Special Snowflake Stories

[weeblewobble]

The girlfriend of one of our contracted employees rang my BIL yesterday. She asked nicely what job he was doing and when BIL told her, she proceeded to verbally abuse him for letting her boyfriend do a job which involved working with other women. BIL told her firmly (probably, I admit probably not very politely), that if he ever received another phone call like that from her she wouldn't have to worry, he wouldn't have any type of job. He also explained this to the employee.  Employee asked that BIL tell her if she rang again that he was doing his main job which does not involve interacting with any women.

Apparently, she used to wait outside the gate for him to get off work each day so he didn't talk to female coworkers.

Oy vey.

Wasn't there someone on here a few years ago who said that she didn't want her DH talking to other women at work, beyond the bare minimal needs of the job?

Sounds like someone I used to work with, Bill. This was in the days before cell phones. His wife would drop him at the train station, and when he reached his stop, he would RUN to the pay phone to call his wife to let her know that he arrived. Then he would RUN to the office (which was only about 1/2 a block away) and get right on the phone to let her know he was there. He would then call her maybe 15 or 20 times a day. (He was reprimanded over this, so he started sneaking around to other people's desks or the pay phones in the lobby, because his wife not ALLOW him to go all day without calling her).

One day a coworker was retiring, and we were all going out to a local bar to say goodbye. Bill called his wife to see if he could go. He passed the phone to me. Mind you, I had NEVER talked to this woman before. She asked me where we going, how many people would be going, would there be drinking there? Seeing as it was in a bar, well, probably. Then she asked if there would be women there. Seeing as I was going, and the person retiring was a woman, and there were several other women in the office, yup, I suppose. Then, NO NO NO, Bill was not ALLOWED to go.

Some guys in the office gave him a hard time, so he came up with a plan. He RAN to the bar, downed a soft drink, said "goodbye" to the retiree and RAN to the subway. He told his wife the subway had delays. He was very proud of his deviousness.

At the first office I worked, there was a personality like this, Bob.  We worked in a cubicle farm, and mine was right next to his.  Bob was such a hard-nosed, no-nonsense worker, one of THE most respected people in our office, extremely competent and talented at his job.  But when his wife called to berate him over the most innocuous, mundane details of their daily lives (he forgot to unload the dishwasher/he wouldn't be able to get off 15 minutes early to meet her for dinner/he folded the towels wrong) Bob would turn into a spineless jellyfish-  "Yes, dear.  I'm sorry.  I'm so sorry.  Yes, I know, I'm sorry." 

It made me sick to hear her talk to Bob like that - you could hear her voice over the receiver all the way to my cubicle because she was very loud- and for him to placate her while she abused him. Not to mention the fact that she called 5 or 6 times a day, which was really disruptive to our work day.  It was really difficult not to be distracted by someone screaming at your coworker. Several of Bob's cubicle neighbors complained about the disruption of the calls and Bob was asked to limit his wife's calls to once a day.  I know for a fact that Bob explained this to her, because she complained about it at an office party.  She instructed coworker to take his cell phone to the bathroom and call her from there so she could call whenever she wanted.  and Bob did it!

Bob stayed at his job well past retirement age and we all knew why.  He didn't want to be home with his wife all day.  He was soon forced into retirement by a staff reduction, and immediately took another job to keep him out of the house during the day.

[snowflake]

The girlfriend of one of our contracted employees rang my BIL yesterday. She asked nicely what job he was doing and when BIL told her, she proceeded to verbally abuse him for letting her boyfriend do a job which involved working with other women. BIL told her firmly (probably, I admit probably not very politely), that if he ever received another phone call like that from her she wouldn't have to worry, he wouldn't have any type of job. He also explained this to the employee.  Employee asked that BIL tell her if she rang again that he was doing his main job which does not involve interacting with any women.

Apparently, she used to wait outside the gate for him to get off work each day so he didn't talk to female coworkers.

I hope BIL told Employee that he is NOT Employee's messenger service!

Indeed.
I don't think BIL should lie to the employee's girlfriend. I don't think he should tell her the truth either. I think he should tell her: "I don't discuss that." or "I don't give out that kind of information."

I once had a (male) boss with a very clingy boyfriend.  Boyfriend, besides being jealous of all other males, was afraid Boss was willing to sleep with women to hide his infidelities and didn't want him interacting with females either.  So even saying "Boss is in a meeting with Female Big Boss" would set him off.  I was instructed to lie through my teeth if Boss was not available.

It hit the point where I was sort of hoping Boss would cheat on Boyfriend.  I sooooo wanted to see Boss dump Boyfriend but I never did.  *Sigh*

[MissRose]

This morning at work, I had a customer that called in that needed a service set up that my department also services.  She had moved to us from another company.  I explained the processes to her and what we can do to help her, but there were a few things she was required to do to make all stuff work right here. She was not happy when I explained things to her then she puts her boss on the phone who immediately screams into the phone "Its not acceptable!!!".   The customers then transferred their sales person on the line, I explain what I can do, and that the customer must do items A, B, and C themselves as we cannot do so.  Both customers still were irate and insistent that my group do ALL of the work they had to do themselves.   The salesperson contacts me and the person who processed the service request back a few times then the processor of the request had a doozy of a time with the Snowflakes when he called them several times, and even went out of his way (which he can do if he wishes, but does not have to do so) to get the customer side items processed.

