Public Transport - Need I Say More?

I probably don't need to say more, but I will, because if I didn't - well, this would be a very boring post.

Having just moved from the Southside of Brisbane to the Northside (which is something akin to changing from an Australian citizen to a New Zealand citizen in the books of Southsiders - i.e. a huge deal!) has also required me to change my form of public transportation to work. I previously used to catch the bus and as we know, it was full of crazies. I now catch the train, which may not seem like a big thing to most of you, but having been a Southsider all my life, I have never had to catch a train in Brisbane before on my own. I think I have been on a train all of twice, both times with someone who knew exactly where they were going.

Do you guys have that feeling when you hope on a train for the first time that it might not end up at the destination you want? You sit there with your stomach slightly sunken with potential dread. I mean, it's not like it would have been the end of the world, but you don't want to be the idiot who catches the train in completely the wrong direction. Trust me, it has happened to people I know, and at the time, I gave them crap about it like it was no ones business.  

So there is that, and then there is the wonder of which crazy or at least which type of crazy you will have to deal with on that particular day. Shockingly, my week of train catching as been completely crazy free. I always thought that trains were nasty, smelly things that homeless people slept on and used as their own personal toilets. Not so, it would seem my fears were unfounded.

I also thought that the train station carpark would be a mugging waiting to happen. Again, completely untrue. The carparks are safe and monitored by cameras and I have never felt unsafe.

I think this is because on the Southside, the only contact I ever had with train stations was driving through the poorer suburbs (with my car doors locked) past their train stations and seeing people loitering suspiciously, hearing about every ones cars getting broken into. The poorer suburbs on the Southside were located near the train lines and as such, I never had any reason to ever catch a train anywhere. The bus services in the other, wealthier, suburbs was a much better and safer option as far as my parents were concerned, so we lived many, many suburbs away from the closest train lines in a suburb that was all family's, children on bicycles, kittens and puppies.

It is due to this that I have made some very wrong assumptions and generalisations about the type of person who catches the train in the Brisbane area. I will admit that I was predjudiced and now realise that all the bad stuff was completely in my mind. Of course it helps that the station I catch the train from is in an affluent area, similar to the environment I grew up in. It's kind of like the Northside is the complete reverse to the Southside.

Because trains are much bigger then buses, I don't experience the kind of cramming of passengers I did while catching the bus, and as a result, I do not have issues with people licking my neck, random strangers pulling my ipod headphones out of my ear because they were curious what music a girl like me would listen to, creepy old dudes "accidentally" touching my boobs and ass. All of those things happened to me on the bus within the last year. And more.

The one thing I love about the train is that I can totally zone out. The train stops at all the places regardless, unlike the bus, which you have to press a button to get it to stop.

So, to all my train readers out there, I am sorry I previously thought so badly of you. I was wrong. Buses are much worse.

That's it from me today.

Be awesome to each other.

No words can describe this...

Oh man, this made me cry a little because I was laughing so hard.

This is from one of my favourite sites - Passive Aggressive Notes

That's it from me today.

Be awesome to each other.

Things that made me laugh today

So I've been ranting and venting, but where is the awesomeness I promised you? Right here. Here are the things that have made me laugh today.

Click to see the full awesomeness.

A sign on a toilet door.

And things that have just spun me out.

Don't stare at it for too long. Your brain may explode.

And then there is this. Which just makes me think that...well I don't even know what to think. This is a real sign in a Barnes and Nobel store.

That's it from me today.

Be awesome to each other.

Tailgating Idiots

Hi guys! Sorry about the lack of posting. This one is from my ranting archives, however it is still extremely relevant cause this happened to be again just last week.

While driving to work this morning, I was tailgated by a very irate woman. I have no idea what it was that I was doing that made her so angry, I was not driving under speed, I wasn't taking up two lanes and I wasn't abusive to her first, so what was her problem and why did she pick me to tailgate out of everyone on the highway?

