What really grinds my gears...

izcool

I know, I know. That was a quote from Family Guy, but it's a great idea for a thread here on FriHost, since it's one that it can be built on enormously.

I started on 2 main topics of things that "really grind my gears" and annoy me the most. It's quite easy to write down what really grinds your gears and annoys you, so there is no reason to have a reply that is less than 250 words. I just did a count on all of the things that grind my gears at work and when I'm driving, and it turned up to be 1,526.

What grinds my gears at work (I work at a carwash as a cashier)
- When my manager urges me to ask for I.D. when I'm taking in a credit card when I'm finalizing a sale.
- When people have 20 credit cards and make me swipe them all to see which one is "accepted" and not "rejected". Anything over 5 is just un-necessary.
- When people don't have enough money to pay for their car wash.
- When old men pay for their $4.98 carwash (the cheapest carwash we have, which is the half-off of the $9.95 carwash) with a $100.00 bill first thing in the morning, when I don't have enough money in the register to cover it. Normally I have to cash that out of my wallet and sell the bill back to the register later in the day.
- When people don't take their stick (which is clearly labeled saying that you give it to the people outside, saying that they paid) and walk off without it.
- When people like to race down the hallway to see how fast they can get to me. I do like to go to the bathroom now and then, you can at least watch your car being cleaned through the windows in the hallway.
- When I get $50.00 and $100.00 bills, where I have to look up at the light to see the president's faces through the paper, and using the counterfit bill marker to see if it's legit.
- When people think that they don't have to sign their credit card receipts, since it's printed on old dot-matrix printer paper that splits in two (the business copy and their copy). The only time that I know of when you don't need to sign for a credit card is when you swipe your card at a gaspump. I'm pretty sure at every other place a signature is required. Wake up, people !!!
- When people ask me for $7.00 in quarters, which is an odd amount since a roll of quarters is in $10.00 quantities, where I would have to count out 28 quarters out of my register to make them happy.
- When people ask for the wrong carwash package and want to change it when it's already done and they finally come up to me to pay for it.
- When I get people who ask for refunds. That just doesn't work since my place doesn't normally do refunds, only on rare occasions.
- When I'm getting out of my work to get onto the expressway. Where I work (in Chicago on Fullerton Ave), there is an intersection only a block away that is one of the busiest and most dangerous in the city, where it is really hard to find the correct time to get out safely.
- When customers don't get the idea that the people who detail their cars DO have to make a living off of minimum wage, that a $1.00 or $2.00 tip is good for the pair of people who do a car. Normally I have to settle these arguments between the workers and the customers. A tip should actually be required where I work, where it is not presently.
- When people don't know how to read an item for a price. There's a small store where I work, and they have HUGE price tags on them to show the price. Most people are blind and come up to ask the price on it. I flip it around and point at the price right there in broad daylight.
- When the desk is messy in my office, where I have to sit all day long.
- When my manager doesn't seem to realize that I need to take a break for lunch. Normally this happens around 3:00PM, when I'm about ready to eat my fingers off. I start at 7:00AM and get off at 6:00PM on a good day.
- When we have to close early on account of bad weather (such as a storm that has rain, snow, sleet, etc).
- When people ask me idiotic questions that are quite self-expanitory (such as the question - "How much do I owe you ?" when the register's LED screen says the amount they owe). Same goes for if they can use credit cards, where the stickers are right in front of them on the window showing the kinds of credit cards we accept.
- When people use their walkie-talkie cellphones to make calls. I especially hate the "beep-beep" sound that starts the talking and ends it. Ugh, so annoying.
- When people talk on their cellphones when they're paying for their carwash. I think they're talking to me but they're talking to them. And when I think they're talking to them, they're talking to me.
- The fact that there is no cable TV (we have free TV though) or internet at my work (although we do have a computer). All of the Spanish, news, and free public-access channels get boring after a couple of hours, as with Solitaire, Freecell, and Minesweeper.
- When the printer for the computer on the back wall does not want to work. I had to fiddle with it for like 2 hours today and FINALLY got it to work again. (We have a computer that controls all of the equipment in the carwash tunnel on what needs to be turned on at what certain tmes and for which carwash packages). We have a printer on it since it keeps a count on how many cars we do in a day and it is also based on what we sold during the day. It is essential to make printouts for that place, as we'd be lost on all of the paperwork if we didn't. I was fiddling with it because my manager was completely lost with it after like 10 minutes.

