Whew it's hot out here! Summer Mini-Rants

The BBQ Pit
981

One of the guys I really respect around my office, who really knows his shit and was, at one point, a rising star, got shot down and is now a disgruntled employee for much the same shit I’ve said about the place. We were talking the other day and I said that I’d given up on being promoted at this place because the Director has a bad habit of yelling at his supervisors over shit that is out of their control and there’s no way I’d tolerate that from him, so best I don’t put myself in that situation.

He then laughs and says

“There’s only one thing (Director) hates more than people who talk back to him. That’s people who talk back to him and who are right.”

Yup, not someone I want to keep working for, or who should be in his current position at all, in my opinion. But I’m not his boss, or I’d make some changes. All I can do is make the decision to leave as soon as the opportunity presents itself.

You know, when you’re in middle management (or any corporate management position, really), your ego is not more important than getting the job done. I really hate running into these fuckwads who don’t do what is best for their company because they can’t stand to be wrong or to allow someone else to be right. There’s this mentality that develops in some people, like this guy at one of my previous Security jobs, that says “People below me can’t teach me anything, people above me are the only ones who matter.”

But I guess I’ve gotten the same attitude from a small number of my former martial arts instructors too. Their students have nothing to teach them, in their eyes.

I’m starting to think this is something we should test for when it comes time to review whether people are worthy of retaining their positions.

982

If you have the baby for the day, and won’t be at home, it is your job to make sure the diaper bag has both diapers and feeding supplies. Calling me while you are out, with no way of getting supplies for two hours, to try and guilt me for not leaving the bag stocked? Not cool.

983

Conversely, depending on your setup, you may have been an ass for taking supplies and not restocking them. The baby-care equivalent of the person who leaves the empty cereal box on the shelf.

Calling to guilt you about it when there’s nothing you can do *is *a dick move, though.

984

Two grumpy middle-aged guy supermarket-related rants.

a. When the hell did bread get to be $4.00+/loaf? I was pretty grumpy when it got to 2/$5.00. Granted, I like the multigrain fancy bread, but still, $4.00 is a shocking price to pay for something that’s going to largely go stale in my fridge.

b. Woman with the infant and 20 items in front of me at the 12 items or less only checkout. When the person behind you is glaring and you and you pretend to be shocked upon noticing the 12 or less sign and fake counting your items, you’re not fooling anyone. And the way to solve the issue is not to put a dividing bar on the conveyor and buy your groceries in * two * batches. That makes things * slower *, not faster. You’re just breaking both the letter and the spirit of the law. How come she gets to break the social contract and I can’t borrow a trout from the fresh seafood counter and whack her with it?

985

Well, you can, then you’re involved in a whole 'nother type of social contract.

And, I was on a raisin bread kick a few months back. As usual, the product was not in the right place at Safeway so the price I thought applied to the bread was not correct - I checked my bill and saw that I had paid $7.50 for a loaf of raisin bread! They refunded my money with no hassles. :slight_smile:

986

It’s going stale BECAUSE it’s in your fridge. Freezer or counter.

987

Freezer bread is awesome. I’ve had so much less bread go moldy on me since I started putting it in the freezer.

988

Yeah. I got the memo. And I understand the policy. And the problem is just that I forgot the one time. And I’ve already taken care of it so it’s not even really a problem anymore.

:wink:

989

Dear Co-worker:

I understand quite well that (a) you don’t like your job, (b) you are eminently unsuited for your job, and © you wouldn’t be here at all without your father’s influence (since your father is friends with the hotel owner and pulled a few strings to get your hired, and insisted that you - his 24-year-old daughter - had to get some type of job, somewhere, regardless of your preference to just mooch off him.) You know what? I don’t care. Those are your personal issues. We all have them.

Whether you like/want your job or not, though, you accepted this job. How 'bout do it, for a change? When you are scheduled to be at work at 7 am, that means that you really ought to arrive around 7-ish. Or at least call ahead and say “I’m so sorry. I overslept. (Or my ride is late. Or I piddled around on Facebook too long. Or whatever.) I’ll be there in 10.” If you forget to do that, and I call you to find out whether you’re on your way, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT’S HOLY, answer! your! og-damned! phone! I know it’s early, and that you don’t want to talk to me (hell, you haven’t said 10 words to me during shift change for the past two months - not even “good morning,” or “yes, the cash drawer is balanced,”) but I need to know whether your sorry ass is gonna be here to relieve me.

