United Kingdom chat thread V3: We still miss our empire
5,001 replies, posted
Don't you get to leave earlier if you don't take your break?
[QUOTE=metallics;52567628]Are you ok?[/QUOTE]
no
I spend my lunch hour practising guitar. There's always an empty meeting room that I use.
I suppose it's filling the hour with something you enjoy, but i would prefer if I could just leave earlier.
[QUOTE=Bengley;52567756]30 minute breaks are pretty standard.
I'm a train driver and we only get 30 minute breaks - our shifts are 9h54m sometimes (though average is around 9h)
That's in an industry with strong unions too. Office workers who get a 'lunch hour' have it good.[/QUOTE]
How do you manage that if you're a smoker? Having a cig in one 30 minute window during an almost 10hr shift seems really hard. When I realised how tight they are with break times, I genuinely considered nicotine patches / gum, else I'd be frothing at the mouth 3 hours into my shift.
Seeing how terrible the working conditions are in warehouses, I genuinely don't know why people don't do apprenticeships, instead of staying in a soul-destroying job like that (I spoke to a fair few people there, and they'd been there for years with barely any promotion prospects). I've been to companies like Siemens and Caterpillar, and things are run so much nicer there, and you can start as an apprentice, and as long as you pass and work hard, you've got a guaranteed job offer with the company once you finish your apprenticeship.
I bucked up and applied for retail positions. Having seen how tough warehouse guys have it, I figured dealing with the occasional shitter of a customer balances out the slightly more humane working conditions. Will ask during the interview (if I get one) if they have any night shifts going, cause tbh spending 8 hours at night stacking shelves in a supermarket seems like my kind of jam, and the 25% premium on my hourly rate is definitely a boon. Gonna go see if my local Waterstones has any job vacancies as well. I have no idea what the job entails. Probably lots of book stacking, and helping customers out with book recommendations? Waterstones seems to have a much healthier work ethic, every time I walk into one, the employees don't have that typical thousand yard stare, and actually seem genuinely happy.
[QUOTE=Adam.GameDev;52568033]Don't you get to leave earlier if you don't take your break?[/QUOTE]
Probably depends on the place - In my previous place I had managers who considered the lunch break part of the day/contract regardless of if you went away from your desk to take it, so even if you worked through lunch all you were doing was using your lunch break time to work.
Others wouldn't really pay attention to the fact that you haven't taken a break and only see you leaving early, I had a different project where we were on flexitime and for a while I was coming in at 7.30, not taking a lunch hour and leaving at 3pm (Contracted 9-5.30) and it didnt take long for someone to ask me why I wasn't working my full contracted hours.
[QUOTE=loopoo;52568106]How do you manage that if you're a smoker? Having a cig in one 30 minute window during an almost 10hr shift seems really hard. When I realised how tight they are with break times, I genuinely considered nicotine patches / gum, else I'd be frothing at the mouth 3 hours into my shift.
Seeing how terrible the working conditions are in warehouses, I genuinely don't know why people don't do apprenticeships, instead of staying in a soul-destroying job like that (I spoke to a fair few people there, and they'd been there for years with barely any promotion prospects). I've been to companies like Siemens and Caterpillar, and things are run so much nicer there, and you can start as an apprentice, and as long as you pass and work hard, you've got a guaranteed job offer with the company once you finish your apprenticeship.
I bucked up and applied for retail positions. Having seen how tough warehouse guys have it, I figured dealing with the occasional shitter of a customer balances out the slightly more humane working conditions. Will ask during the interview (if I get one) if they have any night shifts going, cause tbh spending 8 hours at night stacking shelves in a supermarket seems like my kind of jam, and the 25% premium on my hourly rate is definitely a boon. Gonna go see if my local Waterstones has any job vacancies as well. I have no idea what the job entails. Probably lots of book stacking, and helping customers out with book recommendations? Waterstones seems to have a much healthier work ethic, every time I walk into one, the employees don't have that typical thousand yard stare, and actually seem genuinely happy.[/QUOTE]
Depending on your living situation apprenticeships are the way to go - Most pay apprenticeship minimum wage but if you are 19 or over they can only pay you it for a year, so if you can afford to stick it out on £500 a month for a year you generally get a guaranteed job with prospects, free training and a lot of valuable experience in skilled work.
