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32 Managers Recall Crazy Excuses Employees Have Given Them That Actually Turned Out To Be True
Last winter, Deandre Ayton missed several NBA games, citing icy roads in Portland. Well, the center now lives in California, so he'll probably have to come up with other excuses to skip games. However, compared to many employees who want to skip a work day, Ayton seems pretty unassuming.
As it turns out, there are a huge number of reasons why employees might miss work - and, interestingly, sometimes these reasons even turn out to be true. So now, welcome to today's selection of amusing and truly hilarious workers’ stories made for you by Bored Panda!
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I used to manage a small team at an IT helpdesk. One morning, my most punctual, reliable employee didn't show up. He calls me two hours into his shift, sounding genuinely panicked.
"I am so sorry. I can't come in today. I'm trapped."
Me: "Trapped? What do you mean, trapped? Is everything okay?"
Him: "Yes, I'm fine, but... there's a moose on my porch, and it's been sleeping in front of my door for three hours. I can't get out."
I was completely silent, trying to process if this was an elaborate prank. I just told him to keep me updated.
An hour later, he emailed me a picture from his upstairs window. There, magnificently and absurdly, was a full-grown moose, curled up and fast asleep on his front steps like a giant, antlered dog.
It's the only time in my career I've had to log "Act of Moose" as the official reason for an absence.
Laserleader 5 months ago
Yeah, but we can't use the bear excuse because everyone knows you can scare a bear, but a disturbed moose can cause serious property damage and death.
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Kylie 5 months ago
I wouldn't want to go out the back if my car was in the front and risk upsetting a moose.
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Dread Pirate Roberts 5 months ago
They may be funny looking, but they can also be incredibly dangerous!
Roos Dillema 5 months ago
Dutch city girl here, why is it not possible to walk pass a sleeping moose?
marianne eliza 5 months ago
What kind of house (not apartment) doesn't have more than one way out? Are you doomed if there's a fire near the front door? Is it even legal to only have one door? As far as vehicle near moose if you try backdoor... be sneaky.
RELATED:
#2
Colleague rang my boss one morning after a rather important football match.
“Boss, what would happen if I came into work drunk?”
“You’d be fired.”
“Right boss, what would happen if I rang in and said I couldn’t come in because I was drunk?”
“You’d get a written warning.”
“OK, ok boss. What would happen if I didn’t come in today but didn’t give you a reason?”
“A verbal warning.”
“Cheers boss, I’ll take that.”.
Family's_disappointment 5 months ago
I laughed so loud at this I got a sock thrown at my face by my mother. 😭
Shelley Keenan 5 months ago
Had a patient care tech show up drunk because he forgot he was working that night, like dude that’s an automatic fire. Just call off sick or don’t show and take the warning. It was sad cause he was a really good employee.
#3
Decades ago, had a shift runner for a pizza chain I managed in a large city just no call no show for 4 days. He came in to turn in his uniform knowing he missed shifts thinking he was fired. He was a medium height super quiet fireplug of a guy. He was 24yo, grew up in d**g infested projects, had a wife and two little girls. Super responsible otherwise for like a year. The only thing he said was a few yrs ago he borrowed some money from a guy he came up with when he was out of work. He paid him back but still owed the guy who was like upper management in a regional d**g heirarchy. Anyway, he said he couldn’t tell me and understood if I had to fire him. I didn’t and this guy was on time like always and eventually became a store manager and moved his young family into a decent part of the city. I left the company and area not long after he got promoted. But it taught me how unreal hard it is to rise out of those situations as there’s always tentacles trying to pull u back. It’s been 35 yrs and I still think about that guy, know his name and I hope he’s doing well amd has a bunch of grandkids!
weatherwitch 5 months ago
Compassionate and understanding. That will have meant so much to him ❤️
Auntriarch 5 months ago
Maybe even the difference between going forward and being dragged back
Load More Replies... Laserleader 5 months ago
I've never understood why any business would ever fire a diligent employee who has a random life event happens (no babysitter, car broke down, family death, etc.). Why get someone new when you can help support them in a dire time, and in return keep a diligent employee who is now LOYAL as well. If they aren't a good employee, then fire them for that, not a Life Happens thing.
