Pet Peeves: Aka Things That Make You Go "Gah!"

[Quof]

I used to work in an office with a couple of hundred employees. Occasionally, a call would get put through to my extension by mistake.   It took me a second to look up the correct extension and transfer the caller (they said "thanks", I said "you're welcome.")  I often heard my boss get such a call and say "oh, you've got the wrong number.  I don't know how to transfer you.  You'll have to call the switchboard again."  Yeah, she was a peach. 

[DeLurker]

My brain is going to freeze up the next time someone says thank you to me - what is the right response given the situation?  Who knew there were so many ways to think about this simple scenario?  Chances are I will just stand there looking dumb and they will think I had a seizure.

 

backformore - yes, I was under-caffeinated at the time I parked (because driving completely uncaffeinated is not safe for me, other drivers, stationary objects, ....).  I feel better after reading your response - thank you (no reply necessary!).

 

I can write an encyclopedia of the ex's sins, but he was always willing to go get me a coffee on mornings I had run out or just needed some industrial strength brew.

Edited September 29, 2015 by DeLurker

[backformore]

I have a weird sense of space when I park, so I often park "crooked", in my garage, in my driveway, in a parking lot.  If my husband's car is in the garage, I can use his car as a guide.  In a parking lot, I pull in next to another car.  Otherwise, I am a mess.  I often get it right, but it seems like it's just by chance.  I usually have to get out and look before I realize that I did a good or  bad parking job.  I swear, I could be the only car in a parking lot, and I get out, and my car is crooked, one tire over the line, or too close to the line on one side.   I don't know what it is, but I have difficulty  gauging where the boundaries of my car are.   

I'm a great driver - really, I've been driving more than 30 years, had one ticket that was dismissed, and one very small accident.  (in a parking lot)

It seems to be just a bad sense of visual space, and it seems to have become worse with age. 

[33kaitykaity]

I have a weird sense of space when I park, so I often park "crooked", in my garage, in my driveway, in a parking lot.  If my husband's car is in the garage, I can use his car as a guide.  In a parking lot, I pull in next to another car.  Otherwise, I am a mess.  I often get it right, but it seems like it's just by chance.  I usually have to get out and look before I realize that I did a good or  bad parking job.  I swear, I could be the only car in a parking lot, and I get out, and my car is crooked, one tire over the line, or too close to the line on one side.   I don't know what it is, but I have difficulty  gauging where the boundaries of my car are.   

I'm a great driver - really, I've been driving more than 30 years, had one ticket that was dismissed, and one very small accident.  (in a parking lot)

It seems to be just a bad sense of visual space, and it seems to have become worse with age. 

Maybe you have one eye that is stronger than the other?  I have amblyopia.  This parking thing happens to me all the time, where I think I'm pulling in someplace straight, but I'm always off balance to the right.  My right eye is 20/20, but my left eye is 20/100 or some such nonsense.  If my eyes were both like my left eye, I could be considered legally blind.  

[Maizie131]

I have a weird sense of space when I park, so I often park "crooked", in my garage, in my driveway, in a parking lot.

 

It seems to be just a bad sense of visual space, and it seems to have become worse with age. 

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger, backformore -- I'm the same way.  I live in an upstairs apartment, with my parking space right out in front (that I can see from my balcony).  If I didn't pay REAL attention to the (newly!) painted yellow lines every time I pull in, I'd always be "off." 

 

I do think it's an age thing -- I don't recall ever having this problem until the last few years.  (I just turned 64 this summer.)   Getting old sucks, but as of right now, it beats the alternative.  :) 

[KnoxForPres]

I only cringe a bit at "no problem" when I've just paid money and that's the cashier's response. I just wish he/she would say "thank you" (emphasis on you). Like, "no thank YOU for choosing to come here today and we appreciate your business" would be the context. In work, in life I never think about "no problem"- just then.

