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.

Great thread idea. Myself and DH run a window cleaning business. Any questions?

Hi mignonette

^Sunshine I have a question for you about your English Lit studies. Do you ever feel that your enjoyment of a book, play or poetry has been affected negatively by close textual analysis? Does it impinge upon the mystery or does it enhance enjoyment?^

Funnily enough, it mostly doesn't. I love reading, and am a huge poetry fan. I write too, so occasionally when I'm reading I think 'ooh that's clever, I'm impressed how the author did x, y and z'. I still cry at sad endings, or laugh at funny points. What authors and poets still do is inspire me to be a better writer, so understanding the ways in which they write and think is immensely helpful.

Sorry I meant that my enjoyment isn't spoiled, and what I've learned doesn't impinge on any mystery.

Mignoette
thank you so much!!
some days it smells so different to others. and if I have had a headache for a few days it smells wierd.. was wondering if they are connected..

Thank you very much Horses!

Weavethebasket- do you ever have a good nose inside the windows? How do you react if you see someone in the room? Any embarrassing/funny stories?

Thank you Huevos That is good advice. I do have alerts on my notes but i hadn't thought of actually investigating my oddities . My DH says it is because I am one of Ickes Lizard people (He did have a smile on his face when he said it).

Sunshine Thank you, that is something that I am curious about.

Never Urine can smell differently if you take medication for said headache. Your food can affect it too as can alcohol. Urine is a repository for metabolic waste products, the stuff from your bodily workings that is not needed, including by products from illness or the biochemical changes wrought by illness symptoms. It may be that you have a very sensitive sense of smell or nose for even minute differentials in how your urine smells. Also age and gender can play a role as can Genito Urinary flora (if you are on the Pill, have a tendency to Thrush/have Diabetes) and if you take vitamins or other supplements. I can detect changes wrought by my taking Ginseng and Ginkgo.

I would always say that if you have any concerns, to mention it to a doctor NOT that I am hinting that there is any reason to be.

nomorecrumbs, yes, I have. Not a huge, dramatic increase, but a steady trickle of new converts to Islam. I personally deal with about 2-3 women entering into Islam each year.
It's surprising that despite the negativity in the media towards Islam over recent years, more people do seem to be converting but I think that is because there are still people out there who want to find out the Islamic stance and reasoning behind Islamic practices from more authentic sources rather than believing rumours and tidbits of exaggerated information from others who themselves are often clueless. It's generally people who are already living around Muslims in their community, workplace and neighbourhood who consider converting to Islam.

Gussie, each individual would react differently, but generally speaking, it wouldn't be problematic at all. My husband is a practicing Muslim, as are my brothers and now my dad is too, and in a situation where a woman approached them at the school gates and struck up a conversation, they'd be totally fine with it and would respond politely and friendlily too. Not all of them would be too be forthcoming in exchanging numbers and becoming friends, but a casual conversation and friendly banter is totally fine. One thing though, some Muslim men, those who are very practising, might not always make eye contact with you when talking. People sometimes interpret it as rude, but in our culture, it's a mark of respect. :)

mignonette, I'll check out the Muslim tearoom thread. Thank you.

mignonette would there be any point in getting those strips from boots that you pee on.

pressed to soon, meant to say or would that just make me paranoid

Terror tremor, I'm glad that despite being ill with pre-eclampsia everyone was was nice, and that both you and your little girl are well. They may well have saved your life. Only the other day did I see someone with eclampsia, and it's such a dangerous situation.

I do remember many situations of rudeness! I have been kicked, scratched, hit, sworn at more times than I can remember but I have also had the privilege of looking after some lovely women who have had some fab births

.

Love this thread! Learnt so much! Why isn't it in classics yet MNHQ? How do I nominate it for classics?