I could see her in the rear view mirror very clearly as she was that close. You know how normally you can see the whole front of the car behind the back of your car? Well I normally consider tailgating where I can't see a space between my car and the other car, but in this case, I could only see her front windscreen. Nothing of the bonnet. That’s how I could tell she was angry. Real angry.
It’s not like she couldn't see the car, its bright freaking yellow for Pete’s sake. If had have been in my own car, I seriously would have contemplated tapping my foot on the brake while keeping my foot on the accelerator just to scare the living crap out of her, but I was in my sister's car, so I didn't and I just put up with it. I changed lanes so she could go around, but no, she was angry at me and followed me into the lane and continued to tailgate.

I really have no idea what her problem was, maybe she was just a weirdo, who knows? So anyway, basically she followed me the whole way until I left the highway, it was really nerve wracking. I don't know why some people think that it is a good idea. It is just so dangerous and stupid. People like that cause accidents. I hate people who tailgate; the fines for it should be much more severe. Not only is it only dangerous and stupid, it is a form of intimidation and bullying. It is ridiculous that so many people do it and get away with it. I have been tailgated a fair few times, not for any reason that I was aware of. I am not willing to speed just because the car behind me wants to. If it's a problem, go around, don't try to scare me into going faster.

That's it from me today.

Be awesome to each other.

Reaction Test

My friend sent me this today while at work, thus rendering me completely useless for the rest of the day. I dare you to try and and not become addicted.

Reaction Test

Megs, my boss does not thank you for this, however I do.

I'll be back with a rant about the stupidity of tail gateing other motorists tomorrow. Enjoy you guys!

Be awesome to each other.

The Ego of Masculinity

Hello again and welcome to another edition of my ranting. Before I get into this one, I want to thank the 50 people who are now following this blog, especially the ones that take the time to leave a comment. I love you guys and you make me a happy girl. If I knew who you were, I'd give you lollies for sure. Keep up the good work.

Ok so let get stuck in. This topic has been festering (sounds gross I know) in my mind for some time and every so often I reach boiling point. Also, just a heads up - I am not saying every guy out there is like this, in fact, its probably the minority. I just happen to work, have worked or know most of them.

This happened while out for dinner with my bud, Miss M. Miss M was having a rant in general, as is normal for when you get together with gal pals. Her rant was about the men at work being pigs and expecting women to do menial tasks. That set me off too. I work in a corporate office now in the public sector but used to work in a corporate environment in the private sector. There the management were all men. In fact, any job that is not admin based was and still is done by men. I worked in a male dominated environment for a male dominated company within a masculine industry, so of course I am going to run into men on power trips and also men who do not understand that women do more then photocopying, cleaning and cooking.

So anyway, Miss M's rant was that there is a dishwasher in her office that does not get unpacked. She had dirty dishes and noticed that there was a mixture of dirty and clean ones in the machine. So she turned it on to clean them all and then came back later to unpack it as it was apparent that no one else was going to. It was while she was doing this that a male colleague came in behind her with a dirty plate and waited while she unpacked the thing, and also had the gall to say to her "So that's part of your job is it?". Big mistake. Miss M is not one to take comments like that, in fact I would say she is quite a firey person, but I think it's part of her charm. She said something like this to him "No, but it seems as though no one else was going to do it. You know if you helped me un-pack the dishwasher, you could put your plates in and go." This guy was shocked the a she would speak to him and suggest that he, a manly man, should do something that was obviously so below him. However, he may also have been afraid of another tongue lashing by Miss M, so picked up 2 plates and and put them on the counter. Fantastic effort there big guy, you are now officially house trained. NOT!!! What kind of jerk does that? Seriously. Actually, they are the kind of jerks I worked with. That said, not all the guys I worked with were jerks. It's only a select few. Here are the choice cuts from them.

