What Irked You Today?

[HomerS]

My oldest son is car searching and he found a decent deal on a used SUV at a dealership.  In the total cost estimate, they tried to slip in 'Pulse Braking".  He reached back to the salesman and said it flashes the high mounted stop light 4x in 1.2 seconds to better alert the driver behind you.  $900!!!  Hard no!!!!  

Found the part on eBay and Amazon.....less than $20.

Edited September 12, 2022 by HomerS

[Ace-Garageguy]

The way they figure the inflation rate, EXCLUDING the costs of food and energy, is nothing but smoke and mirrors so we they can pretend it's not as bad as it is.

Edited September 13, 2022 by Ace-Garageguy
CLARITY and ACCURACY

[TonyK]

Just found out a local restaurant my wife and I love has closed. It's called Gustav's and serves excellent German food and always a great selection of German beer on tap.

A few years ago another favorite restaurant closed. It was our where I took my future wife on our first date and we had gone there for over 30 years for great Mexican food.

[espo]

12 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

The way they figure the inflation rate, EXCLUDING the costs of food and energy, is nothing but smoke and mirrors so we can pretend it's not as bad as it is.

Reminds me of an old saying. "Figures don't lie, but liars' figure".  

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, TonyK said:

Just found out a local restaurant my wife and I love has closed. It's called Gustav's...

A few years ago another favorite restaurant closed...

Restaurant profit margins are low in the best of times, and since the bat flu hysteria, one estimate says there's been something like a 95% increase annually in permanent restaurant closures.

That's almost double the annual permanent closures during normal times.

Another estimate says close to 35%, nationally, of pre-pandemic restaurants are now gone forever.

Skyrocketing food and energy costs, and labor shortages, are also driving the closures.

Locally, we still have chain restaurants that no longer allow indoor dining or take-out, being drive-through only. We also have chain outlets that are open on a hit-or-miss basis, depending on who they can get to work on any given day.

Edited September 13, 2022 by Ace-Garageguy
CLARITY and ACCURACY

[Mark]

Around here, it's people.  We've never failed in being able to get reservations at my family's favored brewery/eatery, but when we go there are often a bunch of empty booths and tables, or one of the areas other than the main one is closed off.  Tough to get people when so many are still being paid to stay home.

It wasn't always easy before, either.  The (since passed) wife of a local store owner used to be a manager in a warehouse, she'd have trouble getting people to work overtime on Fridays or Saturdays, even when some of it was double time or even triple.  "Nope, Saturday is my video game night".  Uh, maybe work one of those, and have a few bucks in your pocket when the next video game comes out?  Just a thought...

[slusher]

I noticed different small businesses closing he and there. I asked one I know and it’s not being able to get employees.,no one wants to work.. I don’t know how people live now..

[Ace-Garageguy]

I really wish Google's dweebs would put the functionality of the dammed search engine back the way it was, and stop the idiotic "did you mean..." bull exhaust. No, I DIDN'T mean bla bla bla. I MEANT what I TYPED, so show me the results FOR WHAT I ASKED FOR.

But I guess when your primary mission in life is to shove a political agenda down every user's throat, you can't be bothered with delivering highly relevant search results too,

[TonyK]

Opened a factory sealed Revell Indy car kit and there's 2 wheels cut from the tree. The bag was opened. A bit of a mystery. I always open a new kit to make sure everything is there and check the parts for problems but for some reason I didn't open this one and here I am. Old kit so not a good situation. Might be able to buy wheels from one of the aftermarket outfits but really irked.

[TonyK]

10 hours ago, slusher said:

I noticed different small businesses closing he and there. I asked one I know and it’s not being able to get employees.,no one wants to work.. I don’t know how people live now..

"No one wants to work" does seem to be the norm these days and if they work there's no pride in themselves to do a good job.

My son has trouble hiring people and recently got a guy who seemed decent but after about 3 weeks he just stopped coming to work. Wouldn't answer his phone so after a few days they were forced to terminate him. Now he has to go through all the trouble to find another person and do the interview, background check, drug test, etc. This isn't the first time this has happened either.

I'm at a loss to understand people anymore.

[Pete J.]

2 hours ago, TonyK said:

"No one wants to work" does seem to be the norm these days and if they work there's no pride in themselves to do a good job.

