I’d like to take a bit of time tonight to talk about jealousy, insecurity, control, and double standards. Basically, I’d like to tell you to KNOCK IT THE FUCK OFF RIGHT NOW, but perhaps a bit more finesse is needed. It’s worth a shot anyhow, right? Right. Let’s get started.
Continue Reading...Hope springs eternal. Sometimes, people think that maybe they can change other people’s minds, even though the negative response to whatever they’re offering is clear. But when you push the issue, not only are you asking for harsh treatment, but you venture into Creepy territory, and I’m not down with that.
Continue Reading...Another tragedy occurred today. Seems to be happening more and more frequently, these things. Another mass shooting by a single man, this time at a school. He wasn’t a student there anymore, he wasn’t your typical “troubled teen”, he was a man of 20 who lived with his divorced mother. His mother was a teacher at the school, and after he killed her with her own gun, he took that gun and the two others that she owned, went to the school, and embarked on a massacre. Now, thirty people are dead, including the gunman.
Continue Reading...Twice in the last few months, I’ve been taken to task about my word choices. Apparently, I curse a lot. The fact that it’s been other adults getting in my face about it, and there’s been nary a child in sight on both occasions, well, it pisses me off.
Continue Reading...So, I recently found that a friend of mine had never seen the A&E show “Hoarders”. Of course, she was instantly transfixed. Tonight, suffering through a severe bout of the I Wish To Devour The World stage of PMS, she decided that the best thing for us to watch was, of course, “Hoarders”.
Continue Reading...I understand that there wasn’t a demo model of the Ear & Nose Hair Trimmer available. I’m sorry about that. Sure, I’d be happy to open a box, remove a trimmer, put a battery in it, and let you push Play so you could see and hear whether or not it functions and at what volume. But there is absolutely no way in the whole wide world that I will allow you to then try out the item.
Continue Reading...I have been in customer service in some capacity since I was about seven years old. I went around my neighbourhood with my little shovel offering to clear people’s walks and front stairs of snow. I sold saltwater taffy and mints to get myself to camp. Later, it was Girl Scout cookies and whatever thing my school wanted me to sell. I got into the wage slave world at about age 13, as part of a school work program, in a god-awful food establishment in the crappy downtown mall our city had. Basically, I’ve got almost 28 years of customer service under my belt. I was born with the kind of blessing and curse that means I’m really good at selling people things, I can talk almost anyone off of a ledge, and I provide excellent customer service. This doesn’t mean that I don’t have to work at it, however, and it also means that I have the handicap of being ragingly jaded and wildly misanthropic. In short, I can’t stand the general public. This can make it difficult to smile and play nice, and at the end of a shift, I will complain that my actual face hurts from smiling at people that I’d much rather poke rather sternly in an uncomfortable place. It also means, however, that when I’m out and about, I expect excellent customer service from everyone else. I provide it, and I feel that I deserve it in return. Granted, most people I’ll be getting service from won’t be getting service from me, but it’s a karma thing. What comes around, goes around.
Continue Reading...There you are, shopping for groceries with your toddler. Things are going splendidly until said toddler spies something that he wants and you tell him “no”. Cue the mother of all temper tantrums, right there in front of all of the checkout lanes. Kicking, screaming, big crocodile tears, the whole nine yards. Just when this can’t get any more embarrassing (and, coincidentally, just when the wily and cagey child you’re raising realizes that you’re at the very end of your tether, patience-wise), this child puts on the most pathetic face in the world and wails, “Please, Mommy, don’t beat me again!”
Continue Reading...Nobody likes to get fleeced, or even pay more than they should for an item or service. There are plenty of websites and publications where bargain-hunters are able to find new ideas for saving money. Message boards and coupon code sites abound. Recently, though, a trend has popped up among magazines. They’re publishing the usual articles on how to save a few bucks, but the methods they’re advocating basically translate to, “Be a big pain in the ass to save 10%!” The writers of these articles are telling you to haggle, be condescending, make a scene, and do everything else you can to make a customer service person’s life miserable.
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