Thursday, July 07, 2005

Warehouse of Doom!

Since Patrick has been feeling down about cutting his wrist in the warehouse yesterday, I decided to share some of my own personal past warehouse blunders with him.

Incident 1 (October 2002): I sent two new warehouse associates out to a customer's house to deliver a TV. As the associates brought the TV into the customer's home, they hit a glass coffee table. Some lit candles that were sitting on the coffee table fell to the floor and started a small fire on the carpet... the glass on the table fell on the customer's puppy's neck and pinned it to the ground (I was told that the puppy yelped for about 30 seconds as they frantically tried to get the glass of its neck and put out the fire at the same time.)

Incident 2 (November 2002): The warehouse manager was on vacation, so I (being the customer service manager at the time) was given the responsibility of running the warehouse while he was away. This meant handling the replenishment trucks as they came in. These trucks carry product for several stores... each store's merchandise is separated by plywood held up by load bars (large metal bars that expand in length and are set up horizontally like a shower curtain rod.) After our product was unloaded, it was my duty to place the load bars back up. Not knowing any better, I placed the top one first. I expanded the bottom load bar just a bit too much which made the walls of the truck expand apart more... this caused the top load bar to fall... right on the back of my head! I crawled out of the truck (dazed and confused), and threw up in a small trash can in the warehouse. Yeah, I had a severe headache that lasted for about two weeks!

Incident 3 (January 2003): I had one of the worst migraines of my life. So bad I had to go to the hospital for morphine that night... I think they gave me four different shots because nothing was working to alleviate the pain! So needless to say, I was clearly drugged up! The next morning I had to go to work... we were starting physical inventory. My store director wanted me to count the merchandise in the warehouse... this meant I had to use the stockpicker. I probably shouldn't have been using any heavy machinery for several days, but he didn't care. So I got on the picker and started my count. As I was almost finished with the count, I had the picker raised up about 30 ft off the ground. I forgot that I had a 60" inch TV right under the picker. I lowered the picker and the TV was completely destroyed. It looked pretty funny... the screen shot out like a bullet!

Incident 4 (April 2003): I was stocking the floor with product we had just received from a replenishment truck. A lot of the product that belonged in my area of the store was delivered in large plastic totes that were secured with heavy duty twist ties. While opening one of the totes with a box cutter, I sliced my left index finger very badly. It was bleeding profusely, but oddly enough it didn't hurt. I bandaged up the wound (with about 50 feet of gauze because it kept bleeding through) and continued to stock the product. Later that day, I used the injury to gain sympathy with customers... everyone purchased whatever I told them. Manipulation is a great tool!

3 comments:

lgl said...

why exactly do you still have a job? ;p

Serenity said...

I worked one time in a warehouse, near my house, and got injured. I had worked for U.P. S. at the time when I was injured. That shift I had been moving boxes unto a palatte when one box had a sharp object poking me in the leg. Found out after 6 stitches to my leg, it was a drywall saw. yikes!00000000003

drunkbh said...

4 incidents which could be 5 if you separate the puppy and the fire. Very interesting. I liked it. :>)