The grumpy thread

[dollywobbler]

That's the inherent problem with free speech. People think it means they have a perfect right to upset people. Something that sadly a lot of punks seem to latch onto (though to be fair, I've known some very lovely punks over the years as well as complete fuggin' idiots). Where do you draw the line with profanity? I'd say people have as much right to not hear it as people have to use it. A bit of discretion goes a long way. Of course, you'll never sell your Russian punk music if you follow that train of thought...

[willswitchengage]

Virgin Media, for being so fast I can't even listen to today's football on iPlayer radio.

[Lord Sterling]

The bloody heatwave here in Brussels, its been like this since I got here, too hot to rest, too hot to do anything. Mind you it does bring out the nice girls but that makes it a little more difficult to concentrate on driving.

 

And this ipad thingy Im using....

[Cavcraft]

Virgin Media, for being so fast I can't even listen to today's football on iPlayer radio.

 

You've missed the good news:

 

Oxford City 0 Chester 1.

 

Baggies 3 Bindippers 0.

 

Ross County 1 C*lt*c 1.

 

Rangers 5 East Stirling 1.

 

The bad news is that Tranmere won and Wrexham didn't lose.

[Pete-M]

Baggies 3 Bindippers 0.

 

Indeed. We wuz shite.

[vulgalour]

 

 

That's going to be a bitch to repair. I was initially furious when my parent's neighbour reversed into me in his Corsa B but after I cooled off we decided not to involve the insurance companies and that he'd pay for the repairs. He came off worse than me, he may have bent his boot floor and has to replace a rear light cluster, wheel arch trim and probably his back bumper, I just have to paint over the bare metal after knocking the dents out.

 

What really made a Marvin out of me is that I've just finished polishing this corner up and it was the best bit on the car, I'm not best pleased that he's stoved in probably the hardest bit of panelwork to repair. Silver lining is that I might be able to get a set of panel beating dollies out of this and improve on my panel beating skills. If said neighbour was a massive knob I'd be putting him through the wringer, but he's not so I shan't, he couldn't have been more sorry to have bumped me.

 

I'll update my thread in a mo with full details of what went on, for now I just wanted to grump about it. Note: picture taken when I got home as the ones at the scene of the incident weren't as clear. Bumper brackets are bent and the rear quarter is dented, but no other harm done.

[Spiny Norman]

Bugger! I don't know much about panel beating but I'll bet that corner shape's a right bitch to get right.

[DSdriver]

I would put the car into a bodyshop and get them to do it at his expense. Unless he is prepared to pay you for your time and effort. After all he was at fault.

[vulgalour]

I would put the car into a bodyshop and get them to do it at his expense. Unless he is prepared to pay you for your time and effort. After all he was at fault.

 

If he was a knob, I would put it through a bodyshop straight away. However, he's not, and he is mortified about it. His last accident driving was 27 years ago so I think it came as a shock to both of us, and he's actually been helping me out on some of the fabrication stuff, lending his drive space and time to get the Princess running right so it seems really unfair of me to be a person of questionable parentage to him. If it turns out I don't have the skills to repair this myself then it will have to go through a bodyshop, but I'd rather we didn't have to go that route, as you know I like a challenge and I like to do my own repairs whenever possible. I don't feel bad for him, but I see no reason to be a monster about this, he did come off worse after all and offered to pay for repairs immediately while I was Mr Stompy. I don't think I'm a nice person when I'm angry.

[Wilko220]

Earlier, I spent an informative half hour waiting on a bench next to the ticket barriers at my local railway station. I'm certainly no fan of the train operator, or the service (which is pretty poor much of the time). But even so, the rudeness, arrogance and melodrama that I witnessed the staff putting up with from members of the public, in just that short half-hour, was astounding and depressing. There seem to be a large body of people in this country who feel it's appropriate, as a default position, to talk to anyone who happens to be in a less well paid job than they are as if they are sub-human.

[Albert Ross]

^^^ This really annoys me.

I recently spent a weekend at a wedding in Lincoln, and travelled there by train, as it was about the same price as diesel, and allowed me to drink! The way the train staff, and platform staff were treated was awful! I was my normal polite self, and although standing in a vestibule on an ECML 125, I was told it was preferred that I sit, for safety reasons... "But there are no seats free in there" waving at 2nd class..... "Follow me", said the Guard, so I did. And was seated in 1st Class for the short journey to Retford. When I quizzed him about it, he winked, held his finger to his lip, smiled, and walked off!

