Episode 16
Late for 9/11, Dentist from Hell, Calls from the Fifth Floor
What happens when a broken alarm clock changes one man’s arrival at the Pentagon on September 11, a dental assistant discovers her former boss at the centre of a police standoff, and calls keep coming from a hospital floor where none of the phones are plugged in?
On Episode 16 of I Used To Work There, Kelly Kennedy brings you seven true workplace stories featuring celebrity encounters, disastrous journeys, threatening clients and terrifying situations. We start with Day Shift laughs before heading into a Night Shift filled with unexplained footsteps, a frightening boss and an extraordinary account of survival.
Day Shift opens with Michelle, who worked at a Los Angeles grocery store where celebrity sightings were part of the job. When Willem Dafoe notices a little boy holding a Green Goblin toy, an ordinary shopping trip becomes an unforgettable encounter with an unexpectedly funny payoff.
Then Kelly’s brother DJ joins the show to revisit the summers they worked together. Long days unloading trucks helped teenage Kelly save for a beautiful Pontiac Firebird. There was just one problem: getting it home. What followed involved overheating, overnight driving, unexpected family connections and a rescue from Dad.
Matthew takes us to Hawaii, where totalling his new car is only the beginning. Determined to make it to his sampling events, he faces flooded streets, a heavy folding table, a nine-mile journey and a stranger looking for a fight. Just when he thinks the day is finally over, a familiar face appears on the bus home.
Dan closes Day Shift with a tow-truck owner determined to cut his insurance costs. A week after removing his coverage, the client’s truck is damaged, and Dan finds himself receiving threats from a man who competes in MMA.
When Night Shift begins, Joe takes us to the fifth floor of a hospital undergoing renovations. Security keeps receiving calls from an empty room, but the phone inside isn’t connected. As Joe investigates, footsteps begin following him through the halls. Then they get faster.
LaRee follows with a dental office where an exciting opportunity becomes an increasingly frightening place to work. Staff arguments, screaming and a confrontation with a patient give way to behaviour that finally pushes her to leave. Months later, a friend sends her a news report about her former boss, and she discovers just how far things have escalated.
Finally, Thomas Lee Johnson shares his experience at the Pentagon on September 11. An alarm clock he had relied on for years fails to wake him, changing the timing of his arrival. He reaches the building just as the attack happens. What follows is a deeply personal account of shock, survival and the friend who stayed on the phone when he needed someone most.
Episode Chapters
00:00:00 Cold Open
00:01:00 Welcome to the Day Shift
00:02:01 Michelle: Green Goblin Goes Shopping
00:08:23 DJ: The Firebird from Hell
00:16:00 Matthew: Hawaii Workday from Hell
00:26:27 Dan: Tow-Truck Insurance and a Threatening Client
00:32:03 Joe: Calls from the Fifth Floor
00:40:41 LaRee: Dentist from Hell
00:50:44 Thomas: Late for 9/11
00:57:25 Clocking Out
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Listen Next
For more extraordinary workplace stories and unsettling encounters, listen to Episode 14: Held Hostage for 31 Months, Revenge on a Magician, Haunted Hospital.
Or discover Trapped in a Car Vending Machine, Haunted Hotel, Runaway CEO.
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Employee of the Month Night Shift Story Competition
What is the scariest thing that has ever happened to you at work?
Presented by Edmonton’s Best Hotels, the Night Shift Story Competition is open for submissions through October 31, 2026.
Submit and record your true scary workplace story by October 31 for your chance to win a $1,000 USD cash prize. We’ll crown our Employee of the Month during the first episode of November.
Ghosts, monsters, terrifying customers, dangerous situations or something you still cannot explain. Your story does not have to involve a ghost or happen at night. It just needs to be a frightening experience connected to work.
Voice memo and interview submissions are both welcome, and you may share your story anonymously. Submit using the email address or guest intake form above.
If you’re sitting on a scary workplace story, our next Employee of the Month could be you.
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Transcript
I was at the Pentagon on 911 and I was scheduled to be there at 9:30 because I was resigning my Air Force commission on that day.
Speaker A:So I didn't wake up on time to be in the blast area on 911 because that morning my alarm clock broke.
Speaker B:Welcome back to I Used to Work There.
Speaker B:I'm Kelly Kennedy.
Speaker B:If you're a regular listener, thank you.
Speaker B:If this is your very first time, welcome.
Speaker B:I Used to Work there.
Speaker B:Is your show your stories true workplace stories, Stranger than fiction?
Speaker B:Today we have seven stories for your listening pleasure.
Speaker B:From a grocery store encounter with none other than the Green Goblin to a hospital phone that just keeps on calling even though it isn't plugged in.
Speaker B:And stick with us all the way to the end.
Speaker B:To hear how Sleeping in may have saved one man's life on September 11, grab your punch cards, people.
Speaker B:It's time to clock in to the day shift.
Speaker B:For our first story today, it is my pleasure to welcome Michelle, who worked at a grocery store in Los Angeles where the customers were sometimes as famous as the city itself.
Speaker B:Michelle, tell us what happened.
Speaker C:Thank you so much.
Speaker D:Yay.
Speaker C:Okay, this one I've been wanting to tell and ever since I discovered your podcast, like, oh, my gosh, I have to email.
Speaker C:So again, I worked at Whole Foods Market.
Speaker C:I was there for 14 years.
Speaker C:And I worked at the Brentwood location, which was very much a celebrity mecca.
Speaker C:And my job there, I was a sign maker.
Speaker C:I would do price point signage, promotional signage, and this particular day, I was putting up promotion signage, I believe, for a really fun event in the specialty department, which carried wine, cheese, olives, charcuterie, like, fancy schmancy.
Speaker C:You got it in the specialty department?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Well, I'm in the department, and across the area from me, there's a woman and a little boy in the cart.
Speaker C:And the little boy was small enough to be in the cart but big enough to have conversations because he was having a conversation with his mom.
Speaker C:Mom's looking at wine bottles.
Speaker C:Little boy's just eating his snack, and he's got his toy in his hand.
Speaker C:And his toy, I noticed, was the Green Goblin from Tobey Maguire's Spider Man.
Speaker C:But he was just playing.
Speaker C:And then I'm working in front of, I believe, the cheese case, and somebody walks up next to me and.
Speaker C:And in my instinctiveness is I will move out of the way and collect my things.
Speaker C:Move out of the way so whoever's next to me can shop.
Speaker C:And all of a sudden I hear, oh, no, no, no, you don't have to do It.
Speaker C:But it's in that distinct voice.
Speaker C:It was Willem Dafoe.
Speaker B:Whoa.
Speaker C:And he was like.
Speaker C:I immediately just, like, looked at him, and I was starstruck, and I was like, ha ha ha.
Speaker C:No problem.
Speaker C:Like, but still, let me just get out of your way, but thank you.
Speaker C:I appreciate that.
Speaker C:And then all of a sudden, his eyes look past me, and I turn my head to see what he's looking at, and it's that little boy.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:And that little boy's got snack midair just looking at him with the buggy eyes, and he's just.
Speaker C:And the two of them are looking at each other, and I look back at Willem, and I go, I think you have a fan.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And he goes, oh, my gosh.
Speaker C:He goes.
Speaker C:The first thing he says is, I can't believe my doll is out.
Speaker C:And second, I can't believe there's somebody who's actually carrying my doll, like, who's a fan.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker C:So he was more perplexed by that.
Speaker C:And then all of a sudden, I hear the little boy go, mommy, mommy, mommy.
Speaker C:It's the green goblin.
Speaker C:And mom is looking at a bottle of wine, and she's like, dear, yeah, it's good job, you know?
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker C:And all of a sudden, he's just like, green goblin, green goblin, can you do your laugh?
Speaker C:And all of a sudden, he just, like, starts to slither behind me, and he's walking towards him, and he's just.
Speaker C:The face.
Speaker C:The face is starting to constrict, like he's turning into a green goblin.
