Bureaucratic Whining

Alexander Kuzmin is the mayor of Megion a city in Siberia.This is from a Breitbart/AFP piece, “Russian Mayor Bans Bureaucratic Whining“.

The mayor issued a list of 27 phrases that can’t pass the lips of city officials — at least when Kuzmin is in the room.

Among the forbidden phrases: “I don’t know.” “What am I supposed to do?” “But you said yourself…” “That’s impossible.” “Nobody told me.” “But my assistant told me…” and “It’s lunchtime.”

The mayor warned in a statement that “the use of these expressions by city administration officials while speaking to the head of the city will speed their departure.”

I would have to agree with the good mayor’s stance on this. However, realizing that bureaucracy is not confined to government offices, I would like to add any phrase that uses the words “policy” or “company/corporate policy”. Also, “I would like to help you but…” and “unfortunately, my hands are tied”, should be on there.

I am considering this tactic; any time I am on the phone with any type of government employee or corporate business office, I will start the conversation with, “I need to speak with your supervisor”. That way I maybe, I can avoid the first 10-20 minutes I waste with the first person I talk to and cut straight to the inevitable.

I just finished listening to the C.D. “Southern Weather” by The Almost. It’s a good record on first listening, makes me want investigate further.