What we hate most about our colleagues

Sardines: a no-no in the office. Source: Supplied

Clean up your desk. NOW. Picture: Thinkstock Source: news.com.au

THERE'S the boss who talks about "going forward" and urges you to "think outside the square".

He's always wanting to "touch base" with you or have a "catch-up meeting" about the small matter of your performance.

Management speak is bad enough, but that's just one of the most irritating office habits plaguing workers today, according to a survey.

Colleagues who bring their children into work or leave dirty plates on their desk after lunch are also annoying, reports the Daily Mail.

A survey of more than 2,000 managers for the UK Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) found the typical 'nightmare' colleague also takes regular cigarette breaks or comes to work when they have a virus and should have stayed in bed.

The surveyed managers also had problems with people who gossip about colleagues, openly discussed confidential work matters, or who wore unsuitable clothes such as skimpy outfits or thongs.

But their biggest complaint was poor timekeeping.
 
Nearly two-thirds of managers said colleagues who were late in the morning or for meetings were their "number one irritation".

As people work long hours and spend more of their time at the office, news.com.au has made its own list of workplace annoyances.

There are the people who microwave anything containing fish, cyclists who arrive in sweaty lycra and use the office showers, and people who decorate their desks with endless family photos, knick-knacks and souvenirs of their travels.

ILM chief executive, Charles Elvin, said the fact people spent so much time together bred resentment.

"Seemingly trivial issues can grow disproportionately," he said.

The report urged people to change their habits.

But Professor Cary Cooper, of Lancaster University, said the problem was becoming increasingly noticeable because ‘millions of workers spend more of their waking hours at work than at home’.

Top ten irritating office habits

1. Time bandit: Clock-watching managers are most distressed about tardy staffers, but it can be just as irritating for the colleagues of the person who's always late, slips off early and totes up an extra hour daily smoking outside on the footpath. 

2. Noise control: Some people have mobile phones with loud or annoying ring tones. Other people have loud and annoying voices and force their co-workers to listen to every detail of their every phone conversation.

3. Sick leave: When you're sick, please stay at home. Coming into work when you're coughing and sneezing won't earn you the Mother Theresa award, only your co-workers' horror and your manager's disdain when you infect everyone else.

Don't let this be you this winter! Picture: Thinkstock Source: Supplied

4. Management speak: Some bosses love management speak. But talking about "going forward" and "thinking outside the square" and suggesting staff "touch base" with you will just give everyone the pip. 

5. Desk jobs: There are two different sorts of desk crimes. There's the car crash on a plate after lunch offence, when the scrapings of your lunch are left to congeal into an eyesore for anyone who passes.
The other misdemeanour is decorating your desk as if it was a 10-year-old's bedroom, with a fleet of family photos, souvenirs from your last overseas trip, little fuzzy bears with cutesie messages and other types of tizz.

6. Unnatural acts: Okay, so you're fit and proud of it. Get that way after dark and away from the office or you'll risk irritating others by being the person who arrives in cycling gear after a sweaty ride to use the office showers and then glow self-righteously or talk about your two-wheeled trips. Or you could be the one who goes to the gym or a Pilates class for your lunch "hour", which stretches to 90 minutes.

Warrior II Pose in Baalbek, Lebanon. Picture: Shams S Source: No Source

7. Food crimes: It's great the office has a kitchen and people can bring last night's leftovers in for a reheat. But fish, especially the smelly varieties of sardines, salmon or tuna, should be banned from the microwave, along with any of the cheeses on a list of "top ten stinky cheeses of the world".

8. Family values: Sometimes it can't be avoided, and if it allays child minding fees at the end of a day, then by all means bring your children into work. But don't do it during the peak working hours and be aware it distracts others, especially if they are expected to coo over your handsome progeny.

9. The coffee run: Those stacks of cardboard trays on peoples' desk have a purpose. Remember to take your turn in getting a round of takeaway coffees for your busy colleagues

10. Dress sense: People get dressed up to varying degrees for the office and while overdressing will make you stand out in the grey corridors, don't make the mistake and under dress. By that we mean make sure your clothes adequately cover those expanses of skin most people expose only at home or at the beach. 
 

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Stop complaining about budget airlines

Tiger Airways flights were roughly half the cost of other airlines in April. Picture: Tiger Airways. Source: Herald Sun

BUDGET airlines are called budget for a reason. So why do Australians expect so much service? If we don't stop complaining, we're just going to hurt our hip pockets.

The cost of a budget flight is less than that of a taxi to the airport. Less than a bus or a train to the same destination. So why do we expect more from them? Try asking a taxi driver for a free cup of tea. Or getting them to wait for you because you need to finish your coffee in the lounge.

Let's compare some flights on Friday 15 April 2013.

If you want to fly from Melbourne to Adelaide the cheapest flight on Jetstar will cost you $49 ($66 with bags), Tiger will set you back $50 ($65 with bags). On Virgin the cheapest flight costs $112 and on Qantas the cheapest flight is $119.