Speaker C:And he's just going really low, and he's talking to him, and he's being, like, super nice, like, super PG about it, and he's just walking towards him, and all of a sudden, the laugh comes from his diaphragm, and he's just going and going and going.
Speaker C:And all of a sudden, it's that cackle.
Speaker C:That green goblin cackle.
Speaker C:And that little boy is like, oh,.
Speaker B:My gosh, this is so cool.
Speaker C:And I'm over there like, oh, my gosh.
Speaker C:You know?
Speaker C:And mom is just like.
Speaker C:All of a sudden, he gets to, like, full volume when he gets next to her, and she almost drops that.
Speaker B:Bottle of wine,.
Speaker C:And she's just like, oh, my God, you're really here.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker B:Holy cow.
Speaker B:Yeah, I wasn't expecting that one.
Speaker C:Oh, yeah.
Speaker C:So he's just like, oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry.
Speaker C:I didn't mean to, you know, scare you.
Speaker C:And she's just like, I thought he was talking about his doll.
Speaker C:I didn't know, he was talking about the fact that you were actually here, and he looked at a little boy, and he's like, thank you so much for being such a fan.
Speaker C:And what is it about Green Goblin that you like?
Speaker C:And then this is the part that got him very humbled.
Speaker C:The little boy goes, my mom only lets me carry one toy when we go shopping, and I couldn't find my Spider man doll, and so I had to take this instead.
Speaker C:But now I really, really like the Green Goblin because they got to meet you today.
Speaker C:No kidding.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:That just completely, like, got a fat laugh out of Willem Dafoe.
Speaker C:And the three of them were chatting.
Speaker C:I couldn't hear that portion of the conversation, but he came back over to me, grabbed what he was looking for because he had asked me where that particular product was.
Speaker C:And in that time frame of him interacting with the mom and the little boy, I found it for him.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Out of all of the celebrities I see in the store, that is probably one of my most favorite interactions that I've ever seen a celebrity have with a fan 20 years later.
Speaker C:It is seriously one of my favorite celebrity interaction stories that I think.
Speaker C:I think I've maybe told a handful of people, and who knew that there was a podcast out there that existed that I could finally tell this story just because, you know, there's so many horror stories of celebrity interactions.
Speaker C:But for me, thankfully, I had great celebrity interactions, and so cool.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So that just.
Speaker C:I mean, that made my day.
Speaker C:That just, like, I think about that every once in a while when I'm feeling down and just going like that.
Speaker C:Just a.
Speaker C:That's a energy booster.
Speaker C:That's a vibe that you just.
Speaker C:You never want to let that feeling go of just that little boy.
Speaker C:That little boy got to meet the Green Goblin.
Speaker B:Got to meet a hero.
Speaker B:So cool.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:So cool.
Speaker D:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:Well, Michelle, that's an incredible story.
Speaker B:Thank you so much for coming on and sharing it with us.
Speaker C:It's my pleasure.
Speaker C:Thank you for having me.
Speaker B:How cool would it be to just be hanging out at work when the Green Goblin shows up?
Speaker B:I think that's probably one of the coolest stories we've had on the show so far.
Speaker B:Thanks again, Michelle.
Speaker B:And looking forward to more incredible celebrity stories, from an interaction with the Green Goblin to another story about me that I've been sitting on for a little while.
Speaker B:It is my pleasure to welcome DJ Kennedy, my big brother, back to the show to tell a story about when I worked with him during the summer in high school, which, yeah, had some interesting Twists and turns and a very shitty firebird involved.
Speaker B:It is my pleasure to welcome DJ back to the show.
Speaker B:Tell us what happened.
Speaker F:Well, I was the warehouse manager for a company in Surrey that did.
Speaker F:Well, there was two companies we had.
Speaker F:The main company I worked for, we did asbestos removal.
Speaker F:I never let them take you on those jobs, but because I was the warehouse manager, I needed an assistant and they let me hire whoever I wanted.
Speaker F:So when you came out for the summers, I put you to work and you got paid.
Speaker F:It wasn't free?
Speaker B:No, it wasn't.
Speaker F:But yeah, so I had an assistant and the other company that we had that I was running the warehouse for, because they didn't have anybody that could they put the new fireproofing in.
Speaker F:So they would bring in trailers of, of product for their, for their fireproofing and they would borrow you to help them unload these trailers.
Speaker F:Now consider that the company I was working for mainly was a.
Speaker F:An asbestos removal company.
Speaker F:You don't exactly get cream of the crop people doing asbestos removal.
Speaker E:It's it.
Speaker B:Yeah, abatement doesn't exactly draw in, you know, the high profile.
Speaker F:We had a lot of functioning meth addicts and crack addicts, but some of the most of the foremen were solid.
Speaker F:But anyway, just, just to paint who this guy was working with as a kid.
Speaker F:Like he was 16 the first summer, 17 the second summer.
Speaker F:Yeah, I of course had a wee bit of a reputation for being a badass and nobody around with my warehouse or they got yelled at.
Speaker B:And I remember that part.
Speaker F:Yeah.
Speaker F:So like nobody was gonna with my little brother either.
Speaker F:So when the rough and tumble boys that wanted to do some wanted to, wanted to borrow you for a job to do some re insulating.
Speaker F:I said, okay, well who's he going with?
Speaker F:So I found that crew and I said, you understand this is my little brother, right.
Speaker F:Anything that happens to him happens to you ten times worse.
Speaker F:Yeah, yeah, you got in a little bit of trouble that, that a little summers.
Speaker F:But we kept it monthly folks, so it was cool.
Speaker B:That's half, that's half the battle, right?
Speaker B:It was probably still less trouble than I would have got into at home.
Speaker B:So there you go.
Speaker E:Win.
Speaker B:Win.
Speaker F:Well, I was still, I was still your big brother.
Speaker F:I had to teach you some things really, that' have some fun.
Speaker B:It's so funny actually.
Speaker B:Cause you brought up a time from that summer where I was unloading a trailer and honestly I'd completely forgotten about that.
Speaker B:But yeah, it was the longest day I think I'd ever worked.
Speaker B:I think if I look back to that.
Speaker B:It was like my first 12 hour day at anything, and it was unloading those bags of fireproofing out of that truck.
Speaker F:50 Pounds a piece.
Speaker B:I completely forgot about that.
Speaker B:But, yeah, it totally jogged my memory.
Speaker B:I was telling Shelby about it this morning.
Speaker B:But honestly, you know, for the most part, it was always good.
Speaker B:There was never any issue that happened with those summers.
Speaker B:I think my biggest problem was I used to keep falling asleep on the garbage runs.
Speaker B:Thank God I wasn't driving.
Speaker F:Well, I can remember it was that second summer when you were 17.
Speaker F:At the end of the summer, you were buying a car on your way.
Speaker B:Home, and we were going, oh, my gosh, you're gonna make me tell that story on.
Speaker B:I used to work there.
Speaker F:Hey, it was the same summer, brother.
Speaker G:It was.
Speaker F:And we were going, and we were.
Speaker B:All right, people, hang in there.
Speaker F:It was Chris's wedding.
Speaker F:Was it?
Speaker B:Yeah, it was Chris's wedding.
Speaker B:We had to get to it in Banff.
Speaker E:Yep, Yep.
Speaker B:So, okay, I am gonna bring into this.
Speaker B:I know that this isn't necessarily.
Speaker B:I used to work there, guys, but this is a story.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:I'd worked all summer with my big brother to buy a car to drive home.
Speaker B:And so that was the idea.
Speaker B:I went to work with him, I saved up my money all summer, and.
Speaker B:And I bought the coolest, shittiest Firebird you have ever seen.
Speaker F:Oh, but wait, wait, wait.
Speaker F:Before you could even do that, before you could even buy the car, we went to the bank and the bank machine screwed up, ate your check.
Speaker F:Yeah.
Speaker F:Something happened.
Speaker E:It ate the card.
