The grumpy thread

[maxxo]

regarding couriers etc and posting goods

so long as it's not huge and after a huge faff i still feel  bad about with a PC i send with Evri last year

i use the Post office/Royal Mail

not the cheapest but not had a single issue so far and easy enough to walk down to the post office

[richardmorris]

43 minutes ago, rattlecan said:

DPD are generally one of the best I find. Fuckin Yodel & Evri are the pits. Terrible set up both of them & I’ve used them both to deliver stuff from my business & receive stuff from them. 
We have the same guy from Evri, he’s done it for a few yrs. I have loads of stuff sent to my business, which is an industrial unit on an industrial estate. Although he knows categorically the business hours are 9-5 he continually insists on turning up at like 7pm to deliver stuff. I’ve even collared him & said do NOT fuckin turn up after 5pm. Still does it 🤦🏼‍♂️

I have all the delivery apps on the phone with what three words, delivery times, alternate addresses and authorisation where to leave packages if out. None work.

[Yoss]

12 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

I have all the delivery apps on the phone with what three words, delivery times, alternate addresses and authorisation where to leave packages if out. None work.

We have a thing on our PDAs (I'm Royal Mail by the way, if there's anybody new here, so I'll admit I may have a vested interest in slagging off the other delivery companies) that is supposed to tell us if somebody has requested a neighbour to leave stuff with. When I scan a packet a blue box with 'delivery information' written in it pops up at the bottom of the screen if somebody has requested it. They don't come up often, only about three or four times a day. I assume it's something a customer can fill in online like you did.

Thing is every time I press it it comes up with the same address, 11 Basing House. I have about 750 addresses on my delivery, most of which are a long way from Basing House. The first time I had it was coincidentally for another flat in Basing House so it didn't seem an unreasonable request but when I knocked on the blokes door he knew nothing about it and refused to take it. I still click on it every time I get one just to see if it ever changes but so far it hasn't.

I blame Fujitsu.

[richardmorris]

22 minutes ago, Yoss said:

We have a thing on our PDAs (I'm Royal Mail by the way, if there's anybody new here, so I'll admit I may have a vested interest in slagging off the other delivery companies) that is supposed to tell us if somebody has requested a neighbour to leave stuff with. When I scan a packet a blue box with 'delivery information' written in it pops up at the bottom of the screen if somebody has requested it. They don't come up often, only about three or four times a day. I assume it's something a customer can fill in online like you did.

Thing is every time I press it it comes up with the same address, 11 Basing House. I have about 750 addresses on my delivery, most of which are a long way from Basing House. The first time I had it was coincidentally for another flat in Basing House so it didn't seem an unreasonable request but when I knocked on the blokes door he knew nothing about it and refused to take it. I still click on it every time I get one just to see if it ever changes but so far it hasn't.

I blame Fujitsu.

I didn’t actually mean to include Royal Mail / parcel force into my moan.  Of all I think they’re the most human in knowing what to do and making alternative arrangements.

Yodel have been useless recently and lost two cases of wine ( well not lost, they’re at their depot, but the replacement cases arrived), .

DHL  is very good. But dhl local ( used to be business post ?) are awful. 

fed ex good, but their customs / import hub is useless.

ups are ok, but use drivers who can’t read English.

evri are hit and miss depending on the driver.

But even when using the apps and saying where you are to the cubic metre, and telling them exactly where to leave things ( with authorisation) I still get, sorry you were out messages.

 

[richardmorris]

Following on from above, I am grumpy as I spent two hours this afternoon trying to please natwest for a business ownership review.

my watch went off three times to alert me that my anxiety levels were unusually high.

well, yes. If it had said at the start what information would be needed then we could have collated it before hand.

as it was I had to go hunting for sic code ( which was correct but the computer said no so chose another related which was accepted but Is not on the vat certificate) vat registration, registered office, proof of trading address, proof of shareholdings, turnover, suppliers and customers (which surely is none of their business?).

plus printing, scanning, signing a doc about shareholding which they then did not directly ask for, but I sent anyway as the company structure which was asked for. I wish I could bill them as it took two hours and an anxiety attack. And I know they are going to say that the sic code I entered and the sic code on the vat registration don’t match.

( analysis and testing worked but isn’t the real code. But other research and testing didn’t work  despite being shown in the gov list of sic codes and on the bloody certificate).

