Unfiltered Story #205776

(I was working on tech support. This was my first job ever and the first couple of months in it, so I was still getting used to both the job itself and having a job.)

(Part of it was to go to different offices in the city, who paid us for tech support, and ensuring that all their computers are malware-free, have the latest updates and so on. I was only meant to work on PCs.)

(That day I was sent to a small office I’d never been to before and when I arrived the boss wasn’t there but the secretary let me in. I began working on her computer and we made small talk, all very polite.)

Secretary: Oh, by the way, my boss also asked if you could take a look at the fax machine in her office. It’s stopped receiving faxes.

Me: I don’t know a lot about fax machines but I can take a quick look.

(I decided to examine the fax machine while I was waiting for a process on the computers to finish. I looked at the basic things I could think of: All cables connected, it wasn’t out of paper, I could call it from a phone etc.)

Me: Sorry, I can’t figure out why it’s not working.

Secretary: Oh well, you tried.

(I continued working with the computers and talking with the secretary. When I was almost finished, the boss arrived.)

Her boss: Oh, are you the technician? Is everything OK?

Me: Yes, I’m almost finished.

Her boss: So the fax is working again?

Me: No, I don’t know what’s wrong with it. I think you’ll have to call someone to take a look at it.

Her boss: (Suddenly erupted and started to yell) Are you serious? You’ve been here however many hours and you still haven’t fixed my fax? What am I paying you people for? I can’t receive faxes and I’m LOSING MONEY! And if you can’t fix it you should have told me earlier so I could have called a PROPER technician to fix it, so that I wouldn’t be LOSING MONEY! I must have missed so many faxes all this time and this means LOSING MONEY!

(She proceeded to yell at me for what felt like several long minutes. The secretary had gone quiet, looking away from both of us and appearing very embarrassed, while I was fighting to not cry. The boss eventually signed the receipt that meant to prove I was there and worked and let me go.)

(I managed to leave the building before I sat down and cried somewhere. I’d never been yelled at like that before, especially for something that wasn’t my fault anyway. Once I composed myself, I called my own boss to tell him what had happened.)

My boss: Are you serious? We have nothing to do with fax machines! It was nice of you to take a look at it but not even I would think of anything else to test. And then she yells at you too? I’m never sending you there again!

(He also used some words to characterise the angry woman, which I’d never use myself and would in fact oppose their use by anyone, but I have to admit that at that time it really did make me feel a lot better. I never went to that office again and I think we stopped supporting them entirely.)