Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
38 Examples Of Grown-Ups Who Needed Explanations About Something Absolutely Basic, As Told Online
Interview With Expert
The great ancient philosopher Socrates is credited with the famous phrase: "I know that I know nothing." Well, this could very well be trolling, given the sage's character, as recounted by his contemporaries. However, it's more likely simply a hint that nothing in the world can be considered completely obvious.
At different times and in different places on our planet, there have been numerous views on what constitutes basic knowledge. From basic prayer texts to multiplication tables, from social etiquette to children's tongue twisters - however, as it turns out, there's always an adult who doesn't know something you consider elementary. Want examples? Voila - here are dozens of proofs!
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I've had so many conversations with adults who do not understand how government benefits work or hell how their own medicaid works and I have talked to a few *that didn't even know they were on medicaid*. They never questioned why they never paid for doctors visits and medication while also not paying anything for health insurance.
I have seen someone ask for 10k in rental assistance, thinking that their local human services office can just hand over 10 grand to everyone who asks.
They also deny they are in the exact same position as people they loudly complain are freeloaders taking advantage of a system. So it's alright that you get food stamps, daycare assistance, medicaid, section 8 and gas vouchers but God forbid someone you decide you don't like gets half that.
WindySwede 3 months ago
"Well I like those things, just for me, just not any others! I'm not paying for those!"
Geoffrey Scott 3 months ago (edited)
Ironically enough my wife is on SSDI. She once remarked, after a checkout clerk asked if the 40# box of chicken for $20 would qualify as a SNAP(food stamp) expense, about how she is working and collecting benefits. "Yes dear, and did you know people say the same thing about you?" (She is allowed to earn $1000/month for substantial gainful activity in addition to her SSDI benefit).."Yeah, but THAT'S different". "so, what you're saying is it's ok for you to draw from the same system you contribute to, but not for her?"...silence. I told that clerk taxpayers would be thrilled with her making such a wise purchase.
Kelly Scott 3 months ago (edited)
To be honest, trying to understand Medicaid and benefits is difficult at best. For instance, I used to be on Medicaid. Years later, I still get called into the office to see if still qualify for Medicaid. I never do but they still require me to show up. Who could blame me if I didn't know whether or not I knew I was on Medicaid? One thing I never worry about is whether or not I deserve any public aid. Not after 2008 and seeing all those corporations taking federal welfare payments and bailouts. And especially when I see our congressmen and senators using MY tax dollars to subsidize THEIR health care when I can't afford health care for myself.
angelmomoffour62 3 months ago (edited)
I dislike the one that you can get cash assistance but only if you have kids. For one I can't help it that my kids were killed. I do not like this one I was being sarcastic. People who don't have kids struggle just like people with kids.
RELATED:
#2
My ex was convinced that tampons were inserted and then you yank the cord like a f*****g rip cord and it inflates up in there like a g*****n lifeboat. He really truly believed that with all his stupid, idiot heart.
Binky Melnik 3 months ago
But all he had to do was to open one and pull the cord for the surprise. If he believed this, wouldnt he have found it fun to play with one? Though I spose he’d have thought she’d gotten a box of rejects when they didn’t inflate.
Philly Bob 3 months ago
One morning I thought I'd play a little joke on my woman. So I swapped her tampons with party poppers... no sense of humor, that girl.
Tropical Tarot 3 months ago
OMG! That's a new one. Then my weirdo brain went to maybe pulling the cord like a lawnmower for different sizes. One for slender, 2 for regular and so 9n.
#3
Recently I had to explain to an American friend that a US Tariff is a US tax placed on items imported into the USA. The buyer of the item (importer) has to pay that tax to the IRS. This tax must be passed on to the consumer by the importer. Somehow he had the idea the exporting country paid the tax. Zero clue how an adult could get such an a*s backwards idea.
Austzn 3 months ago
I'm pretty sure many of them think learning and critical thinking is "woke", so....HEADS IN THE SAND!
liam newton-harding 3 months ago
And now it's been admitted that every single cent of "tariff revenue" is going to have to be used to bail out American farmers...again...
Tamra 3 months ago
Who are in this position because of...wait for it...tariffs. Circus monkeys are running the country. No offense to circus monkeys.
Load More Replies...
Jaya 3 months ago
"This tax must be passed on to the consumer by the importer." That's not true, they can choose to increase the price (pass the tax on to the customer), lower their profit, or split the cost (increase the price a bit and lower their profit a bit). In most cases they will pass it on to the customer, but it's not that they are obliged do that. In some cases they will lower the profit. Of course, OP's point still stands that the tariff will be mostly paid by American customers and that it's a stupid idea, but the information itself is not fully correct.
John Dilligaf 3 months ago
"he had the idea the exporting country paid the tax." -- because a felon who lives in public housing told him that was the case
tori Ohno 3 months ago
Because the president said so, that's why. Apparently America is going to get rich because all these foreign countries are paying us In order to bring their products to American people. It's the American people who actually pay it, therefore he and the rest of the government are taking "the people's" money.
Nikole 3 months ago
D**n. And I only wanted my money (tax dollars in this case) to completely unnecessarily bring top military officials together to tell them everyone needs to shave. Fúck Hegseth. I do love that the news usually prefaces a mention of him with, “Former Fox News host”.
Load More Replies...A few days ago, a thread appeared on the AskReddit community where the netizen u/latica_elf asked: "What's the most unbelievable 'wait, you don't get this?' moment you've had with another adult?" Well, in just a couple of days, it garnered over 5K upvotes with nearly 3K various comments.
And you know what? As it turns out, even things that 99% of the world's population would think are common knowledge since preschool can sometimes baffle even adults.
From which direction the sun rises to the number of letters in the English alphabet and the peculiarities of their own bodies - please welcome to this selection of awkward stories about "basic" knowledge made for you by Bored Panda!
#4
A person that didn't want to get solar panels because they were worried if too many people had them it would use up all the sun.
Hugo 3 months ago
Somebody once told me that if we put up more wind turbines we'll extract so much energy that we slow down the rotation of the Earth.
keyboardtek 3 months ago
The tree branches are moving when I feel wind. Therefore trees moving their limbs is the cause of wind.
Load More Replies...
geezeronthehill 3 months ago
Heard about a fellow who didn't want solar panels because they turn the sun's radiation into electricity and he "didn't want nothin' to do with no radiation".
#5
When I was a teenager my mum was convinced I was doing d***s. I needed to wee and even though I was only in the bathroom for like 30 seconds I came out and she was like “Aha! Got you!!!”
She said she knew I was doing d***s in the bathroom because I was on my period and I didn’t have time to change my tampon while I was in there. I told her I hadn’t changed my tampon because it had only been in for like an hour. Then she asked how I had peed without changing my tampon.