At my work lots of doors are involved moving from point A to B. The damnedest thing is people who want to enter/exit on the wrong side. So say I'm coming in on the right to cafeteria. Person is leaving and uses same door (her left) and manages to act like I'm in the way! Damn it irritates me.

[joelene]

I've never, ever given a second thought to "no problem" being an issue for some people, and I've never heard of anyone else having that problem, so it's interesting to hear. I work in a small grocery store (in Sweden). I do everything. Cashier, deli, fruits and veg, make orders, roam around in the dairy section listening to podcasts. When someone says thanks, sometimes I say (in Swedish, obv) "Thanks!" back, or "Thank you", "no problem" (this can be said in either Swedish or English), sometimes just smile (and a wink, because why not), sometimes with a "Have a good day" if I'm feeling especially generous. It's all off the cuff and I usually don't give my response a second thought.

The bagging situations you've talked about is also interesting. The cashier bagging for the customer is inconceivable to me. That would make the que endless plus talk about exhausting the staff. That's something from the 50's, for me (or any Swede).

Pet peeve: people throwing their groceries up on the [what is the English word, the conveyer belt?) in a big pile. I don't know if they think this will make the transaction go buy quicker but it really won't. It takes longer, you have to lift more, it's annoying as hell, you will not get much of a smile. People who place the barcodes in the right way so you can just slide them down on the other side gets a smile as big as the sun.

This is not so much a pet peeve as it is amusing, but the grocery store is on an island (and where I grew up), and during the summer it's packed with tourists. There aren't a lot of Americans but sometimes you talk to a couple of US citizens who wants information and every single one of them essentially believes the island "shuts down" during autumn/winter. "People live here all year around?!". "Oh, yes, of course. 1300 people." "But what do you do during winter?!" "We put on more clothes." They ask about running water, how can the ferries cross the water during winter (not cold enough to freeze for a long period), etc. Perhaps some questions aren't without its merits (and to be fair, there are some city Swedes who ask the same thing, but I do think they're especially idiotic. The coasts in Sweden are packed with islands), but it's pretty funny to be asked these questions. Don't you have islands in America?

Edited October 1, 2015 by joelene

[DeLurker]

We only acknowledge the ones in warmer climates.

[Qoass]

To throw up another driving issue on the pet peeve conveyor belt, I hate it when people cut through parking lots to avoid waiting at a red light or in traffic.

[DeLurker]

I hate being a passenger in the car when the driver decides to do that.  Reason 1,458.999 on the ex's List of Sins.

[bubbls]

To throw up another driving issue on the pet peeve conveyor belt, I hate it when people cut through parking lots to avoid waiting at a red light or in traffic.

 

Do you mean diagonally? I hate that. Most of these assholes give ME dirty looks when I get in their way while crossing the parking lot correctly. I will drive five miles out of my way to avoid turning across traffic, but I don't willy-nilly wheel across the lot like I'm mud slinging.

[NutMeg]

Based on the reactions I get, I may very weird, but when you bag my groceries, which I honestly prefer to do myself, please humour me when I tell you I want to mix heavy and light, like wine and bread, which means not wine and olive oil and mushroom sauce and garbanzo bean cans, and all the heavy stuff, because I like my bags balanced! I might not be everyone's choice but it's mine. And still you get me the light stuff all in the same bag, and the extra heavy in the other one? Then I need to reassemble because my shoulders are not as strong as you may think they are, and I have to do it way after checkout because I don't want to hurt your feelings.

 

Edited because bread and break have different meaning, and there is no s in extraheavy, which is not even a word.

Edited October 2, 2015 by NutMeg

[Quof]

I load all of my groceries on the belt at once so I can see you scan them and catch any mistakes. Maybe you could turn the screen so the customer can see it, store owners???

[pandora spocks]

Recently I filed for bankruptcy.  Since then, I've been swamped with credit card offers, lines of credit for

cars, and other opportunities to rebuild my credit.  All I can I say is kiss my ass!  No, I'm not interested in paying 25% interest for a car nor paying through the nose for credit cards to buy things I don't need.  Bankruptcy has taught me to rethink my priorities.  Shame on these unscrupulous companies for charging exorbitant rates to consumers!  Don't piss on my head and call it rain!

