Well if you want someone to compare defects with, I'm your man. :haha:

Wait...You're leaving them loose?

I think I see yer prollum.:D

Misery loves company. ;)

Truly though, this getting old shit is for the birds. Completely unacceptable. And I'm quite outraged that it's happening to me. I mean, I did not sign up for this.

The little fuckers move pretty quick, and my knees don't work so good anymore. :p:

They fired my co-worker today for being late over and over and over again

A semi-talented dude is walking the streets cos they couldn't figure out how to get into his head and motivate him.

I could see what was needed: someone had to care a little bit, and just ask about his woes, and encourage him a little. It takes so little encouragement to get someone to do things differently. Caring is a basic human approach. Call it emotional intelligence. "Why are you *really* late, Rob? What's going on in your life?"

Lacking that skill, instead they transparently hired his replacement and waited for him to fuck up again. The trap was laid for months, all that had to happen was no change. And no change was encouraged. So they got what they apparently wanted.

In my time here so far, 3 people have been fired, 1 left "by agreement" (i.e., fired, but we're not saying that word), and 6 have left on their own. Out of 12. This means I am now amongst the senior staff. I'm here 2.5 years.

Sad. When I am habitually late, it is always because of transient life events escalating my baseline anxiety into a degenerative state of chronic stress-hormone-overload, making it prohibitively difficult to execute basic daily routines, like a functional sleep schedule.

Maybe I should just pull myself up by my bootstraps and have a more positive attitude! #wowthanksimcured

All people come with baggage, ergo all workers come with baggage. Any workplace should have a good-sized cargo area.

Well said, UT. Compartments help.

In my head, in my space, in my job.

How's the replacement doing?

May I please put this on a t-shirt?
:hug:

My work has taught me that basic kindness is lacking in homes, schools, and workplaces. I went to an invite only after hours "go away" party for a cow-orker. The old-timers were grumbling about the change in atmosphere, how they no longer believe that the boss has their back. That belief sustained them for years but losing that faith...

The replacement had to come in and be good enough for about a month before the firing could happen.

It took two months. It played out exactly as expected. It was transparent. I knew and even Rob knew. If Matthew comes in and is solid, Rob is in danger. He's now disposable. One more lateness and it's over.

He did well for a long time. Then his girlfriend started inviting another guy to Rob's apartment, to fuck in his bed.

He figured it out, and broke up with her. She then called the cops and alleged that there were drugs in his apartment.

They came the next morning and searched his apartment, and didn't allow him to make a phone call to work to say he'd be late.

I told him: it has actually worked out for you. You don't realize it right now, but you are minus two pathetic crazy bitches in your life. That will turn positive.

"Be on time or lose your job." sounds like the strongest motivation an employer can supply.

Short of beatings when your late, and I'm not sure they can do that.

Most, (almost all, in fact) employers like for their employees to show up. On time.

Anyone can have stuff happen that causes them to be late. Occasionally.

You have my sympathy, for losing a good guy (sounds like) and cow orker, but, not the fired guy.

Perhaps Fired Guy's next employer will benefit from this. Maybe he'll be on time more consistently.

Wull

That's mostly true, but in software places it's usually a little different -- if you do a ton of work after hours, they generally do not care if you are around all the time during bidness hours.

Dude put in a solid year where he was super-motivated, and would check in from home and do little things that needed doing overnight. That's the team you want; where they organize around the work that needs to be done, not the HOURS that need to be worked.

Boss vs Leader: a boss is concerned with process; a leader is concerned with people. If the people are properly motivated and team-oriented, the process takes care of itself. It's way easier if you take care of the people. Because if you take care of the people, the entire staff doesn't turn over every 2 years, and all that information and experience isn't lost every 2 years.

Oh, yeah...I kinda fergot what ya did fer a living.

Go for it! The internet has made it easier for people to share their mental health experiences, and I love that.

Very wise words.

FIFTROU.

Hey so I really needed the washing machine to poop out on me right now. I was looking for something needing fixing

It appears the guy two doors up has brought out the motorcycle for the year.

VROOM!! VROOM!!

That thing is a monster. I don't know just how fast it is, but, a Challenger Hellcat Demon was driving by when he revved the motor, and it cowered in fear. So...

By the by...It's 37 degrees rfn.

that's above freezing, what more do you need? Flip Flop weather

*sigh* It never ends... Minifob and I were in a big wreck today. Everyone's fine.

I was stopped at a light, one blue car opposite and facing me. Light turns green, but to the left I see a silver car coming at full highway speed, definitely not going to stop at her red light. I lean on the horn, but the guy across from me doesn't see her, pulls into the intersection and gets T-boned. His car spins violently and slams into my drivers side, where I am still sitting motionless at my green light. (Not motionless after that, of course, he knocks me into the next lane over.)

It's borderline, but I'm hoping the insurance company writes it off. With one kid moved out and another... indisposed... for many months to come, I was planning to downsize very soon from the minivan to a more compact vehicle.

