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Home » Question of the Week » Annoying words and phrases » Post 692535 | Search
This is a question Annoying words and phrases

Marketing bollocks, buzzword bingo, or your mum saying "fudge" when she really wants to swear like a trooper. Let's ride the hockey stick curve of this top hat product, solutioneers.

Thanks to simbosan for the idea

(, Thu 8 Apr 2010, 13:13)
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office stuff
I spend more of my working day answering my phone than I should do, mainly because certain members of my team "forget" to log into theirs. This winds me up by no small degree which is always exacerbated by the following:

- The phrase "What is it, is...". You don't have to tell me that you're going to tell me what you're calling about, I've already asked you. Just tell me. For example "What it is, is we've sent in an application form". Why not just "We've sent in an application form"?

- Overuse of the words "mate", "pal" or "buddy". It's generally our sales force that are guilty of this. I know they're trying to butter me up so I agree to do a favour for one of their unreasonable clients, but calling me "mate" three times in one sentence is not the way to get me on side. Especially annoying if they haven't introduced themselves; I'm unlikely to recognise you by your voice so your opening gambit should be something like "Hi, this is Steve from the Cardiff office" not "Hiya buddy, how are you doing pal?" leaving me to go "Er...fine? Who are you?".

- I always answer the phone by saying my name and the team I'm in and then saying "How can I help?". You don't need to reply with "Yes, I was hoping you could help..." as I have already offered to help. It's redundant and kinds of implies I'm not actually interested in helping. I am, because once I've sorted your problem out I can go back to doing the work that I'm actually being paid to do.

I don't really hate my job that much, just wish people would let me get on with it and stop filling my ears with verbal diarrhoea.

Oh also, Americans saying "I could care less" when they mean "I couldn't care less". If you could care less about something it means you care a bit about it, not that you don't care about it. If you were full of cake you would say "I couldn't eat any more cake", not "I could eat some more cake". Think about it.
(, Mon 12 Apr 2010, 17:33, 1 reply)
I really hate phones..
and because of that I'm guilty of some of these things. Before I use the phone I have something I have planned to say, that way I hope to give information in a calm, polite way.

So.... when someone on the other end speaks to me, I speak out my script which is usually something like "Hello. I hope you can help me. What it is is that I sent in a form etc. etc.". As soon as I say it, I've just processed what the person on the phone has said previously, and is usually something like "Hello, I bet your calling in about a form you send in and I'm sat here ready and waiting to help you".

At that point I cringe and feel like a right twat.

People shouldn't use phones. People should come round your house in person and help you.
(, Mon 12 Apr 2010, 18:29, closed)

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