Not Going To Happen 'Cause I'm Not Harry Potter (Impossible Patron Requests)

[dragonflies]

I shop at Ann Taylor Loft and the sale ladies always tell me if I don't see my size on the floor, they have a stock room full of different sizes.

I worked at a special order bridal salon.  You could order 100 dress, in 50 colors, and some of the dresses came in color combos (you could combine any colors) and we cut the dresses in size 0 to size 26.  We used a pattern and didn't cut custom measurements.  We made the dresses in China once the order was placed.  We didn't carry much inventory.  This process took 3 months.  We gave ourselves plenty of time to clear customs.  We always told people it was a 12 week order and ladies would get mad b/c they couldn't get a dress for the week-end.  No matter how much they paid, we just couldn't take an order 2 weeks in advance.  We didn't stock the dresses b/c we would need a huge warehouse.  People wanted to steal dresses from orders all the time.  No, you can't have her dress just because you didn't allot your self enough time.  I can't make another in 1 week because you thought you would lose 40 pounds in 3 months and now your dress is three sizes too small or because you gained 40 pounds in 3 months.  No, I didn't shrink your dresses and all the dresses in the stores.

Now, we would get some ladies larger than a size 26 who would get mad that we didn't carry sizes such as 50.  Later they would admit that all their clothes were custom made by a tailor.

[Sirius]

I shop at Ann Taylor Loft and the sale ladies always tell me if I don't see my size on the floor, they have a stock room full of different sizes.

I worked at a special order bridal salon.  You could order 100 dress, in 50 colors, and some of the dresses came in color combos (you could combine any colors) and we cut the dresses in size 0 to size 26.  We used a pattern and didn't cut custom measurements.  We made the dresses in China once the order was placed.  We didn't carry much inventory.  This process took 3 months.  We gave ourselves plenty of time to clear customs.  We always told people it was a 12 week order and ladies would get mad b/c they couldn't get a dress for the week-end.  No matter how much they paid, we just couldn't take an order 2 weeks in advance.  We didn't stock the dresses b/c we would need a huge warehouse.  People wanted to steal dresses from orders all the time.  No, you can't have her dress just because you didn't allot your self enough time.  I can't make another in 1 week because you thought you would lose 40 pounds in 3 months and now your dress is three sizes too small or because you gained 40 pounds in 3 months.  No, I didn't shrink your dresses and all the dresses in the stores.

Now, we would get some ladies larger than a size 26 who would get mad that we didn't carry sizes such as 50.  Later they would admit that all their clothes were custom made by a tailor.

I made my own wedding dress because I figured that I'd never find anything suitable for a 39-year-old bride in size 24 for a price that I'd want to pay on the rack.  Granted, white makes me look like a cumulonimbus (thunder cloud) but I wanted to wear white since it was my first (and hopefully only) wedding. 

[Calypso]

Oh absolutely.  I'm on the carrier end of things, so I don't deal with insureds, only with agents.  And every single day, it amazes me that some of these people still have their jobs.  I've only been in the industry for about a year so I'm sure I still have a lot of my will-to-live left to lose, but so far... this job does not give me back any of my faith in humanity.

Best one from today:  Orders came down from on high (from the state) that we were to cancel a policy immediately because the insured was paying employees under the table.  Agent calls up screaming about due diligence and a bunch of other terms that really had no place in the conversation and said he was suing us for not giving the insured 60 days.  Uhhhh, trust me, we don't have to do that in this situation.  Get your lawyer, ours will laugh you out of court.

I'm not in the insurance business, I admit, but I'm missing what's so egregious about the agent's concerns here. A state agency told you Employer X was paying people under the table, so you canceled his policy (does that mean all the employees who WEREN'T being paid under the table had their health insurance canceled too?). What doesn't mesh for me is: what proof does your company have that the illegal situation was going on? Just the state agency's word for it? Why is 60 days so unreasonable for the employer to have to try to clear up the situation before he loses his insurance? Your company may have the law on it's side, but I don't see the humor or the extreme unreasonable-ness  here. There are laws that favor insurance companies (and other institutions, I'm not just picking on insurance) that may be legal, but not necessarily completely moral...

[little bird]

What doesn't mesh for me is: what proof does your company have that the illegal situation was going on? Just the state agency's word for it? Why is 60 days so unreasonable for the employer to have to try to clear up the situation before he loses his insurance? Your company may have the law on it's side, but I don't see the humor or the extreme unreasonable-ness  here. There are laws that favor insurance companies (and other institutions, I'm not just picking on insurance) that may be legal, but not necessarily completely moral...

