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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:14:05 AM EDT
[#1]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I had to have a part made (Machine shop) and they asked when I needed it done I said I was at the mercy of them and whenever they could do it would be fine. I gave it to them yesterday morning and I got it back this morning and they even powder coated it the same color as the machine. Asked how much and they said to see if it fits first and I could pay them later. They said they were used to people being demanding and I was the first person that was nice to them in a couple years This is the way I try to run my shop. We may have a 2-3 week backlog on stuff, but if you're not a douche and I have some downtime or am already shooting the color you need, I'll squeeze it in so you can get your stuff back, especially smaller parts. Our "bigger" customers, mainly the custom diesel shops, that every job has to be expedited because they waited til the last minute and now their customer is screaming at them are the ones that make me want to pull my hair out |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:15:13 AM EDT
[#2]
Back when I did residential concrete work here and there (mainstay was heavy industrial) I ran into one of those. Older guy and I could tell right off the hop that he was a special one. He wanted me to quote removing and replacing his front winding sidewalk. I had a measuring wheel so I just started walking down the center of the walk to measure it when he came unhinged. Yelling at me saying i'm a crook for cheating him on the square footage by not measuring the inside part of the radius'. I thought about explaining why I was going down the middle but instead I just stared at him for a couple seconds and then got in my truck and took off. He called my office a couple times demanding to speak to the owner. My receptionist told him each time that he had met the owner when he came out to measure.
Some people are just not happy unless they're miserable and making everyone else around them miserable as well. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:15:16 AM EDT
[#3]
I’m not a tradesman, but I agree that the average level of decorum has declined. I blame social media and CV19 lockdowns.
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:15:45 AM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I think I might be overly nice to contractors when I hire them. I feel guilty for not doing the work myself. I've never had to hire a contractor, other than HVAC, but i feel the same way  (I do most things myself and have several contractors in the family for the big stuff) |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:17:09 AM EDT
[#5]
COVID broke some people. No idea why, but some people just let their inner asshole out after the pandemic.
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:17:27 AM EDT
[#6]
Generally speaking I can tell if I want to work for someone in 5 minutes or less just from what comes out of their mouth.
One of the best, or worst depending on you look at it was a Brain Surgeon (no joke) who just moved to town. When I arrived he was raising hell with Nebraska Furniture Mart over a sofa pillow.a minor mistake, but he wanted them to kiss his ass. Then during our 'To Do List' discussion the phone began to ring, and it rang, and rang, and he said with a red face "I'll be be right back". He ran up the stairs yelling "Answer the FUCKING phone". Then proceeded to storm into his kids rooms calling them "Lazy Mother Fuckers". Then he came back down stairs and said "Where were we?" No way, no how would I work for someone like that. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:17:33 AM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I worked for Discount Tire Co for almost 10 years. The shit I had said to myself and my coworkers because people assumed we were just dirty tire monkeys was impressive at times. I had many complaints filed against me when I stood up for myself and my coworkers. DTC had their customer base trained that if you complained, we would instantly roll over and give them exactly what they were asking for. The general public is full of idiots and assholes, I’m glad I’m not in that sector anymore. Discount Tire wrecked the finish on all 4 wheels.of my car. Looks like they used them as wear plates on a tractor bucket. They tried to weasle out of it by saying the tire protects the wheels and I must have curbed them on the way home and they were dirty so it must have been old. The entire trip home (~60 miles) has no curbs, weather was rainy and has travelled dirt roads so things were dirty and the center of my wheels, the damages section, sticks out proud from the tire almost 1/4". After that last little bit of info they basically looked around in horror and walked away and ignored me. Never using them again. I've been using them for every vehicle in the entire family for almost 20 years. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:17:58 AM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted: We're hiring. You can learn industrial controls and electrical right? You might even be able to work in some relocation money we need electricians so bad. We even overlook the fact that you guys are scared of brooms and picking up trash. I think that's a requirement for electricians while on all commercial sites.
