Scenario: I work at an electronics Store (A popular one, and one that I find is a lot of fun to work at.) I have a surprisingly demanding position as a Media Department Senior (One of Three Department leaders.) I like my job, because I get to deal with things that I love…Music and video games. This is the only reason I have been putting up with my fuckwit boss for over a year.
My immediate supervisor is an oversensitive, hypocritical, hyperactive and edgy. Let me say first I do not have a PROFESSIONAL problem working with him. He is reasonably well suited to his job, aside from being a disorganized little shit. His obsessive compulsive disorders allow for him to be very project minded, which makes getting a lot of the bull shit tasks we have to get done easier, and allows for me to focus on my favorite area, helping customers find games and music they like.
My problem is that I’ve worked with this fuckwit for over a year, and he has NEVER been able to calm down, for one damn minute. He CAN NOT take a joke, or a jab, or even the SLIGHTEST remark that resembles a jest in his general direction. Persecution Complex at it’s very worst.
I tend to be a bit of a wise-ass, and while this can obviously lend itself to creating unease in the workplace if used in the wrong context, but I never serve to outright humiliate anyone. Everyone’s (including myself) has the opportunity to be the butt of a joke now and then, and that’s the way it is at work to preserve sanity.
Super-Hyper has no problem laughing if I cut on someone else (Who is always present, cause it’s no fun making fun of anyone if you can’t make them laugh because of it, too.) It’s only when I push the joke in HIS direction that “It isn’t funny”. The baby puts on a sour expression and is a bitch to work with for an hour or two. (Before he realizes how essential I am to actually getting anything done in the department, and he starts speaking to me again.)
Today’s little episode: Super-Hyper informs me that he was just told that DISTRICT LEVEL STAFF (read, his boss’ boss) is in the building. The last time DISTRICT MANAGEMENT was int he building, SUPER-HYPER was told to move an endcap full of PS2’s to a BETTER location. Now, it’s a week later, and it still hadn’t been done.
So, King Buddy and Super-Hyper bust their ass to move forty PS2’s to their warehouse for storage. A fifteen minute job took us five minutes because we lit a fire under our ass, thinking DISTRICT LEVEL STAFF could walk around the corner any moment, and see that the job had not been done yet.
An hour later, we find out…DISTRICT MANAGEMENT was no where in sight. Super-Hyper informs me that he was LIED too. Another department sup (We’ll call him Alvin.)was just goofing on him, and I inadvertantly became a part of the joke.
This, I think, is a fairly funny practical joke. No harm is done whatsoever, and it is beneficial, because without thinking our JOBS might have been on the line, we wouldn’t have gotten it done as fast as we did. I give kudo’s to the man for his joke.
But not SUPER-HYPER. This was a GRAVE injustice! “King Buddy! I can not believe you are taking his SIDE on this!” he says to me, while I chuckle about the ruse we fell under.
I explain my point of view on the matter: “No harm, no foul…we did something productive under false pretenses. A small laugh at our expense. I actually thanked him for it.”
“Wha…wha? He made us think that DISTRICT LEVEL STAFF WAS HERE! And…THEY AREN’T!”
SUPER HYPER then drops this little bomb on me…Department Sup Alvin only did the little joke as retaliation for what Super Hyper had said to him only moments before:
Alvin: (Patting his belly, after helping Super Hyper finish a task…) “Yeah…I’ll be associate of the month here soon… Heh.”
Super Hyper: “Yeah…associate of the month for the BUFFET LINE! OW! ZINGER!”
What the fuck? How is one worse than the other? He played a BETTER joke, because it fucked with your head for an hour. You got what you deserved, and what’s more…IT DOESN’T EVEN MATTER, BECAUSE WE HAD TO DO IT ANYWAY!
Heedless to the logic I spewed forth onto him, Super-Hyper didn’t speak to Alvin for the rest of his shift.
Grudge holding mother-fucking sensitive bitch. Why do I have to explain when something is a joke to you?
)