What really grinds your gears?

[XCashier]

The nurses that looked after my Nana while she was in hospital for her last 3 days were just fantastic and amazing and I can't say enough good things about them.

The ones that took care of my father in his last days were wonderful, too. They were so patient and caring for him and really kind and comforting to us. It must be so sad working with the terminally ill, but those ladies were angels on earth and my family was very grateful to them.

[Lovecats]

The ones that took care of my father in his last days were wonderful, too. They were so patient and caring for him and really kind and comforting to us. It must be so sad working with the terminally ill, but those ladies were angels on earth and my family was very grateful to them.

I'd have to say the same thing about the nurse's at the hospice when my sil was in and also the ones in the memory unit (my fil had Alzheimer's). I have tremendous gratitude for all of them.

[notalwaysright]

About two years ago my grandma was in the hospital, then hospice. She had C. diff (really icky intestinal bacteria) and is over 90, and has other issues. The hospital staff was great, mostly. The exception was a doctor who basically wanted to give up. The nurses were super awesome. The nurses at the hospice were also great. Oh, my grandma recovered and is now living at home with a care giver and is 94.

Anyone who puts nurses down has apparently never been in a hospital or health care facility, ever. Also, they are dumb.

[Catwoman2965]

The ones that took care of my father in his last days were wonderful, too. They were so patient and caring for him and really kind and comforting to us. It must be so sad working with the terminally ill, but those ladies were angels on earth and my family was very grateful to them.

Ditto. We never really saw the Dr. as he came in very very early, but my dad had pallative care nurses 24/7 who were wonderful. Told us we could call them day or night with ANY questions or concerns, and any we had, got relayed to the Dr., and answered promptly. And I also can't say enough about the regular nursing staff and tech (not sure of the correct term to use) they were wonderful with him as well.

[thehuckster]

I can't count the number of times this conversation happened:

Guy: "Can I get a box of Marlboros?"
Me: "Can I see some ID?"
Guy: "It's in my car. Do I really have to go out there and get it? Can't you give me a break?"
Me: "No ID, no cigarettes."
Guy: "Brb"

And of course, 99 out of 100 times, they never return. Yeah, nice try, moron.

[Trixie]

I have a new contender to the "If it doesn't scan it must be free!" annoyance. Had an old guy yesterday "Do you still take cash?" I really wanted to say no. Bonus annoyance if it's after a transaction where someone has had trouble paying with their card.

[Racket_Man]

Customer who place website orders from a factory/manufacturing plant/etc. AND fail to give/provide the following VITAL information:

1. the name of the business -- In many cases this IS important because in industrial areas a single building/facility may have multipul businesses. AND sometimes the business' address is NOT very visable from the street.
2. proper phone number/extension -- important if we need to contact them especially IF the facility has a NO CELL PHONE on the floor policy.
3. WHERE do we need to go -- as in what door/area/gate/dept./etc.

[fireheart]

Since my daughter had her first seizure last fall, I've become intimately familiar with how much they charge you for ambulance transport. Why the hell would you want to pay that for something where the treatment is OTC?

Few reasons:

-ambulance cover is built into their insurance (I know that's the case over here, not sure if it is elsewhere. Students transported from schools or clubs via ambulance receive free transport regardless of if their family has private insurance or not) so it doesn't cost them anything directly (for example, I might pay around $60/fortnight for health insurance, compared to the $700 for an ambulance. Some funds over here allow 2 freebies, some allow unlimited rides)

-the assumption that said cost is a "bribe"

-the whole "paying for a premium service" and assuming that it's that: merely a service.

-the belief that they'll jump the queue if that's the case (definitely not the case unless it's life threatening. Your need for nurofen is not life threatening)

-that they can bully the ambulance service into waiving said fee due to distress, grief, blackmail or any other reason.

Medical shows that deal with the emergency department do not help that sort of behaviour. (I believe ER addressed this instance in one episode where they had someone pumping their stomach because they'd eaten icecream)

In my home state at least, if you can genuinely show that you would be in financial hardship, they'll let you pay it in instalments (as I learned from my uninsured partners family). But you need to have a massive ton of evidence to show for it and not just rock up claiming "I can't pay that in one hit."

