Did you ever make a really bad mistake at work and just feel awful over it?

In short, our mag has a website. The web guy asked me for this particular article to put up regarding a huge event in our "world" this weekend. Now, I knew this article was a redo; the first version was written with negative tones about the event, so my publisher had the writer do it over. I carefully sent over the NEW version. Well, the article goes up, the promoters flip and my publisher comes to me with "the wrong version went up!" I swear up and down I sent the right one. WELL...here's what happened. My publisher recalls that after I left one night he made ADDITIONAL changes that didn't get recorded back on the original Word file. My assistant usually updates it, but he was out sick for a week and in short, it never got done. He told me he smoothed it over and that it was OK and not to worry...but the company is small. Everyone knew what happened so like a "pro" I took the blame and sent out an apology/error email to the parties involved. However, the icks ran over me and I just feel horrible and embarrassed, mostly b/c I was so "sure" I had gotten it right. :( :( I have awesome co-workers, though...one teased me today and said, "Lana. X (publisher) just called. He says you can't come to the holiday party." heh heh

Message edited 9/27/2007 10:34:21 AM.

Re: Did you ever make a really bad mistake at work and just feel awful over it?

Yes and Yes. It will pass. Try not to beat yourself up over it. I bet you'll never let that happen again!!

Re: Did you ever make a really bad mistake at work and just feel awful over it?

These things are bound to happen. I was taking a deposition via telephone one day and when the deponent got on the phone I asked him to refer to the documents I sent via fed ex.

he replied, "what docs?". In short I sent them to the wrong address. I was 8 months preggo, but still no excuse.

No one is perfect. It will probably bother you less tomorrow.

Re: Did you ever make a really bad mistake at work and just feel awful over it?

Lana, a similiar scenario happened to me at work. We had two very "high-profile" premiers (as high profile as public television can get), and I produced some on-camera introductions with our GM. Anyway, I ended up doing so many different variations of opens, that I ordered the WRONG one to air. So it was a big deal, and there was a lot of finger pointing, and in the end I felt just awful. Like you, I wrote a big apology....and I got a lot of cool responses in return.

Bottom line, as much as we try to juggle everything, sometime a few balls drop

Re: Did you ever make a really bad mistake at work and just feel awful over it?

Posted by jennandrob

Lana, a similiar scenario happened to me at work. We had two very "high-profile" premiers (as high profile as public television can get), and I produced some on-camera introductions with our GM. Anyway, I ended up doing so many different variations of opens, that I ordered the WRONG one to air. So it was a big deal, and there was a lot of finger pointing, and in the end I felt just awful. Like you, I wrote a big apology....and I got a lot of cool responses in return.

Bottom line, as much as we try to juggle everything, sometime a few balls drop

Re: Did you ever make a really bad mistake at work and just feel awful over it?

Re: Did you ever make a really bad mistake at work and just feel awful over it?

Yep... I used to work at a really small advertising company. We did a lot of classified ads for real estate companies. One of my clients had about 15 ads going in the weekend paper, a few with Open Houses... I put them in, check 'em over and I'm on my way. I come in the following day, Friday, just as the weekend paper and the real estate section pick up and get moving for the weekend. ALL OF THE PHONE NUMBERS IN MY CLIENT'S ADS WERE WRONG!!! I had inverted 2 numbers... there was NOTHING we could do and they would be like that alllll weekend.

I went into my boss and told her and when she realized there was going to be a huge amount of money that was going to credited, I cried... I cried right there in front of my boss. I felt so bad and so stupid!!!!!

I still get sick thinking about it.

Re: Did you ever make a really bad mistake at work and just feel awful over it?

to err is human...but these stories are making me feel better...so thank you, guys! we all mess up and handle so much; it's bound to happen. this is my first biggie since i've been here....

Re: Did you ever make a really bad mistake at work and just feel awful over it?