It came down from the state labor commissioner who has to have a certain amount of proof before they can send it on to us.  In cases like that, we NEED to cancel it immediately.  There is no mandatory wait period like with other cancellations.  I don't know exactly what goes into investigating for something like this (it's not something my position deals with, but my supervisor does), but I do know that the state has to have proof before they can send it on to us and they take it quite seriously.  We do have to follow what the labor commissioner tells us.  If they can submit proof that they are not paying under the table (which no one ever has) then yes, we would absolutely reinstate the policy.  However, the burden of proof lies with the insured and if you're not doing something illegal and keep decent records?  You should have that proof at your fingertips. 

The only thing amusing about the situation is that the agent knows this.  This is standard knowledge for the profession.  This particular agent has worked closely with us for years and deals ONLY with this one state's regulations.  He knows this perfectly well.  For him to call up and threaten legal action when he has no grounds to do so is ridiculous.

I don't see how what we're doing is immoral.  We don't just pick and choose people to cancel for no reason.  We have rules and regulations we have to follow strictly, some are internal policies, some are handed down from the state.  In the latter example, we can't just decide not to follow those regulations unless we want to face major fines and potential legal action.  And I'm sorry, but paying your employees under the table isn't exactly "moral" either.  It's a lovely way to try to escape from taxes but it's also illegal and we can't get caught up in all of that.  I really don't see what else we should do in this situation.

[MineralDiva]

Snow!  On a given date and at a certain time!  LOLOL  Holy kielbasa!  Some people!

[artk2002]

Snow!  On a given date and at a certain time!  LOLOL  Holy kielbasa!  Some people!

Ah yes... it's about time for those calls, isn't it?

[MineralDiva]

Snow!  On a given date and at a certain time!  LOLOL  Holy kielbasa!  Some people!

Ah yes... it's about time for those calls, isn't it?

Yup!  Sure is!  I also had a call from a lady who wanted to know what the special events schedule was for JUNE already!  When I told her I don't yet have that calendar, she responded with, "Well that's not going to help me.  We need to make our reservations NOW!  I guess the Chamber doesn't plan very far in advance, eh?"  I told her that the people organizing the events (whatever they may be) do indeed plan quite far in advance, but don't let the Chamber know until closer to the time.  This is November.  Wanna know when our annual Christmas Tree Lighting is?  I've got that.  Need to know who's on the garden tour for June, when it is and how much it will cost?  Couldn't tell ya.  Sorry.  Try back in March/April-ish and I'll be a wealth of information.

[Megan]

I'm a graduate student and teaching assistant.  I have office/lab space in a building which is super tight for space.  As a result, my office is the former closet of a much larger lab.  To get to it I must let myself in the locked door of the large lab, go to the back of the room and then let myself in the locked door of my office.  Neither of these doors may ever be left unlocked.

I explain to students at the beginning of the semester that they cannot drop by my office, as I work in a closet and can't hear knocks at the door.   I am available by email and for anything urgent if they can't reach me they can go directly to the professor.  This week has been lab manual hand in week.  I've had so many irate students saying "I missed my lab so I came to your office right after to hand it in.  I knocked but you didn't answer so I went home.  I don't think I should get late marks."  According to the rules of the course, I have to take off late marks.  If they had emailed me immediately or gone to the prof, I would not have to.

I don't even know how these students know where my office is, but at least two have elevated this to the prof (who completely has my back)  And one has apparently gone to the department head.  Ughh, is it terrible that I'm starting to hate students even though I'm still a student myself?

[audhs]

I worked in a bookstore and had a woman come in looking for a particlar book.  She didn't know the name or authour but it had a distictive cover and so I was able to figure out what she wanted.  The only problem was that they had recently reissued the book with a different colour cover.  I could not convince her that it was the same book.  We went around and around about it.  She just kept repeting that the book she was looking for had a yellow cover.  With me repeating that yes the previous ediction had a yellow cover but the new edition had a green cover but it was the same book.

She finally left without the book, clearly miffed at me.

[Calypso]

I don't see how what we're doing is immoral.  We don't just pick and choose people to cancel for no reason.  We have rules and regulations we have to follow strictly, some are internal policies, some are handed down from the state.  In the latter example, we can't just decide not to follow those regulations unless we want to face major fines and potential legal action.  And I'm sorry, but paying your employees under the table isn't exactly "moral" either.  It's a lovely way to try to escape from taxes but it's also illegal and we can't get caught up in all of that.  I really don't see what else we should do in this situation.

