Awkward questions you've always wanted to ask someone who works in a specific job...

[PinocchiosLeftNostril]

I thought this would be a good way for us to get answers to those awkward questions we would never dream of asking someone to their face in their place of work.

These are questions relating to my life that i would love honest answers to.

Hairdressers - When someone with bad dandruff/psoriasis sits on your chair, do you shrug it off, or do you quickly have a look to make sure it's not lice? Are you able to tell the difference right away or does it need investigating? And do you really want to know what my plans are for the day, or would you rather work in silence?

Teachers - do you get annoyed when parents write in homework diaries that a specific piece of homework was too tricky for their child? Do you take it as an insult to your teaching skills?

Waiter/waitresses - do you expect people to offer to clean up their children's mess before they leave, or do you just shrug it off as part of the job? If you're busy and haven't had chance to clean a table yet, and a new customer came up and asked for a cloth to clean it, would you be offended?

I'm a trainee SLT so not quite sure if I'm qualified to answer any questions regarding that line of work yet.

But i have experience working in a Subway sandwich store, a library, a gym and as a cleaner. So i can answer any cleaning, book or sandwich questions that are burning away inside you all.

Ex social worker here, willing to answer any questions.

Hairdresser here..havent had time yet to read the whole thread

I would most definitely prefer to work in silence my mantra is 'pick up the magazine , pick uo the magazine!'

And regarding tipping I dont think people are tight if they dont tip i just think its a great perk to the job when it happens.

what's the difference between a podiatrist and a chiropodist?

And secondary school teachers, is the school on Educating Yorkshire representative of your school?

As a hairdresser for 18 years i could count on one hand the amount of smelly unclean people i have dealt with. I guess smelly ones are too bothered about their appearance.

I prefer hair not to be freshly washed when clients are getting their colour done.... . But i did have one lady who came in for high lights and her hair felt wet with grease...was not a pleasant experience.

Awesome thread!
Am a nutritionist if anyone is interested.

Great thread!

Police officers- Do you abide by the law at all times when civilian or are you a little rebel and drive over the speed limit / park on double yellow lines?

lonelygoatherd there is no legal difference between a podiatrist and a chiropodist. They are both protected titles. Saying that, the degree title changed to podiatry in 1990 so people who have been through training at university since that date tend to call themselves podiatrists.
I am definitely a podiatrist.

Ethel how many deer need to be spotted / run over for somewhere to get a deer warning sign? I always wonder this. Who do you phone in spotting the deer to?

I am a teacher & have only read p2 but wanted to answer a question on there.
Yes, I can tell when a parent does the work for them. I usually just make a very positive comment about how fantastic it is, finishing with "Please try to make sure your classwork is of the same standard" or something similar. That way the parent knows that I know.

SchmaltzingMatilda we're not a terribly coherent profession, so I can't pretend to speak for my peers. I personally think it suits plenty of people but not everyone. I have only ever seen good results, and have not - so far - come across any problems with it in the same way I have with other diets which have been fashionable.

Youretoastmildred
Why are annoying noisy toys made? Particularly ones without off switches or volume controls?
mother of 4 oblivious to noise kids

Marking place cos on phone and can't find the "watch" button.

Joining the thread a bit late - 2 zookeepers - cool! Was in zoo work too (education officer) until we moved. DH still is a zookeeper and I will get back into it as soon as children are big enough.

noitsachicken - as soon as you said aye aye I knew you'd be Bristol. DH and I were Jersey - now back on the mainland. I think the baby you are holding in the pic was bred from the female we bred just after I got to Jersey. Zanvie's infant?

Somebody way back asked if anybody ever tried to steal animals. It certainly happens in zoos. Mostly small primates (tamarins, marmosets etc), and was also a possibility for reptiles like tortoises, and parrots. We never had any of the monkeys stolen but we did have occasional issues with people loitering asking suspicious questions (where do the animals sleep at night? Detailed questions about how they are locked in, padlocks etc). It must be devastating for the keepers involved as it's not just a monkey, it's an animal you've cared for and you don't know what the hell has happened to it.