On the journey home, on the Sunday, he was on the train from Newark! Once again, I asked him why he had been so nice, his response was that I spoke to him nicely, and he had been in a good mood that day!

[willswitchengage]

 

Like those adverts they have at train stations say "Our staff have the right not to be verbally abused... etc"

[Cavcraft]

I don't think it's a more money/better job thing when people are rude to others in cases like that. I believe it's just wankers picking on a soft target because the moment Mr/s Railway, Mr/s Bus or whoever give them some back then said wanker will run off to complain and someone's job may be on the line.

 

I pity people who have to smile and be polite to obnoxious twats because their job says so, it must be murder. It's also why I couldn't do a job like that as I couldn't accept some toerag giving me shut just because he/she thought they could.

[Pete-M]

There's no reason to be 'orrible to staff when you're a customer somewhere. Unless they're being obnoxious or rude to you.

 

Doesn't matter how much anyone earns, that's immaterial when it comes to manners.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

I don't think it's a more money/better job thing when people are rude to others in cases like that. I believe it's just wankers picking on a soft target because the moment Mr/s Railway, Mr/s Bus or whoever give them some back then said wanker will run off to complain and someone's job may be on the line.

 

I pity people who have to smile and be polite to obnoxious twats because their job says so, it must be murder. It's also why I couldn't do a job like that as I couldn't accept some toerag giving me shut just because he/she thought they could.

 

 

+1. The most despicable form of bullying, and 99% of the time they get away with it.

[RedSparrow]

It's because it's an easy way for small cocked fake tanned shit tattoo wearing bullies to make themselves look like a big man in front of their slut of a wife/girlfriend.

I have been on the recieving end as you can tell.

[sporty-shite]

I pity people who have to smile and be polite to obnoxious twats because their job says so, it must be murder. It's also why I couldn't do a job like that as I couldn't accept some toerag giving me shut just because he/she thought they could.

 

This is one of the main reasons why I quit my job in car rental. And also the crap pay and long hours. At least if I get shit at work now, it's because someone is ill.

[vulgalour]

I've been amazed by this in the past too. I was travelling home from Grantham to Sheffield last year and because a train had exploded* or something, there was need for a replacement service. Announcement was made on the carriage in plenty of time, staff were posted at the station to direct and inform people and I watched as one after another the passengers that hadn't been listening to the announcement on the carriage got all butthurt at the staff. I made a point of thanking the staff and pointing out that the announcement was really useful, just a shame that so many idiots were oblivious to it because of their iPods and whatnot.

 

Mind you, I'm one of those people who will always make a point of thanking staff if they're putting up with unnecessary crap from customers or have done a good job, nobody deserves to be treated the way some people are for just doing their job. I'd like to load all the horrible people in these situations into a [insert horrible estate agent type car here] and fire it to the [insert desired planet here] while the abused staff enjoy [insert extravagant and well-deserved celebratory item here].

 

Failing that, being allowed to Tango slap people when they're being tossers in public would suffice.

[Negative Creep]

We get this in work all the time. Even with the customer's exaggerated and one sided account, most of the time they are clearly in the wrong and don't like being told so. Sometimes you'll see the official report, which naturally contradicts pretty much everything they say. My favourites are the indignant parents, outraged that their offspring was given a penalty charge for fare dodging, or we failed to look after someone who they had deemed capable of travelling by themselves. Then there's those who demand arbitrary amounts of money for "stress" "trauma" "shock" and so on. Examples this week included one woman who said staff should not be given assistance after witnessing a suicide, because they get paid enough already, and the person who compared his journey to the trains that went to Auschwitz

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

the person who compared his journey to the trains that went to Auschwitz

 

I bet he said "at least they got there on time".

 

The arrogant buggers do get a bit of nemesis when they feel emboldened by their interactions with poor staff and want to assert their 'superiority' over passengers.

 

Example:

-"Excuse me, this is the business class queue"

-"Tell me about it- I paid a fortune to fly in first and I'm having to queue with you lot here."

