Things My Boss Has Said

2009

December
November
September
August 4
July 2

2008

June 49
May
April
March
February
January
My boss: "I blame you for this, you know?"
Me: "Wait... I was out sick that day!"
My boss: "Perhaps. This will teach you not be sick, won't it?"
Jul 1st

Conversation at an alt weekly

Me: The statistic was 'a 75% rate of incarceration among area men' but you changed my copy to say 'a 75% rate of incarceration among area BLACK men.'
Editor: I thought that's what you meant.
Me: I was quoting a statistic.
Editor: Do you think we should run a correction?
Me: Nah. If anyone bothers to look it up, they'll just think I'm racist.
(I outlasted her at the paper, incidentally)
Jul 1st
Today is my boss’s last day of work, and with one hour left in the day she lays this on me:...
Jun 28th
“HOW CAN YOU SMOKE THESE?”
— My boss, in reference to my...
Jun 27th
“I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!!!!”
— My boss, in a meeting with a...
Jun 27th
“That’s not in our culture.”
— My boss, about everything....
Jun 27th
“Aw, you did a really good job asking. Now tell me the truth:...”
— My boss, at my annual review,...
Jun 27th
“You’re an idiot.”
— My boss, to me, when I said...
Jun 27th
“That Oprah’s sure on a reading kick, isn’t she?”
— My boss
Jun 26th
Male boss to male coworker using wall to scratch back: "Want me to scratch your back?"
Co-worker: "No no no."
Boss: "I'd use a hammer, so it's masculine."
Jun 26th
me: Hi.
boss: Not yet, but I hope to be soon.
(he isn't kidding)
Jun 23rd
“I keep on getting spam that says “What a stupid face...”
— My boss
Jun 23rd

My boss, to me, while I am on the phone

Boss: "Can you arrange the pick up and delivery of the vintage pinball machines I just bought."
Me: "Uh, sure. Where are they?"
Boss: "You have to check my eBay account."
Me, checking eBay to find that boss has been bidding on (and winning) vintage pinball machines all morning and they are scattered across the country. Yes, you read that right. Vintage. Pinball. Machines. This was a year ago and one is still out there somewhere.
Jun 22nd
“GOD DAMMIT! I’M TRYING TO WORK!”
— Said to a subordinate who...
Jun 22nd
“I will push the button and destroy, destroy, destroy [your...”
—  Manager, when I was...
Jun 22nd
My second month at my new job, one week before Christmas:
Boss: "Brian [his 10 year old son] wants an authentic Kiss guitar for Christmas."
Me, five hours later and about to cry: "I found one! They have one left and it's in an axe shape and they can rush deliver it to get here by Christmas Eve!"
Boss: "How much?"
Me: "Um, $4000."
Boss: "See if you can haggle down."
Lesson: Always tell him things are about $100 more than they actually are from here on out.
Jun 20th
“Why is there so much traffic? Oh isn’t it some weird...”
— Supervisor, looking out the...
Jun 20th

4:00 PM

Boss: "I need 100 balloons delivered to my apartment. Italian colors."
Me: "Okay. When?
Boss: "Tonight."
Jun 20th
“What’s wrong with you? Are you dyslexic?”
— I accidentally said a phone...
Jun 20th
“I took these photos at my last store. Take your time, see...”
— Manager, Somerfield...
Jun 20th
“Did you know there are different kinds of intelligence? ...”
— Luckily this boss was fired,...
Jun 20th
My boss does this new thing where, whenever there’s a lull or quiet moment, he murmurs my name...
Jun 19th
I used to work in an open office with a boss whose wife wouldn’t let him have the internet at...
Jun 19th
“I’m intrigued about your academic interest in solar...”
— Manager, Somerfield...
Jun 19th
My boss called me into a glass-walled conference room to tell me I was not performing up to snuff,...
Jun 19th
When I rolled my eyes over Eliot Spitzer’s resignation in the face of being tied to a...
Jun 19th
“You might want to consider wearing makeup.”
—  Temp agency boss. When I was...
Jun 19th
Me: So I think we can keep this sentence if we cut—
Junior Boss: Wait, hold on, I'm looking at your profile.
Me: Erroo?
Junior Boss: Turn to the left a little, will you?
Me: I feel like a prize pig.
Junior Boss: Pigs are pink and you're brown*. [Giggles] But you know what? I just noticed, you're going to be beautiful when you grow older. Seriously, in like 30-35 years, when you're 50**, you are just going to grow into that face of yours and you are going to be gorgeous. Just wait it out.
Me: Golly, thanks!
Junior Boss: You're welcome. Take it from me. When I was 20 I had hair down to my ass and I posed nude for Vogue. Vogue Quebec.
*I am Indian.
*I am also 25.
Jun 19th
“So if we have numbers 101 through 200, is that a hundred?”
— My boss, to me, today.
Jun 19th
My boss is blasting “Call Me” by Blondie and singing along. This morning he had me...
Jun 19th
Award Winning Designer: "So you want a graduation themed postcard. I'll need to look at stock imagery for this one, given the deadline."
Underqualified Marketing Director: "Can you please use free imagery?"
Award Winning Designer: "I can, but it will suck."
Underqualified Marketing Director: "Well, stick to free for now."
3 days later, showing sucky comps of lame, cliched graduation themed postcard:
Underqualified Marketing Director: "I'm not loving these..."
Award Winning Designer: "You mean, they suck? Like I said they would?"
Underqualified Marketing Director: (rolls eyes) "Just do your job."
Jun 19th