We got 30 minute breaks but practically only ever got 10 due to how short staffed we were.
That business went bust not long after I left.
[QUOTE=Cushie;52567021]Office is ~25 people and about 20 of them are women including all of the managers and owners, everyone gets on really well and its super casual with a lot of banter (and they swear ALOT), its almost like a big family since everyone seems to know each other really personally and people bring their kids in and stuff when they are finishing up. Dress code is anything you want as long as it isn't offensive so jeans and tshirt fine, which is great cause sitting infront of a computer all day wearing a suit like I used to do is just really uncomfortable and unnecessary. [/QUOTE]
Your job actually sounds amazing. Pretty much everywhere I've worked has been really bitchy and full of cliques, Tesco being the worst out of the lot.
Tesco is bullshit with the teamleader/manager clique. All on a constant 'team 5', going to lunch together. I used to sit outside if I went on my lunch and the team leaders and manager were on lunch in the canteen all fellating and tossing eachother off.
It's good as well to fairly soon after starting (maybe a couple of months) to get into a big argument with a higher up if they speak to you like shit or like you're an idiot, let em know it's not on and you won't take it. Don't be offensive though. Chances are they'll stop it and you'll get kudos from other staff who witnessed it.
I'm not saying be a trouble maker, but keep em on their toes. If they think they can walk all over you they will. Similarly if you're asked to do overtime and say no and they ask why not, tell them it's none of their business.
[editline]13th August 2017[/editline]
I haven't worked there for maybe 3 years and I still get angry about it lol
[QUOTE=Doozle;52568477]Tesco is bullshit with the teamleader/manager clique. All on a constant 'team 5', going to lunch together. I used to sit outside if I went on my lunch and the team leaders and manager were on lunch in the canteen all fellating and tossing eachother off.
It's good as well to fairly soon after starting (maybe a couple of months) to get into a big argument with a higher up if they speak to you like shit or like you're an idiot, let em know it's not on and you won't take it. Don't be offensive though. Chances are they'll stop it and you'll get kudos from other staff who witnessed it.
I'm not saying be a trouble maker, but keep em on their toes. If they think they can walk all over you they will. Similarly if you're asked to do overtime and say no and they ask why not, tell them it's none of their business.
[editline]13th August 2017[/editline]
I haven't worked there for maybe 3 years and I still get angry about it lol[/QUOTE]
My gf used to work in a Starbucks franchise and it was awful - Cliquey in the sense that it was all younger 17-20 year olds who bitched about each other, the majority of them were incredibly lazy and the managers/owners of the business were rubbish and out of touch with their customers. She eventually had to start pushing back because for example most people considered the drinks making the least boring part and there were set positions for each shift on who was where, but certain people would just strong arm their way onto drinks every shift and leave everyone else to do the other tasks. She had a few altercations where she had to tell them to get lost because for example people doing nothing were asking her to serve a waiting customer when she was busy, or someone complained to the manager like a little baby because he called her an idiot in a nasty way when it was him that misunderstood something she said and she made a comment about him failing his degree.
They didn't send out the weekly rota til Sunday or sometimes Monday morning so there was zero notice if you wanted to book anything in advance, and it meant people were constantly pressuring her to swap or calling in sick, then after months and months of covering shifts every week she desperately needed a swap because they put her on a 11pm finish and 4.30am start the next day and nobody even bothered replying to her. After that she said no more swaps and someone started being nasty and trying to guilt her into swapping a shift after she said no because he had gotten concert tickets.
To top all of that off they had a stupid fingerprint scanner system for their clock in/out hours, which if you didn't write in a book that you werent clocking out for your lunch break they would deduct an hour from your pay (And they didnt tell her that was a thing when she started), as well as everyone got underpaid every single month and when she left they stole £250 from her last paycheck because of a bogus unenforceable 'training cost' clause in her contract that tries to charge everyone that leaves within a year a flat £250 even though the place provides no official training or qualifications, but sadly she didn't want to pursue it. I said I would handle all of the writing and communication with them and stuff like talking with citizens advice but she forbade me from doing it, and the whole thing makes me extremely angry because companies shouldn't be allowed to get away with this stuff.