Just a couple of hours ago, a thread appeared on AskReddit where the user u/piranhamode asked netizens the question: "What is the most unusual excuse you've ever heard of from somebody calling off work?" - and basically launched a real viral volcano eruption.
At least, the thread has already collected more than 2.9K upvotes and around 3.3K different comments, clearly illustrating the full power of human imagination and resourcefulness. As is known, resourcefulness is best demonstrated in extreme situations - and isn't the need to go to work in the morning an extreme case?
#4
Ages and ages ago I worked at Walmart stocking groceries. One day I was just worn out so I called in and told them that I had apathy.
My supervisor, who wasn't terribly bright, didn't miss a beat. He told me to rest up and be back tomorrow.
The next day, his boss came over to me and said, "I'm going to let that apathy thing slide because it was hilarious, but don't ever do it again.".
Harry Gondalf 5 months ago
Do you know that ignorance and apathy are going to be the downfall of society? No, I don't, and I don't care, anyway.
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Geoffrey Scott 5 months ago
Called in tired once after working a couple straight months. Security for the facility that also manned the call in line said "You can't do that"...."just write it down"..Boss laughed the next day
#5
I emailed the office that I wouldn't be in for a few days because my (then) wife had had our son - in the front seat of my car on the side of the turnpike. (They knew he was due any day, and we were actually on the way to the hospital, he just came faster than we expected.)
I got an email back from a coworker with a link to a local news article saying, "I thought I recognized your car!" :D.
#6
I once got to work and then got a panicked call from my dad that I needed to come back to my house immediately because he was stuck. He refused to provide more details. I let my boss know I would hopefully be back, but I'd keep her posted. I was worried because a few months prior he had been in his backyard trying to practice karate moves on an old tree and when he kicked it the rotten thing fell on top of him. He couldn't reach his phone when that happened and spent about an hour trying to wiggle out of his pants so he could escape. I was assuming a similar situation may have occurred.
I rushed back to my home to find out he had decided he wanted to come over and cut down tree limbs while I was gone. He decided to use a ladder to climb up on the shed roof so he had more area to work with. The only problem was he also brought my sister's dog with him who promptly knocked over the ladder as soon as he got up there.
Yrral Spavit 5 months ago
Had a call once for a guy who got up on his roof and then found it was steeper than he thought and couldn't get back on the ladder to get down. He was very embarrassed and I suspect it took him a while before he had his wife call the department. Also, we never used ladders that were put up by the owner like in the photo.
Mel in Georgia 5 months ago
Ladders are so dangerous - especially for anyone with balance issues. As an older person I'm even cautious on step stools! Know someone who broke many bones in their feet falling off of one! Use one hand to steady yourself. And bringing along a dog? I can't even...
Jaya 5 months ago
Why bring a dog on the roof with him though? That doesn't sound like a very healthy place for a dog to be.
Plant Wizard 5 months ago
My husband did this on our roof while I was out of town. He called me to find the local police number and called them. They came and laughed at him then put the ladder back for him.
Baseball legend Yogi Berra was famous for his paradoxical aphorisms (some even believe that Berra became the prototype of Captain Obvious). One of Berra's most popular quotes is: "If people don't want to come to the ballpark, how are you going to stop them?"
To paraphrase these words, "if people don't want to go to work, how are you going to stop them?" Well, this collection of stories clearly confirms that if a person sincerely wants something (or, in this example, doesn’t want it), then the universe itself will try to facilitate this. Like, send a huge moose to their porch… Why not, after all?
#7
My wife called me from home while I was at work one day. I asked her why she was home instead of at work and she said, "I called in sick"
I asked her what was wrong. She replied "There's a big bug by the door."
We lived in garden apartment with only one entrance. And she couldn't get out because of the bug.
I told her to step on it. She was too afraid. I told her to sic our Jack Russell on it. *She*(the dog) was definitely not afraid of bugs.
So that's what she did. She took the dog over to it, pointed it out, and the dog went over to it, sniffed it and walked away.
Upon further examination it turned out the "bug" was actualy just a ball of loose thread.
These are the dangers of not wearing your glasses, I guess.
