Tuesday, November 18, 2008

What the *bleep*bleep* did you expect me to do?

A council staffer & a contractor entered the Wayside Tavern (during a busy meal trade and without notice) demanding that Mine Host make time to meet with them then & there.

The driveway of the Wayside Tavern was to be dug up & reconcreted (for secret local authority reasons), and that this would have "a temporary impact upon your drive-through trade".

They snorted contemptuously at Mine Host's serious answer to their question of "when would be the most convenient time to do this work?" (Answer: Midnight the day before Good Friday, alternatively Midnight Christmas Eve)

These fellows have reached middle age, yet have had insufficient interaction with the working economy to be able to comprehend that there are people whose business is at work almost every hour of the day, every day of the year.

So removed from reality are these fellows that they assumed Mine Host was jesting.

The contractor (at what he believed was a smart alec remark by Mine Host) became short, and announced that he had "tried to cooperate", he noted Mine Host's statement that Sunday, Monday, Tuesday were the slowest part of the week, that he "would endeavour" to carry out the works during the nominated slow period, and that Wayside Tavern would recieve "one day's notice" of the excavation works.

"After all" explained the council staffer "we all have to share the financial pain of CBD improvements" (He doesn't)

Mine Host agreed that 24 hours notice of a 3 day closure would be plenty of time for him to lay off the staff of the drive-through shop.

The mood changed with whipcrack speed.

For some reason it always happens to this exact same script: Some regulation/bylaw which will hurt a business elicits a smug "oh well, can't be helped" attitude from the public servant who makes the decision, but when this is translated into job losses the smugness is replaced by distinct unease & discomfort.

"You.. er.. can't just DO that you know". (I can) (THIS always happens too, right on script, they go from "impartial" local authority regulator to informal Industrial Relations advocate - which is waaaay outside their letters of marque)

Someone who three seconds before couldn't give a hoot about Mine Host losing money thanks to some directive suddenly becomes almost hotheaded when smacked by the reality that their "impartial" application of this directive has just cost the job of an ordinary worker, and becomes most anxiously concerned that nobody lose their job.

The about face is quite comical. I really should capture it on film one day.

"You force a 3-day closure of their workplace, you force a 3-day closure of their job! It is that simple"

Mine Host then did make a smart alec comment: "We all have to share the financial pain of the improvements to the CBD you know"

Mine Host expects when the excations happen there will now be the utmost consideration given to minimising the impact upon the Wayside Tavern.

Think of it how you may, but Mine Host has saved the pay-packet of staff. As a bonus a pair of stuck-up tin gods have had one put over them.

8 comments:

Sackerson said...

Lovely.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the comment steve, most people dont know what the fuck a Jerry Can is although this "cityboy" does and if you click the pic you can clearly see it says water so people would know what they were.Just wanted the readers to know that they were not for petro or other fuels. However its nice to know that a hillbilly bugger from down under is my new editor !!! Cheers !!Save your bullshit comments for all one of your fans, The King rules and you are a bugger !!

Mine Host said...

Hmm, Four swearwords in four sentences, from someone with a penchant for referring to pederastry, who then calls ME a "hillbilly". (Possible welfare recipient? Who else would have such a tin ear for irony?)

Likely a supposedly retaliatory comment from somewhere, by someone not only totally & completely without manners, but with little to no sense of humour. (gotta be a yank)

The archaic phrase at the end gives away the nationality, it HAS to be a yank.

The "I-Me-Myself" hubris of the penultimate phrase points straight to a yank.

Mine Host said...

*after that*

Sackerson, dealing with local councils has very few sweet moments.

In these situations, the tin gods go over the top with demands & do lots of feigning of "sorry" about negative financial impact on a business.

Upon demonstration right in front of them that their actions will cause immediate job losses or reduce pay packets, they usually hotly demand that "no job losses" happen.

They never rescind their directives. Just fume at what they believe is unreasonableness by the business operator.

It never enters their head that it is they who are unreasonable. They don't back off, they are too conditioned to having their way.

Sackerson said...

How easily would power turn many of us into insensitive bullies.

King of New York Hacks said...

My apologies for the rebukes and any of my visitors who insulted you. However calling someone a "cityboy" is an insult to someone especially in the context you used it in.It just wasn't necessary given the nature of what I posted about. Perhaps you can understand a soldier from New York who just returned from a hellish war and sees his fellow New Yorker being called a cityboy, and gets a little mad and rebukes it. I can see by your writing that you are intelligent,but for a moment put yourself in his shoes where employment is just as worse where you are as it is here and he just spent his time serving his country to come back to economic turmoil and no jobs.Very frustrating indeed for a soldier to read such a sensitive post and then see a comment about "water jugs" which I clearly did write on purpose so people wouldn't confuse them with fuel containers which they are commonly used for when the term jerrycan is used here in the states. I'm quite sure the bugger term was used just to get a reaction from you which indeed it did. Most people know that bugger is a term English people and Australians hate but most do not know the true meaning being associated with being a pederast,more than often they believe its the same as using the word bloody. It's your slang not ours so no worries or ill intentions on your character were meant I'm sure. Much like water jugs and jerrycans I guess.The mention of war and Fragging you was out of line but coming from an ex soldier being called cityboy after watching and reading the post I quite understand. I wonder what your reaction would be if you just spent a year seeing your friends become amputees or lose their lives. You seem a bit perturbed by some lost wages from your post, it seems you have a similar temper. As for TaximanDallas, he rebuked the both of you for he felt both comments were unnecessary, so no reason to point a finger at him either, as I said cityboy isn't taken lightly by people from a big city, and if you used that term to a New Yorker trust me, the reaction would be the same as someone calling you a bugger in Sydney.I hope you enjoyed what I posted about what's happening here in America and visit again.As for your rebuttals, you talk of swear words and manners, well you should mind yours as well calling us "yanks",and calling an ex soldier a welfare recipient, it only fuels a fire that is indeed not meant to be lit and are as bad as using a few swear words and cut deeper sir. The nature of my post was extremely sensitive and and comments that are trying to be humorous are fine, I'm sure you did not know cityboy would be taken in such a manner and I hope you visit my site again as I will yours with good intentions. I certainly don't want my blog to become a war zone, there is enough of that going around. Cheers and best of luck with your writing and your business.I hope things get better.

Unknown said...

Am I missing something here...? WTF is that (above) all about?

kae said...

About bugger...

Anyone who thinks that Aussies are insulted by the word "bugger" would have to be a silly bugger.

Our current ear-wax munching Prime Minister is buggering up Australia, mark my words.

G'day Mine Host.