As some of you might have heard, I have a wisdom tooth that is annoying the poo out of me. Seriously, it has gone from just being a bit annoying for a few days every 4th month to giving me heaps of grief for about 2 weeks now.
Last night I decided I would call the dentist emergency number here in the Netherlands to get it extracted as I did with the previous one. Last time I did it it was very straight forward. I called, was given a time and a place. Then show up, get it pulled out and walk home with a the tooth in my pocket and spitting blood on the way, with a huge grin of satisfaction on my face. This time weren’t that fun and easy.
Monday this week I got the emergency number from another dentist, as they couldn’t make an appointment until April. So this morning I called this number, just to discover I had to call another number. I jotted the new number down and then called that. The kind lady on the other end told me I could call another number and ask if I could get help with my wisdom tooth.
Calling the third number and being presented with a phone menu in Dutch I just hoped I chose the right one. Which I didn’t, but this lady was kind enough to let me know which choice I had to make. Then another lady answered and informed me that I had reached a medical doctor, not a dentist.
I called back to the first dentist I called and the nice lady told me to try again and specifically get an dentist appointment.
I called back on the emergency line and got the same lady; and before I just said I needed a dentist she told me when and where I could go.
I was so happy and ecstatic. I know, a bit bizarre to be happy to get a tooth pulled, but I was focusing on how nice it will be to get the last wisdom tooth out.
Before I left for the dentist I told my boss that I had to run to the dentist. He wasn’t too happy that I left, but I couldn’t really care less about his opinion. Seriously. If your employee needs to go to the doctor or the dentist, let them go, don’t be a feelingless arsehole, because it will bite you in the arse later.
As I sat down in the dentist chair I was sadly informed that the extraction is too complicated, as I need to go to a specialist. He gave me a mouth wash to lower the swelling and a letter to give to the specialist.
When I got back at work I called the local hospital and got an appointment 8am on Monday to get the last wisdom tooth finally removed.
I know the last part of this article is in a grey legal area, but I’ve really come to the point where I don’t care any more.
If that wasn’t enough, our boss who really needs to take a course in PR or something as he is totally unable to be articulate when he talks to us. It’s not that we feel threatened, but your employees shouldn’t be laughing behind your back when you “inform” them about things.
Our work load has drastically gone down, which means we don’t have too much work to do. So now and then, like any other office, we get some dead time. And like any other office workers we slack off. Big deal? Apparently for a company that only focuses on statistics. Which again means they don’t care much for quality, as the prefer quantity.
As some of us got caught slacking off, and it apparently had happened a few times before this week he felt he had to address us about it. We were told that we are one of the best teams, of course, like every other team is being told in a situation like this.
The thing that bugged me and my colleagues were the following statement:
“We pay you for being here, so we expect you to work. We don’t pay you to do nothing. If you don’t like that, you can come to me and we can have your contract terminated if you like.”
I’m not quoting him in verbatim, but this is basically what was said to us.
He seemed very stressed when he approached us about it, but he always says stupid things like this. I’m pretty sure when I will inform them that I’m leaving the company, keep in mind I’ve made myself very indispensable, I will probably give him a heart attack.
I think this is enough ranting for today. I’ve also done a “no-no” by talking negatively about the company I work for, but in my defense, this is barely the tip of the iceberg. What we all experience at this company is far from fair. Employees in general shouldn’t be afraid of letting people know if they get badly treated at work. Specially the customers who are actually paying for our slavery; and getting lied to by us, because we are told to do it.
Lindsey (Lindsey_ on Twitter)
27/02/2009
“I was so happy and ecstatic. I know, a bit bizarre to be happy to get a tooth pulled, but I was focusing on how nice it will be to get the last wisdom tooth out.”
I guess it’s the little things in life that bring happiness, haha. This is unrelated to teeth, but it made my whole day the other day when I found out about a recycling center that is close to my apartment and in a good neighborhood. Seems silly but I honestly had a good day for the rest of the day.
I wonder if it’s an introvert thing? – getting really stressed over little things and then being so relieved when they’re out of the way. I guess in your case getting a tooth pulled isn’t such a little thing, but I’m sure you understand what I’m trying to say.
Oh and it’s really horrible to be in a job where they talk negatively to you all the time and make you feel guilty for leaving for necessary things, like medical reasons. I’ve been there, and I understand how very unpleasant it is.
xen
27/02/2009
I truly know what you mean. It is actually the small things in life that makes you happy. You know, that extra change in your pocket so you can buy yourself a comic or that smile form a loved one.
Not sure if it is an introvert thing, but it might be though. We introverts tend to ponder a bit more and are more aware of ourselves. That helps us understand what truly makes us happy. I think we look passed what will happen, and rather focus on the end result.
At work they barely know what is going on, which they are not too happy about me using to my advantage. What can they do? They need me. I pwn them. ;-)