KatSaidWhat 5 months ago
Had a patient come in with a tick they had found in their belly button. Sent off to lab for analysis. Pretty sure this went down in history when the result came back as belly button fluff.
Bored Sailor 5 months ago
So a medical professional also could not tell the difference between a tick and lint???
Load More Replies... Mel in Georgia 5 months ago
I have to escort spiders out of the house because my husband is so afraid of them. It's gotta be an innate fear, because there are so few real threats from insects. Except for mosquitos. Screw those bloodsuckers.
Diane Tucker 5 months ago
I heard a noise in the place where I was housesitting, looked in the backyard and saw a bird sitting on the sidewalk. It must have flown into the window, I thought. It was still there a couple hours later, so I prepared a little box with a cloth in it to put the bird in to either let it recover or bury it. Went out to get it... it was a leaf. A dried, curled leaf.
BookFanatic 5 months ago
Gotta watch those "bugs." I had a fierce standoff with a large wolf spider until one of our teenage shelvers pointed out it was a feather.
Brian Droste 5 months ago
One time I gottva very small piece of black string like cloth on my bathroom floor. From a distance, it could look like a small spider. I tried to take picture of it but I couldn't get the proper angle to make it come out right.
#8
Not work, but a college class with a pretty strict attendance policy - I delivered a message to the professor that my friend couldn't come that day because "she thought one of her guppies might give birth".
To prevent cannibalism the recommendation was to separate the babies from the adults asap; prof. accepted this as an excused absence lol. .
sturmwesen 5 months ago
Every other animal I could understand it..but a guppy? my friends try to give me some every few month because they breed like rabbits. in fact the saying should be "breed like guppies"
Bored Sailor 5 months ago
Yes, guppies will eat their young. This behavior, known as filial cannibalism, is common in guppies and is a way for them to replenish energy after giving birth. Providing plenty of hiding places for the fry can help reduce the chances of them being eaten.
Load More Replies... GPawesomeness 5 months ago
I can confirm this. I was too young to have a job but raised guppies and always had another fish bowl ready to catch the babies with a strainer when they were born, to move them immediately to the second bowl before Mom ate them.
Riley Quinn 5 months ago
If the student spending exorbitant sums of money for their college education wants/needs to take a day off, this should never be a problem. I've had to remind a couple of profs who were mini-dictators how I paid their salary and to simmer down.
Lady Eowyn 5 months ago
I love guppies. Due to restrictions in my apartment I can only have a small tank, so the guppies eating their babies was a form of population control. Enough survived to live until I had to move to a smaller apartment. The person I trusted to handle the tank let something get in it that killed all the guppies when they were reintroduced. I'm thinking of getting a betta once I get the tank sanitized.
#9
My grandparents had a medical emergency years ago where one got stuck on the toilet and when the other tried to help they fell and knocked themselves unconscious. My employer demanded details and didn’t believe me because it sounded like an SNL skit.
However, it’s not only ordinary workers who can find a thousand excuses to miss a day of work. For example, many years ago, the famous basketball player Rajon Rondo justified missing an away game by saying that he was throwing a birthday party. And another NBA star, Paul George, once simply drank too much coffee - and felt too dizzy to play that night.
#10
My husband's colleague called in because he was too fat to get into his work trousers. He'd been on an all inclusive holiday for two weeks, came home and couldn't get his trousers up. His boss made him come in (in his holiday shorts) and agreed that he did look a lot bigger and so gave him a few days off whilst they ordered new trousers for him. He had apparently gained 18lb in two weeks.
weatherwitch 5 months ago
18lb in Two Weeks!!! WTF was he eating?. Or drinking?? I have Lipoedema, weight piles on superfast when it's active but, wow 😮😮 I hope he enjoyed his holiday as much as it sounds like he did 😂
Riley Quinn 5 months ago
I've used a sturdy elastic band looped through the eye that I can wrap around the button giving me a few extra inches.
KatSaidWhat 5 months ago
I think I might be the only person that actually loses weight on all inclusive holidays. For some reason I seem to be able to actually eat healthy stuff and salad/veg with every meal - and skip the chips/spaghetti that Brits don't seem to be able to cope without in foreign countries.
