The "What's on your mind?" Thread -2017

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raina21

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Well, it's been quite a day. Work was stressful. I work at my parents' restaurant and we only have one register (and I am the cashier) and it is a touch screen that relies on internet for accepting credit card payments. Aaaannnnd our internet went down in the middle of dinner rush and we had to keep turning people away because we could ONLY accept cash payments for the rest of the night. It was so frustrating.

Not to mention we had about 8 ten-packs of tacos in a row. So the front line (what we call the area where we make the food. only 2 people Work up there making the food at any given time and normally that is fine) got SO behind because we had a bunch of huge orders in a row. So customers were getting mad that their orders were taking so long. And we had to keep explaining to them that someone ahead of them had ordered 80 tacos without calling ahead and that's why the line was so backed up. Most seemed to understand after we told them that but there were a few that were really rude :argh:

My sister was also stressing me out tonight because, well she is one of those people that thinks she knows everything- and she is always right. I was talking to her about the trailer and I told her that we planned on buying a new mattress for the bed in there since the "bed" in there is nothing more than a 2 inch thick piece of foam. The bed frame fits a queen sized bed and my current mattress is only a full. I was telling her how I found some nice 8-12inch thick memory foam matresses made for travel trailers/RVs online for $200-$300 prices (which, in my opinion, is definitely not that bad for a queen matress). And she got all puffy and said that I should just use my current full size mattress (which has a huge "sink hole" in the middle of it because I sleep in the same spot every night) to save money. I really just wanted to say "Um excuse me, I am going to be living there, not you. I didn't tell you how to buy furniture for your apartment you just moved into."

I might not be rich, but I can afford to spend two-hundred something dollars on a nice mattress thank you very much. :eviltongue:

And then I told her we might stain or paint the cabinets to be a little darker and she was like "Oh but that will be so messy and it might not look very good. I don't think that you should do that."

I went to art school and have painted interior walls before. I sure as heck know how to use painter's tape and plastic tarps for the floor lol. I have pretty much mastered the art of using painter's tape. Ugh it makes me mad that she thinks she's right all the time :angryfire: This is going to be where I live not her so she doesn't get a say about what changes I make to the inside.

I am glad I have the weekend off. I am planning to go camping (sorta) with some friends and relax with a few mixed drinks I found this recipe for frozen wine smoothies and it looks reeeeallly good so we are going to try to make those.
 

segelkatt

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Well, it's been quite a day. Work was stressful. I work at my parents' restaurant and we only have one register (and I am the cashier) and it is a touch screen that relies on internet for accepting credit card payments. Aaaannnnd our internet went down in the middle of dinner rush and we had to keep turning people away because we could ONLY accept cash payments for the rest of the night. It was so frustrating.

Not to mention we had about 8 ten-packs of tacos in a row. So the front line (what we call the area where we make the food. only 2 people Work up there making the food at any given time and normally that is fine) got SO behind because we had a bunch of huge orders in a row. So customers were getting mad that their orders were taking so long. And we had to keep explaining to them that someone ahead of them had ordered 80 tacos without calling ahead and that's why the line was so backed up. Most seemed to understand after we told them that but there were a few that were really rude :argh:

My sister was also stressing me out tonight because, well she is one of those people that thinks she knows everything- and she is always right. I was talking to her about the trailer and I told her that we planned on buying a new mattress for the bed in there since the "bed" in there is nothing more than a 2 inch thick piece of foam. The bed frame fits a queen sized bed and my current mattress is only a full. I was telling her how I found some nice 8-12inch thick memory foam matresses made for travel trailers/RVs online for $200-$300 prices (which, in my opinion, is definitely not that bad for a queen matress). And she got all puffy and said that I should just use my current full size mattress (which has a huge "sink hole" in the middle of it because I sleep in the same spot every night) to save money. I really just wanted to say "Um excuse me, I am going to be living there, not you. I didn't tell you how to buy furniture for your apartment you just moved into."

I might not be rich, but I can afford to spend two-hundred something dollars on a nice mattress thank you very much. :eviltongue:

And then I told her we might stain or paint the cabinets to be a little darker and she was like "Oh but that will be so messy and it might not look very good. I don't think that you should do that."

