# Workplace griping, anyone? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 12, 2010, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401 "2010-11-12T06:39:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 138
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/2742 "2011-12-12T21:45:35Z")
You should compile a collection of paraphrased emails that were submitted to you. Or I’m sure we could come up with a few enthusiastic volunteers here to do it if you don’t have the time/inclination. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/2743 "2011-12-13T00:24:32Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > You should compile a collection of paraphrased emails that were submitted to you. > > Or I’m sure we could come up with a few enthusiastic volunteers here to do it if you don’t have the time/inclination. As much as I enjoy this idea for the lulz factor (and for watching you people go “you have GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING?!?!” as you read them), I actually do love my job, and I’ve provided enough information here that I’m probably pretty easy to find. That, by the way, is not a dare or an invitation to post my personal information on this board, to anyone who takes it as such. All afternoon on a conference call between me and the Dean and Stu Dent X (whee, multi-tasking! Posting on the Dope and defending myself!). Student “It’s her job to help me learn, and I learned. So she needs to give me a different grade than the ones that she gave me all semester.” Me: “It’s true that X’s grades increased from 15% to 40% to 50% [numbers made up for the readers, but reflective of the overall trend] over the course of the semester, but those grades still place X in the grade category of F.” Student: “But I came in knowing NOTHING about this class, and by the end, I knew 50% of the class material! That should be passing!” Wash, rinse, repeat, bang my head against my desk. The worst part is that I had a TON of stuff to get done today, but because I was tied to my office/phone for the entire afternoon to deal with this and other complaining students, I got nothing done. Now I have to write while watching Monday Night Football. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/2744 "2011-12-13T02:07:46Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > Student: “But I came in knowing NOTHING about this class, and by the end, I knew 50% of the class material! That should be passing!” No, that’s half-assing. ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/2745 "2011-12-13T02:55:59Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > Student: “But I came in knowing NOTHING about this class, and by the end, I knew 50% of the class material! That should be passing!” 50% was an F in my day …and get off my lawn! ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/2746 "2011-12-13T03:00:35Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > . . . tl/dr The head of facilities was checking for leaks after the snow, dented one of the doors and damaged the truck he was driving, then slipped and fell in ratpee slush. He hit his head and \*\*because some of his injuries could have been caused by rat bites, he gets to have the full rabies series. \*\*RatKing just put another notch on his wall and cuddled up in my boxes to sleep. Bolding and underlined mine. SONUVACRAP!! Someone ended up with rabies shots because of those rats and your next sentence wasn’t that the PTB had hired an exterminator? Does someone have to DIE? ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/2747 "2011-12-13T04:25:42Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Bolding and underlined mine. > > SONUVACRAP!! > > Someone ended up with rabies shots because of those rats and your next sentence wasn’t that the PTB had hired an exterminator? Does someone have to DIE? They did hire an exterminator. Who quit because the state won’t allow them to use poison, because there are protected rattlesnakes in the area that might get poisoned if they eat the rats. IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/2748 "2011-12-13T06:01:50Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > As much as I enjoy this idea for the lulz factor (and for watching you people go “you have GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING!!!” as you read them)… Okay, I’m less “appropriate” in the classroom (yes, I’m the guy who told the annoyingly loud/giggly student that she “might just want to shut. The f\*ck. Up. Please?”… to a round of golf claps from the rest of the class). So I’ll share a classic: Student (let’s call him Max, because that’s his real name) slumps in late as always and asks if the homework’s really due. “Yes, Max, just like every Monday. Now, as I was saying…” Max interrupts my discussion (that the rest of the class was actively involved with) to start into a lonnnng explanation of why his dysfunctional family kept him from getting his project done. Class morale was nose-diving, so I cut him off with: “Max, I’m touched that you think I care about you as a human being, but really… I don’t care about your personal life. And I _really_ don’t care about your family. I just care if you’ve got your work done.” ---
**Author:** ![the\_brush](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@the\_brush](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_brush)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/2749 "2011-12-13T06:06:05Z")
You people should have a sitcom. what a great moments have you. Hey, do you men use combs on your beards? bald is a lie ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/2750 "2011-12-13T06:36:09Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > \ > > Student: “But I came in knowing NOTHING about this class, and by the end, I knew 50% of the class material! That should be passing!”\ I think the traditional response to that is, “Do you want a doctor who was happy with getting 50% in all of his courses?” ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/2751 "2011-12-13T07:46:11Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > Student: “But I came in knowing NOTHING about this class, and by the end, I knew 50% of the class material! That should be passing!” Being used to having Pass at 50%, many of my college classmates complained about having it at 60%. The standard response was “would you want to get an apendecectomy from a surgeon who kills half the patients?” My teachers were a bit more radical than those of **Cat Whisperer** , but then, we were in ChemE: radicals are considered good fun, there. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/2752 "2011-12-13T07:47:30Z")