Oh we've all done it - I work in financial service - and once put a trade through incorrectly .......a $5 million trade. - I was doing 12 things at once and had 6 voicemails and 3 people waiting at my desk - but that is all irrelevant when you screw up a $5 million dollar trade -

Yeah, it was NOT a good day to be me !! - I hung my head for about 2 weeks on that one !! - Everyone else forgot about it once the dust settled !!

Re: Did you ever make a really bad mistake at work and just feel awful over it?

Mistakes happen. It's more annoying that it wasn't your mistake. Don't beat yourself up over it.

We once invited CEOs & Presidents of some major corporations to play "Winged Food Golf Club" instead of "Winged Foot". It as all of our faults as every single person in the office proofed the letter but we all failed to read it backwards which is usually how to catch errors.

No one showed up at the tournament with a bucket of chicken

Give it a few days & it will fade. .

Re: Did you ever make a really bad mistake at work and just feel awful over it?

Message edited 9/27/2007 11:37:06 AM.

Re: Did you ever make a really bad mistake at work and just feel awful over it?

I'm always beating myself up for something!

1) worked on a piece for client's top execs. Gave one last tiny change to the designer to make. Designer made said change on an old draft. I checked the tiny change only and then the client approved the piece. Then, the printer makes an error and printed a page off center. We reprint and pull the copies from the fulfillment vendor. Then, I get my new samples and finally realize that we printed the approved, but wrong file --TWICE. We had to pull the copies from the fulfillment vendor again.

2) same client as #1. Form to go along with piece in #1. Eight months later, a new person from my company looked at the form and saw that I included the wrong fund name. I traced it back and saw that I made the mistake, tech review didn't catch it and neither did the client.

Hang in there!

Re: Did you ever make a really bad mistake at work and just feel awful over it?

I hate that feeling. I did a similar thing when I worked for a PR firm. I sent an outdated version of a press release out and I was MORTIFIED. You're only human, but yes, the feeling totally sucks!!!

Re: Did you ever make a really bad mistake at work and just feel awful over it?

i think the most honorable thing to do when something goes wrong is take the blame. stuff screws up all the time where i work and there is nothing that irks me more than when people look you in the face and say "i didnt know" or "xxx was supposed to do it" - its like the energy you waste deflecting could be better used if you were telling me "this is what we are doing to fix it"

work is life - sometimes things go wrong and its how you HANDLE the problem that is recognized more than pointing a finger at who caused the problem.

feel better. you are obviously great at what you do since everyone was looking out for you and had your back.

Re: Did you ever make a really bad mistake at work and just feel awful over it?

Yup, I've made quite a few mistakes. We used to sell to one of our customers through another customer, it was a third party kind of thing. Well they started buying through us directly and we got rid of the original customer. Kind of cut out the middle man, ykwim. Well I'm not in customer service but I needed information from this new customer, so I took it upon myself to contact them. Only problem is, I actually contacted the person from the original customer. Not only did I look like an a$$ but I made the whole company look bad. Thank goodness my boss was having a good day and defended me to his partner so I was able to keep my job.

Don't worry, it will all blow over and be forgotten about.

Re: Did you ever make a really bad mistake at work and just feel awful over it?

OK, so my boss is at the show and he got his press passes...but this incident was the icing on the cake from years of issues with this promoter (great) and our staff photographer is sorta being shunned as punishment and not getting the best placement to photograph the athletes...ugh. I've been reassured again though that it's fine; he's not mad. He just wants us (err...me) to be careful so it doesn't happen again.

Re: Did you ever make a really bad mistake at work and just feel awful over it?

Posted by Lanabean

OK, so my boss is at the show and he got his press passes...but this incident was the icing on the cake from years of issues with this promoter (great) and our staff photographer is sorta being shunned as punishment and not getting the best placement to photograph the athletes...ugh. I've been reassured again though that it's fine; he's not mad. He just wants us (err...me) to be careful so it doesn't happen again.

Re: Did you ever make a really bad mistake at work and just feel awful over it?

Luckily it's the web and can be quickly fixed. I once made such a stupid error in print (I also work for a mag) and I still flinch when I think about it!