OK, thank you for the explanation. I wasn't suggesting your company was doing something immoral...I shouldn't have segued into a general point ("not everything that is legal is necessarily moral") from a specific question. With your explanation, I feel better that proper care was taken.

My folks were small business people, and I work for a very small family business (not my family) in a state where some of the regulations make it awfully tough for a small business to survive, so I am (I know) biased. I wasn't suggesting at all that pay-under-the-table is ok---my point had to do with, did the accused employer have a fair chance to show that that wasn't happening? You've answered my question very satisfactorily--thank you.

[little bird]

My folks were small business people, and I work for a very small family business (not my family) in a state where some of the regulations make it awfully tough for a small business to survive, so I am (I know) biased. I wasn't suggesting at all that pay-under-the-table is ok---my point had to do with, did the accused employer have a fair chance to show that that wasn't happening? You've answered my question very satisfactorily--thank you.

There are definitely states where insurance companies are at an advantage over small business owners, very true.  The state I work with, however, is very insured-centered which is good in some ways and bad in others (bad in the sense that it is extremely hard for my company to get off a policy mid-term and most decisions made are in favour of the insured -- I actually think this is the only reason we can cancel a policy without at least 30 days notice and those other cancellations nearly always have to do with serious misrepresentation or some sort of fraud).  My company does not verify what comes down from the labor commissioner as they do all of their investigation themselves, down to the point of notifying the insured of their findings and giving them time to refute the claim.  If the state made a mistake, the insured could easily win a lawsuit against the state. 

And you're welcome.  Sorry if I sounded a little harsh.  It's a bit of a hot button with me.  I've found that the vast majority of people I run into think that my company must be evil because we're in the insurance business! 

[Slartibartfast]

Well I did have several library patrons expect me to type up their school reports and essays (usually plagarized straight from wikipedia), and even had a few adults provide the following conversation:

Patron: Hi, I'm looking for a job and someone told me I need a job sheet thing.
Me:  A resume?  Certainly, the books on writing resumes are over here on this shelf, and you're welcome to take up to an hour on the computer.  Although if nobody else needs it, I am able to extend your computer time somewhat.
Patron:  I don't type too good; can you do it for me?
Me:  Pardon?  Sorry, I'm not able to type your resume for you, but [opening a resume book] here are several excellent examples of resumes.  Pick one you like and go from there.
Patron:  [Looking at the example] But I didn't work in . . . uh, muh-DEE-kale transitions.  [Medical transcription, or whatever the example resume used]  Look, can't you just write my job sheet for me?
Me:  I'm sorry, I'm unable to do that.  Do you need help getting started in Microsoft Word?
Patron:  I don't do computers.  [getting frustrated]  Are you going to help me or not?  Don't you want me to get a job?
Me:  *headdesk*

[DistantStar]

Snow!  On a given date and at a certain time!  LOLOL  Holy kielbasa!  Some people!

Ah yes... it's about time for those calls, isn't it?

Yep, it is...and where I am, we haven't gotten any snow.  We did get a few inches a month ago.  They're making it on the ski runs, but unless we get a huge surprise snowfall there's not going to be much skiing here for a while yet.  *doing snow dance*

[LeeLee88]

::Parents seem to think teachers are psychic.::
May I just say: AAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (Lily curls into fetal position and sucks thumb.)

Oh, so you know how I feel on a daily basis. 

My brain functions... shutting down... can't comprehend... BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP... 
Awww, T'Mar of Vulcan, I'm afraid that you've put me into a vegetative state :-P

[VorFemme]

One time I had a customer get mad at me because we were all out of swimsuits. In November. Uh...yeah, I don't think you're going to get THAT lucky! I told the lady that I had the same situation and to wear a sports bra and spandex shorts with a t-shirt over it.

Ginger

Fort Knox, Kentucky - DD was on the swim team and comes to me around Halloween to tell me that the chlorine in the practice pool has EATEN her swimsuit - she needs another.  Could we run to Wal-Mart and get one off the clearance racks or should she order Very Pricey Name Suit from the coach?

Since I sew, I pulled out a pattern, some elastic, and a big piece of swim suit fabric and started adjusting the racer back suit (Kwik Sew) to HER body..........three swimsuits later, it fits perfectly.  Two years later, same thing in Warner Robins, Georgia.  I still have both ADJUSTED patterns folded up in that pattern envelope.  But it is a bit more trouble than I'm willing to go to for a random stranger off the street............