Useless people

[HappyJack]

Ok, this thread is quite similar to the Useless inventions one, except that it is for people who's jobs have no effect on anyone whatsoever.

Crossing guards at intersections with traffic lights is something that I have witnessed. Any others?

[Sand-Man]

Well this one is a matter of opinion, but the greeter at Wal-Mart seems pretty pointless. They are the only store to have one, that just stands there and often doesn't even say hi. I guess you could count giving out little smiley stickers and telling where people to go to return items when it is right there next to them.

[Shpox]

Perhaps a better title would be useless jobs but anyway.

Bag salesmen. Not sure if you've seen this before but theres a huge shop in our mall selling plastic and cotton bags. Bah who wants to buy a plastic bag and they sell them expensive too. They never get buisness and whenever a kid walks in there they tell them to go out and not to touch things.

[gatochy]

I have read that in American supermarkets there is someone to "help" you put your groceries inside the bag. What do you need them for? What next, someone to help you lift your fork and take the food to your mouth? Someone who helps you put one foot after another while you're walking?

[rabid_amoeba]

We have them in English Supermarkets too. In ASDA you can ask for a bag packer, and in Sainsburys they do it as they scan (unless you tell them to stop). It's mainly for old people who can't pack their own bags, but yes I do find most packers are inefficient and it is better to do it yourself.

What always gets me is when they have "amazing new discoveries" in the newspapers, like when they discovered that cats prefer men without beards. Firstly, who comes up with the idea in the first place ("Hey lads, forget the thermodynamic transmoduliser, lets put a guy with a beard in front of a cat"). Secondly - why bother? Shouldn't they be researching something that will improve lives? Ahh well...

[plattbridger]

Heh bless America, I hear they have people who put the petrol in your car for you :p

My nomination: Linda Barker.

[Sand-Man]

Yes we have baggers in america, and you can even have your grocery bags carried to your car free of charge. But having people fill up your car with gas is a rareity. Unless you go to a antique gas station, its self-serve.

[Kharysma]

Ummm just to comment briefly... yes we do have grocery baggers in our supermarkets in America (just like every other store where the cashier bags your purchases for you. ie clothes, etc.) It's a courtesy, I believe. You're paying them for your purchases... they are bagging up your items. Also... in a supermarket... I am a Nanny and when I have the baby with me it is a pain in the royal behind to bag my own stuff. However, when it's not or I'm alone, I do it myself if the man/woman hasn't already begun. But I don't really appreciate people mocking us for this. Just because our shops are different than others doesn't mean we're "lazy". It is done out of courtesy just as your bags can be brought to your car free of charge if you need it. (It also gives young men a job while in school.)

And yes we have someone who will pump your gas if you go to a full serve station. They will also wash your windows, just like way back when - and check ya oil if you ask them to. In New England it used to be very rare NOT to have everything full serve (without a choice to the customer) because they found it safer. However, times have changed and though we do still have some full service stations, most are now self serve. And that also used to be a courtesy.... not a "lazy" thing.

And... to stay on topic - although I do find people in stores who check your bags to make sure you aren't stealing to be useful... I find it extremely useless when I'm in Best Buy and I'm leaving with a bag full of things and the light and beeper goes off as I'm exiting for no apparent reason (I obviously haven't stolen anything), then when I get my receipt ready to show the man and turn to him he is not even the slightest bit interested and lets me go on my merry way without checking to see if I've robbed them. I find this extremely useless. :rolleyes:

[vampiress]

grocery baggers provide 1. a job, it's usually a young kid's first job. teaches responsibility. 2. like sassy said, it's time consuming to deal with your kids, pay the cashier and bag your groceries. yes it's a luxury, and not every store has them, but it is nice. i was once a grocery bagger. thanks for telling me i'm useless.

also the wal-mart greeter thing is really to monitor what people bring into the store. they have to tag stuff you bring in for returns so you don't just go get somethign off the shelf and try and return it. it's a loss prevention job. all of the wal-mart greeters i have seen have been nice and said hi to everyone. help mothers with multiple kids get a shoppong cart. give the kids a sticker. direct people to the right part of the store.

and about crossing guards at lights .. i assume this was by a school. there is probably some law about having crossing guards near school, even if there is a light. i know in ohio there was, might have been a local law. but the theory was more to protect the kids from trying to jay walk than to stop the motorists. kids are small and a crossing guard is usually dressed in orange for visibility, so if a small child was still in the crosswalk when the light turns green, there is a possibilty of a small child getting hit.

just the job doesn't appear to have merit in your eyes, doesn't mean the job is useless

/edit gas station attendants are, as stated, quite rare. oregon has a law that the public cannot pump their own gas. has to do with people spilling gas and gas tanks being over filled or filling up unauthorized containers. there are a few full service pumps arouns town. they get lots of buisness int he winter when it's freezing cold and people don't want to pump their gas. yes it's a luxury. or maybe it's for people who can't move very well. i used full service pumps when i broke my leg and it was diffiult to hobble around.