Eta: another one for the "nurses are freaking awesome" crowd. The practice nurses back home at the gps I visited were freaking fantastic. Especially the nurse who did some of my blood tests: for a while I would only go to her because she'd let me listen to my iPod while the blood was being taken.

[registerrodeo]

I just loved the nurses who took care of my dad his last few months (and were there for us too)! They don't get nearly enough credit for all the work they do.
In my years of front line customer service, the gear grinders for me were the morons who started inquiries with "You probably can't help me..." Then why the fuck are you bothering me if you think I am the village idiot? The bastards who threw their money at me always pissed me off. One guy who was in at least once a week at my last retail establishment treated us retailer workers like scum on the bottom of his shoes and always whipped his money at me. I had had enough of it, so one day, I threw his change at him. The look on his face was priceless. He asked for a manager, so I nonchalantly walked to the back of the store, counted to 20, walked back up with a smile on my face, introduced myself as manager (I was) and asked if I could help him. He NEVER threw his money again!

I now work at an assisted living center and we have a few idjits there who think because they are paying a lot of money to live there, I am to jump the minute they snap their fingers. I am quick to rectify any situation that I can, but sometimes they are just such ridiculous demands for services we do not provide that it takes everything in my power to not laugh at them and say "You must be kidding me!" The family members are much worse than the residents too..Telling us we will iron all their clothing (we wash, dry, fold, hang their clothes) and getting mad when we tell them it is not a service we provide, they want their apartment cleaned every day (nope, once a week unless you want to add on more money to your rent, and keep in mind we do empty their trash daily and will clean up any spills or bathroom mishaps right away), and many other ridiculous demands on other departments that cannot be met. Listen, I know you people are paying a lot of money to live here, but we are rated as one of the best in all departments but as we have 90+ residents and are constantly understaffed, don't expect personalized service because every resident has to be taken care of, not just you..grrrrrrrrrrr!

[Sapphire Silk]

What grinds my gears?

When someone-- anyone, Sucktomer or no-- implies that retail/food service work isn't a "real job."

Every job that pulls a W2 at the end of the year is a real job. Any job that lets you provide an honest living for yourself and family is a real job.

And I also can't say enough about the regular nursing staff and tech (not sure of the correct term to use) they were wonderful with him as well.

Tech, aide, CNA . . . all terms for unlicensed assistive personnel. The title varies by facility but it generally all boils down to the same thing.

[crazylegs]

I will decide what is the best route out of a premises for my patient. While you may assume I have a van with a bed in it, I actually have a colossal amount of equipment that is specifically designed to get people out of their house, none of which you know what it is, let alone how to use it.

[AccountingDrone]

*I can understand if you're seventy, eighty years old and are physically unable to write. But ma'am.... You're in your mid thirties. And why are you driving without your glasses if you can't see anything!!*

Because I regularly wear my reading glasses as I rarely need to see anything further than 20 feet away unless I am driving, I have bifocals in my car in regular and sunglasses. I *absolfuckinglutely detest* bifocals. If I don't need to see any great distance, and am flipping back and forth from keyboard to screen, I am not fucking wearing the damned things. If I am driving a car, I need to see distance and the dials on the dash, hence fucking bifocals.

[OfficeSlug]

I have a new contender to the "If it doesn't scan it must be free!" annoyance. Had an old guy yesterday "Do you still take cash?" .

Holy hell, yes to this one!! I swear, customers get together and pass these dumb jokes amongst each other during some sort of meeting!!

[Seanette]

What I can't figure out is the radar they have for when breaks/lunches/clock outs are imminent. This is when they swarm the registers/phones (I've seen this both as a cashier and as a call center worker).

[wolfie]

Seanette, must be related to the "4-wheeler beacon" (gonna have to spec my next truck WITHOUT one). Middle of the night in an industrial area, consignee has a row of loading bays facing the street, no other vehicles in sight. I start backing into the bay, and out of nowhere a whole bunch of cars appear. It's almost as if there's some signaling device that says "big rig manouvering - come get in the way".