Non-religious pet peeves

[proudfootz]

Also... and I don't know why, but when two people (usually a couple) sit on the same side of a booth in a restaurant, it bugs the shit out of me.

But when they stop doing that, you know some of the magic is gone...

[proudfootz]

Being blamed for things that I didn't do by those who work other shifts.  I keep getting used as a scapegoat, its really damned annoying.

It's usually the day shift that's guilty of this.  :upset:

[februarystars]

I'm a cashier at a restaurant, so there are a lot of customer-related things that irk me to no end:

â€" When I tell someone what their total is, and they toss their credit card or money across the counter toward me. Really? Couldn't you just hand it to me?

â€" When someone hands me money that is covered in food, sweat, or (this happens way more often than you would think) blood. So gross.

â€" When I ask someone how their meal was, or how they are doing, and they just stare the other way until I give them their change.

â€" When people call the restaurant to make a take-out order, I copy down exactly what they say, and then when they pick it up they complain that their order is wrong.

â€" When I'm making change in my register, and the customer is sitting there with their hand outstretched. The more impatient you are, the longer I'm going to take on purpose.

I could undoubtedly go on for days with these.

[Tank]

Teacher/Lecturers who know about their subject so well they have lost the ability to de-centre from their own level of understanding and have thus lost the ability to teach their subject. We have one of these at college ATM, she's very intelligent, very knowledgeable but seems to treat lectures as an opportunity to show off how bright and knowledgeable she is. Thing is while she is very intelligent and knowledgeable she has not been in business and she takes what she has learnt from books far too literally and brooks very little decent from what she has learned. It has been quite difficult to not point out why book learning that has not been honed by experience is not really the whole story. It's really annoying as she's a lovely person. Her fellow lecturers refer to being K*********ed, ie being told that one is wrong and one must be so stupid as to not even be able to realise how stupid one is!

[februarystars]

I was a physics major for a little while. I had a few professors like that. The reason I dropped the major was not because of the subject matter (although admittedly I got lost occasionally), but because of the faculty and most of the other students in the program. I decided that if these were the sort of people I would be shut up with in a lab for 8 hours a day, then I don't want to do this for the rest of my life.

There is so much competition in science departments. People step on each other trying to be the head of the class. In graphic design there is a little bit of competition, but it's friendly, and there is a lot more support and encouragement from other students. The faculty are infinitely nicer as well, and much more down to earth.

[Sireal]

TV commercials! back in 1979 I threw my tv out a 3rd floor window (no one was injured) during a commercial and have not watched tv since. Actually anything/one trying to sell me their junk pisses me off, if its something I Need/want I'll find/make it on my own, thanks very much.

[proudfootz]

Teacher/Lecturers who know about their subject so well they have lost the ability to de-centre from their own level of understanding and have thus lost the ability to teach their subject. We have one of these at college ATM, she's very intelligent, very knowledgeable but seems to treat lectures as an opportunity to show off how bright and knowledgeable she is. Thing is while she is very intelligent and knowledgeable she has not been in business and she takes what she has learnt from books far too literally and brooks very little decent from what she has learned. It has been quite difficult to not point out why book learning that has not been honed by experience is not really the whole story. It's really annoying as she's a lovely person. Her fellow lecturers refer to being K*********ed, ie being told that one is wrong and one must be so stupid as to not even be able to realise how stupid one is!

This also seems to happen with IT people at work - when I ask a question they forget that I don't do computer stuff 24/7 and when they go through a series of steps with lightening speed they don't seem to realize I'm still stuck on step two when they've already finished step twelve.

Thus next time the same situation comes up I have to ask again because they couldn't spend the extra five minutes to make sure I understood their lesson the first time...

[Lythande]

"Try and" rather than try to" really irks me, especially in print.

 

[xSilverPhinx]

I actually read your post aloud to myself in an angry, authoritarian German accent, which was brilliant fun. "Zer is a room vith a clozeable door dezigned to contain your food zounds!" "EVZYVAN here getz a lunch break of prezisely VON FULL HOUR, exactly at NOON! Zis hour is DEZIGNED to allow enough time to eat your foodz!" etc.

LOL! Funny to see how people amuse themselves.  :eek:

Teacher/Lecturers who know about their subject so well they have lost the ability to de-centre from their own level of understanding and have thus lost the ability to teach their subject. We have one of these at college ATM, she's very intelligent, very knowledgeable but seems to treat lectures as an opportunity to show off how bright and knowledgeable she is. Thing is while she is very intelligent and knowledgeable she has not been in business and she takes what she has learnt from books far too literally and brooks very little decent from what she has learned. It has been quite difficult to not point out why book learning that has not been honed by experience is not really the whole story. It's really annoying as she's a lovely person. Her fellow lecturers refer to being K*********ed, ie being told that one is wrong and one must be so stupid as to not even be able to realise how stupid one is!

I ran into one of those recently, she looked as if she was "trained" to go through the motions more than anything (she would teach English as a second language). Some of her methods seemed rather exaggerated, pointless or even downright annoying - such as over gestulating - even to someone who doesn't have a good grasp of the language I think.

