Are Local Authority staff trained to not smile at their customers, or is it just the weight of

**Ashberto** · 04-01-2014, 01:13 PM

working for a dull, humourless bureaucracy that drains them of any warmth?

The first makes sense, as it prepares the client for what is probably going to be a fairly unpleasant experience, but the second would also be understandable.

Their website said that you can get parking permits for courtesy cars but on arrival the scowly receptionist gave me a standard permit application which I had to fill in, despite it being seemingly inapplicable. When my number came up I was told by the next surly operative that the person who applied for the original permit should be the one signing that form. I explained that she came in at 8.00am yesterday to do so, (the opening time according to the website) but was told that it didn't open till 9.00am. "It's changed" I was told.

Anyway I signed it anyway and when I handed it back to he she seemed to brighten up, and stapled it to something else without even looking at it. Conclusion: all they want is to make people fill in forms. It doesn't matter what you say, or whether it is the correct form, just fill in a form and you make them happy.

**Classic Jorge** · 04-01-2014, 01:17 PM

I think they go through a "breaking" process on induction

**Sir Charlie of Nicholas** · 04-01-2014, 01:21 PM

It would make you bitter, wouldn't it? If you awoke in the morning, looked in the mirror, and faced another day at the Civic Centre, with a timetable of Diversity Training and Health & Safety Courses

**Monty91** · 04-01-2014, 01:23 PM

miserable?

**Ashberto** · 04-01-2014, 01:28 PM

At the interview I had to swear my allegiance to their policy of positive discrimination.

I think I ticked 19 out of their 20 competencies boxes for skill set, but the fact that my Unix experience was on a different version to theirs meant that I didn't tick box one, and so couldn't be considered.

I probably got lucky there.

**Sir Charlie of Nicholas** · 04-01-2014, 01:28 PM

There are no excuses. Stop looking for excuses; it's your fault you're a nasty piece of work and no one and nothing else is to blame.

**Sir Charlie of Nicholas** · 04-01-2014, 01:29 PM

You haven't turned black since I last saw you, have you?

**Classic Jorge** · 04-01-2014, 01:32 PM

It's sad really, Locakl Authorities could make a massive difference to their patch by being a bit more innovative or entrepreneurial but they are usually so mired in funding cuts, KPIs for funding and dealing with de-motivated and unproductive staff that they never seem to manage to do anything but exist, and grudgingly at that.

**Monty91** · 04-01-2014, 01:34 PM

It's not even a political position about individual responsibilty. It's just horsehit.

**Sir Charlie of Nicholas** · 04-01-2014, 01:37 PM

Rude. Spiteful. Hurtful.

Do you work in local government?

Thread: Are Local Authority staff trained to not smile at their customers, or is it just the weight of

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Are Local Authority staff trained to not smile at their customers, or is it just the weight of

Oh yes, there's a form for everything and nobody who isnt a director can make a decision

Does Local Authority mean cahncil?

That;s the thing. Can we really complain or be surprised about people with miserable jobs being

Yes. I applied for a job once at one, long ago.

People choose to be miserable, happy, rude, obstructive, helpful, cheerful or hurtful.

Perhaps you would have been positively discriminated against, in any case.

I think many large institutions are pretty much the same

That's basically *******s, though, isn't it.

There you go.

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