[Wilko220]

I once got chatting to a Search and Rescue helicopter crew member from the RAF who told me a story from a few years back of how they had been called out to rescue a small group of people who got stranded on the Snowdonia mountain range in north Wales - inappropriate clothing, not taking account of the weather, the usual story for 95 per cent of mountain rescue incidents.

 

To their surprise, a couple of weeks later, they discovered that the admin office at RAF Valley had been sent a bill for a clothing repair to a woman's dress that got torn when she was being pulled into the aircraft. Apparently the commanding officer replied by sending her back a bill for the estimated cost of sending out the helicopter. Nothing more was heard.

[Lord Sterling]

People are just so bleedin' ignorant these days, where the hell do they get it from? When they dont get what they want, they chuck thier toys out the pram, stomp thier feet and cry until 'it gets sorted'

 

I've been in customer service jobs before, young, wet behind the ears thinking that just because I had a shirt and tie on, I had a "career" but the amount of abuse you get does test you to the point of explosion. The last time I worked in customer service/relations bullshit was at the garage I often use/talk about here. Out of work, no money coming in, my mate saw my situation and asked me if I wanted to help out for a few quid in my sky-rocket, being as he was an MOT tester he was finding it difficult to deal with customers and do MOTs and repairs. At first it was alright, but then you got the customers who'd only speak to the gaffer to book a car in, if I offered to do it, they'd throw a wobbly, then you go the whiney customers who wanted thier car booked in on a certain day despite the fact we were fully booked up, then there were the 'dictators' dictating the time they'd drop thier car off and when they'd pick it up as if thier car was the only car we were going to work on and that a cambelt change takes half an hour

 

Most of them were basically told (In the politest manner of course) that it was tough, take it or leave it. Most did call back and take the dates/times allocated. I know though that this generated a few complaints, mostly by those who were looking to cause bother for me.

 

...I'm one of those people who will always make a point of thanking staff if they're putting up with unnecessary crap from customers or have done a good job, nobody deserves to be treated the way some people are for just doing their job...

 

I'm the same because I recognise the shit they must deal with. Also, apart from the complaints made against me, I also had a fair few people phone up my gaffer and offer praises in my general direction for the (in thier words) the polite way I spoke and dealt with them.

[rml2345]

It's the "customer service" push that (in my opinion) has caused much of the issue. Nowadays when it all goes wrong, be it on the railways or anywhere else it's someone's fault and that the "customer" must be in the right. The very first thing I learned when dealing with the public is that 95% of the time they are actually wrong and are too bloody minded to see it.

Before you could tell people the truith and they would largely accept it.

Also, +1 for thanking staff who are having a hard time from other people. I do it too.

[myglaren]

Getting breathalysed and accused of dangerous driving when I had had to get out of my house due to some twat lighting a bonfire/woodburner or something at midnight and filling my house wit smoke.

 

Made a run for the coast with the intention of sleeping in the car there. Stopped in an housing estate due to violent coughing/inability to breath and a cop car pulled in beside me, said I was speeding (82 in a 70) and 'almost' clipped a kerb on a roundabout - always do. 2" from the kerb is adequate IMO.

 

Couldn't speak to him for ages. Asked him to back off as his deodorant was inflaming my breathing difficulty which only made him more aggressive.

 

Eventually gave him the breath test - negative as I hadn't had a drink for weeks.*

 

He then suggested calling a paramedic or me driving to the hospital down the road.

A paramedic couldn't have done squat, I know from bitter experience and a hospital visit would have made things worse - if I had been capable of driving anywhere at that juncture.

So he buggered off after saying my driving hadn't really been that bad after all - I'm certain I never exceeded 70.

 

Spent a few hours by the sea, went home when it began to rain, an hours sleep and back to work

 

*unlike tonight. Opened a bottle of 12YO single malt provided by my son. It is him I blame for the double vision and spelling errors

[myglaren]

I'm no fan of religion (very far from it), but there's something very wrong with storming into a place of worship and ranting, even if it is within a so-called song. They did what they did precisely to make as big a statement as possible. They got banged up for it. There are far bigger injustices in the world than people getting locked up for being at best horrendously impolite.

