The cranky thread

[Lawnmower Boy]

Re: The cranky thread

 

I find that low expectations of your management is a safe bet. May we be wrong.

 

I have a feeling I would resent that if I had any idea what you were talking about.

Now I have to go manage. And by that, I mean fill out the checklist of audits so that the store can get a high score on the corporate audit of the checklist of store audits.

Hmm: put padlock on fire exit for "loss prevention?" Ten-four, good buddy!

[L. Marcus]

Re: The cranky thread

 

Hmm: put padlock on fire exit for "loss prevention?" Ten-four, good buddy!

. . . Really?!

[archermoo]

Re: The cranky thread

 

. . . Really?!

 

Well, it is illegal. But some stores have been known to do it to try and combat thieves. After they get slapped with big fines a few times, they usually stop. Not to mention that if anyone dies in a fire in the store the person responsible for it being locked could potentially be brought up on criminal charges. Depending on the local laws.

[L. Marcus]

Re: The cranky thread

 

. . . , and that's talking as a union work place safety ombudsman.

[Old Man]

Re: The cranky thread

 

There is one SOB who always saves his (or her) fireworks and sets them off at 4 am a month or two later.

 

You know, I wouldn't really care, except that now I have little kids, and I am already deprived of sleep. Before, guys on Harleys with straight pipes used to make me snicker; now they make me want to grab a shotgun and blow them the hell away. Same goes for these inconsiderate fireworks people.

 

It doesn't help that a shotgun blast would be hard to distinguish from a backfiring motorcycle or aerial noisemaker.

[Old Man]

Re: The cranky thread

 

So I finally got my new work laptop. Great! Except . . . well' date=' it doesn't really work. It gives me a time/date error whenever I log on. Well, if I connect via the VPN before logging onto Windows, it picks up the server time and is OK, but if I just log on pre-network, well, error. Lovely. Oh, and then there's the monitor, which is so bad and fuzzy it's hard to read, basically unusable. Feel like I need glasses when I look at it, it's so stinking blurry. Oh, and no battery. Not "limited battery life". No battery at all, won't hold any charge, powers down the moment it is unplugged. So, it took over a month to get a new laptop, and the one I get is basically worthless. Thanks, guys. Really. Appreciate the help.[/quote']

 

My only suggestion here is that it sounds like the screen is set to the wrong resolution. That's the only explanation I have for why an LCD display could look fuzzy. My next suggestion after that is to buy a Mac. Seriously, they're not much more expensive than other equivalent laptops now, if at all.

[MilkmanDan]

Re: The cranky thread

 

My only suggestion here is that it sounds like the screen is set to the wrong resolution. That's the only explanation I have for why an LCD display could look fuzzy. My next suggestion after that is to buy a Mac. Seriously' date=' they're not much more expensive than other equivalent laptops now, if at all.[/quote']

 

Eh, as far as I'm concerned the lack of battery was a deal-breaker anyways. Resolution was generic old 1024x768, which isn't exactly exceeding specs. Being that the thing was scuffed all to heck and had a gunked-up thumbstick, I believe it's more of a case of "send him the crappy old laptop and hope he doesn't notice."

[Lawnmower Boy]

Re: The cranky thread

 

Well' date=' it is illegal. But some stores have been known to do it to try and combat thieves. After they get slapped with big fines a few times, they usually stop. Not to mention that if anyone dies in a fire in the store the person responsible for it being locked could potentially be brought up on criminal charges. Depending on the local laws.[/quote']

 

In this case, try "big chain that really should know better."

The theory is that someone might hide in the store at closing and slip out through the fire exit door, but not before menacing the night stocking crew with their horrid menaces, so it's a safety issue. Night crew has a fire exit, and so the other is to be locked at night, and opened when first rosy-fingered dawn slips above the horizon. In practice, it's sometimes touch-and-go that we're able to unlock the front doors at opening time. Put a lock on once, and it's there 'till Doomsday, and no-one is really responsible, so any mass loss of life can't really be anyone's fault, right? And loss prevention's objective of keeping the back doors locked is mysteriously met. Yay.

[fiducia]

Re: The cranky thread

 

(General crank that is in no way related to anything written prior to this.)

 

I hate trying to talk to someone who is clearly so married to a specific way of thinking that they are unable to see anything contrary or even slightly different.

 

Belief is a wonderful thing, but like every other wonderful thing there is an edge to it. People are willing to kill and die for a deeply held belief. People will put up blinders so no one can shake their beliefs. People will fight and kick and scream and rant over beliefs.

 

I believe in ideas.

 

Ideas can change.

 

You don't kill over a good idea.

 

You can debate a good idea and if you happen to have a few holes shot through an idea then the idea lives on, just altered slightly to accomodate what you now know.

 

Beliefs die when you shoot them.

 

Ideas I can handle. People with rational ideas I can talk to. People who bash me over the head with their 'beliefs'...well they make me want to bash right back, and that's not good for my karma.

[SatinKitty]

Re: The cranky thread

 

We have a very nice pizza place practically right across thhe street that has been there probably for 40 years.