Speaker F:So I remember I had to go and give you the money out of my account so you could go buy this silly car, all right?
Speaker F:They couldn't.
Speaker F:They couldn't help us at the bank because the machine ate your card.
Speaker A:Just.
Speaker F:Just give me the money.
Speaker F:I'll give it to my little brother, he'll go buy the car.
Speaker F:It was just.
Speaker F:It was a big kerpuffle.
Speaker B:It was.
Speaker B:It was.
Speaker B:And I had to take the ferry all the way out because I bought it on the island and bought this car, guys.
Speaker B:And it was so cool.
Speaker B:It was like.
Speaker B:It was beautiful.
Speaker B:You know, I mean, if you live in Canada, you know, British Columbia, cars are gorgeous.
Speaker B:Like, they don't get.
Speaker B:They don't get winter, so the cars don't rust.
Speaker B: So it was this beautiful: Speaker B:It didn't fucking work.
Speaker B:And we did not realize this until I was already well on my way home with my best friend trying to make it to my cousin's wedding in Banff, Alberta, Canada.
Speaker B:So we're talking like a 14 hour car ride, guys.
Speaker B:Like Canada's huge 14 hour car ride to get from, you know, the island to Calgary.
Speaker B:This car would overheat and break down every like two hours.
Speaker B:We ended up having to drive mostly at night to try to keep this car from overheating and it would still overheat.
Speaker B:I ended up, I ended up like calling the family.
Speaker B:Got introduced to cousins I'd never met on the way home in Kamloops, stayed on some floor of a cousin I'd never known just to show you how big the Kennedys are and made it by some miracle, made at home.
Speaker B:But yeah, still the wildest, wildest summer of work.
Speaker F:Well, dad probably still had to come out and rescue you part way.
Speaker E:Dad still had to come and rescue.
Speaker B:Me, but we made it.
Speaker B:We made it all the way home.
Speaker B:And you know what's hilarious, dj?
Speaker B:As soon as I got home, I sold that car.
Speaker A:I remember.
Speaker F:I remember.
Speaker B:Oh, goodness, no.
Speaker B:Thank you so much for reminding me of that time.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Let me say this.
Speaker B:I. I enjoyed every summer I spent with you and it definitely made a big impact on the future of my life.
Speaker B:Look where I am.
Speaker B:Look where I am.
Speaker B:Not sure I would be here without my big brother.
Speaker F:Well, just gave you some honest work practices and you've flourished with it.
Speaker F:Yes, you have.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker E:I love you.
Speaker B:I appreciate you so much.
Speaker F:Well, you're my favorite little brother.
Speaker B:Well, that means a lot.
Speaker B:It's a good thing because there is another one.
Speaker F:Oh, yeah, that's right.
Speaker F:There is another.
Speaker E:Sorry, Greg.
Speaker B:We love you too.
Speaker F:Yeah, he's okay.
Speaker F:Totally gapped on that one.
Speaker F:Oops.
Speaker F:Thanks.
Speaker B:Thanks for another great story and a great reminder, dj.
Speaker F:All right, you have a great day, brother.
Speaker F:Love you.
Speaker B:Love you too.
Speaker B:Now, I know that wasn't your typical I used to work there story, especially for our new people.
Speaker B:However, it is still a touching story.
Speaker B:It is a story of my summer jobs and what I was there to do.
Speaker B:And heck, I love my big brother.
Speaker B:So I wanted to feature that on the show.
Speaker B:From a summer job that goes a little bit crazy on the way home to a trip to work that.
Speaker B:My God, why did you even keep going?
Speaker B:It is my pleasure to welcome Matthew to the show.
Speaker B:Calling in from the beautiful state of Hawaii and our very first Hawaii story.
Speaker B:Please tell us what happened.
Speaker E:Let's go, man.
Speaker E:So my.
Speaker E:My name is Matthew.
Speaker E:I'm the owner of local demo service and I'm going to be talking today about one of my craziest days at work, we do sampling events all across the US So we go to grocery stores, we sample products for brands.
Speaker E:It started off with just me doing the demos, and my wife and I had just bought a brand new Ford Fiesta.
Speaker E:It was our first brand new car ever.
Speaker E:And in the very first week of driving this thing, I crashed into somebody and totaled the car.
Speaker E:And so I get out of the car, I call my wife.
Speaker E:She's like, you're an idiot.
Speaker E:And I'm like, damn, I screwed up.
Speaker E:And I. I get a ride home.
Speaker E:I left my demo table in the car, which was I was going to use for work the next day.
Speaker E:And I called my mom and I was like, hey, I think I'm just going to give up.
Speaker E:I think I'm.
Speaker E:I think I'm done doing this.
Speaker E:You know, gave it a good run.
Speaker E:She's like, just get in there.
Speaker E:Try one more day.
Speaker E:Let's see what happens, right?
Speaker E:So I was like, all right.
Speaker E:So I go home to my wife.
Speaker E:We're going to bed early because I now have to take the bus to.
Speaker E:To get to.
Speaker E:To work, right?
Speaker E:And I run double.
Speaker E:So I do two.
Speaker E:Two sampling events a day.
Speaker E:And the next day I have to do a sampling event at the football stadium on Oahu and then another event at Whole Foods Kahala.
Speaker E:So these are pretty far apart geographically, okay?
Speaker E:And I also have to get a new demo table.
Speaker E:So I have to wake up at 3am in the morning to start this.
Speaker E:This day.
Speaker E:So I kiss my wife.
Speaker E:I'm like, all right, I'm going to bed.
Speaker E:And she's like, just kiss me before you leave.
Speaker E:That's all I require of you, right?
Speaker E:And I was like, all right.
Speaker E:So I go to bed, and I know I'm getting up at 3am and I'm gonna have a crazy day.
Speaker E:So I'm just sitting there and my heart's pounding, like, oh, my God, am I gonna miss my shift?
Speaker E:Am I gonna.
Speaker E:Are they gonna have a table for me at Walmart?
Speaker E:When I stop in there at, you know, four in the morning, like, you know what's going to happen?
Speaker E:So I'm just sitting there, my heart's pounding, can't sleep, right?
Speaker E:And finally I get to sleep, but as soon as I fall asleep, an alarm goes off, right?
Speaker E:So I wake up to this blaring alarm, and I'm like, what's going on?
Speaker E:Right?
Speaker E:I'm like, do we have, like, we'll get these nuclear warnings like that China's attacking Hawaii.
Speaker E:You get these Things that happen, it happens at least once a year.
Speaker E:Or a tsunami warning.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker E:So I get up and it's like, it's like 2:45, so I'm like, really 50.
Speaker E:I could have gotten like 15 minutes of sleep.
Speaker E:So I get up, I put on my backpack, and then I grab a duffel bag full of gear, right?
Speaker E:And so every day I have to bring a bunch of gear.
Speaker E:So I get up, I walk outside and it's just like pouring rain.
Speaker E:And so I'm like, okay, that's what the alarm is for.
Speaker E:It's a tsunami warning, right?
Speaker E:And we're living like basically right near Waikiki.
Speaker E:If anybody has been there before.
Speaker E:It's like the, it's like the Vegas of Hawaii, okay?
Speaker E:And so I walk outside.
Speaker E:I'm walking, I'm half asleep, I can't see anything, right?
Speaker E:I don't have a flashlight.
Speaker E:There's obviously lights on the street, but it's like, it's dark.
Speaker E:And I go to step off the curb because I have to, I have to walk to Walmart to get a table.
Speaker E:And I step into knee deep water.
Speaker E:I'm like, holy crap.
Speaker E:I get out, I get out of the water and immediately, you know, I can start seeing everything because my adrenaline started running.
Speaker E:So I'm pretty sure my, my, my pupils dilated.
Speaker E:So now I'm like, I'm looking around and I see rats coming out of the sewer.
Speaker E:So I'm like, and, and these rats are big rats.
Speaker E:Have you ever seen the rats in Honolulu?
Speaker E:They're like dog sized rats coming out of these sewers.
