advice on anti cyclist comment from work mate

Cafewanda

Greg66 wrote:

Isn't there something about using a D-lock that might help...?

My first thoughts

fenboy369

I cycle commute in and do flexible working so finish an hour earlier than everybody else. (They all seem to ignore the fact that I start an hour earlier though). I get loads of banter from people about both things. Where I work I give it back, comments about the early finish are met with a reply about how I can get to their waiting wife/girlfriend before they get home. Similar about the cycling, "your missus really has a thing about my legs in lycra though, she says they are much more muscular than yours".
After the missus lines then go for the mum. I can get away with it as the banter here is well, lets just say you need a thick skin! Dont quite know how it would come over in an office environment? But I'd do it anyway!

ride_whenever

do you know where he works?

cocoon his car in cling film overnight and leave a pub bike leaning up against it...

CiB

I'd turn the other cheek for a while, and then ask him to let me know when he's got something new or interesting to say, then go back to ignoring him. It doesn't sound like it's anything worth bothering about though, just some bloke wanting to lord it over you but completely failing to hit the target unless you let him.

iPad

ride_whenever wrote:

do you know where he works?

cocoon his car in cling film overnight and leave a pub bike leaning up against it...

What's better is to get the stringy bits from gaffer tape and put them on his car to look like scratches, it looks really effective, I had if done to my bike last week (oh how I laughed [not]).

But, seriously the guy drives a Rover 75, he clearly know nothing about road travel (and the fact that it's a ZR means he know even less).

Porgy

I used to have a manager who made frequent quite nasty anti-cyclist comments aimed at me. I bided my time.

Then one day he was on the phone to a black colleague having a bit of an argument, slammed the phone down and made some comment about the guy only just coming down from the trees. Our black secretary walked out without saying anything. I went over to have a quiet word with her about making an official complaint saying i'd back her up.

she did. It was upheld. The guys career was over....early retirement.

He was a useless fecker anyway - never did any work.

ride_whenever

lad at the lbs bought a second hand cf road bike, we did that right on the fork crown, it was very very funny....

cee

shine your r2 right in his eyes and ask him if he thinks it is enough light to use on a bike...

then fold his wing mirrors in every night before he gets in his car....

On getting rover parts....a mechanic mate of mine ordered some bits for a wee city rover.....2 months later and still waiting for the parts.

oscarbudgie

fenboy369 wrote:

I. Similar about the cycling, "your missus really has a thing about my legs in lycra though, she says they are much more muscular than yours".
After the missus lines then go for the mum.

Often the same person on in your part of the world

Porgy

oscarbudgie wrote:

fenboy369 wrote:

I. Similar about the cycling, "your missus really has a thing about my legs in lycra though, she says they are much more muscular than yours".
After the missus lines then go for the mum.

Often the same person on in your part of the world

how dare you!

Hardly anyone in East Anglia marries their mum - marrying the sister is much more common :P

sampras38

Take the mick out of his shoes, or something else equally as stupid.

Has he got a funny haircut, or an ugly wife?

Sorry, that was harsh..don't whatever you do mock his haircut..;-)

gavmac

As it is clearly upsetting you it is inappropriate for a work place. I'd suggest yake a record of it including your responses so be beyond reproach in your responses. When you have a few examples explain to him what you have done and ask him to stop. If it persists take your records to his manageament and/or the HR department. The important thing is to keep accurate records and make sure your own behaviour and responses do not leave you in the hole he will inevetably dig for himself.

Porgy

someone made a remark about my long hair in a meeting a few weeks back - my boss came over afterwards and asked me how i felt about that remark and that he was going to reprimand the guy - one of my colleagues - who made it. :shock:

So if that's unacceptable - i didn;t even mind - then i'm sure the OP's case is definitely not acceptable.

fenboy369

Porgy wrote:

oscarbudgie wrote:

fenboy369 wrote:

I. Similar about the cycling, "your missus really has a thing about my legs in lycra though, she says they are much more muscular than yours".
After the missus lines then go for the mum.

Often the same person on in your part of the world

how dare you!

Hardly anyone in East Anglia marries their mum - marrying the sister is much more common :P

Fair play I suppose. Me and the wife aint originally from the Fens, but when we got married (out in the Fens) the vicar did ask us if we were related, "No" said the other half "of course not! :shock: ". Vicar had a swift look around and said quietly "Well, you never know round here! " Had me in stiches....