One year into my position

“Did no one explain your job to you?” - From the guy who was supposed to explain my...
Jun 19th
Boss: What's the name of that coffee place?
Me: Uh, that we ordered from for the meeting?
Boss: No, no... that coffee place. The one that I like.
Me: Do you mean Starbucks?
Boss (snapping fingers): Starbucks! That's it.
Jun 18th
“You have some, uh, crumbs, on your, uh, shelf.”
— My boss, referring to my RACK
Jun 18th
Boss: So, it was nice of you to come to that client party last night. I hear you've gained a new admirer.
Me: Oh yeah? Who?
Boss: the client's daughter
Me: her? She's in high school.
Boss: She's eighteen you know. Turned eighteen last month, so, you know, everything would be, you know, OK.
Me: um…
Boss: And I hear she doesn't have a date to the high school prom next week.
Me: um…
Boss: so? What do you think? Will you go? To the prom?
Me: (a) I'm not interested. (b) I'm twenty six years old. (c) I'm not going to any fucking prom.
Boss:
Me: Also, I'm seeing someone right now.
Boss: OK. I'll tell her you would have been happy to go but you're seeing someone right now.
Me: That's not what I said.
Boss: That's fine. I'll just let her know that you're seeing someone right now but you thought she was attractive.
Me: WTF?!?!?!
Jun 18th
“We can’t have a black temp. Call the agency, get...”
—  Not even kidding.
Jun 18th
Award-winning Designer: "Hey, for the internal website, I was thinking more color and happier than our general brand. Does that work for you?"
Underqualified Marketing Director: "Sounds great!"
3 days later, showing comps featuring the brand palette, used in a muted, yet friendly way:
Underqualified Marketing Director: "I see that you've used all the brand colors on our internal website. We can't have so much color!"
Award-Winning Designer: "O.... K...."
Jun 18th
“This is Frank, but everyone just calls him ‘Shitpants.”
—  from a job i had with the...
Jun 18th
“so, hey, is this an ashtray on your desk here? it is? ...”
— Conversation with my boss
Jun 18th
“You cannot plan for the worst-case scenario; you can only be...”
— My boss, in a meeting the...
Jun 18th
Him: Can you come in here a minute. Me: What’s up? Him: How do I get these numbers here...
Jun 18th
“How late were you here last night? 4 am? Well, I appreciate...”
— My boss, after I turned in the...
Jun 18th
Him: I just realized that page four needs changes.
Me: Oh no! What's wrong?
Boss of 1997: I want to divide one sentence up into two.
Me: I actually just finished sorting and stapling those.
Boss: Crap. Well, let's change out page four.
Me: There are hundreds of them.
Boss: Stares at me
Me: I mean, you know it will take hours.
Boss: Stares at me
Me: Seriously? Is it worth hours of time when I could be accomplishing something else for you, just so the complex sentence can be two shorter sentences?
Boss: Yep.
Jun 18th

I shit you not.

Me: I have a headache.
Boss: If you suck my dick it will make you feel better.
Jun 18th
“You’re going to have to switch the gender roles in...”
— My sexist, racist, Promise...
Jun 18th
My boss is asleep at his desk and just said my name. In his sleep. I hate my life.
Jun 18th
I am sitting here with tears running down my face trying not to laugh out loud while listening to my...
Jun 18th
“Okay, I’m headed out for the day. I have the Blueberry...”
— My boss, in all seriousness
Jun 18th
Me: Do you know if the elevator is still stuck? I’m already running late, maybe I should take...
Jun 18th
“I think we’re paying too much for the Wall Street...”
— Boss from 1998
Jun 18th
“Literally.”
— About fucking everything....
Jun 18th