 |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Source: (consider it)
|
Thread: Roses, foxgloves, snowdrops, blue forget-me-nots
|
|
|
Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Piglet:
When I worked in the UK, January was always a long month - in Belfast we were paid on Christmas Eve, and, depending on how the days of the month fell, pay-day in January could be as much as six weeks after pay-day in December. ![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
When I lived in Portugal many years ago, I discovered that annual pay was divided up into thirteen parts. This meant that you got "normal" pay every month, but a double dollop in December. The total pay was the same, but it certainly tided people over Christmas. I don't know if they still do this.
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
la vie en rouge
Parisienne
# 10688
|
Posted
A “thirteenth month” is quite common in France. My last place of employment had one, divided up into two bits, paid in June and December.
Back to our favourite topic (food ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif) ): husband en rouge has spent his Christmas money on Auguste Escoffier’s recipe book, updated by a couple of chefs to be workable in a modern kitchen. I am deeply excited about this, although my arteries should probably be quite worried. How much butter can one human being ingest?
--------------------
Rent my holiday home in the South of France
Posts: 3696 | Registered: Nov 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Boogie
Boogie on down!
# 13538
|
Posted
My son had a 'thirteenth month' in Germany. A great idea!
We had the opposite when I started teaching - double salary in July, none in August - a terrible idea!
Today we have drizzle, drizzle, drizzle - so the puppy's training involved a garden centre which has a nice covered outside bit to practice lead walking and some cafe training - my favourite 🐾🐾
--------------------
Garden. Room. Walk
Posts: 13030 | From: Boogie Wonderland | Registered: Mar 2008
| IP: Logged
|
|
Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
How much butter can one human being ingest?
Surely the question should be, "How much butter can one human being ingest and survive?"
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Sipech
Shipmate
# 16870
|
Posted
You could always try creating your own thirteenth month. It's kind of how I save for Christmas.
Every month I squirrel away a bit of money into a separate bank account and don't allow myself to make any withdrawals from that account. Only when I start my Christmas shopping (usually around October) do I use it to pay off my credit card bills. That way, the money doesn't come out in huge chunks from my monthly disposable income.
--------------------
I try to be self-deprecating; I'm just not very good at it.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheAlethiophile
Posts: 3791 | From: On the corporate ladder | Registered: Jan 2012
| IP: Logged
|
|
Sioni Sais
Shipmate
# 5713
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
quote:
Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
How much butter can one human being ingest?
Surely the question should be, "How much butter can one human being ingest and survive?"
The Tarte Tatin Mrs Sioni made on our return from France a few years ago must have been close to the limit. Mrs S used sweet shortcrust pastry, made with butter. A two-day pud it wasn't.
eta: we don't have a "thirteenth month" but by putting all the £2 coins aside we paid for Christmas.
[ 06. January 2017, 15:03: Message edited by: Sioni Sais ]
--------------------
"He isn't Doctor Who, he's The Doctor"
(Paul Sinha, BBC)
Posts: 24276 | From: Newport, Wales | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
Pigwidgeon
Ship's Owl
# 10192
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Sipech:
You could always try creating your own thirteenth month. It's kind of how I save for Christmas.
Every month I squirrel away a bit of money into a separate bank account and don't allow myself to make any withdrawals from that account. Only when I start my Christmas shopping (usually around October) do I use it to pay off my credit card bills. That way, the money doesn't come out in huge chunks from my monthly disposable income.
U.S. banks used to offer "Christmas Clubs" which worked on the same idea.
--------------------
"...that is generally a matter for Pigwidgeon, several other consenting adults, a bottle of cheap Gin and the odd giraffe."
~Tortuf
Posts: 9835 | From: Hogwarts | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
|
Posted
Some British supermarkets do the same thing - you get a card and buy stamps to stick on it.
I myself, shopping at Sainsbury's, save up allk my "Nectar" points. This meant that I only had to pay about £2 for my "big" Christmas shop (and that was only because you can only redeem the points in multiples of £5, I had some left over).
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
St. Gwladys
Shipmate
# 14504
|
Posted
Last year I tried saving weekly 10p the first week, 20p the second, etc. I needed £100 in cash a hurry so didn't finish the year, but I've started again this year.
