Work schedules. I hate ’em. I’ve always hated ’em. Ditto for television schedules. Hell, just include event planning of any kind. When you say you’re going to do something on a particular date and time, then that something should occur on that date, at that time. And, if you’re going to change the date and time, you really ought to warn the people who might be anticipating the occurrence of same. Getting my drift?
Let’s say, you really want to watch that new show on Scifi channel, and they’ve told you it’s going to premiere on thus and such a date. Now, you know this is Sciffy, and you don’t want to record the hundred or so other airings of the same program, so you set the DVR (don’t have one? Get one. There’s two kinds of TV watching; before you have a DVR, and after. There is no going back from the experience) to restrict itself to the announced time and date of the program.
…and then they change it! No warning, no nothing. If the program is part of SciFi Friday, if you promote it as being part of SciFi Friday, doesn’t it make sense to leave it as a part of SciFi Friday, to aviod confusion. SciFi is just an example. ABC, NBC and CBS are worse; especially with the not-so-popular shows that tend to get shuffled around. Don’t even get me started on the subject of Fox and Firefly; or TVLand and their inability to actually start shows within 10 minutes of scheduled showtimes. What’s the point of an announced schedule if you aren’t going to adhere to it?
Or the family event that you’re expected to attend. Someone else does the planning, you’re just along for the ride. Tell me when to show up, and I’ll be there. Then they change it, never tell you they changed it, and are actually puzzled when this annoys you. “No, really, I like driving an hour for no reason, and then waiting for the rest of you clowns to show up. I want to do that more often” Common courtesy, ever heard of it?
Then there’s work schedules. Cast in stone, never to be altered, work schedules. You never have the days off that you want. Somebody else has always got better days off than you. And if you are setting the schedule, no one ever wants to work shifts outside of 8am to 6pm; and even in a 24 hour 365 day business, no one wants to work holidays at any time. They all whine incessantly. But you can’t change the schedule, because it’s the schedule that everyone has agreed to abide by.
Or at least, that’s the way it ought to be. Reliable scheduling, at least at work.
(here’s a thought, try offering cash incentives for holiday work and after hours work; and make sure the employee’s understand it’s an incentive. Or perhaps you should axe a few of the whiners just as an example to the rest of the crew. I just wish I could do that when it comes to family outings…)
