The misuse of highlighters
And let me tell you why.

In my job, occasionally I get lumbered with a stock count, which means checking that all of our thousand or so hearing aids are present. By serial number.

I have a sixty-something year old lady as a colleague, who gets the same fate as I do. I thought that it would be easier to check numbers off the list by highlighting them once we'd counted them, thus when you get nearer to the end, the un-highlighted numbers will stand out. Simple. Apart from the fact that my colleague cannot use a highlighter in the logical way. Instead of using the flat edge of the chisel tip to highlight the text in one broad sweep, she used the point to colour it in.

I put up with this for nearly seven hours (off and on, mostly on) before having to excuse myself to rant to an understanding colleague.

I feel angry just writing about it!
(Doam, Thu 31 Mar 2011, 19:53, 4 replies)

Strikes me as perfectly rational.
Or maybe I'm just as OCD as you are?
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Thu 31 Mar 2011, 20:05, closed)

You could have shown her how to do it properly.
I always do. I am a sort of highlighter evangelist.
(Juan Quar is clinging to her front teeth on, Thu 31 Mar 2011, 20:05, closed)

I think most people
grasp the usage of a highlighter pen within seconds. This evil old bitch should be killed. Go on. Do it.
( stopmeandslapme Cometh the hour, cometh your mum, Thu 31 Mar 2011, 20:12, closed)

Why, for the love of god, do you have to do it with a piece of paper? Surely it would be far, far, quicker using a barcode or similar on the hearing aids (I presume as these are new, the serial numbers are on tags or some packaging?) to just whiz through a drawer and ID each item?
Or is it just my love for simple, effective solutions that is getting in the way here...
( Alex Save a Tree, Eat a Beaver!, Mon 4 Apr 2011, 20:48, closed)