arrrgh!!!!!!!!

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by rhubarbodendron, Jan 9, 2013.

  1. trekkiedane

    trekkiedane Admiral Admiral

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    No I don't, I call it benzin :p
     
  2. rhubarbodendron

    rhubarbodendron Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Don't worry, dear, the police can easily find that out.
    You know on which day, at which place and around which time it happened. It shouldn't be a problem to list all companies who made a delivery to that place within that timeframe. Then the officers just have to check the lorries in question for damages or traces of paint from your car (even the best scrubbing can't remove all the evidence). The owner of the lorry will be able to name the driver and - voila! - the police has the culprit.
    If your insurance insists, you may have to pay for teh repair in advance but you'll get it back once they found the lorry driver. If it's a really good insurance, they'll pay for you and get it back from the driver themselves.
     
  3. JRS

    JRS Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Why so many people hang up on Skype or otherwise leave without saying good bye or at least telling me why they leave?
    I have recently chatted with some people online and this seems to be a trend almost. I find it odd and honestly slightly rude because I always tend to excuse myself before leaving.
    Maybe I am way too polite, who knows:vulcan:
     
  4. B.J.

    B.J. Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    ^Maybe they're part of the texting generation, not used to the proper etiquette when using a phone, Skype, or other live system?
     
  5. rhubarbodendron

    rhubarbodendron Vice Admiral Admiral

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    rudeness appears to be a general trend nowadays. People with good manners are definitely a species close to extinction.

    More and more staff in shops greet their customers with a "hello". And when ever so diplomatically you point out to them that "hello" is something you say to friends and family (and on the phone) but not to an esteemed customer, they get pissed.
     
  6. thestrangequark

    thestrangequark Admiral Admiral

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    Wait...what? What's wrong with 'hello'?
     
  7. Tora Ziyal

    Tora Ziyal Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Hmm. I can't think of a situation where "hello" would be considered inappropriate. But then, Rhubarbodendron isn't in the US.
     
  8. thestrangequark

    thestrangequark Admiral Admiral

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    ^Ah, yes, that could be the difference.

    I suspect that people aren't actually getting ruder, and that it just seems that way. It's the duty of every generation to lament the deterioration of the next, yet somehow we manage to remain civilized.
     
  9. Shanndee

    Shanndee Commodore Commodore

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    Yes, I think we're experiencing an unexpected cultural difference.

    I'm curious, what is the accepted greeting in a customer service setting where you are Rhubarbodendron?
     
    Last edited: Jan 31, 2013
  10. trekkiedane

    trekkiedane Admiral Admiral

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    ^"Guten Tag/Morgen/Abend" I suppose.
     
  11. Tora Ziyal

    Tora Ziyal Vice Admiral Admiral

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    "Good morning/afternoon/evening" is used here, too. Just not to the exclusion of "hello".
     
  12. trekkiedane

    trekkiedane Admiral Admiral

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    They also have this thing about the personal pronoun (?) where you have one that's supposedly more respectful of people you use it with and another one you're only supposed to use amongst friends and siblings, Sie/Du. -A relic, no doubt, from the ancient ages where being older than you automatically made people more important than you and therefore to be addressed accordingly...

    We have the same thing here, and while the word used to address your 'betters' with almost disappeared from use in the latter half of the last century, I'm afraid it's having a comeback these days :rolleyes:
     
  13. rhubarbodendron

    rhubarbodendron Vice Admiral Admiral

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    yes, precisely. We have two different forms of addressing people:
    du [doo] is reserved to very close acquaintances (usually after several years), friends and family. Sie [see] is for everyone else. It's just like the English you and thou.
    Btw, the capital letter in Sie is no typo. It's a form of respect, like the capital L in the Lord's prayer. And it makes it easier to distinguish between Sie and sie (thou and she).

    While a hello would be completely acceptable with people you address informally (i.e. with du), it is inappropriate with people you address formally (with Sie). For them you'd give the time of day: guten Morgen, guten Abend (good morning, good evening) or a general guten Tag (good day). In Bavaria we say grüß Gott, short for God bless you.

    Basically, for a German to be greeted with "hello", would be like an American or Briton being greeted with "hi there!"
     
  14. trekkiedane

    trekkiedane Admiral Admiral

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    But isn't "hiya" a perfectly acceptable greeting in British?
     
  15. thestrangequark

    thestrangequark Admiral Admiral

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    "Hi there!" is totally acceptable, especially in the south. :p
     
  16. Shanndee

    Shanndee Commodore Commodore

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    Thank you for clearing that up!

    I was having an unpleasant flashback to the first retail job I had while on a working holiday in England over 20 years ago. In the space of 3 hours I had one guy (not British) whistle for my attention as I finished with my customer. I walked away with great purpose towards a different customer and let someone else respond...I am not a dog! (My supervisor laughed and told me I had a few things to learn about how things worked over here).

    The second guy (also not British) made a hissing sound to get service. What?? My co-workers once again talked me down. They just told me that with so many different people from so many different places shopping in the store I had to respond to everything, and accept that whatever they did was probably normal where they were from.

    I had a hard time adjusting to that. I also didn't stay in that job for very long! :lol:
     
  17. rhubarbodendron

    rhubarbodendron Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I'm totally angry & sad today. I had a somewhat shabby Schefflera plant on a window sill in the corridor at my office that I was nursing through a massive lice infestation and the idiotic janitor threw it out on the compost. It had 24 hours frost on its naked roots before I discovered it! I've had this one for 35 years but it looks very much like it's completely dead now. The sheer impertinence of throwing something away without asking who it belongs to! (Plus keeping the expensive pot.) I could kill that idiot!
    Just in case I replanted and watered it but the chances are astronomically small. I am tempted to plant the janitor instead. Into a very small pot
     
  18. Ghost07

    Ghost07 Vice Admiral In Memoriam

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    Did you say something to the janitor? What excuse did he give you?
     
  19. Ghost07

    Ghost07 Vice Admiral In Memoriam

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    Maintenance came today and put together my new computer desk; then dragged the old monster desk out for me.

    When he transferred my computer to the new desk, he had to unplug all the wires in the back of the tower thing in order to put it on it's shelf...then plug everything back in again...

    He plugged SOMEthing in wrong, because now I have no sound; and I have no idea which wire is in the wrong spot. :( Now what do I do?
     
  20. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    And of course Rammstein fans.

    [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZeciX-3wfs[/yt]