What little things drive you completely up the wall....?

[LB]

This conversation that I seem to have several times a day is driving me kinda nuts.

While answering phones at work:

Me: Good morning, [company name].
Caller: Is this [company name]?

Please be patient with them. I kind of understand, maybe.

For one thing, it is often a shock to get a human instead of a phone tree and just fumbling for words is messy so the caller says the first thing that comes to mind while thinking. Even our dentist in his own office with 2 office people and 2 hyginists and 1 assistant often has to put the phone on voice mail.

If your greeting were longer, for example, "Good morning.This is Company. LB speaking. How may I help you?" Some people get impatient with such a long intoduction, but it does give the the caller time to adjust and think. That is why you probably get so many people who say, "How are you?" They are just thinking, as well as maybe being indoctrinated into saying that first thing. (I usually go to, "Hi, this is Lucy 45." While thinking, even if I need to go to an extension and the operator has no reason to know who I am. Sigh.)

Also, if I am expecting one voice, I have trouble actually hearing and understanding another. Often, the receptioninst will be so used to saying the gretting, it is kind of mumbled and tossed off so it's not clear. (Not saying you do that. It's just another common thing.)

I am of good hearing and usually have what I am going to say prepared but really get rattled if thrown a curve.

Yeah, I do understand some of the reasons you mentioned. And so far, I haven't yelled "I just said that!" at anyone, though it's been tempting. I'm a pretty outwardly patient person, so I've been handling it ok. It just makes me a little crazy sometimes!

And unfortunately, I don't get a lot of people asking how I am. That's the other thing that's kind of driving me crazy. Most of the time, people just bark out a name or an extension number they want to be transferred to. A little courtesy, or a "please" now and then would be nice.

[Kendo_Bunny]

When people can't coordinate the cooking of items that need to be served at the same time. 

My stepmother drives me crazy with that. I do most of the cooking when I'm home, and if she's home from work, she'll start asking me why I haven't done this or that thing. Like why I haven't put on the potatoes to boil when I just put the roast pork into the oven.

Or I'll have just gotten everything done perfectly, and she'll decide that then is the moment to concoct a salad.

[Luci45]

This conversation that I seem to have several times a day is driving me kinda nuts.

While answering phones at work:

Me: Good morning, [company name].
Caller: Is this [company name]?

Please be patient with them. I kind of understand, maybe.

For one thing, it is often a shock to get a human instead of a phone tree and just fumbling for words is messy so the caller says the first thing that comes to mind while thinking. Even our dentist in his own office with 2 office people and 2 hyginists and 1 assistant often has to put the phone on voice mail.

If your greeting were longer, for example, "Good morning.This is Company. LB speaking. How may I help you?" Some people get impatient with such a long intoduction, but it does give the the caller time to adjust and think. That is why you probably get so many people who say, "How are you?" They are just thinking, as well as maybe being indoctrinated into saying that first thing. (I usually go to, "Hi, this is Lucy 45." While thinking, even if I need to go to an extension and the operator has no reason to know who I am. Sigh.)

Also, if I am expecting one voice, I have trouble actually hearing and understanding another. Often, the receptioninst will be so used to saying the gretting, it is kind of mumbled and tossed off so it's not clear. (Not saying you do that. It's just another common thing.)

I am of good hearing and usually have what I am going to say prepared but really get rattled if thrown a curve.

Yeah, I do understand some of the reasons you mentioned. And so far, I haven't yelled "I just said that!" at anyone, though it's been tempting. I'm a pretty outwardly patient person, so I've been handling it ok. It just makes me a little crazy sometimes!

And unfortunately, I don't get a lot of people asking how I am. That's the other thing that's kind of driving me crazy. Most of the time, people just bark out a name or an extension number they want to be transferred to. A little courtesy, or a "please" now and then would be nice.

Yes! I can't imagine trying to deal with hundreds (?) of different people I don't know everyday, with only aural, no physical, signals to observe and trying to adjust to each personality. I go nuts just the couple of times a week I may have to make a call.

And yes, I do say, "May I have extension xyz, please?" but never say, "How are you?" Sorry about that. I know people that ask me that don't really care.

[Adelaide]

When people say "I'm taking/eating the last of X, did anyone want it?"

Yes, I wanted it. I wanted the last piece of pie. The last index card. The last piece of tape. I wanted it with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns. But there is no polite way to say that or to appropriate the thing in question for myself.

I wish the standard was "I'm taking/eating the last of X, just to let you know" instead.