Edited October 1, 2015 by pandora spocks

[harrie]

To throw up another driving issue on the pet peeve conveyor belt, I hate it when people cut through parking lots to avoid waiting at a red light or in traffic.

 

That's illegal in many towns here (Connecticut), but it gets enforced about 1% of the time.  I have seen it enforced, though.

 

 

I load all of my groceries on the belt at once so I can see you scan them and catch any mistakes. Maybe you could turn the screen so the customer can see it, store owners???

 

The stores where I shop - a Whole Foods and a grocery store that was probably last updated in the '60s -- have screens that the customer can see. Sometimes I turn away because I feel like I'm seeing way too much of the person ahead of me's business (that is, I can see everything they've purchased and what it cost).

[Bastet]

That's illegal in many towns here (Connecticut), but it gets enforced about 1% of the time.  I have seen it enforced, though.

 

It happened to a friend.  She turned into a gas station at a busy corner, intending to get gas, but then took a look at the lines and the clock and decided against it, so continued on through out to the perpendicular street.  A cop on the street from which she'd originated assumed she'd simply cut through to avoid the red light (it's a "no turn on red" intersection) and pulled her over. 

[annzeepark914]

@joelene:  How do you say "you're welcome" in Swedish?  Tak :>)

[bilgistic]

pandora, go to optoutprescreen.com. It removes your name from the credit card lists. In a similar vein, catalogchoice.org gets you off mailing lists for catalogs, companies' marketing, etc. I hate junk mail, and it's one of my life goals to get off all the lists.

I get one stupid coupon mailer from my city newspaper to which I don't subscribe (I've asked repeatedly to be removed), and I can't get off the phone/internet/TV company's list because I have their internet service (dumbest marketing campaign ever!), but that's about the only unsolicited mail I get. I have mail only two or three days a week--and one of those is that stupid newspaper circular, which goes directly into the recycling bin. Why is print news dying? Because the entire budget is spent on shitty circulars that no one reads!

[joelene]

@joelene: How do you say "you're welcome" in Swedish? Tak :>)

"Varsågod" is "You're welcome." "Tack" is "Thanks/Thank you" :)

[NutMeg]

My pet peeve today is Google and the way it tries to get me what it thinks I want.

 

I'm a translator and often when I work I keep open a web page that gives me dual language versions of the same official text (very helpful for new EU laws when I need the official wording).

 

Because of this, anything I look up for on Google gets me a first page that's just translation websites which are of no interest to me.

 

I've tried other search engines, but either they don't have much, or they practice the same "oh we know what you want" approach. But they do not know what I want.

 

Is there any way to opt out of these "clever" versions and go back to the dumb ones? 

[annzeepark914]

"Varsågod" is "You're welcome." "Tack" is "Thanks/Thank you" :)

Tack sa mycka, Joelene.  Can't believe I'm Swedish-American!   I heard varsagod all my life (my parents spoke Swedish, 1st generation Americans, but never taught us kids). However, they used varsagod to announce that dinner is ready so come to the table. When my husband & I visited Sweden several years ago, it was very strange for me to hear "varsagod" whenever I entered a store since I associate varsagod with dinner being on the table :>)

 

Pet peeve of the day:  people who leave their shopping cart in the aisle or passageway to go check out something.  Today was worse than the day before Thanksgiving.  Everyone & his/her brother, grandpa, cousins, au peres, kids, etc., were shopping and it was a zoo.  Of course, I still love that fabulous food emporium!

[Maizie131]

Pet peeve of the day:  people who leave their shopping cart in the aisle or passageway to go check out something. 

annzee - this drives me nucking futs, too!  I always push/pull my cart over as close to the side of the aisle as possible, or somewhere where I think it'll be out of the way to other shoppers.  How hard is that?!?

