One of our big supermarkets chains is in the news today for refusing to print a photo of a five month old child with a naked butt. The photo is deemed pornographic. Actually, the child in question is now 21 and his mother wanted a baby picture of him put on his birthday cake but staff refused to do it until the butt was covered with a star.

How utterly ridiculous is that?

A few years ago, Boots, another high street chain store, reported customers for having naked pictures of their children on their camera. The child in question was a baby enjoying a soak in his bath.

I have to confess to having taken pictures of numerous cousins, nephews and nieces in various states of undress, particularly cute ones in bathtubs with bubbles all over them, or on changing mats. So, does that make me a child molester? Should I confess my sins or burn the evidence?

The cost of living in the UK is becoming ridiculously high and it is starting to really hit pockets. The rising cost of fuel is prompting a few of my work colleagues to seriously consider shortening their hours or to car share if it is an option.

As a regular public transport user, my weekly ticket is increasing by £3 this weekend (that’s just under $6) which is an outrageous hike in price. Luckily for me I discounted travel as my dad works for the company and I’ve also managed to get more vouchers from his friends.

British Gas and other fuel suppliers are hinting their bills may increase by 40% this year which means a lot of families aren’t going to be able to keep themselves warm this winter. Yet, these same companies don’t even have the grace to be embarrassed when they announce record profits.

Food prices are also on the increase and there is a growing fear many families will default on their mortgage payments as they struggle to keep their heads above water.

ROCKIN’ ALL OVER THE WORLD
LOST HIGHWAY
BORN TO BE MY BABY
BAD NAME
CAPT. CRASH
RUNAWAY
SLEEP w/ Mercy & Twist & Shout
BLAZE OF GLORY
WHOLE LOT OF LEAVIN’
ALWAYS
IN THESE ARMS
WE GOT IT GOIN’ ON
IT’S MY LIFE
KEEP THE FAITH
I’LL BE THERE FOR YOU - RICHIE VOX
DRY COUNTY
HAVE A NICE DAY
WHO SAYS YOU CAN’T GO HOME
LIVIN’ ON A PRAYER

ENCORE:
HALLELUJAH
WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE
BAD MEDICINE w/ Shout

Always and Dry County were out of this world and I had goosebumps through the last one. You could feel the emotion. You also haven’t heard Livin’ On A Prayer until you’ve heard 40,000 people singing it at the top of their voices while the band listens on. The same thing with Wanted Dead or Alive. Totally gives you the shivers!

Last night, I went to see Bon Jovi at Hampden for the second time and it was a fabulous night despite the fact it poured with rain the whole time. We were in the stands so we were undercover but I really felt sorry for those standing in the middle because they were drenched. It didn’t dampen their enthusiasm though and they were soon bopping up and down.

The gates opened at 4 pm but we decided to go late and arrived just before 6 pm which is when the first band came on - a local unsigned band from Glasgow called Logan. I’m so glad we went late otherwise we would’ve been sitting there for 2 hours waiting on something happening. I think most people had the same idea because it took ages for the stadium to fill and a lot of the standing area at the back was empty since many people chose to stay undercover near the bar and food outlets inside the stadium itself.

The support band was The Feeling, a band I’m not too familiar with but they were on for an hour. I’m not sure that was really planned because I’m sure they said after 30 mins they were playing their last song. They ended up just playing on so I’m guessing there was some kind of delay with the main show. I recognised a few songs from the advert for their album and that bloody, irritating song from the Toyota advert. I was really starting to get bored with them after half an hour. Why, oh why, didn’t Daughtry come over!

By 8:30, the crowd nearer the stage let out a huge roar and although I couldn’t really see anything, we got out of our seats like a shot. Bon Jovi were on the stage! They started off with a cover of the Status Quo song, Rockin’ All Over The World, which had us all jumping around. There was no walkway through the crowd which disappointed me a little but I’m not sure if that was because of the rain or the stage set just didn’t allow for that. It seemed to me there was less interaction with the crowd compared to the last show but again, it may have been down to the rain and the stage set up.

One of my biggest peeves is people can’t seem to sit in their seats at stadium gigs, I constantly had to move to let people pass and it was starting to piss me off big time especially when I was trying to record some of Dry County which is one of my favourite all time songs. It is just such a big, epic song and it is rarely played. I didn’t see it at the time but the fans in the Golden Circle had a huge banner with Dry County on it and Jon saw it. He came back on to stage after Richie sang I’ll Be There For You, pointed to the banner and the opening bars of the song began. I really wasn’t expecting them to play it and typically, the crowd went quiet. It’s moments like this when you can differentiate between the diehard fans and those just wanting to hear the greatest hits. That’s one of the biggest reasons why I’m desperate to go to one of the Bon Jovi intimate gigs, they are always my favourite DVD shows and the fans appreciate anything they sing.