That sucks, glad you're OK.

There's never an armadillo crossing the road when you need one.

Glad you're unhurt.

You'll have a few days to claim delayed onset of whiplash if the insurance company doesn't total the vehicle and you want to make a few extra bucks towards a new one.

yuck. How is Minifob holding up? fingers crossed for the write-off and a decent settlement

So far, so good. He was jazzed right after, not upset but kept asking me to explain how it happened. Then he was tic'ing a lot more than usual for the next few hours, but settled down again by dinner. He missed cello because of it, so he probably considered it a blessing. :) I expect it will stay forgotten until we have to explain what happened when we go to cello next week--that's when it will turn into a thing, if ever.

Whiplash claims are for if you have whiplash. They are not for clawing back costs where this is no whiplash.



@ Clod - so glad you guys are ok. Must have been pretty unnerving to be in the middle of that.

Dang. glad everyone's okay.

@ DanaC - I was being facetious. ;)

Injury Type
Compensation Amount

Moderate Neck Injury (III)
£6,380 – £11,110

Minor Neck Injury (I)
£3,520 – £6,380

Minor Neck Injury (II)
£1,705 – £3,520

Minor Neck Injury (III)
Up to £1,705

Fair enough :P

I hope Minifob and you continue to be fine. It must have been horrifying to watch that car spin toward you while you were powerless to do anything about it.

I have a friend who was hit by a drunk a couple years ago with her young son in the car. She still has occasional post traumatic stress issues even though they are both physically ok now. Don't be hesitant to speak up if you feel it impacting you that way.

Girlfriend, I know you work in the industry now, but that industry there ain't got nothin' on the industry here.

Here we are all experts, we have to be. Everything is about insurance and the fine print and what you CAN claim, and what might inadvertently invalidate a legitimate claim. NOTHING is about what you should claim and what the the original intention of the insurance is for. It's just a financial dance. Sanscartons might have been being facetious, but that truly is what many use a whiplash claim for. When the $$ claimed is small enough, it's not worth the $$ for the ins co to prove it's a sham, they just pay.

Dana, the relationship between the Insurance industry and their clients here is strictly confrontational. The Companies looking for loopholes the slither out with a bigger bottom line and their clients looking for any leverage to force a fair or better settlement.

I was also being facetious about armadillos (aka Texas speed bumps). I would never wish harm upon an armadillo to slow down a driver and prevent the costly consequences of an accident. At least not when we have insurance companies to pay for it.

Armadillos carry leprosy if you hit one your extremities will fall off. :yesnod:

Armadillos have four genetically-identical babies in each litter.

*stows away factoid for god knows when*

Don't do that because it'll drive you crazy knowing you have a stored factoid but don't know what or where it is. :haha:

Armadillo is just possum-on-the-half-shell.

Wanna buy a possum?

Some people here have a similar relationship with their insurers - in my experience, that's usually because they have bought their policy without understanding what it does - often because they've gone by comparison websites, which give a very tiny snapshot of the headline cover without giving any real sense of the kinds of exclusions which may apply.

Or they've thrown the handy booklet they got sent when they took the policy out straight into the drawer without reading it - there is a cancellation period - you look in the booklet under 'what is covered' and 'what is not covered' and read the definitions for each section.

People take out a policy and opt for accidental damage cover for their contents but don't bother to read the part about having to have the Technology and Entertainment add-on for their laptop to be covered and then get shitty with the claims team and tell all their friends the insurance company weaseled out of their claim.

Or they play with the comparison site quotes increasing and decreasing their 'voluntary excess' to see what it does to their premiums, opt for a £500 voluntary excess on top of their £100 compulsory excess and then get upset when they have £400 of damage and there's nothing we can do because it falls within their excess.

Years of legislative control and an ombudsman with teeth means companies have to make their cover very clear in the policy documents - if it's not clear, and a declined claim is challenged and goes to the ombudsman they will always err on the customer's side. Ambiguity is always decided against the writer of the contract.

That was always the case with contract law, but the regulatory system and the statutary duty to abide by a code of conduct that includes 'Treating customers fairly' has cost financial organisations a lot of money. Companies have faced fines for things like incentivising shorter call times where it has been seen to add to mis-selling of policies/ financial products.

When the policy wording comes through - it is not a case of big headlines and a bunch of fine print - it's clearly marked sections, with each exclusion stated very clearly next to the cover it is excluded from.

There are odd bits that require a little interpretation, and I totally get why those could be frustrating, but sometimes it's really obvious stuff and the customer treats it like we've strung them along and then thrown up unexpected road blocks to avoid paying out.

