Things That Bug Me - Linda Yahn Week 2

Things That Bug Me – Linda Yahn

Week 2

1.       Lack of common sense by my staff creates more issues for me and has me doing the thinking for everyone on my team.

a.       It’s exhausting and overwhelming. I have too much to do without making sure my employees find solutions to every challenge they encounter. I hired them to take most of that responsibility off of me. It zaps my energy and steals my creativity in other areas that need my attention that would grow the business so as to reach the investors and owners goals and expectations.

2.       No follow up on items that need the ‘kid glove’ treatment shows a lack of care and concern for customer’s circumstances and frustration.

a.       This is another side of the coin to #1. If I must be the one to follow up to ensure that customer’s issues are handled, then I have no time for creativity in growing the business. Moreover, it shows a clear lack of accountability to the customer and demonstrates that we have other priorities than meeting their needs and ensuring their satisfaction.

3.       Lying about work that was to be completed but clearly was not, shows a lack of respect for me as a manager as well as a lack of respect or a lack of concern for the customer who question why we still have not sent someone to handle service calls.

a.       Problems unsolved become much like a dam; if you allow a tiny crack to form through which only a trickle of water can pass, that trickle will quickly bring down the whole structure and soon no one will be able to control the force of the current (an old adage from my youth). This very phenomenon just cost me almost $6000 that could have been handled for less than $200. But, lying about it is a character issue and people no longer believe honesty is the best policy.

4.       Starbucks is my one vice (or at least my biggest) and when I pay $4.53 for my latte, I want my concoction to be correct! I am baffled by the fact that I continue to go to the Starbucks near my home and they continue to give me the wrong product!

a.       This makes me wonder which pf us is the most insane – the Starbucks continuing to give me an incorrect drink, or me continuing to go and be mentally abused! If it was just me, that would be one thing, but when I have friends or family with me, they get all of our drinks wrong as well. Not only do I have to sit through a long line in the first place (although, the length of the line has no impact on my drink order) I have to either give back the drink or drive back around and get them to redo it. Frustrating, time consuming and quite annoying! (But, hold that thought, I need a latte!)

5.       People on their cell phone when you are trying to get your nails done slows down the process so much that you wished you’d never taken the time out of your already full schedule.

a.       Rude, disrespectful and unprofessional. These are descriptive words of a nail tech (or any other service personnel) who has their phone stuffed under their chin with their heads tilted while trying to cut my nails. It is already a challenge for me to fit this type of luxury into my busy schedule, but when I do, I don’t want to sit while the nail tech talks about what they are having for dinner or when they are doing their laundry.

6.       Girls gone wild during college days is nothing compared to political correctness gone wild in America.

a.       The extreme polarization in Washington politics has trickled down into our personal lives such that we aren’t sure what we are permitted to say in any given situation, and some cases, I feel it threatens my very basic right of freedom of speech. I realize we live in a society of big events, however when political correctness corrupts every element of society – universities, politics, Washington, the media and businesses - we have gone too far in declaring which words or thoughts are ‘correct.’ I do not want to hold my breath every time I give an opinion or make a statement outside the privacy of my home.

7.       In my industry, I see each day how taking advantage of the system undermines the work ethic of individuals.

a.       As a property manager, I sit in a position where I see individuals take advantage of a welfare system that was never meant to be a way of life. The system is broken. There is a time and place to help someone get back on their feet, for poor and needy children, or when someone cannot truly help themselves. However, I work hard and expect others to do the same. This system has done little to reduce poverty, it contributes to the breakdown of society, and it is a heavy burden on the taxpayers like me.  

8.       Corporate calling me asking the same questions over and over interrupts my day from being productive.

a.       My company is relatively new to this industry, therefore, everyone has to wear many hats. Our corporate office continues to email or call me for questions I have answered on several occasions and the continual interruption is much like driving a car with the breaks on – you get nowhere and you may burn out your breaks!