I guess I really am getting old. I would never have considered filing a complaint against a teacher if I failed a class. But then again, I never failed a class. Except for PE in the 8th grade… ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/2753 "2011-12-13T08:07:01Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > [Cyanide - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanide#Toxicity) I can read Wikipedia too, thanks. But I don’t trust it - I’ve seen too many mistakes and misdirections in it. And like I said, the information I find in other sites does not in any way contradict what I was taught. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/2754 "2011-12-13T13:46:51Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I can read Wikipedia too, thanks. But I don’t trust it - I’ve seen too many mistakes and misdirections in it. And like I said, the information I find in other sites does not in any way contradict what I was taught. OK, how about this? > **[427.full.pdf](https://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/48/7/427.full.pdf)** ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/2755 "2011-12-13T14:39:44Z")
**Kolga** , what I eventually did was to write a contract/protocol. It laid everything out, item by item. _Everything_ I posted it, the idea was that they signed off on every single item. It didn’t help in every case, Teh Stoopid, it cannot be stopped. But it flagged the severe cases and removed any negotiability or wiggle room for the wee monsters. It helps to add a clause about the grades reflecting demonstrated proficiency, keeping the role of effort in check. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/2756 "2011-12-13T17:46:04Z")
I was out in the warehouse looking for some tagged (defective) items this morning. During my search, I came across a part that had been tagged for the following reason: “fAilD muteriAl testing”. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/2757 "2011-12-13T18:17:22Z")
I usually do not mind being phone coverage for my team. Yes, I may moan abou 40 - 60 calls in a day, but that’s part of the job. I actually enjoy talking with 80% of our clients. However, there is a small percentage of clients that no matter what you say, they will not be happy. Combine that with coworkers that can’t be arsed to leave decent gawd damned notes on their cases, and I am about ready to blow my top. Ma’am, I know you want to know what’s going on with your case, but I honestly don’t have a fucking clue. Let me talk to your worker and call you back. Say, coworker, wtf is going on with this case? Oh, I’m doing XYZ. Really? Your notes say nothing of the sort. I must have forget. [Forgot? a few cases, okay. Every damn case? Not so much]. Call client back. Why are you doing THAT? I don’t want that done! _sigh_ I also cannot wave a magic wand and change orders. I’ve had to remind clients of that 6x so far in the past 3 hours. It’s not _MY_ order, it is _YOUR_ court order. Yes, that does mean you have to come downtown. You’re too busy to take responsibility of your shit? Then it becomes not my problem. And I’m tired of Teh Big Ebil Goverments line. No, I’m not here to screw you over. I can help you only so far, and I will do what I can IF you let me. If you’d rather just bitch about how we’re all bon-bon eating fat lesbians who get our hate ons when we can ‘nail’ you, sorry there’s not much I can do. ---
**Author:** ![Tess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@Tess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tess)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/2758 "2011-12-14T03:20:42Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > “Hmm, you don’t appear to be a team player.” > > I’d put a smiley face after that, but it is probably too close to the truth (that they’d accuse you of not being a team player, not that you aren’t one). Hey!! I’m definitely a team player. My lack of bludgeoning sprees is proof of that. I’d just rather not be on Team Brain Dead. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/2759 "2011-12-14T05:28:50Z")
I’ve got my work release!!! An official one. I emailed it to my boss and she agreed that it was acceptable. She did tell me that if she caught me carrying boxes around that she would make me move into the office where she works. This means proper office attire, and I’ll spend my entire paycheck paying for stockings because the velcro on my boot will rip each pair up in about 10 minutes. I’ll be very careful to not be caught. I get to jump back into the crazy on Monday. Now that someone got exposed to rabies (which I don’t think happened, according to what I’ve been told, wounds only looked like ratbites, but could have happened when Kevin fell down and got his skin cut by the bricks), OSHA is coming down on the RatKing’s Lair. I really, REALLY want to be there to watch the drama. We can’t use poison due to the protected rattlesnakes, but OSHA won’t let anyone enter the Lair until its safe. Nobody can actually try to do anything with the problem until OSHA and whoever is protecting the rattle snakes comes to terms. Now that its gotten cold, the poor hungry snakes are now curled up in the Lair. Its possible that the Lair will be gassed in the spring, when the snakes have moved out. Personally, I doubt that the snakes will move out, they have found a nice home with rats to eat. The boxes are lost, nuking the place from orbit really is the best option. But…our responsibility is to do our best to protect the boxes. If you want to ask why your taxes are so high, just remember this is a very small problem that all of us could have fixed a long time ago. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/2760 "2011-12-14T13:29:54Z")
I’ve kinda lost track. Can you please explain what kind of boxes they are, and why the warehouse they are stored in has become infested with rats? And YAY! for returning to work. I’m glad you’re happy. DO NOT pick up boxes! Mind your doctor. ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/2761 "2011-12-14T14:41:53Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > I’ve kinda lost track. Can you please explain what kind of boxes they are, and why the warehouse they are stored in has become infested with rats? IIRC… Boxes: Full of Official Papers of one kind or another that the Gummint is required to keep on file and make available on appropriate official request. I gather mostly from old court cases. Why rats: Because somebody decided at some point that a cheap metal kit-shed was a good storage solution when they ran out of room in **flatlined** ’s warehouse. Papers don’t need AC, right? Save taxpayer money! except they forgot about making it critter-proof. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401.md?page=137) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401.md?page=139)