--------------------
"I say - are you a matelot?"
"Careful what you say sir, we're on board ship here"
From "New York Girls", Steeleye Span, Commoners Crown (Voiced by Peter Sellers)
Posts: 3333 | From: Rhymney Valley, South Wales | Registered: Jan 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Piglet
Islander
# 11803
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
... How much butter can one human being ingest?
How much have you got? ![[Devil]](graemlins/devil.gif)
I know I'm always wittering on about Costco ready-cooked chickens (and they are indeed excellent), but the food that our friends have instructed us to use up included a couple of (very) small frozen chickens, so today I decided to have a go at roasting one.
I got a hold of a Blessèd Delia recipe that involved lemon, garlic and thyme and chunks of onion and potatoes roasted round the chicken and it really was as easy as falling off a log. Definitely a "keeper". Although it only fed us once (at under 1kg it really wasn't very big), I turned the bones into a couple of cartons of stock, so we'll get soup and a casserole out of it too.
On the subject of saving for Christmas, I'm utterly rubbish at saving for anything, but when Belfast got a Tesco's their club-card points paid for our Christmas lunch on at least one occasion.
There's a pharmacy chain over here called Shoppers' Drug Mart, and their loyalty card builds up quickly enough that it doesn't take long to have a useful accumulation of points (which can be spent in multiples of $10 or $30). This is a very good thing, as it's ridiculously easy to rack up a $30 bill.
--------------------
I may not be on an island any more, but I'm still an islander.
alto n a soprano who can read music
Posts: 20272 | From: Fredericton, NB, on a rather larger piece of rock | Registered: Sep 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
Pangolin Guerre
Shipmate
# 18686
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
husband en rouge has spent his Christmas money on Auguste Escoffier’s recipe book, updated by a couple of chefs to be workable in a modern kitchen
Was it Ma Cuisine? This very evening I posted about Ma Cuisine on a different site. As I noted there, it was intended for the bourgeois household, but to my reading, it still required an equipe* of three commis* under Madame's command. I would be interested in seeing how the update reads, which recipes were omitted (my 30+ year old edition was 900+ pages), and how the surviving ones were adapted.
*Because I've been admonished previously:
Trans: equipe = lit. team; in this context, those collectively under the chef.
commis = a subordinate; sing. and pl. look the same
Posts: 758 | From: 30 arpents de neige | Registered: Nov 2016
| IP: Logged
|
|
M.
Ship's Spare Part
# 3291
|
Posted
We save Nectar points for Christmas food as well - we had about £200 last year, not a negligible* sum.
M.
*spellchecker changed that to 'negligee' at first!
Posts: 2303 | From: Lurking in Surrey | Registered: Sep 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
The Intrepid Mrs S
Shipmate
# 17002
|
Posted
When I started to claim my UK state pension, I was thrilled to discover that it was paid every four weeks! ![[Yipee]](graemlins/spin.gif)
At one stage Mr. S was paid on the 28th of the month and I was paid on the 15th - that worked very nicely. When I moved to a company that paid on the 6th, that was fine too, until you left, when you suddenly discovered how broke you were!
Mrs. S, no longer gainfully employed
--------------------
Don't get your knickers in a twist over your advancing age. It achieves nothing and makes you walk funny.
Prayer should be our first recourse, not our last resort
'Lord, please give us patience. NOW!'
Posts: 1464 | From: Neither here nor there | Registered: Mar 2012
| IP: Logged
|
|
Boogie
Boogie on down!
# 13538
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by St. Gwladys:
Last year I tried saving weekly 10p the first week, 20p the second, etc. I needed £100 in cash a hurry so didn't finish the year, but I've started again this year.
Please do the sums for me - what does that add up to?
--------------------
Garden. Room. Walk
Posts: 13030 | From: Boogie Wonderland | Registered: Mar 2008
| IP: Logged
|
|
Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
|
Posted
Well, this implies that, in week 52, you are saving £5.20! The total must therefore be around £140.
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Boogie
Boogie on down!
# 13538
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
Well, this implies that, in week 52, you are saving £5.20! The total must therefore be around £140.