The food is great there.

So why oh why do they spoil a perfectly nice cheesesteak by putting a gruesome green pickle on it ??????

[Old Man]

Re: The cranky thread

 

Pickles. Eew.

 

Especially on cheesesteaks. Wtf?

[tkdguy]

Re: The cranky thread

 

My bosses suck. My colleagues suck. My students suck.

[proditor]

Re: The cranky thread

 

Darn motherboard. And I really wanted to give that PC to my friends.

[AliceTheOwl]

Re: The cranky thread

 

To adequately describe my boss and her recent behavior, I would need to use a lot of words that aren't allowed on a family-friendly board.

 

Suffice to say that being told I needed to punch out for that nice, long cry I needed in the bathroom after yesterday's chewing-out displeased me.

 

I have informed the CFO (the only person I know of higher-up than her - and she IS the HR department right now, so forget that route) that, if something isn't done, he's getting my two weeks' notice. I have endured a lot of abuse from bosses before, but being told I'm a liar, that my answer in the affirmative was actually my being insubordinate, and that I'm not allowed to tell any co-workers what is said in closed-door meetings "because it's a personnel issue" is beyond my tolerance.

[Hermit]

Re: The cranky thread

 

To adequately describe my boss and her recent behavior, I would need to use a lot of words that aren't allowed on a family-friendly board.

 

Suffice to say that being told I needed to punch out for that nice, long cry I needed in the bathroom after yesterday's chewing-out displeased me.

 

I have informed the CFO (the only person I know of higher-up than her - and she IS the HR department right now, so forget that route) that, if something isn't done, he's getting my two weeks' notice. I have endured a lot of abuse from bosses before, but being told I'm a liar, that my answer in the affirmative was actually my being insubordinate, and that I'm not allowed to tell any co-workers what is said in closed-door meetings "because it's a personnel issue" is beyond my tolerance.

 

Having dealt with some screwed up immediate 'superiors' on power trips myself in the past, you have my profound sympathies. I hope the CFO does something about her.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: The cranky thread

 

My mother is not the sort to pass up a chance to visit me.

She was discussing meeting sometime in June.

We're nearly out of June.

I've left messages on her home phone, to no avail.

 

Perhaps I'm paranoid (more like HELL YES I'm paranoid), I'm getting the oddest feeling that my mother is already dead and buried and my brother chose not to tell me because of our exceptionally hate-filled relationship.

 

Edit: Never mind, finally got ahold of her. All is well ... or as well as it ever gets.

[AliceTheOwl]

Re: The cranky thread

 

Having dealt with some screwed up immediate 'superiors' on power trips myself in the past' date=' you have my profound sympathies. I hope the CFO does something about her.[/quote']

There are several possibilities I can think of to explain her behavior over the last 48 hours:

 

1. She has a reading comprehension issue;

2. She's trying to drive me to quit, spurred by someone else's request;

3. She has a personal vendetta against me (again, sparking the question, "WHY?");

4. She deeply resents how well I get along with the other women in the office, and is jealous;

5. She's a sadist; or

6. She's just plain stupid.

 

Some of her behavior is explained by the assumption that she's the micro-managing type. But that doesn't explain why, then, she'd leave me alone for two weeks, then suddenly pull a hissy fit. Apparently, she's only a micro-manager when she feels like exerting control on someone. But why pick on me? Because I'm the lowest on the totem pole, having been at that location for a little over a month, and I'm still adjusting? Because I've singled myself out, somehow, with my behavior? I just don't get it. I'd been under the impression we were doing fine, except for the tight-lipped smiles I'd get in response to my warm, "Good morning!" greetings. I never had any indication before this that my performance was a problem, and all of the feedback I was hearing was positive.

 

The part that annoys me the most is that she told me everyone she speaks to about me (no exaggeration; she seriously said "everyone") has spoken of how mulish and resistant I am. But I've been hearing the exact opposite from my co-workers. They've been giving me near-constant feedback, and it's all overwhelmingly positive. Did she think I wouldn't notice? Or has she just been really selective about who she's been speaking to?

 

The most surprising thing is how much better I felt after speaking to the CFO. He was careful to make no promises, and he does have to take into consideration that he hired her into a supervisory role for a good reason. And I'm the only one complaining about her.

 

Nonetheless, after hearing about what a scary, mean man the CFO is, my estimation of him increased after today. No matter what happens, he has my respect.

 

Incidentally, does anyone know about the legality of ordering an employee not to speak of the content meetings to anyone else? She said it was "a personnel issue." Josh tells me she can't do that.

[lemming]

Re: The cranky thread

 

Ouch Alice.

 

Having had a similar thing once happen. She may be phrasing the questions so that your coworkers have no choice either.

 

Here's hoping the CFO is a decent sort.

[AliceTheOwl]

Re: The cranky thread

 

He has rather a long background in business. I understand he came to company upon the owner's request (they went to school together), to help whip it into shape. A lot of people have some very unpleasant stories about him. My experience with him has contradicted that. He's never handled me with kid gloves, but he's never raised his voice to me or even criticized me. Even when he was backing up things my boss had said (the basic principle of the company and my job duties changing, basically), he was quite positive about it. He said he wouldn't have brought me over to the corporate offices if he didn't think I could do the job, and that he has confidence in my abilities.

