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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask what is the pettiest thing you’ve done?

470 replies

LadyCampanulaTottington · 03/09/2022 08:51

My petty crown that I wear with pride is when confronted (or rear fronted?) by a car driving up my arse, I slow down and if they don’t back off I continue to drive as slow as legally possible just to make a point.

Even if you haven’t acted on it, what’s the pettiest thing you’ve considered doing?

OP posts:
NottsExile · 04/09/2022 18:03

JimJamJollyWolly · 04/09/2022 16:52

There are posts on here that show up the poster as a nasty bully. I don't waste my time talking to bullies. They aren't worth it (and they are usually stupid on top). Nah.... better things to do.

It's hard to define on a thread like this. One person's petty prank might be another person's bullying.

Notanotherwindow · 04/09/2022 18:09

@NottsExile True. I think my definition of it is that a one off prank when everyone usually gets along well or a little petty revenge once is one thing but an ongoing campaign of nasty stuff by a group of people against one is just bullying.

JimJamJollyWolly · 04/09/2022 18:14

@Notanotherwindow

That was what I was talking about, a group repeatedly seeking to exclude and pick on one person is bullying. And that is what one poster was doing (maybe more, I stopped taking so much notice when the thread started getting nastier).

Americano75 · 04/09/2022 18:14

GingerAndLemonn · 03/09/2022 16:21

Sometimes I start a small fight with my husband because when he’s really mad at me he deep cleans the house.

Are you Fleabag?

NottsExile · 04/09/2022 18:15

@Notanotherwindow I agree! Big difference between a prank, even against a stranger, and bullying.

Notanotherwindow · 04/09/2022 18:19

@JimJamJollyWolly Normally I'd have lost interest already too but I've run out of Stranger Things!

MintJulia · 04/09/2022 18:28

Ds occasionally video-calls his dad. Ex has a new woman living with him, who is the most pretentious interfering witch I've ever met. She has done things like tell my burger-loving ds he has to be vegetarian (!) or buy him, at 10yo, a self help book (wtf !) which I promptly binned.

She has no regular involvement with DS, she sees him three times a year so my approach with her is usually a polite nod, hello or Happy Christmas but nothing more.

When ds videocalled his dad and she answered, said his dad wasn't around and then 'oooh is that your house? Is that your sitting room? Where do you have your computer? etc' I killed the router. 😎

She may think the tech version of peering in people's windows without being invited is OK, I don't.

Elderflower14 · 04/09/2022 18:41

This thread has made the DM!!!!

NottsExile · 04/09/2022 19:02

Elderflower14 · 04/09/2022 18:41

This thread has made the DM!!!!

Good to know they're covering the big issues.

JennyForeigner · 04/09/2022 19:14

Draughtycatflapreturns · 03/09/2022 17:28

My company had a senior manager in one of the departments that was one of the nastiest arseholes I’ve ever met. His staff were frequently in tears from his shouting and intimidating behaviour.

I work in I.T and one day I was in an adjacent department in this big open plan office and he was really shouting because he was due to fly to a meeting in Europe and his presentation wasn’t finished. He had to leave for the airport and I heard him tell his staff to put the finished file in his team’s shared folder on the server and he would pick it up later.

Needless to say after he left one woman in particular was crying and saying that he had deliberately told her at the last minute and she was supposed to be picking her kids up and they were all scrambling to get it finished.

I was so incensed that I changed a setting to sneakily remove his laptop’s access to the network. When I got into the office the next morning he had already made several calls and was apoplectic with rage because the phone support staff couldn’t diagnose the problem with his laptop. I took over the call and made him do tests and checks to waste his time. I told him he’d better calm down if he wanted my help and I could tell he wanted to call me all the names under the sun. His anger had subsided by this point to panic and near tears judging by his quaky voice. Then I told him the laptop would need to be fixed back at HQ but not to worry if he accessed the hotel’s business centre I would be able to helpfully send him the file. He had to run around jumping through hoops and I took longer and longer to answer his calls each time. When I’d decided he suffered enough I put his laptop back on the network and asked him to give it one last try… 😂

My new hero.

FabulouslyFab · 04/09/2022 19:18

The woman who destroyed my first marriage wrote a book.
If I see the book in a shop, I hide them, and my mates do it too!
It makes me giggle,

WiddlinDiddlin · 04/09/2022 19:36

Slightly complicated trying not to out myself/where I worked..