9.       Poor grammar in the workplace has become epidemic and while I do not want to be the brunt of jokes and become the ‘grammarian about who your mother warned you,’ grammar and writing in America has become atrocious.

a.       I have never terminated someone for poor grammar and I understand the difference in formal and informal speech – I don’t use ‘whom’ in speaking to my friends – but I do believe people should know the basic rules of English. When my assistant says: “I seen him go by…” it is like nails on a chalkboard. In fact, you will notice when you type that sentence, a blue line appears alerting you that it is incorrect grammar – I can barely leave it on the page now!

10.   Please do not leave my toilet seat up when you are finished using it!

a.       I can’t begin to list all the reasons I have for a lack of tolerance in leaving the toilet seat up, and while Economist now tell men it is OK to leave it up (?), I hate it! When my children were young and my husband left the toilet seat up, I had to constantly go fish them out of playing in the toilet bowl, but I didn’t nag him as I believe all married couples should choose their battles. Once my children were over the toilet bowl stage, I read an article that said most toothbrushes contain fecal bacteria from polluted vapor water erupting out of a flushing toilet, I didn’t see a better reason to PUT THE TOILET SEAT DOWN BEFORE FLUSHING IT!  YUKE!!!!

11.   Toilet paper put on the roll going down the back of the wall just bugs me!

a.       Not to let this become a great toilet paper debate (there has been one!) because everyone has their own preference, but toilet paper going back down the wall just hangs there – noticeable out of place. At least when it hangs over the roll it appears to be in its place. I also find it easier to rip off! But, in all reality, I just like the way it looks.

12.   Don’t most people understand that a library is a place of quiet, not a place to chat on your phone or eat a bag of Doritos!

a.       Most people, like me, go to the library to study or read. Drink your Starbucks, but come on, the library isn’t a place to be chomping on Doritos, or to be arguing with your boyfriend about the girl who just texted him! Plus, I don’t care if you use your cell phone, but do I have to hear every keystroke you are texting. Furthermore, keep the phone off the table, because I can’t handle the shaking when it vibrates every 10 seconds. And, hey you there - the girl with the headphones - you need to understand I don’t want to hear you listen to “Going Home’ even though that is exactly where I wish you would go. Turn it down so I don’t end up writing the lyrics to the song on this paper I am diligently trying to write.

13.   Pants hanging below boxers or skin showing seem to be attractive to young kids, but it is appalling to this old lady, because most of the time the ‘gangsta’ person has to continually be pulling them up (that’s if they don’t mind their pants around their ankles or their backsides showing).

a.       Rebellious fashion statements? I get it - I lived through the 60’s and 70’s. But, this sagging-pants culture with the male urban youth and rap singers is personally offensive. I saw a billboard once that read: “Raise your pants, raise your image.” Aren’t we better than this type of culture? I am not trying to be anyone’s fashion police, but I find it offensive when I am in the grocery line with my grandchild and in front of me is someone with their pants down so far their butt is hanging out! Or worse……

14.   People who do not pick up after themselves and leave it around for others to pick up creates clutter and causes other to follow behind them and pick up so as not to leave a trail of trash.

a.       It is really annoying having to find packaging around where someone has opened up a package of batteries and failed to throw away the packaging. Picking up after yourself is part of finishing a project and failing to pick up shows you are not one who follows up. Picking up after children is understandable. Likewise, it is better to pick your battles when it comes to your spouse and not nag so much. However, I have no desire to pick up after employees! I am not their mother nor do I want to be.  

15.   Pop-up ads can be one of the most annoying things to happen to me throughout my day. When I am working on some major project and I have to weed through pop-up ads, I feel like just quitting or blocking every in my path.

a.       Constant interruptions by pop-up ads only adds to long list of other interruptions throughout my day – phone calls, emails, texts and employee questions or customer issues. I feel ads are an intrusion I have not asked for nor want.  