That’s how I learned my mum didn’t know that the urethra was seperate from the v****a. I told her I just move the string out the way. She was adamant that it’s impossible to pee with a tampon in because then the pee wouldn’t come out. She was about 50 years old at that time. She still didn’t believe they were different holes. I had to go onto the computer and pull up a diagram and she still refused to believe it, stating “I think I would know if I had two different holes!”
Anyway a few years later when I DID start doing d***s she had no idea.
Rick Murray 3 months ago
I can totally get how a guy mightn't know how many holes a woman has, because s*x ed is lame (and that word being censored for delicate eyes is half the problem), but a *woman* not knowing how many holes she has?!?
Ellinor she/they/elle 3 months ago
It happen a lot more than what you may think.
Load More Replies... 
Mel in Georgia 3 months ago
I had a friend who just started her period (5th grade, I think?) She called me and asked me how many holes there were. This was the early 70s. I said I was pretty sure there were 3. Where you pee, where you poop and where babies come from. Families didn't talk about correct anatomical names!
Mel in Georgia 3 months ago
Also - how did the mom think pee got out if you were pregnant??
Load More Replies...
#6
I once had a co-worker who was quite religious and, in all honesty, not overly blessed with intelligence, tell me she'd had to re-homed her cat. The cat was an unaltered female cat who was allowed outside and got pregnant for a second time. I asked her why she didn't have the cat fixed, and she said she shouldn't have to, the cat should know better than to be out "whoring around," and she would not have an immoral cat in her home. I started to try to gently explain how cats work, but then decided the cat was better off elsewhere.
ETA: I told my partner about this post and was told I need to add one more fun detail to this story. The cat's name was Angel. Really. Angel, and she was a white kitty.
THEPS 3 months ago
Unintelligent religious people are the worst!! They don't know they are ignorant, and they will argue about everything! And they are gullible. They will believe anything if it's related to their religion no matter how unbelievable it is. Actually, it's kind of fun to mess with them.
Binky Melnik 3 months ago
So she didn’t have “the talk” with her cat? She expected the cat to have morals and to know not to be whoring around the neighborhood without it having been explained to her? Poor kitty.
Forrest Hobbs 3 months ago
I can see why this woman was annoyed - I mean, the cat was out whoring, and the owner never saw a single cent of the earnings! 🤣
Lee Gilliland 3 months ago
Well it's her fault, then, for not taking the cat to Sunday school.
Okay, so what exactly constitutes "obvious" knowledge? For example, considering that some people may never encounter the need for certain school-learned knowledge throughout their lives. Like, if someone isn't interested in literature and has worked their entire life in, let’s say, food service or delivery, how basic can knowledge of Shakespeare's plays be considered for them?
Or let’s take geography, for instance. A couple of centuries ago, a young nobleman in a satirical comedy said that it was an "ignoble" science because you could always call a coachman, tell him where you need to go, and he'll take you there. The comedy, of course, was mocking that character.
But that was a long time ago, and today we have online maps, GPS navigation, and a whole bunch of other services that can arguably replace geography. So is it any wonder someone doesn't know the capital of France or China?
#7
Just after Christmas 2023, my now-late husband and I were at the airport, returning from visiting my parents who had loaded us up with gifts. The gate agent informed us that our bag was overweight, and we would be charged something like an additional $200 for it. Realizing that one of the gifts from my parents was a large duffel bag, I asked how much it would cost to add a second bag. Only $50! Great! We’ll step out of line, reshuffle some of the load to the second bag, and be back in a few minutes with two bags of appropriate weight.
My normally bright, well-educated (and kind) husband could not wrap his head around this. Kept looking at and talking to me like I was an absolute idiot for suggesting this. The desk agent tried to explain it too. I was just like “I literally don’t understand how you don’t understand that taking things out of a bag makes it lighter.” The charge is for each individual bag, not the cumulative total. Eventually he agreed (rudely) but didn’t seem like he ever got it.
By mid-January, his behavior had become so erratic (and often mean) that I confronted him, believing he was having a manic episode. I’ll spare the rest of the details but he was dead by March of 2025.
If there is a moral to this story, it’s that I’d like to see more research done on the brain impairment caused by mania and bipolar disorder. There does seem to be some similarity in symptoms to Alzheimer’s but it doesn’t appear that much research has been done in this avenue. .
Smeghead Tribble Down Under 3 months ago
Agree. Lost my father to dementia a month ago today.
Load More Replies...
#8
I was standing outside my office building with a coworker just chit chatting when a gentleman walked past us with a dog wearing a “Service Dog” vest. She immediately said “thank you!” fairly enthusiastically. The guy didn’t break stride but had a confused look on his face. I asked her what that was about and she thought the vest on the dog indicated that he was “in the service” as in served our country. She was thanking the dog.
Joe Publique 3 months ago
Definately more-so than the performative "Thank you for your service" nonsense.
Load More Replies...
#9
Back in the olden days, when checks (or cheques for my Continental friends) were commonly used, I had a signed check in my desk drawer for a delivery I was expecting. I foolishly didn’t have anything filled out, relying on my employee to fill it out when the delivery arrived. Unfortunately, her b*m of a boyfriend found it first, and the first thought in his head that could only hold one thought at a time, was “Free Money!”
He was confounded when he discovered that - gasp! - cancelled checks were returned to the owner. He had made it out to himself, cashed it, and was shocked - shocked, I tell you - when he was arrested.
Jumping Jellyfishes 3 months ago (edited)
Really...? We're censoring "b*m" now? Methinks the site name needs to be changed to "Prudish Panda".
Serena Myers 3 months ago
Yes, BP's censor bot has learned that búm is a rude word, and their advertisers might be upset, it's not the fault of BP in and of itself.
Load More Replies...But no, general erudition and knowledge, no matter how useful online services may be, will always come in handy. Even if you're already used to asking ChatGPT about literally everything. At the very least, to verify the AI's answers. Moreover, your own knowledge gives you a much broader perspective and a level of expertise in a wide variety of areas of life.
For example, this dedicated article at Owlcation claims that having broad knowledge actually helps anyone, at least, start conversations easily, make more informed decisions, keep up with new trends, and generally communicate better with other people around you.
Basically, if you're well-versed in a variety of topics, you'll at least be able to communicate more easily in a wide variety of companies. And that's not to mention potential career advancement.
"Employees who possess a broad understanding of concepts and trends in their industry can contribute to discussions, innovate solutions, and collaborate effectively with colleagues," this post on Alooba reasonably states.
#10
My sister-in-law's boyfriend (much younger than me - Gen Z) thought postboxes were decorative/historical - he was astonished to hear that you could actually put letters into them and someone would come and take them out to deliver them to the recipient.