I have to manage the SM (moderate comments, let in or decline group applicants) as well as respond to communications via instant messaging, phone or email, for where I work. So during my shift, it doesn't matter which of the three options you pick, the person at the other end will be me.

This is not customer or technical support, this is 'expert support' for the product/service we provide. We also have customer and technical support contact options and it is fairly clear which is which if you pay attention.

Anyway group users must read the rules to join, they're specific about what you may or may not post.

The group is free for anyone who has the product/service whether its the free trial or the paid sub.

Along comes Twatty Group User, who proceeds to post video links to something that is against the rules. She gets posts removed and a warning. She does it again. Post removed and another warning...

She then posts that she doesn't understand why her posts were removed, that it is ridiculous that they were removed and the usual diatribe you get when someone's convinced they've not broken a rule when they clearly have. Followed by 'I've been a fully signed up member of the service for 2 months but I'll be asking for a refund now!'...

As other group members have seen this, I leave it up and reply that I am sorry she appears to be unable to see the private feedback left, but her posts were removed due to repeated breaking of a particular rule.

A few minutes later I can see she's flounced out of the group.

I return to monitoring the work software platform.. and along comes an email 'I didn't realise this would cost this much and I want a refund... ' (Liar. You've had the service free for a month and then subscribed two months ago so you knew exactly what the cost was and the time frame for cancellation is long gone!)

So I email her back and say terribly sorry but we can't authorise refunds she needs to go elsewhere for that - follow these instructions' ... and sign off with my full name. 'Regards... WiddlinDiddlin...' (No 'Kindest' there. Have that Twatty Bitch)

And then a few moments later the work phone rings...a service user is calling...

I answer the phone, bright and breezy.. Hello, WiddlinDiddlin here, how can I help... Someone begins to speak, realisation dawns and.... click

It amuses me now, months later to think about just HOW pissed off she must have been to discover that the same person who deleted her posts and told her off on SM was the same person she contacted TWICE to try to refund her subscription!

AND i haven't ACTUALLY done anything wrong, bad, mean etc etc! And we get extra payment for receiving a call, no matter what the call duration is, if it connects, we get paid!

BroomstickAndWine · 04/09/2022 19:58

A few years ago my DH was being awful to me, and we nearly broke up. I’m surprised he wasn’t admitted to hospital after the things I did, and the places I cleaned with his electric toothbrush.

Serenity45 · 04/09/2022 20:51

Went to a music festival with a group of friends many years ago. One girl was recovering from knee surgery but really hadn't wanted to miss out. She was off crutches, but needed to sit and rest periodically rather than be stranding/dancing too much. We took it in turns carrying a little camping chair for her, but it got accidentally broken by a group of lads pissing about...

She was doing OK but we spotted another group dancing in front of their (unoccupied) inflatable sofa. Very politely asked if our friend could sit down just for 5 minutes, explaining why. Got a 'no' and a hair flick and a load of bitchy looks...so might have accidentally made a hole in the sofa with my cigarette.

Snowpaw · 04/09/2022 21:01

Had a relationship with a boyfriend for a couple of years. We broke up quite acrimoniously. A while after, he started dating a friend of mine. She had a birthday party and as a present I bought her the same perfume I wear, so that when he smelled her he would be reminded of me.

NottsExile · 04/09/2022 21:06

@Serenity45 Good on you! Certainly beats my story (page 8).

LosttheremoteAGAIN · 04/09/2022 21:10

FabulouslyFab · 04/09/2022 19:18

The woman who destroyed my first marriage wrote a book.
If I see the book in a shop, I hide them, and my mates do it too!
It makes me giggle,

There is an instagrammer who I can’t bear
shes done nothing to me,but I can’t stand her
i do the same if I see her books-dp stands there shaking his head at me
i know I’m petty but I don’t care

FabulouslyFab · 04/09/2022 21:19

LosttheremoteAGAIN · 04/09/2022 21:10

There is an instagrammer who I can’t bear
shes done nothing to me,but I can’t stand her
i do the same if I see her books-dp stands there shaking his head at me
i know I’m petty but I don’t care

I like your style!! 😂😂

Ofalltheginjoints · 04/09/2022 21:21

I was at a friends house when another one of their friends was staying (ex DP and I were visiting but staying in a local hotel) the friend spent two days being a bitch about my disability and taking the piss out of me, she demanded I get her a glass of water so I did, from the dog bowl, she drank the whole glass and I've never felt bad about it.