That can be frustrating for us :P Especially if you spend time exploring every possible avenue for them, to see if there is any way of covering the claim, or part of the claim, or even just getting them access to our suppliers as part of a claim that won't go anywhere so that they can use them with our discount. And then they always say the same thing: 'I know it's not you love, you've a job to do. But no offence, insurance companies, always do this - they don't mind taking our money every month, but the first time I make a claim and I get nothing' or words to that effect.

And I've got a booklet in front of me that they received like 4 months prior that states very clearly 'damage from ingress of water except by storm or flood is not covered' along with a whole policy exclusion in the 'Conditions and exclusions that apply to this policy' section, in bold type : '...wear and tear, or any gradually operating cause'.

So don't lecture me about shady insurance companies looking for ways not to pay because your roof got nail sickness, and the slipped roof tiles allowed a slow ingress of rainwater across several months. There is nothing I can do with that. And it's as clear as it could be without adding a flashing sign.


K. I shall dismount my hobby horse and resume my back to the beginning Agents of Shield rewatch.

Yeah, yeah, you're one on them now, with your fine print and lawyered interpretations. :lol2:


I believe you, nobody reads the fine print... or the medium print... it's I'm insured, I'm covered, I don't have to know nothing.

A good friend of mine has become an insurance adjuster. Along with passing the licencing exams, and convincing the insurance companies a woman can do the job, she runs into stuff like explaining to the client that their stove top with the melted plastic bag on it costs $400 and they have a $500 deductible, so the insurance company won't pay.
In this case she had pulled the same bonehead move herself so she could placate the client with a no cost fix. ;)

Tom Wilson is still playing hockey.

Do you also have half-shells?

And glue?

The possums do not come with shells. We can put one in an armadillo shell, but, you have to pay for the whole armadillo. Possum prep is also extra.

No glue. Tape.

Call for HappyMonkey inline upthread!

:jig:

My tape experience leads me to conclude that tape on fur is only good for making cats walk funny.

spoken like someone who has only leather upholstery.

Welp... three days into driving the rental car, its Check Engine light comes on. Can't risk having it die on me or getting blamed for damage, so I bring it back. The only vehicle they have on short notice is an extended cab F-150. I don't mind driving this behemoth around down, but navigating the school parking lot in it is a bitch. AND there's no AUX jack so the kids are whining.

Thinking about getting a Jeep Cherokee when they eventually admit my car's totalled.

Yesterday saw me do the weekly grocery shopping. How one's pulses raced!
I'm pretty sure that I've mentioned this before but it's a continual irritation.
Looking for a packet of chocolate biscuits for Dad, (yes REALLY) I homed in on Chocolate Fingers available in two sizes. That's the packs, not the fingers.
Ah! Economies of scale was the unspoken message. Except that it was cheaper to buy two small packs than one large one.

See for yourself:

Attachment 63951 Attachment 63952

A cursory inspection of the shelf labels is all it took in this instance, but I have stumbled across other items available in different sizes where it isn't at all apparent which is the best value.
Doing a bit of hunter gathering in Tesco should be simpler than that.

I've seen a number on instances where the "Giant Economy Size" was more expensive per unit than the smaller sizes. I agree it's getting harder to figure it out because of oddball sizes.

More importantly is this Cadbury's version of a Tim Tam?

Back the truck into the parking space and it is easy peasy pulling out. It is not hard after all you have to back out if pulling in.

Occasionally I like wine vinegar on my salad. At Walmart there is the Kraft that I like for more money than the Greater Value or is it? The GV bottle is taller slimmer than the Kraft and appears to have more for less money. In fact it is shy a few ounces compared to the Kraft . If the GV brand had as much volume as the Kraft then the price would be the same. I prefer the taste of Kraft compared to that watered down shit Walmart sells.

Increasing waistlines since 1897...

Attachment 63980

Also available in white.

Wiki.

Plans are afoot to change the name of Heinz Salad Cream to 'Sandwich Cream'.
Supposedly 'only 14% of those who buy the sauce use it on salads, with many more preferring to use it in sandwiches'.
Their gastronomic adventurism knows no bounds.

He was paid for writing that.

LINK

Price labelling of foodstuffs in the UK is supposed to enable product comparison. What I really appreciate in our local "super"market is when there are two types of apples, one is bagged in sixes and priced at 50p/apple, and the other is bagged with eight or nine in the bag and priced at £1.40/kilo. Very helpful :headshake
(all prices are approximate, or indeed, entirely fabricated).

Another bit of chicanery is the practice of using different units when comparing different sized packs of the same product.
Eg 17.5p per 100g for say a 500g pack, or £1.85 per kilo for the kilo pack.
Once again, the principle of economies of scale is shown the door.

That's not as bad as the deceivers here who offer per unit pricing on similar competitive items, pricing one per pound and the adjacent one per ounce.

I know my 10 times tables better than I know my sixteens. Grrrrrrr.

I guess he was paid to write that, but he has it backwards. Most grew up eating the cheap shit or doing without. Once I got my degree and a job I liked I was able to buy Kraft so I could increase my waistline.