Thanks - I like this idea, I'm going to do it 😇😇
--------------------
Garden. Room. Walk
Posts: 13030 | From: Boogie Wonderland | Registered: Mar 2008
| IP: Logged
|
|
Sioni Sais
Shipmate
# 5713
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Boogie:
quote:
Originally posted by St. Gwladys:
Last year I tried saving weekly 10p the first week, 20p the second, etc. I needed £100 in cash a hurry so didn't finish the year, but I've started again this year.
Please do the sums for me - what does that add up to?
It depends. If you double the amount each week, rather than increase it by 10p, it gets very big very fast. Day 3 = 40p, Day 4 = 80p, Day 6 = £1.60 and so on. After a few months you will be saving something close to the budget deficit.
[ 07. January 2017, 18:07: Message edited by: Sioni Sais ]
--------------------
"He isn't Doctor Who, he's The Doctor"
(Paul Sinha, BBC)
Posts: 24276 | From: Newport, Wales | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
|
Posted
Please, what is this thing called say-ving of which you speak?
![[Confused]](confused.gif)
IJ
--------------------
Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
Lothlorien
Ship's Grandma
# 4927
|
Posted
I saw someone down here advocating putting aside $52 the first week of the year. $51 the second and so on. That would be a substantial amount by end of year but somewhat of a shock to the system to begin with.
--------------------
Buy a bale. Help our Aussie rural communities and farmers. Another great cause needing support The High Country Patrol.
Posts: 9745 | From: girt by sea | Registered: Aug 2003
| IP: Logged
|
|
Piglet
Islander
# 11803
|
Posted
I'm delighted to report that my faith in Great British Comedy has been restored. Last night, BBC Canada broadcast a "marathon" of a show called Upstart Crow, written by Ben Elton and featuring David Mitchell as Shakespeare. Think Blackadder meets Shakespeare in Love and you're about there; it was so enjoyable I sat up until a very silly time of night* watching it.
Our clear-out of our friends' fridge continues apace: there was a big load of broccoli and some Stilton, so, having found a book called The Soup Bible, I decided to test D's Soup Theory** and made broccoli and Stilton soup, which, accompanied by some home-made bread, was really very good.
* so silly, in fact, that I realised I'd have to get up in a couple of hours to feed the cat. ![[Snore]](graemlins/snore.gif)
** D. reckons one of the marks of a good restaurant is that they can make soup he likes from ingredients he doesn't. He doesn't like broccoli and I don't particularly like Stilton.
--------------------
I may not be on an island any more, but I'm still an islander.
alto n a soprano who can read music
Posts: 20272 | From: Fredericton, NB, on a rather larger piece of rock | Registered: Sep 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
Stercus Tauri
Shipmate
# 16668
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Piglet:
** D. reckons one of the marks of a good restaurant is that they can make soup he likes from ingredients he doesn't. He doesn't like broccoli and I don't particularly like Stilton.
I don't know about restaurants, but he's dead right where our kitchen is concerned. I don't like broccoli, do not care for parsnips and loathe sweet potatoes, but a couple of days ago I made a good thick winter soup with all of them, plus potatoes and some spices, crumbled blue cheese on top, and It Was Good.
--------------------
Thay haif said. Quhat say thay, Lat thame say (George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal)
Posts: 905 | From: On the traditional lands of the Six Nations. | Registered: Sep 2011
| IP: Logged
|
|
Nicodemia
WYSIWYG
# 4756
|
Posted
Glad someone else loathes sweet potatoes! I always feel such a yokel when I read foodie articles - they are apparently the route to healthy heaven if you believe what they write!
Posts: 4544 | From: not too far from Manchester, UK | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged
|
|
Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
|
Posted
Glad you liked Upstart Crow Piglet. The one where he thought he saw Banquo's ghost had me roaring out loud.
I still have the horrible virus that's been going round, so am having a lazy morning rtaher than goign to church and coughing over everyone.
--------------------
'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
Posts: 2035 | From: London | Registered: Jan 2007
| IP: Logged
|
|
M.
Ship's Spare Part
# 3291
|
Posted
Humour really is in the eye of the beholder, isn't it? Neither Macarius nor I liked Upsatart Crow at all!