Back to the work thing, its very personal issue and is also very much tied to the work place. As I said before the banter at our place is awsome, and if you took any notice of what was said you would either hand your notice in or kill yourself by tea break. We wouldnt last long in an office. But people can go too far and the best bet is either a quiet word in the offenders ear, along the lines of "thats enough, I've had enough" or to tell a supervisor/manager and ask them to have a quiet word.
Its a fine line between a joke and an insult. The other thing to consider is what will it be like if you do 'report' them and get them in trouble? Will anybody want to work with you in the future? Will it mark you out as a trouble maker? I know it shouldnt but most people want an easy time, and that includes managers. The easiest way to sort a problem is sometimes the gutless way, and move you. Probably not what you wanted to hear, but it happens, and it can be very hard to prove it has.
Keep a diary of whats said and when and see what it looks like. After a couple of weeks show your line manager and see what they say. Either have a word with the offender, with managers knowledge, (ie offer to sort out yourself) tell offender that manager is aware, and keep the diary up. Should sort it out. If not D Lock the cnut! But don't put that in the diary!!!

marksteven

not a peep out of him today think my"why dont you f**k off "worked

alfablue

The problem is, in the workplace, one person's banter ("OMG I was only joking!") is another person's bullying ("That John takes the p*ss out of me every day and its getting me down!"). The recipient of the banter may appear to take it in good humour, after all, they don't wan't to show weakness, but inside it could be hurting. It really is safer and better to steer clear of robust / macho / rude / sexist banter in the workplace, you know it makes sense!

shouldbeinbed

fingers crossed you've got the message across.

I dealt with one joker by keep asking 'what' when they tried their brand of drivel, I blatantly refused to acknowledge I'd heard them however often they said anything. They soon got bored and went away, A couple of times he realised that other people were watching and shriveled as he realised what a twunt he sounded in front of everyone else.

alfablue

shouldbeinbed wrote:

fingers crossed you've got the message across.

I dealt with one joker by keep asking 'what' when they tried their brand of drivel, I blatantly refused to acknowledge I'd heard them however often they said anything. They soon got bored and went away, A couple of times he realised that other people were watching and shriveled as he realised what a twunt he sounded in front of everyone else.

That's a really good technique, you keep your dignity whilst theirs dissolves

Jay dubbleU

marksteven wrote:

oh by the way he drives 1 of those rover 75 zg things

Seriously ? The guy is obviously a born loser 8) it's a Chinese MG

Moomin23

I point out that 'I like to show the size of my dong through Lycra, you do it with your hardly ever working, needs a push to get going, gimpmobile'

I get loads of stick from the women at work for shaving my legs, but then I ask them to compare cellulite and suggest they grow a bit of fluff to cover it up.

Failing that, there's always the D-lock.

navt

Revel in the fact that your 0-60 is faster than his

chuckcork

IMHO HR and anti-bullying policies are there to protect companies against claims that might be made against them, in the sense that if you were being bullied and didn't follow proper process they would have a legal defence against any claim made if you left working for them and found a lawyer.

Anyway, thats my 2p worth, having made a complaint about my boss in a former job (with the NHS), HR just let her add fuel to the fire to the point where I was more than happy to resign.

iPad

Moomin23 wrote:

I point out that 'I like to show the size of my dong through Lycra

That wouldn't work for me :oops:

Especially not during winter

UndercoverElephant

iPad wrote:

Moomin23 wrote:

I point out that 'I like to show the size of my dong through Lycra

That wouldn't work for me :oops:

Especially not during winter

Have you ever considered driving a MG?

iPad

UndercoverElephant wrote:

iPad wrote:

Moomin23 wrote:

I point out that 'I like to show the size of my dong through Lycra

That wouldn't work for me :oops:

Especially not during winter

Have you ever considered driving a MG?

Many people would say I drive something worse.

PBo

chuckcork wrote:

IMHO HR and anti-bullying policies are there to protect companies against claims that might be made against them, in the sense that if you were being bullied and didn't follow proper process they would have a legal defence against any claim made if you left working for them and found a lawyer.

Anyway, thats my 2p worth, having made a complaint about my boss in a former job (with the NHS), HR just let her add fuel to the fire to the point where I was more than happy to resign.

Isn't that "constructive dismissal"? - employemnt tribunal ahoy!

chuckcork

PBo wrote:

chuckcork wrote:

IMHO HR and anti-bullying policies are there to protect companies against claims that might be made against them, in the sense that if you were being bullied and didn't follow proper process they would have a legal defence against any claim made if you left working for them and found a lawyer.

Anyway, thats my 2p worth, having made a complaint about my boss in a former job (with the NHS), HR just let her add fuel to the fire to the point where I was more than happy to resign.

Isn't that "constructive dismissal"? - employemnt tribunal ahoy!

Probably, but life is too short. I know I'm not the first person to have left though, I expect that what goes around comes around will for this particular person, who despite calling herself an Architect wasn't registered as one (was quite happy to wave an RIBA membership card about tho), and who couldn't design, document, project manage or much else. Classic public servant really, useless in the real world.