[gatochy]

There is absolutely no reason for me or anyone to assume that people in another country as a whole are lazy or anything like that. To assume such things would be xenophobic and I see no reason to be that, never have.
What I think is that it is unecessary to have people employed just to the purpose of putting your groceries in your bag for you. If a person, for any reason, cannot do it him/herself (that can happen of course, not just in America but in any other place in the world) an employee at the grocery store or supermarket can help - there is no need for anyone to have that particular task as his or hers one and only funtion. And when one can pack one's groceries just fine on one's own it becomes ridiculous to have someone else doing it for you - because you can do it yourself, just like you can tie your own shoe laces on your own.
*edit* I do hope it's possible for a person to be critical of something in another country or other culture without it being interpreted as hate and prejudice.

[vampiress]

the people don't demand baggers as a culture, the store employ them as a courtesy to their customers. it actually benefits the store as there is less wasted bags. the baggers also help get the customers out of the line quicker so the cashier can ring mroe people. the baggers generall have other tasks such as price checking, replacing items if damaged, stocking the shelfs and sweeping the store. also baggers are normally casheirs too, and can ring people when lines get long.


please notice i haven't attacked anyone, just gave a different side of the story for soemone else's "useless" job.

there is always 2 sides.

oh and to keep this on topic, whoever "discovered" that pigs can have an orgasm for over 30 minutes, really has too much time on his hands. i can't wait to see someone tell me why this is not useless. please it should be amusing.

[Kharysma]

Ummmmm........... I can tie my shoe laces quite well by myself. I'm also a great dancer and I can sing pretty good too. Doesn't mean I don't need help when I'm in the store with a crying baby. And even if I wasn't, and the man wanted to bag my groceries..... oh noes! :rolleyes:

Who said their only job was to bag groceries and you act as though it's a slow paced job. I live on Cape Cod. Tourists run through here like mosquitoes on a lake. Baggers are jumping from register to register to register. IN FACT, there is usually one at every register and they are still running around. And do you know how long I would be standing there in line if they weren't doing their job? Thank god for them! Thank GOD! Because I (year rounders) would be standing there for an eternity and a day without them. :)

They also run out and get the carriages and when the cashier needs someone to check a price they run and do it. They do many different things. As vampi said, they usually work the registers as well.. or work up to it. And my brothers started out as baggers with their first jobs. They made good money for kids too and it DID teach responsibility and respect for others. (people even tip them sometimes) Again... just because you find it odd does not mean it is useless. I completely agree with Vampi.

Staying on topic : people who wear costumes outside of stores. As in.. hot dogs... chickens, blah blah blah. Is it really necessary?!!! It doesn't make me go "Oh, I know! I wanna go buy a hot dog!" It makes me think "omg... RUN!" tee hee :D

[gatochy]

I never said baggers existed because people demanded them. If they do other things then they aren't just baggers but employees who do whatever is necessary to do around the shop. And I've never seen a line get tied because someone wasn't bagging their own groceries fast enough, because while you're doing it, if you've already paid for your groceries then other begin to get the cashiers attention.
And I didn't say Vampiress had attacked me. In fact I didn't say anyone had attacked me. I hope that never happens.
*edit* I had already said, hadn't I, that in countries where you don't have baggers if one needs a hand whoever is employed there helps you out. There just isn't anyone to do it whether you need it or not.
And what I said was not said maliciously.

[Kharysma]

I have read that in American supermarkets there is someone to "help" you put your groceries inside the bag. What do you need them for? What next, someone to help you lift your fork and take the food to your mouth? Someone who helps you put one foot after another while you're walking?

malicious or not, (never said you were), I'm pretty sure the above use of words is what led us to feel insulted. "American supermarkets" "What next" "lift fork and take the food to your mouth" "one foot after another while walking" Yes.... we're so dumb. :rolleyes:

And what is with the guys at car washes who wave me to go in "yes, we're ready, lil lady!" I mean... I could see if the person waving me in then started to wash the car, but... no. They just stand there and wave you in and then stand there to tell the next car, but they can't tell the next car until the car has moved from the first person washing it! (which clearly could have been them!)