Urgh - thinking about trying to get to work tomorrow. I am trapped by Southern Rail. I am one of the lucky ones in that my work does not mean I have to be in dead on time, my boss is very supportive and I can work from home. But I get a knot in my chest as I walk to the station and am near to tears not knowing what will be happening with the trains each time. And tomorrow we have the joy of an underground strike on top, so I will have to walk from the mainline station to work (which is fine, except I'm carting my laptop and papers around with me everywhere at the mo, in case I can't get in).
A plague on both their houses!
M.
Posts: 2303 | From: Lurking in Surrey | Registered: Sep 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
|
Posted
Indeed - if only (a) government, and (b) union bosses all had to rely on public transport....
Sarasa, what you have, I'm afraid, is The Dreaded Lurgy. There is only one cure, and (as I may have remarked elsewhere) it has only one malt in it. May TDL soon be gone....
I've just noticed that outside, in the Wide World, there is a great big Round Yellow Thing shining in the sky...
IJ
--------------------
Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
|
Posted
....the big Round Yellow Thing is not , I think, the Star of the Magi...
...but they'd welcome it in Greece, which, along with many other parts of Europe today, is very cold indeed.
IJ
--------------------
Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
Curiosity killed ...
Ship's Mug
# 11770
|
Posted
I wasn't convinced by Upstart Crow either, but lots of people disagree, as obtaining the tickets for the recordings has moved from lots or reminders to one reminder and a lottery allocation.
I saw two Epiphany concerts yesterday - an afternoon concert from the BBC Singers conducted by Sofi Jeannin with a very Scandinavian themed selection at St Paul's, Knightsbridge. She is currently director of Chorus of Radio France, the French equivalent of the BBC Singers. I wasn't impressed by the Anders Hillborg piece muosaaeyiyosoum* but the rest was amazing. This one will be broadcast next week sometime.
The second concert was by Porcupine Production in St James's Piccadilly which opened with the 2015 winner of A Carol for Christmas, Christmas Bells by Jo Nicholls and another modern carol Could it be Christ? by Emily Hazrati, well performed by a female ensemble. Britten's The Journey of the Magi wasn't great because the counter-tenor wasn't up to it, followed by Britten's A Ceremony of Carols sung by the female group in I guess the SSA version. The second half was Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors which I hadn't come across before, but was charming - a one act operetta about the Magi.
And I got to see the Serpentine Gallery and the Zaha Hadid exhibition.
I'm dreading tomorrow too - my journey is reliant on the underground and is going to necessitate catching the 6:09 bus for starters, followed by two other buses.
* according to the composer it doesn't mean anything, it's a vocalisation of phonetics to get a sound to set to music.
eta sort out coding
[ 08. January 2017, 13:01: Message edited by: Curiosity killed ... ]
--------------------
Mugs - Keep the Ship afloat
Posts: 13794 | From: outiside the outer ring road | Registered: Aug 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
Piglet
Islander
# 11803
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Bishops Finger:
... [in] many other parts of Europe today, is very cold indeed.
A FB friend is on holiday in Annecy at the moment, having decided to go now because her holiday in the autumn was a washout, and she posted pictures of snow this morning.
Best of luck to those of you who have to get about tomorrow morning - your transport system seems to be sadly lacking at the moment.
--------------------
I may not be on an island any more, but I'm still an islander.
alto n a soprano who can read music
Posts: 20272 | From: Fredericton, NB, on a rather larger piece of rock | Registered: Sep 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
Tree Bee
Ship's tiller girl
# 4033
|
Posted
I really enjoyed Upstart Crow, but then I'm not Shakespeare's biggest fan.
Travelling mercies for those struggling to w**k tomorrow.
--------------------
"Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it simple."
— Woody Guthrie
http://saysaysay54.wordpress.com
Posts: 5257 | From: me to you. | Registered: Feb 2003
| IP: Logged
|
|
Heavenly Anarchist
Shipmate
# 13313
|
Posted
I have an unwell child at home with a stomach upset. I'm not feeling brilliant myself (still not completely shaken off my viral chest infection which laid me up over Christmas) so it's going to be a very lazy day round here with some crochet. I need to do a little work online with my students but I'm working up to that this afternoon.