So budget airlines are roughly half the cost. Half the cost.

Yet we all complain that they don't give us food, they don't allow you to board late and they don't have as nice seats. You get what you pay for.

In fact budget airlines are often cheaper than other forms of travel - forms of travel that we expect much less of.

Let's look at another route - Melbourne to Sydney. A flight on Tiger will cost you $54.95. An interstate train will cost $91.18. A Greyhound bus $101.04. The taxi to Melbourne airport will cost $50.

The cost of a budget flight is close to half that of the bus or the train and almost the same price as the cab to the airport.

If you are late for the train or the bus, it will leave without you. We get that. We don't complain. We don't expect a free meal that is gluten and dairy free vegetarian or someone to carry our bags or even a seat that reclines.

The first report of the Airline Customer Advocate revealed budget airlines are the most complained about by flyers. 

So why do we hate budget airlines so much?

CAPA Centre Aviation chairman Peter Harbison says the figures showed two very different aviation markets. People who fly Qantas and Virgin are familiar with flying and they don't complain as much.

"(Jetstar and Tiger) have a whole lot more restrictions because they offer cheaper fares with add-ons and you tend to get more passengers who aren't experienced flyers but still have high expectations," he says.

In other words people who fly budget airlines expect full-service for half the cost and they complain when they don't get it.

The facts are that budget airlines aren't really as bad as we think they are. They arrive and depart on time almost as much as full-service airlines.

In 2012 Qantas had the best overall on time departures at 86 per cent. Tiger and Virgin near tied for second.

On time arrivals are much the same. Qantas arrived on time 84 per cent of the time, Virgin and Tiger both scored just over 80 per cent and Jetstar came in at 76.6 per cent.

Some budget airlines forgo having backup planes on standby to keep prices low. That means when a flight gets cancelled or delayed on a budget airline you will have to wait longer than on a full-service airline. It's a fact. If you want the extra service of a backup plane in case of emergency pay for full service.

According  to Singapore Airlines budget offshoot Scoot the cost of running a full-service airline is about 40 per cent higher than that of running a low cost airline.

The cost difference comes from having backup planes and assorted costs associated with food and baggage. Yet passengers are not always willing to pay, so full-service airlines only make a small profit.

Complaining about budget airline service is not just whingeing. It's actually causing higher prices. 

Both Scoot and Tiger say if they are forced to include more services the prices will have to go up. The cost difference between full-service airlines and budget carriers will disappear. Anyone else remember when Virgin was considered the budget airline?

Tiger Airways Australia commercial director, Carly Brear says low cost travel enables people to fly when it was never before financially possible for some.

Maybe budget airline travellers need to suck it up and remember they are flying BUDGET. Think of it as the same service level as a train or bus - but cheaper. Turn up on time, don't expect a free feed and if you want more - pay for it.

View the original article here

Retailers' cries about online are a 'furphy'

Seventy-five per cent of goods purchased online last year were bought from Australian-based companies . Picture: Thinkstock Source: Supplied

SHOPPERS are flocking to online websites with almost $13 billion spent last year.

But it is domestic retailers rather than international websites that are the biggest winners with almost 75 per cent of goods purchased bought from Australian-based companies at an average price of just $60, according to the latest research.

National Australia Bank chief economist Alan Oster said this exposes as a "furphy" the cries of unfair competition from many local retailers about foreign websites which do not have to charge GST on purchases.

The NAB Online Retail Sales Index released today shows overall online sales are growing fast, rising 27 per cent in the year to January while traditional bricks and mortar sales grew only 0.4 per cent in the same period.

This growth is being driven by domestic retailers - up 28 per cent compared with a 25 per cent lift in international sales.

But online sales still represent just under 6 per cent of the total retail market.

"The increase in sales in January suggests the recent lift in consumer confidence has flowed through to some online retailers," Mr Oster said.

Households in the 30-40 age bracket remain the top spenders with auction sites, department stores, fashion and cosmetics drawing in almost 50 per cent of the $13 billion spent online.

But Mr Oster said the biggest growth in the past year has been in the under 30s age bracket - attracted by the surge in companies offering free delivery with purchases.

The biggest online spenders per capita come from ACT, Northern Territory and Western Australia.

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Most annoying things about hotel rooms

A shower positioned over the toilet can be challenging. (Note: This is a different hotel to the one I stayed in) Photo from a TripAdvisor traveller

• Some hotel stays are disappointing, bizarre
• These are some of my worst hotel experiences
• Tell us what you most dislike about hotel rooms below

THERE'S nothing like the feeling of walking into your hotel room after a long journey to be met with a jaw-dropping view and amazing furnishings. But what about the times you're left underwhelmed?

A hotel room can make or break your holiday. While the vast majority of hotel rooms I've stayed in have been wonderful, there have been times I was left wondering 'what were they thinking'?

Here are 16 of the most puzzling and disappointing hotel moments I've had. What are yours? Tell us below.