 

So I do have some hope. But we'll see.

[lemming]

Re: The cranky thread

 

Cool. I had a boss that had that type of rep as well. He didn't dance around the subject if you screwed up, but was also supportive if you did good. You were also able to push back and he'd listen to you. Best boss I've had.

[MilkmanDan]

Re: The cranky thread

 

Silent drives are the best, aren't they? Yeah, I'm sorry I had problems staying at your mother-in-law's place. I mean, her old house was drafty, kind of dirty, old, creaky, and just kind of a pain, but it was a house at least. Now? That one-bedroom apartment is great. I mean, why should I have any issues with sleeping on a king-sized air mattress on the living room floor along with you and the two kids? Oh, and "living room" is a stretch, as it's sort of a combined living room-kitchen-dining area, all one room, really. So once the kids go to bed I . . . well, I've had insomnia issues for many years, which you know, so you know I can't sleep at 9:00 at night. Just doesn't work. So I sat there for two nights, listening to my mp3 player, playing solitaire on my PDA. Because, of course, I can't read, because lights would keep the kids up. Oh, and getting woken up five times a night when our almost four-year-old daughter flops over and smacks me in the face . . . what's the problem there? Plus, the air mattress--my back feels GREAT right now, thanks for asking. Oh, I know, you want your mother to spend time with the kids. I mean, she was such a great mother to you I can see how giving her a crack at the next generation would be the best idea. Sure, sure, I understand she can't have the house anymore because she can't afford the rent, having blown every dollar she ever earned on stupid crap. I mean, that house you had once when you were a teenager? Yeah, the one she put that really cool old $400 door into when you guys didn't have enough food to eat. Anyways, when she blew all the tens of thousands of dollars of equity she'd earned in the house on a really long trip around the world? Yeah, that would be when she sort of gave up the right to have her grandkids stay with her. I mean, wife, your grandparents are in the same town. Your brother is there. Other relatives are there. There are many places to stay that do not involve the air mattress in the one darkened room available.

 

I really appreciated that we didn't say a word to each other until we hit Mason City, about 200 miles up the road. Um, when you asked "would you rather leave tomorrow morning or this afternoon", did you expect a different answer? Was clear. So, not talking to me, putting headphones on to ignore me (you know, the ones for the car DVD player, which didn't have a DVD in it at the time, so the only possible use for them was telling me to piss off), not responding when I suggested to everyone just hitting Subway for a quick sandwich to eat in the car . . . yes, I'm rude for not consulting with you as to where we were supposed to eat. Then, not eating your half of the sub, that showed me, sure. Six inches of hate-filled symbolic ham that will curse me to my grave. And then, of course, more silence, not a word for the last 100 miles or so.

 

My back is killing me. I'm exhausted. And I get to deal with this. Please kill me.

 

Edit: I take it back. We just "talked". In retrospect, the silent treatment actually was considerably more fun. Well, less not-fun, anyways.

 

Sigh.

[Old Man]

Re: The cranky thread

 

I sympathize. But you know, I'd rather fight about something like that, than get screamed at--literally--for putting the dirty dishes next to the sink instead of in it. Or how I clean a shower. (By the way, if you want the shower cleaned in fourtime consuming stages, do it yourself next time. Serves me right for trying to help.)

[Nolgroth]

Re: The cranky thread

 

I love when I call security to handle a noise complaint and they come knocking on MY door to tell me to quiet down. It's also really great when said neighbors are STILL playing his frickin bumpity bump bump music loud enough to be louder than my video game. Screw guns. I don't want to shoot these bastards, I want to smack them repeatedly with a claw hammer.

[MilkmanDan]

Re: The cranky thread

 

I hate PC support. So I'm getting a loaner laptop while my normal one is getting repaired. PC support guy sends me an email saying "I either need you to send me your password or I need permission to reset it". I send an email back saying "My phone number is so-and-so, call me and I'll give you my password." So what does he do? He resets my password. And sends me an email about it.

 

IF I DON'T KNOW THE PASSWORD I CAN'T GET INTO THE @#$#@!!! NETWORK, YOU MORON!!!!!!

[archermoo]

Re: The cranky thread

 

I hate PC support. So I'm getting a loaner laptop while my normal one is getting repaired. PC support guy sends me an email saying "I either need you to send me your password or I need permission to reset it". I send an email back saying "My phone number is so-and-so, call me and I'll give you my password." So what does he do? He resets my password. And sends me an email about it.

 

IF I DON'T KNOW THE PASSWORD I CAN'T GET INTO THE @#$#@!!! NETWORK, YOU MORON!!!!!!

 

And that is something that makes ME cranky. PC support should NEVER, under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES ask a client for their password. Resetting it is potentially reasonable under the circumstances, but only after they determine that they cannot troubleshoot the problem without being logged in as that specific user. And it shouldn't be done without them being on the phone with the client when they do it.