Some of my Tudor re-enactment friends really enjoyed Upstart Crow so I might look into it.
--------------------
'I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.' Douglas Adams
Dog Activity Monitor
My shop
Posts: 2831 | From: Trumpington | Registered: Jan 2008
| IP: Logged
|
|
St. Gwladys
Shipmate
# 14504
|
Posted
I'm getting fed up of calls from "talktalk" - I've had two in the last hour. The first caller told me my internet was going to be down for 15 days and was rather nonplussed when I just treated that calmly and she put the phone down on me. The second told me there was a problem with my router and they could arrange for an engineer to look at it, free of charge. They put the phone down when I told them I was disabled and couldn't get upstairs to switch the computer on. Mind, when I said that to another caller last week, he called me "liar" and put the phone down.
Lord P was home over Christmas and has built a "virtual computer" - haven't a clue how - but kept a caller on the line for over an hour last week before telling them that he was looking at all their files!
Does anyone else have good tactics for dealing with these calls? (This could almost be a thread in itself!)
--------------------
"I say - are you a matelot?"
"Careful what you say sir, we're on board ship here"
From "New York Girls", Steeleye Span, Commoners Crown (Voiced by Peter Sellers)
Posts: 3333 | From: Rhymney Valley, South Wales | Registered: Jan 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
|
Posted
Boo to annoying calls from 'computer' firms St. Gwladys. Luckily we don't seem to get too many of those things, though we kept on getting a recorded one for, I think, windows, that started 'with winter coming..' I put the phone down before they got any further.
I'm trying to ignore this annoying virus and went for a longish walk today, sorting out an audiology appointment and signing up to a calligraphy class on the way, all of which made me feel vituous.
I'm now going to settle down to watch Father Brown and do some knitting.
--------------------
'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
Posts: 2035 | From: London | Registered: Jan 2007
| IP: Logged
|
|
Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
|
Posted
My late Auntie Ethel, on receiving calls trying to sell her double-glazing etc. etc., would express keen interest for some minutes, and then say that she would have to go and consult my Uncle Tom. Half-an-hour later, she would return, only to find (no surprise) that the cold caller had long ago got even colder, and rung off.
At the time when she was receiving these nuisance calls quite frequently, Uncle Tom had been lying quietly in his grave for several years....
Of course, she could have just put the phone down on the cold caller, but she had a curious sense of humour.... ![[Paranoid]](graemlins/paranoid.gif)
IJ
--------------------
Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
Pigwidgeon
Ship's Owl
# 10192
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Bishops Finger:
My late Auntie Ethel, on receiving calls trying to sell her double-glazing etc. etc., would express keen interest for some minutes, and then say that she would have to go and consult my Uncle Tom. Half-an-hour later, she would return, only to find (no surprise) that the cold caller had long ago got even colder, and rung off.
At the time when she was receiving these nuisance calls quite frequently, Uncle Tom had been lying quietly in his grave for several years....
Of course, she could have just put the phone down on the cold caller, but she had a curious sense of humour....
IJ
I no longer get these calls, but I used to use a similar tactic. I would feign interest in what they were selling, but would excuse myself to turn down the TV, radio, whatever. It usually took quite some time (while I went about whatever I'd been doing before being rudely interrupted by their call) before I could hear the dial tone. One person called me back, and I explained that I hadn't meant I would turn down the TV right away, but was waiting for the show to be over.
--------------------
"...that is generally a matter for Pigwidgeon, several other consenting adults, a bottle of cheap Gin and the odd giraffe."
~Tortuf
Posts: 9835 | From: Hogwarts | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
ArachnidinElmet
Shipmate
# 17346
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by St. Gwladys:
Does anyone else have good tactics for dealing with these calls? (This could almost be a thread in itself!)
If you have the energy, the father of a friend used to let the caller go on for a bit then say "Now you've said your piece, let me say mine" and then tell them at length about his last holiday or the weather outside. The recipe for a quickly finished phone call.
