Where are we staying?

Living in the Southwest and working in the tourism industry; I really don't feel that I can divulge exactly where I live.  I really wish I could because........... honestly, I'd really like to 'name & shame' some of the very stupid requests from holidaymakers that I have to deal with at work on a daily basis.


Holiday makers drive us all mad??!!


Take today for example;


Man phones and says, 'I'm coming on holiday I'm omitting the name of the town here to the SW next week and I need a high chair.'


And this is the conversation that followed:


ME - 'Yes, we can do that for you.  Where are you staying?'


MAN - He names the town.


ME - 'OK, Can you give me the name & address of the property?'


MAN - 'No'.


ME - 'Have you booked it through an agency or is it a private let?'


MAN - 'I don't know. My wife booked it'.


ME - 'Can I speak to your wife?'


MAN - 'No - she's at work but she told me I had to book a high chair.'


ME - 'I'll provisionally book a high chair for you. What dates are you coming on holiday?  And can I please have your name & a contact number.  And when you've spoken to your wife can you please call back to confirm exactly what you want?'


MAN - 'It's in (he names the town) but I'm not sure of the dates, my wife booked it. And I don't know what my phone number is.'


At this point I really feel like slapping him.  But obviously I can't because he's just some incompetent person on the phone who hasn't actually got a clue where he's going on holiday, when he's going on holiday and I doubt if he even knows who exactly he's going on holiday with??? And also he wants to book a high chair so he's a client and I have to be nice to him.


ME -  (trying to be really friendly & super efficient here)- 'OK, if you give me your name & number, I'll give you a call back in the morning, once you've spoken to your wife.  Then we can get the 'high chair' booked in for you and we'll be able to deliver it to your holiday property free of charge'.


MAN - 'I don't know what my number is.'


ME - I'm losing patience here?!!  Obviously I did not say that!!!!


ME - OK. Not a problem.  I'll be in the office 9-5pm tomorrow, so just give me a call.


Idiots???????????????????????????????????


Obviously 'Mr I don't know where I'm staying, I don't know what dates I'm staying, I haven't got a clue who I'm going on holiday with???'..................................


...............................Is  probably not going to get his high chair???  LOL!!!!!


What amazes me though...............................


............................Is why don't they just leave all the organising to their wives????


And then everything would be sorted????? LOL!!!!!!

Instruction Manuals

Today I am going to RANT about 'instruction manuals.'


I am seriously not happy.


I have bought a 'fitbit' pedometer.  I want to measure the distance I walk every day. I want to be 'dead techie' and plot all my walking on my computer or on my  iphone.


Unfortunately I am NOT 'dead techie'??  I naively thought that my 'fitbit' would come with instructions.  My fitbit does not come with instructions.  It comes with a bit of paper that says (in 6 different languages), 'to set up, go to: www.fitbit.com/setup'


OK, so I've tried that.  I got so far and then it asked me to sign in with a Facebook account or a Google account?? Tried signing in with a google account and it kept telling me that my 'user name' or password was incorrect.  Which it's not.  Grrrrrrrrrrrrr....................


I don't really want to try signing in with my Facebook account because I have a fear of it infiltrating all my friends and doing stuff I don't want it to do.


Why on earth can products not just include a step by step 'paper' manual of what to do???


Why is life so complicated????


And at one point in the 'online set up procedure' it said, 'make sure the tracker is next to the computer'.  What on earth is the 'tracker'??????


These companies that sell 'techie devices' (that a lot of old people use) need to realise that us oldies OK middle aged trendy people haven't a clue about 'modern jargon'.  How on earth can I make sure the 'tracker' is next to the computer if I don't even know what a 'tracker is???  I just shoved everything that had come in the box next to the computer and it still didn't work.


And that brings me to the next RANT......................  The pedometer & all it's bits were in a box about 2inches square.  The packaging was about 10ins x 5ins.  Just how un environmentally friendly was that???


This whole thing is just doing my head in!!!


So I've done what any old middle aged trendy  person would do and have invited a couple of youngsters over tomorrow night to sort it out for me.  Yay!!!

Needy friends

OK I've called this post 'Needy Friends'.


'Needy Friends' are friends that actually think they're you're friends but actually; you're only a 'friend' to 'off load' on.  OK I've just read through this RANT - I love my 'needy friends'.


I've just spent 40 mins on the phone to a 'needy friend'.


'Needy friend' phoned and before I knew it, I'm hearing all about the latest trauma in her life.  Admittedly when I answered the phone she said, 'How are you, what have you been up to?'  I tried to tell her what I'd been up to.........................


..........................Obviously she wasn't interested because 'needy friend' is going through a trauma.  'Needy friend' is always going through a trauma??!!  I've known 'needy friend' for more than 35 years and 'needy friend' has spent her whole life going through trauma's.


At our age middle aged we've all gone through a load of traumas in our life. But for most of us, we just 'dust ourselves down and get on with it.'  Not so my 'needy friend'.  For the last 35+ years my 'needy friend' has been phoning me on a regular basis to discuss the latest trauma in her life.  And believe me - there's always a trauma in her life.


Sometimes I feel a bit guilty that I just sit on the phone agree-ing/disagree-ing/commenting on what she's telling me.  At other times I just think that she's had copious quantities of wine or whisky and won't even remember the conversation in the morning??


BUT.....................  At the end of the day, she's been my friend for more than 35 years.


Yes, she's ALWAYS got problems.  She always will have.  BUT, she's my friend & I love her.


.................And after more than 35 years I'm pretty sure that we'll always be mates!!!!!!