What grinds my gears when I'm driving
- When I'm cut off by a prick who weaves in-and-out of heavy highway traffic.
- When someone behind me is almost tail-gating me to go faster. (I normally do a couple of MPH above the speed limit to be safe).
- When there are people on the roads who go way BELOW the speed limit, and when people behind me get around ME, and I don't have much of an opportunity to get around the person in front of me.
- When I'm stuck in a traffic jam on the expressway, which can cost me a couple hours of my life.
- When I'm stuck in traffic on the expressway, to find out that everybody's looking at an accident on the other side of the expressway, just to see what happened.
- When someone is a bit too much "horn happy" and lays on their horn when the light turns green (or when I'm at a stop sign), and want me to GO RIGHT NOW. Please, just wait for a couple of more seconds, as I want to be safe than sorry.
- When people read the "STOP" signs for "SLOW" and don't even actually make a good stop at all.
- When people around me blast their sound systems to shake the earth with crappy music that I have no taste in.
- When people have broken brake lights on their cars, so I have absolutely no idea when they're going to make their stops until at the last second.
- When people lay on the brakes at the last possible second.
- When people blow through the red lights at intersections.
- When people are too dumb to realize that the light is green, I lay on the horn for a second to make them GO after a 30-second wait. I rarely ever do this, because I hate using the horn.
- When squirrels and other such furry animals don't know how to look before crossing the street, and almost get run over by me.
- When people decide to double-park in the middle of Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago (a very busy street) and that everyone has to drive around them to get going to where they want to go.
- The fact that we have a toll system in Illinois. I paid $50.00 for my I-Pass and had to pay for more tolls (since I had used it so many times). So annoying, because the toll system was supposed to be temporary and made the government billions and billions of dollars, so they just decided to keep it.
- The fact that gas prices like to go to "record-high" prices and go to very low prices quite quick. I'd like it if it would always stay low.
- When people talk on their cellphones when driving, and haven't a clue on what's going on.
- People who drive big SUV's and act like that they own the entire road.
- Getting stuck behind a CTA bus or a semi-truck on the streets or on a highway.
- When people on motorcycles modify them to be REALLY LOUD, to ear-shattering depths, and drive around you at a red light and speed on ahead.

Don't grind my gears people - I want to see lengthy replies on what grinds your gears. Get on writing !! (By the way, it can be about anything, like school, work [which is what I chose], on your computer, etc). The reason is that I want this thread to be a great thread to read through (since I find that reading other people's pet peeves is intesting) and easy enough to comment on. The last thing that I'd what is to get this thread locked since it could be a "spam thread". Don't let it get like that. Thanks. Razz

- Mike.

a.Bird

What grinds my gears is that you expect me to read all of that. Why would I want to spend 10 minutes reading about things that cause anger. I'd rather read about things that make you happy. In fact, to think that you spent that much time focusing only on what "grinds your gears" gives me negative ideas about your general personality. I don't know, maybe you're just trying to vent. Sorry if I sounded harsh.

izcool

a.Bird

Listen, this is the last time I'll respond because I don't want to spam your thread. I'm sure I can relate to a lot of stuff that you posted but I don't know because you are right, I haven't read it. That's what I initially tried to imply. I see stuff happening everyday that makes me think "am I already in hell?" but I realize that allowing these things to grind my gears is eventually going to cause one of those gears to completely snap, forcing me to break down. My question to you is, instead of ranting about these things, wouldn't you rather spend the time doing something more productive, like appreciating all the great qualities in life? Where does this get you? Okay maybe two questions.

rightclickscott

You know what really grinds my gears, especially on online forums?