My son has trouble hiring people and recently got a guy who seemed decent but after about 3 weeks he just stopped coming to work. Wouldn't answer his phone so after a few days they were forced to terminate him. Now he has to go through all the trouble to find another person and do the interview, background check, drug test, etc. This isn't the first time this has happened either.

I'm at a loss to understand people anymore.

This is the first time in my 72 years that it has become a workers market and not the employers.  Although there are other factors, no one wants to work at a BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH job in a BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH place for BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH wages.  Employers should be looking inward as to what they can improve to attract and hire good people.  Workers now have plenty of choices and they will not take a job just because it is offered when there are plenty of others to choose from. 

[Rob Hall]

The job market is strong currently in my field (software engineering)...I'm constantly getting inquiries from recruiters.. I'm happy at my current job and have a great salary and am 100% WFH, but in the current market I could probably make an extra $30-50k pretty easily by jumping to another gig.

[iamsuperdan]

Meh, the "nobody wants to work" thing has been around for 100 years. Apparently, there has never been a generation that wanted to work.

 

 

And it's been fact checked. The articles shown are real. 

 https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/nobody-wants-to-work-anymore/

 

[Engine 51]

14 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

I really wish Google's dweebs would put the functionality of the dammed search engine back the way it was, and stop the idiotic "did you mean..." bull exhaust. No, I DIDN'T mean bla bla bla. I MEANT what I TYPED, so show me the results FOR WHAT I ASKED FOR.

But I guess when your primary mission in life is to shove a political agenda down every user's throat, you can't be bothered with delivering highly relevant search results too,

+100

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 9/14/2022 at 11:33 AM, iamsuperdan said:

Meh, the "nobody wants to work" thing has been around for 100 years. Apparently, there has never been a generation that wanted to work.

Try starting and running your own business that has to produce tangible, physical objects or results. Then you might have a real-world perspective.

Working with people who care, who can do the work well, and who show up regularly, is the exception, not the rule...and it's a real joy when it happens.

But in 50+ years of being mostly self employed as the owner of several businesses, primarily in labor-and-physical-skill-intensive occupations, I've seen primarily slackers and idiots as co-workers and employees.

And I'm not talking "starvation" wages like that BS above.

Somebody with 1/5 of just the automotive skills I have (mechanical or bodywork/paint or electrical/electronic repair and diagnostics or fabricator/welder or estimator/manager), can make a mid-5 to low 6-figure income, depending on his ability, working in a well-run shop.

And we can't find ANY new hires who are worth the paper they're printed on. 

But then again, McD's and Taco Bell can't seem to get full crews locally either.

EDIT: Snopes? Really? 

EDIT 2: In the 1980s, it was hard to find really great people...it always is...but it wasn't that hard to get people to get the job done to "industry standards". Now, forget it.

Edited September 15, 2022 by Ace-Garageguy
CLARITY

[Ace-Garageguy]

The rise of midwits and spiteful mutants.

Edited September 15, 2022 by Ace-Garageguy
CLARITY

[Suburban_Hooligan]

recently my city has decided it was a good idea to take out a lane on a rater busy street and make it a bike lane.  it went from 3 lanes each direction down to 2.  which do to location (directly off a freeway offramp that's right by a park entrance with a bus stop right behind it) has completely cluster-screwed traffic on that street.  but don't worry, that bike lane will go largely neglected and unused by cyclists.  don't ya just love it when your government uses your tax dollars for no good reason in a way that inconvenience you?

and now they're are signs up on the next main street north of there, so im wondering if they're doing the same thing over there.  which will be fun cause if that's the case there will only be on lane in each direction.  and there is already about a 6 foot wide bike lane on each side of that street.

i need to move.

[JollySipper]

1 hour ago, Suburban_Hooligan said:

don't ya just love it when your government uses your tax dollars for no good reason in a way that inconvenience you?

Here they're putting round-abouts (traffic circles) everywhere......... Seems they have to spend that on something to ensure they can get more.....

[Snake45]

2 hours ago, Suburban_Hooligan said:

don't ya just love it when your government uses your tax dollars for no good reason in a way that inconvenience you?

That seems to be more the rule than the exception with government at every level these days. 