BOF - I do sometimes have a nosy, makes the day go faster. Although it's usually to admire how nice a house is, or how nicely they have decorated. Sometimes I see the odd bank statement on the windowsill and am bowled over by how massively rich the humblest of old ladies are.
I love it when customers' kids come to the window and I try to make them laugh-again makes the job go that bit quicker.
Being a female window cleaner i can get a lot of stick, especially from teenage boys. 'How much do you charge for a rub down' etc. One dirty old perv did tell me to put on a skirt then climb the ladder so he could watch. I was furious and called him a chauvinist bastard, we didn't go back.
Have caught the odd couple at it. But that's usually DH who does upstairs.
People do tend to stare which is okay if I haven't noticed. Once I notice a roomful of people staring it totally puts me off an I end up doing a rubbish job, and have to redo until it's right which makes me look totally incompetent haha!

I do have alerts on my notes ... as did my son when he was in ITU. The drug they gave the wee ones to calm them down had the opposite effect on him so it was on his notes NOT to give him it. One day we came in and he had obviously had the stuff. When questioned the nurse looking after him said she had seen that he wasn't to get it but thought she'd give him it anyway. She never looked after him again.

Loving this thread, learning so much! I work in a challenging behaviour unit.

Cupcake - how do you keep the heid and do you have any great success or failure stories?

Mignoette

I saw my nan about an hour after she died. Leading up to her death she looked awful. When she died she looked so peaceful, her face had changed, she looked younger again.

It was amazing and beautiful.

Peg keeping the heid is down to being able to see the funny side (once you are out of a violent interaction).
I suppose success stories are managing someone's mental health and behaviours so they can take part in activities you or I take for granted such as shopping or going for a haircut where previously they couldn't.

Failure perhaps is the realisation that some people, no matter how much you work with them and therapies you try are never going to enjoy community living.

diet that's exactly it! The blokies concerned do chat, but without eye contact. I have sort of bent down and twisted myself into peculiar positions in order to try and MAKE eye contact I'll stop doing that. I must look like I'm struggling with a kidney stone. Which may explain the menfolks' air of relief when the kids come skipping out of school and they can escape the peculiarly chatty woman who does contortions. Thanks!

I love this thread thanks for the answers.

Doctors/Specialists in any medical field/just specialists in general: If you have enough time and you don't have loads of other people to see, do you like it if a patient/client asks questions and engages with you about your chosen topic. For example I have an eye condition and have sat down and talked about that eye condition for half an hour once with an opthologist or whatever you call them (been to so many different eye people don't know the difference between them all) or another example if you are a midwife do you like people taking interest in the procedures you do. As stated above I asked the obstetrician what he was doing. I've also did that with a masseuse. I really do never shut up as you can tell :)

Beauticians/Hairdressers: Similar to the above question in a way do you like if it a client asks what style you think they would suit? That way, you can be creative or would you rather they chose the design themselves?

Taxi Drivers/Hairdressers: When you make small talk and we talk about our lives, are you generally interested or are you just doing it because you think that is what we want to do?

Those who work in a pub: At what stage would you tell someone to go home / leave the pub?

jelly Thank you. We were definitely looked after well. I had them laughing which was good, as it was all nice and happy. I see no reason to be nasty to someone who is doing their best for me, that would be ridiculous.

Peg Errr that's kind of professional malpractice and deeply shocking. She could have killed your child. Mistakes from carelessly not seeing an annotation is one thing but to willfully ignore it? I am near speechless over that and cannot see any extenuating circumstances around what this Nurse did. Glad that there were no ill effects. How awful for you all.

Never do you mean the Clinistix for urine diagnostics? I would advise professional urinalysis because often it is combination of results that give the accurate clinical picture or suggest what tests (or none) are needed. So no I wouldn't generally advise them.

Samu That must have been a comfort for you. It is bitter sweet that a person is out of pain or suffering but sadly this means that our bereavement must start .

Terror It can be a great icebreaker too. I like it when I am asked questions and encourage it. It is obviously flattering to be asked but more importantly, any chance for patients/clients/service users to understand their condition, the service and what we do is should be taken. However we often get asked at the end of a session (and it is obviously something on their mind) and we may end up having to rush through a discussion because we have to be somewhere else ten minutes ago. So maybe ask a little earlier on in the conversation .

PS We may need to set up part two of this thread if it is still going strong at 1000 messages. Pinocchio Would you agree? So much knowledge and interesting stuff on here.

thanks mingnonette
If anyone has cake decorating questions I will do my best.