I screwed up...

[tdr1nka]

Ah. OK then.

Assuming, as JohnnyH has pointed out, the potential danger has passed and there has been no real harm done, are you able to go in earlier to discuss the mistake with anyone? Better you bring it to light than they discover it and have to come to you?

 

[punkypossum]

Manager who can listens to calls not in till later either...., nope, I'm stuck with this till 4 at the earliest. At least it didn't happen on a friday and I won't have to spend the whole weekend worrying....

 

[tdr1nka]

Just try not to be too hard on yourself PP. And yes, 'Thank God It's Not Friday!'

 

[summerdays]

Sympathy... everyone normal does make mistakes, sometimes we think of it all out of proportion to what actually happened. Maybe something can be learned from this mistake... adding in a new check or something into the system. If it's a mistake you can make then so can the person sitting next to you too.

Hope it goes well and you don't spend the whole day beating yourself up over it... can you do something in the meantime to take your mind off it... go for a ride, listen to music? what ever works for you.

 

[Maizie]

Awww, don't be too hard on yourself. We all make mistakes - even without actual consequences (whether or not there were potential consequences) most people still feel awful about them when there is no good reason.

I remember a minor screw-up at work once. The next time I saw the person concerned, I apologised for my mistake. I'd spent a day and a half terrified. She said it was fine. Afterwards I talked to my manager about it, and she said to me that if you make a mistake, acknowledge it, apologise, do what you can (if anything) to put things right...then nobody has any real cause to complain. (Then again, it's not like...well, I'm not a surgeon who removed the functioning kidney instead of the faulty one, or anything like that...)

 

[Crackle]

But I put someone in danger, because of something I misheard... So it's not like I did it wrong because I didn't know or it's something I can learn from... I misheard, so it could potentially happen again....

The calls are recorded then. See if your manager can make it out to. Do you have any procedures for key word repetition or repeating improtant conversations back or referring them on to others to double check? If you don't then the potential is there for anyone to screw up an important call not just you, that's assuming you have, which is not at all certain.

Time to think rationally and cooly. Time to say objectively what you think went wrong, why it did and what could be put in place to prevent it happening again i.e. sense check with colleague, key word repetition, asking for a conversation review etc... If such procedures don't exist then any kind of discipliinary procedure may be skating on thin ice but it may not go that far. Just by analyzing the potential mistake and making positive suggestions you will a) feel better and show your worth, remorse and value to your employers.

A panicky admission of guilt and angst ridden handshaking will not. Time for a cool head Punky.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

it's natural for people to make mistakes, it's why pencils have rubbers. i'm sure that you'll come through it ok pp. chin up.

 

[ColinJ]

But I put someone in danger, because of something I misheard... So it's not like I did it wrong because I didn't know or it's something I can learn from... I misheard, so it could potentially happen again....

Hey PP, I'm really sorry to hear this and I can see why you are so upset about it.

I don't mean to be funny, but didn't you post about having problems hearing what was being said at work when you started your new job about 5 or 6 months back? I can't remember what the outcome was at the time. Did you ever get new equipment (headphones, whatever)?

I have selective hearing loss and you might be suffering from the same thing. There are certain frequencies which I'm almost deaf to, whereas I can hear lower- or higher-pitched sounds perfectly well. Where I used to work, there was one man whose natural speaking voice was slap-bang in the middle of one of my dead-zones and I always struggled to have a conversation with him even face-to-face in a quiet room.

If you had a problem like that, you might well be able to get a tiny hearing aid to compensate for it so it needn't be a show-stopper for your job. I'd suggest having a hearing test, because a problem like that can lie dormant until you just happen to speak to the wrong person at the wrong time. That's not really something you can risk in your line of work.

I hope things turn out okay.
ColinJ

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

How do you know you misheard this person? Have you been back to the tape and reviewed it... or are you just getting paranoid that you *may* have misheard them?

Either way, nothing you can do by worrying. As has been said before, you admitted your mistake and are wanting to try and ensure it doesn't happen again... no manager can expect more than that!!

 

[HelenD123]

Hey Punky. There's some good, constructive advice here from peeps. I hope you managed to get some sleep and things are looking better this morning.

Helen

 

[wafflycat]

Hey PP, I'm really sorry to hear this and I can see why you are so upset about it.

I don't mean to be funny, but didn't you post about having problems hearing what was being said at work when you started your new job about 5 or 6 months back? I can't remember what the outcome was at the time. Did you ever get new equipment (headphones, whatever)?

I have selective hearing loss and you might be suffering from the same thing. There are certain frequencies which I'm almost deaf to, whereas I can hear lower- or higher-pitched sounds perfectly well. Where I used to work, there was one man whose natural speaking voice was slap-bang in the middle of one of my dead-zones and I always struggled to have a conversation with him even face-to-face in a quiet room.

If you had a problem like that, you might well be able to get a tiny hearing aid to compensate for it so it needn't be a show-stopper for your job. I'd suggest having a hearing test, because a problem like that can lie dormant until you just happen to speak to the wrong person at the wrong time. That's not really something you can risk in your line of work.

I hope things turn out okay.
ColinJ

+1 for the hearing test. MrWC has similar and now has a *tiny* digital hearing aid for each ear, courtesy of NHS, which makes life *much* better - when he remembers to wear the things... but that's another story.

 

[swee'pea99]

'Let he who is without sin...'

As others have said, don't beat yourself up. You made a mistake. We do. We stop when we're dead, but until then we can't do better than to do our best, and try to learn from our mistakes - which you seem to be doing. Hope it goes well for you this pm. I'm sure it won't be nearly as bad as you've persuaded yourself.

 

[trj977]

The calls are recorded then. See if your manager can make it out to. Do you have any procedures for key word repetition or repeating improtant conversations back or referring them on to others to double check? If you don't then the potential is there for anyone to screw up an important call not just you, that's assuming you have, which is not at all certain.

Time to think rationally and cooly. Time to say objectively what you think went wrong, why it did and what could be put in place to prevent it happening again i.e. sense check with colleague, key word repetition, asking for a conversation review etc... If such procedures don't exist then any kind of discipliinary procedure may be skating on thin ice but it may not go that far. Just by analyzing the potential mistake and making positive suggestions you will a) feel better and show your worth, remorse and value to your employers.

A panicky admission of guilt and angst ridden handshaking will not. Time for a cool head Punky.

Spot on reply.

Be positive I am sure it will be OK especially if you follow Crackle's advice.

Remember the person who never made a mistake never learnt anything

 

[alecstilleyedye]

+1 for the hearing test. MrWC has similar and now has a *tiny* digital hearing aid for each ear, courtesy of NHS, which makes life *much* better - when he remembers to wear the things... but that's another story.

yeh right

 

[Danny]

I would echo the good advice above, and just add that mishearing is not the same as making a mistake.

If you are really concerned that you could have put someone in danger, go and explain what happened to one of your managers, and ask them what should be done to put the situation right.

No one should blame you if you genuinely misheard and/or misunderstood something, realised there might be a problem, and then reported it as soon as possible afterwards.