[joelene]

Tack sa mycka, Joelene. Can't believe I'm Swedish-American! I heard varsagod all my life (my parents spoke Swedish, 1st generation Americans, but never taught us kids). However, they used varsagod to announce that dinner is ready so come to the table. When my husband & I visited Sweden several years ago, it was very strange for me to hear "varsagod" whenever I entered a store since I associate varsagod with dinner being on the table :>)

Hah, that's great. We do indeed use "varsågod" to announce that dinner is ready as well! Not everyone or all the time, and perhaps it's more common with the older generation, but it's still used. It's like saying "tug in!" when used in that context.

Pet peeve of the day: people who leave their shopping cart in the aisle or passageway to go check out something. Today was worse than the day before Thanksgiving. Everyone & his/her brother, grandpa, cousins, au peres, kids, etc., were shopping and it was a zoo. Of course, I still love that fabulous food emporium!

God yes. And trollies/carts for children. And children entering the parents pin code or pressing "OK", and 50% of the time they will fuck it up, and it's always when it's a que. "Count to 10, Joelene..."

[auntlada]

God yes. And trollies/carts for children. And children entering the parents pin code or pressing "OK", and 50% of the time they will fuck it up, and it's always when it's a que. "Count to 10, Joelene..."

 

At the store today, the mom and grandma in front of us let the little girl (probably around 8-10) draw pictures on the screen where you're supposed to sign while we waited. And waited. They thought it was so cute. It was not.

[bilgistic]

The kid was drawing on the credit card signature pad when it was time to sign for the charge?

[auntlada]

I think they signed and then let her draw and then hit the accept key. It was odd and annoying. It doesn't really matter much what you write on the signature line, though. In the self check-out at one store, I needed to use the register, and someone had left it up at the signature line. The clerk squiggled something and hit accept, and it went through.

[harrie]

I can't write with those stylus things, and I'm a lefty so depending how they're set up the cord doesn't always reach adequately, so my signature on the pad is usually my to initials and a squiggly line.  Cashiers have told me nobody can write properly on them - for one thing, spots in the screen wear and become unresponsive to touch.  One said she'd pretty much accept an "X." 

[bilgistic]

I think they signed and then let her draw and then hit the accept key. It was odd and annoying.

That's completely obnoxious and unacceptable behavior. Grandma needs to get that precious darling a $600 iPad so she can draw on it. The rage I would've had in that situation!

I got (ir)rationally mad at a department store yesterday bc a mother called out to her kid, telling her not to do whatever she was doing, and she had a stupid fluffy precious snowflake name. Stripper in 15 years.

[bubbls]

I think I've griped here about this one, but I'm not sure. I gripe everywhere about it. I can barely stop myself from grabbing the phone out of their hand and hanging up when I, a customer, have to stand there waiting while the employee answers the ringing phone and helps a phone customer. Hello! Put them on hold and help me, the customer who's actually physically in the store spending money. I hate this! It happened yesterday, but at least the employee had the brains to keep helping me while also helping the phone customer with their question. She was a great at multitasking.

[DeLurker]

I got (ir)rationally mad at a department store yesterday bc a mother called out to her kid, telling her not to do whatever she was doing, and she had a stupid fluffy precious snowflake name. Stripper in 15 years.

That is unfortunate.  A relative had a baby last year and named her Layla.  For people in my age range, I think we associate that name with Eric Clapton's song about George Harrison's wife (who Clapton later married) and his obsessive love.  And it kind of sounds like a future stripper name to me now that you mention it.

[BW Manilowe]

New Pet Peeve: The "All-Day Breakfast" menu at McDonald's *doesn't* include their McGriddles breakfast sandwiches (my favorite item on their breakfast menu).