Speaker E:Like, okay, think Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, right?
Speaker E:So, so that's what I see.
Speaker E:I check the time because I'm like, dude, maybe I need to wait.
Speaker E:Maybe I just, maybe I do need to give up because this is, this is sketchy, right?
Speaker E:I check the time, it's like a little bit past 3am and I'm like, all right, if I'm going to get to this stadium on time, I have to get to Walmart, which is a certain distance away.
Speaker E:And then I have to see if there's even a bus running at this time to get to the stadium.
Speaker E:So I'm like, I, I don't know the math on this right now.
Speaker E:I just know I got to go right now.
Speaker E:So put my phone away and I start hustling.
Speaker E:I'm booking it through this knee deep water, right?
Speaker E:I'm running, my clothes are getting wet, right?
Speaker E:I'm trying to keep my duffel bag above water.
Speaker E:I finally get out of The Waikiki area.
Speaker E:And it's like, no longer flooded above my knees.
Speaker E:And I start booking it.
Speaker E:I'm like, running.
Speaker E:So I'm running with this heavy bag of stuff and my backpack full stuff, because I don't know if I'm going to be late.
Speaker E:I don't even know if a bus runs at this time because I was.
Speaker E:I had a car the day before, so I didn't have to think about this.
Speaker E:And I'm running to Walmart.
Speaker E:I finally get there, I probably look like a crazy person.
Speaker E:We have a lot of meth heads.
Speaker E:We call them burgers in Hawaii.
Speaker E:So I'm pretty sure people are probably looking at me like, this guy is weird.
Speaker E:Like, duffel bag, soaking wet, storm.
Speaker E:What's going on?
Speaker E:And I run to the table section, and they only have one table.
Speaker E:And it's a steel table.
Speaker E:It's a folding steel table, right?
Speaker E:And just to understand why this is not a good situation is I have to carry this thing on a bus with a duffel bag full of stuff and a backpack full of stuff.
Speaker E:So I'm like a mule now if I'm going to carry this.
Speaker E:This thing.
Speaker E:And so I go run to the manager really quick and I'm like, is there another table?
Speaker E:Please tell me there's another table.
Speaker E:And they're like, we could check the back, but, you know, it could be in pallets and you know, it might be a couple hours.
Speaker E:And I'm like, dude, I don't have a couple hours.
Speaker E:What are you talking about?
Speaker E:So I buy this steel table and I check out and I run to the bus stop.
Speaker E:And so now I'm like, I'm freaking out because I'm like, I. I might be late.
Speaker E:You know, I have to be at the stadium at 6am because this was a slightly different type of sampling event than normal.
Speaker E:It was for the.
Speaker E:There's like an event going on there.
Speaker E:And so I run to the bus stop, I check the.
Speaker E:The bus schedule.
Speaker E:There's like an app.
Speaker E:I download it, you know, I look and then I'm like, I look and see if there's any buses.
Speaker E:Next bus is coming at like 7am in the morning.
Speaker E:So I'm like, dude, no, I've got like two hours or something.
Speaker E:I don't remember the exact time frame to get to this event.
Speaker E:So I was like, all right, let's.
Speaker E:Let's see how far the stadium is from here, right?
Speaker E:I look it up.
Speaker E:It's nine miles from.
Speaker E:From this bus stop.
Speaker E:I'm either going to start booking it now, and maybe I'll make it on time.
Speaker E:Maybe I'll be a little late, and they'll still have me for the event.
Speaker E:I don't know.
Speaker E:But I was like, I.
Speaker E:That's the only option I have.
Speaker E:I either just omit this event and go home, or I do what I can and see if I can make it.
Speaker E:And if I don't make it, oh, well.
Speaker E:So I decided, you know what?
Speaker E:I'm going to go for it.
Speaker E:So I literally start running with a steel table, a duffel bag full of gear, a backpack, and I'm running nine miles to the stadium in a storm, right?
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker E:And so I'm booking it.
Speaker E:I'm sweating, you know, soaking wet, carrying this stuff.
Speaker E:My arms are sore, but I have to run or not make the event.
Speaker E:So I literally ran the whole, whole distance.
Speaker E:I think it took me a little over two hours to get there, and I make it to the stadium.
Speaker E:So I'm like, yes, I made it.
Speaker E:Wow.
Speaker E:Right?
Speaker E:I do.
Speaker E:My event there, cool.
Speaker E:Done.
Speaker E:Went well.
Speaker E:Got paid, run to the bus stop.
Speaker E:Still pouring rain.
Speaker E:So I'm getting poured, poured on.
Speaker E:And when I get there, the bus comes.
Speaker E:I get on the bus, and I'm, like, putting my stuff down.
Speaker E:And the lady's like, hold up the bus driver.
Speaker E:She's like, we don't allow tourists on this bus.
Speaker E:This is for Hawaii residents or something like that.
Speaker E:I don't know what word she used.
Speaker E:And I was like, what are you talking about?
Speaker E:I am.
Speaker E:I am a Hawaii student.
Speaker E:Here's my.
Speaker E:Here's my.
Speaker E:Here's my, like, school card, and here's my Hawaii id.
Speaker E:And she's like, no, you've got bags and.
Speaker E:And you've got backpacks.
Speaker E:You're clearly a tourist coming from the airport.
Speaker E:Get off my bus.
Speaker E:And so I'm like, damn.
Speaker E:So I pleaded with her, and she's like, nope, get off.
Speaker E:And you better get off sooner.
Speaker E:I'm calling the cops.
Speaker E:So I was like, dude.
Speaker E:So I get off the bus, it's pouring rain.
Speaker E:I'm hanging my head low.
Speaker E:I'm like, God, please.
Speaker E:Please send me a bus.
Speaker E:Please send me a bus.
Speaker E:God.
Speaker E:Luckily, another bus came.
Speaker E:I got on the bus.
Speaker E:They let me on.
Speaker E:I had to give the same story to the bus driver and took the bus to my next event in Kahala.
Speaker E:I get off the bus, I'm late for my event.
Speaker E:So I'm running, right?
Speaker E:I put my headphones on.
Speaker E:This time, I couldn't.
Speaker E:So I couldn't really hear right.
Speaker E:And so I'm Running.
Speaker E:These people are on the sidewalk, and so I run around them, right?
Speaker E:And I run around them, and I'm blasting music, and I hear something, and I'm like, what is that sound?
Speaker E:But I was like, it's probably nothing.
Speaker E:I'm just.
Speaker E:I'm tripping, right?
Speaker E:So I keep running, and then I hear it again, and it sounds like somebody's yelling at me.
Speaker E:So I, like.
Speaker E:I turn around, and I take off my.
Speaker E:My headphone, and I see this guy and this girl.
Speaker E:So this guy was just like, do you want to fight?
Speaker E:And I was like, whoa, dude, no, I don't want to fight.
Speaker E:What are you talking about, dude?
Speaker E:And he just, like, runs up to me, gets this close to my face, and, like, face does this to me and was just like, well, you're gonna.
Speaker D:Right?
Speaker E:And then he just, like, bolts off, and I'm like, what is going on today?
Speaker E:This is just like, there's something's wrong today, dude.
Speaker E:I get to my shift, do my shift, and then I'm like, I'm done for the day.
Speaker E:I'm busting at home.
Speaker E:That same guy is on the bus, and so that same guy that challenged me to fight is on the bus, and there's only one seat left, and it's right next to him.
Speaker E:Of course.
Speaker E:I go sit next to him, and he apologizes to me.
Speaker E:He tells me his story.
Speaker E:I guess he was like.
Speaker E:He's addicted to method.
Speaker E:He, like, beat his wife and went to jail.
Speaker E:He just got out of jail.
Speaker E:And, yeah, that was the guy I had to sit next to.
Speaker E:And my.
Speaker E:My.
Speaker E:My heart was pounding this whole time.
Speaker E:I got off that bus, went home.