Serena Myers 3 months ago
Or those of us that can tell the time in Roman numerals, analogue, and digital, or those of us that can write in cursive and read it, or can do "mental arithmetic". We are absolutely amazing, lol.
Load More Replies...
highwaycrossingfrog 3 months ago
There's a scene in The Holdovers (film set in the 70s) where the teenage main character has to make a phone call. Apparently they called action and the young actor had absolutely no idea what to do with a rotary telephone
Börje Strömming 3 months ago
About 5 people on BP will understand what you write, i am one of them. If you can read in English you can write in English correct?
Load More Replies... #11
I’m a construction worker. I was out in a field inspecting for a dirt crew placing storm pipes in the ground, and one of the guys looks up at the sky in awe. He says “Holy s**t, guys… the moon is in the sky during the day!”
He was dead serious; he thought the moon only came out at night. This is a man with a wife and kids. Maybe he never looked at the sky growing up? He had forgotten about the eclipse that was a few weeks before it. The whole crew gave him c**p all day, pointing out obvious stuff like clouds and s**t. “Dude; how can a cloud come out; it’s a sunny day?!”.
Serena Myers 3 months ago
Yes, but how can you see the moon during the day when you can't see the sun at night??? Please don't take my comment seriously!
Shanaaia 3 months ago
Everybody knows that they put curtains over the sun in the evening
Load More Replies... #12
The amount of people that don’t understand how a graduated tax system works hurts my brain. No your entire salary doesn’t get taxed at a higher rate because you went just over the limit into a higher tax bracket.
Apatheist Account2 3 months ago
This is always a dead giveaway for people who've never been in the higher tax bracket.
Geoffrey Scott 3 months ago
"That's why I refuse to work OT, they just take it out in taxes".."no, Jimmy Genius, they don't. Only If you move into the next bracket, which is unlikely for working an 8hr OT shift".
Binny Tutera 3 months ago
I used to work with a woman (massage therapist) who would do only so many massages each week/ month so she’d not fall into the higher bracket. She worked part time, btw.
Day Andie 3 months ago
The whole graduated tax system should be dumped. Flat tax. If I pay 25 percent, so should the billionaires. If they want to pay 10 percent, fine, I should pay that also. NO EXEMPTIONS! No exemptions for any reason. If we're giving corporations the rights of people, they should also pay taxes as people. Amazingly enough, if billionaires alone were held responsible for 10 percent of their wealth, we could fund everything that's covered now and still have money left over.
Steve Kadner 3 months ago
Should they be paying the fixed rate and the 15.3% of FICA on their capital gains profits?
Load More Replies...
Uncle Panda 3 months ago
That's because 'graduation' is usually used for matriculation, not tiers or levels in a hierarchy. Try using 'levelled up' gaming language. "They pay a higher rate because they levelled up into a new class."
Joe Publique 3 months ago
Nevertheless, suppose you just go over the limit into another tax bracket and you also have a company car. In that case, it can absolutely cause you to have less money because it forces more of your cash income to be taxed at a higher rate.
GalPalAl 3 months ago
Unless you have some kind of interest in learning taxes, I am not surprised how many people are in the same boat including me. If you do that for a living, congrats to you. For everyone else, maybe have a little sympathy when helping people understand in real terms. Geez
Michael MacKinnon 3 months ago
Well, you do pay them as part of your public responsibilities. It's kind of in your interest to know about them.
Load More Replies... Ryan-James O'Driscoll 3 months ago
I have met people who cannot grasp this. However there can sometimes be other reasons why people don't want to cross an income threshold, particularly without a significant leap, such as loss of other entitlements which have a monetary value.
By the way, acquiring new knowledge, among other things, can also stimulate our brain, help it develop, and prevent various age-related diseases.
"I've seen medical studies time and again confirming that training our minds and memory at any age is quite effective in preventing the development of various diseases, such as dementia," says Valery Bolgan, a historian and editor-in-chief of the Intent news agency from Ukraine, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment.
At the very least, as the expert claims, various brain training exercises can actually reduce the likelihood of such diseases, and that's already a great thing. Learning new skills, new languages, various intellectual games, and even simply reading books - all of this not only helps us gain knowledge but also truly contributes to a better quality of our lives.
#13
Smart guy I worked with. Had an MBA from a major university. Told me he didn't believe in evolution. Said he had seen single cell animals under a microscope, which proved that they're still here and didn't evolve into us. Dude thought things evolve like f*****g Pokemon.
Doug Moyer 3 months ago
If my family is descended from Germans, how come there are still Germans? Huh? Huh?!?
Squirrel Chaser 3 months ago
Germans are still around? I thought they had all evolved into European Unionites or something.
Load More Replies... 
#14
I just had to explain credit cards to my 73-year-old mother. She didn't know that by paying only the minimum balance, she was racking up interest charges. She also didn't know that you could pay a credit card balance in full each month. Like she didn't know that was allowed. It certainly explains a lot of my upbringing.
Kelly Scott 3 months ago
I was never taught anything about credit cards and made a lot of mistakes, resulting in a bankruptcy. My mother got all snotty with me once and asked, "WHO would give YOU a credit card?" I almost backhanded her across her face and told her if she had done the bare minimum of parenting, including talking to us kids about finances, I wouldn't have had the problems I did, so she needed to shut down the snarkiness NOW.
Apatheist Account2 3 months ago
What I found out, the one time I mistyped the amount to pay, was that they charge interest on the whole original balance, not just the remainder. Hence if your bill was 5000 and you pay 4999, you will still be charged interest on 5000, not 1. Only paying it off fully will avoid interest.
Day Andie 3 months ago
Now that's a really s****y loan. Go to another source, bank or credit union, not a payday lender.
Load More Replies...
Chihuahua Mama 3 months ago (edited)
Assuming their mom had enough money to pay off the credit cards in full each month, I can't imagine how much money she has just handed over to the credit card companies in interests over time!
Verena 3 months ago
Maybe she learned that in some countries you need to build up a "good credit" but getting yourself in debt. Credit cards (and other loans) in Europe work differently. For good credit you need to avoid any debt. Exceptions are mortgages and loans for cars. The bank does not count your payoff-behavior in your advantage, they expect that you pay it off as quickly as possible to reach 0 debt
Joe Publique 3 months ago
Huh? It doesn’t work like that in Europe where I am. ‘Good Credit’ is based on the amount of credit you have available vs the amount you are currently using. Below 40% will net you the best score, and your payment history is extremely important. Lenders like to see a long, stable history of managing different types of credit responsibly. For example, a credit card you've had for 10 years with a running balance is better for your score than one you've had for 6 months with a 0 balance.