[Quof]

I love how people are so worked up about the McDonald's All Day Breakfast. Their grills only have so much space, of course they can't cook the entire breakfast menu at the same time they cook the rest of the menu. They work on a model of speed, cooking multiples of the same item at once.    Do you really want to wait 10 minutes or more for McDonald's food???

[Qoass]

If the breakfast sausage burrito is available, I'll be a happy camper.  I have no illusions that they'll be cooking that sucker up fresh.

[Mountainair]

I was going to say- doesn't McDonald's just serve frozen food heated up? All they need is a microwave and they can serve breakfast all day! 

 

I really don't eat too much fast food and I have a favorite local place here that serves an out-of-this world breakfast. Once I tried it I just lost the taste for fast food breakfasts. 

 

My husband on the other hand could eat Bojangles breakfast all day as their new advertisement proclaims, "We've always had all day breakfast!" 

Edited October 7, 2015 by Mountainair

[JTMacc99]

My kids want to sign the credit card things in stores.  Depending on the line behind me, my assessment of how much faster I was than the average customer because I arranged my items properly on the conveyor in a way that let me bag them quickly and efficiently myself almost as fast as the cashier could scan them, and whether or not my kids were good or obnoxious in the store, I might let them sign the pad. If the creative one starts drawing puppies or flowers, I reach over and hit accept.  

 

Given the large percentage of customers who do much worse things in front of me non-stop, I don't think twice about letting my kids get a 5 second thrill out of acting like a grown up.

 

Speaking of shitty grocery store behavior...  The other day I got on the 12 items or less line after work.  In front of me just about to have her order started was a women with a few items on the belt.  I didn't notice the order separating bar on the belt between those items when I started to put down my stuff.  (I'll come back to that in a minute.)  I did notice, however, that she was asking her daughter if she sees Barbara.  This is when I got the feeling that she's going to be standing there making the cashier wait for the other person to get there with whatever item that person was still trying to find in the store.  So she's still kind of looking back into the store for Barbara when her order starts scanning.  A few of her things go through when she suddenly tells the cashier that she forgot her wallet in the car.  The cashier tells her that he can put her order on hold while she goes out to get it.  

 

This is when Barbara shows up with her loaf of bread and puts it down.  Customer number one tells Barbara that she needs to go to the car to get her wallet, and Barbara acknowledges this.  Meanwhile, the cashier has removed the separator and continued to scan all of Barb's items into the order on hold so that he can then move onto my order.  This, of course, was a mistake. Barbara lets him know that the last few things were her order, so the kid now has to back out all of Barbara's items from the held order, that requires the override in case you are wondering, so that he can complete the held order and THEN start Barbara's order. He did just that, and just as Barbara's order was done, shopper number one came back.  THANK GOD that the way he deals with her is to hand her the bags and a receipt that she needs to take over to the courtesy counter behind him to pay there.

 

It was a good example of what not to do.  I've been behind people with 27 and 32 items on that same register before, but I think this one might have been more annoying.  Or maybe not. The 32 item lady CLEARLY knew she was being a jerk and didn't give me even a little sense that she cared.

Edited October 7, 2015 by JTMacc99

[BW Manilowe]

I love how people are so worked up about the McDonald's All Day Breakfast. Their grills only have so much space, of course they can't cook the entire breakfast menu at the same time they cook the rest of the menu. They work on a model of speed, cooking multiples of the same item at once. Do you really want to wait 10 minutes or more for McDonald's food???

We usually have to wait anyway, if I order a burger or fish sandwich during lunch or dinner, since I don't like certain burger toppings or tartar sauce--so waiting for something on the breakfast menu's not a big deal.

Qoass: Yes, they have the Sausage Burrito on the All-Day Breakfast Menu. At least according to the website. So hopefully you can get it when you want 1 after the usual breakfast hours.

Edited October 8, 2015 by BW Manilowe

[Qoass]

Courtesy of Pop Culture Happy Hour:

 

http://screamintothevoid.com/

 

Fun!

