Nothing in particular, gripes I suppose...

[Buster Bakdorzin]

Just a few business related "things" which intrigue me. The first of which is secretaries/receptionists. Not a thought which popped into my head this afternoon, just something Ive been observing for years... The biggest ars3holes always seem to have the most unhappy sounding secretaires/staff, most notible in the small 2-4 man sized companies. The kind that sound as if they are always in a flap. Yet the employee often stays there for years, despite the fact that you can tell what a misery their job most probably is. Muppets.

And rude receptionists. How on earth do they get away with being anything less but delightful?!? She is the face of the company, the most important person in many respects youd have thought. Can only be put down to "Boss doesnt care"

And liars. Why, when you return someones call and leave a name and number, do other (clearly lazy/busy) people within the company "pretend" to take the telephone numbers you give them? You can usually tell when they are "pretending" to write a number down, and after youve given them the second alternative number you then ask them to read the numbers back to you the line instantly goes dead. Had this happen quite a few times over the years.

Chap impressed me last week by not hanging up when asked to read back either of the numbers he had taken down afterwards, because his pen "went dry" ... a good 10 seconds after he'd taken down the second number.

That'll do for now And no you cant have your 60 seconds back

[markcoznottz]

il give you a business related gripe; directors/ bosses of (usually) small companies who treat you like a paye employee, even though you're a self employed sub contractor!, actually make that treating you worse; all the disadvantages of being self employed, no job security, no dinner, holiday, pension, limited rights etc etc, but none of the benefits of being self employed, ie they dictate hours and talk to you like you are an employee, tell you how to do your job and how how to run your business.

[singlecoil]

markcoznottz said:

ie they dictate hours and talk to you like you are an employee, tell you how to do your job and how how to run your business.

Don't let the tax people know about that, or you, and the company be taxed as a normal employee.
BTW, does your keyboard have a 'shift' key?

[fergywales]

Absolutely spot on there. Should you wish to avoid the tribulations of proving your self employment, I would avoid pointing out publicly the fact that you are having your hours dictated to you, as this is one of the primary questions asked during investigation.

Speaking from experience, other areas considered to deem you a "ghost" employee would be that you are solely working for a single organisation, that your representation of a company is direct to their customers, and that you are provided with all of your equipment to complete your obligations in your contract.