Is it just that I’m getting older and more cantankerous, or has the world become a generally lazier place to live?
That might be a good thing, that we’ve become more laid back.
But I’d rather they chilled after they’d read my gas meter, delivered my mail correctly and anything else they’re being paid to do.
Let it be known upfront that the guys who collect the garbage do a fabulous job (I hope you enjoyed your six pack at Christmas). The people who look after the gardens enjoy their breaks, but they work hard when they’re at it.
But of late, I’ve been overcharged for my gas on a number of occasions because of multiple reasons.
The vicious dog which is nowhere near my meter, the gate they seem unable to open, the fence which somehow doesn’t have a gate which – when they do find – never seems to open.
Each time it’s something different. People say I’m a grumpy old man, but if there’s a bright side to all this, it’s the creativity they muster each time they’re finding an excuse not to do their job.
The parcel people are a mixed bag. We have a woman who sings out each time she drops off a parcel.
You see, every time we’re expecting a parcel, we leave the gate open because the gas guys tell us it’s so darn difficult.
So she walks in with the parcel, drops it on the front porch, sings out and drifts off with a thumbs up. Job done.
Then, there’s the other one.
Granted, I’m not home all the time. But the ratio of parcels which the lazy person says I’m not home for, compared to the portion of parcels our friendly lady seems to be able to deliver are some distance apart.
So, I jump in the car and go to the post office, only to be told my parcel has returned to the lazy person’s parcel depot for redeployment.
What annoys me a little isn’t that I have one lazy person delivering my mail.
It’s that there’s another lazy person who hasn’t identified that one delivery person is coming back with a truckload of parcels, in comparison to another delivery person who is doing their job ably and efficiently.
Job done.