At least the salesperson sent an email later after all was done, and copied our respective bosses on it (as me and the processor have different bosses) complimenting us for our work, appreciative of our help, and apologizing for the behavior of the Snowflake customers.

[amylouky]

A new one for me last night - SS Idontwannapayus.

I was leaving work right at about 5 last night, and pulled up to pay to get out of the parking garage (it's underground). I was second in line, right behind two guys in a red truck. The management of the parking garage has just changed, and we have new folks in the kiosk, so getting out has been taking longer recently. So, I wasn't too surprised when it took a couple minutes for the guys to pay.

But then it went on. And on. And on. I ended up putting my car in park, because by that time there were at least 3 other cars behind me and there was no where for me to go. The line wrapped completely around the building. At one point, the woman in the kiosk got out and sort of feebly flapped her hands at the people in line, but you couldn't see the end of the line at that point, and there wasn't anywhere for anyone to go. I asked her what was going on, but got no answer.

After another 5 minutes, she finally just waved the guys in the red truck through. I asked what happened when I was paying and she said that they just refused to pay. With the number of people backed up behind them, there wasn't a thing she could do, so she ended up paying their fee out of her pocket.

The guys in the truck were laughing and looking smug, knowing that they had the parking lady in a bind.

They need a new policy for if that happens again... which it will because they have learned they can get away with it.

I would think the standard response would be, "OK, then, I'll call the cops and give them your license plate number."

Oddly enough, I had a chance to chat with the kiosk lady last night as I was leaving (I left a bit early, so no one behind me). The guys in the red truck work here, and park here every day. She was very offended when they said "good morning" to her that morning, and she ignored them.

I'm hoping they had some reason why they thought they didn't have to pay that day. The whole thing was odd.

Hmm. If they park there daily, maybe they have a monthly pass. At my garage, if you forget your pass, you can sign the back of your ticket and give your employee number (it's a public garage but our company reserves so many spaces), and not have to pay.
I'm wondering if it was that kind of situation, and the new parking lady didn't know the situation. I generally don't carry cash on me, so if I'd been caught in the exit lane when I forgot my pass, with someone who didn't know about the sign the ticket thing, I'd have pretty much had no way to pay either.

[Twik]

Even if that was the situation, the solution is not to hold all the other people hostage until you were allowed to park for free. Go and find a bank, and get some cash, then return.

[artk2002]

On disliking flash mobs: I figure that, unless I'm on my way to the Emergency Department, I can afford a few minutes in order for there to be a little more beauty in the world. My personal convenience isn't the only thing that matters.

[Twik]

On disliking flash mobs: I figure that, unless I'm on my way to the Emergency Department, I can afford a few minutes in order for there to be a little more beauty in the world. My personal convenience isn't the only thing that matters.

One person's beauty is another person's reason they got fired for lateness, or just had a much longer commute because they couldn't make their train. I don't think that it's necessary for a flash mob to interfere with people who have placed to go and things to do.

[thedudeabides]

On disliking flash mobs: I figure that, unless I'm on my way to the Emergency Department, I can afford a few minutes in order for there to be a little more beauty in the world. My personal convenience isn't the only thing that matters.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  I don't care that much one way or the other about flash mobs, but I really hate the argument that if someone doesn't like them, it's because they don't take the time to appreciate the finer things in life and/or need to lighten up.  It's condescending.

[snowfire]

I saw a rampaging SS of the parking persuasion today.  I do my workouts at the Y and they have a HUGE parking lot.  The only time I have seen it full is when there is a huge swim meet.  Today the Special Snowflake had parked their pickup truck up on the grass at the end of the row of spaced.  They had backed up over a curb and between two trees in order to park there.  Yes, we have some snow on the ground but the curb is plainly visible, and is painted red for a fire lane as well.  Also, since we are having a thaw, the ground is very soft and they left huge deep ruts in the grass.

Bonus points, I think that they had tried it on the other end of the row as well, but just couldn't fit their truck between the trees.  My guess is based on the wide, 6 foot long tire ruts in the grass on THAT side as well.  All to save them from having to walk an extra 50 - 100 feet....when they are going to the gym. 

I did report them at the front desk.  I sincerely hope that they get hit with a monster fine.

[kherbert05]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/student-wins-stalking-order-overly-involved-parents/story?id=18080707

A 21 yo student got a restraining order after her parents went to the university and told them she was mentally ill, playing scrabble with many people, and using drugs.