Load More Replies...
Troy Parr 3 months ago
I know that times have changed, but it used to be that the very worst thing you could do with a credit card was to draw out cash with it. Interest was charged from day one for cash and kept being charged until the entire outstanding balance was paid off, including ordinary purchases with the card. If you ever need to draw cash with your credit card make sure you check the terms of borrowing beforehand.
JL 3 months ago
Did she originally know this? It's possible age and dementia has caused her to forget something like this.
Ripley 3 months ago
I don't think it needs to be age or dementia - I know plenty of people in their 70s who are as sharp as a tack. The issue is that financial literacy for so many people is just not there - and it's not aided by financial institutions who want people to be ignorant so they can make more money off them.
Load More Replies... #15
I used to work with attorneys (I’m in law school now, so I guess I still do, but f**k this old job I had) and was FLOORED by the number of attorneys who don’t know how email works. Like, I’d explain I was emailing them a link that would take them exactly where they needed to go and they’d put me on hold to get their secretary to come operate their email for them.
Rick Murray 3 months ago
I had a mechanic like that. He could strip down a 2CV blindfolded, but anything more high tech than a fax machine and he was lost. Had to pay him cash or cheques because the card reader...sitting in the corner never plugged in. He got scared off a thing he already despised when a customer screamed at him for trying to charge twenty five grand (he just missed the decimal point). Oh, and if you needed breakdown, you had to call his wife on the landline and she would go and yell directions in his ear. Mobile phones didn't exist in his reality.
GalPalAl 3 months ago
I think some of this is the industry and some of it attribute to age. If the college I went to in the late 90's hadn't forced us to use word processing and email to communicate, it would have been challenging to learn as much as I did after I graduated.
Nicole Weymann 3 months ago
My father is 70 YO. I'm baffled at how he likes to install and test out different system software on his pc (he's not a fan of MS Windows, prefers linux, of which there are hundreds of versions out there), which is all Greek to me. That clever man doesn't use his debit card (nevermind credit cards - it's cash only), and up to six months ago was adamantly refusing to get a mobile phone, because "it's all too complicated". He only got one recently - and now he's glued to the screen for an hour or three per evening, playing sudoku, kakuro, and other number puzzles, and already answers his group chats.
Load More Replies...
Nadine Lynch 3 months ago
Yeah, I worked for lawyers, too. Part of it was age, but part was just having had a secretary for so long to take care of the tasks many of the lawyers believed were "beneath them." Why bother to learn? There were plenty of more lucrative things to think about.
Bjørn Langbakk 3 months ago
USA er etter min mening, så gammeldags at dem fortsatt bruker datamaskiner og bruker sjekker for å betale for produkter kjøpt i butikken.
We do hope we've at least partially convinced you that knowledge is very useful, even in our contemporary world, where artificial intelligence is ready to do everything for us, even to learn something new. In any case, please feel free to read these stories and maybe add your own if you have something similar under your belt. After all, ain’t reading new, interesting tales also incredibly useful?
#16
My American friend didn't quite understand the concept of other countries knowing and speaking different languages.
"You're Swedish right? Do you speak English with your family?"
"N-no, I speak Swedish with my family."
"Ah... How did you learn Swedish?"
What followed was a bizarre explanation about native tongues, overlapping languages, and earth-shattering realization that "American" just like "Mexican" and "Brazilian" aren't languages, and that most houses in Europe are older than the United States.
WindySwede 3 months ago
Haha, Swedish is just something we do with tourists and when impersonating The Swedish Chef!
Forrest Hobbs 3 months ago
JL: in Doctor Who, they're all speaking alien, but the Tardis does the translation. In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, it's taken care of with the Babel Fish. Other SF scenarios deal with the issue sensibly; some ignore it.
Load More Replies...
UKGrandad 3 months ago
A couple of years ago I was stood in a queue behind a middle-aged couple who in turn were behind a young woman and a little boy of about 6. The young woman and boy were chatting in Polish, and after a couple of minutes the woman in front of me turned to her husband and asked 'Have you heard how clever that boy is?" Her husband asked what she meant and she said 'Well, he's only little and he already speaks a foreign language'.
Anne Roberts 3 months ago
The US is one of the few countries that doesn't seem to place a priority on learning another language. I taught for 42 years and know that children can learn other languages quicker than adults. It helps in so many ways to be able to communicate with others and to increase brain development.
Forrest Hobbs 3 months ago
Anne Roberts: ahem! Shout out for England! I'm English and we're famous for not bothering with other languages either. Not all of us, but... 😬
Load More Replies... Apatheist Account2 3 months ago
I'm not sure it's "most" houses - posh ones yes, but a lot of Europe was built in the 19th century and rebuilt after WWII.
Kristiina Männiste 3 months ago
My house is 15 years old. But my neighbors family has been living in their place since the 1600-ies. I saw the historic maps where their homestead and name are noted. I think the house has been remodeled and rebuilt, as its a wooden peasant house and cant keep that long in the Estonian rains. But it is still located in the same spot over 400 years later.
Load More Replies...
Sparky 3 months ago
It always amazes me how people who move to a foreign country will often just throw their young children into school (presumably primary age) and the children pick it up in fairly short order. Children are like sponges. I struggled to learn French and German in high school so I would back policy that would teach a second language in primary school. It would have saved me a lot of embarrassment and arm waving when on holiday in France lol. To be fair though once I started trying to speak it, a fair amount came back to me.
Maggie Fulton 3 months ago
I had. Mormon who had come back from doing his mission in South America ask, in all seriousness, why people spoke in Spanish when they all thought in En.
#17
I was in the Air Force for 10 years. Most important documents in the Air Force are PDFs. I lost track of how many times I had to show someone CTRL-F. It was like watching cavemen discover fire.
GalPalAl 3 months ago
Plenty of people on't know how to use copy and paste either. Again, maybe time, resources and age. Keep in mind, computers for home use is still a relatively new invention.
Papa 3 months ago
I make my living sitting in front of a computer, and am very familiar with Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, but I am not ashamed to admit that I had to Google Ctrl+F.
Load More Replies...
#18
Oh boy. Had to tell a principal what “d***o” meant. A kid called another kid that on our way outside, and I pulled him aside and he told me he didn’t know what it means, so I just told him we don’t call people other words, especially when we don’t know what it means.
My principal saw, asked me what happened, and I told her the situation. She said “what’s so bad about that”? Apparently, she thought it had something to do with an armadillo.
Robert Beveridge 3 months ago
Everything is a dîldō if you're brave enough...
Load More Replies...