• One guy walked past 3 photocopiers, and down 2 flights of stairs to get me to photocopy a sheet of paper for him twice. I know. Ridiculous.
• Then there was the cranky old guy in accounts. He comes down to me and says "There's no milk". Umm, so? He thought it was my job to go and get him milk and tells me so. I tell him that he is wrong and if he wants more milk he will have to go get it himself. He then yells at me and says that it's definitely not his job, how dare I suggest that he should have to go get some more himself. It should be pointed out that the shop is about 50 meters up the road, but the issue has now become a matter of principle. He goes to my boss and tells her that I wouldn't go get him more milk. I love my boss, she's a champ. She basically told the old man to shove it up his ass. The kicker with this story is that I don't even use the milk. I don't drink coffee and don't eat cereal in the morning. I swear this guy would go through 2L of milk a day on his own. Maybe he wouldn't be so on edge if he stopped drinking coffee, or at least cut down. Maybe I should have told him that. No, you're right, probably not the smartest idea I've had.
• Lastly there was possibly the stupidest comment ever made by my bosses boss. There was no receptionist in the building. We had a main line ringing on a phone in each dept. There were four departments. Accounts, Marketing, Exec and IT. The phones were not currently not ringing in IT. When my boss commented on it to her boss, she was told that they were boys and they were busy and it's not their job. She went off her nut. It was awesome.

I can't believe that some people still think like this. Anyway, that's the rant for today. Please join in, share your rants. It may be that you work people like the ones I described, or maybe you work with a woman on a power trip out to turn it around onto the fellas. So share your rant with us, it will make you feel better.

 

And fyi, while this was aimed at the men I have worked with, I have plenty of fodder for a post about the women I worked with, so I am certainly not biased on the subject. But that is another post for another day.

That's it from me today.

Be awesome to each other.

Sucky Customers

 

 

Today, in a reversal of the customer service rant from yesterday, I am going to take a look at the issue from the other side, the side of the server. You see, I have also been on this side for many, many years. I have had some horrendous customers. I worked in various restaurants as a waitress for nearly four years, before getting an office job where I still deal with customers, but mostly over the phone now.

I know that many people have horror stories about the customers (or guests as one particular establishment that I worked at would call them) that they have served or that they know of.

There are ranking of suckyness when it comes to these people.

• Firstly there is the mild whinger who likes to whinge about everything you've done so far, but won't take it any further then that.
• Then there is the cheap-o, who eats the entire meal and then wants it for free because there was something wrong with it. Pretty much every place has a policy is that if the person eats the whole meal, and then there is no refund. The thing is though, these jerks do it all the time and realise that the restaurant would rather just let the guy have the meal for free (plus usually the masses of beer consumed with the meal) then put up with him chucking a tantrum in the restaurant and causing a scene.
• Then there are the stingy customers. They also want something for nothing, but do not bother with the pretense that they are actually going to pay for it. A perfect example of this is people that try to swipe desserts from the dessert cabinet and think no one is going to notice. We all see them do it, but can't do much about it, because again they will chuck a tantrum and management just do not want to deal with it.
• Then comes the "I'm so important - I have to take this call - RIGHT NOW!" customers. You know the ones I mean. The ones who stay on their phones when they are about to be served. This one actually has sub-classifications. There is the one who is apologetic, but still does not hang up the phone, the one who will interrupt his phone convo for a sec to bark an order at you like you are inconveniencing him and then there are my personal favourites - the ones that stick their hands in your face to keep you quiet while they continue their convo and flat out ignore you.
• Then there are the idiots. These people are just plain dumb. You have to explain something to them 50 million times and they still don't get it. Example-

Me: I'm sorry sir, we are all out of pumpkin soup at the moment, perhaps you might like to try the chicken soup instead.

Them: I want pumpkin soup, what is so hard to understand about that. Go get me my pumpkin soup.

Me: As I just said, we are actually don't have any of that one at the moment...

Them: Why not?! That's ridiculous. Just go get me my pumpkin soup.