So many retail jobs she has had have all been trash, and if it isn't the people working there that are trash the company always does underhanded shady stuff or just fails to understand what they are and arent allowed to do so ends up screwing people over. Her current job is alright but they only gave her paid holiday for her contracted 16 hours a week even though she works basically 30 every week and works the same set shifts every week, and she had already been working there a month before they even gave her a contract but still worked out the hours from when she had signed it rather than started.
I love a good bit of work chat
I got punched in the face yesterday :chillout:
[QUOTE=Doozle;52568477]Tesco is bullshit with the teamleader/manager clique. All on a constant 'team 5', going to lunch together. I used to sit outside if I went on my lunch and the team leaders and manager were on lunch in the canteen all fellating and tossing eachother off.
It's good as well to fairly soon after starting (maybe a couple of months) to get into a big argument with a higher up if they speak to you like shit or like you're an idiot, let em know it's not on and you won't take it. Don't be offensive though. Chances are they'll stop it and you'll get kudos from other staff who witnessed it.
I'm not saying be a trouble maker, but keep em on their toes. If they think they can walk all over you they will. Similarly if you're asked to do overtime and say no and they ask why not, tell them it's none of their business.
[editline]13th August 2017[/editline]
I haven't worked there for maybe 3 years and I still get angry about it lol[/QUOTE]
It was the complete opposite for me, they could never give me [B]enough[/B] overtime. I worked in the petrol station, there was about 10 people in there altogether, all on 10 hour or below contracts. The backstabbing involved was crazy. I tried to take on as much as I could, yet there was always someone (I couldn't ever discover who) who was going around spreading rumours to turn people against each other. For instance someone was doing the 10.45pm finish and then a 5.30am start the next day. I said in casual conversation that I felt sorry for them having so little space in between shifts, and on my next shift she angrily confronted me. Apparently I'd been going around saying she was a bitch for having so much overtime, and was "conspiring" to get the manager to take it away... She then refused to tell me who said this, even though this was not the first time someone had done this to me.
Anyway, they "let me go" because someone up top wouldn't get their xmas bonus unless they fired a certain amount of staff. One of the people to go had been there over 30 years.
I got contacted a few months later like "ohh it was a mistake, we shouldn't have sent you to the petrol station. We needed you on checkouts". Yeahh, as if I'd ever go back to a company that put their fat bonuses before their minimum wage workers.
Sorry, needed a bitch. :v:
[QUOTE=Hezzy;52570312]I love a good bit of work chat
I got punched in the face yesterday :chillout:[/QUOTE]
by a woman
[QUOTE=Hezzy;52570312]I love a good bit of work chat
I got punched in the face yesterday :chillout:[/QUOTE]
How often do you get "attacked" on the job? Like a few months ago you posted that picture of you with a bloody nose.
[QUOTE=Chains!;52571291]How often do you get "attacked" on the job? Like a few months ago you posted that picture of you with a bloody nose.[/QUOTE]
pretty often
I used to work at this chocolate stand selling things like chocolate tools and roses and just novelty items like that, I never got punched but this guy said he was going to stab me with one of the screwdrivers once
it's made of chocolate you fucking spastic. like i'm some kind of health freak vampire that will wither away and die when stabbed with a chocolate stake
I accidentally put washing detergent in the fabric softener tray. Will my bedding set on firer something
[QUOTE=Doozle;52572437]I accidentally put washing detergent in the fabric softener tray. Will my bedding set on firer something[/QUOTE]
No but you might wanna give them a quick wash again after, afaik the softener is mixed in later after the stuff has been washed, so if you have detergent in the softener tray your load isnt gonna be soaped up for the washing bit.
Starting to realise why this 16 inch pizza was only £6.50.