Forrest Hobbs 3 months ago
Tim Fawcett: I'm usually firmly opposed to the death penalty. But sometimes... 🤣🤣🤣
Load More Replies... Lukas (he/him, it/its) 3 months ago (edited)
Reminds me of when this girl we were fostering called me a b*****d when I was maybe seven. My father heard and she got in trouble, and I was confused and asked him what the word meant. My father told me it meant your parents weren't married when they had you, and my response was, "Why are you getting her in trouble? It's true!" (I was adopted and my bio parents were indeed unmarried.)
Jumping Jellyfishes 3 months ago (edited)
Oh... OH!! Geez.. there was a slang term I remember being used in the 70s. Kids used to call other kids something like, "you dill" (like a dill pickle?) as an insult. I just realized it was really just short for "dìldo". Holy cow! TIL ...
nottheactualphoto 3 months ago
Yes! I remember "dill weed" and "dill hole" used as insults.
Load More Replies...
GalPalAl 3 months ago
Same thing happened to me in elementary school after other kids got in trouble referring to someone as a w***e
Tropical Tarot 3 months ago
Okay, there is an item called the armadillo, just seems a standard item. Then there is one called the armadíldó with scales which seems to be available in the UAE and Dubai. And quite a few interesting drawings and memes.
#19
Freshman college kids renting apartment. Mice problem (big U.S. city). Both Exterminator and I told them to keep food in fridge or hard plastic or metal container. Make it difficult for mice to find food and they’ll go elsewhere. We also put out a couple of traps.
Go back a week later and they had an OPEN box of cereal next to a mousetrap. Still experiencing mice. When I reiterated putting food in hard containers to deter mice, they thought they would catch the one or two mice with cereal and be done. Had to explain there are MILLIONS of mice in the city and catching one was not going to solve the problem. 🤦🏻♀️.
Geoffrey Scott 3 months ago
School custodian here: Teacher: "Why do I keep getting bugs and mice in my room?" .."Let's try this, put all these crackers and cookies in a sealed container and I'll circle back on that".
The Other Guest 3 months ago
Which is a darn difficult thing to do, considering roaches can eat pretty much anything including hair, soap, book bindings, each other...
Load More Replies... #20
Had to explain to an ex-boyfriend that there are such things as continents and there wasn't just Europe. He couldn't understand why Australia (at the time) and America weren't in the Eurovision song contest. Also thought the continent of Africa was in fact one whole country. His mind was blown when I showed him a map....
Also had to get the history books out as he believed dinosaurs were made up and weren't real - had to explain evolution. He couldn't understand it.
Apatheist Account2 3 months ago
Despite all the fancy names for it, some people are just thick.
Peeka_Mimi 3 months ago
I have an ex that didn't understand the definition of appreciate. I said I appreciate your position and he got mad at me because he thought it meant as in appreciating a gift. Trying to explain that words often have several meanings was just something he did not understand. He was tr@sh though. He thought he was smarter than everyone else and he was dumb as a box of rocks.
Dane 3 months ago
My guess, given the dinosaur thing, would be home-schooled, or possibly a poor (protestant) parochial school. Coincidentally, both explain what has been happening in the US...a lack of understanding of basic science behind climate change, the inability to recognize that reducing taxes increases budget deficits, the belief that dinosaurs and humans coexisted in the past, etc.
#21
I had to explain to my coworker M 33 that the sun always rises in the east and sets in the west. After I told them that they said "every day?".
Hugo 3 months ago
I once flew overnight from Frankfurt to Los Angeles. The great-circle route crosses the southern tip of Greenland, where the plane is flying faster than the Earth turns. I saw the sun rise and then set behind us, later to rise a second time. Can the flat-Earthers explain that?
Rick Murray 3 months ago
No, not every day. Sometimes it takes Sunday or the odd Bank Holiday Monday off. Sun needs to rest too you know, it's hard work charging up all those solar panels.
Joe Publique 3 months ago
I worked with someone once who thought it took less time to fly from London to Australia than it did to fly back because on the way there, it was 'all downhill'. She also could not comprehend time zones. She was 20.
LooseSeal's $10 Banana 3 months ago
Except for when it rises in the North, as one scout leader attempted to explain.
Tropical Tarot 3 months ago
No it goes west to east.. Everything goes in the opposite direction in Australia. /s
Load More Replies...
#22
My friend and I did a survey for $10 each. When we were through the guy made us wait because he only had a twenty. We offered to just take the twenty and split it ourselves; he didn't like that. Then I offered to accept the twenty and give him ten dollars change so he could pay my friend, he stood and stared at me with the gears loudly clanking in his head for maybe 15 seconds, then he says " no, we're just going to wait for change".
Rick Murray 3 months ago
It's getting like that with checkout girls these days. Sometimes I just tell her to count what I have her and put it into the till...and she stares at the nice even whole amount to give me back like I've just invented magic or something. Jeez, *I* have dyscalculia and I can work this out, what the f**k is your excuse?!?
Binky Melnik 3 months ago (edited)
It’s been about a year since I’ve stopped giving cashiers change so I get a quarter back. If I my total is $4.80 and I hand over a five and a nickel, nine times out of ten it causes the cashier’s brain to freeze. I smile and say “I need a quarter back,” then their brains reboot and it takes even longer. They eventually hand me my nickel back and reach in for two dimes, and before they close the register, I hand back the nickel and ask for a quarter. They make NO connection with what went on earlier. Nowadays, I just hang onto my change and when they’re done, THEN I ask for what I want so their heads don’t explode and get sawdust all over me.
#23
I was checking out at Target at the u-scan and knew an item I was buying was 20% off. When I scanned it, it was going from 109.99 to 103.99 - not 20%! So I called an employee over and explained the situation and she was confused. She was telling me that I got the sale with the 103.99 price. When I said that 20% off 109.99 would be 87.99 she got an attitude and literally said “no it’s not ma’am, it’s only a couple cents!” She was speaking to me like I was trying to run one over on her. I was floored that she didn’t understand basic math - she had to be mid 20s. How do you calculate tips if you don’t know what 20% of something is or think it’s only a couple cents?!? I’m still shocked by this!
Ryan-James O'Driscoll 3 months ago
I've worked in retail alongside some wonderful people. There are many reasons why people might work in that industry, each unique to the individual. Unfortunately "too stupid to do anything else" is one reason.
Kelly Scott 3 months ago
I started having family problems in high school and when that happens, school? Pfft. So I missed a great many math classes. And yes, they graduated me. In my 20s, I went to community college and had to start over with - I kid you not - basic arithmetic. I didn't know how to do fractions, decimals or percentages. And I worked in a bank! But at least I knew I didn't know anything and after working my way through the math classes in college, I ended up taking a physics class.