Speaker E:My wife asked me how my day went, and I was like, I don't know how to tell you how my day went, but that was literally my first week running my company.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:Wow, man.
Speaker B:Talk about, like, dedication to the.
Speaker B:Like, you really had to want to.
Speaker E:Get to that event.
Speaker B:There were so many times, Matt, you could have just turned around and been like, you know what?
Speaker D:I'll.
Speaker B:I'll do the next one.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker E:No, 100%.
Speaker E:I. I think once I got going, I kind of was just, like, I felt like I was locked in, like, I didn't have another choice.
Speaker E:Kind of like, I. I played that game in my head, and thankfully I did, and so now I can tell the story.
Speaker E:But, yeah, man, it was.
Speaker E:It was a wild day, and I definitely wanted to give up.
Speaker E:That's for sure.
Speaker B:Amazing.
Speaker B:Thank you for the story, Matt, and looking forward to the next one, bro.
Speaker E:Kelly.
Speaker E:Thank you, sir.
Speaker E:Appreciate you.
Speaker B:I'm not gonna lie, Matt.
Speaker B:I think I would have turned around and went home and said, I'm doing this again another day.
Speaker B:And if you ever had an insane story getting to or from work just like this, my gosh, we'd love to hear it.
Speaker B:HR used to work there.
Speaker B:Dot com.
Speaker B:Our final story of the day shift comes from Dan in Wisconsin, who had a client determined to save money on his tow truck insurance.
Speaker B:A week later, Dan's phone rang, and that decision became his problem.
Speaker B:Dan, welcome back to the show.
Speaker B:Tell us what happened.
Speaker G:Hey, brother Kelly.
Speaker G:Thanks so much for having me back on.
Speaker G:Yeah, this story is just a crazy one.
Speaker G:I work with a lot of small business owners, and this particular individual, we're doing a review of his insurance policy, and every time we do these reviews, we make sure to get signatures.
Speaker G:We make sure to take tedious notes.
Speaker G:I take a lot of notes, and this was one where I'm very glad I took specific notes and got his signature and a date.
Speaker G:He was one of these guys that wanted to pay the least amount possible for his insurance, so he wanted every single possible part of his insurance broken down so he could make a decision to cut costs.
Speaker G:And he had this really nice tow truck, and he's this jacked dude that, as we're building rapport and having conversations, it turns out in his spare time, I don't know if he also did roids, but he was, like, totally jacked.
Speaker G:But he was an MMA guy.
Speaker H:He.
Speaker G:He loved to do fighting and mixed martial arts, and that's what he would do on the weekends, like, actually compete in cages around the state and.
Speaker G:And other places.
Speaker G:And he had a good record, too.
Speaker G:So we had conversations, and even if he didn't, he could definitely beat me up.
Speaker D:Right?
Speaker D:And you.
Speaker G:You know what I'm talking about.
Speaker G:You're sitting there with a guy and you're like, yeah, I got no.
Speaker G:I'm like, yep, not gonna make this guy mad.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker G:So I made sure to do everything.
Speaker G:I mean, I've got licensing requirements and everything else.
Speaker G:I want to make sure everything's above board.
Speaker G:In multiple times, he told me he did not want to carry comprehensive or collision coverage on his tow truck, which I thought was crazy.
Speaker G:I think at the time, he was paying maybe two grand a year for those coverages, and he didn't want to do it.
Speaker G:And so I went through it back and forth with him and said, are you sure?
Speaker F:Are you sure?
Speaker G:And he was convinced he didn't want it, and so he got rid of the coverage.
Speaker G:I signed on the dotted line, called it into my team.
Speaker G:They removed the coverage a week later.
Speaker G:And this was a time of year when it doesn't usually snow in Wisconsin, but we're in Wisconsin and it can snow.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker G:And so he's out on a call and it snowed and I see.
Speaker G:And somebody hit and ran.
Speaker G:They hit and ran the back of his tow truck and ruined his tow truck that he had a loan on that he was.
Speaker G:You know, he called me.
Speaker G:I remember exactly where I was when he did.
Speaker G:And he was just in a rage, just so upset.
Speaker G:And he had called my team and found out he didn't have coverage and must have forgot our conversation or wanted to think that it didn't happen because I was able to send over that form to show to him.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker G:But that was the day that I removed my address from every piece of information out there on the Internet or on any of my notepads that I hand out or anything because he threatened me in multiple ways.
Speaker G:And I said, I'm really sorry.
Speaker G:I didn't think that this would happen to you.
Speaker G:I didn't want this to happen to you.
Speaker G:We had this conversation a week ago to the day and I have your signature here showing that you did not want this coverage.
Speaker H:A couple weeks later, though, he had.
Speaker G:A mysterious van start on fire during the middle of the day and didn't call the fire department and just happened to be a similar size claim to what he needed to cover his tow truck.
Speaker G:And needless to say, we.
Speaker G:We weren't partners in business for very long after that, but it was.
Speaker G:I deal with a lot of very interesting characters and a lot of very interesting situations.
Speaker B:Thank you, Dan, for another incredible story.
Speaker B:And wow, that is one way to turn a few bucks into a very, very expensive mistake.
Speaker B:And with that, the day shift comes to a close and things are about to get a lot darker.
Speaker B:After a quick word from our sponsor.
Speaker B:Welcome back to I used to work there.
Speaker B:It is time for the night shift.
Speaker B:Our night shift story competition presented by edmonton's best hotels is still running for the next two weeks and we want your scariest workplace stories.
Speaker B:Ghosts, monsters or just terrifying situations.
Speaker B:If it happened to you at work, I want to hear it.
Speaker B:On our very first show of November, we'll crown our employee of the month and award a $1,000 US cash prize.
Speaker B:If you're sitting on a scary workplace story, that winner could be you.
Speaker B:Email HR used to work there.com and tell me what happened.
Speaker B:And if you're looking for a fall getaway There is plenty happening right here in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Speaker B:From the Canadian Finals Rodeo to Scream and Purple City Music Festival, there is lots to explore in our river valley city with the Rocky Mountains just a three hour drive away.
Speaker B:And guys, it's beautiful.
Speaker B:Book through Edmonton's best hotels using the link in our show notes for up to $225 cash back on your stay.
Speaker B:Before we get into our next story, I have one big favor.
Speaker B:If you're enjoying the show, please follow us on Apple Podcasts and leave us a five star rating.
Speaker B:Your support helps keep these stories coming.
Speaker B:Our very first Night Shift story begins with a hospital phone that just keeps calling.
Speaker B:And there is just one big problem.
Speaker B:It isn't even plugged in.
Speaker B:It is my absolute pleasure to welcome Joe calling in from Arkansas who worked in a haunted hospital.
Speaker B:Joe, tell us what happened.
Speaker H: So back in: Speaker H:It's a part of the Mercy Network, but back then we called it St. Edwards Hospital.
Speaker H:Started out in security and we had some remodeling going on on the fifth floor.
Speaker H:Basically the whole entire floor was shut down.
Speaker H: , which we called it: Speaker H:We kept getting phone calls from that floor into the security office and there would be nothing on the other end or static.
Speaker H:So we thought maybe it was some kid or something that was going up there and messing around, you know, that type of thing.
Speaker H:So I got nominated being the new young guy to go up and check it out.
Speaker H:So I make my way up there and I'm going down the hall.
Speaker H:Of course there's plastic sheeting all over the place.
Speaker H:So you had to kind of go through.
Speaker H:You've seen the similar scenarios in horror movies.
Speaker H:You know where you're going through a construction area and there's plastic that bisqueen everywhere and you have to kind of go through.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker H:And the hall was really dimly lit.
Speaker H:The main lights were shut off and you only had the like the string lights that you see in construction company construction sites.
Speaker H:So going down this hall and I come to the room where the call is coming from and obviously there's, there's nobody in there.
Speaker H:As a matter of fact I find the phone and it's not even plugged in.
Speaker H:So there's no way that a call could be coming from that room.
