How good is your PA?
I am a great one for people watching and taking note of what people do in public, the best place for this is the train. People get on a train pick up their Blackberry, Iphone or normal phone and off they go, yakking away at the tops of their voices far all to hear oblivious to the world or the comfort of other passengers.
Last night on the 20.20 from Cannon Street to Orpington I had the misfortune to be sitting near a blond bimbo who originated in Essex (says it all really) who from the moment she boarded the train until she disembarked at Petts Wood was shouting away down her Blackberry, with a short break as she lost a signal going through the tunnel after Grove Park when all we heard was “Dad, Dad can you hear me? “ No you moron you are in a tunnel.
During this trip we were greeted by her life story and her boyfriend’s trouble with his ex-wife and the purchase of an IPad for his 8 year olds birthday. But this is not the worst of it.
We were also subjected to her life at JP Morgan, how she was placed there by Hayes who considered her one of their “Success stories”. She had been at a reception with JP Morgan where she was one of the PA’s being honoured.
This PA then began describing her boss, who is Saudi decent, and the department she worked for which handles all the Saudi region. She even went so far as to mention a couple of clients by name (me being an ex-investment banker will not repeat the names) and how they behaved.
After this dreadful behaviour she explained how she had drunk three large glasses of Rose then her and another person went off and had 2 bottles of wine between them.
Her parting comments to her parents was “No I don’t need a lift home I have the car parked on a road in Petts Wood” this after the drink?
Well it makes me wonder what sort of PA you have and are they just as discrete as this young lady, or perhaps JP Morgan just employ useless PA’s
Boadicea's Chariot 
Sounds like JP Morgan should be told about this, RR. Client confidentiality obviously meant nothing to this girl.
I agree it is very annoying to be forced to listen to other travellers’ conversations on a train. In French trains there is a sign in each compartment asking for mobiles not to be used. Once my daughter and I and a French lady were stuck with a loud-mouthed youth, who completely ignored the French passenger’s request that he obey the rule. I started translating what he was saying into English for my daughter, adding my own comments, and he left the compartment pretty quickly after that.
Naughty little madame. Her good points?
Seems to me that she was eminently qualified not as a P.A., but as a Permanent Secretary. You know, one who’s been screwed on the desk … 😕
I’ll get me coat.
If PA stands for ‘Public Address’ then it is small wonder she was being honoured. She was very good at it.
I think I’ll write to JP Morgan and inform them they are in need of my services 🙂
Why does no one tell them to shut the fuck up?
In no uncertain terms?
I have a bit of a problem understanding why others are willing to tolerate it in the first place.
Mrs Osborne,
You are without a doubt, my idol. 🙂
What can say, but I agree with you.
There is no consideration nowadays for any one else and as for discretion they can’t even spell the word.
I was on a train years ago from the Great Metrollops back to Merseyside with one such person lacking in couth. A rather well dressed man eventually approached him.
“I’ve noticed your phone. Very nice. I must get myself one of those. How much did it cost you?”
“Seventy quid, mate.”
With which the man took said offending device from the offender and threw it out of the window with,
“That’s sorted then. I trust you will accept my cheque?”
Top bloke!
OZ
Oz I love the style.
I have to admit to joining in the conversation and asking the telephone user to tell the listener various things, seems to end the conversation rather quickly.
Quite a good wheeze if you can think up complete non sequiters on the go with ease.
CoB, please come over and travel the trains with me. we could have a bundle of laughs 🙂
Laughing here at Tina joining in with observations and advice. That, I would love to see!
Good one, Rick. I must be missing so much real-life inspiration because I rarely travel by train.
I had parked outside a local supermarket last Thursday, shopping with my daughter. (The supermarket is on a main road and the parking spaces are laid out so that you can only drive into them – which means you have to reverse out into traffic.) We finished shopping, loaded the stuff into the car, buckled in and were just about to pull out when some guy double parked behind me, so he could use his phone. I gave him a gentle beep, to indicate that he was in the way and he looked straight at me, and ignored me. I gave hime a much less gentle and more prolonged beep and he did it again. My daughter got an ‘Oh-oooh.’ look as I unbuckled, went round to the back of the car, and walked round to the driver’s side of the other car. His window was open, so I reached in and took the phone out of his hand. I was going to throw it into the building site across the road, but the traffic was quite heavy, so I just walked up to the end of the line of parked vehicles and dropped it there. He moved 🙂
Bravo: bravo, that takes more guts than I have.
In Taiwan and Japan it is a ticketable offence to use a mobile phone in buses or trains, hence very few people used them in those settings. Once or twice I saw it, but they were obviously urgent and they were trying to be as discreet as possible. Landing in California was a nightmare as some had no gumption about holding loud conference calls on the train.
Der… Getting to the topic of the original post… The woman didn’t have the sense nature guaranteed an ant. That, unfortunately, is becoming ever more common as fewer and fewer standards for proper behaviour are upheld.
Christoper – it was worth it just to see the look on the guy’s face – and my daughter reduced to hysterical laughter 😀
Bravo, first class!
I’m sure if more people remonstrated there would not be half as much shit in this world.
The woman shouldn’t have a job dealing with sensitive information – but who would be prepared to phone the company to complain and probably lose her her job?
QueenslandRail have just started experimenting with a ‘silent’ carriage. The only problem is that it is always full so one can’t get a seat – obviously many people find it obnoxious having to listen to other people’s conversations!