Geoffrey Scott 3 months ago (edited)
Love my wife, but when it comes to figuring out tipping she is lost' "What's 10% of $75?"..."I don't know!..oh, wait..$7.50" .."correct, now double it".."this is too hard"..sigh.
K Barnes 3 months ago
I've noticed that more retail staff have a really hard time counting back change without a screen in the past 5 or so years. For example, if the total is 13.25 and you give them 20$ the screen says to give 6.75 change. If I say "oh, I have a quarter" they freeze and don't know what to do, sometimes calling over help. They can't recalculate.
Huddo's sister 3 months ago
I don't live anywhere I have to calculate tips, and I've never been good at percentages. Even with my mum explaining each time I ask, what 10% is, therefore what 20%, 30% etc would be, I just can't do it. Instead I give an extremely broad estimate in my head and don't check the final price, so I could be ripped off many times. My brain just freezes when there is 'higher level' mental maths needed.
Lukas (he/him, it/its) 3 months ago
And then there's all the older generations reposting every blatantly AI story and image that comes across their Facebook like it's real. All the generations have issues, cut the b******t.
Load More Replies...
#24
I was consulting for somebody who had a successful business, but was looking to for investments to expand. Was looking at his pitch deck and the conversation went something like this.
Me - "I'm not mathematician, but even at close glance, your numbers are wrong."
Him - "impossible."
Turns out, I was right. This muppet didn't know the difference between "gross" and "net." How the f**k he managed to stay out of the red still baffles me to this day. I think if he had been in a traditional industry, he would've been f****d honestly lol.
Had another guy in a meeting raise his hand as we were going through something I put together.
Him - "I'm a little confused. Who is this Roy fella."
Me - "Roy? There are no names in that document."
He didn't know what ROI was and thought it was a different spelling for Roy.
Robert Beveridge 3 months ago
Given that this guy is a business consultant, I'm guessing in this context it's Return on Investment.
Load More Replies...
Blackmoon The Dragon 3 months ago
How can you be in finance and not know what ROI is? that's LITERALLY YOUR WHOLE GOAL.
TiNaBoNiNa 3 months ago
Net catches all of your pay. It's Gross what you get paid after taxes.
#25
I was chatting with an older woman. She mentioned a shark attack at Cape Cod and said "It's such a shame. I don't know why Mass doesn't do what Florida did." Confused I said "Oh, what did Florida do?" "Oh they built a shark proof fence all the way around the whole state."
I just kind of blinked at her.
WindySwede 3 months ago
Just like the shark does outside the floridian fence, trying to lure human pray to swim outside the said thing?
Jumping Jellyfishes 3 months ago
Nah. The alligators are snagging an occasional human and then climbing over the fence to give it to sharks.
Load More Replies...
#26
I had an in-law try to tell me how morally reprehensible people were in third-world counties who do the mining/tree-cutting/insert-environmentally-damaging-practice-here. And she wasn't talking about the companies or the leaders, but the basic workers. When I said people will do pretty much anything to be able to feed their families, she just responded that they should let their families starve to death instead of cutting down trees in the rainforest. And that's what she would do.
I was flabbergasted. .
liam newton-harding 3 months ago
Bet she considered herself one of those "good christians" too...
#27
Guy at my first base got a girl pregnant and didn't understand how. We asked him if he knew how babies were made, and he legit 100% believed that you could have s*x all you wanted but wouldn't get pregnant unless you were married.
Trillian 3 months ago
Oh, come on, he must have heard about children born out of wedlock? There is lack of education and there is is just simply being dense.
Nicole Weymann 3 months ago
Unless you *actually think* about it and reason out the implications I guess it can escape any number of people. It's surprising how many things can pass by the naive, the obtuse, the oblivious, the inattentive, and the disinterested.
Load More Replies...
Patsy Robins 3 months ago
As a midwife, explaining to a woman that breastfeeding is NOT contraception, and if you’re not using any protection, you could potentially get pregnant. She looked more and more confused, and eventually said, “I just don’t understand how I can get pregnant if I’m not having s*x.” Didn’t think I needed to add that proviso during a discussion specifically about contraception 🤦♀️
Nicole Weymann 3 months ago
Just for the records: would you have to be married *to each other*? 🤔😂
#28
Oh so much. I’ve met adults, like in their late 30s-40s, who don’t know what a tracking number is (for shipping packages). Who don’t know how to use libraries (I’ve seen this in more young adults lately). Who don’t know how to use email!
Kelly Scott 3 months ago
The number of older kids - and we're talking, say, 10 to 12 years old - that don't know they're NOT supposed to run and scream in a library would shock the s**t out of you. I tell them to stop running because the library is not a playground and their mother's have a fit, saying they're just kids. So I tell the mothers that something is going on here. Either they, the mothers, are too stupid to teach their kids how to behave in a library or the kids are too stupid to learn, so which is it? The mothers shut up about that point.
Load More Replies... Patsy Robins 3 months ago (edited)
As a healthcare worker, I’m noticing young adults don’t understand what an oral thermometer is. I hold out the probe & they look blank; I tell them it goes under their tongue and THEN, I have to tell them to close their mouth. They’ve honestly never experienced have their temperature taken orally.
#29
F*****g REPLY ALL on emails where I've included you and another person on purpose. Don't just reply to me. Especially if I keep re-adding that second recipient with every reply! Especially if your job relies on email communication and you've likely grew up with the internet, no excuses!
I'm astonished how often I am have to explicitly ask people "please reply all to keep so and so in the conversation", in the year of your lord 2025.
Trillian 3 months ago (edited)
We spent quite some time to weed out the "reply all" epidemic in the early 2000. Please use a d**n group chat.
Apatheist Account2 3 months ago
Ditto. I got fed up at my last company - we didn't all need to know that you were going to join someone for lunch. It peaked when the boss asked everyone to confirm their personal details, even said explicitly to reply only to her, and someone still hit reply all. The email etiquette is very simple: send it TO those who need to do something, and CC those who need to know but not do anything, and don't send it to anyone else (I won't mention BCC in case bosses are reading this).
Load More Replies... Michael MacKinnon 3 months ago
While finishing up my degree I was working in our defence department in the 1990s, and ran into one of those endless "stop replying to me" / "please remove me" chains. Finally someone wrote (still on reply all) "Who's the freaking more on (to paraphrase) who started this!!!" -- scrolling down the chain (which, of course, the last person failed to do), I saw the user ID for the (Rear Admiral) Atlantic Fleet Commander, Halifax.
nottheactualphoto 3 months ago
High-level commanders (not Commanders) are sometimes not the most technically astute people.
Load More Replies...
Liz Strevens 3 months ago
The opposite is just as annoying: doing 'reply all' when they just want to message the original sender.
