What Irked You Today?

[NOBLNG]

8 hours ago, peteski said:

As far as going cashless, I really hope we don't get to that - I love cash.  Spending cash feels real. Paying with plastic feels like you can just buy the whole world and pay later.  Plus cashless also means that the funds can be stolen other ways (there are plenty of credit card readers skimmers out there).

I have always liked cash better than plastic. Since this pandemic, I’ve been using the card a lot more, but if I have a choice, I won’t deal with any place that refuses cash. I’m not paranoid, but I don’t care to have my spending history tracked either. A totally cashless society would allow the government or big tech to know everything you buy….unless you barter.🤨 Maybe it’s a good thing that this City is considering allowing residents to keep chickens?🤔

[Ace-Garageguy]

18 minutes ago, NOBLNG said:

I’m not paranoid, but I don’t care to have my spending history tracked either. A totally cashless society would allow the government or big tech to know everything you buy….unless you barter... 

I agree entirely, but there's a large element whose knee-jerk reaction to this statement is "if you don't have anything to hide, why should you care?"...invariably delivered with a snide, superior overtone.

They have no concept of privacy solely for the sake of privacy, and have no problem divulging the most intimate parts of their lives on social media platforms.

And of course, they're the darlings of entities like Meta and Google who rake in billions by enabling "targeted" marketing based on ALL your behaviors.

[bobthehobbyguy]

I agree on the tracking of everything you buy if cashless.  Particularly when that information can determine the cost of say health insurance because you've bought too many unhealthy items.

Note that they can't outright refuse cash as its legal tender however the trend I'm seeing is they are working hard at making cash usage as inconvenient as possible.

 

[Tom Geiger]

My hassle of the week.   The landlord has replaced the card reader access system in the building,  employed it without notice.

They used a 2-3 month old population list.   So anyone (of three tenants) hired in last 3 months,  or anyone granted further access during this period, suddenly doesn't have it.  

[Dave Ambrose]

On 6/1/2022 at 8:08 AM, bobthehobbyguy said:

Went to grocery store to pick up some items. 

Irk 1) self checkout is card only no cash taken

Irk 2)had to go to checkstand with clerk and endure two people with trouble paying with card and dismally slow

Irk3) I had a close approximation of cost to make sure I wouldn't exceed the cash I had . Get items rung up and price is more than I thought. Get receipt and one item was suppose to ring up as 3/$5 instead it rings as 2/$5. Isn't it interesting how the mistakes are alway a in the stores favor of the store. 

Goto shelf and take picture of tag. Back to line and more people that are slow paying with card. Finally get 83 cent refund. How many people don't notice they are being overcharged?

Definitely an exercise in frustration. 

That is a huge deal in California. Call your county weights and measures office and complain. They will get people in there and audit them. The fine is $500 per item that's mislabeled. One visit, and the store will get it fixed, and probably get a new manager too. 

[BlackSheep214]

I always use self checkouts I don’t have the patience to deal with slow cashiers and slow customers paying by cash or card. Then top it off slow cashiers having to bag their groceries. I’ll bag my own groceries thank you very much. Folks today - especially teenagers don’t know how to properly bag groceries without crushing anything. Plus I don’t have to worry about paying cash for my purchases. I’d rather pay by debit card/credit card.

The only time I pay cash is for gas for my car.

[NOBLNG]

13 hours ago, BlackSheep214 said:

I always use self checkouts I don’t have the patience to deal with slow cashiers and slow customers paying by cash or card. Then top it off slow cashiers having to bag their groceries. I’ll bag my own groceries thank you very much. Folks today - especially teenagers don’t know how to properly bag groceries without crushing anything. Plus I don’t have to worry about paying cash for my purchases. I’d rather pay by debit card/credit card.

The only time I pay cash is for gas for my car.

The only place I do self serve is at the gas pumps and at the banking machine. I refuse to do it in stores. Self-check machines are just an excuse for them to get rid of employees and maximize profits. If it’s real busy, I’ll come back later or just wait.

[vamach1]

2 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

The only place I do self serve is at the gas pumps and at the banking machine. I refuse to do it in stores. Self-check machines are just an excuse for them to get rid of employees and maximize profits. If it’s real busy, I’ll come back later or just wait.

What annoys me is when I only have a few times and there is a line for self-checkout and most people have carts full of dozens of items.  How do they scan everything and put it back in the same cart?  I have walked out of some stores that do not have a self checkout out when I only have one item (e.g a die-cast car) and everyone in line has a months worth of stuff in their cart.  The only reason I can think of why these large stores do not have any self checkouts is to prevent theft as there is not anyone to really check to see if you scanned everything you put in a bag.

[MrMiles]

i bought a new phone  open box from amazon warehouse deals. it was 150 dollars cheaper than the sealed box. for 150 dollars, i said heck yes.

 

the phone came and i noticed everything was written in chinese. i looked at the model number and found that it was not the us model number, but the chinese model. im guessing someone bought the us version and returned the chinese version to amazon, and it landed to me. 

 

i contacted amazon and they said no problem, just send it back. i bought a pixel from google instead. no more open boxes from amazon for me. it almost never works out. 

 

i had previously bought a very expensive fishing reel from amazon warehouse deals, and when it came it was a cheapo 5 dollar fishing reel. last week i bought the board game connect 4. it was marked as new, damaged box, but when i opened it, it was broken at the bottom. i was able to get it in place and put the piece there to hold it, but meh. 

