21 Dec 2009

A SEASON OF GOOD WILL TO ALL, REALLY?

A Petty Witter news review, this week with a bit of a difference.
Christmas - the season of good will to all mankind or is it? Not if you read the following articles it isn't.
8 minutes 22 seconds is how long the average Briton will wait before loosing his or her rag (temper), according to a new survey. The 'Point Of Impatience' as the broadband provider Talk Talk calls it, arrives after 3 minutes 38 seconds if you're waiting for a website to load, 5 minutes 4 seconds if you're holding on the phone, 5 minutes 6 seconds if you're watching the kettle as it boils (as you do. PW) and 1 minute 3 seconds after Simon Cowell (a man we 'love to hate'. PW) opens his big mouth.
OK so the last statistic probably isn't true but the survey did also show the following .......
It takes 8 minutes 38 seconds if you're waiting to be served in a restaurant, 10 minutes 1 second if you're waiting for friends to show up, 10 minutes 43 seconds if you're waiting in for a tradesman, and 13 minutes 16 seconds if you're waiting for a reply to a voicemail or text.
So what happens beyond this so-called Point Of Impatience?
37% cancel a service, 38% demand to speak to the manager, 27% start shouting, 26% slam down the phone, 14% walk out, and 3% throw something across the room.
And it's getting worse. Most of us admit to reaching boiling point faster than before, with 'frustrated youngsters' almost five times more likely to get physical as the over 45's.
Certainly well beyond the Point Of Impatience were these two neighbours who now face a £160,000 legal bill.
A row over six square metres of front garden cost a battling neighbour about £160,000 in legal costs.
A COUNTY COURT judge ruled last year that the plot, which is home to a few shrubs between two driveways, belonged to (we'll call him) 'A.' Not happy with the decision, his neighbour 'B' took the case to the COURT OF APPEAL where he was unsuccessful again, and was ordered to pay the costs of the whole action.
One side's legal bill was estimated at £70,000 after the county court hearing, and the appeal court case is expected to add £10,000 on each side.
All of that money spent on a mere six square metres. Was it really worth all that arguing over?
And talking of arguing there's been a fair amount of that happening at the World Pie Eating Championships.
The world pie eating championships proved once again to be a controversy-strewn battleground as the sole woman competitor stormed out and officials banned gravy after rumours of doping with cough mixture.
Drama also engulfed Harry's Bar in Wigan, the contest venue, as the owner entered a protest against the exclusion of Wigan pies in favour of rivals from nearby but 'foreign' Adlington.
"We were stunned," said one of the town's local pie-munching favourites. "My mate and I have been practising for weeks on small soft Wigan pies, and at the last minute, they've substituted these monsters." (For the full version of this saga click HERE).
And finally, ROAD RAGE. Said to be on the increase, and though thankfully rare, there have even been reports of people being killed as a result of it. Is this traffic light the answer then?
Among the winners of this years Red Dot Design Awards one concept is catching the imagination of the online gadget community: the EKO traffic light. Damjan Stankovic's design is much like any other stop light except for one crucial difference - it incorporates a progress bar so you can work out how long you'll have to wait.
A good idea or bad? Thinking of some of the other places that have similar gadgets (the x-ray department of our local hospital, a post office which, OK, doesn't tell you how long you'll have to wait, just the number of people in front of you) I'm trying to think if this makes the waiting any easier and therefore increases the length of time before we reach our own personal Point Of Impatience or not. Probably not but it does give us something else to moan about which might, just might, take our minds off how long we've ben waiting. - at least for a while.
All today's newspaper articles were edited versions courtesy of the Guardian.

14 comments:

chitra said...

Here in India we have to wait and wait to get our things, nothing happens fast, and I am really surprised to see people bearing ,or tolerating but for insignificant things they would make such hue and cry.

UberGrumpy said...

Stop reading the Guardian, PW, it'll make you cross. You should read a happy paper like The Sun

Vivienne said...

LOL! What a fantastic blogger you are! I'll definately be back to visit, and I'm looking forward to following u!
:)

Dorte H said...

Are you British really such hotheads?

In public waiting rooms I am usually a saint, but I can´t stand waiting on the phone - especially not if they send horrible muzak into my ears.

Kissed by an Angel said...

I amd surprised that people are so tolerant!!! I'm much more short tempered than anything in the article you posted!!!!
xxxx

Alyce said...

I think I am the most impatient on phones. There are a few places where calling for service means you have to wait up to 2 hours on the phone just for someone to help you (like Qwest a few years ago when we wanted to cancel our phone service, and sometimes the IRS). But I don't get violent or anything (although I think my husband has been the one to make most of those calls that lasted forever - what a patient man he is).

Our post office and x-ray department don't have a waiting system like that. You just have to wait your turn, and in the case of medical offices you never know how long that's going to be. At least in the post office you can see the line in front of you. (But I am from a small town, so maybe this is different in large cities.) The only place around here that gives you a number is the DMV.

Kelly said...

I don't know about other places (although it sounds like the UK is a pretty impatient place, too!), but I think the US has become a society "instant gratification". And if we don't get it, then we get angry or impatient. It's really a shame in many ways, but I have to admit I'm often guilty myself.

As for the road rage, I remember an incident in our own little town where someone got impatient waiting at the drive-thru bank and got out and shot the person in the car in front of them!! I've never really known if there was actually more to that case, but still... a horrible thing!

Melissa (My World...in words and pages) said...

This is part of what I think the season is unfortunately becoming. We are putting to much stress on things and expectations on others. People expect you to be there, and it is everyone that wants you around. I wish we didn't put so much into money and materials items, it would be nice to have just a simple little holiday where I seem my family as I get there with no one being mad or upset because I am late or not able to make the time they have set.

Well, I hope everyone a happy holiday! ;)

Jenners said...

Not sure I want to know my own Point of Impatience ..

Alexia561 said...

Another great post! I think my point of impatience depends on my mood of the moment, but I try my best to not get upset at things I can't change (like the wait at a traffic light). Actually, I like the idea of knowing how long the traffic light will be, as I swear some of them take forever! :D

Trac~ said...

WOW and here I thought I was an impatient person! LOL And don't worry - Simon Cowell is a person the Americans love to hate too - though, I think he's a real funny man and shoots from the hip and tells it like it is and really doesn't care what the rest of us all think. HA! P.S. You will LOVE the peanut clusters and if you really wanted to make them somoreish - you could always add marshmellows to the mix. Let me know if you have any questions! Have a great day! :o)

Felicity Grace Terry said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Felicity Grace Terry said...

Welcome to P&P Vivienne. Always good to meet new people.

Betty Manousos said...

Peety, i totally agree with Trac about Simon Cowell.
Have a wonderful and happy Festive Season!
Wishing you PLENTY OF WELL-DESERVED HAPPINESS!
much love and
hugs hugs!