I am so cross I could..........

[Guest]

[Sharon]

Time to resurrect this topic 

Two weeks ago a stolen car came careering down the road and smashed into the telegraph pole outside our house.  Unfortunately the two toe rags in the car were not hurt and just ran off.  The pole and our garden wall didn't fair so well.  But this isn't what has got me so cross - these kind of people don't care how they behave so why should I upset myself about them.  What has rattled my chain is British Telecom (BT).

We rang them to say a car had demolished half of their pole and a man came down and put a sort of bandage on it (honestly, you couldn't make it up).  Now we need the pole replaced before we re-build the wall so I rang them today to find out how long they would take.  Firstly I had to go through about 20 different options -    press 1 if you would like a repair, press two if you wish to pay, press 367 if you want to give up    Anyway I finally spoke to a human being.  I explained everything and it went very quiet.  I asked if he understood and then he asked me what a telegraph pole was !!!!!  Being quite calm at this point I thought why not, he only works for BT, he probably has never heard of one!!!!  My description is as follows -

A pole about 30 feet tall that holds up the telephone wires.  There are lots of them in the street with the wires strung between them.

Deathly silence again. At this point I realised he didn't know what a telephone wire was  so he did the only thing sensible, he put me on hold and then cut me off    Old Alexander will be turning in his grave 

I then dialled 4 different BT numbers (100, 151 etc) and they all take you back to the same call centre.  I did eventually speak to someone who had heard of this contraption called a telephone and he gave me another number.  After pressing all the options it just re-directed me back to the original number 

Unfortunately this time getting this off my chest has not made me feel better but when I re-read this tomorrow I will see how ludicrous it all is and hopefully laugh.  I have an even bigger moan about Red Ken but I better just mutter under my breath about that one at the moment 

[LikORish-Spider]

Outsourcing to India? Did he offer to let you milk the sacred cow before he cut you off?

Why not build a bonfire around the pole and set ablaze?

[Sharon]

I am really not a fan of sending call centre jobs abroad because we have enough people here who need work but at least when it all started the companies were using the best of the best in India ie university graduates who knew the work and could help.  I am sure these big companies have now discovered that they can save even more money by using people with a much lower standard of education to do the job much cheaper.  I don't blame the call centre staff - they are just earning a living but all I want is a bit of customer service!  Understanding basic English vocabulary and expressions relating to the service you are in is not too much to ask for.  Well yes actually it seems it is.

[Roz]

Woo hoo - Mark and I worked for BT the summer before University

I believe I had heard of a telegraph pole when I worked there so I'd have been ever so helpful. We used to occasionally get enquiries about flapping lines or poles, and I had a snazzy department to forward them to but I really don't remember the number... it is 7 years ago

[sketchqueen]

Today is a day when I hate everything. I'm angry - have been all weekend and my anger isn't dispersing. I've tried chocolate - didn't work. Tried playing my favorite video game - didn't work. Tried snuggling with my son - even that didn't work.

Any other suggestions? Cause surely if I don't calm down soon, I will do something regrettable...

[Roz]

Tennis against a pro who won't mind 100mph balls approaching their head, baseball whacking practice (I'd use a rounders bat smaller bat, bigger thrack) or badminton... seriously - get that anger out there, then collapse exhausted on the sofa too shattered to think anything through.

[mcgonagall]

i have found a great release from anger by your self a punching bag and belt the hell out of it or if you don't want to buy one go do a free trial ata gym and beat the hell out of one there my other method is to run

[sketchqueen]

I do belong to a gym, but almost never go. Maybe this is a reason to get back going

[Roz]

As long as there's something to hit, punch thwack I think you'll do just fine.

Over the weekend for the first time ever Mark and I took the car to go and do some exercise... it made me feel ashamed but it was 5 miles each way and to be fair it was to a badminton court (it was too windy to play outside, those shuttlecocks are rather flighty), even so I hated that... so next time... we'll skate there

At least we didn't take the car to go to a running machine

[tialessa]

Today is a day when I hate everything. I'm angry - have been all weekend and my anger isn't dispersing. I've tried chocolate - didn't work. Tried playing my favorite video game - didn't work. Tried snuggling with my son - even that didn't work.