 

no more amazon warehouse deals for me. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

40 minutes ago, vamach1 said:

...I have walked out of some stores that do not have a self checkout out when I only have one item...and everyone in line has a months worth of stuff in their cart.  

It's a self-correcting situation.

The way inflation is going, everyone will only be able to afford one item in their cart in not too long.

Problem solved.   

[Monty]

Another ebay shipping issue that makes me wonder.  Doing some tracking on a part that should have been here today.  As of 3:30 this morning it passed through a USPS hub 3 hours away.  No record of it since.  

 

[Tom Geiger]

On 6/3/2022 at 7:37 AM, NOBLNG said:

The only place I do self serve is at the gas pumps and at the banking machine. I refuse to do it in stores. Self-check machines are just an excuse for them to get rid of employees and maximize profits. If it’s real busy, I’ll come back later or just wait.

Bingo!  I hadn't been in Home Depot for a while. They had the Little Giant condensate pump I needed.  I went to pay and it's all self service now!  I had an issue paying because I had a gift card and wanted to pay the rest on my credit card...  cashier helping me started out,  "This is what YOU NEED TO DO..."  I responded, "I'm the customer.  I DON'T NEED TO DO ANYTHING!"  I stood back and let her do the transaction.   I'll be shopping at Lowes for now on!

I do use a debit card for most everything.  I might have $5 cash on me.  Since I've been a consultant on 1099 work for years, I'm used to looking at all my expenditures for the year and seeing what's tax deductible.    And when I do the sorts, it's fun to see how much I spent on beer, our favorite pub and Hobby Lobby for the year!

[NOBLNG]

8 minutes ago, Tom Geiger said:

….cashier helping me started out,  "This is what YOU NEED TO DO..."  I responded, "I'm the customer.  I DON'T NEED TO DO ANYTHING!"  I stood back and let her do the transaction.   I'll be shopping at Lowes for now on!

Why not put that person behind a cash register?🤨

[BlackSheep214]

2 hours ago, Tom Geiger said:

cashier helping me started out,  "This is what YOU NEED TO DO..."  I responded, "I'm the customer.  I DON'T NEED TO DO ANYTHING!"  I stood back and let her do the transaction.   I'll be shopping at Lowes for now on!

 

Somebody give this man a glass of water….

Seriously? Overreact much? He/she was only trying to help. 

[mikemodeler]

Saw a discussion on a FB page about the cost of kits and shipping. I had to laugh because some of the people must not get out much and see what's happening with the prices of things. Complain because kits aren't $15 anymore? That's been at least 10 years! Shipping a kit is no longer $4.95? Again, about 10 years behind the times! Claiming old out of production kits shouldn't be priced more than what they were when they were first issued? Yeah, that isn't how the market works folks.

The solution is simple- Don't like the price? Don't buy the product! Don't like the service? Don't patronize the establishment.

[imarriedawitch]

New Revell releases $59.99 CDN at the shop up the road. 

[NOBLNG]

2 hours ago, imarriedawitch said:

New Revell releases $59.99 CDN at the shop up the road. 

THAT is getting a bit ridiculous! I hate paying that much even for a Tamiya kit.😬 I sure hope that is the greed of a local shop and NOT what  is required to turn a profit!  I probably have more kits than I will ever build so I am  not personally worried, but if that is the prices being charged for new kits….they are doomed! 3d printing will take over as the new source for all subject materials.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Seems a lot of "men" have forgotten entirely that this isn't what they should aspire to...

[Ace-Garageguy]

5 hours ago, imarriedawitch said:

New Revell releases $59.99 CDN at the shop up the road. 

covidsupplychainissuesinflationglobalrecessionwarinukraine

Say that fast ten times, stick your finger up your nose, and turn around thrice while holding your breath, bouncing on one leg.

Doesn't fix anything, but it does about as much good as complaining.    

Edited June 5, 2022 by Ace-Garageguy
TYPO

[John M.]

I didn't have my favorite brand of instant coffee this morning which is "Taster's Choice" I did food shopping over the weekend and couldn't find a jar of it. It's that popular. I had "Folgers" instead.

[Monty]

Can someone explain ebay's policy of allowing sellers to simply print a shipping label and list the product as "shipped" if it hasn't been handed off for delivery?  That would almost be like me posting a message to the seller saying "IOU, please mark this as paid".

I won an auction on 5/28, which I paid for that day.  As described above, the shipping label was printed within a day of the transaction's end, but hasn't left his house.  As I understand it, USPS will pick it up from your home once you've created the label.  And yet...

It's a JoHan kit I've wanted for some time, and I wonder if he's just being petulant because he only received two bids and didn't make the killing he was expecting.  

By means of contrast, I ordered some items from Hiroboy in Great Britain on the same day and they're already processing through a facility in Chicago. 

 

[crazyjim]

The VA does the same thing with my meds.

[cobraman]

Models are one thing but meds is quite another to my mind.

[Monty]

Just looking for clarification as to why this is allowed.

[peteski]

2 hours ago, Monty said:

Just looking for clarification as to why this is allowed.

I'm not talking about eBay, but about USPS in general.  I have USPS account and when I go to print a shipping label, I have to enter the date when I'll be shipping the package.  I always put that actual day I'll be dropping it off at the PO (which is almost always either the same day, or the next day after printing the label).  To If you track that label, it will sow as "label created". I have never tried holding the package few days past the shipping date I entered.  What would happen if I didn't mail the package?  Probably nothing.  It is  not like someone from USPS will come knocking on my door asking "where is that package you were supposed to ship 3 days ago?".  It likely just stays in "label created" state until the PO receives and scans it.