Two for the price of one

[GayleShy]

I was going around town today, paying pills and all the good stuff that I couldn't do yesterday. First stop was the bank, where I needed to deposit the check that made all bill paying possible. As I was filling out my deposit slip I heard a woman chewing out the bank teller for some reason that I don't know. All I could gather from the whole thing was they wouldn't appolgize for an error they made until they were sure they made an error and she was mad. She wanted them to say they were sorry THEN fix it, not fix it then say they were sorry. The teller kept saying "we are sorry for the mistake and we're fixing it" but that wasn't good enough. She kept telling him that he should have said he was sorry, then fixed it, not the other way around and that a girl had told her in a snotty voice over the phone, that she didn't know why she should appolgize at all... blah blah blah. Then she told the teller to get his supervisor and "I want you to stand right here and listen to this, so she can show you how to treat customers."

I finished my transaction in time to see the man come back with a girl, who introduced herself as A*****. The woman then threw up her hands and said, "You won't do me any good, you're the one who said you didn't have to appolgize in the first place!"

The girl shook her head and said, "No, I said I needed to clear things up before we could applogize..." and sadly I had to leave before I got to here how things turned out.

The next one wasn't half as interesting but I still found it funny. I was in the women's restroom in a store and I had just finshed and was washing my hands when a woman walked out of her stall and left the restroom. As the door was closing as asked if she was going to wash her hands, because it really does gross me out to no end. She's going to be handling food and God knows what else with her nasty pee-hands. She came back and told me that she has sani-wipes in her purse, thank you. I told her that I still had to open the handle with my hands, but she ignored me. I'm sorry, if you're 40-something, you should know how to wash your hands. Sani-wipes are good for camping and such, but they don't kill all the germs like handwashing does. It is not that hard and takes thrity seconds out of your day.

[JustADude]

That first one just made me vow to carry around an old-fashioned bag of popcorn in my pack at all times so I can whip it out just to make sure people realize how stupid and hilarious they're being.

Me: Oh, don't stop now! There's so little free entertainment these days!

[BookstoreEscapee]

That first one just made me vow to carry around an old-fashioned bag of popcorn in my pack at all times so I can whip it out just to make sure people realize how stupid and hilarious they're being.

Me: Oh, don't stop now! There's so little free entertainment these days!

I have a package of those old-fashioned popcorn boxes (got 'em at Target around Christmas; maybe they still have em?)

And I understand the teller's point...how do you apologize when you don't know what you need to apologize for yet, but is it really worth the argument? "I'm sorry there's a problem, let me see what's going on and we'll fix it." (In other words, I'm sorry YOU have a problem that you have decided should also be my problem...) Oh, wait,

The teller kept saying "we are sorry for the mistake and we're fixing it"

apparently he DID do that..! Some people...

[Broomjockey]

And I understand the teller's point...how do you apologize when you don't know what you need to apologize for yet, but is it really worth the argument? "I'm sorry there's a problem, let me see what's going on and we'll fix it."

I think she wanted the apology phrased in such a way that clearly made it their fault, which is a problem, because everywhere I've worked has cautioned the workers to be darn careful about apologizing so as to not imply liability, and I think it would be worse at a bank.

[Becks]

That first one just made me vow to carry around an old-fashioned bag of popcorn in my pack at all times so I can whip it out just to make sure people realize how stupid and hilarious they're being.

GREAT idea!!!!!! I'm going to steal it!!!!!!!

[air914]

Ooh the no hands washing thing grosses me out to no end too. I don't know WHAT you did in there.... and I don't know if you did get anything on your hands or touched the dirty toilet handle or the door of the stall, etc...... and now you're opening the door with your hands so the door handle to the whole bathroom is disgusting....... it takes just a tiny little thought to realize that you should use toilet paper to flush the handle, open the stall door, then turn the faucets on, wash your hands, and turn the faucets off with a paper towel, then open the door w/ a paper towel too - I hate when the trash basket isn't anywhere near the door though b/c I don't want to walk around w/ a paper towel in my hand..... usually I just toss it at the trash can and hope I make it. Hmmm does all of that sound like I'm a little nuts about hand washing??? But.... I rarely get sick

[Jack7957]

Old joke, and just change the characters to fit any situation...

A marine and a sailor are taking a piss. The marine goes to leave without washing his hands, and the sailor says,
"In the navy they teach us to wash our hands."
The marine looks back at him and says:
"In the marines, they teach us not to piss on our hands."

[Kilamon]

The next one wasn't half as interesting but I still found it funny. I was in the women's restroom i [......] not that hard and takes thrity seconds out of your day.