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:19:34 AM EDT
[#9]
Quoted: 30+ years of being an electrician and I had to walk out of a customer's house. I get to the customers house and the wife greets me at the door, introducers herself we shake hands she invites me in. ( no this is not a dear penthouse story) I wish! I asked her what she was needing and before she could get a word out the husband, I assume walks in the room and asked me if we are able to do the work. I said I'm not sure what you need yet I told him. Then he says very rudely " I just can't have uneducated people in my home and take the chance on you or your ill trained employees burring my house down." I shit you not! I just looked at the guy waiting for him to laugh or something, nope he was dead serious. I just turned around and walked out. I could hear the wife asked him what the hell his problem was as I walked out the door. Any of my fellow tradesmen seeing this trend of extremely rude customers trending more? Doesn't sound like they're a customer <shrugs> Nick |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:19:56 AM EDT
[#10]
I've done service calls in my industry for 23 yrs. All renters.
I have a shrine to the house god... And it's always " please o dear humble house god...God of leaky water heaters and creator of tampons in drain lines, master of bad gfics and to your father...the blessed God of blown AC capacitors on Saturday's.......please bless these renters so they may know your eternal glory of home ownership.....Amen. " |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:20:40 AM EDT
[#11]
Quoted: 30+ years of being an electrician and I had to walk out of a customer's house. I get to the customers house and the wife greets me at the door, introducers herself we shake hands she invites me in. ( no this is not a dear penthouse story) I wish! I asked her what she was needing and before she could get a word out the husband, I assume walks in the room and asked me if we are able to do the work. I said I'm not sure what you need yet I told him. Then he says very rudely " I just can't have uneducated people in my home and take the chance on you or your ill trained employees burring my house down." I shit you not! I just looked at the guy waiting for him to laugh or something, nope he was dead serious. I just turned around and walked out. I could hear the wife asked him what the hell his problem was as I walked out the door. Any of my fellow tradesmen seeing this trend of extremely rude customers trending more? Sounds like the husband is well equipped to fix whatever issue his life throws at him. What a loser. Good on you for walking out. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:21:19 AM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted: You're lucky, I run into them all the time - architects are generally over represented, but there's a fair amount of engineers, managers, and financial types in the mix as well. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: There is a certain breed of person with a college degree who really does think that anyone who is not at least as "educated" as they are is a hopeless simpleton who is incapable of being in the rain without drowning. They tend to be fairly few and far between. But they are memorable when you encounter them. You're lucky, I run into them all the time - architects are generally over represented, but there's a fair amount of engineers, managers, and financial types in the mix as well. Nick |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:22:14 AM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted: There is a certain breed of person with a college degree who really does think that anyone who is not at least as "educated" as they are is a hopeless simpleton who is incapable of being in the rain without drowning. They tend to be fairly few and far between. But they are memorable when you encounter them. So you have met my grandson too, small World ! |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:23:13 AM EDT
[#14]
Only thing I would have done different was telling them on the way out that you will spread the word throughout the local trades of his behavior and get them black balled with everyone.
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:23:50 AM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted: COVID broke some people. No idea why, but some people just let their inner asshole out after the pandemic. I say this carefully and don't intend it to make light of war, but in a lot of ways, enduring the pandemic was similar to enduring a war. We live in what amounts, psychologically, to a post-war society right now. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:24:28 AM EDT
[#16]
Resi work sucks....
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:24:44 AM EDT
[#17]
Should have asked some electrical code questions and when he didn’t know the answers, you should humiliated him in front of his wife for being uneducated, ignorant and arrogant.
Then you could announce your hourly rate just quadrupled because that is your rate for uneducated assholes who think they are superior. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:24:47 AM EDT
[#18]
I have a surprisingly low ratio of assholes to cool people.
It really depends on how many dumbasses showed up before you did. The company I'm with has a great reputation and everything up until my arrival is handled very well for the most part. There are a lot of asshole tradesmen and asshole companies out there as well. With everyone being short staffed and lots of companies STILL trying to use covid as an excuse for poor operations, I'd really hate to be a customer who called a random company without checking reviews these days. Always the possibility the husband just said "yes" to whatever project wife dreamed up, so he could get laid and then decided to be a dick about it when you arrived.
