Special Snowflake Stories

[JenJay]

We've got an ongoing Snowflake issue at the grocery store where I work.

Every few weeks she comes in and asks us for the over-ripe bananas we're saving for her. You see, a few months ago our store manager gave her (as in, for free) some over-ripe bananas and told her anytime she needs them we'll save her some  . This is a problem because we can't take perfectly good bananas and set them in the back, thereby NOT selling them, and let them rot until we're sure she's not coming, and then throw them away. We also cannot give anybody anything for free, ever, or we'll get fired. We've explained both to her several times. We've politely suggested that she come in 3 or 4 days before she needs over-ripe bananas and buy some and let them ripen at home. She always gives us a big smile and thanks us for the suggestion. And she always comes back on a random day a week or more later and says "I'm here for my bananas!" Now we just say "I'm sorry but we don't have any today." and keep working.

But I still don't mind her as much as the guy who demanded that I give him boxes. And I mean De-Manded! To the point that I was supposed to dump fresh produce out of his desired boxes and hand them over. And when I didn't he went and complained to the store manager, who then grouched at me about "customer service" before going into the back and dumping a few cases full of paper towels out so Snowflake could have *those* boxes instead. Unfortunately for everyone else this resulted in myself and my coworkers getting really upset and declaring a strict "We don't save boxes for anyone, ever!" policy that has been inconvenient for a lot of nice people. 

[KitFox]

Yes. Almost as weird as my mother's other friend (Sam) who has a phobia of patterned crockery. I'm not dismissing that she has a phobia, phobias are very serious. She has a panick attack if anything is served on patterned plates or cups, especially if it's floral. I didn't know this when she came for a visit... my ears are still ringing.

Fiyero (the BF) has a very similar problem! His dad "passed down" this fear and I feel I'm doomed to boring dishes for the rest of my life! We're trying to compromise and moving into scary territory for him by (gasp!) looking at white dishes with a pattern around the edge, but this is only ok because the pattern isnt in the same place where food goes..

As someone with a wonky phobia* my own (nutcrackers) I'm curious. What is it about the patterned dishes that causes the problem?

*It's not really a phobia. I can cope just fine as long as I know there will be nutcrackers around (during Xmas you expect them,  during July you don't). I just. . . . prefer not be around them.  Vastly prefer.

As I understand it, one reason for the fear stems from the belief that colored ceramic paint is toxic. I have a family member who believes this. I don't know if that's why in the above cases, but it is apparently a rumor.....

[Pinky830]

Yes. Almost as weird as my mother's other friend (Sam) who has a phobia of patterned crockery. I'm not dismissing that she has a phobia, phobias are very serious. She has a panick attack if anything is served on patterned plates or cups, especially if it's floral. I didn't know this when she came for a visit... my ears are still ringing.

Fiyero (the BF) has a very similar problem! His dad "passed down" this fear and I feel I'm doomed to boring dishes for the rest of my life! We're trying to compromise and moving into scary territory for him by (gasp!) looking at white dishes with a pattern around the edge, but this is only ok because the pattern isnt in the same place where food goes..

As someone with a wonky phobia* my own (nutcrackers) I'm curious. What is it about the patterned dishes that causes the problem?

*It's not really a phobia. I can cope just fine as long as I know there will be nutcrackers around (during Xmas you expect them,  during July you don't). I just. . . . prefer not be around them.  Vastly prefer.

As I understand it, one reason for the fear stems from the belief that colored ceramic paint is toxic. I have a family member who believes this. I don't know if that's why in the above cases, but it is apparently a rumor.....

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/994/is-red-fiestaware-radioactive

[Night_owl]

SS forgot about that and the housekeeper that has worked at the hospital for 45 years, she had park offsite and take the shuttle and was late to work for the first time in 45 years.  SS treats the housekeeper like dirt, instead of a beloved and kind long time employee that bakes cookies for us........

Wow, I know she is an old friend and normally reasonable so I hope that means she does a lot of volunteer work and maybe is distracted due to issues at home or something.

In any case, I have a story myself. I work as a CSR and sometimes we get irate people. Occasionally we have to work a Saturday with just the two of us and no supervisors or underwriters for four hours. Of course, people don't understand that, even though that is normal practice and get upset.  I was working a Saturday with SS and she had a difficult person on the line. Now bear in mind we are on the same level. I did start at this position before she did but I am not a supervisor in any sense of the work. Well, SS wanted to send this customer over for me to deal with! I told her flat out No, I am not your supervisor and as such I will not clean up your messes. She just kind of opened and shut her jaw and did what she should've done in the first place. The sad thing she, she was promoted but the good thing is, she is no longer in my state so I don't have to deal with her.