Posts: 1887 | From: the rhubarb triangle | Registered: Sep 2012
| IP: Logged
|
|
Jengie jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by St. Gwladys:
I'm getting fed up of calls from "talktalk" - I've had two in the last hour. The first caller told me my internet was going to be down for 15 days and was rather nonplussed when I just treated that calmly and she put the phone down on me. The second told me there was a problem with my router and they could arrange for an engineer to look at it, free of charge. They put the phone down when I told them I was disabled and couldn't get upstairs to switch the computer on. Mind, when I said that to another caller last week, he called me "liar" and put the phone down.
Lord P was home over Christmas and has built a "virtual computer" - haven't a clue how - but kept a caller on the line for over an hour last week before telling them that he was looking at all their files!
Does anyone else have good tactics for dealing with these calls? (This could almost be a thread in itself!)
At some time the user base of TalkTalk was leaked and so they call people. I let one go on for a while and then thanked them for their concern but as I was currently with another supplier I somehow suspect they were not from TalkTalk.
Jengie
--------------------
"To violate a persons ability to distinguish fact from fantasy is the epistemological equivalent of rape." Noretta Koertge
Back to my blog
Posts: 20894 | From: city of steel, butterflies and rainbows | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Sipech
Shipmate
# 16870
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by St. Gwladys:
Does anyone else have good tactics for dealing with these calls? (This could almost be a thread in itself!)
My tactic is to try to talk to the human being on the other end, and ask them about their hopes, dreams, ambitions, fears. Ask them if they really wanted to be a call centre worker and if not, what was stopping them from pursuing an alternative career. None thus far have ever engaged. But in my heart of hearts, I have a hope that I've prompted one or two resignations in favour of a more worthwhile job.
--------------------
I try to be self-deprecating; I'm just not very good at it.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheAlethiophile
Posts: 3791 | From: On the corporate ladder | Registered: Jan 2012
| IP: Logged
|
|
St. Gwladys
Shipmate
# 14504
|
Posted
Lord P did a stint as a door to door canvasser for an agency collecting for Hadith and got sacked because he didn't pull in enough pledges over a certain amount per month. He now does what you'd like to do, Sipech, if he's in when we get someone at the door.
--------------------
"I say - are you a matelot?"
"Careful what you say sir, we're on board ship here"
From "New York Girls", Steeleye Span, Commoners Crown (Voiced by Peter Sellers)
Posts: 3333 | From: Rhymney Valley, South Wales | Registered: Jan 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
St. Gwladys
Shipmate
# 14504
|
Posted
(Blast predictive text - meant to say "charity")
--------------------
"I say - are you a matelot?"
"Careful what you say sir, we're on board ship here"
From "New York Girls", Steeleye Span, Commoners Crown (Voiced by Peter Sellers)
Posts: 3333 | From: Rhymney Valley, South Wales | Registered: Jan 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Rosa Gallica officinalis
Shipmate
# 3886
|
Posted
It doesn't take long to report nuisance calls. Doing so may earn the companies nice big fines. The more people that report them the bigger the fines.
My mother used to say she would ask the budgie if he wanted double glazing-the house was already done. She also used to keep a sports whistle next to the phone to blast persistent offenders.
--------------------
Come for tea, come for tea, my people.
Posts: 874 | From: The Hemlock Hideout | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged
|
|
Boogie
Boogie on down!
# 13538
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Sipech:
quote:
Originally posted by St. Gwladys:
Does anyone else have good tactics for dealing with these calls? (This could almost be a thread in itself!)
My tactic is to try to talk to the human being on the other end, and ask them about their hopes, dreams, ambitions, fears. Ask them if they really wanted to be a call centre worker and if not, what was stopping them from pursuing an alternative career. None thus far have ever engaged. But in my heart of hearts, I have a hope that I've prompted one or two resignations in favour of a more worthwhile job.
Hmmmm, my niece worked in a call centre. She was a student at the time financing her degree. She now has a PhD and an excellent job.
Not all of them will lack ambition.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
--------------------
Garden. Room. Walk
Posts: 13030 | From: Boogie Wonderland | Registered: Mar 2008
| IP: Logged
|
|
Curiosity killed ...
Ship's Mug
# 11770
|
Posted
Lots of call workers know it's a rotten job but they don't have a huge amount of option instead of this one, so talking to them about how bad a job is isn't that great.
TalkTalk say that the router thing is a scam and how to report it.