Any other suggestions? Cause surely if I don't calm down soon, I will do something regrettable...

Did you try screaming or just cursing a lot at the top of your voice (inside - don't want to scare the neighbors unless they're all at work).  I'm assuming the boys aren't around, if they are, then this won't work.  You could also just try stomping around or jumping up and down.

Any of these work for me when I get really frustrated or annoyed...

[sketchqueen]

Evan's home. And although he's napping now, I try not to scream in front of my sweet boy - he doesn't even like it when I yell at Alexander. He starts going "Guys, guys" which is his way of saying "please stop yelling.."

He's just too darn cute! And cuddly. And cuddling with him helped a little. He always knows when Momma needs a BIG hug..

[Sharon]

How about a good weepy film, something like Terms of Endearment or Practical Magic.  Have a really good cry and get it all out 

[ferdinand_the_yak]

I find that talking really helps. Or cleaning - that excess frustration/energy might as well be put to some good use! 

[Bogleg]

I found out this week that it is most likely within 2 years the toolroom that I work in will be closing  :'( This September I will have worked for the company for 30 years - a motor manufacturer founded by a bloke named Henry - and our work will be outsourced to India and China  My reward for service will either be 12 weeks redundancy pay or take a lower grade job.
When I started working in Dagenham there were 36,000 employees. At the moment, there are just under 8,000. What hurts most is in the latest company newsletter, we are being applauded for our efficiency and held up as an example to the rest of the company WORLDWIDE as the best of the best. For this, we have been told there will be little or no pay rise for the next 2 years 
Loyalty counts for nothing 
Rant finished  (for now) 

[Roz]

Oh Graham I'm so sorry! The company you mention has come a LONG way since people used to say "4 wheels and a bit of board make a car as good as a ...." and in fact I now drive one...

Please feel free to rant and rave as and when necessary

Give me a shout if there's anything I can do

[Bogleg]

Thanks Roz. This country has a talent for shaking your hand and then kicking you in the nuts 

RED KEN RANT 

Just read in the paper that he has had a "good will" trip to China with the group Girls Aloud to improve relations with Bejing  Didn't know they were bad (or cared). Nice to know the council tax rise isn't being wasted 

[grecopa]

Aaaaaarrrrggg!!!!!  I've been waiting on a package to arrive for a week 1/2 now.  I emailed the seller and got no response.  I just checked Paypal to see if i could find shipping info and I found it.  It's marked as delivered on 4/8 and lists the confirmation #!  I never got anything!!!   What a load of crap!  And yes, THANK YOU TO THE NEIGHBOR THAT GOT IT AND PROBABLY THREW IT IN THE TRASH!!!!!    I think I'll canvas the neigborhood today and let everyone know that it's a federal crime to mess with someone elses mail!!!!!

[kbmum]

Have you called your post office?  Sometimes packages show up as being delivered, but the delivery is to the post office and not the house.  I've had this happen several times where the package showed as delivered but wasn't actually delivered to me until the next day or so.  Maybe your package is on a shelf somewhere and the postal employees need to go looking for it.

[tialessa]

Have you called your post office?  Sometimes packages show up as being delivered, but the delivery is to the post office and not the house.  I've had this happen several times where the package showed as delivered but wasn't actually delivered to me until the next day or so.  Maybe your package is on a shelf somewhere and the postal employees need to go looking for it.

I've had this happen several times.  And the package that should be filed under your last name, maybe filed under your first name or the sender's name.  If it was insured for more than $50 they typically keep it at the post office for you to sign for the delivery & leave you an orange slip in your post box.

[grecopa]

Yep, I'm going to the post office today to check it out.  I'm calm now.  I'm not going to roam the neighborhood in search of the culprit, but it felt good to say it.    I doubt the post office has it though.  It's been 10 days since it was marked as delivered.