I went to art school and have painted interior walls before. I sure as heck know how to use painter's tape and plastic tarps for the floor lol. I have pretty much mastered the art of using painter's tape. Ugh it makes me mad that she thinks she's right all the time :angryfire: This is going to be where I live not her so she doesn't get a say about what changes I make to the inside.

I am glad I have the weekend off. I am planning to go camping (sorta) with some friends and relax with a few mixed drinks I found this recipe for frozen wine smoothies and it looks reeeeallly good so we are going to try to make those.
Just say thank you and leave it at that. From now on I would not tell her anything you plan to do, she sounds like a negative person. As you say, she will not live there and you don't have to explain yourself to her, she is not paying for the paint or the mattress either. Darker paint might make the place look smaller or darker but that's up to you, not her. I know what you mean about sleeping in a hole because you always sleep in the same place. After a while no matter how often you turn the mattress there is just that hole which is not good for your back. A double bed may have been ok for two people to sleep in once upon a time. All the years I was married we slept on one of those and constantly bumped into each other, but as soon as that man left I bought a queen size which I had wanted for a long tine but he kept saying we could not afford the expense, and in which I sleep all by myself (with a cat or two or three sometimes) and if I had some adult warm body sleeping with me on a constant basis I would get a king size, you can never have too much room, especially when one of you is ill.
 

Alejandra Rico

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Well, it's been quite a day. Work was stressful. I work at my parents' restaurant and we only have one register (and I am the cashier) and it is a touch screen that relies on internet for accepting credit card payments. Aaaannnnd our internet went down in the middle of dinner rush and we had to keep turning people away because we could ONLY accept cash payments for the rest of the night. It was so frustrating.

Not to mention we had about 8 ten-packs of tacos in a row. So the front line (what we call the area where we make the food. only 2 people Work up there making the food at any given time and normally that is fine) got SO behind because we had a bunch of huge orders in a row. So customers were getting mad that their orders were taking so long. And we had to keep explaining to them that someone ahead of them had ordered 80 tacos without calling ahead and that's why the line was so backed up. Most seemed to understand after we told them that but there were a few that were really rude :argh:

My sister was also stressing me out tonight because, well she is one of those people that thinks she knows everything- and she is always right. I was talking to her about the trailer and I told her that we planned on buying a new mattress for the bed in there since the "bed" in there is nothing more than a 2 inch thick piece of foam. The bed frame fits a queen sized bed and my current mattress is only a full. I was telling her how I found some nice 8-12inch thick memory foam matresses made for travel trailers/RVs online for $200-$300 prices (which, in my opinion, is definitely not that bad for a queen matress). And she got all puffy and said that I should just use my current full size mattress (which has a huge "sink hole" in the middle of it because I sleep in the same spot every night) to save money. I really just wanted to say "Um excuse me, I am going to be living there, not you. I didn't tell you how to buy furniture for your apartment you just moved into."

I might not be rich, but I can afford to spend two-hundred something dollars on a nice mattress thank you very much. :eviltongue:

And then I told her we might stain or paint the cabinets to be a little darker and she was like "Oh but that will be so messy and it might not look very good. I don't think that you should do that."

I went to art school and have painted interior walls before. I sure as heck know how to use painter's tape and plastic tarps for the floor lol. I have pretty much mastered the art of using painter's tape. Ugh it makes me mad that she thinks she's right all the time :angryfire: This is going to be where I live not her so she doesn't get a say about what changes I make to the inside.

I am glad I have the weekend off. I am planning to go camping (sorta) with some friends and relax with a few mixed drinks I found this recipe for frozen wine smoothies and it looks reeeeallly good so we are going to try to make those.
It seems that you really deserve a hug, some cat love and a good night of sleep in that new matress you are about to buy.
Enjoy your camping and try to not think about what your sister said... She must be going through something that males her feel vas if she is treating you like that. When she os ready to tell you, she will, I suppose.
 

artiemom

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I would say to just ignore your sister.. thank her and just do "your thing"... whatever it is you WANT to do... take it with a grain of salt.. She seems like a domineering person... just ignore it..

((hugs))) love your trailer....
 

arouetta

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raina21 raina21 - Tell your sister to kiss your :censored:. How nice or how descriptive is up to you, depending on how you want future Thanksgiving dinners to be like. And definitely get the new mattress.