Speaker H:So I thought, well, maybe the room numbers are mixed up or something.
Speaker H:So I'll, I'll check the surrounding rooms and see.
Speaker H:So I checked at each and every room.
Speaker H:There was not a phone connected on that entire wing.
Speaker H:The phones were in there, but they weren't connected.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker H:So I plug it in and call down to the office, say, hey, I'm here.
Speaker H:You know, there's nobody up here.
Speaker H:You know, all the phones were unplugged.
Speaker H:Matter of fact, I had to plug it in to call down to the aux.
Speaker H:I said, okay, we'll kind of walk around the other hall, you know, the main hall, and just see if you see or hear somebody running around.
Speaker H:That's all right.
Speaker H:I did.
Speaker H:So I unplugged the phone, hung it back up, unplugged it, set it aside, and start walking my way down the long hall, which branches off onto the each each wings, and never did find anybody.
Speaker H:About that time, I get a call over the radio.
Speaker H:Hey, somebody's calling from that room again.
Speaker B:Oh, my God.
Speaker H:Did you leave the phone plugged in?
Speaker H:No, I didn't leave the phone plugged in.
Speaker H:So by this time, I'm getting creeped out because I know there's nobody up there but me.
Speaker H:So I go back to the room, sure enough, phone sitting the same place that I left it unplugged.
Speaker H:So I plug it back in, called back down to the offices.
Speaker H:Hey, you know, I just plugged the phone back in.
Speaker H:There's nobody up here.
Speaker H:You know, don't know what's going on.
Speaker H:You know, it must be some sort of glitch or something, right?
Speaker H:So I unplug the phone, set it back aside, and I'm walking back towards the elevators to go back down to where the security office is.
Speaker H:And lo and behold, they call over the radio, hey, there's somebody calling again.
Speaker H:I'm like, I just left the room.
Speaker H:You know, there's no way that anybody's calling in that room.
Speaker H:There's nobody up here but me.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker H:And so I make my way back down there just to double check, see if somebody didn't backtrack, come in behind me.
Speaker H:Of course there was nobody.
Speaker H:So about this time, I started hearing footsteps.
Speaker H:And I thought, aha.
Speaker H:I, you know, I found them.
Speaker H:You know, they're.
Speaker H:They're walking around.
Speaker H:So I go to where the.
Speaker H:I'm hearing the footsteps coming from that direction and kept walking.
Speaker H:Never saw anybody, you know, going down the halls as I went.
Speaker H:There's no way anybody could have passed me.
Speaker H:So, heading back towards the elevator, and I hear these footsteps coming up behind me, and they're getting faster and heavier and faster and heavier.
Speaker H:Oh, crap, somebody's running.
Speaker H:You know, they're coming towards the elevators, trying to get away, thinking I'm in a room or something.
Speaker H:So I look back by stop.
Speaker H:And I look back behind me, and I hear the footsteps getting closer and closer, but there's nobody there.
Speaker H:Oh, crap.
Speaker H:So that time, you know, by that time, I was really freaked.
Speaker H:So I hightail it towards the elevators.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker H:And I'm sitting there waiting for the elevators to open, pushing the button, you know, you freaking out.
Speaker H:They open, and these footsteps are getting closer and closer every second.
Speaker H:You know?
Speaker H:Finally when they open, I step in and I turn around, and it sounds like they're right there at the elevator door.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker H:Nobody there.
Speaker H:You know, about that time the elevator doors closed, I make it back down to the security office and I tell them what happened.
Speaker H:Of course, they're guffawing and laughing and making fun and poking and everything else.
Speaker H:We get another phone call from that floor.
Speaker H:I was like, okay, this time you go, yeah.
Speaker H:They chose.
Speaker H:Yeah, I'm done.
Speaker H:So they chose who did it to go.
Speaker H:As a matter of fact, I think they actually.
Speaker H:The supervisor, shift supervisors.
Speaker H:That doesn't find.
Speaker H:I'll go.
Speaker H:He goes up there.
Speaker H:While he's up there, the phone rings.
Speaker H:Same room, nobody there.
Speaker H:About that time, he comes into the office, and he's as wide as a sheet, and he's like, there was nobody up there.
Speaker H:And I'm like, yeah, I know.
Speaker H:He's like, but somebody was chasing me.
Speaker H:I'm like, yeah, I know.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker H:And so for the rest of the time after that, we never went up to that floor again.
Speaker H:We just disregarded any call that came from that room.
Speaker H:And.
Speaker G:Wow.
Speaker H:So it turns out that there were.
Speaker H:There were other people that had had similar experiences on that hall during that time frame that was, you know, kind of freaked out about it.
Speaker H:And especially when we told them what happened, you know, they were really freaked out.
Speaker H:Then from that point forward, they started calling it the haunted hall.
Speaker H:And really, it makes sense because that was one of the more critical care floors.
Speaker H:And so there were a lot of people passing on that floor over.
Speaker H:Over the years.
Speaker H:So, yeah, it kind of.
Speaker H:Kind of makes sense.
Speaker E:Wow.
Speaker B:I love the fact that it was, like, corroborated that, like, somebody else experienced the same thing as you.
Speaker B:I bet that that.
Speaker B:That made you feel better about the whole thing.
Speaker H:Hey, yeah.
Speaker D:Yeah, it did.
Speaker H:But, you know, I mean, at that time, let's say that's been 21 years ago now, or going on, and I have been doing paranormal investigation since I was 15, was a private detective, police officer.
Speaker H:Okay.
Speaker H:You know, personal protection agent, the whole bit.
Speaker H:I've done it all.
Speaker H:But, you know, that creep factor was still there.
Speaker H:I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker H:You know, I mean, it prevented me from wanting to go back up there, but the curiosity eventually got the better of me.
Speaker H:And I did sneak up there a couple of times on my shift, and fortunately, I didn't have any more experiences while I was up there, but.
Speaker H:So there must have been something that happened that caused the activity to increase during that little time frame.
Speaker B:Well, you know what they say about renovations, right?
Speaker H:Absolutely.
Speaker H:And I found that to be very true on a lot of occasions.
Speaker B:Well, Joe, that's an absolutely incredible story.
Speaker B:Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
Speaker H:You betcha.
Speaker H:You betcha.
Speaker H:It's my pleasure.
Speaker B:Now, I know that two instances alone isn't enough to create a pattern, but that is our second ghost story that takes place on a fifth floor.
Speaker B:So do with that as you will.
Speaker B:And remember, if you have a scary ghost story, monster, cryptid, whatever, I absolutely want to hear it.
Speaker B:These are some of my favorite workplace stories, so please do send them in.
Speaker B:HR used to work there dot com.
Speaker B:And remember right now until October 31st, it could be worth US$1,000 from a haunted hospital to a dental office from hell.
Speaker B:Our next caller is Loree, calling from Kansas City, Missouri.
Speaker B:She thought she'd found an exciting opportunity.
Speaker B:What she got was a boss whose behavior became more frightening by the day.
Speaker B:Loree, tell us what happened.
Speaker D:Yes, Kelly.
Speaker D:I've been in dentistry since high school.
Speaker D:My grandmother was a dental assistant.
Speaker D:And I always say, we need a show.
Speaker D:I've seen some.
Speaker D:Some exciting things throughout my career in specialty.
Speaker D:I've never been afraid to jump around from different offices and grow in my career and specialty in implantology.
Speaker D:And now I do orthodontics.
Speaker D: probably, I would say, like,: Speaker D:I was, like, middle to late 20s in North Atlanta looking for.
Speaker D:For a new office.
Speaker D:And this advertisement was all about implantology.
Speaker D:And they did prp, prf, which was pretty groundbreaking at the time with the plasma.
Speaker D:They spit it out and put it in the.
Speaker D:With the implant.
Speaker D:So I was.
Speaker D:I was hype.
Speaker D:And I go to the interview and pretty much was hired on the spot.
