Our 10 most popular recipes for the month delivered right to your inbox!
I haven't been around much the past few weeks. As some of you know I moved to Iowa in November. I started looking for a job in January but haven't had much luck. I'm going through an agency but they haven't been terribly helpful. They keep sending me entry-level jobs at half the wages I made in GA. I finally asked them if they had even read my resume. The way she hemmed and hawed - I'm gonna say "no"! Meanwhile the TV station that dh works at needed someone to fill in while their receptionist was out for a week for some minor surgery. So I said I'd fill in. I was getting very bored and needed something to do - plus some cash would be nice. Well there were major complications and she won't be back until April 9th. So I'm employed for another 5 weeks. (which is great for me)
BACK TO THINGS PEOPLE SAY: Folks must think a TV station is the same as "411" - I get daily calls from people wanting me to give me phone numbers for other TV stations, the police dept's dispatch number, how to find the nearest Dress Barn, etc. Someone called and wanted to know if they could talk to Mr. Food - wanted to ask him how to keep potatoes from turning dark in potato pancakes. I couldn't make her understand that Mr. Food isn't actually at our TV station - it's a syndicated feature - she accused me of running a scam. LOL! Then there are the "just plain mean" calls. One guy told me to "tell the weather lady she needs to lose a few pounds". And of course all the other strange calls. The morning anchor is a Minnesotan - born and raised. She is of Pakistani heritage. I've had 2 people call and ask me if she's Arab - one guy who actually said "Ay-rab". I just politely tell them she's Minnesotan. That's not the answer they were looking for - oh well. They never call and ask if the other anchors are German or Irish. Interesting.
Anyway - it's been interesting to say the least!
I can so totally relate to those kinds of questions. I supervise the switchboard in the local hospital and we could write a book about the questions we have callers ask!! Just amazing isn't it??
willie
Well it certainly sounds like you're not bored! LOL
Community Moderator ~ Taste of Home.com and Birds & Blooms.com
Feel free to contact me if you have questions or concerns with the Taste of Home website or community.
Feel free to PM me here, find me on Facebook or email me sstetzel.toh@gmail.com
Proudly serving as a Taste of Home Field Editor since 2009.
Glad you were able to find some temporary work GmawMary. People are fascinating, that is so true.. Bet you will hear lots of interesting inquiries while you are there.. :)
Hi, Mary! Sounds like you are having an interesting time.
I once worked for a company where we had DID--direct inbound dialing, so you could reach any employee by dialing the direct number, not going through a switchboard. My number was one digit different from the local cable provider's number. So of course I got all the angry calls whenever cable TV went out. I remember one guy protesting over and over that he "couldn't even watch the ball game!" They all wanted their money back, of course. It did get old!
For some reason, I also used to get occasional pizza order calls on that same line. Those would make me hungry!
Interesting is definitely an understatement. There are a lot of people with direct lines but a lot of calls come through the front desk. The phones are very manageable - not like my last job. In GA I filled in at the front desk when the operator went to lunch. The calls came in every 45-60 seconds with 5 or six calls stacked up at times. The only times the phones get really crazy is if something happens to interrupt Jeopardy or Days of Our Lives. Those people get nuts. One day there was some kind of a problem during Jeopardy and one lady told me that our employees were all morons. A guy used the "f" bomb with me and I hung up on him. He called back and informed me that I hung up on him. I told him that I realized that and would do it again if he cussed at me again. Policy is you don't have to talk to anyone who uses vulgar or threatening language. I use the "f" bomb myself on occasion - just not at other people. LOL!
OMGoodness. 5 more weeks? Let us know what else they say, okay? LOL!
I used to work clothing retail dept. stores, and have lots of stories, too. The general public can be surprising. I never had a prob with anyone, used to just sympathize with them, and listen, but it was definitely unreal some of the situations that arose. LOL!
I think you're gonna have to update us on a regular basis. This was very entertaining! LOL
One of the callers questions that is among the weirdest/stupidist was the guy who called about 12:05PM and asked if the "morning after pill" would still works since they didn't get up before noon?? Should she still take it???? One of the clocks said it was only 11:55AM!!