[gatochy]

"Us"? You and other people felt insulted by what I said? I do apologize if that was the case. The reason why I didn't see a problem in saying that is exactly the same reason why I didn't see a problem with criticizing the beggars (not baggers) in my country who "help" you out at parking your car and then ask for money for this unsolicited and unwelcome service. Criticizing this aspect of my country doesn't turn me into a hater of my own country. It just turns me into someone who generally speaking loves her country and is critical of some things about it, in this case a very minor and ultimately irrelevant thing. In the same way, I didn't think criticizing an also totally minor and ultimately unimportant aspect of the American society would offend anyone, Americans included. I couldn't be more surprised that it has. So now I know I can't say anything, no matter how trivial, if it's even slightly negative about Americans. Lesson learned.

[Kharysma]

Don't think it was what you were trying to say that upset me so much as it was saying "what is next?" (implying to Americans) that we need help getting the fork to our mouth. Or need help putting one foot in front of the other. Criticizing a minor thing is not what is insulting.... insulting us with comments like that over a minor thing is what is insulting.

Like I said on the other thread... don't have a quarrel with you, hon. It may appear that I am "picking" on you but I'm not. I just didnt agree with how you put it forward to us. :( I do have baggers.. I don't need help eating, thanks.

[Sand-Man]

I will expand one some of the things I said:

Wal-Mart Greeters: I know what their purpose is supposed to be, but out here they do not do any of the above mentioned. They usually stand their with a grim look and don't speak. And when someone asks for help they have a bad attitude about it. I have seen this happen on a routine basis. So in my eyes the job is quite pointless unless they get proper people doing the job. Having a jerk doing the job defeats the reason it was made.

Baggers: I know their job isn't easy. They also go out into the parking lot and push carts in. But usually the store only hire about 1 for every 4 cashiers. They end up running around trying to help everyone. I try to help out and just bag my own groceries.

Self Serve: There are few gas stations that still do full service. They do it as a favor to you for your convience. These stations are far and few inbetween but they are not to be looked at as a "making people lazy".

But with all this stated I can see to some extent to where people can see these jobs as usueless. They do serve a purpose, but they are not vital to commerce. So you can't say they as useless, they just aren't vital.

[HappyJack]

Your definitely entitled to your opinions and allowed to say whatever you want. In canada, the cashier does the bagging as well, and I personally enjoy this service, and I couldn't understand how anyone could not. But, when I was in Barbados for a vacation, the supermarkets there were encreadibly over-employed, with one cashier and 2 baggers at every checkout line.
I thought that was a bit wastefull

[vampiress]

.
And I didn't say Vampiress had attacked me. In fact I didn't say anyone had attacked me. I hope that never happens.
*edit* I had already said, hadn't I, that in countries where you don't have baggers if one needs a hand whoever is employed there helps you out. There just isn't anyone to do it whether you need it or not.
And what I said was not said maliciously. i was just pointing out a person could disagree with a post with out being inflamitory, i didn't say or mean to imply anyone was doing attaking. actually i think what i was responding to got deleted. i was just pointing out, as a person who has held the jobs deemed useless, that they were not as useless as might seem from a different angle.
So now I know I can't say anything, no matter how trivial, if it's even slightly negative about Americans. Lesson learned.
i think it's not so much what your opinion was that got such a sharp response, but the way you presented it. the sly digs about being able to put one foot in front of the other, while maybe meant in a humourous manner, could be construed as insulting. you insulted americans for having grocery baggers by not being able to lift the fork to their mouths. you didn't just find a trivial negative thing about america, you mocked us then get upset when we call you on it.

[gatochy]

Don't think it was what you were trying to say that upset me so much as it was saying "what is next?" (implying to Americans) that we need help getting the fork to our mouth. Or need help putting one foot in front of the other. Criticizing a minor thing is not what is insulting.... insulting us with comments like that over a minor thing is what is insulting.

Like I said on the other thread... don't have a quarrel with you, hon. It may appear that I am "picking" on you but I'm not. I just didnt agree with how you put it forward to us. :( I do have baggers.. I don't need help eating, thanks.
I wasn't insulting "you" as in the American people, or anyone for that matter. You, as an American, felt insulted, which is a whole different thing. I was criticizing a profession that I had only ever heard of as existing in America, because that was what the thread called for: for people to criticize a profession. I thought it only existed in America, so I alluded to that. If I thought it only existed in Thailand I would have said that instead. And that wouldn't have turned me into an anti-Thailandeser either. No reason to assume such a thing or to take it personally.
If the thread was about dishing out other nationalities I not only wouldn't have joined it, I would have reported it.
Please don't call me hon. I'm sure you wouldn't like being called "babe," or "sweetheart" or anything like that. Our cultural differences aren't so big after all.