Presley 5 months ago
work “trousers”, “holiday” shorts, “whilst”. Try again díckhead.
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#11
They dropped a frozen turkey on their bare foot.
Don't listen to me 5 months ago
Heavy things frozen turkeys. Could definitely do damage
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Joe Reaves 5 months ago
That sounds like a trip to A&E for an x-ray. But at least it was frozen so you can rinse it off and it's still edible :D
Jackie Lulu 5 months ago
Better than getting hit with a frozen turkey dropped from an airplane
#12
I called out once because there was a scorpion in my bed that stung me 10+ times and I was in an helicopter being med-evac’d.
Called out once because a pack of javelina were encircling my car.
Called out once because there was a mama cougar hanging out on my back wall w a baby on the ground.
Called out once because a saguaro fell over onto my house and I had to prove to the feds that I didn’t knock it over.
Called out on two separate occasions because I got stuck in a hurricane and “missed” my flight home.
Called out once because I was helping rescue a friend’s horses from a wild fire that was moving toward their ranch.
I think that’s pretty much it for my wild excuses. I don’t really get sick so I don’t call out unless I REALLY can’t get to work 😂.
Don't listen to me 5 months ago
TIL about saguaro a giant cactus which can grow to 20 metres in height and whose branches are shaped like candelabra, native to the south-western United States and Mexico. That's a good one.
Laserleader 5 months ago (edited)
Yes they are federally protected, and when building you have to decide to build around an existing one or pay huge amounts of money to get a permit to transplant it to a very specified location. Damaging one on purpose carries huge instant fines and even jail time.
Load More Replies... Joe Reaves 5 months ago (edited)
No, you don't. I mean you might, but they dig so you probably don't.
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Greg Hedley 5 months ago
In the 1960s,a student at an expensive girls school in England called from Northern Nigeria to say that she wouldn't be back for the start of term because a tribe of Bedouin were camped on their runway
Angie Falzarano 3 months ago
I get it. I almost had to calling because I couldn't find my glasses. I was a cashiers so I really needed to be able to see. Finally found they had falling thru my headboard and under the bed where of course I couldn't see them
Okay, basketball players do have to travel all over the continent, playing 82 games during the regular season. But what about ordinary people? In fact, there are even more exotic situations here, and by that, we mean dangerous to one's health. Want an example? Voila!
“Sorry I missed our lunch meeting, I went to the Emergency Room because I accidentally shot myself with a staple gun,” BBC quotes British entrepreneur Brandon Lee. “I still have the staple they removed as a souvenir.” Let's hope that the deal did take place in that case...
#13
One of my daughter's Primary School Teachers had to take a day off because her Beagle had climbed onto the roof of her house...
Again.
Joe Reaves 5 months ago
I love the 'again'. Dog clearly isn't good at learning from experience.
Heffalump 5 months ago
Dog got lots of attention last time. It worked again. Dog is good at learning from experience.
Load More Replies... Bill Swallow 5 months ago
No biggie. People submit things like this online, and often don't have photos of the actual incident, so they post text only. Then when an aggregator gets hold of it, they need a visual and find something that's 'close enough'. It's not like anyone is being lazy or duplicitous.
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Riley Quinn 5 months ago
Oi, lady, figure out how your dog is getting on the roof and block it. Duh!
#14
I once heard a coworker called in Sunburnt.
Weird, but to be fair, she was VERY light skinned so I imagine it was pretty bad.
Olive 5 months ago
I wound up in hospital for 3 days when I was a teen because I fell asleep on the beach in Hawaii for 20 minutes in the middle of the day. (I'm Irish so I'm lucky I didn't catch fire.)
Load More Replies... Lee Gilliland 5 months ago
I've been hospitalized for sun poisoning, it's a real thing and EXCRUCIATING.
Joe Reaves 5 months ago
Once it gets past a certain point you're going to be nauseous and headachey. I am also very fair skinned and usually very careful but on occasion I have ended up outside for a lot longer than intended and overpowered the protection factor of my sunscreen and it is NOT fun.