And while this is a little late, if your credit card terminal goes down again all merchant services have a phone number you can call to authorize payments. You need to know the merchant services phone number and your account number with them. Each type of credit card (Visa, MC, Discover, Amex) has a different account number, though it's common for Visa and MC to share an account number. You call the number and follow the prompts to put in your account number, the card number and the amount to be authorized. It's admittedly slower than swiping a card but at least you aren't turning away business due to inability to accept payment.

Ugh, my trip home tonight was not fun. Usually going home when closing I have two fears. #1 - Someone realizes that a person of the female persuasion is taking the same route home through a fairly deserted area at the same time about half the week. (This fear is making me strongly consider staying on the road instead of getting on the path.) #2 - Getting squished by a car. Well tonight I had a new fear, a fear that strongly outweighed both #1 and #2. Nasty thunderstorm, pouring rain, continued until 15 minutes before closing. While hearing the thunder and the rain I was seriously considering leaving my bike at work and calling Uber. But it stopped right before closing. Lots of water all over the roads. (And on my bike, and I hadn't checked the weather, and so I didn't cover my memory foam seat and it soaked my rear.) I decided to head home, even though the sky was lighting up pretty often. I didn't hear thunder so I figured I was somewhat safe. But yeah, it's scary to be riding home on a metal object while seeing the sky lighting up. I kept telling myself the trees are taller and more apt to draw the lightning....and myself kept pointing out the trees are really, really close to me.

When I got out of the deserted area, I have to go up what to me is a steep hill and halfway up the townhouses start. So I got a clear view of the sky and it wasn't cloud lightning jumping between clouds, those forks were going downwards. Eek!

But I'm here typing so nope, I didn't get hit by lightning.

As far as fear #1, the only thing keeping me on the path so far has been that hill. I've been afraid of going so very slowly while on the road, especially since there's a slight turn right before the hill so cars would have an impaired view of me until they are right on me. However the last couple of days I've been able to bump up the speed on the bike a lot and tonight I took the hill pretty fast. I might consider staying on the road now.
 

Mamanyt1953

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Deep summer night
Not one breath of breeze
The air,
Hot and moist
Presses against me with
a tangible heat.
Day-sounds are gone now,
Nothing but lonely crickets and
Love-sick frogs...
What draws me into the night like this?
SHHHH! Be still, and I'll tell you,
it is this:
Above the crickets and frogs, I can hear
the high, sweet singing of the stars,
And the universe whispers secrets
to the velvet Dark.
 

foxxycat

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Something is ticking me off about my state. Just watched a documentary on drug abuse in my state-there's a facility that has 30 beds but legally they can only have 18 people. This needs to change. The money isn't helping because laws superceed money. This really TICKS me off. We have people in deep crisis-some folks at work have lost loved ones from addiction...I am really starting to get annoyed at my state government. We have many who need rehab but laws restrict how many they can help...that's what's on my mind..and watched a segment on a city I know very well-it has been 15 years since I have left. And what it has become makes me cry. To see the homeless pushed out into the woods in tents and trash and filth just makes me cry. Something has to be done but what? How do you help people who say they want the help but then set them up for appointments and they don't show up...so sad today.
 

kashmir64

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My dad and sister drove up here and had lunch with me yesterday. Dad wanted to give me some stuff along with a tub of old pictures.
In the tub, was a pamphlet looking thing, but very nicely bound and tied, from 1916.
I opened it up, and there is a picture of my great grandmother as President of the St. Louis Chapter of something I've never heard of. The pamphlet (?) said "Largest Exclusive woman's secret organization in the world". Something called the P.E.O.
This is cool. I knew women were strong on both sides of my family, but I had no idea. And, now, I know what my great grandmother looked like.
I don't see anything of myself in her picture, since I take after the Seminole side of the family. But I do see my sisters nose and mouth.
 

arouetta

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Mother dragon, be warned, you may have an aneurysm when you read this post.

So today I was at work and for a whole variety of reasons my ability to take crap from people was at an all-time low. Too many to list, but one of them is "I'm a human being with feelings and there's no reason you can't treat me nicely just because I have a service industry job."

So anyway a woman called and she was downright mean. I couldn't figure out why she was mad or what she wanted, and every time I tried to ask leading questions so I could figure out both, she'd talk right over me. So I just had to listen for when she ran out of things to say. I finally caught on that she wanted something to do with photos.

