The Fucking Obnoxious Rude Bitch

I just got back from the Accommodation Office. I'm settling down again now, but I was shaking I was that angry when I left. I now take back everything positive I said about them in my previous blog or rather I take back anything positive I have ever said about EW [name deleted for my own protection]. She is a rude, vicious bitch. From the very moment I walked in she started being rude. Here's what happened, as best as I can remember it (it went on for quite a long time):

I walked into EW's office and she asked how she could help. "Well, I don't know if you remember but you found me some accommodation about a month ago-" I began.

"No I do not remember, I thought that was quite obvious from the phone call earlier." I let that rather cutting remark slide, everyone can come across a little sharp without meaning to from time to time.

"Well, you found me accommodation in Ty Gwerin about a month ago. It's great down there I've really settled in, but when I was here last I explained that I needed accommodation through the summer too-" Again she interrupted me.

"Well you should have filled in the booking form." Ah yes, the fabled booking form that everyone keeps telling me about, but that I've never seen.

"Yes, so I am told. When I was last here I explained that I needed Summer accommodation but nobody told me I needed to fill out a form, I was only told that I would probably have to move." I only speak the truth.

"I can't be expected to know what every student who comes here wants, Matthew. If you needed summer accommodation then you should have made that clear when you spoke to me last."

"I did, I explained I needed accommodation up to and through the Summer. Nobody told me how I had to go about getting Summer accommodation though, I thought you were sorting it out or something."

"You have certain responsibilities and you can't hold me accountable for them. Now we have 9 places left in Summer Accommodation. You need to fill out a form, which I will get for you in a minute, and then you will be put on a waiting list. There have been notices inside the halls telling you when you had to move out by and how to get summer accommodation, and you've obviously been walking past them every day and not reading them. If you'd have read your contract-"

"I haven't SEEN the contract."

"Well if that is the case then I need to have words with someone..." She picked up the phone and spoke to AL [initials again, to protect the innocent this time]. I know that name, he responded to one of my emails when I asked for information about getting summer accommodation. The phone call happened right in front of me and she spoke at exactly the same semi-shouting volume she used when she spoke to me so Iit would have been impossible for me to not overhear her...

"Yes hello AL ... yes ... I've got a student here who claims [she drew that out to emphasise the word] that he wasn't given a contract when he moved into residence. Yes I know it should have been handed to him. Yes, yes. Yes well if this is the case then I will need to speak to Jennifer because we can't have that. Right, yes, well I think it's more likely that Matthew just doesn't read the information we give him."

THAT was it, I lost my cool. I'd been getting more and more angry up to this point, but now I was livid. How I didn't punch her I do not know. I looked her in the eye and said in a very level voice "I think you're being very rude."

"You think I'm being rude?! Well you have every right to say that but I can not accept people offloading their responsibility onto me. You've got to take responsibility for yourself."

"I DID take responsibility for myself, which is why I came to see you a month ago to ask about Summer accommodation."

"Well I don't remember you saying that. I can't remember everything that every student says to me. I think I remember you now, you're the one who works on Llanbadarn campus?"

"Yes."

"Well you should have made it clear that you wanted summer accommodation when you came to see me." I lost count of the number of times the conversation went full circle like this.

"When I came to see you I explained that I wanted accommodation up to and through the summer."

"Well I don't remember that. When do you need this accommodation until? Where are you going next year?" Now I was knocked back a little. I'd wanted, as I had explained over a month ago, that I wanted to go into student halls and stay there until the end of my course; if possible.

"I... I want to stay in halls, as I explained!" She paused and looked at me.

"Matthew, we have certain procedures for these kinds of things. You should have filled out a form ages ago. There is a procedure for booking Summer Accommodation, the details have been on the web since may."

"I can't be expected to read your website every day just in case you make a change that is relevant to me. Besides which I've been to the website and I didn't see anything relating to Summer accommodation." I've just been back now and eventually found the link on their "noticeboard" - the last place I would think to look for information for that sort of thing. The place I would expect to see it is on the front page or under "Undergraduate", maybe "Questions" or perhaps even under "Residences > Sea-front residences". Noticeboard, to me, means nothing. I've never seen a "noticeboard" on any website or in any software I have ever seen in my entire life.

"You assured me when I saw you last that it would be possible to find me somewhere to stay."

This carried on for a little longer with her constantly moaning on about my responsibilities until she eventually found me a booking form for Summer accommodation and took me through to the main reception area to fill it out.

"What year are you in, how many years have you been here?"

"I'm in my year out. I've done my first and second year, and I'm coming to the end of my year out."

"3 years and you still don't know our policies!" In all fairness policies didn't enter into it, I had already explained that my circumstances had changed a lot over the last year and that had caused problems, but I was too angry to go through it all again so I simply muttered,

"Well with all respect if those policies aren't explained..."

"Respect works both ways Matthew." I let it go, I had other things to worry about. After I had filled the form out I had to wait for EW to return, as she had started talking to another student while I was filling the form out. Again she was on the phone to someone about the contract.

"Yes, could you tell me about his contract? Yes, 4D. Yes I thought it was towards the end of April, yes... It hasn't been returned? Right."

"Of course it hasn't been returned, I haven't seen it!"

"Sent on the [can't remember the date] right."

"How was it sent? By mail?"

"How was it sent? Yes, it was sent to you by royal mail."

"To what address? Ty Gwerin?"

"Which address? Yes. Ty Gwerin. Yes I thought so. Then it wasn't returned, and a note sent with the porters." I didn't argue this, I don't know why I didn't because I've not seen a porter since I was shown around the flat. She put the phone down and said, "I don't dislike you Matthew, but I can not have people burdening their responsibilities on me like this." Because, as we all know, asking an accommodation officer to find you accommodation is burdening them with your responsibility. She went on a bit longer then I left slamming the door behind me. I am told that I will have accommodation over the summer and I need to ring her again at the end of June to discuss accommodation for next year.

When I left I felt sick and I was shaking I was so angry. My plan had been to make a formal complaint about the way she spoke to me and the incompetence she exhibited, but now that I've calmed down I've decided not to bother. Firstly because she was actually very helpful the first time I went to see her, and also because I guess everybody can have an "off" day where you treat people like shit. That doesn't excuse her, I am merely trying to be emphatic of her situation, perhaps she is going through some shit at home or something - I don't know. What I might do instead is email her and tell her that I am very angry about the way she spoke to me etc etc, but then that'll either get deleted and forgotten about (thus wasting my time) or she will simply continue her tirade about responsibilities and how all the information was on the website since may and blah blah blah (thus wasting my time). So I don't think I will.

Instead I'll just bore all my blog readers with it.

Sorry to put you lot through this, I just really needed to get it off my chest. Feel free to ignore this rant. I try not to rant in my blog, but sometimes it's just neccessary.

EW: If you're reading this (which you're probably not, but if you are) I think you are extremely rude, obnoxious, unsympathetic of other people's situations, unhelpful and condescending. I have portrayed you in a better light in this transcript than you portrayed yourself in that office and all I have done here is tell the world how you behaved. I am not showing the University in a bad light, I am merely showing the University. If it was raining when I took the picture that's not my fault.

The END.