[glowlights]

This is a little more than a pet peeve, it's more like a BIG FUCKING COMPLAINT, but:

 

People who treat service workers like dirt need to go to hell. Today the person who cleans our place was treated outrageously by someone Who Shall Remain Unnamed and I'm ready to swing a hammer. Yes, she cleans for a living. She does her job very, very well unlike the asshole who was rude to her. She is also one of the kindest, most decent and hardest working people you will ever meet. She single-handedly keeps our household from going into Hoarders territory, so if that's not an important job I don't know what is. WE sure think it's important!

 

Cashiers, restaurant servers, cleaners, etc. all provide valuable services that should be respected and appreciated imo. Holy shit does it make me mad when they are treated like "less than" by jerks who think their college degree or job title or bank account makes them superior. Don't even get me started on how certain people treat admins and receptionists.

 

:(  :(  :(

[Sun-Bun]

This is a little more than a pet peeve, it's more like a BIG FUCKING COMPLAINT, but:

People who treat service workers like dirt need to go to hell. Today the person who cleans our place was treated outrageously by someone Who Shall Remain Unnamed and I'm ready to swing a hammer. Yes, she cleans for a living. She does her job very, very well unlike the asshole who was rude to her. She is also one of the kindest, most decent and hardest working people you will ever meet. She single-handedly keeps our household from going into Hoarders territory, so if that's not an important job I don't know what is. WE sure think it's important!

Cashiers, restaurant servers, cleaners, etc. all provide valuable services that should be respected and appreciated imo. Holy shit does it make me mad when they are treated like "less than" by jerks who think their college degree or job title or bank account makes them superior. Don't even get me started on how certain people treat admins and receptionists.

:( :( :(

Amen to ALL that---a person truly reveals his/her ultimate character based on how he/she treats service workers, or so I've often noticed. How hard is it to be nice?

I even broke up with a guy once based on his dismissive treatment of servers; I figured if he felt comfortable enough to treat perfect strangers in such a manner, what would prevent him from treating me in that same manner eventually, once he got truly comfortable and confident in our relationship? Jerk.

Which brings me to this little asshole:

http://gawker.com/drunken-mac-and-cheese-tantrum-baby-reportedly-expelled-1735177110

My blood was boiling as I watched that hideous waste of DNA going off on his university's cafeteria staff in such a crude and smug manner. What a little shitstain---I don't care how drunk he supposedly was; somewhere some parents raised that entitled little punk to feel as though his smug ass could address multiple folks in that way, that he's "better" than the service workers who serve his special snowflake ass "fuckin jalapeño bacon mac and cheese!!"

At least he got expelled. Karma and international online humiliation should greatly humble him a bit, hopefully.

[harrie]

This is a little more than a pet peeve, it's more like a BIG FUCKING COMPLAINT, but:

 

People who treat service workers like dirt need to go to hell. Today the person who cleans our place was treated outrageously by someone Who Shall Remain Unnamed and I'm ready to swing a hammer. Yes, she cleans for a living. She does her job very, very well unlike the asshole who was rude to her. She is also one of the kindest, most decent and hardest working people you will ever meet. She single-handedly keeps our household from going into Hoarders territory, so if that's not an important job I don't know what is. WE sure think it's important!

 

Cashiers, restaurant servers, cleaners, etc. all provide valuable services that should be respected and appreciated imo. Holy shit does it make me mad when they are treated like "less than" by jerks who think their college degree or job title or bank account makes them superior. Don't even get me started on how certain people treat admins and receptionists.

 

:(  :(  :(

 

Another amen, this one from a heathen.  I don't know why some people cannot respect other people as human beings, whatever their social status.  

 

I'm an admin by profession; I was laid off recently and am now taking classes to finish off a degree.  Just this week in my paralegal class, a fellow student was going off to a friend about the difficulty she had in the advisory department because some credits didn't transfer.  She swore she didn't have attitude, but it sounded like she did.  So at one point in her tale she said "You're a secretary, you enter things in a computer.  You don't know anything."  