A bit of background, not all Targets offer the same auxiliary services. Example, we get people calling for the optical center at least once a month, which we don't have. So we don't have a portrait studio, nor do we have a staffed photo section. We have a self-service photo kiosk which is actually a Kodak machine (and Kodak's people are the ones that service it, not us). You insert your digital media and it's printed on professional quality paper with professional ink while you wait. I know people were using it to make graduation announcements, so I'm guessing there's some spiffy offerings in the menu. Its hours of operation are not the same as Target's, and more than once I've walked in for the day and saw an "Out of Order" sign on it, and it's less than 10 feet from Guest Services.

So I tell the woman that we have a self-service kiosk and she was really mean and snappy towards me whenever I tried to make sure she knew that it was self-service. She asked if it was open. I was at the phone base, which gives me more options. On the floor, all I have is a cordless and while I can put people on hold, I can't pick them back up, I have to wait the 2 minutes for it to cycle back to me. So on the floor I put people on hold and radio the appropriate person or department. At the base I can pick them back up, so I can choose to radio the right person/department or I can do a semi-private radio conversation to get the information myself, pick up the line and deal with the call. Which I choose really depends on the complexity of the circumstances and my current non-phone workload and a bit of impulsiveness.

Well, as mean as she was to me I certainly didn't want to deal with her any more, so I told her to please hold, I'll get the people she needs to talk to on the line. Interpretation: I'll radio Guest Services to pick up the call, since they are less than 10 feet from the kiosk, and they can tell her if it's up and running or not and she'll be completely out of my hair. She completely flipped out when I said that and told me I was not going to transfer her. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Interrogative. She then said that when she had pressed the option for the photo kiosk it had disconnected her repeatedly so she didn't want me to transfer her to the same place. Um, it's a self-service kiosk. Basically a computer with a printer attached. You can't reach it via phone so it could not possibly have been disconnecting her. She then just laid into me hard as if I had caused personal insult, about how it's confusing to have such an option and Target needs to get rid of it, as if I had power over the phone lines.

Now again, a bit of background. I started answering the phones at Target in the last week of August, and it wasn't even a month before nearly every shift was phone duty. So of the 104 hours a week that Target is open, I'm manning the phones anywhere from 25 to 35 of those hours during a normal week. Since August. If there had been an option to press for the mythical photo lab, I am certain some other poor soul would have found their way to me over the last 11 months trying to reach it. And I also have had to call work upon occasion and the only options I've ever heard are 1 for the pharmacy, 2 for Electronics and 0 for the operator.

So I explain *again* that it's a self-service kiosk that doesn't have a phone and she all but called me a liar. So at that point I'm done. I'm being called a liar, I'm being yelled at because she has the mistaken impression we have a staffed photo lab, I'm being yelled at for trying to clarify it's not staffed, I'm being yelled at for the phone greeting that I have no control over, I'm being yelled at for trying to provide customer service by attempting to get her to the right people to answer her question, I'm being yelled at for god knows what else. So I pleasantly told her I'd find out the information and put her on hold. With every intent on letting her cool her heels for a while. So I radio'd Guest Services and found out that it wasn't in service and continued on working. And when it rang back to me two minutes later, I pleasantly told her I was still trying to find out the information and put her immediately on hold, though that couple of seconds was enough to know that she was yelling at me again.

When it rang back a second time (2 more minutes), I figured I wasted enough of her time and had every intent of telling her the kiosk was not working. I barely got through the standard greeting ["Thank you for calling Target in < city >, this is Arouetta, how can I help you?"] before she told me that I was "an absolute b****" (yes, she called me that) that was lying and enjoying doing so, and hung up on me. Wow. I genuinely have to put people on hold with far more cycle backs than that to get information they need and no one has ever called me that before. Not even the people who start off furious as all get-out, swearing Electronics hung up on them repeatedly. (Background, the Electronics option does automatically disconnect people, so when they get to me they are frustrated and I have to get them all relaxed and happy before putting them on hold for Electronics.) Not even the people that have the misfortune of needing Hardlines, whose goal in life is to pretend they didn't hear a phone call was for them, so it takes a bit (and sometimes a manager) to get them to pick up. In fact, I don't think I've been called any direct swear words before. And I was genuinely trying to help her for most of the phone call and she treated me like that the entire time???
 

Mother Dragon

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Wow! Arouetta, if you've gone this long without being cursed at, you may have set a record.