웅장한 거북이 🇰🇷🇰🇭 5 months ago
Legitimate reason. Sunburned skin can be so bad you can not even leave your sofa without pain. You should really rest and do not mpve to much and drink a lot of water
T Barth 5 months ago
I managed Taco Héll years ago and had a first 2 days off in over a year. The gang and I drove to Lake Tahoe for the weekend. I was the only one who hadn't been there before and therefor didn't know how COLD it was. We were on these giant boulders and the sun was just beating on us so I decided to do a running jump off this big rock into the water with my friends screaming " Nooo Doooon't" but was too late. I hit that water like a brick. Immediately stiffened up and man was it cold. They're all reaching down to help me out of the water back onto the boulder, draping me with towels. Its over 90° out and I lay down shivering and warming up from the frigid water, fell asleep. My dumbaśś friends didn't cover me up after I apparently flung off the towels in my sleep. I woke up to such a sunburn on my chest that I had blisters the next day. I had to be back to work and no way I could wear the scratchy polyester uniform.Called in, and was noped. Showed up in a bikini top, was sent home. 👌
Yrral Spavit 5 months ago
As a kid I had palm sized blisters on my back from sunburn. You will never see me outside in the sun without being covered up.
#15
Years ago during the mob wars in St Louis we had a girl calling into work saying that she was behind a car that blew up on the highway. She was a known exaggerator so we laughed it off.
Turned out it was true.
tarryn norwich 5 months ago
I mean... my aunt has had 2 cars burn down on her lol. One in a funeral home parking lot!
WalterWhiteSavannah 5 months ago
Way back when I was a young dude in construction they hired a guy in his mid 40s named Terry. Terry called in with every excuse in the book and went home early constantly (during a bad canadian winter he showed up without gloves or proper clothing multiple times then said he was too cold and had to go home) so the boss finally had enough and told him "no more excuses, you show up and you work the whole day or you have a doctors note or you're gone. Final warning." Dude called in again the same week saying his truck was stolen and he couldn't get to work. Immediately fired. The very next day the front page of the paper had a huge picture of Terry's truck smashed through the picture window of an electronics store. Turns out some dude really stole his truck and used it to rob a store then got the truck stuck. 😂 Boss said he felt a little bad but still didn't bring him back to the crew.
Be that as it may, we do believe that this list will not only be a source of healthy laughter for you, but also a wonderful reference book if you suddenly want to stay home on a working day, and there’s no suitable reason.
So please feel free to read all these stories and maybe add your own - in case you have something similar and funny to tell us. At the very least, it will be interesting. At the very most, we’ll all enjoy reading the comments. So, we’re looking forward to your tales - and we’ll definitely not accept any cop-outs!
#16
A colleague emailed me to tell me he'd be out of town and unable to review the materials I sent him. I was frustrated because I work in print publishing, and deadlines really don't care about your vacation. Checked in with another colleague to see if he agreed that I should follow up with him by phone regardless.
It turns out he was not just "out of town" -- he was in ANTARCTICA doing research.
Bored Sailor 5 months ago
Doing personal research or for the company they work for? If work related this is not an excuse just an uninformed coworker.
Laserleader 5 months ago
Or, some people have multiple jobs and need to go the extra distance for one.
Load More Replies... Michael Largey 5 months ago
I took an astronomy course where the professor was away someplace the whole semester observing a comet. So they showed us videos of his lectures. But no matter how high you raised your hand he still wouldn't call on you.
#17
A plane landed on the expressway preventing traffic from using the road.
Bored Sailor 5 months ago
Sounds like Florida, the times I lived there it happened more than expected. All the small personal planes in south Florida is crazy.
Joe Reaves 5 months ago
Major roads are a recommended place to make an emergency landing if there's no close runway because you can assume they will be flat and fairly straight.
Michael Largey 5 months ago
Boss: "Well then get in that plane and just have him drop you off at work!"
Angie Falzarano 3 months ago
Oh this happened in ft worth too. Shocking to see a plane on a freeway while drive by on the access road.
#18
They couldn't come in because their neighbor's dog ate their car keys.
Michael Largey 5 months ago
I presume the neighbor will be responsible for monitoring the keys eventual emergence.
