Can I play?
The worst job I've ever had was some consulting work I did a couple of years ago. My client was the president of a small company that was mostly his family (his wife was the receptionist, his father was the marketing director, etc).
This guy would sneak up on his employees and consultants in an attempt to catch them surfing the web or doing personal things on company time.
He yelled at me one day because he thought I'd gotten in at 9:05am, left at 5pm, and billed him for a full day the day before. He had his knickers in a twist over FIVE MINUTES. He himself spends longer than that in the bathroom.
He yelled at me because I stepped out to make a quick call on my cell phone. I was outside for five minutes (and had planned to stick around for a bit so he'd get his full eight hours
). He yelled at me for half an hour. I didn't bill him for the five minutes, but you can bet I billed him for that half hour!
He NEVER paid on time. He paid one of my invoices sixty days late. I came close to threatening to take him to court.
His wife was pregnant. She gave birth in the morning. He was back in the office that afternoon.
EVERY ONE of his employees who were not members of his family, was looking for a new job.
I snapped when he told me that if I wanted him to give me a good recommendation, I had to work for him for free one day per month. I just turned around, walked right out of his office, drove home, and sent him my resignation and final invoice via email. (Naturally, that final invoice was paid late.)
And my 1099 from that work? Postmarked April 16. He was trying to make it so that I couldn't file my taxes on time. Little did he know that you can file your taxes even without all your W-2s, 1099s, etc, and if an employer deliberately withholds these documents, the IRS fines them.
Sorry that was so long, but the vent felt good!
For those of you who have been telemarketers, I feel your pain. I've called people asking for charitable contributions, and ouch! This is why I always try to tell the telemarketer politely that I'm not interested, I'm on the do-not-call list, and please don't call this number again.