Shower over the toilet
This layout makes trying to get clean after a long day travelling quite challenging. That's right - at a hotel in Auckland, New Zealand, the shower was positioned above the toilet. It left me trying to wash while avoiding accidentally touching the toilet bowl with my leg. Not to mention that the water that ran over my feet also went up against the toilet, as it all swirled in together. Ewww. That's why you always bring thongs...

Blocked drains, clogged toilets and leaking seals around the doors to the shower can also lead to a headache. 

Is that it?
It can be very disappointing when the hotel room ends up looking nothing like what you've been promised. That awesome view of the beach is actually a swamp and that modern-looking, bright and spacious room is actually a decrepit run-down box.

Surprise extra fees
Ever heard of "resort fees"? Well stay in Vegas and you'll quickly become accustomed to them. One Vegas hotel assured me there would be no other fees payable on my account, which I'd booked through a third party. However upon checkout days later an extra few hundred dollars had magically appeared on my bill. Don't be afraid to challenge these fees if you weren't notified of them.

Also beware the $80 "holding fee" - an amount "frozen" by some hotels for damage or to replace items you may have taken from the mini-bar - which I've had taken out of my account by a hotel without being notified.  I only discovered what it was about after calling up to find out why the amount had been deducted.

Pushy – and snoopy - maids
Sometimes I actually like to sleep in, but maids have other ideas. On one occasion I'd hung out the do-not-disturb sign on the door the night before and was enjoying a sleep-in when, at 8am, the knocking and yelling "housekeeping" began. It continued persistently for two hours, each time I fell back to sleep it would start up again.

I do have a lot of respect for hotel maids, who often have a lot to do in little time, but some are just too keen. Take for example the maid at one Abu Dhabi hotel, who went into a room despite a drunken guest still being asleep in it and tidied up around him, even removing the clothing lying on the bed next to him and folding it up. He awoke dazed and surprised at his surroundings. He'll remember to lock the door next time!

Parking, what parking?
A lack of parking options close by can be another downside to hotels. Just as frustrating is the extra fee you'll often have to pay for valet parking when it's the only feasible option. You can also face a half-hour wait for your car to be returned to you – and it can be worse during peak times.

Early check-outs and breakfasts
Having to beg for a late checkout, say 11am, and sometimes having to wait until the morning of your checkout to find out if you've secured it or not, can be frustrating. For many the whole point of a hotel stay is to relax and sleep in, not rush out. The same goes for breakfast, which often finishes so early you miss out.

Theft
OK, most people would have returned to their hotel room at some point to find their belongings in different locations or their clothes tidied and put away, so it's clear someone went through your bags, and this can be harmless enough. But when I returned to my room at a new luxurious hotel in Singapore only to find that the seal on my brand new jar of expensive moisturiser had been broken and 90 per cent of its contents removed, I wasn't happy, mostly at the thought someone had been through my belongings. Was this how some hotels filled all those tiny bottles of moisturiser they offer? I got off lightly - fellow travellers have reported laptops and cameras stolen from their rooms.

Mini-bar rorts
I know hotels have to make money somehow, but having ridiculously-priced (and often underwhelming) snacks and drinks is just irritating, especially when there are no other shops anywhere near the hotel and you're on a tight schedule, forcing you to pay an extreme price for your thirst.

Hotel minibar. Picture:II Uggboy Ugggirl/Flickr Source: No Source

Terrible TVs
Sometimes there's nothing better than watching some trashy television after a long day of sightseeing. But a top hotel in Sydney had me wondering what were they thinking with their layout, which saw a king bed positioned facing the window and a TV mounted at an odd angle, way off the side of the room. This meant I had to twist diagonally across the bed to watch TV.

Smokin'!
Unfortunately, not all smoke detectors work. I experienced this at one LA hotel when I opened the bathroom door to a non-smoking room only to walk into a huge cloud of cigarette smoke. The hotel owner insisted the guest must have tampered with it. More concerning was the fact they obviously hadn't cleaned the bathroom or they would have noticed the smell.

Dirty towels
That yellow stain on the white towel isn't going to be good news.

Trapped in a lift
Checking out of a hotel in Nelson Bay, NSW, became a lot more challenging when I found myself stuck in a lift. The check-out time had been extended but little did I know the keycard had been deactivated early. A few presses of the emergency button and I was free, but not impressed.

Costly internet
Some hotels still charge extra for WiFi access, and it can quickly add up.

Insects galore
I arrived at one hotel in Peru late one night only to find the room full of bugs. They were everywhere. Sure, it was located next to a river, but the hotel staff had no bug spray and offered no help. There were wide gaps around the door so the insects kept following the light and making themselves at home on my bed.

Noisy
Thin walls and loud air conditioning can lead to a sleepless night.

Surprises on the bathroom floor
Nothing gives away the lack of cleanliness of a room like spotting pubic hairs scattered all over the bathroom floor.

 Saying all this, many hotels do get it right. But if you're not happy with what you see and experience, sometimes it pays to speak to hotel staff about it. You never know, they could upgrade you or give you a partial refund.

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