Joe Reaves 5 months ago
Something with edges, like keys, is probably going to require an expensive vet visit. I bet that was a labrador.
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FlagCityDiva 5 months ago
I dated a guy who only missed one day because his dog ate his car keys. He also had to be careful to put tin and aluminum cans somewhere she couldn't get to them because she like to chew on them.
#19
It was opening day of the school year, and I was in our home office typing up my Classroom Expectations. Suddenly I felt something on my head accompanied by a high pitched scream. It was a frickin bat entangled in my hair. My husband somehow got it out of my hair while I collapsed on to the floor, trying to breathe from the sheer panic. After a half hour of trying to compose myself, I called our principal and told him what had happened and that I would be late as my nerves had to settle down before I would be able to drive the 1.5 hour commute. When I arrived in time for my 3rd period class of nervous, brand new freshmen and told them why I was late, the looks on their faces were memorable.
weatherwitch 5 months ago
It can happen. More though because a bat is after the insects in the air above your head and gets caught, on the rare occasions I've seen these the person has had a high type of hair bun or a messy style. The bat is innocent 🦇
Load More Replies... Joe Reaves 5 months ago
If you're somewhere that has rabies, that should require both people to get the vaccine because bat bites can be so small they're not felt.
The Starsong Princess 5 months ago
Definitely, if you have any contact with a bat, especially if it is behaving oddly, get rabies shots.
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Willin 3 months ago
I pulled my jacket off a hook on the wall and a cockroach flew directly past my neck into my long hair. When I finally stopped screaming as I pawed wildly at my hair and did a Mexican stiletto dance, the crickets started chirping, the moon glowed benignly and I realized that someone could cut my throat and no one would even notice.
Didi Magnin 5 months ago
We lived in Burma, now Myanmar, when I was a child. I remember a bat flying round the room and the servant chasing itout with a tennis racket. This was 70 years ago 😁
#20
A coworker was "no-call, no show" for his shift. He'd been having emotional issues so our department manager attempted to call him numerous times. After no response he checked his home and then requested a wellness check from the local PD. No sign of him. A couple of hours later the coworker called to say that his mother had died. A couple of hours after that he called back to say that she hadn't actually died, he'd made a mistake. That was the last time anyone heard from him.
The Starsong Princess 5 months ago (edited)
That did happen to me - I thought my father died because my mother called me in hysterics saying he was dead. I told her to call 911 and immediately drove over to their apartment. But I didn’t call out from work. When I got there, they were wheeling him into the ambulance and he definitely looked dead. Turns out, he had a seizure from a slow growing brain tumor and walked out of the hospital under his own power three hours later. That was four years ago and he is on medication and hasn’t had a seizure since. The tumor is slow growing as he is now 84 and he has a great quality of life. So that’s the story of how my dad came back from the dead.
#21
One guy said he couldn't come in because his goldfish was depressed... and he needed to 'be there emotionally.
#22
Flushed my car key down the toilet.
It was me, and I certainly did.
Huddo's sister 5 months ago
I locked myself out of the house once as I was leaving for work. I went out a different door to normal so didn't grab the key as I left (it's kept by the front door). I tried calling my dad multiple times, but it turned out he didn't have his phone on him so I just had to wait for him to come back. Luckily it was just in my admin hours so I could just make up the time I missed.
#23
Back in my retail days one girl didn’t show up so we called her and she said “I forgot that I worked there” (as in forgot they worked for our store, not forgot they worked that day). It was the most insane excuse I’d ever heard as a manager. She’d worked with us for like 3 weeks. I just she ‘forgot’ forever because she never came back.
Hannah Shannon 4 months ago
I need to know when and where, because that might have been me. And yes, I really did forget I worked there. 🌟trauma brain🌟
#24
One girl said she got lost on her way to work and ended up in a different state.
Kylie 5 months ago
As an Australian in the states I can relate. I did that for a job interview once. In certain US states once you get on a freeway there's no getting off for quite a ways.
Huddo's sister 5 months ago
Reminds me of an episode of Daria, when Brittney didn't want Kevin to get to the school where he was in a play, so she just kept driving, away from the school. Kevin says 'Babe, I don't think we take the highway to school' and she replies 'Are you sure?' and keeps driving.