[QUOTE=Cushie;52569726]My gf used to work in a Starbucks franchise and it was awful - Cliquey in the sense that it was all younger 17-20 year olds who bitched about each other. She had a few altercations where she had to tell them to get lost because for example people doing nothing were asking her to serve a waiting customer when she was busy, or someone complained to the manager like a little baby because he called her an idiot in a nasty way when it was him that misunderstood something she said and she made a comment about him failing his degree.
They didn't send out the weekly rota til Sunday or sometimes Monday morning so there was zero notice if you wanted to book anything in advance,
[/QUOTE]
From working in a different coffee shop chain for 3 years it was exactly the same. First bit motivated me to get another job and it was the best choice i've made.
[QUOTE=Wolfyhound;52572578]From working in a different coffee shop chain for 3 years it was exactly the same. First bit motivated me to get another job and it was the best choice i've made.[/QUOTE]
We knew someone that worked in a Costa franchise and it was literally the same as well - Even down to the owner of the franchise being a horrible person that would come in and be nasty to the staff.
[QUOTE=DiscoInferno;52572512]Starting to realise why this 16 inch pizza was only £6.50.[/QUOTE]
Yeah my old roommate used to love getting these 15-16" pizzas from some place that sold them for like £6, I tried one once and it tasted like a frozen pizza that also wasn't very nice.
Pizza should not be sour. Sour is not "spicy".
[QUOTE=Doozle;52572437]I accidentally put washing detergent in the fabric softener tray. Will my bedding set on firer something[/QUOTE]
it's just gonna have a load of washing detergent on it, which'll make it hard and crispy. do what cushie said, once the washing finishes, put it on a quick wash cycle with nothing in it to wash the detergent out. no need to add fabric softener this time if you have a tumble dryer. I've noticed the tumble dryer makes things just as soft without softener. never put softener in when you're washing towels, it's bad for your skin and also removes a lot of the drying effectiveness (I always wondered why my aunt had the crispest fuckin towels, now I know)
[QUOTE=DiscoInferno;52572617]Pizza should not be sour. Sour is not "spicy".[/QUOTE]
what pizza is it? dr oetker ristorante is awesome pizza and it's cheap as fuck
[QUOTE=loopoo;52572667]what pizza is it?[/QUOTE]
Local takeaway "Spicy" beef, ham, and pepperoni.
[QUOTE=DiscoInferno;52572678]Local takeaway "Spicy" beef, ham, and pepperoni.[/QUOTE]
Sounds like a perfect recipe for the shits tbh
[QUOTE=Cushie;52573027]Sounds like a perfect recipe for the shits tbh[/QUOTE]
Well, they do the best chicken nuggets and chips in town but not the best pizzas it seems. The even localler takeaway has decent pizzas.
You mean they picked a better supplier to buy them from in bulk
[QUOTE=prinner;52573266]You mean they picked a better supplier to buy them from in bulk[/QUOTE]
Well yeah but I didn't want to type everything
One time I ordered some onion rings from a kebab shop, they just got a bag of frozen onion rings they had obviously bought from the budgens next door, dumped them in the deep fat frier and charged me £5
Never felt so mugged off in my life
Well, 16 inches for £6.50 seemed like a "if it's bad then it's not a huge loss" sort of thing.
[QUOTE=prinner;52573286]One time I ordered some onion rings from a kebab shop, they just got a bag of frozen onion rings they had obviously bought from the budgens next door, dumped them in the deep fat frier and charged me £5
Never felt so mugged off in my life[/QUOTE]
dominos charges a high enough price to make you genuinely consider taking out a mortgage just to order some fucking potato wedges and chicken strips. nowadays if I order from dominos, I just get the pizza, and I go next door literally 30 seconds to buy a bag of frozen wedges / frozen chicken dippers for something cheap like £4 that has enough wedges and chicken dippers to feed me for a straight 2 weeks, as opposed to the £7 dominos charges for a tiny portion of wedges and dippers.
dominos pisses me off, they charge an arm and a leg, and it turns out other countries get dominos dirt cheap. like a margarita in america from dominos is $7 or something for a large, but here it's £16.
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