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:24:56 AM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Part Covid lockdowns and a big part is people used to saying whatever they want on social media and that bleeds over into real life. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: My wife manages a brick and mortar retail business. She's commented a lot lately on how the customers have been getting increasingly nasty and rude over the last few years. I don't notice it as much myself since I work from home, but yeah, when I do go out I agree that people have become giant dicks. Part Covid lockdowns and a big part is people used to saying whatever they want on social media and that bleeds over into real life. The general sense of despair at our current national state of affairs is no small factor either. I'm sure living under even low levels of constant stress takes its toll. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:25:13 AM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I'm so happy when a tradesmen responds to my emails and voice messages offering them money for their services I could shit myself. I call four and five times in two weeks leaving messages on the business answering machine, fill out contact forms on the web site, and send emails later on in the month. There are companies that I've been trying to do business with for two years and they don't want the money. When I do get a company to pump my septic, patch a hole in the roof, or deliver firewood I offer the workers soft drinks, snacks, and tip afterwords. I'm thinking of hiring a cute girl to do foot massages to see if that helps. I feel like a whore after I find a good tradesman, because I do everything but suck his dick to make sure he remembers my phone number in a positive light. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:25:45 AM EDT
[#21]
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:27:07 AM EDT
[#22]
I am almost a pushover but my business partner who is an ex ranger will tell a customer off in an instant. I was being polite dealing with a customer about his gun who was being a royal ass and trying to bully into the results he wanted even though the agreement was understood before taking the job. My partner grabs the phone and straight to the point tells him to come get his shit and never call us a again.
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:27:39 AM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Do it on a 220 Leg and put a LOTO on the breaker so it can't trip. Uhhh, it doesn't work that way. Breakers trip internally due to the bi-metal portion of the internals. The handle has zero to do with tripping and LOTO devices are for turning on or turning off. Not tripping. now an old FPE or Zinsco or Pushmatic breaker may or may not trip due to the contacts welding themselves together, but that's a whole other issue. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:28:56 AM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted: That's why you stick to commercial Yup, stick to commercial. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:29:00 AM EDT
[#25]
Quoted: 30+ years of being an electrician and I had to walk out of a customer's house. I get to the customers house and the wife greets me at the door, introducers herself we shake hands she invites me in. ( no this is not a dear penthouse story) I wish! I asked her what she was needing and before she could get a word out the husband, I assume walks in the room and asked me if we are able to do the work. I said I'm not sure what you need yet I told him. Then he says very rudely " I just can't have uneducated people in my home and take the chance on you or your ill trained employees burring my house down." I shit you not! I just looked at the guy waiting for him to laugh or something, nope he was dead serious. I just turned around and walked out. I could hear the wife asked him what the hell his problem was as I walked out the door. Any of my fellow tradesmen seeing this trend of extremely rude customers trending more? Damn, if you walk into my house it's, "Thanks for coming! Can I get you a cup of coffee while we go over what we need done?" |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:29:00 AM EDT
[#26]
Im so glad I have zero interaction with the public.
I did retail when I was young and learned first-hand what assholes there are when dealing with the public. Now I'm a loco engineer and I only require people to move out of the way. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:29:15 AM EDT
[#27]
My electrician was asking how I liked my milwalkee m18 vacuum. I was like, you aren't actually going to buy one lol.
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:29:19 AM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Go back and bang his wife.  |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:31:10 AM EDT
[#29]
Good job op.