#25
"Forgot to change my clock for daylight savings".
We had this guy who would always be one hour late to work on the Monday after we change the clocks.
But the guy was an idiot: He'd pull this excuse when we roll-back as well as when we roll-forward.
By that logic, you'd be an hour EARLY one day a year, and an hour late one day a year.
KatSaidWhat 5 months ago
I moved to UK on 1st March and nobody told me about the clocks going forward so was very late when that happened.
weatherwitch 5 months ago
I shouldn't laugh but so many of us get caught out by it even when we know about it 🤣
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#26
The person’s over-head garage door remote wasn’t working.
Yes, they were aware that they can manually open the garage, however, that wasn’t necessary bc their car wasn’t parked in the garage.
But the repair guy was coming to fix the remote. So they had to be there for that work.
Tamara 5 months ago
That reminds me. Once i was late for a similar reason. We lived on the top floor and instead of a door before the stairs, we had this rolldown electric door. But! The meter cabinet was on the ground floor. Once the power went out at night and the other residents where away. So we were stuck. We eventually used the fire-escape.
#27
My sister was a school teacher and called in saying that she was feeling too well to come to work, but she was starting to feel worse so likely would be in the next day. Unsurprisingly, they didn't renew her contract.
#28
A guy that spoke broken English told my boss “I can’t work, you have hemorrhoids”
We got the message lmao.
#29
A guy I worked with in retail 15 years ago called in to say he had a nightmare and didn't think he'd be able to get back to sleep/come in to work 5 hours later.
KatSaidWhat 5 months ago
PTSD dreams will keep you awake because you don't want to go back to sleep just in case.
Riley Quinn 5 months ago
If I'm not distracting myself, which I do every waking minute, my PTSD brain loops on the worst events of my past. Indica edibles help speed up sleep, but those minutes prior seem like hours. Fortunately, I've never remembered my dreams/nightmares.
Load More Replies... WalterWhiteSavannah 5 months ago
I actually had a dream this morning that I took my cat on a train and my cat attacked a kid and the whole packed train lost their minds and attacked me and killed my cat. I woke up to my alarm feeling so bad a genuinely considered calling in for a bit. But I cuddled my guy has a coffee and managed to make it lol.
#30
An employee who rang in saying he couldn’t come in because his dog had pissed in his shoe and he only had one pair.
weatherwitch 5 months ago
I only own two pairs of boots and one set of slipper boots so it is plausible... Just
Dread Pirate Roberts 5 months ago
One of my dogs drooled in my shoe once lol wiped it out with a paper towel and wore them shoes
#31
At a landscape company.
"I don't have a clean shirt.".
Riley Quinn 5 months ago
I've had a couple of employees give weak excuses like this bc they didn't have the courage to tell me they hated the work. I'd just tell them I'd mail them their last check.
#32
I had a friend call in and put a towel on the phone. He said he had been abducted and put in a car trunk.
Joe Reaves 5 months ago
If I'd been abducted I don't think calling into work would be on my list of priorities lol.
Riley Quinn 5 months ago
My mind immediately went to Mitch Hedberg"s "What About the Dufresnes?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUNvFVQYClY
Brian Droste 5 months ago
If he had been abducted and in a car trunk with a phone and could call in, then he should be able to call the police.
What do you think ?
Batwench 5 months ago
I once called in, I had only been on the team 2 weeks, “ I am going to be late, I am rescuing a kitten”. My bosses response “I will see you when I see you”.
megabeth 5 months ago
I was late getting a dog safely off a freeway on ramp. Boss was totally ok w it too.
Load More Replies...
Major Harris 5 months ago
had a co worker once, "i will be late. my pet emu got loose." he did, in fact have a pet emu.
Heffalump 5 months ago
The only strange but true excuse I ever had to use was that I'd been shearing my hair down to summer length, the clippers had just stopped working with half my hair an inch long, and half down to stubble, and I wasn't going anywhere until after the barber around the corner had put things right. All my other strange excuses were lies.