I used to go camping a lot. Some may know the SCA and what I did was like that, only no duct tape, no modern conveniences, etc., real hard-core medieval re-enactment camping. All cooking was over the fire using authentic reproduction cookware, real wood that we had to cut ourselves (I mention that because some kids asked us once if the fire was real), etc.. It's funny, and sad, that someone else asked if we ate the same spoiled meat "they" did in the middle ages. This is where it was interesting because we had a member who was an actual microbiologist. She knew stuff about the organisms living on your skin and the things inside you too. She'd always educate these people on how their misconceptions were based on hearsay and Hollywood and about the way the modern bathroom facilities can have more hazards to your health than the medieval butcher (and even some modern butcher shops). She was also the same woman who informed me that most city tap water is enough to kill 80% of all germs and bacteria on you without soap and that most soap on the shelves is made of a purified water base with additives to to the rest of the work, the manufacturers having figured out long ago that water is cheaper than a lye-base.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Most of the effect of handwashing is to just rinse the stuff off your hands...even without soap, the friction of rubbing your hands together and the water pressure will get most of the buggies off your skin...unless you're handling raw meat or dirt or something it should suffice to keep you healthy, for the most part...

[justZu]

As the door was closing as asked if she was going to wash her hands, because it really does gross me out to no end. She's going to be handling food and God knows what else with her nasty pee-hands.

Oh I cannot stand that. I am almost compulsive in my hand washing, especially at work. It makes me so sick to see people either give their hands a tiny rinse, or not wash at all. My kids call me Monk(like the TV show) because I don't touch door handles in public, and I wipe off the cart handles at the grocery stores.
It also amazes me how people do not realize just how filthy money is. I gave a guy his beer at the ballpark and he counted out his money on top of his hot dog.
Come on, not only do I not want greasy dollars - where has that money been? And he's putting it on top of his food.

[JustADude]

It makes me so sick to see people either give their hands a tiny rinse, or not wash at all.

At work I wash throughly, as I was told how to do by a practicing MD following a comment on how most people don't wash properly, since you never know if the pizza I'm making might go to someone with a compromised immune system, or if I might get something really nasty because the person handing me money had it in a baggy that was last used to store fudge brownies in 1987 and never cleaned. At home, though, I simply rinse under hot water (hot as I can stand, for about 30 seconds or so) after I touch something icky, since (as someone mentioned in another post) the whole point is to scrub it off before it spreads.

My whole family was never really overly concerned about staying sterile when I was young, and grew up just fine. The only allergies I have the typical 'seasonal' stuff (aka, pollen), I'm hardly ever sick, and never seriously even when I am. Only medicine I've taken in years is pain-killers for headaches. The other people I've talked to that have the same kind of robust health all seem to have come from the same kind of 'clean but not Clean Room' upbringing, which is where I developed my whole 'use it or lose it' philosophy on the human immune system.

[Emrld]

See now I have a joy I can pass on to you - it is called cell phone memory . . . program in all those important numbers like say the Health Department - sorry its been a long day and sarcasim is just really easy.

Yes, I actually have the health department number in my phone - mainly because my friend is the receptionist . . . .

So this was an employee that said they wouldn't wash and they used sanitizer . . .this is when you come back out and ask for a manager - inform the manager of the conversation that took place. At this point don't worry about being an SC this is peoples health on the line. As pointed out earlier you never know when someone with an imune system issue will be eating the food.
If the Manager's chooses to do nothing pull out your trusty cell phone and call. Make sure that an employee hears you verify that you have reached the Health Department and would like to file a complaint.
I promise you if corporate gets wind - which if a complaint is filed they will - things will change.

I have had to do to many study's that involve resturants and their health/ safety to be willing to put up with someone that won't wash their hands - It is a basic standard rule and if you aren't willing to follow it - someone out looking for work is.

[Becks]

My whole family was never really overly concerned about staying sterile when I was young, and grew up just fine. The only allergies I have the typical 'seasonal' stuff (aka, pollen), I'm hardly ever sick, and never seriously even when I am. Only medicine I've taken in years is pain-killers for headaches. The other people I've talked to that have the same kind of robust health all seem to have come from the same kind of 'clean but not Clean Room' upbringing, which is where I developed my whole 'use it or lose it' philosophy on the human immune system.

They say that what with peoples' obsession with everything being antibacterial, people are actually going to end up being LESS healthy.

I grew up in the same sort of environment, and I turned out fine.

Yaaaaaaaaaaay us.

[Seshat]

I agree that a normal, ordinary home should be clean and hygenic but not sanitised.

Put the garbage out, don't let spills hang around, change the cat's litter, cook raw meat carefully, store raw meat carefully, don't use the same cutting board for raw meat and things that won't be cooked-sterile, generally be clean. But don't bother with Hospital-Strength Domestos or whatever, just don't give the bacteria anything to multiply in.

Beyond that sort of level? Let the low levels of bacteria and virii hang around. Give your immune system a workout, just don't make it have to deal with massive assaults.


However, if someone in the home is immune compromised, or if you're running a commercial kitchen or otherwise don't know who you're cooking for, DO take extra care.

In other words: I agree with JustADude. If you might be cooking for/hosting someone immune compromised, follow strict food safety/hotel room cleaning/whatever rules are appropriate.