! I managed to last 4 weeks at this one The first 2 weeks were training in an office, not bad, then the next 2 weeks I went 'live' and I was out of there sharpish. 9/11 happened during my time there so I will always remember it for that too. Luckily the next job I had I was there for years and it led me to bigger and better things, so I'm not a total shirker

 

[Pixipoppy]

I worked in a call centre. Let me guess, about three-quarter to four-fifths of callers per night were fine but 20 percent to 25 percent gave you all the grief?

We were outgoing calls so to be honest about 90% were just hang ups or told “no thanks”. 10% would go off on a rant about how they were ex-directory, and then the other 10% would actually do whatever survey we were phoning about! Just monotonous and dull.

 

[bubbadabut]

What were they like?

The most basic kind.

 

[Bubbles Tizzy]

My very first job on leaving school was wrapping rock (the seaside type). I had blisters on top of blisters, as it was all done by hand. I lasted four days. Terrible job. I have since then work in offices in accounts and most have been ok although a few of the offices were so witchy. I love my job now - I do accounts for a small building firm and love it.

 

[Cunderthunt]

When I was 14 me and my brother used to walk the neighbour's horrible yappy little dog. She looked like a Yorkie-coloured wire-haired Jack Russell. She had the most unpleasant, highest pitched bark I've ever heard. She would constantly go up and harass people and bark at them. She was completely untrainable. Least endearing dog ever. But the worst thing of all was that she was a tit machine. I don't know how such a small dog managed to produce so much. She would do 3-5 full sized people every walk

 

[JoeBloggs]

I was on a year out at 19 and I did about two weeks in a pub. I am quite a shy person, wasn't a drinker so really struggled with orders as most were regulars. The owners sat at the end of the bar getting tit faced and were quite rude. I did an afternoon shift and the chef made me a sandwich after service as the owners wouldn't let me take a break. I managed to get another job and just left, pretty sure they did me out of money but I couldn't be bothered to fight it.