Something that may help you is a old, out-of-print paperback called Games People Play. It offers some good techniques for dealing with unreasonable people. My favorites are broken record and fogging. The techniques work well in everyday life, too.

Our office was a racially mixed group of women. Occasionally we'd get someone who wanted to talk to a white person or a man. Those people challenged my cool most of all. When people got profane we let it pass up to a point. Many people swear when they're frustrated or inarticulate. They fill in with damn or hell or such. Those we ignored. However, if the comments got very personal or racial, we would tell the customer, "I'm here to help you but I will not take your abuse. If you continue to talk this way, I will hang up." If they continued, after warning them three times, we did hang up. One of two things usually happened. They didn't call back or they called back to apologize. We were gracious when they did. Sometimes it was hard.

We had one customer who would scream until we hung up on him. He'd call right back, sometimes 15 or 20 times in a row. There was nothing we could seem to do to please him. We weren't even sure what his problem was. We started sending his calls to the inspectors. He screamed at them, too. Finally one day while he was screaming at me I heard something about his not getting his grocery coupons. I seized on that and told him I depended on them too, because I really needed cat food coupons as well as many others. At that moment I changed from an object to a real person, and real people are harder to abuse. He calmed down and let me help him. I explained the process and even got a special dispensation to take him on a tour of our enormous plant. He was astonished at the complexity of the business and the attention we paid to everything. From that day on he became one of our biggest advocates. Sometimes he would call just to chat, and it would be a pleasant conversation. That was one of my biggest wins.

Sometimes it helps to give an angry customer a bit of sympathy if you have to tell them something they don't want to hear. "I wish the self-service machine was owned by Target, but it isn't, so we're just as frustrated as you are when it doesn't work. They don't provide an attendant, either. Some Targets do have full photo departments, but this one doesn't. I really wish it did. You might send a suggestion to the company. We really care about our customer comments." Sometimes it amounts to not telling the customer what you can't do but to tell them what you can do or to offer options. It's kind o like when you were a kid. NO was bad. MAYBE or an alternative was much better.

Anyway, do your best to keep your cool. It's easier on everyone.
 

Mother Dragon

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Deep summer night
Not one breath of breeze
The air,
Hot and moist
Presses against me with
a tangible heat.
Day-sounds are gone now,
Nothing but lonely crickets and
Love-sick frogs...
What draws me into the night like this?
SHHHH! Be still, and I'll tell you,
it is this:
Above the crickets and frogs, I can hear
the high, sweet singing of the stars,
And the universe whispers secrets
to the velvet Dark.
That's lovely. You really should publish.
 

tallyollyopia

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Okay, I know I don't have time for this, but if I don't rant I'm going to break something and we can't afford to replace anything. So. AWM is in the hospital; I got off work to find her to ashen with chest pain, arm pain, and nausea. I took her to the ER (actually, I kind of laid down the law--I told her she could go in an ambulance or she could get in the car). The doctors think something happened to one of her stents, so they've got her scheduled for an internal camera (can't remember what it's called) to see what happened and if they can repair it, replace it, or if she needs surgery. Depending on the results she'll either be coming home Tuesday or next Monday. (When they put the stents in they wanted to do a double bypass--but AWM is not very fond of the idea of surgery.) I had to bang my head against the nurses--when I slipped home for a brief (two and a half hour) nap, the doctor came by and said the only pain medicine she can have is morphine--and I told them in the ER (SEVERAL TIMES) that she has a nasty reaction to morphine and that it will kill her. (They had to look it up before they believed me, and when I left they were contacting the doctor to get him to change the orders.) Well, obviously I couldn't work tonight (I was scheduled to), so I called and explained the situation to my boss, and long story short I'm working the rest of the week. I will make it. I will.

Also, I went to the rehab center where Grandma currently is, to go through the whole issue of them thinking I'm lying about having a relative in there because she wasn't in the computer (there seems to have been a problem with people sneaking in and harassing random patients). The problem, of course, was that between the last time she was in the rehab center she switched from using her current married name to her previous married name. Well, she was asleep (of course, it was after ten at night) and I didn't want to wake her up, so I left a message about AWM with the on-duty nurse--only to have a dizziness attack. She wanted to call an ambulance and I didn't let her (of course).