[iamsuperdan]

16 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Try starting and running your own business that has to produce tangible, physical objects or results. Then you might have a real-world perspective.

Working with people who care, who can do the work well, and who show up regularly, is the exception, not the rule...and it's a real joy when it happens.

 

Ran the leasing division of a fleet management company with upwards of 13,000 vehicles. As part of my role, I was responsible for all staffing decisions in 3 locations, from entry level washbay staff, to detailers, to sales/lease people, to administration support.

Did that for 10 years. 

I'd say I have some real-world perspective on the challenges of staffing. 

And with rare exception, hiring for all positions was easy. Interviews weeded out the lazy pretty quick. In only a couple of cases did a slacker get hired. And then they left pretty quickly too, as soon as their work ethic became obvious. 

I've found that a lot of the time, when a company consistently cannot find or retain employees, it usually has just as much to do with management than with the employees. Word gets out pretty quick when a company is run by incompetent management or ego-inflated narcissists.

[Ace-Garageguy]

3 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

...I've found that a lot of the time, when a company consistently cannot find or retain employees, it usually has just as much to do with management than with the employees. Word gets out pretty quick when a company is run by incompetent management or ego-inflated narcissists.

Wait...wait...I have to stop laughing.

That must be why, when I reported a water main leak under the road adjoining my property to the Cobb County Water System, they said "thanks, but we're so far behind because we're only at 50% staffing, we have no idea when we can get to it. We have worse leaks all over the area that will have to take priority". An interesting conversation with the county Utility Maintenance Superintendent brought up the same quote from him I'm hearing everywhere: "We can't get anybody. I don't know how people are living, but nobody seems to want to work anymore". 

Hmmm, I says to myself. There seems to be a pattern emerging.

This tallies with the fact that C.W. Matthews, the 70-year-old contracting company that does a large part of the road work, building bridges, etc. in this area recently had to send recruiters to Mexico, with promises of green-cards, to get laborers because they didn't have enough people or applicants to perform their existing projects.

But we all know the most popular way to deal with problems today is to insist they don't exist...which works great for everyone who's not directly affected.  

 

Edited September 15, 2022 by Ace-Garageguy
TYPO

[Ace-Garageguy]

2 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

 

Edited September 15, 2022 by Ace-Garageguy

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 9/14/2022 at 10:47 AM, Rob Hall said:

...in the current market I could probably make an extra $30-50k pretty easily by jumping to another gig.

I can't imagine being so complacent that I'd pass up an additional $30-50K per year...unless somebody was already paying me so much that that was pocket change.

Congrats on what must be a truly fabulous salary.  

Edited September 15, 2022 by Ace-Garageguy
TYPO

[Rob Hall]

54 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

I can't imagine being so complacent that I'd pass up an additional $30-50K per year...unless somebody was already paying me so much that that was pocket change.

Congrats on what must be a truly fabulous salary.  

Not complacent, but content...nothing to complain about..there are many factors..I genuinely like my current team, it's low stress, I work with interesting technology, pretty much 40 hrs a week from home and make over $150k/yr, which is reasonable in my field, though I could get more elsewhere if I went back to contracting, went to an intense, risky startup, or moved to the West Coast.  I have good benefits, 401(k), unlimited PTO, bonuses, and a sizable company stock grant that pays out over the next few years.  Don't need to job hop just to pay more taxes.. Been in the game long enough to know the grass isn't always greener...I have worked at too many places that seemed good at the interview but were miserable, dysfunctional sweat shops w/ long hours..

Edited September 15, 2022 by Rob Hall

[bobthehobbyguy]

21 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

Not complacent, but content...nothing to complain about..there are many factors..I genuinely like my current team, it's low stress, I work with interesting technology, pretty much 40 hrs a week from home and make over $150k/yr, which is reasonable in my field, though I could get more elsewhere if I went back to contracting, went to an intense, risky startup, or moved to the West Coast.  I have good benefits, 401(k), unlimited PTO, bonuses, and a sizable company stock grant that pays out over the next few years.  Don't need to job hop just to pay more taxes.. Been in the game long enough to know the grass isn't always greener...I have worked at too many places that seemed good at the interview but were miserable, dysfunctional sweat shops w/ long hours..

Smart man. Besides you never know these days if they will rescind a job offer this days.