Me: I'm sorry; we do not have any pumpkin soup today. Only chicken.

Them: Well why didn't you say so instead of asking me if I wanted pumpkin soup?

Yep, it's moments like that that make you want to crawl into the fetal position and cry while rocking backwards and forwards.

• So then comes the lying rude cow. I can guarantee that everyone who has ever worked in customer service has come across one of these. This is the person who says something like, "I want nachos with chicken mince". Problem is you don't serve nachos with chicken mince, only beef mince, but when you tell the customer that she starts getting mad saying, "But I always have nachos with chicken mince from here. Are you new? Don't you know who I am? I always have nachos with chicken mince!!!" Well, no I am not new, I have served you every week for the last two years, and we have never ever had anything with chicken mince, let alone nachos. So you repeat that you are very sorry, but you have never served nachos with chicken mince. The woman in near hysterical now screams "Are you calling me a liar??? I want to speak to the manager!!!" The manager comes out and also tells the woman that we do not serve chicken nachos, never have. She screams some more until the manager offers her anything else that she wants off the menu free of charge just to shut her up. She takes the manager up on that all the while muttering about us being liars and out to get her.
• But the worst customer of all by far is the negligent parent. These are the types that come in on kids eat free nights. They think that waitresses also provide a babysitting service. The first restaurant I worked in had a kids eat free night every Monday which gave up to two free kids meals for every adult that had a full priced meal. So the parents would let their kids get juiced up on soft drink and then them then run riot throughout the rest of the building. It was horrible and I now have a deep seated fear of having my own kids seeing so many in one place going nuts. I honestly believe that there is not a high enough chance of me getting one of the few good ones in order to take the risk of ever having children. I do understand that it has a lot to do with the parents as well.

There is one memory that will stick with me forever as a invisible scar from my waitressing days. It was kids eat free night; the place is a mad house. So nothing unusual there. We have a large table of mothers and their children and the kids are all going nuts. Except one. This kid was tugging on his mothers sleeve saying "I need to go to the toilet". The mother kept whacking the kids hand away from her sleeve and saying, "Not now, I'm busy". I was watching this from across the restaurant and had walked past a couple of times. You could see that the kid was desperate, but the mother kept ignoring him. The child looked really scared but dropped his pants and did his business of the restaurant floor. He was terrified and started crying right away because he knew what he had done was wrong.

The mother started screaming at him and I went over to try and diffuse the situation. When I got there, the mother looked at me and said "Clean that up!" while pointing to the mess on the floor. What a bitch. I refused and said that it was not a part of my job and I would not be cleaning the mess up and suggested that maybe she would like to do it seeing as it was her child and she ignored his pleas. She went ballistic and said that the child had never said anything about needing to go to the toilet. She threatened to have me fired if I did not clean up the mess immediately. She said to go and get the manager, but my manager (the only good one) was already there and had already been given a heads up on the problem by the bar staff. She didn't mince words and ripped the woman a new one. How dare she threaten her staff when it was her negligence as a parent that caused the accident?

The customer then started going on about how it was my fault and how dare the manager speak to her that way. She said that she and the whole table were leaving. She then tried to walk out without paying. The manager then told her if she stepped outside the door, she would call the police and have them arrested for theft. The woman was livid. The manager printed out the bill and handed it to her. The woman then said that the kid’s meals had not been taken off the bill. There had been about 10 kids at the table, so it was about $80 worth of kid’s meals that should have been taken off. The manager explained that she would have to get a professional cleaner in to fix up the floor, and that would cover the cost of it. Again, the woman went nuts and she treated to call the police on us. It was insane. I wasn't there to witness the end of it, but apparently the manager gave the woman another talking to and the woman paid quickly and left.

 

So those are some of the worst experiences that I have had with sucky customers. Please feel free to share yours; I would love to hear about them because it reminds me that there is always someone else who has it far worse. So it you think you can top my stories or even if you just want to vent in general, go ahead.