Top three animals:
In our zoo, not necessarily in my care:
Andean bear
Wrinkled hornbill
Orangutan

In my care:
Blue tongued skink
Very elderly Sinaloan milk snake
Hissing cockroaches

The first two were individual animals rather than species that I like. Very attached to both of them. Cockroaches were because they were cool and always made an impact!

I also volunteered to get into the job. Wanted to do it as a kid. Then thought it was impossible and unrealistic and changed to wanting to be a vet. Then did zoology at college having failed to get onto a vet course and switched back to aiming for zoo work. Did the voluntary work, and 15 years later I still want to do it. Only problem is with DH doing it as well, when he moved for promotion, I had to go too (damn husbands!) and there haven't been any suitable openings for me in his new zoo. Give it time though....

LadyBigToes

And cardboard box people why when there are easy-folding boxes available, do some things still get packed in boxes glued together like fort Knox that are a bastard to flatten for recycling? (often not things that need to be strong or even need a box at all!). Why don't companies minimise packaging wherever they can as a surely it would save them money to

That's a very good question! I receive a small item from Amazon in a massive box with loads of fluff in it and think 'what a waste' So that's more to the retailers rather than the box makers. They make the boxes without really caring what they're used for . I used to do the gluing in the cardboard box factory so I'm pleased to hear someone else can actually glue boxes so they stick together even if they annoy you! I prefer the ones which slot together and they're easier to flatten but the glued ones are stronger and less likely to split/open on their own. Having said that that's not always required as you point out. But if the retailer has bought a huge bulk order of them then they'll need to be used up somehow. Dear God. That was the dullest post I've ever written!

Mortified

Working in TV: (I left this not long ago, have had a massive career change): best people I've worked with: One Direction (very loud/thought themselves funny in a vaguely annoying way, but were otherwise polite to me and not demanding at all, and generally quite good to work with), Clare Balding was lovely, also any athletes I've worked with bar one, were great- I think partly because, due to extreme training etc; they don't seem to be as demanding of us. I know from friends, that I've been lucky! Also, David Attenborough rates in the best people I've ever met, he was amazing and signed everything and anything we had to do with animals and seemed very down to earth.

Worst people were usually old male presenters, they usually made some terrible and sexist, racist or disablist jokes. Also some would go too close to you and make you uncomfortable for fun, and generally they were the most demanding. Also, any film star. Many were lovely, but quite a few were incredibly demanding. The demanding and annoying people I met through TV definitely outweighed the fun or nice people (hence the career change).

glitzpig - re the tax return question. With you and your situation I wouldn't really care about list receipts. With most clients though, it does make a differ eve. The first year I don't mind and try to educate them on what they need to keep. After that I do get frustrated if they can't be bothered to keep the receipts and then expect me to magic the numbers as if they had.

Minion you realise you now have an aviation enthusiast and nervous flyer on your hands, who has LOTS of random questions, right?

I'll start with the obvious - what's the weirdest/funniest/scariest thing that's ever happened to you on a flight?

I have worked on the admissions gates of a major theme park, in a call centre taking hotel bookings for said resort, as a Royal Mail data entry person over Christmas, and currently work in a sales office selling tiles over the phone (and I hate it, and want to get out).

Goldenhandshake what's the best way to remove someone from their job if they're dreadful at it but they can't see it and management are too weak? I mean hypothetically speaking of course

lollipop I work in aviation across private and airlines, so you get a real mixed bag of flights!

Best thing ever on an airline was opening up an overhead locker and having a machete fall out onto the aisle. HOW that got through security we had no idea!

Best thing on a private jet are all the bizarre demands- blue only coloured m and m's (try finding those at 5am in a tiny Russian village!) or a pet poodle that could only drink Evian

mammapizza
last week i got 2 parking tickets.
bummer!
ive not ever had one before! the sneaky little bastards got me out side a hospital at which i had an appointment and couldnt get back to the car and one in a loading bay that was not clearly marked!

i was seething!!

i have occasionally been known to speed.....but i am a trained driver...
hth!