Ellie Ahmed 5 months ago
My bus once went the wrong way, and because it turned onto a highway it had to go for a while before somewhere it could safely turn around. I ended up being 40 mins late. I texted a picture of what I could see out the window to my boss to prove that I was, in fact, on the other side of town to where I should have been, because I didn't think she'd believe me.
Mik 5 months ago
Very similar thing happened to me, bus driver decided to take an earlier road up the highway skipping my stop, so could only take a bus back a few towns over. Boss reacted with well you would have been late either way (which was ofcourse not true) and fired me at the end of that day. Was for the better
Load More Replies...
DeoManus Argentem 5 months ago
I had an employee call out on a Thursday afternoon, saying he wouldn't be in for his Friday morning shift because his plane had a flat tire (he was Haitian on vacation visiting family back home). This was well before the recent troubles... but still, Haiti... So maybe believable? Whatever, who cares, at least he called (strangely, very well in advance) - absence approved.
Lila Allen 5 months ago
Stuck behind a rake... not the stick with tines, but the gigantic farm machinery. It goes 5 miles per hour and there is no way on a two lane road to go around it. Sometimes living in the country is a pain.
Tropical Tarot 5 months ago
I was late once because I had to catch a stray donkey in my backyard.Grew up in a rural area and a neighbor's donkey slipped his lead. My go to excuse was stomach troubles. With appropriate sound effects depending on how much I wanted to call out.
Ginger Winters 3 months ago
This was school not work but we all had to call in late cause the cops were chasing a kangaroo and wouldn't let us through
TheElderNom 5 months ago
My train is over 12 hours late is mine I guess. I've had to use that one twice. Once when I took the train on my free time. Once when the train I was driving got delayed. (Passengers got put on a bus and were only a few hours late.)
Batwench 5 months ago
I once called in, I had only been on the team 2 weeks, “ I am going to be late, I am rescuing a kitten”. My bosses response “I will see you when I see you”.
megabeth 5 months ago
I was late getting a dog safely off a freeway on ramp. Boss was totally ok w it too.
Load More Replies... Major Harris 5 months ago
had a co worker once, "i will be late. my pet emu got loose." he did, in fact have a pet emu.
Heffalump 5 months ago
The only strange but true excuse I ever had to use was that I'd been shearing my hair down to summer length, the clippers had just stopped working with half my hair an inch long, and half down to stubble, and I wasn't going anywhere until after the barber around the corner had put things right. All my other strange excuses were lies.
Ellie Ahmed 5 months ago
My bus once went the wrong way, and because it turned onto a highway it had to go for a while before somewhere it could safely turn around. I ended up being 40 mins late. I texted a picture of what I could see out the window to my boss to prove that I was, in fact, on the other side of town to where I should have been, because I didn't think she'd believe me.
Mik 5 months ago
Very similar thing happened to me, bus driver decided to take an earlier road up the highway skipping my stop, so could only take a bus back a few towns over. Boss reacted with well you would have been late either way (which was ofcourse not true) and fired me at the end of that day. Was for the better
Load More Replies... DeoManus Argentem 5 months ago
I had an employee call out on a Thursday afternoon, saying he wouldn't be in for his Friday morning shift because his plane had a flat tire (he was Haitian on vacation visiting family back home). This was well before the recent troubles... but still, Haiti... So maybe believable? Whatever, who cares, at least he called (strangely, very well in advance) - absence approved.
Lila Allen 5 months ago
Stuck behind a rake... not the stick with tines, but the gigantic farm machinery. It goes 5 miles per hour and there is no way on a two lane road to go around it. Sometimes living in the country is a pain.
Tropical Tarot 5 months ago
I was late once because I had to catch a stray donkey in my backyard.Grew up in a rural area and a neighbor's donkey slipped his lead. My go to excuse was stomach troubles. With appropriate sound effects depending on how much I wanted to call out.
Ginger Winters 3 months ago
This was school not work but we all had to call in late cause the cops were chasing a kangaroo and wouldn't let us through
TheElderNom 5 months ago
My train is over 12 hours late is mine I guess. I've had to use that one twice. Once when I took the train on my free time. Once when the train I was driving got delayed. (Passengers got put on a bus and were only a few hours late.)
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