So, now I'm doing chores, getting ready to go back to the hospital to do battle with the doctor once again (they have banned salt!!!!!), and I just had to get it off my chest before going--or breaking something or someone.

While I was there earlier (with salt and dinner), AWM got a call from LS who said everything would be fine--because I'm here. Part of me was touched, part of me was annoyed, and part of me wanted to scream that even I have a breaking point and this year is making me reach it.
 

Docs Mom

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Wow, hang in there tallyollyopia tallyollyopia

Your mom should get a tattoo in an obvious place that she needs her salt !!!!

Kind of makes my issues at work with out of control kids and mothers who don't care...:disturbed:.. kind of irrelevant. I hope your mom can get better and get OUT of the hospital before they think of anything else she shouldn't have. Do they not read patient histories anymore ?
 

kashmir64

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Do they not read patient histories anymore ?
They do, they just think they know better. I can't tell you how many times I had to tell my doctor that he can't give me the shot he's holding because I'm allergic to steroids. ALL steroids. He keeps trying to tell me I can't be.
One time (a different doctor) I went to for a pinched nerve. He was looking at my chart, I told him I was allergic and not 5 minutes later gave me a steroid shot. I got blood poisoning from it (as well as other stuff).
The only good that came from it was that once the poisoning was finally cleared, I looked like a leopard for 3 weeks. That was kind of cool.
 

dustydiamond1

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Okay, I know I don't have time for this, but if I don't rant I'm going to break something and we can't afford to replace anything. So. AWM is in the hospital; I got off work to find her to ashen with chest pain, arm pain, and nausea. I took her to the ER (actually, I kind of laid down the law--I told her she could go in an ambulance or she could get in the car). The doctors think something happened to one of her stents, so they've got her scheduled for an internal camera (can't remember what it's called) to see what happened and if they can repair it, replace it, or if she needs surgery. Depending on the results she'll either be coming home Tuesday or next Monday. (When they put the stents in they wanted to do a double bypass--but AWM is not very fond of the idea of surgery.) I had to bang my head against the nurses--when I slipped home for a brief (two and a half hour) nap, the doctor came by and said the only pain medicine she can have is morphine--and I told them in the ER (SEVERAL TIMES) that she has a nasty reaction to morphine and that it will kill her. (They had to look it up before they believed me, and when I left they were contacting the doctor to get him to change the orders.) Well, obviously I couldn't work tonight (I was scheduled to), so I called and explained the situation to my boss, and long story short I'm working the rest of the week. I will make it. I will.

Also, I went to the rehab center where Grandma currently is, to go through the whole issue of them thinking I'm lying about having a relative in there because she wasn't in the computer (there seems to have been a problem with people sneaking in and harassing random patients). The problem, of course, was that between the last time she was in the rehab center she switched from using her current married name to her previous married name. Well, she was asleep (of course, it was after ten at night) and I didn't want to wake her up, so I left a message about AWM with the on-duty nurse--only to have a dizziness attack. She wanted to call an ambulance and I didn't let her (of course).

So, now I'm doing chores, getting ready to go back to the hospital to do battle with the doctor once again (they have banned salt!!!!!), and I just had to get it off my chest before going--or breaking something or someone.

While I was there earlier (with salt and dinner), AWM got a call from LS who said everything would be fine--because I'm here. Part of me was touched, part of me was annoyed, and part of me wanted to scream that even I have a breaking point and this year is making me reach it.
:alright::grouphug::hearthrob::redheartpump::rock:
 

foxxycat

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:yawn: :sleep:the weather is dreadful=I was going to drop books off at my booth but I would just drop them on the ground=I only unload product if it's not raining-they have puddles by the back door=so tonight is a DO NOTHING night.
Called the mechanic to take my truck-stupid check engine light is on=probably one of the oxygen sensors or something stupid=it's not running any different. :dunno:

I think tonight is a read a book night-oh and dinner is BLTs...I don't have any energy to do anything else. Not sure why. I just want to watch tv, read my book and play on my new phone...I spent 2 hours last night trying to figure it out...

So wish I could have the same phone number on two phones=I would love to figure out how to tether them together...

ok off to the grocery store to see what I am in the mood for..something easy and fast..too hot to run the stove.:cool:
 

kashmir64

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I really need to go to the store. But I'm kind of afraid to. It has rained almost non-stop for 3 days now. I have to cross 3 washes, and one of them doesn't have a bridge over it. My mom lives here also. She had breast cancer and a heart attack (resulting in 4 stints) and although she's been given a clean bill of health and is cancer free, I keep her close. Anyway, she said she would stay here in case I can't get back, but I still hesitate to go.
Oh, what to do.
 

