Just had the weirdest day at work! Is it me?

[CrazyDiamondz]

i had a student working with me today and the day started off like any other. However! When the first client arrived (a client who is normally very chatty and pleasant with me) he acted like he couldn’t stand me. Visibly rolled his eyes when he saw me and was just really off (but nice to the student). When he left I said I didn’t know what was wrong with him as he’s normally so nice! Student joked it must be the weather.

Second client arrived - another one who I normally get on well with and he was ok but still a bit off compared to normal and made a joke to the student about drawing the short straw having to work with me!

3rd client came in and was laughing and joking as normal to begin with but then started getting really stroppy saying “didn’t you wake up properly this morning? What’s WRONG with you?” Etc etc! I wasn’t going anything different to normal!

Anyway, a couple of clients later a man came in who was absolutely lovely to me last week … started off ok and then suddenly he thoroughly disliked me, started saying how great our company was - shame about some of the staff (said with a nod to student implying me), asked if he’d be seeing me next week then said “oh great 🙄” when I confirmed he would. I was really on a downer at this point as all this was in front of the student and god knows what she thought. These are people I see weekly and have always had a good relationship with - infact most of them specifically ask for me when making appointments. The cherry on the cake was a client came in and randomly said “do you actually know what you’re doing this time?” 😱 I said “are you mistaking me for someone else? I can’t recall a time I’ve ever done anything wrong?” And he looked at student and laughed saying “maybe, maybe not” ??!!

Student then clearly felt uncomfortable as she made her excuses and left!! I’m so confused! I thought maybe a couple were showing off to student but all of them?? I honestly can’t recall an incident in which I’ve upset or angered any of these people?! I’ve never had a day like it. It was so bad it was like they had all been replaced by different people - I was half expecting an Ant and Dec style “reveal” that it was all a wind up.

i think it’s showing off to the student. I’ve had this where I was shadowed by a friend ( though contractor I was dealing with didn’t know this)

she said he was rolling his eyes to her about my request. My friend thought he was being sexist because what I was asking was perfectly reasonable.

They were probably just (badly) joking.
Some areas of the country are really big on sarcasm, I've found a lot of people in Hull to be like this. At first I thought it was just my relatives but the whole town seems the same.
Will the student be with you next week?

This was my assumption too. That and maybe some discomfort at not expecting a third person there. Change in dynamics and all that.

Flyingthroughtrees FFS settle down

Astonishingly naive, well thank you, I've been well and truly told off.
You've got no idea.

When I worked in a pub (decades ago) I was new and young and pretty and the older men would often be horrible to the other bar maids in front of me, for some weird power play and to show off to me, make me laugh, make me feel like I had a special connection with them? Very strange but this is what I assumed on first read also.
Because it was a pub they also were very sleazy/flirty (assume this is a professional service so you are spared that!)

I can't see this has been suggested, and forgive me - any chance you had BO?

1. Is it medical related and perhaps the clients were embarrassed at having someone else in the room and tried to deflect by using "humour"/having a go at you?
2. Were they all men?
3. Were they showing off to the student?
4. Did you alter the way you spoke to them/treated them because there was a student in the room? So perhaps a bit less relaxed than normal. I know that I am very aware in situations where I've had a student in observing me, wanting to do everything absolutely "correctly" (I do things correctly anyway of course), and find myself speaking much more formally to the people involved rather than the more relaxed manner I would use normally.

So funny you should mention Hull 😱😂

It’s obvious what’s going on here.

The student is a horcrux.

@CrazyDiamondz have you met these clients again ?

Hey @CrazyDiamondz come back and tell us how you got on this week. Hope it has improved and you can perhaps ask your clients what happened last week.