Turned out after we left exDP also pissed on her toothbrush, I'd say I felt awful about this but frankly why lie?

ilovepixie · 04/09/2022 21:44

dentydown · 04/09/2022 11:27

A woman who has had issues with me always bought everything I liked from the charity shop.

it all started when my son pointed out a croc style handbag, and I said to him “oh I love it! I’ll buy it in a few days when I have the money”. (I had the money but didn’t want to buy it).

she bought the croc hand bag. I noticed every time I pointed something out and said I would buy it when I had money, she would buy it.

I started pointing out digital photo frames, scarves, ornaments… she would buy it to spite me.

I then decided to point out a chocolate fountain to my son. She bought it. Her husband met her with the car because this thing was big-ish. He sounded cross and was asking her why she was buying things they didn’t use.

she still doesn’t like me.

Do you just meet her in the charity shop to point things out?

Evasmissingletter · 04/09/2022 22:20

Going through divorce and ex DH still living in house with me and kids, but he was in the master bedroom plus en-suite. It gave me great pleasure to buy luxury Andrex loo roll for the bathroom the kids and I used and put Tesco Value loo roll in his toilet. Still makes me giggle 6 years on🤣🤣

Cattenberg · 04/09/2022 23:47

This definitely qualifies as petty.

A long time ago, I lived in a shared house and we had a cleaning rota. One guy could be an arrogant arse at times. For some reason, drying the dishes often fell to me and this guy (who didn’t do many kitchen chores) started commenting that I was slow at drying up and that he would have done it much more efficiently. He really annoyed me and we agreed to swap chores the next time I was on drying up duty.

Not long before he was due to start, I sneaked into the kitchen and tipped half the cutlery drawer into the washing up bowl, then threw in some random crockery and utensils.

He got to work and I really thought he’d realise what I’d done, especially when he pulled out a balloon whisk and a Christmas-tree shaped biscuit cutter. But he didn’t and stayed at the sink for half the evening until he’d dried every last item and put it away. He never criticised my drying up technique again.

PimlicoUK · 05/09/2022 03:18

Draughtycatflapreturns · 03/09/2022 17:28

My company had a senior manager in one of the departments that was one of the nastiest arseholes I’ve ever met. His staff were frequently in tears from his shouting and intimidating behaviour.

I work in I.T and one day I was in an adjacent department in this big open plan office and he was really shouting because he was due to fly to a meeting in Europe and his presentation wasn’t finished. He had to leave for the airport and I heard him tell his staff to put the finished file in his team’s shared folder on the server and he would pick it up later.

Needless to say after he left one woman in particular was crying and saying that he had deliberately told her at the last minute and she was supposed to be picking her kids up and they were all scrambling to get it finished.

I was so incensed that I changed a setting to sneakily remove his laptop’s access to the network. When I got into the office the next morning he had already made several calls and was apoplectic with rage because the phone support staff couldn’t diagnose the problem with his laptop. I took over the call and made him do tests and checks to waste his time. I told him he’d better calm down if he wanted my help and I could tell he wanted to call me all the names under the sun. His anger had subsided by this point to panic and near tears judging by his quaky voice. Then I told him the laptop would need to be fixed back at HQ but not to worry if he accessed the hotel’s business centre I would be able to helpfully send him the file. He had to run around jumping through hoops and I took longer and longer to answer his calls each time. When I’d decided he suffered enough I put his laptop back on the network and asked him to give it one last try… 😂

I love this SO much!

ChellyT · 05/09/2022 03:31

Notaderrysgirl · 03/09/2022 09:12

A work colleague of mine (who I didn’t like very much) had a plastic barbie plate that she was oddly attached to. She would use it all the time. One day she dropped it and it broke and she was very upset. She then found the same plate on eBay and placed a bid for it. I decided to bid against her to drive the price up. This stupid plastic plate went up to £35 before i stopped and let her win the auction. She still talks about the “mystery bidder” who was also so desperate to buy the plate. Yes I am sad and incredibly petty.

This is GOLD!

PimlicoUK · 05/09/2022 04:17

1AngelicFruitCake · 04/09/2022 14:26

I knew I’d get this! Yes it is spiteful! I have put up with his nastiness for years, he’s 9 not 2. The new toy was probably worth £5 and he took much pleasure in showing it off to my child and their friend. He gets new toys all the time. It was at my house a good 2 months before I found it in the cupboard, that’s how little it meant to him that he’s not even noticed it’s gone missing. It was good for that particular day for showing off he’d got something new.

Good on you! If the kid's parent doesn't care about her child's behaviour then the child is gonna learn one way or another at some point.

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