 

I declined from engaging her, but I do hope that someday she realizes that she may rely on secretaries and admins wherever she lands. I've had some high-level positions, and the first thing people who wanted to see my boss learned was "do not dis the secretary"  (not because I'd ream them but because my boss would).  

 

 

 

Amen to ALL that---a person truly reveals his/her ultimate character based on how he/she treats service workers, or so I've often noticed. How hard is it to be nice?

I even broke up with a guy once based on his dismissive treatment of servers; I figured if he felt comfortable enough to treat perfect strangers in such a manner, what would prevent him from treating me in that same manner eventually, once he got truly comfortable and confident in our relationship? Jerk.

Which brings me to this little asshole:

http://gawker.com/drunken-mac-and-cheese-tantrum-baby-reportedly-expelled-1735177110

 

That little charmer goes to UCONN, so he's been all over the local news.  I believe he's not officially expelled - yet - but I think, or at least hope, it's inevitable.  He's got a track record, having been expelled from UMASS last year.  What does he think is going to happen when he goes to apply for jobs?  A cursory search will bring this info right up.  

 

And I agree - you can judge a person's character by how they treat those "beneath" them.  (I know, I kind of stole that thought from Ghandi.)

[glowlights]

I even broke up with a guy once based on his dismissive treatment of servers; I figured if he felt comfortable enough to treat perfect strangers in such a manner, what would prevent him from treating me in that same manner eventually, once he got truly comfortable and confident in our relationship? Jerk.

 

Smart move on your part! You probably saved yourself years of anguish down the road. It goes to a person's core values and character, imo. They either know how to show respect and humility, or they don't.

 

Which brings me to this little asshole:

http://gawker.com/dr...lled-1735177110

 

Ugh. I don't accept his being drunk as any sort of excuse. Alchohol loosens inhibitions and removes filters, so all it does is reveal who the person really is when their guard is down. If you're an aggressive, abusive asshole it will be amplified with booze, but booze won't just make you that way on its own. Here's the same "wonderful kid" when he was at UMass: http://onlyintherepublicofamherst.blogspot.com/2014/09/repeat-party-offender.html

[glowlights]

I'm an admin by profession; I was laid off recently and am now taking classes to finish off a degree.  Just this week in my paralegal class, a fellow student was going off to a friend about the difficulty she had in the advisory department because some credits didn't transfer.  She swore she didn't have attitude, but it sounded like she did.  So at one point in her tale she said "You're a secretary, you enter things in a computer.  You don't know anything."  

 

Unless the admin was being unreasonable and refusing to look into the error with the transfer, the "you don't know anything" comment is just beyond uncalled-for. I hope she realizes that these secretarial personnel who "don't know anything" are the exact people who would know how to look into the matter, or who to ask.

 

Sorry to hear about the lay-off, but hopefully you're enjoying the classes and the degree will open new doors for you!

[DeLurker]

I'm an admin by profession; I was laid off recently and am now taking classes to finish off a degree.  Just this week in my paralegal class, a fellow student was going off to a friend about the difficulty she had in the advisory department because some credits didn't transfer.  She swore she didn't have attitude, but it sounded like she did.  So at one point in her tale she said "You're a secretary, you enter things in a computer.  You don't know anything."  

 

I declined from engaging her, but I do hope that someday she realizes that she may rely on secretaries and admins wherever she lands. I've had some high-level positions, and the first thing people who wanted to see my boss learned was "do not dis the secretary"  (not because I'd ream them but because my boss would). 

Your class mate is a twit and lacks class.

 

And so much word to how much sway a good assistant is to their boss.  I've gotten more than one job because the assistant told the boss I was the one he should hire.  My last big boss' assistant could make or break you.  If she liked you, you got prime time on his schedule for meetings.  If she didn't, you were toast and got first thing Monday before he had enough coffee - he was a bear.  He valued her opinion - especially because she was right outside his office and centrally located.  If there was dirt to be known, she knew it (without being part of the office rumor mill).