I'd be more interested in finding out the details of the reference from a previous employer that cast me in a very unfavourable light, which also only came up at what turned out to be my exit interview, which both HR and my ex-supervisor both knew about but hadn't disclosed previously...

georgee

If you work in an office:

Shoe polish on the earpiece of his phone
Empty a pack of raw prawns in the rear of his desk drawers
Advertise puppies for sale on gum tree with his mobile phone number, spend an evening placing over 20 suspiciously cheap popular items (inc. a rover 75, not that it’s popular)
Go to smiths, collect as many of the send us your details rubbish cards out of the middle of magazines and fill them out for him.
Buy a butt plug and superglue it to the centre of his desk
Selotape the bottom of his mouse or receiver of his phone
Prize the keys of his keyboard with the end of a spoon then rearrange them in the wrong place
Post his name and phone on here so we can help
Get hold of an application (paper form) for the bnp, apply by post with cash (£15 I think) then when the next inevitable leak of members appear, forward the list around to others pointing this out.
Reply to all snide comments about his wife being fat (even if she isn’t)

Just a few suggestions

AndyManc

chuckcork wrote:

PBo wrote:

chuckcork wrote:

IMHO HR and anti-bullying policies are there to protect companies against claims that might be made against them, in the sense that if you were being bullied and didn't follow proper process they would have a legal defence against any claim made if you left working for them and found a lawyer.

Anyway, thats my 2p worth, having made a complaint about my boss in a former job (with the NHS), HR just let her add fuel to the fire to the point where I was more than happy to resign.

Isn't that "constructive dismissal"? - employemnt tribunal ahoy!

Probably, but life is too short. .

It is ( constructive dismissal that is) and no life isn't too short, I would have had him in every court in Europe.

I'm a union rep at work so I get all the cra p off management including blatant bullying, they even forced me from my depot, my union threatened them with legal action, within hours I was told to return.

I wouldn't give these b astards the satisfaction of forcing me out unless I could take the lot of them with me ...... or have a massive payout


Don't let the b astards grind you down.


.

chuckcork

AndyManc wrote:

chuckcork wrote:

PBo wrote:

chuckcork wrote:

IMHO HR and anti-bullying policies are there to protect companies against claims that might be made against them, in the sense that if you were being bullied and didn't follow proper process they would have a legal defence against any claim made if you left working for them and found a lawyer.

Anyway, thats my 2p worth, having made a complaint about my boss in a former job (with the NHS), HR just let her add fuel to the fire to the point where I was more than happy to resign.

Isn't that "constructive dismissal"? - employemnt tribunal ahoy!

Probably, but life is too short. .

It is ( constructive dismissal that is) and no life isn't too short, I would have had him in every court in Europe.

I'm a union rep at work so I get all the cra p off management including blatant bullying, they even forced me from my depot, my union threatened them with legal action, within hours I was told to return.

I wouldn't give these b astards the satisfaction of forcing me out unless I could take the lot of them with me ...... or have a massive payout


Don't let the b astards grind you down.


.

Andy, not in a Union, the one I queried as to whether they would assist if I became a member told me no as it was an existing problem, at which point I could only comment that there wasn't much point in joining them was there?

As for massive payout, I could wish, but they suggested I "resign" and they wouldn't hold me to having to work out the 2 months notice, they'd pay out instead. Not bad I thought, 2 months work for 4 months pay!

I was also in a "probationary" period, which I think my ex-boss was quite happy to use as a weapon against me to suit herself. Deluded if she thinks that anyone else who has an option will put up with her crap, anyone half competent wouldn't take the job in the first place because the pay is so bad, I wouldn't have either except for the little matter of there being no work around otherwise, missus preggers etc.

If I did go to a tribunal with a lawyer I doubt they'd win though (they'd have to use my resigning against me), seeing as one criticism of my work was that I was very bad at it when my boss hadn't even seen me doing something that I'm actually very good at; with suggestions my folio was plagiarised (absolutley not). Let alone radical changes in my work, directions given then contradicted with criticism both ways, bighting my head off for meaningless transgressions (if they even were). Blatant bullying indeed.

But as one of my coleagues pointed out, my ex-boss brought as her contribution to projects chaos and confusion, there is only so long she can hide behind others, I don't doubt that is one reason she was so disrespected by other senior hospital staff, which she even told me about! As for consultants (e.g. engineers) and contractors, they simply didn't trust her which they were quite happy to tell me about.

I'd say where the hospital was but that might become libellious...lets just say it was a large foundation trust hospital in Surrey and it wasn't in Guildford, Sutton or Leatherhead.

Glad to see the back of it though i had otherwise enjoyed the work, but better paid where I am now and enjoying it even more so have landed sunny side up!