The husband is mad that he can't do things himself and has to pay others for help. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:32:04 AM EDT
[#30]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Electricity is like voodoo magic to me, so when I have to have an electrician over I do whatever I can to stay out of their way so that I can give them money for doing a job I cannot. This and plumbing. While I'm sure I could eventually/probably do it all with enough time, YouTube videos, and trips to Home Depot to buy parts over and over until I got the right ones, I'll happily pay the lazy tax and let one of the known good contractors in the area do their thing. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:32:07 AM EDT
[#31]
Quoted: If someone is a PITA out of the gate they're going to be a PITA the whole way through the process. Some customers need fired. Yep. I’ve fired prospects and proactively refunded deposits after initial design meetings because I knew certain “clients” would be a nightmare throughout the project. Quoted: There is a certain breed of person with a college degree who really does think that anyone who is not at least as "educated" as they are is a hopeless simpleton who is incapable of being in the rain without drowning. They tend to be fairly few and far between. But they are memorable when you encounter them. I’ve run into more than a few of those types, especially in Northern Virginia. The funny thing about those assumptive types - even though I’m blue collar, I likely have more degrees, certs, licenses and overall, more years of tertiary education than they do. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:32:16 AM EDT
[#32]
I’ll bid rude people 5-10X what I would others. I usually know if your getting that price within a couple minutes of meeting you.
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:33:17 AM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted: There is a certain breed of person with a college degree who really does think that anyone who is not at least as "educated" as they are is a hopeless simpleton who is incapable of being in the rain without drowning. They tend to be fairly few and far between. But they are memorable when you encounter them. If a man is working for a living, I will automatically give them a certain amount of respect, deserved or not. You never know who you are dealing with. That being said, I severely restrict who I let on my property. I try to do everything myself. If I can't, I'll hire it out. I attended a lecture series hosted by the local university last night, regarding some civil engineering/ environmental engineering / ecology overlap. The guest lecturer was a renowned author on the topic and recently retired. I enjoyed the topic, but the few mentions of ESG ruined my perception of the dude as actually being a professional. He even mentioned "following the science"....but apparently only if it aligns with a political agenda. Science and engineering are supposed to be apolitical. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:34:37 AM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I say this carefully and don't intend it to make light of war, but in a lot of ways, enduring the pandemic was similar to enduring a war. We live in what amounts, psychologically, to a post-war society right now. War didn't make me an asshole to everyone I encountered after war. Neither did COVID. It's like drinking. The drunk is being honest, that drunk asshole is the "real" person. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:34:51 AM EDT
[#35]
I saw that alot wonking in California. At the time I was remodeling many second homes for wealthy Bay Area types.
Now for years Ive been working in Northern Idaho. Dont see it at all up here. Not saying that people here are all peachy, just different issues in a different area. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:34:55 AM EDT
[#36]
Walking out was a good decision. Trying to deal with fruitcakes is a waste of time.
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:34:58 AM EDT
[#37]
I'm in manufacturing, engineering manager.
I don't get a lot of overt rudeness, but i do have a lot of frustrating interactions with idiots, usually customer "engineers" with no practical experience. Having a business card and phone extension doesn't make you important or even useful. The best part is when they're wrong but try to play hard ball and CC everyone or call a big meeting and i get to call out their screwups to 3 levels of their management.... |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:35:00 AM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryQuoted: There is a certain breed of person with a college degree who really does think that anyone who is not at least as "educated" as they are is a hopeless simpleton who is incapable of being in the rain without drowning. They tend to be fairly few and far between. But they are memorable when you encounter them. Funny story about that situation. I worked at USC for 29 years. At one point we had a Chief Information Officer, Assistant VP of the University that had his Phd and looked down upon everyone without a phd. Very snooty personality. My old boss said he wouldn’t even talk to his brother anymore because he was “just a farmer”. Here I was a lowly TV Broadcast Engineer with only an Associates Degree. He retired about 6 or 7 years ago. I retired last year. I now live on a lake where as one can assume, is a higher income level area. I stop by our local hole in the wall area restaurant late one Friday afternoon with the wife for lunch and low and behold, there are 2 of my former coworkers, the retired CIO and the retired Provost. Of course struck up a conversation with the old coworkers and found out one of them also lives here on the lake, as does the Provost. He’s around the corner from me. Had a great conversation with everyone but the retired CIO. Didn’t speak a word to me. Still as snooty as ever and I’m sure he remembers me because I’m the kind of guy that you never forget once you meet me. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:35:37 AM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I’ll bid rude people 5-10X what I would others. I usually know if your getting that price within a couple minutes of meeting you. PITA Tax |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:35:58 AM EDT
[#40]
Guessing the wife called you because she didn’t trust the husband to do the job or previously botched it. The husband was just all butthurt and resented the fact you were there to emasculate him.