[EyesWeldedShut]

Solar panel inverter finally died today after eight years of neglect. £417 for a new one which is about half of what the original cost back in 2016. 
So, is that half grumpy?

[Yoss]

35 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

I didn’t actually mean to include Royal Mail / parcel force into my moan.  Of all I think they’re the most human in knowing what to do and making alternative arrangements.

I'd like to think that's just common sense. And of course it helps the longer you've been doing the same delivery as you start to get to know who is normally in and friendly. Most courier drivers don't have that advantage. We are also now encouraged to leave packets somewhere 'safe' but it is at our discretion. Which doesn't mean on a visible doorstep in the rain. I will consider dropping stuff over a non see through gate if it is soft (ie obviously clothing) and in a sealed plastic wrapper but not if it's in a cardboard box and says fragile glass.

I seem to be stating the bleeding obvious but you'd be surprised what I find out and about. One of them dropped a model railway loco over our gate which is steel latticework so completely see through. Then they didn't leave a note. The dog found it before I did and he loves destroying cardboard boxes. Fortunately I managed to get it off him before any damage was done but it was a close thing.

[myglaren]

Have to say that I have no complaints about deliveries here, regardless of whom.

But RM is very good as the two posties, man and wife, live directly opposite me and even know to bring post for my daughter here if it won't fit through her letterbox.

[SunnySouth]

On 21/02/2024 at 21:13, maxxo said:

this was incredibly sad to see

went down to Middlesbrough to go to toby carvery with my grandparents

came upon this, literally moments after it happened

lovely E reg 3 series E114 KUP if i recall, seen it a fair few times before

literally they were getting out of the cars as i approached

i'd sadly say it's dead

That’s a fucking shame

Always wrong to make assumptions, but the damage suggests it might have been killed by its owner? 😕

[alcyonecorporation]

Trafford clowncil owe me a wheel, tyre and possibly a bottom arm  after this fucking monster blew a tyre out on my Seat: 





A 50mph/NSL road,  by the way. 

[GrumpiusMaximus]

On 21/02/2024 at 09:48, mercedade said:

Baffling attitude - but horses for courses innit? I'm not going to take a job in a place that treats an interview as a deliberately hostile encounter.

And the times when I'm sat on the other side of the table, I'm hoping that every candidate I interview gives the best possible account of themselves. If they employ successful strategies to get there, gives me the information I need and gives a good account of themselves, what's the issue? 

If they sit there reading drone-like and not engaging with the panel, they've not used their preparation appropriately.

If they bluster in, give vague, unstructured answers and replace competence with confidence, I'll come to the same conclusion.

I would have no issue with somebody reading from notes.  Interviews are an imperfect and contrived process but you can usually tell fairly quickly if you want to hire somebody or not.

When we interviewed in my last job (as it turned out - for my replacement as I left shortly after) we had all decided within a minute that we wanted to hire her. 

On the other hand, there was one chap that was utterly hopeless.  To the point where the senior interviewer on the panel ended up giving them the model answers we had in mind to the questions.  It was an absolute car crash and incredibly awkward.  Sad really because on paper the chap was well-qualified but he completely missed the point of our questions in quite spectacular fashion.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

2 hours ago, Yoss said:

I'd like to think that's just common sense. And of course it helps the longer you've been doing the same delivery as you start to get to know who is normally in and friendly. Most courier drivers don't have that advantage.

This is why I love our postie, Mel.  During the week it's highly likely that I'll be in and she knows to wait a few seconds for me to answer the doorbell on my phone (I work in a garden office).  Before we had the video doorbell, I had a package that I wasn't able to answer for.  She tried neighbours and nobody else was in and then came back at the end of her round and tried again with a neighbour.

I was so surprised and in the end sent her a compliment on the Royal Mail website.  We had a chat about it and it turns out they actually read it to her, etc.  Her dedication to her work is second-to-none and I don't know how she keeps her spirits up given the shit that's constantly thrown at her.

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, myglaren said:

Have to say that I have no complaints about deliveries here, regardless of whom.

But RM is very good as the two posties, man and wife, live directly opposite me and even know to bring post for my daughter here if it won't fit through her letterbox.

I'd agree. Our only issue in the last 10 years or so was part of a Boots order that never arrived by RM. Refunded.