Speaker D:I always wear my scrubs when I get there because I'm like, I can show you better than I can tell you.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker D:And I get there and I do my thing, and everything's great.
Speaker D:So they call me back that afternoon and ask me to come the next day.
Speaker D:This is like fall.
Speaker D:You know, weather's Nice.
Speaker D:I get there, I'm like, this office seems laid back.
Speaker D:I'm not going to lie.
Speaker D:The doctor was cute.
Speaker D:He was very muscular, very kind of cocky, you know, seemed very laid back and cool.
Speaker D:He looked like he might like to party a little bit.
Speaker D:So like, yeah, I can get down with this.
Speaker D:Like, let's go.
Speaker D:So I get there and we're working and things are, you know, pretty intense.
Speaker D:It's a pretty intense office and he's doing big cases.
Speaker D:So I understand, like, you know, tension's high.
Speaker D:But as we get in our day, they're like, go get the.
Speaker D:Go get the doctor, tell him you're ready.
Speaker D:And OP3.
Speaker D:So I go knock on the door.
Speaker D:This is the first time I've ever been in the man's office and come in.
Speaker D:So I open the door, close it behind me, and I look and there's a massive.
Speaker D:When I tell you massive pitbull.
Speaker D:Kelly.
Speaker D:This dog is like my size.
Speaker D:I am 120 pounds.
Speaker D:Like 125.
Speaker D:So you wet.
Speaker D:This dog is like 115.
Speaker D:Wow, blue eyes.
Speaker D:His name's Elvis.
Speaker D:Thank goodness he wasn't a man eater because.
Speaker D:And everybody was afraid of dogs.
Speaker D:That would have been it.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker D:And I mean, that's just like the last place you expect to see a dog.
Speaker B:No kidding.
Speaker D:In the dentist office.
Speaker D:But I love dogs.
Speaker D:I have dogs of my own.
Speaker D:So I played it cool and I called him into the operatory and I acted like it was nothing.
Speaker D:So I guess that was the first test.
Speaker D:You know, the day goes on, the week goes on, the weeks go on.
Speaker D:There's some, you know, weird things with the assistants, the manager.
Speaker D:The manager and all the front desk are these like really cute Colombian girls.
Speaker D:So they're very feisty and snappy.
Speaker D:And the manager and the doctor have like a very intense communication and sometimes she's crying, she's coming and like kind of berating us a little bit.
Speaker D:And Connors el stubido under her breath and all this other stuff.
Speaker D:So it was just very.
Speaker D:And then the assistants, there were two male assistants, which is kind of uncommon, and they were butting heads.
Speaker D:So there were like literal physical altercations in the office at times after hours.
Speaker D:And the day just like, you know, the days were wild.
Speaker D:The doctor was intense.
Speaker D:He was screaming at people, making people cry on a daily.
Speaker D:And I mean, you get off work and you go, you go to your happy hour and you tell your bartender or you tell your co workers, you know, what a day you had and how your boss is intense.
Speaker D:But it Was, like, on another level.
Speaker D:So my co workers, a couple of us, would sit around and have drinks after work, and we would vent, and we would.
Speaker D:I mean, this guy, like, lived in our heads.
Speaker D:We were like, he's nuts.
Speaker D:His girlfriend would storm in the office and go to the back and, you know, interrupt treatment.
Speaker D:It was always.
Speaker D:There was never a dull day at this office.
Speaker D:And one day, there was a patient who came back.
Speaker D:We had placed an implant, and sometimes things shift and move.
Speaker D:But for some reason, his verbiage had triggered the doctor.
Speaker D:And the doctor.
Speaker D:I walk past, and the doctor is up in the guy's face.
Speaker D:They're, like, about to be physical, and the patient's screaming, and the doctor's red and yelling.
Speaker D:So I get between them, and I yell at him, like, go to your office.
Speaker D:Like, he's a dog.
Speaker D:I'm like, get in your cage.
Speaker D:Get in there.
Speaker D:And I tell the patient, you need.
Speaker D:I don't know where the manager was.
Speaker D:No idea.
Speaker D:This was just another day at the office, though.
Speaker D:Literally another day of the office.
Speaker D:So, Kelly, I put up with this for a long time, and I'll admit I was young and feisty, and I gave it back to him.
Speaker D:And there were a couple times I called him after hours and told him, you don't pay me enough to put up with this.
Speaker D:And.
Speaker D:Yeah, but the final straw was, it was the day he was having a bad day, and I had come to him, and my patients were wearing thin with his temper tantrums every day.
Speaker D:And I must have said something sharply, and he bowed up at me in a physical manner that made me cower down.
Speaker D:And I said, I'm done.
Speaker D:So I didn't give notice.
Speaker D:I didn't just.
Speaker D:I just left.
Speaker D:I was pretty upset, and I did have my feelings hurt because he had.
Speaker D:I had seen that side of him, but it had never really been directed at me.
Speaker D:But I had to leave.
Speaker D:It was getting to be summer the next year by this point, and I was down in Florida and enjoying myself, and I get a call from a friend back home and a link, and they're like, isn't this your boss?
Speaker D:And it was a link for Fox 5 News, and he was on the news that he had lost his temper horribly.
Speaker D:And, yes, and I think the conversation with my friend was something like, well, you.
Speaker D:You said he was.
Speaker D:He said he was nuts, but this is insane.
Speaker D:And I opened the link, and he had barred himself in the house with his girlfriend.
Speaker D:He had, like, kept captive in there, and she escaped, and he refused to come out.
Speaker D:He was barred up in the house.
Speaker D:They had to send the robots and to get up the bomb robots.
Speaker D:And when they finally got him, disarmed him and got him subdued, they went in the home and they said there was an arsenal of weapons, like.
Speaker D:And I knew just by the look of the guy and the stories in his office, he was military, I'm sure, but he just was.
Speaker D:Is also a pilot.
Speaker D:He flew that dog in the plane.
Speaker D:Him and the dog would fly and just adorable.
Speaker D:But, yeah, he was disturbed.
Speaker D:And mental health is a real thing, and it's pretty common amongst that profession, actually.
Speaker D:But he had some deep, deep issues.
Speaker D:And it was one of those things where it's like, everyone says their.
Speaker D:Says that their job is stressful or that they're.
Speaker D:And I know there's more stressful jobs, but my boss was a real maniac.
Speaker D:I mean, a real maniac.
Speaker D:It's sad because it went on that he had a kid, and we all were so happy, and we said, that's gonna be what settles him down.
Speaker D:He was older and late 40s, but unfortunately, later we found that he did take his own life years later when.
Speaker D:I don't know how old his daughter was, and that was very sad.
Speaker D:And the assistants that worked with him, the male assistants that ended up, they stayed with him and stayed with his associate and were very close and understood him deeply.
Speaker D:They were really, really bothered.
Speaker D:And a part of me is just very sad for that with mental health.
Speaker D:I have.
Speaker D:I'm very familiar with mental health disorders and how it can affect people, and so it's a sad story, but in retrospect, I look back and I'm just.
Speaker D:I'm grateful to have known him, but that was a wild place to work.
Speaker H:Yeah.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker H:Wow.
Speaker B:I'm sorry that happened to you, Lurie.
Speaker D:Thank you, Kelly.
Speaker D:Thank you.
Speaker B:Also, I'm very happy you got out when you did.
Speaker D:As am I.
Speaker D:As am I.
Speaker B:There's one thing that I'm learning in these conversations.
Speaker B:Once abuse of any kind starts, it doesn't stop.
Speaker D:And it's something that a lot of people who are young in their career, I think maybe go along with or accept.
Speaker D:And just being berated or feeling like your workplace is hostile every day is not healthy, and you deserve better.
Speaker B:Not.
Speaker B:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker B:If you're hearing this show and you live in a.
Speaker B:You're working in a place that makes you feel like crap every day, there is a better place for you right around the corner, go find.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:If your boss lives in your head rent free, if you go home and drink about this man every night, think about him and talk about him for two hours when you get off.
