What cheeses me off ...

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mobygeek

307 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 16328 4-Oct-2007 17:17

Just for a laugh, what are your petty gripes? If you look at 'overseas telemarketers' in this forum, you can see a few, including my boss's bug-bear, the junk fax. Wet phones are mine... (Not to mention some car plates...) what's yours?

Go on, have fun......

1 | 2

95 posts

Master Geek

# 89525 4-Oct-2007 18:04

Hmmm.... What Cheezes Me Off. Used to be a segment on an Aussie TV show 30-odd years ago ...

In the non-technology world it's fiction with really AMAZING coincidences or stuff that just would NOT happen.

Like the FBI agent that has an idea who the killer is but doesn't discuss it with his partner while he thinks about it overnight. He then goes and sleeps alone in his cabin in the woods. His female partner then sleeps alone in an isolated motel. Guess who comes to visit them (both).

Or the retired head of US security that honeymoons in a remote location and just happens to visit a tourist attraction at the EXACT instant that the biggest, baddest terrorist in the world (that nobody has pictures of) is sussing the place out.

In the technology world it is easy. Microsoft. A brilliant company with a stack of really clever people, great marketing, ground breaking innovations (usually stolent or borrowed but that's the way life is). The problem is that they often design rubbish. I have to admit that things are much better now but I am an old man with a long memory when it comes to crap products and they will forever live on as the people that made the most money from crap code. (He writes this, of course, using IE on a Windows box with no non-MS software ...)

Probably worse, though, is cheap hardware. When you pay $80 for an ADSL Router there is not a lot of margin in that to ensure that the product actually works. These guys ship stuff that just does not work with the plan of releasing firmware updates at a later date to fix the stuff that should never get in there. It's the price we pay for "Good enough" products.

Top of the list has got to be crappy service. I was stunned today when a Telecom Faults person logged my call, followed it up, offered to divert my down lines to my mobile, checked the diversion an hour later, found it was not working, put the request in again, called both lines to make sure that diversions worked. Man, she deserves a medal and I made sure that she knew it. This contrasts very strongly with the Phillipines based crew handling an ADSL call a few weeks ago that really did not care. No follow up, no personal involvement, no resolution. THAT pisses me off.

DS

tonyhughes

Hawkes Bay
8477 posts

Uber Geek

Mod Emeritus

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

# 89527 4-Oct-2007 18:15

Im so worried about the baggage retrieval system they've got at Heathrow

Basekid

70 posts

Master Geek

# 89532 4-Oct-2007 18:48

I get really annoyed when people leave the tap running when they are brusing their teeth / whatever

Or that when you reinstalled windows all the settings are just the other way around than you want them...

n00dy

479 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 89535 4-Oct-2007 19:14

customer who give you a hard time when the problem had nothing to do with you and you are doing your best to fix it and when you finally do that miraculous job they cant even be bothered to thank you .

KiwiOverseas66

173 posts

Master Geek

# 89539 4-Oct-2007 19:35

the herd mentality. Simply assuming something is right because everyone feels the same way (as I like to say - that just makes it common, doesn't mean its right).

Also, arrogance in the tech industry. Yes - sometimes people screw things up but that's no reason to lord over them just because they're not an engineer as well.

Lastly - the cultural cringe! Why oh why do we have to continually compare ourselves to what the ozzies, brits, or yanks do to find out if we're doing the right thing? Since when have they gotten it so right! Hopefully we can come up with something a bit more original that a cut and paste ozzie/ brit/ OECD answer?

Nightwyrm

588 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

# 89540 4-Oct-2007 19:42

George W Bush and all his brown-nosing cronies

KiwiOverseas66: Also, arrogance in the tech industry. Yes - sometimes people screw things up but that's no reason to lord over them just because they're not an engineer as well.

I particularly dislike these people that you see in development forums like on the Java site - instead of being smug and pretentious, they could actually help others learn what they know. (you never see these people on Geekzone of course

)

Post-geek, opinionated mediaphile, and natural born cynic. Jack of all genres, master of none.

mobygeek

307 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 89541 4-Oct-2007 19:49

Kiwioverseas66, don't laugh but I am an aussie in NZ!!! Plus What cheezes me off was from Hey Hey it's saturday, which my little brother and I watched on Saturday MORNINGS, and then I move back to aussie and it's on at night and now it's gone. The loss of Ozzie Ostrich cheesed me off, but I loved the 'I hate almond icing' Tshirts, and the pet of the week. Plus the guy who used to dress up as a garden gnome. I nearly wet myself laughing when they put the two together and the puppy was licking the garden gnome's face. Don't know how he didn't move... must've been stoned... NOt me!!! the garden gnome...

Plus for Signz - I reckon the crocodile hunter was greatly influenced by McGuyver. Now he really cheezed me off.

Having fun on this one... must go and check my other posts...

PS. is there a shortcut for saying nearly wet myself laughing or will I make one up. How about NWMSL?

riahon

931 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 89545 4-Oct-2007 20:11

Not so much now but..... years ago I would give an opinion / advice about a parenting issue with my wife. This of course turned into an arguement as she would not see my point of view. A few months later - her best friend happens to discuss the same issue and her friend has the same opinion as me. Then..... (this is the part) she comes in and TELLS ME what she has just found out!! What am I? invisible??

nzbnw

2366 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Spark

# 89547 4-Oct-2007 20:19

Being told by a customer service rep one thing, then when you want to go ahead, you find out you have been mis informed, or worse they go ahead and do something else!

But most of all people who complain about how expensive things are in New Zealand (includes everything). My responce will have to be straight from the movie Blood Diamonds, "TIA" (This is Africa), or in our case 'TINZ' (This is New Zealand).

nzbnw

mobygeek

307 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 89551 4-Oct-2007 20:26

Riahon - yes, you are invisible, if you have teenagers... (I actually got one of those horrible forwards about being invisible the other day.)

I get really cheezed off by friends who send me forwards but never remember to give me a personal note... like, hello, how are you?

signz

95 posts

Master Geek

# 89552 4-Oct-2007 20:29

Hey Hey it's saturday

Hmmm... Oswald Q., Jackie, Plucka, Dickie ... long, long ago. Had lunch with Mr Somers and Co a long while ago at the Great Northern. Well, we ate lunch at our table and they at theirs on the other side of the Bistro but ....

DS