(Also, you wrote in your shift log the other day “I told him [the customer] that I’m not a people person.” WTF? You work at a hotel front desk! At least PRETEND to be a “people person” if your entire job description is “customer service”!!!)

(And another “also”: I know that, thanks to your lame-ass 2-year business degree from Phoenix or DeVry or something, you consider yourself to be over-qualified for your current position. Speaking as someone who really IS over-qualified for this job, get over yourself. Really. This is your job, which you accepted. When I accepted my job offer, I knew exactly what it was, and that I could do it in my sleep, with one hand tied behind my back, blindfolded. Thanks to the crappy economy, I accepted the job, and the responsibility to do it to the best of my ability. Despite my qualifications - or maybe because of them, I take great pride in providing excellent customer service: It’s a matter of personal pride for me, plus I know that, when the economy picks up again, I can count on the fact that my boss and colleagues will happily provide me with great references. If anyone ever calls any of us to provide a reference for you? You’ll be lucky to be head fry-girl at McDonald’s.)

990

“Mother To Be On Board?” Seriously? And that takes me one step closer to moving to the compound in northern Alberta.

ETA: Found an “official” version. Fuck you, and fuck your fetus too.

991

Dear coworkers:

I explained what process did I want to perform for our Demo to the customers on July 7th. I remember the exact date because I’m from Pamplona and if you don’t remember where were you last July 7th and you’re from Pamplona, they take your red’n’whites away from you. My part of it works. You are today finally testing your part of it. Today. August 31st.

We have another coworker who happens to be an expert in the same area as the worst one of you; this other coworker is supposed to be short-term, the one who’s been busy counting the hairs on his balls long-term. It was the short-termer who solved an issue you guys were having when you finally started testing your steps. I so, so hope that the terms get flipped.

992

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Priceless.

993

You’re my most favoritest poster ever. Don’t change CW - you’re the best! :wink:

994

I bet if you incinerate it and eat the ashes you wouldn’t have problems with mold, either.

Fresh bread bought or baked in smaller quantities more frequently > bread bought in bulk and kept in the freezer.

No, no, it’s a public service. See, the sign *really *means, “Please ram my vehicle hard enough to cause me to miscarry and prevent these genes from being perpetuated in another generation.”

995

Perforations.

Are they really so hard?
Is it just THAT fucking difficult to put holes in your packaging that actually DO something? Like open where they should? And why is it that the paper towels in my office tear every way EXCEPT on the dotted line between sheets like they should?! I end up with ragged strips. I wanted a SHEET! Not a strip! What am I supposed to do with a one-inch-wide strip of paper towel?

** pant pant ** Bah! I say!

996

Pff, I ain’t got that kind of time.

997

I feel a sig line change coming on!

Okay, that makes more sense than expecting the rest of the world to accommodate your personal choice.

998

Well, I know it tip-toe around women, any woman, of child-bearing age lest I accidentally trip and knock her over. Precious cargo onboard! Wide, slow berth required!

Makes navigating the ladies room and they gynecologist’s office tricky, but it’s worth it. Well, they’re worth it. Certainly more than I, who is not now nor will ever be pregnant. Even though I am a woman. Sometimes I tip-toe around myself, because one can never be too careful.

I know, they could just wrap themselves in bubble wrap and wear a helmet, but it takes a village to protect a fetus!

999

There are two wholly separate companies that operate out my office suite. It’s too stupid to describe, but when one of my bosses is on his phone and a second call comes into his phone, it rings over to my phone in such a way that I can’t tell if the call is for Company A or Company B.

So, instead of identifying the company as I normally would when I answer, “Company A, this is niblet” I have to answer “This is niblet.”

Just got a call just like that just now. The caller says, “Can I talk to the old man?” Now, I realize that callers do not know a) there’s more than one company in here and b) there’s a reason why I’m not being specific.

BUT I answered with a friendly chuckle, “Well, I’ve got two that I work with, could you be more specific?”

And the caller said, “The other one.”

:smack:

1000

After over a year of being my reasonably abrasive self, I *finally *get Pitted, and it’s for something completely retarded. Sigh.