Worked retail once and dealt with some pieces of work. So many times you’d get that pissed off guy that asks a question. Before you even have time to respond he start bitching “You don’t know, you can’t help me, blah, blah…”. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:37:54 AM EDT
[#41]
Some customers need to be fired.
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:38:22 AM EDT
[#42]
Quote HistoryQuoted: GC here. Certain people think it’s cool to be an asshole nowadays. IME, they are usually only “bad asses” behind the keyboard, you got a real unicorn there OP. This. Not a GC but fuck every son of a bitch like that you guys have to deal with. <----- Is a badass (in my own mind) |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:38:40 AM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Discount Tire wrecked the finish on all 4 wheels.of my car. Looks like they used them as wear plates on a tractor bucket. They tried to weasle out of it by saying the tire protects the wheels and I must have curbed them on the way home and they were dirty so it must have been old. The entire trip home (~60 miles) has no curbs, weather was rainy and has travelled dirt roads so things were dirty and the center of my wheels, the damages section, sticks out proud from the tire almost 1/4". After that last little bit of info they basically looked around in horror and walked away and ignored me. Never using them again. I've been using them for every vehicle in the entire family for almost 20 years. lol, did you check your receipt for the overcharges they call "certificates" the "certificates" they added to my 4 brand new Michelin's added up to more than the cost of ANOTHER new tire. I told them to remove the charges. When they tried to tell me, "they were free anyway because your rebate covered the cost" and I told them they had found a cutesie-pie method of stealing customer's rebates and if they wanted to escalate the discussion to the local police department I'd be happy to walk across the street and file a criminal complaint on their sorry asses NEVER DISCOUNT TIRE  |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:39:28 AM EDT
[#44]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Electricity is like voodoo magic to me, so when I have to have an electrician over I do whatever I can to stay out of their way so that I can give them money for doing a job I cannot. As well as a good plumber too. Much respect to all you guys. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:39:53 AM EDT
[#45]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Electricity is like voodoo magic to me, so when I have to have an electrician over I do whatever I can to stay out of their way so that I can give them money for doing a job I cannot. This. It’s voodoo magic that can kill you and burn the house down around your corpse. @OP , have you tried shitting on his porch? |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:41:17 AM EDT
[#46]
Quote HistoryQuoted: COVID broke some people. No idea why, but some people just let their inner asshole out after the pandemic. Running active psyops on a population always has unintended consequences. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:41:38 AM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Then wire up a dead short and burn his house down. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Go back and bang his wife. Then wire up a dead short and burn his house down. This is the way. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:41:46 AM EDT
[#48]
Wow this turned into a fantasy thread of how beta guys told someone off. Of how they finally stood up for themselves.
Then he said Then I told him Then I walked off, ‘cause I have a clipboard full of people that need me. They absolutely need me. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:42:31 AM EDT
[#49]
Two things.
He either thought his wife was into you which caused him to feel the need to establish dominance. Or He’s one of those special people college boys that think everyone in trade work is an uneducated HS drop out moron. There are people that exist who look down on trade work or think the lack of a college degree means you are an imbecile that couldn’t do anything better with your life. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:43:13 AM EDT
[#50]
Quote HistoryQuoted: War didn't make me an asshole to everyone I encountered after war. Neither did COVID. It's like drinking. The drunk is being honest, that drink asshole is the "real" person. It didn't do that to you. But it did, to millions of Americans. ETA: Also, whatever war you were in, probably wasn't in your home country with your family and friends involved in it. |
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