GOGS...Grumpy Old Gits Society..

OK. Today has been a multi-grump day (and there's still over 5 hours until bed-time.....).

I had at least 3 grumps before I got home from work. But the one after I got home was so severe that I've forgotten what the earlier ones were!

Technology - specifically printers. I'm sick of the things. We must get through one every eighteen months. They just die. We've had all the "known" brands - Lexmark, HP, Canon, Epson, etc, etc. I'm at my wits-end. I'm sick of throwing money at printers because we don't use them very much, but when do we need a reliable one (and before anyone says, we haven't been buying cheap-n-cheerful either).

Then I try to get into my Virgin e-mail account, and it won't load. Every other website works fine, but do you think I can view my e-mails? Can I hell!

Mike Newns said:

Norman Tebbit has his own reasons to hate the IRA - Although it's always better to find forgiveness I think many would find his view understandable.

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This! ^^^

StuBeeDoo said:

OK. Today has been a multi-grump day (and there's still over 5 hours until bed-time.....).

I had at least 3 grumps before I got home from work. But the one after I got home was so severe that I've forgotten what the earlier ones were!

Click to expand...

I've remembered one of them......

One of our local radio stations is currently running an ad. positively encouraging people to report suspected child-abuse. Now, child-abuse is a very serious matter - but..... I know a lad who was falsely accused early last year. He had to leave his job because it is subject to DBS. The CPS says it "is duty-bound" to take the case to trial, the date of which is set for this coming August. By that time he will not have worked for over 18 months. He's even been barred from taking his grand-children on days out.

The case was originally brought after police were alerted by a counsellor the "victim" had been to. The "victim", who is well-known as a drama-queen/attention-seeker, knew nothing of the accusation until the police contacted her. Then the whole thing escalated.........

Even if the defence get a "not guilty", the poor lad's life has been screwed.

I've just been reading the Scalextric Mini F56 thread and it's brought to mind something that makes me grumpy. Young bucks with enough computer savvy to put a man on the moon but the brains of a donkey and in the real world wouldn't know their arse from their elbow. They should know the former as they sit on it all day in front of a computer screen but when they get up and walk away they're in a lost world. eg Not far from us is a curve in the road and someone in the roading dept decided they needed to put extra paint on the road as a centre line and a cycle lane on each side of the road was not enough. No, there needed to be a median painted there as well but only at one end of the curve. They didn't realise that cars veering right would come closer to the center of the road than cars veering left which move closer to their side of the road. It works this way in NZ Aus and UK but some other places will be opposite. So they had it painted in such away that the cars veering right took a big dive toward the cycle lane on the left before they veered right and the cars on the opposite side had all the room in the world to manoeuvre. The inevitable happened and a cyclist was injured before 'they' discovered 'their' folly and sand blasted the new lines out and replaced them. I bet the layout looked good on the screen but was a hazard away from it.

Another modern corporate outrage: As a result of many years of business travel, I have a vast store of "frequent flyer" miles (mostly on United). When my daughter and her friend started to discuss a London holiday, I offered to use some of these for their tickets. Seeking to make things as simple as possible, I suggested that I simply transfer the requisite awards to her account and take myself out of the loop. As I worked through the on-line process, I was suddenly informed that the desired transfer carried a "fee" of $1200 - almost the cost of two round-trip tickets! Naturally, we have reverted to Plan A - I will book their travel.

There really can't be much cost in changing two numbers in the UAL data base. The only explanation is pure greed - they do it because they can!

EM

(former United customer)

Sorry for the repetition, but today it's the GP surgery again.

Last Friday, I saw the GP. He put me on on a 7 day course of antibiotics and said "Make an appointment to have blood taken when the course is finished, and another to see me a few days after you've had the blood test.". So, on the way out I get the only appointment available for today with the nurse. So far, so good.

This morning I get a 'phone call from the surgery saying the nurse hasn't turned-in. Not a problem, even nurses get sick. I'm calm. "OK, when is the next appointment after 4pm?" (I work miles from the surgery, so it has to be late afternoon on my way home. Fridays are better because I only work Monday - Thursday)

"I can fit you in at 16hr20 on Monday, but that late in the day you will have to take the sample to the hospital yourself." WHAT! Now I'm getting a little charred-off.

Me:- "OK, I suppose that will have to do. Can I make an appointment with the doctor next Friday, then?"

Surgery:- "Sorry, he's fully booked."

Me:- "What about the following week, any day after 16hr00?"

Surgery:- "He'll be on holiday for 2 weeks then".

Me:- "Well, he did say to see him. But what about one of the other doctors? Can I get an appointment next Friday, please?" (TBH, they may not even have had the blood results back by then)

Surgery:- "You need to 'phone Friday morning." (and I already know that if I want to check they've had the results before I make the appointment, I have to 'phone in the afternoon, after 14hr00)

I get that I'm part of the problem because I work so far from the surgery. But for crying out loud........... Why can't I make an appointment, in advance, for a specific day of the week at a specific time??? It seems that other people can do it, if my doctor is already fully booked for next Friday. ..........And instead of coming cross as being obstructive, why can't the receptionists offer a alternative or compromise?

I think the prime qualification to be a surgery receptionist is to be able to sit upright in a chair looking gormless....they mostly fit the bill at our surgery , certainly never had any customer service training!!!

mind you carp service isn't limited to the medical profession...a colleague of mrszz was late in to work yesterday as she had to do a 120 mile round trip to drop her car off at a main dealer for some job or other (there is a closer one but they , for whatever reason , insisted she went to other dealer) and pick up the loan car. a couple of hours later the garage called asking for the loaner back and explain that as a mechanic had been sick her car hadn't been attended to. rather than saying "you can have it back when mine is finished" she duly trotted 60 miles back only to be told that they could complete the work for another three weeks but it could be done at the garage that had sent her there in the first place!!! elbow and a**hole spring to mind!!

On a very similar ^^^ topic............

There is recall out on the passenger airbag on my BMW. The job takes about an hour (not including the complimentary valet, which I don't want). The dealership won't do the job while I wait, and I refuse to pay for the "privilege" of using one of their courtesy cars.

Why, oh why, can't they do the bloody job first-thing on a morning when I'm more than happy to spend an hour browsing around their used car lot? No, they want me to leave my rusty 14 year-old (yes, really, a recall on a 14-y-o car!) banger with them all day and as soon as they 'phone me drop everything to get the courtesy car back because "We have another customer waiting for it".

No thanks. My car will likely get scrapped in under 2 years, so the way I see it I'm saving BMW GB money.