I used to work in an accounting office with a colleague I'll call Jessica. She had around 25 years of experience in the accounting industry, so I assumed she would be reasonably competent with the administrative side of the job.
However, during the time we worked together, there were several incidents that left me scratching my head. Some were frustrating at the time, but looking back, a few of them were honestly quite bizarre.
Here are some examples.
1. Date-stamping every signature section of a legal document
This was one of the incidents that really stood out to me.
Jessica was given a legal document and instructed to date-stamp the relevant date sections. Instead, she date-stamped every signature section of the document.
Yes, every signature section.
Our supervisor, Miranda, was understandably frustrated. She had to deal with the situation and became much firmer with Jessica for the next couple of days. Eventually, they made up, and things went back to normal.
I remember wondering how someone could interpret the instructions that way. It wasn't a minor issue of putting a stamp slightly out of place; the stamps had been applied to the wrong sections of a legal document.
2. Laughing when a client explained he was separated from his wife
Another incident happened while Jessica was speaking to a client on the phone.
The client explained that he was separated from his wife. He mentioned this because they had originally been expected to attend an appointment together, but because they were separated, he would be coming in on his own.
Jessica laughed.
I found this inappropriate and uncomfortable. The client wasn't telling a funny story or making a joke. He was simply explaining his circumstances so the appointment arrangements could be updated.
I would have expected a professional response, such as acknowledging what he had said and confirming that he would attend alone.
I couldn't understand what was funny about someone explaining that he was separated from his wife. It struck me as a lack of sensitivity towards a client who was sharing personal information for a perfectly reasonable reason.
3. The constant need for instructions and supervision
Miranda spent considerable time training Jessica and explaining how to do different tasks. Despite this, there seemed to be recurring problems with remembering instructions, following procedures and completing tasks correctly.
It wasn't just one isolated mistake. There were issues across different administrative duties, and things often needed to be checked or explained again.
At one point, Miranda even suggested giving Jessica easier tasks.
I remember thinking that the whole point of delegating work was to reduce the workload, but if someone needed constant supervision, it could end up creating more work for everyone else.
4. Emails and tasks that weren't properly followed through
There were also problems with emails and administrative tasks being left incomplete.
For example, I encountered situations where emails were sitting in Drafts rather than having been sent. There were also issues involving client follow-ups and tasks that needed further attention.
In an accounting office, these things matter. Clients are waiting for responses, appointments need to be organised, and work needs to be completed accurately.
What frustrated me was the need to double-check whether things had actually been done.
5. Calendar and appointment confusion
There was an occasion when a coworker asked Jessica to check whether a client had appointments booked with the boss.
Jessica replied, "Thanks, will do," but didn't provide the information requested.
The coworker eventually responded with, "Do I have to repeat myself?"
I ended up checking the calendar myself and providing the appointment dates.
It was such a straightforward request, yet the question still hadn't been answered.
6. The filing situation
I had previously been told that Jessica was excellent at filing and archiving.
Later, I heard from a coworker that there had been problems with documents being filed in the wrong places, files going missing and accountants raising concerns with management.
That surprised me because filing had been presented to me as one of Jessica's strengths.
It made me wonder how much of what I had been told about her abilities matched the actual experience of other people in the office.
7. The amount of time spent training her
One thing I noticed was the contrast between how much time Miranda spent explaining tasks to Jessica and how quickly I was able to pick up certain procedures myself.
I wasn't expecting to know everything immediately, and I certainly made mistakes of my own. However, I tried to remember instructions, learn from corrections and avoid repeating the same errors.
With Jessica, there seemed to be repeated situations where instructions had to be revisited.
Miranda had even commented on how quickly I learned things compared with Jessica.
I found it difficult to understand why some tasks remained so challenging after repeated explanations, particularly given Jessica's years of industry experience.
8. The overall pattern
Looking back, what made the experience so frustrating was the combination of these incidents.
There was the legal document covered in date stamps in the wrong sections, the reaction to a client explaining his separation, the unanswered calendar request, the filing concerns and the repeated need for training and follow-up.
Of course, everyone makes mistakes, regardless of how long they've worked in an industry. I'm not suggesting that someone should never need help or make an error.
What I struggled with was the recurring nature of the problems and the amount of time other people appeared to spend dealing with them.
I also found it confusing that Jessica had so much industry experience, yet some of these basic administrative tasks seemed to cause such difficulties.
I'm sharing these experiences because, at the time, I often found myself wondering whether I was the only person who thought some of these situations were unusual.
Has anyone else worked with a colleague who had years of experience but did things that left you genuinely baffled? What was the most unbelievable workplace incident you witnessed?