[harrie]

Your class mate is a twit and lacks class.

 

And so much word to how much sway a good assistant is to their boss.  I've gotten more than one job because the assistant told the boss I was the one he should hire.  My last big boss' assistant could make or break you.  If she liked you, you got prime time on his schedule for meetings.  If she didn't, you were toast and got first thing Monday before he had enough coffee - he was a bear.  He valued her opinion - especially because she was right outside his office and centrally located.  If there was dirt to be known, she knew it (without being part of the office rumor mill).

 

I attribute her attitude to youth - she doesn't sound like she's worked much, and she probably knows everything there is to know about the world.  It's when you've been around the block a little that you realize maybe there are some things you don't know - at least, that's my experience.  (I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now....)

 

And yes, when a boss and assistant jell, it's a beautiful thing.  

[Maizie131]

I attribute her attitude to youth - she doesn't sound like she's worked much, and she probably knows everything there is to know about the world.  It's when you've been around the block a little that you realize maybe there are some things you don't know - at least, that's my experience.  (I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now....)

 

And yes, when a boss and assistant jell, it's a beautiful thing.  

harrie -  one of my favorite songs!  ("My Back Pages" by The Byrds)!  Shit, you gotta be older than dirt like me!  ha!  But getting back to the subject...totally agree it's a "youth" thing & she knows everything. 

[Megatron Griffin]

Hi! I've been lurking around this site for a while and finally registered the other day. I didn't know there was an off topic forum until recently. I don't have any pet peeves right now but I'm sure I'll be posting a lot of them in the future. I have really enjoyed reading all of your pet peeves and find myself nodding along and agreeing with them all. I just wanted to say hi and introduce myself so...Hi!

Edited October 11, 2015 by Megatron Griffin

[janestclair]

The secretary for our department in my school is amazing, and I make sure she knows it whenever possible. Actually, our entire department does.  We love her.  My boss, on the other hand, wouldn't hesitate to throw her under the bus repeatedly.  If she ever left, I shudder to think what would happen.  We would be so completely screwed over.

 

My peeve for the day is people who are in line in Chipotle for 20 minutes and STILL have no clue what the hell they want to order when they get up to the front.  A guy in front of me was hemming and hawing about his 4 burritos while my life was flashing before my eyes.  Figure it out while you're waiting.  Or, here's a novel idea, if you're ordering multiple, have it written down!

[backformore]

If you are eating right now I will give you a six second delay to stop reading and go to the next post...

 

I absolutely get freaked out by people who let their nails grow out abnormally long. The nails take on a personality. You become known as freaky nail person. It is gross. And there is no way around noticing it because you bring attention to it by having to be so careful not to break the freaky long curvy nail. It is all I can do to not bring out a huge nail clipper and have at it. And you don't grow all of them, just have a couple. It is just weird to me to see it.

 

Sorry but for some reason I have encountered three people in the last week who have gross long nails. 

I'm right there with you.   Especially when the nails get twisty or curved.  I always wonder how someone wth such long nails does normal things - open a can of pop, use the touch control on  microwave, apply makeup , type on a computer.     Or - wipe yourself after using the toilet.  Sorry, but they seem like the most impractical things in the world.  

[harrie]

harrie -  one of my favorite songs!  ("My Back Pages" by The Byrds)!  Shit, you gotta be older than dirt like me!  ha!  But getting back to the subject...totally agree it's a "youth" thing & she knows everything. 

 

 

Older than dirt?  Hell, I invented dirt.  Okay, maybe not.  And My Back Pages is a great song - tied for my favorite Byrds tune with I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better When You're Gone.

[ratgirlagogo]

 

My Back Pages is a great song

Yes, but it's a Bob Dylan song, which the Byrds did a great version of. Sorry,  authorship stuff is a pet peeve of mine.:) I'm a librarian.

Edited October 11, 2015 by ratgirlagogo