--------------------
Mugs - Keep the Ship afloat
Posts: 13794 | From: outiside the outer ring road | Registered: Aug 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
|
Posted
Not sure how true this is, but I'm told that many firms' call centres are in India (I think BT is one), and that jobs in such centres are highly sought after, and comparatively well-paid.
On the odd occasion I've had to contact BT (failing Broadband, problems with billing), I've received nothing but the utmost courtesy and practical help from the person at the call centre.
Not the same as the unwelcome cold callers, of course!
IJ
--------------------
Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
Piglet
Islander
# 11803
|
Posted
A chap we used to know had quite an effective cold-caller strategy: "This is Smith the butler speaking; I'm afraid His Lordship is unavailable at the moment".
![[Killing me]](graemlins/killingme.gif)
For reasons I can't explain, I felt ridiculously sleepy this morning (it's not even as if I was particularly busy yesterday or didn't sleep well), so apart from baking a batch of loaves and feeding the cat, I've had a very lazy day.
I suppose I could use the excuse that my body's still fighting the cold I developed after Christmas ... ![[Biased]](wink.gif)
It was a beautiful, sunny day, but the temperature never got above -15° so it was quite nice not to have to do anything.
--------------------
I may not be on an island any more, but I'm still an islander.
alto n a soprano who can read music
Posts: 20272 | From: Fredericton, NB, on a rather larger piece of rock | Registered: Sep 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
Stercus Tauri
Shipmate
# 16668
|
Posted
The "Do not call" list is reasonably effective for filtering out legitimate, but unwanted, calls here, so it's fairly safe to assume that most cold calls are scammers, and I have numerous simple minded ways to amuse myself while discouraging them. The latest one exploits the fact that I have a phone in the garage close to the table saw, so I politely ask the caller if he would just hold on a moment while I finish a small job that I am doing. It makes a diabolical noise. The drawback is that being somewhat deficient of short term memory, I don't always remember to put the phone back after the poor caller has deserted his post.
--------------------
Thay haif said. Quhat say thay, Lat thame say (George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal)
Posts: 905 | From: On the traditional lands of the Six Nations. | Registered: Sep 2011
| IP: Logged
|
|
Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
|
Posted
Another method, which I admit I haven't tried, might be to simply announce to the cold-caller (in doleful tones) that you've Just Died....
Meanwhile, our current spell of mild weather is likely to be succeeded later in the week by SNOW!
Probably not the many inches known in pigletland, but even a light dusting (think icing sugar) brings this part of the UK to a halt....
IJ
--------------------
Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
Galloping Granny
Shipmate
# 13814
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Bishops Finger:
Stewed trotters (crossed or not) go nicely with a smidgin of cheese...
![[Snigger]](graemlins/snigger.gif)
IJ
From Piglet: Go away, BF.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4NWehvRjOs
--------------------
The Kingdom of Heaven is spread upon the earth, and men do not see it. Gospel of Thomas, 113
Posts: 2629 | From: Matarangi | Registered: Jun 2008
| IP: Logged
|
|
Galloping Granny
Shipmate
# 13814
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by St. Gwladys:
Lord P did a stint as a door to door canvasser for an agency collecting for Hadith and got sacked because he didn't pull in enough pledges over a certain amount per month. He now does what you'd like to do, Sipech, if he's in when we get someone at the door.
I have a sticker on the verandah post that says 'Do not Knock'. Mind, I hadn't had door knockers for quite a while, but I put it up after I felt really sorry for a sad little man I couldn't be rude to.
GG
--------------------
The Kingdom of Heaven is spread upon the earth, and men do not see it. Gospel of Thomas, 113
Posts: 2629 | From: Matarangi | Registered: Jun 2008
| IP: Logged
|
|
Moo
Ship's tough old bird
# 107
|
Posted
Piglet, how are you and D getting along with the cat?
Moo
--------------------
Kerygmania host
---------------------
See you later, alligator.
Posts: 20365 | From: Alleghany Mountains of Virginia | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
Contact us | Ship of Fools | Privacy statement
© Ship of Fools 2016
UBB.classicTM
6.5.0
|
|
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Thread closed
Printer-friendly view