Heather

I've been thinking about since reading your comment, why do I still consider this person a friend?  We use be close about 15 years ago and when I moved to New State, we reconnected since she lived nearby and was in the same profession.  I don't really like her anymore.  She use be fun, but her sense of self importance and entitlement always a bit of an issue, are out of control lately.  Well, she's been like this since she left her husband for another guy and the new guy is another special snowflake........   Anyway, thanks for bringing this to my attention, I need to rethink my relationship with this woman.

[VorFemme]

I think that the yellow glazes are the ones that need uranium (or similar heavy metals) to develop the best color............but as I got that information from a science fiction short story - the information's veracity has not been researched recently.

I do remember some issues with lead containing glazes that aren't fired HOT ENOUGH to completely lock in the lead - there are a lot of decorative ceramics that they suggest NOT using if you aren't completely sure that they aren't going to leach lead into acidic foods.  They sell lead kits for old paint that would probably be suggested for testing anything that's been in the family a while.

I remember a story about family that was using a decorative South American pitcher (bought as a souvenir while South of the Border) for their morning orange juice.  Major lead poisoning with the kids having it worse due to more orange juice (Dad & Mom had coffee & a little orange juice) each day and lower body weight.................but that was more of an issue forty years ago than it is now!

[Elphaba]

Yes. Almost as weird as my mother's other friend (Sam) who has a phobia of patterned crockery. I'm not dismissing that she has a phobia, phobias are very serious. She has a panick attack if anything is served on patterned plates or cups, especially if it's floral. I didn't know this when she came for a visit... my ears are still ringing.

Fiyero (the BF) has a very similar problem! His dad "passed down" this fear and I feel I'm doomed to boring dishes for the rest of my life! We're trying to compromise and moving into scary territory for him by (gasp!) looking at white dishes with a pattern around the edge, but this is only ok because the pattern isnt in the same place where food goes..

As someone with a wonky phobia* my own (nutcrackers) I'm curious. What is it about the patterned dishes that causes the problem?

*It's not really a phobia. I can cope just fine as long as I know there will be nutcrackers around (during Xmas you expect them,  during July you don't). I just. . . . prefer not be around them.  Vastly prefer.

The way its been explained to me is that "there's no way to make sure they're clean" if they have colors/patterns on them....

[kareng57]

Here's my encounter with a Special Snowflake:

My mother and I were in line at the supermarket a few years ago. I think I would have been about fifteen. We were loading things onto the conveyor belt when my mother was 'tapped' on the shoulder, (she later told me that she had been poked, hard). She turns to this woman who has a full trolley and a baby in the child seat. Rather than bother with polite requests Madame Special Snowflake says to my mother: 'I have a child'
Mum, bless her, points to me and says: 'Me too! Aren't they great'. The woman made rather loud sighs as our transaction was completed, but thankfully, she didn't try to pull the baby card on anyone else.

So, fellow e-hellions, how have you dealt with those who think they're just a little bit more important than the common folk, for whatever reason.

The best response I've ever heard to this behavior is from the show Dead Like Me and is completely not e-hell approved:  "Don't use your children. Its shameful."

Another "but these are children!"...

My town's annual parade is quite popular - people do come from all over the Metro area to see it.  Dh and I had staked our spot out about 40 minutes before the parade starting time.  We'd had to get there pretty early anyway; both of our kids were in the parade and we had to deliver them to their assembly-areas first.  We had a good viewing spot, but about 10 minutes before starting time, a family with three small kids came along and demanded our spot.  "These are kids, they need to see, you could always move to the back!"  Uh - maybe we wanted to actually see our kids in the parade?

I know kids get restless waiting for parades - but one parent could always stake-out the spot while the other one goes for a walk or to the park with the kids while waiting.  That's what we always did.

[high dudgeon]

I thought this was interesting: http://www.fiestawarecollectors.com/isredfiestawaresafe.asp

But in general, it's an irrational phobia where logic just doesn't enter into the equation. As long as you're not actually eating the plates themselves, you should be fine.


