In my last post, I wrote about how this winter, folks all over the Southern United States have been waking up to unexpected snow and ice. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always thought those of us in the South live here in order to avoid those kind of troubles. It’s enough to make you want to pack up and move somewhere tropical, like Hawaii.
Though it seems like Hawaii was trying to top the news in ‘unexpectedly bad mornings’. From the It Could Be Worse Files, residents of Hawaii woke up last Saturday morning (Saturday, of all mornings!) to alerts that a ballistic missile was incoming, and residents should seek shelter immediately. Just another day in paradise, right?
Thankfully, after about forty minutes, residents of the islands were informed that it was a false alarm. No missiles incoming, everyone relax! Enjoy your morning coffee, have a luau!
As the confusion cleared and people emerged from their basements, folks began to ask the obvious question – how did this happen? How does a ballistic missile alert get sent to millions of people, and not get retracted for almost forty minutes? According to sources, it was simply ‘human error’ – an employee hit the wrong button. A few news sites graciously tried to take on the explanation, but in the end, many people were left with the obvious question – as they say online, “You had one job!”
In case you’re reading this, Hawaii-missile-alert-button-pusher, you’re not alone. While the stakes may not be as high, here are folks who had one job to do – and completely missed the mark:
I can almost sympathize with some of them, like this shovel. After all, who hasn’t accidentally forgotten things or left them behind? But boy, is this dangerous. You had one job, road paver!
Some aren’t mistakes, per se, but oversights that only come into view when you look at the whole. For example, I imagine the sleepy sales associate who stocked this display was thinking about the details – like making sure each knife was on the proper rack, and not….the big picture. We’ve all been there.
And then there are the truly baffling. Someone was asleep at the paint sprayer here. He even had an example to follow:
Whatever your job today, take a moment to finish your coffee, shake off the Monday cobwebs, and double check your work. And don’t congratulate yourself too much on a job well done – lest you end up like this guy:
Happy Monday,
~Mary
Your Superhero of Shipping
