Fun Friday: Employer's birthday prank goes global

Employee says he plans to get back at his boss

Fun Friday: Employer's birthday prank goes global

A 21-year-old employee from New Zealand had an unforgettable birthday this year after he received hundreds of greetings from around the world thanks to a prank that went out of hand.

And the culprit? His own boss.

The New Zealand Herald reported last Friday the case of Jack Sparrow's 21st birthday, who was pranked by his own boss on the special date.

His boss, Brendon Day, put up a sign in the middle of Kumeu announcing that it was Sparrow's birthday. The sign had the employee's face and number on it, as well as an invitation to text him to wish him a "happy birthday."

According to Sparrow, who was clueless about the sign, he was flooded by messages from random numbers who wished him a happy birthday.

"I eventually messaged one of them saying 'I need to know what's going on,'" Sparrow told the Herald. "The guy responded, 'Haven't you seen the sign?' I said, 'What sign?' That's when he sent me a photo of the sign."

By the end of the night, he revealed he had 500 unread messages, more than 30 missed calls, a ton of voicemails, as well as many "Up the Wahs."

"I had people from Australia, England, and Asia messaging me and received some voice messages from people using different languages like Spanish, German and Chinese," Sparrow said.

There were also older people who sent him nice messages, according to Sparrow, who also recalled a whole office singing him birthday wishes.

Day's statement

It turns out, Day's simple sign also circulated online which was why even people from overseas became aware of Sparrow's birthday.

Sparrow eventually figured out it was Day behind the sign, but he was ignored by his boss when he tried calling him.

Day told the Herald that he wasn't sure if he'd come out alive if Sparrow got his hands on him. Sparrow, however, revealed that he's plotting his revenge.

"All I know is he better watch out. We're supposed to go fishing next week, so watch this space," he told the Herald.

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