[LightBulbFun]

6 hours ago, Yoss said:

(I'm Royal Mail by the way, if there's anybody new here, so I'll admit I may have a vested interest in slagging off the other delivery companies)

you know,  somehow it only just occurred to me that you work for a Company who's initials is RM and who's company colour is bright red

 

hmmmmmm that cant be a coincidence can it?  

[rattlecan]

9 hours ago, richardmorris said:

Following on from above, I am grumpy as I spent two hours this afternoon trying to please natwest for a business ownership review.

my watch went off three times to alert me that my anxiety levels were unusually high.

well, yes. If it had said at the start what information would be needed then we could have collated it before hand.

as it was I had to go hunting for sic code ( which was correct but the computer said no so chose another related which was accepted but Is not on the vat certificate) vat registration, registered office, proof of trading address, proof of shareholdings, turnover, suppliers and customers (which surely is none of their business?).

plus printing, scanning, signing a doc about shareholding which they then did not directly ask for, but I sent anyway as the company structure which was asked for. I wish I could bill them as it took two hours and an anxiety attack. And I know they are going to say that the sic code I entered and the sic code on the vat registration don’t match.

( analysis and testing worked but isn’t the real code. But other research and testing didn’t work  despite being shown in the gov list of sic codes and on the bloody certificate).

See that’s where you’ve gone wrong. A watch that tells you you’re having an anxiety attack, really? Who the fuck needs one of those in their life. One absolute dead cert is that that going off is going to do one thing & one thing only. Make it worse. These tech companies must be absolutely pissin themselves, inventing shit no one needs but still buys.

I was at the bar the other day & my mate bought a couple of drinks. He paid for them with a fuckin ring. I said wtf was that? Turns out it is an actual thing. Wankers.

You’re spot on with ‘Twats Nest’ though, I’ve banked with them for 40 yrs, the last 30 with a business account as well. They are shit, but I worked on the assumption, they all are, so just went with it

[Yoss]

2 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

you know,  somehow it only just occurred to me that you work for a Company who's initials is RM and who's company colour is bright red

 

hmmmmmm that cant be a coincidence can it?  

There's more than that. When I first started we would get free travel on Southamptons buses as long as we were in uniform. Didn't have to show a pass or anything, just say hello to the driver as you got on.

Better than that, they even laid on special buses for us to get to work. I mean technically they were normal service buses but it was no coincidence that about five buses would arrive outside our office from all over the city about five minutes before our start time. And the fleet was almost 100% Atlantean at the time. The buses would often meet in the city centre and run in convoy down the High Street at 0530 waking all the residents up.

Of course we were both nationalised companies then. And Southampton only had one big delivery office right in the middle of the high street. A big old Victorian place that naturally got sold off and turned in to flats. Now we have two offices roughly split by the river Itchen.

Then the plan was to be dropped out on delivery in high top Sherpa death traps. Sideways facing flip up bench seats but no windows, or seat belts obviously, and lots of exposed metal seams. And sliding doors up front of course. Then you would catch a bus back to the office after your delivery. If you were late getting your delivery ready and missed the van then you would just get the bus both ways. Even if you were on nights just sorting you still got free buses.

That all ended within months of First Bus buying Southampton CityBus from the council, although it roughly coincided with us moving offices to Shirley and Bitterne and we all went back to bikes. 

[Dyslexic Viking]

Another extreme rain event now, water is everywhere and the water pump in the cellar has stopped working so the cellar is starting to flood. And the rear of the property has flood. And this in winter with 1 meter of snow on the ground. 

[Rust Collector]

9 hours ago, GrumpiusMaximus said:

It was an absolute car crash and incredibly awkward.  Sad really because on paper the chap was well-qualified but he completely missed the point of our questions in quite spectacular fashion.

I felt like that was me yesterday, I thought I'd prepared well but I hadn't anticipated the broadness of the questions asked but how specific to technical functions of the role they'd be. Although in my situation I don't stack up well on paper either as I have shit all professional development to show in my current role other than people having to take my word for what I've done.

When I found out I'd got to interview stage for this new job I was proud of myself for sticking with the application rather than binning it off on that Sunday evening. I wish I hadn't bothered now as it just resulted in a bad experience and I'm even more fucked off with my current situation now. If I hadn't of got my hopes up about making a change then at least I could have stayed in my previous complacent/accepting mindset.