Ripley 3 months ago
It could be so much worse - when someone sends a company-wide email by mistake, and 2,147 numpties send a "reply all" email to say "you sent this to everyone, please take me off the list", thus cluttering up the email server for hours.
nottheactualphoto 3 months ago
I've heard of mail servers being brought to their knees by such shenanigans.
Load More Replies...
Khavrinen 3 months ago
The one that drives me crazy at work is how many people cannot grasp the difference between "Close" and "Minimize", and don't know how to switch between active programs. The time-clock program we use requires a supervisor log-in, so we have to go chase one down every time someone unthinkingly shuts it down when they want to access some other program.
#30
The last election. A young work colleague. "I dont know who to vote for. No-one's ever told me who to vote for.".
Anthony Elmore 3 months ago
"Are you secretly repressing bi-curiosity by being angry that gay people might find you attractive? Or are you a well-adjusted adult?"
Load More Replies...
LooseSeal's $10 Banana 3 months ago
Then please don't vote. If you're waiting to be told who to vote for, then you have no business voting.
Nicole Weymann 3 months ago
Fair point - but then any number of people are already doing so anyway. I think it would all balance out far better if voting was mandatory, not an obstacle course only for "the really determined ones among those who have the right to vote". In other democratic countries voting is mandatory, or at least made easy by the government and unless you were sentenced for actively trying to overthrow the government even prisoners take part in the elections.
Load More Replies... Anne Roberts 3 months ago (edited)
That's what a free election is supposed to be. YOU decide who to vote for. Of course, these days that is in question. ☹️
#31
My friend, a nice guy and everything, has always been struggling to make ends meet (also due to some questionable choices), and through the years I've had to explain him that the following ideas wouldn't have given him "the extra income I need":
* MLM (merch-less, but still a ponzi scheme)
* online trading
* crypto
* AI-generated content
* dropshipping
Basically ANY "get rich quick" scheme advertised online over the last 10-15 years
Like dude, come on, you're 50, not 15. You've been around long enough to know what is blatant fraudolent advertisement and what 'could' actually work.
Peeka_Mimi 3 months ago
I used to help my mom and Nany sell Avon. I started selling it myself just out of nostalgia and it was not economically viable. I miss it though only because it reminds me of my mom and Nany.
Anthony Elmore 3 months ago (edited)
Online trading and crypto can make you a decent chunk of change, but it's important to remember that A) You have to actually keep your thumb on the market's pulse. It's like actual work having to monitor everything, especially if you do the safer thing and invest in diverse things. B) The market is not (ok, mostly not) dumb. It is filled with people, just like you, who want to get rich. They know the same, if not more, tricks than you know. C) That being said, it's also true that "The market can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent." If you play chicken with the market, it will win, out of spite if nothing else.
#32
The amount of adults who don't understand the concept of compound interest never fails to astound me.
Joe Publique 3 months ago
The number of adults who don't understand the difference between countable and uncountable nouns never fails to astound me. I wish there were fewer rather than less.
highwaycrossingfrog 3 months ago
Fewer vs less as an inviolable grammatical rule is a misconception https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/fewer-vs-less
Load More Replies...
Austzn 3 months ago
If anyone is curious about the math behind this, it is known as the "time value of money".
Blackmoon The Dragon 3 months ago
I've never heard it referred to that way, but it definitely makes sense... money staying in one place can help build things, and over time it can do returns, which I guess is the whole idea of interest?
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 3 months ago
This is one of the few things I remember clearly from our financial maths units in high school. As boring as that topic was, I am glad it was mandatory in year 10.
#33
"I don't understand that s**t, I mean, where _does_ the sun go at night?!" when talking to someone about the relative size of planets... .
The Commentator 3 months ago
Does anyone mind explaining this to me? Thanks!
Load More Replies... Hugo 3 months ago
Surely it just pops back on the underside of the Earth, ready to rise again in the east next morning?
Michael MacKinnon 3 months ago
But has to avoid the elephants, and the turtles (all the way down).
Load More Replies...
joann fielding 3 months ago
That would blow their tiny brains! There are people who don't understand the sun doesn't 'rise' or 'set', it's the EARTH turning that makes it look that way. Bet there's a couple folks just realizing that reading this right now. 🤯
Load More Replies... Philly Bob 3 months ago
Brave Helios, wake up your steeds and bring the warmth the countryside needs...
#34
I have a co-worker who has somehow managed to hang on to her job for the last 8 years. we work in a professional setting where most people have graduate degrees. she has a very well earned reputation for being an unreliable collaborator who just does her own thing no matter what.
last week we had a 'walk and talk' where she expressed absolute astonishment at the idea that decisions made in meetings serve to establish expectations about who will do what and what the timeline is.
Joe Publique 3 months ago
Just to align on synergies, we need a pre-meeting to socialise the concepts for the agenda-setting meeting. That will allow us to pressure-test the framework for the preliminary deep-dive, which will generate the key takeaways for the main project kick-off. So, to recap, the pre-pre-meeting outputs will feed into the pre-meeting, which gates the main meeting. Clear? Great. Let's take this offline and circle back on the circling-back process with some real blue-sky thinking.
Squirrel Chaser 3 months ago
Wait. Are you saying meetings actually serve a purpose? Mind. Blown
#35
Trying to train people at my last job. I couldn't even get either of the guys under me to stack pallets properly. They'd constantly be throwing pallets into the pile upside down, sideways, or broken, then just keep throwing more on top until they had a teetering stack above their heads.
I also had a hell of a time trying to teach them about stacking cases in pretty basic patterns and interlocking. I ended up making templates in Excel to try to demonstrate. One of them would still build multiple pallets into each other all the time, although he did seem to grasp the concept of interlocking at the point. 🤦♂️.
#36
My first husband, when we were dating, he didn't know women have different exits for their monthly and their bladders. It was interesting to explain what I thought school anatomy covered but whatever lol.
Robert Beveridge 3 months ago
It didn't when I was in s*x Ed in America inthe late seventies, and I'm reasonably certain things have got worse, not better...
Kelly Scott 3 months ago
I'll bet ten to one that Trump and Vance both believe that women only have one opening and that everything comes out of that one opening.
Load More Replies... K Barnes 3 months ago
There are women who also believe that the v****a is the same hole as the urethra, unfortunately. Where I live parents have to opt-in their kids to s*x ed. Some are opposed to it and some are too lazy so many kids miss out on the basics. Guess which parents also don't do a bang up job of teaching their children the basics?
Joe Publique 3 months ago (edited)
There are far better ways to teach this than unfettered access to Pr0n.
Load More Replies... #37
My dad could not comprehend how people could just be poor, not have health insurance, or emergency savings, or a retirement account.
