Posts

Showing posts from April, 2005

The Office Top Five

The Complete Three Years at the Office Top Five: Dumbest Customer Ever: For a few weeks, I was assigned to call customers who have a free, name and address only listing in the directory, and try to convince them to take out paid advertising. This had its ups and downs, and also produced the dumbest enquiry I ever had... Me:"So, can I check your lisitng in the directory (I read out the details)..." Customer:"Yes that's correct. So you say this listing I have is free?" Me:"That's right." Customer:"So, does it cost any money to put a larger ad in the directory?" NO YOU IDIOT! We do it out of the goodness of our hearts! We're running a community service! The other people with free listings just don't want to create more work for us, and the reason some ads are larger than others is because the people who put in the smaller ads don't feel that they are very important. Most Obnoxious Customer Ever: How could I pick just one? Here

Cold Sydney Feet

Two days left at my current job (one and a half, really, minus the time I've spent typing this!) and I still don't have another one. The interview on Tuesday went well I think, or as well as an interview can go at 11am when you've been up since five (bloody trackwork!). It's funny how every company likes to think it's so unique, but all offices, down to their mission statements, inspirational posters, buzzwords and, yes, interview questions, are staggeringly alike. The more time I spend in Sydney, though, the less I want to move there. I've gone into some detail on this before, so I won't belabour the point. Perhaps my impressions are soured because on all recent trips I've arrived after a three-hour, early morning train journey, and I've been wearing uncomfortable clothes. Or I could just be overwhelmed, and a wimp, and looking for excuses to get out of it all. I don't know. Apparently 1000 people move to Sydney every week. They can't all b

It's All Happening Now

Well, I must have said something right on Wednesday. I've been called back on Tuesday for a confirmation interview for an admin position. Basically, unless they hate me, I've got the job. And the pay is great . So now it's all real. Moving to Sydney was just a vague idea in my mind. But now it's actually happening. And I'll have to let my flat, find a new place to live, organise a "garage" sale and some going-away thingy. I'm too tired for all this! There is some good to come of this. Originally my interview was to be at 9am. However when I worked out that due to trackwork, getting to Sydney by then would mean leaving my house at half past the middle of the night, I pushed it back to 11am. This will make it too late for me to go back to work in Newcastle, so I might as well go to the Art Gallery . Or I could engage in less salubrious pursuits...last time I was in the City, I saw a sign outside a strip club advertising "We have lots of beautiful la