16.   Knocking on doors when it clearly says DO NOT KNOCK makes me lose my faith in humanity!

a.       We are doing major renovations at my office and we have a sign clearly posted that says:                 PLEASE DO NOT KNOCK. If you need assistance, please call xxx-xxxx. I tried to make the sign simple, because prior to this sign people continued to knock and walk around the building looking in windows and yelling to the staff! Unfortunately, it hasn’t helped. Not only do people knock, they continue to bang on the door in a state of frenzy and pull on the door as though they were being chased by a serial killer. Honestly, it is so baffling I can’t even tell you how the experience has made me wonder what is going on in the world that people have such a lack of respect and consideration for others. Is it an entitled mentality? Impatience? Lack of self-control. I just don’t know but it is one of the most annoying situations in which I have found myself lately.

17.   Media bias is probably one of the most shameful situations in which we find ourselves in America today.

a.       Journalist should report the news, not editorialize it in order to fit their political affections or bias. Nonetheless, journalism has changed; journalism is a very big part of partisanship. A former CBS news correspondent admitted that journalist have a difficult time reviewing a story that reflects negatively about the current administration). We know the liberal media failed to scrutinize Obamacare or the housing disaster; however, long before our current bias, the media failed to report the monstrous acts of the Soviet Union. Moreover, we see that the media had a double standard as to how it treats conservatives and Democrats regarding the KKK – and although the KKK was a brainchild of the Democrats, we only hear about conservatives being clan members. Plus, many think that in 2000 when the media falsely reported Bush’s loss in Florida, that many conservatives stayed home from the polls because they thought their candidate had lost the race; many now believe he would have won had he received the 10,000 votes lost because of the media bias reporting. I could go on about how they hate the Tea Party and how they misaligned Palin, but I won’t. I have seen it for over 45 years…..clearly one of the things that BUGS me the most!!

18.   Tongue rings are so distracting; when someone is talking to me I find myself looking at their tongue ring instead of active listening.

a.       Honestly, I don’t like tongue rings because the very thought of them makes me gag! I find it a distraction when someone is talking to me, and eventually have to look away so I don’t start gagging like a cat with a hairball.

19.   I am not a smoker and therefore, smoking around me is quite repulsive, plus I have no desire to breathe second-hand smoke.

a.       Smoke if you want, but please be as mindful of my liberty of not having to breathe second-hand smoke that the CDC has reported harmful to adults as well as children as you feel you have in killing yourself. I don’t like smoking and have never smoked, but not because I find it a nasty habit. I don’t smoke simply because I do not want to harm my health with nicotine or other toxic substances I get when breathing in second-hand smoke. Moreover, smoking around children, in cars or other closed areas, really sends me over-the-top as they have no voice to stop the harmful habit and protect them from the long-term effects.

20.   I am not a violent person, however, when I see someone litter, I have to refrain myself from picking up the trash and throwing it back into their vehicles, or dump it at their doorsteps!

a.       Seriously? I have to have my staff stop productive work just to pick up after people who throw trash and cigarette butts everywhere. I was taught as a young child that we were stewards of our world and we were to keep our planet clean – long before it was popular. We grew up not littering. My annoyance does not come from what these littered items do to our waterways and oceans – albeit that is a great reason to stop littering – it comes from a lack of self-respect for everyone. Why would someone open their car door and throw all their fast food bags out onto a parking lot? Or, why dump out their ashtrays or throw cigarette butts just about anywhere? One of the most startling pictures is when comparing litter in non-civilization (which has no trash littered about) to that of the civilized world. For heaven sake, just pick it up! Littering use to have a stigma attached that seems to have disappear in modern culture.

Reflection: At first I thought this might be a tough assignment as I try to always see the glass as half-full. However, the more I wrote, the more ‘bugs’ came to mind and I found myself thinking of a lot more than 20! I am one who works on self-reflection, so this was a great exercise in understanding what create annoyances (bugs) in me, and just how important those things are in the whole scheme of life’s success and happiness.