Mamanyt1953

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Mother dragon, be warned, you may have an aneurysm when you read this post.

So today I was at work and for a whole variety of reasons my ability to take crap from people was at an all-time low. Too many to list, but one of them is "I'm a human being with feelings and there's no reason you can't treat me nicely just because I have a service industry job."

So anyway a woman called and she was downright mean. I couldn't figure out why she was mad or what she wanted, and every time I tried to ask leading questions so I could figure out both, she'd talk right over me. So I just had to listen for when she ran out of things to say. I finally caught on that she wanted something to do with photos.

A bit of background, not all Targets offer the same auxiliary services. Example, we get people calling for the optical center at least once a month, which we don't have. So we don't have a portrait studio, nor do we have a staffed photo section. We have a self-service photo kiosk which is actually a Kodak machine (and Kodak's people are the ones that service it, not us). You insert your digital media and it's printed on professional quality paper with professional ink while you wait. I know people were using it to make graduation announcements, so I'm guessing there's some spiffy offerings in the menu. Its hours of operation are not the same as Target's, and more than once I've walked in for the day and saw an "Out of Order" sign on it, and it's less than 10 feet from Guest Services.

So I tell the woman that we have a self-service kiosk and she was really mean and snappy towards me whenever I tried to make sure she knew that it was self-service. She asked if it was open. I was at the phone base, which gives me more options. On the floor, all I have is a cordless and while I can put people on hold, I can't pick them back up, I have to wait the 2 minutes for it to cycle back to me. So on the floor I put people on hold and radio the appropriate person or department. At the base I can pick them back up, so I can choose to radio the right person/department or I can do a semi-private radio conversation to get the information myself, pick up the line and deal with the call. Which I choose really depends on the complexity of the circumstances and my current non-phone workload and a bit of impulsiveness.

Well, as mean as she was to me I certainly didn't want to deal with her any more, so I told her to please hold, I'll get the people she needs to talk to on the line. Interpretation: I'll radio Guest Services to pick up the call, since they are less than 10 feet from the kiosk, and they can tell her if it's up and running or not and she'll be completely out of my hair. She completely flipped out when I said that and told me I was not going to transfer her. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Interrogative. She then said that when she had pressed the option for the photo kiosk it had disconnected her repeatedly so she didn't want me to transfer her to the same place. Um, it's a self-service kiosk. Basically a computer with a printer attached. You can't reach it via phone so it could not possibly have been disconnecting her. She then just laid into me hard as if I had caused personal insult, about how it's confusing to have such an option and Target needs to get rid of it, as if I had power over the phone lines.

Now again, a bit of background. I started answering the phones at Target in the last week of August, and it wasn't even a month before nearly every shift was phone duty. So of the 104 hours a week that Target is open, I'm manning the phones anywhere from 25 to 35 of those hours during a normal week. Since August. If there had been an option to press for the mythical photo lab, I am certain some other poor soul would have found their way to me over the last 11 months trying to reach it. And I also have had to call work upon occasion and the only options I've ever heard are 1 for the pharmacy, 2 for Electronics and 0 for the operator.

So I explain *again* that it's a self-service kiosk that doesn't have a phone and she all but called me a liar. So at that point I'm done. I'm being called a liar, I'm being yelled at because she has the mistaken impression we have a staffed photo lab, I'm being yelled at for trying to clarify it's not staffed, I'm being yelled at for the phone greeting that I have no control over, I'm being yelled at for trying to provide customer service by attempting to get her to the right people to answer her question, I'm being yelled at for god knows what else. So I pleasantly told her I'd find out the information and put her on hold. With every intent on letting her cool her heels for a while. So I radio'd Guest Services and found out that it wasn't in service and continued on working. And when it rang back to me two minutes later, I pleasantly told her I was still trying to find out the information and put her immediately on hold, though that couple of seconds was enough to know that she was yelling at me again.

