YOU CAN leave your secret complaints anonymously in the comment section below! Don't hold back - remember, the more personal and inventive the better! No senders will be identified. Any personal secret gripe with life is safe with us.
PEOPLE of ALL AGES & ABILITIES across Ottawa can send in a complaint, sing in the choir – or both!
If you would like to also JOIN our Ottawa Capital Complaints Choir, please submit your name & email to ottawachoir@gmail.com ASAP for updates for upcoming time and places for rehearsals.
We'll be publishing the rehearsal schedule for August 2011. REHEARSALS across the City of Ottawa start the week of August 12th, 2011. There will be 5 rehearsals in all!
A team of local musicians will lead the music and direct the choir. The song we create will be built on fun & group participation. Anyone from an existing Ottawa choir or local community group is also welcome to join! Our choir’s public performances all across Ottawa (announced and flash-mob style) will happen between AUGUST 25th-29th, corresponding with an exhibit based from our headquarters, BLINK GALLERY in Major’s Hill Park.
Complaining sucks.
ReplyDeleteDoes my neighbour think I can't hear her yelling at her kids to wake up?
ReplyDelete1) Eggs don't crack as cleanly as they used to. I can't make eggs without getting bits of shell in them. I love eggs and I hate eggshells.
ReplyDelete2) I'm not applying for a job at your fine coffee establishment because I'm barely qualified. I'm applying because overqualified people who enjoy making coffee sometimes REALLY need work.
3) Please don't hold a "Ride For Cancer". Supporting cancer isn't very nice. "Ride Against Cancer" instead.
I hate how I can´t walk down the street barefoot because the streets of Ottawa are so dirty!
ReplyDeleteMy favourite brand of chocolate has been discontinued. Alas!
ReplyDeleteI wish there was more affordable housing in Ottawa and no more homeless people. The City has done its share but what about the Province and Harper Government?
ReplyDeleteMy neighbour puts their yappy dog out at 10pm.
ReplyDeleteI can't afford to take the bus
People won't share what they've got.
Check out the house on the corner of Midway and Ancaster: trust me, the only people who appreciate such, um, *landscaping* or house decoration are still on their rural commune.
ReplyDeleteAll kinds of people roaming the sidewalks in Ottawa like to wander slowly three and four abreast, completely blocking the sidewalk for those of us who are actually going somewhere. Then when I say, "excuse me," they act like I am the rude one.
ReplyDeleteThere is such a middle class assumption in Ottawa that it can be hard to feel like a valid member of the community if you can't afford the usual things like restaurant meals and vacations.
ReplyDeleteI cannot stand people walking around downtown with golf umbrellas when it is raining. They are over-the-top and completely unnecessary. They take up the entire sidewalk and makes the slow-moving golf-umbrella wielder a pedestrian menace that is impossible to pass.
ReplyDeleteMy roomie breaks my stuff and doesn't offer to replace it. I feel as though her boyfriend has moved in. She doesn't know how to stack things to make room in the fridge. She doesn't see dirt. Her boyfriend drops dry quinoa on the floor and doesn't clean it up...for days. She uses tea towels to wipe up coffee from the counter. She leaves bobbypins all over. She never closes the closet doors nor does she put her shoes away. Argh!
ReplyDeleteCab drivers who expect a tip just for allowing you to sit in their cabs.
ReplyDeleteOttawa drivers are the worst. Really. I travel extensively and Ottawa drivers take the prize. They never look for pedestrians. Watch them on a corner turing right. They look left into traffic but forget to actually turn their heads to see if anyone is on the crosswalk. And don;t get me started on the bus drivers and the speed they travel AND how close they travel to the curb. Wasn't there a tragic accident several years ago when a bus hit a pedestrian who was standing on a sidewalk. Why haven't they learned from that.
ReplyDeleteThe noise pollution in this city is terrible! Heavy machinery all day on Bank Street. Kids screaming in school yards. Giant trucks, the sprinklers in the park, the Queensway, the Canada Day air force demonstration (a patriotic opportunity to wave around our war toys??), the ice cream truck bells, Bronson traffic, and the relentless chatter in all kinds of restaurants. I find it all so irritating.
ReplyDeleteApplying for a federal government job is a nightmare! Can I just deal with a real person instead of a keyword-scanning bot, please?!
ReplyDeleteHi, I'd like to complain about people who talk during outdoor and/or free concerts. From classical music concerts at the Governor General's yesterday, to pop or jazz concerts in the parks, there's always someone yammering to his or her friend. They think it's background music. There's chamber music in Gatineau, served along with crapola conversation on my right, flamenco at the World Exchange Plaza, with dumb stories on my left, even the free Jazz Festival concerts at the Rideau Centre have their talkative boors. These are professional musicians who deserve your attention but particularly your fellow concert goers deserve your respect. I am not talking about hooting and yelling, or even singing along, I am talking about maintaining an ongoing conversation throughout the concert. Shhhhhh... Thanks for listening. Melita
ReplyDeleteMy new 'all inclusive plan' cellphone roams while still in my house! Read: doesn't work unless I pay extra!
ReplyDeleteMalone’s Lakeside Bar and Grill July 23rd, 2011.
ReplyDeleteA Poem to honour our bad experience.
Reservations made in May, Confirmed twice before the day.
Restaurant called claiming we were late and they expected us early. On arrival reception nothing less than surly.
Arriving people not escorted, our table was not even noted. Dirty dishes on my table, finding our waitress, we were unable.
Drinks were ordered then we could not find our waitress anywhere.
It was my birthday but the staff did not care. In our celebration they did not share.
One hour we waited to order our food. One hour when many of us did brood. Another hour before she brought most food.
18 people to share my birthday, some from afar, a long, long way.
Toronto, Niagara Falls and Spain, they are not likely to come again.
Service was deadly slow, to the manager we did complain.
Concerns dismissed, excuses made, to many of us with much disdain.
A young child was with us his food did appear,
No one else’s food was anywhere near.
My husband left with child in tow, it was time for bed, our grandson needed to go.
Salmon was dry; salad was stale, even the steak looked poached and pale.
Spaghetti had no cheese on top; service was slower than a snail.
A club sandwich was not to par; there was no bacon in it.
My 85-year-old dad had missing potatoes and carrots raw
For me, it was almost the very last straw.
A small discount was offered up but no apology,
No bread, or appetizers, no explanation or any acknowledgement
Of the delay, the poor service, or my special day.
No asking how our meals were, no offer of dessert or coffee or tea.
More excuses made as we were on our way.
My husband asked to pay the bill and not have things excused
“You are being rude in my restaurant”, the manager accused.
Well travelled are the lot of us, and very patient too.
Yet on and on the problems went, the attitude was “boo hoo”
Instead of celebration and joy, we were all very annoyed.
All in all it was a most unpleasant experience and one that we will not repeat.
We bring many visitors to Ottawa and so choose places where we might eat.
You can be sure that in times to come, we will use media and phones
To tell all we know “DON’T GO TO MALONE’S!”