Insult at work

[millwall ken]

Hi all,
Now for those of you who follow my posts, you will know that I'm currently working as a Maintenance Electrician for a medium-sized shopping centre. Now the job has been swell to date, and I've enjoyed working there. Now the problem - and maybe, just maybe its me being paranoid.
Anyway, I got asked to replace some floor tiles that had been broken. Okay, no big deal you say.
And I done it, and done a damn good job of it if I do say so myself.
Now the problem, my female boss asked me whether I had finished it (yesterday evening)when I bumped into her on my way home.
'Yes, it's done, and I don't think that I've done too bad a job of it, for a sparkie' I proudly boasted to her.
She then turned around to me and said that; that was my job, as a handyman!!!!!!!!!!!
'F****** Handyman', I thought to myself. I then said to her that if 'I'm just a Handyman, then she must be just a small little shop keeper'...
Now I may be wrong here, but to me a handyman is someone who is semi-retired/retired and good at DIY. Not someone who is a qualified sparkie - or ANY tradesman come to think of it. She couldn't understand why I took her comments as patronising and belittling. Or am I just being hyper-sensitive fellas?

 

[Adam W]

I felt the same when I was working in an office a while ago and overheard one of the female administrators refer to me as a 'workman'. I thought "workman? Stupid woman, what does she know?" although obviously I didn't say it out loud.
I reckon she would have taken offense if I had referred to her as an 'administrator' rather than a 'legal secretary'.
Over-sensitive or misogynistic?
Now there's a fancy word after a night in the pub

 

[malcolmsanford]

As Al Murray says working woman .........nurses or secretarys....so a managing director ..secretary.

As someone that as been in both situations, from an hands on guy to office bound now, you will be suprised at the lack of understanding most office workers have regarding tradesmen, as novus say the collective noun for sparks, plumbers, brickies, fitters is "workmen", and to be honest it didn't worry me as long as my bill was payed.

We are the same to be honest, we also use a collective noun for anyone that don't carry tools, "officeworker",

Just grin and bear in Ken, your "manager", who most likely as got a degree in modern art and the influence of Banksy on the urban jungle in respect of post modern culterism and it's dependce of having a totally worthless piece of paper, as no idea of what you have done or the quals you have got, as your a "workman"/ "Handyman" to her.

What use to really get me was some attitude, as if being a workman was a badge of being inferior, ohhh look at the man in dirty clothes.

 

[mogga]

shes just prepping you up for a bit of overtime in her office so you can show her how "handy" you are

Dont rise to it just head down n get on YOU know your a sparky and the other stuff is childs play

 

[mogga]

I was working a few weeks ago in a center n the companys own maintenance spark was passing I said hows it going he replied with some smart --- comment along the lines of "Im glad we got your lot in to do these crappy lights!" (Job was pure hastle 500x500 floury mobs worst designed fitting Iv seen) Anyways I just smiled n replied that Id HAVE to fix them as they obviously couldnt On the back of this wee cruddy job we have now got a fair size relighting LEDS ect job and loads of outof hours at the center and a few other workshops ect He on the otherhand is getting his Tied house option rempoved his van is to be left at the yard and overtime is what WE get

Lesson KEN nomatter what others think , saay so long as YOU can do the job and YOU know what you are They will get their cummupance when ther time comes and YOU can stand tall n think to yourself "Im better than that"

 

[telectrix]

next time she asks you to do a " handyman" job, ask her if she would get a tiler to wire up the electrics.

 

[mattmoo1974]

Shes to stupid to comprehend what you do,thus labels you with handyman.

 

[telectrix]

you could try " i'll fix that handyman job for you if you'll be a good girl and make the tea"

 

[SMB]

Ken, I must admit I feel for you.

People can be so foolish and ignorant, but they are often in a higher position of aurthority than ourselves.

I don't think I can cope with working with idiots anymore. Im expected to go into work tommorow, however, im not going because of zero support and idiots. I have really struggled with people lately, I just don't get the mentality of most of the people I have had to work with over the last few weeks.

Absolutely awful.

And my months wage was a take home of £1084.
I don't think so, they can stick it.






Im going to be self employed and follow my passion of making stained glass windows.





If the 'shop-keeper' you talk about continues to be annoying give me a shout. I will probably be going out in the North Sea again real soon, we could arrange for her to come with me.

Its dangerous out there (espessially if im at the helm).





cough, splutter.......swim.













Sink.

 

[nickblake]

SMB far better than a handy man in this world of being politically correct i would like to advice you that the job you hold is actually a "maintainance engineer"
so mate stand up and be proud you should be ( I used to be a field maintainace engineer ) no i didnt cut the grass i worked maintaining shops all round the country for Mr Clinton cards

as long as they pay you mate

 

[SMB]

Ive made my decision...Im quitting and im going to make art from stained glass.

It will probably be a complete failure but atleast I will be cheerful for the time im doing it.


And......I won't have to mix with idiots.
























Bankrupt in 6 months.....grin.

 

[nickblake]

Dont mate just be your self , i had years of being put down , example when working for CC i found a supply that was wire the wrong way round and had just had a PIR done on it so i rang the the manager of maintainance who told me to ring the company who carried it out so i did only to find he had already done it making me look a right plonker he did it all the time with cont
stant critersisum i had a nervouse breakdown which still hits occasionally as you may have noticed in a post a while ago , now any one puts me down i just agree with them and get on with my work , now im self employed i tend to moan alot at my self talk to myself and answer back too so mate chin up would have loved to have seen the tiles bet they were spot on

 

[rocker]

I don't think you should take it as an insult... we shouldn't expect shopkeepers and secretaries to know the ins and outs of the industry and who's called what. Would we instinctively know the difference between an assistant, a duty manager, a deputy manager, a section manager, a GSM, a DM and an ASM? And if you called a duty manager an assistant manager, do you think they have the right to get upset about it?

Sure, handyman is a bit demeaning to us in the industry, but unless she said it in a deliberately offensive way, I don't think she is trying to pick a fight. Maybe next time make a joke of it, saying something like 'well you may be only paying me handyman rates, but I'm a maintenance electrician' or whatever. If a plumber or a chippy called you a handyman, feel free to knock him out, but these people don't realise the difference.

 

[SMB]

Ha! Its nice to be open Nick, yeah I did see your post about your past problems. Ive also seen a post today from you really trying to help somebody (RCBO). Nice one.

Im not confident enough to become a selfemployed electrician. I have done it in the past though. I have no money, no van and no power tools. But if someone gave me a row of terraced houses to rewire I would grab the oppotunity. Im good at that. The job ive been doing is totally beyond me, I don't have the experience, or confidence, to carry it out. The problem is I have had zero support, it has made me feel ill. Im shocked about the way I have been treated.


What I do have is a small wooden workshop full of stained glass and the skill to make designs to make it look pretty. Not everyones cup of tea, however, I get off on it. What I need is a decent router and the skill to use it efficently.

By the way, I didn't lay the tiles...Ken did.

 

[telectrix]

ken, tell her if she likes the way you laid the tiles....... you can guess the rest.

 

[alarm man]

ken, tell her if she likes the way you laid the tiles....... you can guess the rest.

she'll want her kitchen done..