[Tank]

Teaching is a real skill and the situation at college ATM is exacerbated by the fact that one of the other lecturer's is just about perfect! He doesn't tells you anything until he knows what you don't know and understands what you need to know to fill the gap! He says a hundred times less than the other lecturer but every thing he says is relevant and insightful to the person he's dealing with. He doesn't lecture he answers questions and weaves what we need to know into the answers in context of the subject. He has a pet phrase 'I think you should consider...'. He never assumes he knows best and has so little ego invested in his work he's quite happy, I would say delighted, when a student helps him improve his understanding. Unlike 'K' who will sometimes treat questions as challenges and get quite snotty if cornered.

[hismikeness]

I thought of another one: When people leave like 5 seconds on the microwave, especially if it is a communal one, like in an office. We have three in our office and all three of them had just a few seconds left on them. Are people really that impatient? And if you are, can't you hit the clear button?  

[Ulver]

I'm a cashier at a restaurant, so there are a lot of customer-related things that irk me to no end:

â€" When I tell someone what their total is, and they toss their credit card or money across the counter toward me. Really? Couldn't you just hand it to me?

â€" When someone hands me money that is covered in food, sweat, or (this happens way more often than you would think) blood. So gross.

â€" When I ask someone how their meal was, or how they are doing, and they just stare the other way until I give them their change.

â€" When people call the restaurant to make a take-out order, I copy down exactly what they say, and then when they pick it up they complain that their order is wrong.

â€" When I'm making change in my register, and the customer is sitting there with their hand outstretched. The more impatient you are, the longer I'm going to take on purpose.

I could undoubtedly go on for days with these.

Customer service is horrific. I can vouch for these, especially the gross money. Seems like pubes always end up in people's money. Do strippers not shave anymore?  

[fester30]

Ooh this one just happened yesterday!  I head toward the 10 items or less aisle at Walmart (just happens to also be the cigarette aisle, even though I don't smoke, but I had 3 items).  Some lady with a cart overflowing with items sees me heading there and speeds up to get there first (I refuse to engage in such behavior as racing someone to a checkout line).  I ask politely if I may proceed ahead of her, as I have 3 items, and it is, after all, the express lane.  She says no.  I ask the Walmart checkout person if she could get a manager for me so I could explain how perturbed I am by having to wait in the express lane for the person who can't count (who has a toothbrush and toothpaste in the cart... for brushing her tooth?  I'm serious, I saw one tooth).  Apparently, the lady needed the express lane because she also had to buy a carton of cigarettes.  She has mainly various types of junk food (soda, hot pockets, frozen pizzas, hot dogs, etc.) that she was using the food stamps card on, and then using her money to buy cigarettes.  These are the kind of people that complain they have no health care when they live in a trailer, but have a big screen TV, a stereo in their car that cost more than their car, and cabinets full of liquor and cigarettes.

Okay so I guess that's more than one pet peeve.  The core pet peeve here is the fact that the manager said he couldn't do anything about it, as it's their policy not to hastle customers about entering the express lane with too many items.  I pointed to the 10 items or less sign and told him that he should take that sign down, as just displaying it makes it a policy that they are not following.  I filled out a comment card and called Walmart corporate.  Doesn't seem like they're too concerned about the infraction.  I just wonder what that lady was in such a hurry for.  Nicotine fix?

[proudfootz]

This reminds me of a big controversy that erupted at the local co-op:

People were very concerned about a sign that read '10 ITEMS OR LESS' when in their opinion it should have read: TEN ITEMS OR FEWER.

Needless to say the squeaky wheels got greased!

Ooh this one just happened yesterday!  I head toward the 10 items or less aisle at Walmart (just happens to also be the cigarette aisle, even though I don't smoke, but I had 3 items).  Some lady with a cart overflowing with items sees me heading there and speeds up to get there first (I refuse to engage in such behavior as racing someone to a checkout line).  I ask politely if I may proceed ahead of her, as I have 3 items, and it is, after all, the express lane.  She says no.  I ask the Walmart checkout person if she could get a manager for me so I could explain how perturbed I am by having to wait in the express lane for the person who can't count (who has a toothbrush and toothpaste in the cart... for brushing her tooth?  I'm serious, I saw one tooth).  Apparently, the lady needed the express lane because she also had to buy a carton of cigarettes.  She has mainly various types of junk food (soda, hot pockets, frozen pizzas, hot dogs, etc.) that she was using the food stamps card on, and then using her money to buy cigarettes.  These are the kind of people that complain they have no health care when they live in a trailer, but have a big screen TV, a stereo in their car that cost more than their car, and cabinets full of liquor and cigarettes.

Okay so I guess that's more than one pet peeve.  The core pet peeve here is the fact that the manager said he couldn't do anything about it, as it's their policy not to hastle customers about entering the express lane with too many items.  I pointed to the 10 items or less sign and told him that he should take that sign down, as just displaying it makes it a policy that they are not following.  I filled out a comment card and called Walmart corporate.  Doesn't seem like they're too concerned about the infraction.  I just wonder what that lady was in such a hurry for.  Nicotine fix?

[Gasturbine]

Inconsiderate drivers, IE; no turn signals, chatting on phone, texting on phone, putting make up on.

Lazy cops.

Cell phone user in theater/at movies.

Foul language at public places.

Cable providers.

Sales people who lie.