Speaker D:Yes.
Speaker D:Put your application and your feelers out there.
Speaker D:Put your resume out there.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:Loree, thank you.
Speaker B:Thank you for listening.
Speaker B:Thank you for another great story and looking forward to another one down the line.
Speaker D:Thanks for having me, Kelly.
Speaker D:Good luck.
Speaker B:And to anybody out there experiencing workplace abuse or trauma, you don't have to take it.
Speaker B:You absolutely deserve better.
Speaker B:For our final night shift story of the day, it is my absolute pleasure to welcome Thomas Lee Johnson calling from Raleigh, North Carolina.
Speaker B:And on September 11, he was due at the Pentagon.
Speaker B:But that very morning, an alarm clock that he'd relied on for years failed to wake him.
Speaker B:Thomas, welcome to the show.
Speaker B:Tell us what happened.
Speaker A:Kelly, it's a delight to be with you.
Speaker A:And I used to.
Speaker A:I will never forget.
Speaker A:Like, I love, I love the name of your podcast.
Speaker A:It's good to be with you.
Speaker A:Hey, listen, just.
Speaker A:I was at.
Speaker A:I was at the Pentagon on 9 11.
Speaker A:I was scheduled to be in 5E172.
Speaker A:I'm going to give you the 92nd version of why I was there.
Speaker F:Sure.
Speaker A: I was born leroy Hawkins in: Speaker A:I was born in foster care.
Speaker A:I was adopted at 5 with a horrible stutter stammer, an inability to look people in the eye through prayer to Jesus Christ.
Speaker A:My mom helped me transform from a horrible student to become a high school valedictorian, the United States Air Force Academy graduate.
Speaker A:And then the CIA recruited me to build spy satellites.
Speaker H:Wow.
Speaker A:And I was at the Pentagon on 9 11.
Speaker A:And I was scheduled to be there at 9:30 in 5E172 because I was resigning my Air Force commission on that day.
Speaker A:So I didn't wake up on time to be in the blast area on 911 in 5E172 because that morning my alarm clock broke.
Speaker B:Oh my gosh.
Speaker E:Wow.
Speaker B:Holy moly.
Speaker A:I believe Jesus Christ saved my life.
Speaker A:And I did wake up late.
Speaker A:So I was driving my convertible red Toyota Celica through the streets of D.C. into the Pentagon.
Speaker A:I parked at 9:35.
Speaker A:I run into the Pentagon.
Speaker A:The southeast doors is in my hand, when all of a sudden I. I feel the ground shake.
Speaker A:I hear three explosions.
Speaker A:Now, I'd never been in a terrorist attack, so I didn't know what I was experiencing.
Speaker A:But off to the left, I heard a woman screaming, oh my God, no.
Speaker A:So I actually had to walk away from the Pentagon because I was so close to go to where she was and look what she saw and to See what she was seeing?
Speaker A:Yeah, as I looked.
Speaker A:What.
Speaker A:As I saw what she was seeing, I saw a mushroom cloud forming.
Speaker A:And then I freaked out and ran to my car.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker A:And drove home.
Speaker A:And I was at.
Speaker A:I was at ground zero, moment zero.
Speaker A:So I could just drive by the Pentagon, drive back across the Memorial Bridge, back to my home in D.C. and I was on my couch in shock for hours.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker A:That's my 911 story.
Speaker B:Holy moly.
Speaker B:Like.
Speaker B:So you actually felt the whole ground shake?
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:My gosh.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:So what happened in that moment?
Speaker B:Like, you know, I talked to you briefly about this before I'm in Canada.
Speaker B:I was telling you how impactful that was for me as a young boy.
Speaker B:I was only 12 years old when that happened, but I remember it like it was yesterday.
Speaker B:It's one of those moments.
Speaker B:Almost every kid, almost every millennial I've ever talked to can tell you exactly where they were that moment, which is crazy, because we're in Canada, right?
Speaker B:Like, we're thousands of miles away, and yet it still made such an impact for us.
Speaker B:But the thing you don't hear a lot about that day, at least in Canada, was what happened at the Pentagon.
Speaker B:What were the three explosions that you heard?
Speaker A:So I'm going to answer that question directly, and then I'm going to take you back to that day.
Speaker A:So what I was hearing is the actual American Airlines plane breaking through the walls of the Pentagon and exploding.
Speaker A:Okay, now we know.
Speaker A:Now, looking back from forensic science, you know, from the.
Speaker A:From the forensics, that it broke through three walls and then exploded.
Speaker A:I heard that on the day.
Speaker A:Now, let's go back 25 years.
Speaker A:On the day, we didn't know what happened for about 48 hours.
Speaker A:We had no idea.
Speaker A:There was.
Speaker A:There was a theory that there was a bomb.
Speaker A:There was a theory that the helicopter crashed.
Speaker A:There was a theory that it was a small plane.
Speaker A:I mean, it was all.
Speaker A:And then there's conspiracy theories.
Speaker A:There's all kinds of theories about what happened and why.
Speaker A:And I was there.
Speaker A:I heard it break through the walls.
Speaker A:And I didn't know.
Speaker A:I don't.
Speaker A:You know, I didn't visually see a plane, but I definitely heard it breaking through the walls.
Speaker A:And the explosion, I felt the, you know, the shock wave.
Speaker A:So that's specifically the answer to your question.
Speaker A:And it's.
Speaker A:It's a hindsight answer because we deal with a lot of confusion on that day.
Speaker A:We did know.
Speaker B:Well, my gosh, man, I am.
Speaker B:I'm so happy that you made it.
Speaker B:I absolutely believe that that.
Speaker B:That Somebody stepped in and protected you that day.
Speaker E:I.
Speaker B:You know, I mean, I've had my own experiences similar to that where it's just, like, too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence.
Speaker A:Listen, my alarm clock worked every day for, like, seven years.
Speaker A:And on that day, that day, it breaks.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:My gosh.
Speaker H:Dude.
Speaker B:Well, that's an incredible story.
Speaker B:So obviously, that moment would have changed the rest of your life.
Speaker B:You know.
Speaker B:What happened after that for you?
Speaker A:Well, after, there's a friend of mine who called me.
Speaker A:He found out that I was at the Pentagon.
Speaker A:I was on my couch in shock.
Speaker A:His name is Phil.
Speaker A:He actually stayed on the phone with me for hours.
Speaker A:And so I curled up on the couch, just in shock, with a friend, just on the phone with me, like, talking me down, calming me down.
Speaker A:After that, I went to Guaya Giari, Trinidad.
Speaker A:Actually hung out with friends on a beach, you know, fishing and chasing the crabs that run across Trinidad.
Speaker A:And I did that for several.
Speaker A:Several weeks, just to come back to, like, my humanity.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Incredible.
Speaker B:Incredible.
Speaker B:Well, tj, it was an honor and a privilege having you on the show today.
Speaker B:Thank you so much for sharing your firsthand experience and, honestly, a perspective that I've never heard before.
Speaker B:So I appreciate that greatly.
Speaker B:And my gosh, am I happy you didn't wake up on time that morning.
Speaker A:Sometimes it's good for your alarm clock to break.
Speaker B:Next time your alarm clock breaks, people don't hate on it.
Speaker B:It might have saved your life.
Speaker A:Precisely.
Speaker A:Precisely.
Speaker B:Awesome, tj.
Speaker B:Looking forward to future stories from you.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:And with that, another episode of I Used to Work There comes to an end.
Speaker B:But if you're new here, there's plenty to catch up on.
Speaker B:Over 100 true workplace stories are waiting for you in our first 15 episodes.
Speaker B:Follow us on Apple Podcasts so you never miss an episode, and new episodes drop every two weeks.
Speaker B:And remember, if something happened to you at work, I want to hear it.
Speaker B:Send your story to hr.
Speaker B:I used to work there.
Speaker B:Dot com.
Speaker B:Until next time, I'm Kelly Kennedy, and we'll see you on the next shift.