They didn’t disappoint the crowd, however, and the usual big songs were played. The whole place went wild when Always and Living’ On A Prayer started. Still no Bed of Roses, but maybe next time. My brother like this concert better than the last one but I kinda felt the opposite but it may have been down to the fact the last one was my first ever Bon Jovi concert. You can never beat the first time!

Afterwards, we had to walk through the rain for an hour to get back to the city centre where our dad was picking us up and I was thoroughly miserable. The rain was in my face the whole time and getting into my eyes so much I couldn’t even see at some point. I really wished my contacts had wipers! By the time, we got to Buchanan St, I just wanted to curl and cry. Bloody British weather! My dad had brought a towel for us which I thought was pretty funny. My hair was still damp when I went to bed so I woke up to a riot of bushy waves. Not nice.

My ears are still sore today. I actually had some trouble with the sound last night, it was hurting my ears a lot and some times I couldn’t really make out what Jon was singing. I’m not sure if it was the sound system or just my ears being sensitive. I had to cover my ears when people near me starting doing that shrill whistling.

Oops, this all sounds like I didn’t really enjoy it but I really did. I would’ve paid that money just to hear Dry County alone. I love Jon Bon Jovi and he is such a gifted entertainer - he’s never boring. He was doing his best to get the crowd going last night despite the misery of the rain. He kept making jokes about the weather and how he’d had to wrap up warm. No leather, ladies, just denim.

I blame the Captain for this, I noticed a link for Plurk on her blog, promising it would be more fun than Twitter and was she right! I haven’t had this much fun in ages. It’s very much like live chatting but without all the boring stuff. I’ve never been a big fan of chatting online because I always run out of things to say but with Plurk, I can just disappear and catch up later. It’s also highly addictive!

Join in the fun!

One of our big issues at work is providing excellent customer care and of course everything we do is geared towards providing an excellent service for said customers. Being a government agency, our life is doubly hard because not only are we representing our organisation but also the government as a whole. Unlike most government agencies, say the Tax Office and Child Support Agency, we are not immediately seen as the big, bad enemy and our customers tend to be more friendly towards us, however we do get the occasional person who thinks we were put on this earth specifically to solve their life issues.

I don’t have a problem with customer service and I strive to do my best to ensure customers have no reason to complain. My main job is on reception so I tend to be the first point of contact for most customers, especially if they don’t really know why they are calling or to whom they need to talk. Our organisation recently attempted to achieve Chartermark status, a fancy award which means we provide excellent customer service, but when the criteria changed we had to abandon it as our work just does not fit into those goalposts. While we were pursuing it, we had lists of things we had to do to prove we provided a quality service and we implemented most of them.

However, not at any time did the criteria state what we should expect from the customer. We were expected to bend over backwards and kiss ass to make sure our customers were happy but at no time were our rights being protected. Is it too much to expect a little respect in return? Yes, if you have a valid problem you have the right to complain but that does not mean you automatically have the right to scream abuse down the phone.

I’ve worked in those govt agencies where you are assumed to be the enemy and I’ve been a target for frustrated and angry customers. I’ve taken that abuse because I’m not allowed to retaliate. I’ve been called names and I’ve had to listen to guys describing in detail exactly what they want to do to me sexually. Not nice. No matter how tough you think you are, those type of comments are always upsetting.

I don’t think you can really understand how unpleasant customer abuse is until you’ve been in that situation for yourself. I have cause to complain about things just like anyone else on the planet but I always, always keep my cool. I know what it’s like to be on the other end of the phone and I know that person isn’t responsible for my problems. Speaking for myself, I tend to go out of my way to resolve issues faster for the people who are reasonable with me than those who rant mindlessly.

My reason for this post? I had to deal with a very obnoxious customer today and it left me physically shaking. She wouldn’t listen to anything I said and accused me of not helping her. As it turned out, I couldn’t help her because she wasn’t even phoning the right place. How stupid are you?!

So, next time you have a problem and your first reaction is to grab the phone and hurl abuse, spare a thought for the poor person on the other end. Take a walk, meditate, grab a coffee or do whatever it takes to calm yourself down. Then you can pick up that phone and talk in a rational manner. While I appreciate some companies are difficult and unfriendly, don’t assume we are all the same. Most of us will work through our lunch or stay late to ensure you are happy.

Respect costs nothing.