Sorry to repeat! I somehow missed the other post. My apologies!

[Xallanthia]

I thought this was interesting: http://www.fiestawarecollectors.com/isredfiestawaresafe.asp

But in general, it's an irrational phobia where logic just doesn't enter into the equation. As long as you're not actually eating the plates themselves, you should be fine.

That, and, if it's new, you should be fine.

I've actually seen it demonstrated... a chem teacher with an old red Fiesta plate, a new one in almost exactly the same shade, and a geiger counter...

[NutMeg]

My SO's mum is a potter. She can tell by looking at stuff what was used to make the glaze, and if it's safe to eat off or not. She makes all of my cups, and basically every piece of pottery I own.

[heathert]

Anyway, thanks for bringing this to my attention, I need to rethink my rel@tionship with this woman.

No problem. Sometimes I need someone else's POV myself.

Heather

[kareng57]

I'm dealing with a Special Snowflake right now.  I finally snapped last week and called the police on her, not that it's done any good, but I have a temper and will not engage the SS.  
This special snowflake sits at the end of our street with her son in her car until the school bus comes.  Now this is not all the special snowflakey...there are a couple of parents that do this, especially when it's raining.   They usually sit back 10 to 20 yards from the corner, way off to the side.  This woman parks right on the corner, so no one else can pull onto the street without having to take their life in their hands and pull immediately around her.  This is not what made me finally snap though.  Last week we got snow...a lot of it.  It is piled high and deep and I feel a little like a rat in a maze driving down my street.
This lady pulls on to the street last Friday, sits in the wrong lane (parked on the left side) crooked, right at the end of the street.  No one with a car above the size of a compact could get down that end of the street.  There was no place to maneuver with all of the snow.  From what the police dispatcher said (I called the non-emergency line by the way) they have talked to her before.  She pulled the same thing on Monday and again today.  
I've been trying to leave earlier so I don't run into her, but I drive my teenagers to school and trying to get them to hurry up and get ready earlier is kind of like herding cats.

Not quite the same situation - but our elementary school had a horseshoe-shaped drop-off area.  It was definitely not a parking-area.  The idea was that you'd pull up next to the sidewalk, drop the kids off, then merge into the "driving" section.  Of course, what many parents did was to park at the sidewalk and then sit in the car, waiting for the bell to ring, so that they could see the children enter the building.  This forced many other parents to drop the kids off in the "driving" section - hardly a safe situation.  Overall it's the same kind of sitatuation "my kids are more important, it does not matter if what I do makes it less safe for your kids".

And there was a parent-parking-lot available (staff parked in a different lot) for parents who needed to spend a longer time at the school.  It usually had plenty of room, but even if it didn't, there was a city park across the street.

[gibsongirl]

My SO's mum is a potter. She can tell by looking at stuff what was used to make the glaze, and if it's safe to eat off or not. She makes all of my cups, and basically every piece of pottery I own.

I am insanely jealous. 

[Sirius]

The mother of one of Mr. Sirius' students wanted to know why he couldn't pick Student up right in front of their home.  This particular student has to be met by a parent/guardian because of their disability, and she was grousing about having to wait on the corner in the rain.  The stop was something like two houses away from their home.  Mr. Sirius explained that he couldn't do that because the bus didn't fit into the narrow cul-de-sac where they lived.  "Why can't you get a smaller bus?"  He explained that he had to have a bus with a wheelchair lift, and they only come in certain sizes.  "Well, why can't someone else pick up the kids in wheelchairs?"  He explained that the child in the wheelchair that he transports lived only two blocks away, and it didn't make sense to have another bus come all the way over to their neighborhood when he could easily pick up both students.  He was very polite; he always is.  But he said he runs into parents like that all of the time, who don't seem to realize that there are other students on the bus besides theirs.   

[Night_owl]

Confession time, Older Son told me DH got ticket for parking in the "no parking' zone at school during drop off time.  I asked DH what he was thinking?  "It was one time, I just ran in for a minute and I was late for....."  He looked at me and said, "What?"

"Two hundred kids, if every parent just runs in for a minute because they were late for work?"  I asked, "And you have a $75 ticket for illegal parking and you could've gotten another ticket for blocking traffic which is a moving violation?"  In DH's defense, he did pay the ticket and wrote a letter of aplogy to the school principal and Older Son says, it was a one time thing.  No special snowflakes in my house!