I'm sure I'll feel better about it later, but at the moment I just want to be a miserable, self pitying wanker and lament on the fact that I feel I've wasted the last however many years in my current role 😅

At least I've got paternity leave coming up in the next few days.

[horriblemercedes]

I remember my worst job interview ever.

 

A family friend had organised for me to meet up with the recruitment person at his work who was going to go through my CV with me and help me to be more employable. This would be a favour to him.

In the meantime, they found a role at the company that they thought I would suit, so they decided to turn this meeting into an interview for the role. Nobody told me this.

I arrived with a CV and a notepad and was taken straight into a job interview.

The first question was why the role appealed to me. I explained that I didn't even know what the role was and asked if they could tell me. They wouldn't.

 

A few days later, I was phoned by the recruitment person who told me she was disappointed with my lack of preparation. I put the phone down. I still don't know what the role was, but I suspect sales, in which case I wouldn't have wanted it anyway

[maxxo]

11 hours ago, SunnySouth said:

That’s a fucking shame

Always wrong to make assumptions, but the damage suggests it might have been killed by its owner? 😕

I have a feeling it was the E30 (if I believe) that went through a red light and was struck by the range rover

[GrumpiusMaximus]

1 hour ago, Rust Collector said:

I felt like that was me yesterday, I thought I'd prepared well but I hadn't anticipated the broadness of the questions asked but how specific to technical functions of the role they'd be. Although in my situation I don't stack up well on paper either as I have shit all professional development to show in my current role other than people having to take my word for what I've done.

When I found out I'd got to interview stage for this new job I was proud of myself for sticking with the application rather than binning it off on that Sunday evening. I wish I hadn't bothered now as it just resulted in a bad experience and I'm even more fucked off with my current situation now. If I hadn't of got my hopes up about making a change then at least I could have stayed in my previous complacent/accepting mindset.

I'm sure I'll feel better about it later, but at the moment I just want to be a miserable, self pitying wanker and lament on the fact that I feel I've wasted the last however many years in my current role 😅

At least I've got paternity leave coming up in the next few days.

If it's any consolation at all, the fact that you're reaching out for interviews is a sign of major progress.  You're already way ahead of most of the people that are miserable in their jobs and the fact that you're looking for change and actively persuing is in and of itself a positive.

My partner is a senior teacher and had a very bizarre experience last year.  She applied for a job in the North in the city we both went to University in.  We would both like to end up there again, so she applied for it.  With teaching jobs, the typical notice is a term (six weeks, what we used to call half-terms) and this particular job was one that was starting at the beginning of January.

She applied on the Thursday.  On the Monday, they asked invited her to interview and gave her a date and time but no details.  Usually for a teaching job they'll ask you to prepare and deliver a shortened lesson, meet with various senior staff, usually a panel of students and various other parts.  Knowing the age group and expectations of the lesson is important as you need to plan specifically for it.

As she's applying for a senior manangement position, the interview could be over two days.  You do a first day and they can call you back for a second.  Bear in mind this was during a teaching week, so she had to arrange cover for potentially two days of teaching.

The interview was on the Wednesday.  So she had fewer than 48 hours to arrange accommodation for up to two days.  They only published the interview details on the Tuesday night so I took time off work to drive to Lancashire and support so that she could write up her lesson plan and other details in the car on the way up.  This is not normal and you'll usually get at least a week, so the whole process was seriously expedited.

She didn't make it through to day two but neither did anybody else.  So they expedited an interview with fewer than 48 hours notice, dragged six people there from all over the country and then chose not to even go to day two with any candidates.  They were so slow to feed back that one candidate missed their train back to Cornwall because the last train was at 5PM and they didn't bother telling anybody that they weren't coming back until 6PM.

Absolutely ridiculous and a major red flag to actually working there.

[maxxo]

11 hours ago, SunnySouth said:

That’s a fucking shame

Always wrong to make assumptions, but the damage suggests it might have been killed by its owner? 😕

I have a feeling it was the E30 (if I believe) that went through a red light and was struck by the range rover

[horriblemercedes]

Just now, maxxo said:

I have a feeling it was the E30 (if I believe) that went through a red light and was struck by the range rover

Another one?