I tried explaining the boots theory and his response was to just buy the good boots from the start.
Kelly Scott 3 months ago
These are also the people who think nothing bad is ever going to happen to them because they did everything right in their lives, and luck had nothing to do with anything.
Load More Replies... Mel in Georgia 3 months ago
Many, many people believe that poor people are poor only because they are lazy or stupid. This is just lazy, stupid thinking.
Doug Moyer 3 months ago
Sounds like the typical Republican bullshit - poor people are only poor because they're lazy.
nottheactualphoto 3 months ago
It is a Republican viewpoint, and it is, of course, pure bսllshit.
Load More Replies...
Array Index Out of Bounds 3 months ago
If everyone was rich, there would be no one that was rich.
#38
If we book this recurring meeting from _your_ personal outlook calendar, then when someone else needs to take over this workstream, you will have to delete all the meetings, and the new lead will have to recreate them in their own personal calendar.
Because Outlook does not let us transfer ownership of meetings, plus you forwarded the invite to a bunch of people instead of just inviting them so updates and acceptances won't display properly. There's no way of ever handing these meetings over to someone else.
If we book the recurring event from the **shared team calendar** instead, which we all have access to, then we don't have to delete it and start all over every time the lead changes. And, as a bonus, if you're off sick then someone else can either reschedule or just join and lead the meeting (which we can't do otherwise, because you still won't un-hide your calendar from us so we can't see what's in it).
This person earns _at least_ twice what I do and has to be talked through sharing his screen in Teams at least once a week.
They have declared that all meetings must come from personal calendars. We cannot use the team calendar.
I am so tired.
Rick Murray 3 months ago
Stop helping. Once or twice, okay. More than that it's wilful ignorance.
Patsy Robins 3 months ago
Microsoft sucks. I’m a native Mac user & everything I know about non-Apple computers I’ve learned at work (been in the field 40 years, so since computers first started being used.). Employer uses outlook for everything, it is SO non-user friendly and unintuitive.
nottheactualphoto 3 months ago
I started using Macs back in System 6 days. Since the turn of the century, it's been unix at home. Linux on the laptop, because Reasons.
Load More Replies... What do you think ?
rym2xf5xbp 3 months ago
One day, my mother called me up because she needed me to come over and fix her cup holder. I asked her how it broke, thinking the only cup holder she had was in her car. She told me she sat down, put her coffee mug in the cup holder, and it snapped off. Could I come over and fix it for her? I had to explain that it wasn’t a cup holder. It was her CD ROM. I had fun fixing it for her and explaining what it was for… how to use it correctly. She was upset. She didn’t want a CD ROM there. She wanted a cup holder. I left, shaking my head.
Neopet22 3 months ago
Worked as a team lead in a customer service team where we worked from home,2 cases came to mind - 1) a fairly new agent joined my team,she claims (still have a hard time believing it though) that she has her own photography business,really a sweet girl but super dense with computers. She was only 25 but she had many system issues and working overnight we rarely had tech support online so I always ended up trying to help her troubleshoot. Even the most basic of basics she needed a step by step guide on how to get there. As someone who claims she has a photography business that shocked me cause usually photographers need to edit pictures on the computer. 2) Had an agent who was a slightly older guy,older than me at least and maybe around mid 30s. He was not new,in fact he was in the same team for the 3 years he's been with the company but when I got him in my team ,his stats were awful. My biggest issue with him was his QA (quality of chats) many mistakes on procedure related things
Neopet22 3 months ago
That shouldn't be happening at that point. One case really baffled me with him,when I had my weekly 1:1 meetings with my team,I would go over stats and check their assessed chats. Usually there was up to 5 chats and if the score was 90% and above,I would trust them to review their feedback and learn from the mistakes themselves but if it's below 90% we would read the chat together and discuss the things they missed or did well. So with this agent he had 4 chats,all chats basically were missing the exact same things and same feedbacks were given,all chats had around 4 mistakes. We read the first chat,I ask him to tell me what he thinks is missing he got maybe 1 thing right before giving up,so I told him and we reviewed the feedback. 2nd chat was almost identical again asked what he thinks is missing and he gets 1 things right. He did this for the other chats as well which were identical . I was shocked how he couldn't even understand what's missing after we literally talked it over.
Load More Replies... rym2xf5xbp 3 months ago
One day, my mother called me up because she needed me to come over and fix her cup holder. I asked her how it broke, thinking the only cup holder she had was in her car. She told me she sat down, put her coffee mug in the cup holder, and it snapped off. Could I come over and fix it for her? I had to explain that it wasn’t a cup holder. It was her CD ROM. I had fun fixing it for her and explaining what it was for… how to use it correctly. She was upset. She didn’t want a CD ROM there. She wanted a cup holder. I left, shaking my head.
Neopet22 3 months ago
Worked as a team lead in a customer service team where we worked from home,2 cases came to mind - 1) a fairly new agent joined my team,she claims (still have a hard time believing it though) that she has her own photography business,really a sweet girl but super dense with computers. She was only 25 but she had many system issues and working overnight we rarely had tech support online so I always ended up trying to help her troubleshoot. Even the most basic of basics she needed a step by step guide on how to get there. As someone who claims she has a photography business that shocked me cause usually photographers need to edit pictures on the computer. 2) Had an agent who was a slightly older guy,older than me at least and maybe around mid 30s. He was not new,in fact he was in the same team for the 3 years he's been with the company but when I got him in my team ,his stats were awful. My biggest issue with him was his QA (quality of chats) many mistakes on procedure related things
Neopet22 3 months ago
That shouldn't be happening at that point. One case really baffled me with him,when I had my weekly 1:1 meetings with my team,I would go over stats and check their assessed chats. Usually there was up to 5 chats and if the score was 90% and above,I would trust them to review their feedback and learn from the mistakes themselves but if it's below 90% we would read the chat together and discuss the things they missed or did well. So with this agent he had 4 chats,all chats basically were missing the exact same things and same feedbacks were given,all chats had around 4 mistakes. We read the first chat,I ask him to tell me what he thinks is missing he got maybe 1 thing right before giving up,so I told him and we reviewed the feedback. 2nd chat was almost identical again asked what he thinks is missing and he gets 1 things right. He did this for the other chats as well which were identical . I was shocked how he couldn't even understand what's missing after we literally talked it over.
Load More Replies... You May Like How To Call Someone Stupid In A Smart Way: 30 Clever Jabs People Share 95 Old Person Things That May Reveal You’re Getting Old Too 50 "People Of Walmart" Pics That Are As Funny As They Are Confusing (New Pics)
Robertas Lisickis
Žydrūnė Trukanavičiūtė
Mantas Kačerauskas
Related on Bored Panda
