It’s a fact that no one really knows how to describe anyone else’s job but their own (and if I’m being honest, I can’t really describe my own job half of the time). The phrase “that’s not in my job description” has seemed to fly out the window. It seems that everyone, in every career, has taken on the title of Jack/Jill of All Trades.
But still, there are those extreme moments when you say “Wait…you want me to do what?” So here they are. A few of the most absurd requests people have received at a job:
“When I was an intern, I had to order a turkey sandwich for a celebrity and have it delivered to her hotel room at 4 a.m. because that’s what she wanted for breakfast. The hotel was out of turkey, so they sent one of her employees to go get it. After waking up at 4 a.m. to make sure she received her breakfast, they told me she didn’t even eat it. I unfollowed her on all social networks.”
“In the first three weeks of my first PR agency job, one of my bosses and I took a private plane to Bimini, about 50 miles off the coast of Miami, for a kick-off meeting with a new client. Best biz trip ever, right? It was, until the plane didn’t come back to get us. We were stranded on the island overnight and we had to bunk up in a beach house. The Bimini trip will go down in history as my weirdest and most hilarious PR experience — at least for now. We still laugh about it almost five years later.”
“I used to work for a major tourist attraction and one day there was a protest outside the building. I had to strap a GoPro on my head and walk into the protest so my bosses could see what was happening.”
“Every time I visit our South Florida office, I end up in one of the Dunkin’ Donuts costumes. In March, I was the giant dancing donut (named Sprinkles) at a grand opening in Boca Raton. Then in June, I walked around the newsroom of the local ABC affiliate dressed as Cuppy, the giant coffee cup. On the way home from ABC, my rental car got a flat tire. So there we were, on the side of I-95, trying to pull a giant coffee cup costume out of the trunk, so we could get back to the office. Only in Florida.”
“I was in Manhattan for a client’s book launch, and one hour before the signing started he decided he didn’t like the flowers that were on the table. I had to run around the city in 5-inch heels to nine different florists to find white roses. Roses that never made it into one photo. I took them home after the event.”
So there you have it. Many thanks to my friends and colleagues for allowing me to share what I’m sure are considered the highlights of their careers thus far. Some may call us crazy, and we probably are. But we do it because we love our jobs. At least that’s what we tell ourselves to help us sleep better.