[chadders]

15 hours ago, richardmorris said:

Following on from above, I am grumpy as I spent two hours this afternoon trying to please natwest for a business ownership review.

my watch went off three times to alert me that my anxiety levels were unusually high.

well, yes. If it had said at the start what information would be needed then we could have collated it before hand.

as it was I had to go hunting for sic code ( which was correct but the computer said no so chose another related which was accepted but Is not on the vat certificate) vat registration, registered office, proof of trading address, proof of shareholdings, turnover, suppliers and customers (which surely is none of their business?).

plus printing, scanning, signing a doc about shareholding which they then did not directly ask for, but I sent anyway as the company structure which was asked for. I wish I could bill them as it took two hours and an anxiety attack. And I know they are going to say that the sic code I entered and the sic code on the vat registration don’t match.

( analysis and testing worked but isn’t the real code. But other research and testing didn’t work  despite being shown in the gov list of sic codes and on the bloody certificate).

Asking about suppliers and customers can make a lot of sense if you have an overdraft for example. Say you are heavily reliant on one customer the risk, all other things being equal, is higher than if you have a decent spread of them. Others spring to mind but to me the financial risk one is the most likely, albeit not knowing the legal status of your business.

[artdjones]

8 hours ago, Yoss said:

There's more than that. When I first started we would get free travel on Southamptons buses as long as we were in uniform. Didn't have to show a pass or anything, just say hello to the driver as you got on.

Better than that, they even laid on special buses for us to get to work. I mean technically they were normal service buses but it was no coincidence that about five buses would arrive outside our office from all over the city about five minutes before our start time. And the fleet was almost 100% Atlantean at the time. The buses would often meet in the city centre and run in convoy down the High Street at 0530 waking all the residents up.

Of course we were both nationalised companies then. And Southampton only had one big delivery office right in the middle of the high street. A big old Victorian place that naturally got sold off and turned in to flats. Now we have two offices roughly split by the river Itchen.

Then the plan was to be dropped out on delivery in high top Sherpa death traps. Sideways facing flip up bench seats but no windows, or seat belts obviously, and lots of exposed metal seams. And sliding doors up front of course. Then you would catch a bus back to the office after your delivery. If you were late getting your delivery ready and missed the van then you would just get the bus both ways. Even if you were on nights just sorting you still got free buses.

That all ended within months of First Bus buying Southampton CityBus from the council, although it roughly coincided with us moving offices to Shirley and Bitterne and we all went back to bikes. 

When I was a postman in the 80s I got given lifts twice in GPO Sherpa vans, once they came out to me at 6am when my car broke down, to get me to work, once to A&E for a tetanus jab after a dog bite incident. The only times I've been driven at 70 in a 30 limit.

[junkyarddog]

8 hours ago, rattlecan said:

See that’s where you’ve gone wrong. A watch that tells you you’re having an anxiety attack, really? Who the fuck needs one of those in their life. One absolute dead cert is that that going off is going to do one thing & one thing only. Make it worse. These tech companies must be absolutely pissin themselves, inventing shit no one needs but still buys

 

 

[Bren]

Went to crack on with the mondeo's leaking injector. 

As soon as I touched the clip on the leak off pipe it snapped.

A new set comes tomorrow. That will be £80 please.

And the rain here is biblical now.

[Rust Collector]

6 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

I wish I hadn't bothered now as it just resulted in a bad experience and I'm even more fucked off with my current situation now. If I hadn't of got my hopes up about making a change then at least I could have stayed in my previous complacent/accepting mindset.

I'm sure I'll feel better about it later, but at the moment I just want to be a miserable, self pitying wanker

Shows what I know then.

The mrs thought her water broke this morning, so we scarpered up the hospital as she wanted them to check if the baby was indeed on the way. It was a false alarm, so we ambled back home and picked up child number one from my Dad on the way.

Whilst sitting in the Disco of Doom outside my house, having a breather and thinking what the fuck gathering my thoughts before returning to work, my phone rang.

'Thank you for your time yesterday, I'm phoning to say congratulations'

Not what I expected at all, but I'm happy to be proved wrong once again.

Thank you all for the kind words and advice thus far, it's greatly appreciated despite me being a despondent wanker 😂

[Weird Car]

I’ve had better evenings, it must be said 

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

'Thank you for your time yesterday, I'm phoning to say congratulations'

So you got the job - if you still want it?