I think the real problem was she was pulling away. At one point she says she was required to leave skype on overnight so they could make sure she was asleep and not out partying. Creepy.

[Carotte]

On disliking flash mobs: I figure that, unless I'm on my way to the Emergency Department, I can afford a few minutes in order for there to be a little more beauty in the world. My personal convenience isn't the only thing that matters.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  I don't care that much one way or the other about flash mobs, but I really hate the argument that if someone doesn't like them, it's because they don't take the time to appreciate the finer things in life and/or need to lighten up.  It's condescending.

A bit on the side of taking time to appreciate the finer things, that's what I tell myself and others when it's mentioned. Like the time a famous Y-instrument player played in a train station, for free, and 5 people stopped to listen, even tho he's really successfull and really well paid.
Well, it's a train station! people are rushing from or to, don't want to be late, are on a schedule. So unless you get there really early, are waiting for someone or have time to spare you just can't wait.

[artk2002]

On disliking flash mobs: I figure that, unless I'm on my way to the Emergency Department, I can afford a few minutes in order for there to be a little more beauty in the world. My personal convenience isn't the only thing that matters.

One person's beauty is another person's reason they got fired for lateness, or just had a much longer commute because they couldn't make their train. I don't think that it's necessary for a flash mob to interfere with people who have placed to go and things to do.

If your schedule is so tight that a 5-10 minute delay will get you fired, then there's something wrong that has nothing to do with a flash mob. Would you get fired if there was an accident on the highway that caused a 5-10 minute delay? Sorry, but the "I could get fired" is a red herring. Nobody's life is so perfectly synchronized that the unexpected, whether a flash mob or a flash flood, doesn't happen.

[Outdoor Girl]

This morning, I was leaving my brother's place to come home after spending a couple of days for some work training.  There were reports on the radio that the highway was closed but my brother thought it was in a spot that I could get around and get home.  I knew as soon as I got out of the city that the roads would be fine.  So I headed out.  And pulled up to the police barricade not too far south of town.  The guy in the truck in front of me was talking to the cop.  I couldn't hear him but I could hear the cop.  'Does it look like I'm kidding?'  And then in an angry voice, 'Turn around.' About 3 times.  So I gather pick-up guy was trying to get the cop to let him go through the barricade.

So the cop wasn't very friendly to me when I asked him if there was any way I'd get to home city today.

Turns out, every provincial highway in and out of the city was closed due to flooding.  It didn't get as warm as it was supposed to so the rain that fell couldn't work its way under the snow pack because the snow pack wasn't melting.  They opened the highway at 12:30 and I made a break for it!  With the predicted snow, I wouldn't have gotten home until Friday if I hadn't left when I did.

[Tea Drinker]

On disliking flash mobs: I figure that, unless I'm on my way to the Emergency Department, I can afford a few minutes in order for there to be a little more beauty in the world. My personal convenience isn't the only thing that matters.

One person's beauty is another person's reason they got fired for lateness, or just had a much longer commute because they couldn't make their train. I don't think that it's necessary for a flash mob to interfere with people who have placed to go and things to do.

If your schedule is so tight that a 5-10 minute delay will get you fired, then there's something wrong that has nothing to do with a flash mob. Would you get fired if there was an accident on the highway that caused a 5-10 minute delay? Sorry, but the "I could get fired" is a red herring. Nobody's life is so perfectly synchronized that the unexpected, whether a flash mob or a flash flood, doesn't happen.

I think that argument goes either way: it's people whose lives are well synchronized who are most likely to be able to spare 5-10 minutes to listen to a busker, or watch a hawk hunting in the park, and not mind being delayed by a flash mob. People who are over-scheduled, or have already run into one unexpected delay, are less likely to have the time to spare.

I try to build in some time for delays, but not an infinite amount, because I don't really want to spend all my free time on train platforms, in the gate areas of airport terminals, and the like. If I have a long delay getting through security, I may not have time to get a sandwich before boarding the plane. That's a risk I'm prepared to take, in part because I need to get through security; I need to get to the airport before doing so; and I very much want a cup of tea and a bite to eat before leaving for the airport. If other things go smoothly, then I have the spare time and can listen to a busker, if I like their performance; if not, I may run down the ramp to the platform and barely get onto the train before it pulls out.

Yes, it's a matter of priorities. I agree that someone else's medical emergency trumps most of the things in my life. Someone else's entertainment preferences don't. It is no more polite for a stranger to say "you can't get to your train until we finish this impromptu performance" than for them to insist that I entertain them with conversation on the train when I would rather read a novel.

[Rohanna]

I've encountered multiple buskers with crowds around them, and have actually run into tow flash mobs (dancers in NYC and a student acting group in toronto Union) - in both cases it was perfect possible to walk around them and the crowd with no more problem than walking around a standard train-offloading or rush-hour crowd. If they were blocking exits to the point of a "ten minute" delay, the true fault lies with security (or the lack of it) for not making sure that people could still come and go by clearing out the flash mob if necessary.