Timewasters

[NewNiceMrMe]

Just what is it about the modern world that seems to breed timewasters?

Total and utter sodding timewasters who seem to have zero ethics and even less intelligence at times.

I just don't get it.

Wasting your time on the phone, by e-mail, whatever means. They just seem to think life is all about wasting their pitiful little existence on things they're never going to do and probably never intended to do. Some of them even get upset when you tell them you're not prepared to put any more time or effort into them (in a very polite and professional way) unless there is some form of commitment on their part - and then you discover that all they were doing all along was trying to extract as much of your knowledge as possible with no intention of never engaging in business with your company (or employers, or delete as applicable for your own case).

The simple fact, as I see it, is that this day and age seems to be rife with time wasters.

I'm not sure what they don't understand about business, companies, services, products, ethics, morals and general professional behaviour.

Don't feel the need to get caught up or bored by my own issues in this respect, but surely it cannot just be me that is seeing this new trend of arsehole pervade business and society in general?

Please, anybody, tell me you lose hours of effort to time wasters. It'll make me feel slightly less like decapitating someone.

[malagus]

I do on occasion, however as a student I generally get the other side of the coin - the assumption that i'm a timewaster. I don't do timewasting, if I am speaking to you one of us has something to offer the other. The amount of people who switch off though would indicate that many are tired of timewasters.

[NewNiceMrMe]

I don't do the discrimination by age thing because in my experience some of the biggest time wasters are old enough to know better - but the volume of timewasters does seem to be increasing to a point where you begin to become suspicious of everyone.

I'd never actively seek to pursue an enquiry of any apparent seriousness if I knew I had no intention of furthering my interest, but that doesn't seem to apply to a lot of people nowadays.

[Andrew]

Have you been talking to my local Audi centre where I've arranged an RS4 demo when I think my preference isn't one?

[NewNiceMrMe]

That's different. You still have an ounce of doubt about it, don't you? You're going to buy a car - be it an M3 or RS4, and to drive both would be a legitimate part of the decision making process so I'd sleep soundly in your case.

No, I'm just talking about those total feckwits in life who really don't care what level they go to and how much of your time they waste.

[malagus]

I had an hour long meeting with a guy with a view to doing some work. This meeting was in September, and he was almost certain I would have the gig by October. Its now january and nothing. I'm so sick of his excuses I've totally stopped bothering to e-mail him or anyone from his company.

[TIDYDUBS]

You are not alone.......people saying yea ill have that done to my car, when do you want it? I say end of the day or the next day and then just fob me off......peevs me somewhat as i shuffled my day to fit him in then they mug me off! He then asked me the other day being as i work with him (he is a salesman!!! most are ok as i have a good working relationship with most of them.) Told him straight, but politely......sorry you had your chance, dont insult me by asking again. Found it most refreshing.

[Waylander]

I once had to supervise some med students for a session a week.

Now thing is with this new fangled system we are not allowed to "teach" then we basically have to "facilitate" (ie let them get on with it while they teach each other and only be there if they have any questions or steer discussion occasionally)

Complete fecking waste of my time and about half the group...well enough said.

There was a silver lining though - one of the lazy feckwits was a great cook and every week her contribution to the session would be to bring a cake.

SO - I would waste an hour that I had to find elsewhere but got to munch on lovely cake and drink coffee while doing it;)

[stooH]

I would waste an hour that I had to find elsewhere but got to munch on lovely cake

Is that a euphimism?

I experience people who if not out and out timewasters aren't at all straight with you, this time last year I did 3 days on a potential customers site free of charge as well as pulling an all day/all nighter with our MD to get a proposal together which they insisted they needed ASAP (I also got stuck in the snow on the A3 and spent the night in my car driving back from their site). Then when we submitted it all to them by their deadline they turned around and said we're not actually planning to do it this year we're looking to do it next year so we'll speak to you then.

They'd made it clear to us that the proposal was to go to the January board meeting for approval but what they were actually doing was getting budgetary approval for the following year (but they decided to withhold that piece of information).

I've left the company now so I don't know if they've actually come back this month to give them the go ahead but I somehow doubt it.

[Waylander]

No euphinism - Victoria's sponge that I ate was of the cake variety.

[theduisbergkid]

Moan, moan, moan

I agree ! I've just wasted 2 minutes of my life reading through that !

[Andrew]

Well, this thread obviously brought me bad luck; test drive cancelled as they sold the car. That is the third time I've arranged a TD at a dealer, only for them to sell the car before I get there. At least West London Audi had the decency to call me to cancel it today, previously both Berrys BMW (W London) and Guildford Audi were quite happy letting me come in to view the car, despite selling them earlier in the day and not letting me get anywhere near it!