[White Dragon]

Paper cuts.
Paper cuts and our photocopier.

We are collating some documentation for a client.
In triplicate.
It's about 20,000 pieces of paper.
We have sequence them, sort them, fold some and put them in binders.

There is no way to do this that does not involve paper cuts.
Just straightening the piles involves slices.

On top of all this, we found out that our photocopier wasn't aligned and cut the identifier off several hundred pages of technical drawings. So we had to recopy. And re-collate. And re-fold.

I'm tired and my hands hurt. 

[Piratelvr1121]

Jewelry commercials that guilt men into buying jewelry for their women.  And it has to be diamonds, too. Not every woman loves diamonds, folks.  I like jewelry, but I prefer gemstones and Celtic inspired designs.  Like I just ordered myself a Celtic cross necklace from an Irish company.

[Venus193]

My guess about those jewelry commercials is that men like the idea of being moneyed enough to buy diamonds (which are expensive only because the market has a choke-hold on it, but never mind that rant) and because men are unlikely to purchase more imaginative things to suit their women.

As a jewelry queen I am an extreme case, but I could never count on a man to buy me a necklace to match a dress or a watch to match the necklace.

[ladyknight1]

Jewelry commercials that guilt men into buying jewelry for their women.  And it has to be diamonds, too. Not every woman loves diamonds, folks.  I like jewelry, but I prefer gemstones and Celtic inspired designs.  Like I just ordered myself a Celtic cross necklace from an Irish company.

POD. I am getting a sterling Claddagh brooch with an amethyst for myself for Christmas.

[siamesecat2965]

And while I don't have anyone to buy me jewelry, I bought myself a lovely Seiko watch as an early b-day present.

[Piratelvr1121]

Jewelry commercials that guilt men into buying jewelry for their women.  And it has to be diamonds, too. Not every woman loves diamonds, folks.  I like jewelry, but I prefer gemstones and Celtic inspired designs.  Like I just ordered myself a Celtic cross necklace from an Irish company.

POD. I am getting a sterling Claddagh brooch with an amethyst for myself for Christmas.

OOooh that sounds pretty! I'd love to have a Celtic style cloak with a brooch like that to secure it.  One of those things to be saved up for or one day bite the bullet, get a pattern and tackle the sewing project.

[Giggity]

Two words:  "I just..."

Here in Texas, a lot of people "just" when they pray. It's like punctuation, and it's the oddest thing. Every fourth word is "just."

[ladyknight1]

Jewelry commercials that guilt men into buying jewelry for their women.  And it has to be diamonds, too. Not every woman loves diamonds, folks.  I like jewelry, but I prefer gemstones and Celtic inspired designs.  Like I just ordered myself a Celtic cross necklace from an Irish company.

POD. I am getting a sterling Claddagh brooch with an amethyst for myself for Christmas.

OOooh that sounds pretty! I'd love to have a Celtic style cloak with a brooch like that to secure it.  One of those things to be saved up for or one day bite the bullet, get a pattern and tackle the sewing project.

Our local Scottish Highland games are in January, so I can wear it with my plaid and dress!

[snowflake]

Jewelry commercials that guilt men into buying jewelry for their women.  And it has to be diamonds, too. Not every woman loves diamonds, folks.  I like jewelry, but I prefer gemstones and Celtic inspired designs.  Like I just ordered myself a Celtic cross necklace from an Irish company.

I just celebrated a "milestone" anniversary.  I haven't broadcasted it because generally people who don't know me want to know what bling he gave me.  Ugh.  Drives me nuts.

[hobish]

When people say "I'm taking/eating the last of X, did anyone want it?"

Yes, I wanted it. I wanted the last piece of pie. The last index card. The last piece of tape. I wanted it with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns. But there is no polite way to say that or to appropriate the thing in question for myself.

I wish the standard was "I'm taking/eating the last of X, just to let you know" instead.

Why not?
...and why not take it if you wanted it so badly?
This makes me curious, as Gish and I are afflicted with that tendency to never ever take the last of anything. Our refrigerator is a treasure trove of jars with one serving left in them because we're both "too polite" to eat the last of anything, just in case someone else wanted it. It's nuts, and yet it is so ingrained we both continue to do it.   

[Adelaide]

Two words:  "I just..."

Here in Texas, a lot of people "just" when they pray. It's like punctuation, and it's the oddest thing. Every fourth word is "just."

Here it's "Lord". Everything is "Thank you Lord, for this day Lord, and we pray Lord..."