Interviewer: Have you ever had to deal with rude or irate clients over the telephone?
Asian interviewee: Yes, at my last job I had to call the USA, and you know how rude they can be.
Interviewer: Yes, I know all too well, considering I am American and so is this company. This interview is now finished. Try not to hit my car on your way out of the parking lot…You know how Asians can’t drive!
Toronto, Ontario
Canadia
Overheard by: Elle (the other interviewer)
Boss: Does anyone have any questions?
Employee asks involved question.
Boss: You know what? I have a million questions that you cannot answer.
Employee: But you asked if anyone had any questions.
Boss: Yeah, and if I asked if anyone had to go to the bathroom, I wouldn’t expect you to whip it out and take a whiz right here.
Stamford, Connecticut
Overheard by: Spacing Out
Travel agent: Where were you looking to take a cruise to?
Client: Do they have cruises to Las Vegas?
Proctor Street
Tacoma, Washington
Overheard by: potitia
Co-Worker #1: So is Mumbai, like, a country that we do business with?
Co-Worker #2: No, it’s a city! It used to be called Bombay before those imperialist American jerks finally pulled out and the native people got their land back.
Co-Worker #1: Oh. So it was Moscow that was the country I was thinking of?
Co-Worker #2: Probably.
323B 41st Avenue
Calgary, Canadia
Desk clerk on phone: No, ma’am, you don’t need a cable for the wireless network.
328 West Lane Avenue
Columbus, Ohio
Overheard by: Amused, if I wasn’t dealing with the same idiot
Dumb girl: So if it is like 6 in California then it’s like 6:30 in Nevada, right?
Dumber girl: No, Nevada’s really close to Cali. It’s probably only like 6:15.
6397 Springfield Mall
Springfield, Virginia
Overheard by: marshamellow
Boss: So, I have a problem with giving you the job, even though I know you can do it.
Worker: What’s the issue?
Boss: You seem to be annoyed with us, and you’re not upbeat enough after what happened.
Worker: What happened is that I lived the values, delivered on everything, then the organization totally screwed me over, gave my job to someone else, and left me to languish for a year with no certainty about my future. Now you’re saying you can’t give me another job because you’ve been such dickheads?
Boss: I know it sounds bad.
388 George Street
Sydney, Australia
Math genius on the phone: It doesn’t really matter to me. It’s, like, 12 of one or half a dozen of the other.
333 2nd Avenue
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Overheard by: Over-qualified, obviously
Employee: Can I help you find something?
Female customer: No…Actually, yes. I can’t find any CDs by Devo.
Employee: Hm. What genre?
Girl: I would say rock, but…
Employee: D-I-V-O?
Girl: No, D-E-V-O.
Employee: That sounds really familiar. Let me go take a look. [Starts to turn]Girl: Yeah, “Whip it!” [Makes whip crack motion]
Employee looks hurt and oblivious as he walks away.
1515 West Highway 114
Grapevine, Texas
Telephone customer: Hi, I need to find the international rates for calling to France.
Local phone operator: France? That’s in England, right?
55 Water Street
New York, New York
Overheard by: disbelief