[Kharysma]

oh ffs. I was trying to be nice. I even pm'd you trying to clear the air. But whatever. I gave my opinion of how it was presented. I didn't appreciate it. Vampi has also voiced the same opinion. Maybe it means you didn't present it well. *shrug* I said sorry.... you apparently didn't care. So... toodles. :rolleyes:

[gatochy]

I'm sorry - didn't I apologize and haven't you done as much? How much more clear can the air get? It was a misunderstanding. As far as I could see the matter seemed to be closed. Apparently to you it isn't. I really don't know what else to say.

[plattbridger]

Gawd this has gotten rather heated for the beginners section :shock:

I for one was not suggesting every American born is morbidly lazy because they apparently have people who fuel your car for you :p it's quaint if anything :D

Going back HappyJacks original post I agree! I have seen lollypop women on pedestrian crossings :confused: why! The Terratorial Army seems quite useless too :p the 457th line of defence or whatever it is- it's just the Scouts for grown up people with boring jobs!

[Dr-Electro]

*attacks Gatochy with a bear hug*

*attacks Sassy with a bear hug*

*attacks Vampi with a bear hug*

Wheew! That's all the attacking I can manage for the time being!:D

Jobs. Useless. Hm. INteresting concept as I have never in my life met a useless person.

My first job, at age 8, was selling stuff door-to-door. Yes, it was long enough ago that door-to-door selling was safe enough for an 8-year-old. My first "paycheck" job was at age 14 when I went to work pumping gas in a full-wervice station. We did everything from filling gas tanks on cars to fixing flat tires on eighteen-wheel trucks to full engine repairs and overhauls. We washed every windshield on every car and checked everyone's oil and radiator unless the customer asked us not to. It was a part of the American experience when I was a lad. Self-serve gas was unheard of until years later. Self-serve gas is a phenomenon that started in the late Sixties. Maybe even in 1970.

I never bagged groceries. That job went to the priveleged children of the priveleged and wealthy families in the small town I grew up in. Snobs every one.

I did sell ice cream. At different times, I worked in a Dairy Queen drive-in and drove an ice cream truck. The one with the annoying loud children's music blaring from a loudspeaker. Yucky job, believe me.

My father retired from his job with an insurance company and promptly went to work as a Wal-Mart greeter. He kept that job until his death at age 78. It supplemented his measly retirement and allowed him a greater discount on his prescription medicines. His primary job was loss control. He caught more than 100 shoplifters during his "career" with Wal-Mart. He spent more time tagging incoming items than anything else.

My late brother was the useless one in the family. He never held a job if he could mooch off any other family member, friend or sucker he could rope in. If his wife went to work, he quit his job before she could even draw one paycheck. His laziness contributed to his untimely death of a massive heart attack at age 50. Use it or lose it, as my physical trainer always said. He did work for a couple of weeks as a school crossing guard.

The closest thing I can imagine to a useless job or occupation would be those guys who stand on streetcorners holding up cardboard signs that say, "Will work for food." I hope I never reach that stage of hopelessness. There are also people in urban centers who lurk on street corners with a dirty wet rag and a worn-out squeegee. They will jump out when the light turns red and "wash" somebody's windshield and then try to demand payment for it. My uncle, while living in LA would turn on his car alarm if any one of these individuals would approach. They would be treated to sirens, horns, whistles, and a very obnoxious, highly amplified, male voice declaiming, "Step away from the car. Do not touch the car. Step away from the car. Keep both hands in plain sight. Step away from the car."

It happened once while I was riding with him and I almost died laughing. I couldn't keep a straight face for two weeks. Every time I relate the experience, I still chuckle.

Also, California freeway on- and offramps used to be populated with Flower Girls. People would employ waiflike girls to sell flowers on the freeways. I don't know if the they are still there. I didn't see any during my last trip to California.

Oh. I just remembered. Hari Krishna beggars and booksellers in airports. I used to get really angry with them. They would accost me at the worst possible times. I think they were always on the lookout for the most hurried and harried passengers in the mistaken belief that they could gat a bigger handout from anyone who was in a hurry just to get them out of the way. I bowled a few over in my haste to make connections. I originally apologised over my shoulder while continuing to hustle along, but I eventually quit apologising altogether. Me bad? Maybe, but they were the worst nuisance and hindrance I ever encountered while traveling.