-People who use quotes after their posts so it seems like noone knows what exactly they're talking about.(^)
-People who say lol every five seconds.
-When the same thread is created 50 times.
-F*cking automatic censorship sh*t. I mean, come on, kids say worse words than I do everyday.
-People who just jump on the opportunity to burn someone else. Don't they have better things to type?
-People who try to make themselves sound smarter than everyone else.
-People who can't atleast use good grammar. I mean, I know there are people who can't speak English, but I mean:

Seann

what grinds my gears is when you go to buy something from the shop and your a few coins short of what you need
bah =[

a.Bird

rightclickscott

bdoneck

I'm a high school senoir and After riding the Bus to school for 13 years I have developed a huge annoyance towards one thing:

Parents Driving their Kids to the Bus Stop.

Sometimes I can understand: If they live far enough away from the stop that it would take 5+ minutes to walk or it is cold enough that they shouldn't be standing outside.

Honestly though, I've seen people with driveways maybe 50 feet long that have been late for the bus so they ran out, got into their car and drove to the end of their driveway. I've also seen parents sit and wait with their kid in the car on a day that it's beautiful and 75 degrees fareinheight outside. It really ticks me off that some people are that protective of their children that they can't let them walk 20 feet and stand at the bus stop with their neighbors for 5 minutes.

brilliantbeauty

ThornsOfSorrow

I totally agree with the bus stop thing. I live on a dead-end street in a safe town, yet all of the parents drive their lazy kids down the street every single day, and they're always waiting to pick them up at the end of the day. For people like brilliantbeauty, I can understand wanted to sit in a warm car until the bus comes, but on a nice day, there's no reason why a middle school or high school kid can't be independent enough to walk down the street. When I was in high school (now I sound like an old person telling a story...) I used to walk up a huge hill to and from the bus stop every single day, no matter what the temperatrue was, or how much stuff I was carrying, or if it was pouring. I don't understand why other people can't do the same. Mad

Here are some other things that make me mad:
-People in gas stations, grocery stores, art stores, etc that aren't even polite enough to say "Hi, how are you?"
-Drivers who do everything in their power to keep me from changing lanes
-Teachers who give quizzes every class, assuming that I have time to study between all of the other homework that I get.
-People who ask me if I'm PMSing every time I get mad about something, even if I have a good reason to be mad.
-People who cheat on their significant others
-Girls who go around flaunting themselves
-The fact that every guy who I'm friends with ends up asking me out at some point and then never talking to me again when I tell them that I want to stay friends.
-People who talk about me behind my back, especially if they've never talked to me, or even seen me in person. It's really depressing...
-The fact that a lot of people can't seem to handle seeing other people's emotions (feeling awkward when a friend is crying)
-When my best friend looks at one of my paintings that I've spent hours working on, and either says nothing or says something negative
-When people make fun of me for crying or being depressed over something (I don't understand how whenever someone is depressed, it automatically makes them "emo")

HoboPelican

I thought of a lot of things that get me going, but ya know...it all boils done to one thing. Rude people piss me off.

The dickhead who sees a mile long line of cars in one lane and races to the front and cuts in....Rude.
The jerk who cuts in front of me on a freeway without using their blinkers....Rude
The bastard who slids into a long line as they are talking to a "friend"...Rude.
The person who thinks they are entitled to any special treatment...Rude.
People who don't give special treatment to those that obviously need it....Rude.
The cellphone driver who THINKS they are driving fine...Rude...and dangerous!
Heck, people using cell phones in crowed areas...Rude.
People using the walkie-talkie type phones in public....Freakin' Rude.

So, really, only one thing ticks me off.....Rudeness.