 

Profanity is profanity. You can't pretend it's harmless art just because it's in a song.

 

Religion is responsible for many wrongs but I still feel it deserves some respect in its own place. Come knocking on my door to sell me god and I'll tell you to piss off, but I won't storm into a church to tell you so.

 

There is also this, which sounds quite rational and reasonable to me:

 

I would like to emphasize the fact that, while at the Cathedral, we did not utter any insulting words towards the church, the Christians, and the God. The words we spoke and our entire punk performance aimed to express our disapproval of a specific political event: the patriarch’s support of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, who took an authoritarian and antifeminist course. Our performance contained no aggression towards the audience, but only a desperate desire to change the political situation in Russia for the better. Our emotions and expressiveness came from that desire. If our passion appeared offensive to any spectators, we are sorry for that. We had no intentions to offend anyone. We wish that those, who cannot understand us, would forgive us. Most of all, we want people to hold no grudges against us.

[vulgalour]

Recently bought what was listed as ceramic bullet fuses for the Princess to replace the poor quality plastic ones that had melted. Fuses arrived and not only was it about three times the amount I'd bought and didn't contain the glass fuse (which I don't need, incidentally) in the listing, they were also all plastic. I'm not seeking a refund because it's a ball ache but I'm annoyed that they're not ceramic bodied fuses. So far so good with them, no melty-melty like the last lot I got, but we shall see. Confirmed with the buyer that what they sent out is the only fuse set they send out, so why list it as something it's not? Very odd. Negative feedback I think.

[ashmicro]

That was probably someone who refers to fuses this shape as the "ceramic type", as opposed to actual ceramic. When I worked in East Antrim Motor Factors (22 years ago!) the plastic versions were becoming more the norm, and I was tortured with punters grubbing through the VanLines boxes looking for actual ceramic ones. I'm not sure you can get real ceramic ones anymore.

[mattblack]

If you're stuck for 'proper' ceramic fuses I think I've got a few knocking about. Not sure what ratings tho'.

[Guest]

Mixed feelings about the Retro Rides Gathering yesterday.

 

I know it's the fashion on here to give the blue forum a bit of a kicking. I realise I haven't held back on criticising some of their fly by night members. The venue was beautiful, as was the weather. The stands were packed, spectating was easy and the hill runs were as diverse as the members' clubs below.

 

Despite all this, the way the hill climb was organised tainted the whole thing for me. I know Station and MM5 (who went down as well) feel the same way. I had a 4.30 am start from Manchester to pick my mate up from Halifax to leave enough time to get down there for the hill climb sign on. The run up Prescott Hill was the main draw of the event for me and indeed many other people. I couldn't afford to take the whole weekend off, hence the early start.

 

We got hopelessly lost 15 miles from Prescott. The sat nav sent us down a single track road that backed up after half a mile - there was a long stream of showgoers and baffled locals clogging up a route that probably saw more traffic that day than it does for the rest of the year. Eventually we rock up. Ryan parks the 460 and I leap out with my documents and £20 only to be told at 11.00 that the afternoon session has sold out.

 

Nice one. We kill ourselves to get down there, and then got pointlessly lost only to be told that all the spaces are full and that most of the afternoon sessions went to the drivers in the morning run 'because they wanted a full day of racing'. They got to go up as many times as their car could stand throughout the day and we got sod all.

 

I couldn't have done the Gathering any other way this year because of work and other commitments. I rescheduled loads of things to get the 460 through its MOT, got rinsed for the privilege, and then hammered down to Gloustershire only to be turned away because the early birds were greedy and wanted the hill to themselves.

 

Yes, I know it was first come first served - hence me leaving in the small hours to stand a chance of signing on. I know it sounds like I'm having a pop at the organisers, but it wouldn't take much to sort things out. You limit the runs per session / per person to allow more people to use the hill, and you stop selling afternoon places to morning drivers so that day trippers stand an earthly chance of getting their car up the hill.

 

What would have been a really fantastic day out ended up merely average.

[dollywobbler]

To be honest, it was the anticipation of such a thing happening that meant I didn't go. Even if I hadn't distracted myself by buying cars, there's no way I would have got to Prescott at daft o'clock, and I would have been seriously miffed to miss out on hill time. That system is seriously f*cked up.