When it rang back a second time (2 more minutes), I figured I wasted enough of her time and had every intent of telling her the kiosk was not working. I barely got through the standard greeting ["Thank you for calling Target in < city >, this is Arouetta, how can I help you?"] before she told me that I was "an absolute b****" (yes, she called me that) that was lying and enjoying doing so, and hung up on me. Wow. I genuinely have to put people on hold with far more cycle backs than that to get information they need and no one has ever called me that before. Not even the people who start off furious as all get-out, swearing Electronics hung up on them repeatedly. (Background, the Electronics option does automatically disconnect people, so when they get to me they are frustrated and I have to get them all relaxed and happy before putting them on hold for Electronics.) Not even the people that have the misfortune of needing Hardlines, whose goal in life is to pretend they didn't hear a phone call was for them, so it takes a bit (and sometimes a manager) to get them to pick up. In fact, I don't think I've been called any direct swear words before. And I was genuinely trying to help her for most of the phone call and she treated me like that the entire time???
Having worked in AT&T's Global Sales and Service division, I know exactly how you feel. And have been called more direct swear words than half the population has ever heard, and in more languages than I knew existed befor I worked there! You did well.

That's lovely. You really should publish.
Thank you. If I had a clue how to go about it, I might consider it! Oh...that book you recommended for Arouetta? Is it the one by Eric Berne? If it is, HEY, AROUETTA! I have a line on that book right now. PM me!

Okay, I know I don't have time for this, but if I don't rant I'm going to break something and we can't afford to replace anything. So. AWM is in the hospital; I got off work to find her to ashen with chest pain, arm pain, and nausea. I took her to the ER (actually, I kind of laid down the law--I told her she could go in an ambulance or she could get in the car). The doctors think something happened to one of her stents, so they've got her scheduled for an internal camera (can't remember what it's called) to see what happened and if they can repair it, replace it, or if she needs surgery. Depending on the results she'll either be coming home Tuesday or next Monday. (When they put the stents in they wanted to do a double bypass--but AWM is not very fond of the idea of surgery.) I had to bang my head against the nurses--when I slipped home for a brief (two and a half hour) nap, the doctor came by and said the only pain medicine she can have is morphine--and I told them in the ER (SEVERAL TIMES) that she has a nasty reaction to morphine and that it will kill her. (They had to look it up before they believed me, and when I left they were contacting the doctor to get him to change the orders.) Well, obviously I couldn't work tonight (I was scheduled to), so I called and explained the situation to my boss, and long story short I'm working the rest of the week. I will make it. I will.

Also, I went to the rehab center where Grandma currently is, to go through the whole issue of them thinking I'm lying about having a relative in there because she wasn't in the computer (there seems to have been a problem with people sneaking in and harassing random patients). The problem, of course, was that between the last time she was in the rehab center she switched from using her current married name to her previous married name. Well, she was asleep (of course, it was after ten at night) and I didn't want to wake her up, so I left a message about AWM with the on-duty nurse--only to have a dizziness attack. She wanted to call an ambulance and I didn't let her (of course).

So, now I'm doing chores, getting ready to go back to the hospital to do battle with the doctor once again (they have banned salt!!!!!), and I just had to get it off my chest before going--or breaking something or someone.

While I was there earlier (with salt and dinner), AWM got a call from LS who said everything would be fine--because I'm here. Part of me was touched, part of me was annoyed, and part of me wanted to scream that even I have a breaking point and this year is making me reach it.
Good grief, my Darlin Girl! What a year you are having! At some point, you are going to have to take some "ME TIME" without fail. We can't lose you.

I'm ordering pizza tonight. I've been hoping the budget would allow it, and it will. It's been months.
 

arouetta

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Wow! Arouetta, if you've gone this long without being cursed at, you may have set a record.
I've heard things like "god **** it", but I've never had anyone who has questioned the legitimacy of my paternity, told me to do the anatomically impossible or refer to me as female genitalia. And until yesterday no one has referred to me as an intact female dog. Those aren't the words of the frustrated; those are personal attacks.

While there is a ton of wisdom in your final paragraph (quoting text on a phone is far too difficult), there's not really a good way of applying it if the person won't listen. And that's what I had last night. She at first wouldn't even let me ask questions to figure out what was going on. She didn't listen when I was explaining about the kiosk and saying we didn't have a lab, as proven by her yelling when I said I was going to get someone on the line. She got a bee up her bonnet somehow and she simply wanted someone to yell at without really wanting a resolution. No one can work with someone whose sole intent is that.
 
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