Pet Peeves Part Two

[Monocrom]

When you open up a bag of chips, and it's only 1/3 full.

We've all heard that written statement about "Contents may settle." But why is it that just a couple of years ago I would open the same bag, and it was always at least 2/3 full if not 3/4. Now it's 1/3 in the same bag? What a cheap and low-down way to rip off customers.

Edit:

What's really insulting is that the companies who do this, apparently think we aren't going to notice the difference.

 

[richpalm]

People who won't wait for their turn at a 4-way stop, blowing through the stop sign as if everyone else is supposed to stop and wait for them. This is both arrogant and dangerous.

4-way stops should be outlawed, period.

 

[DM51]

This is supposed to be a "Pet Peeves" thread, not a "Road Rage" thread.

Road Rage threads do not survive here. Get it back on track, please.

 

[jtr1962]

4-way stops should be outlawed, period.

Agreed, and traffic lights are a close second (i.e. you can't appreciate how annoying traffic lights are until you've biked in a place like NYC with 10,000+ signalized intersections). Intersections are best dealt with as our friends overseas do-via roundabouts.

 

[beerwax]

When you open up a bag of chips, and it's only 1/3 full.

We've all heard that written statement about "Contents may settle." But why is it that just a couple of years ago I would open the same bag, and it was always at least 2/3 full if not 3/4. Now it's 1/3 in the same bag? What a cheap and low-down way to rip off customers.

Edit:

What's really insulting is that the companies who do this, apparently think we aren't going to notice the difference.

there are people whose job is to make the packet look larger and the contents to be actually smaller. all part of the marketing miracle.

 

[BriteIdea]

when you contact company "X" to enquire or complain about a product or service.and all you hear.

Thank you for contact company "X". Your business means a lot to us.
yet after your enquiry there's either no answer or there's nothing they can do. I had that recently.

Why can't they just be blunt > "Sorry dude, you're out of luck and that intro on our reply, forget about it, We really don't care whether you're with us or not" Hey wanna buy a cheap watch?"

Ok, I'm playing games and poking fun at the situation, but I find too many corporate websites just don't answer requests and not always complaints ( I leave those for here )

 

[Burgess]

"Please stay on the line"

"Your call is important to us"


Just not important enough to hire someone to ANSWER it !

 

[BriteIdea]

"Please stay on the line"

"Your call is important to us"


Just not important enough to hire someone to ANSWER it !

That's hilarious and so true

 

[recDNA]

People who enter the highway at such a slow speed that you have to slam on the breaks....then they speed up suddenly and pull away!

 

[BriteIdea]

I'm sure where everyone here lives is faced with rising gas prices, known as gas pains. Here in Ontario we're paying upwards of $1.41 per liter. That translates to roughly $5.60 per US gallon. The media and politicians have been addressing the issue and blame was put on investor speculators and greed.
It was announced today on the news that the price will drop $0.06 per liter over night after it went up $0.08 two nights before.

If this is actually a result of of speculators it was suggested that there should be an extra tax imposed on the profit taking for the short-term investors. I prefer to call it a greed tax.
Hey, I'm all for capitalizm and making a decent profit but when these guys leave their game they'll be filthy rich. More power to them for making money but NOT at the cost of ruining our economies, when some companies are forced to close because they can't afford to feed their fleet. Then there's the ripple affect as most of these costs are fed through to the consumer. That's where their profit affects you and me.

 

[Monocrom]

When you go to a place where tipping is not traditionally done and never common, but they put out a tip jar anyway. :ironic:

You want a tip for standing on the other side of a counter at a pizza shop, and handing me a fountain drink? Really? What if I walk over to the cooler and grab a can or 20oz. bottle instead. Will you tip me for getting my own drink? Do I tip you anyway? How exactly does that work?

Here's the thing about tipping, it started out as a way to get special service. Not, standard-issue service that all customers on the line at the pizza place can expect. Sure, it has evolved a bit over time. But here's how it originally began. (Just an example.) Two guys walk into a busy tavern. They don't want to wait for the serving wench to come over to them. Take a coin (back then they had real money made from precious metals), toss it into an empty beer cup, shake it! The "server" would hear the sound, and come right to the table. She gets the coin, then takes your order. After she leaves, she returns to your table first; with the drinks for you and your buddy.

Special service. Not the regular kind. It's not as though I can hold up a fiver at the back of a long line at the pizza shop during the lunch-rush, and get my order before anyone else does. That's just one example. Unless you're a maid at a hotel, a drinks server in a casino, or a waitress, or work in any other traditional occupation where tipping is the norm; don't expect a tip from me. I'm not cheap. You're greedy.

 

[jtr1962]

I'm sure where everyone here lives is faced with rising gas prices, known as gas pains. Here in Ontario we're paying upwards of $1.41 per liter. That translates to roughly $5.60 per US gallon. The media and politicians have been addressing the issue and blame was put on investor speculators and greed.
It was announced today on the news that the price will drop $0.06 per liter over night after it went up $0.08 two nights before.

If this is actually a result of of speculators it was suggested that there should be an extra tax imposed on the profit taking for the short-term investors. I prefer to call it a greed tax.
Hey, I'm all for capitalizm and making a decent profit but when these guys leave their game they'll be filthy rich. More power to them for making money but NOT at the cost of ruining our economies, when some companies are forced to close because they can't afford to feed their fleet. Then there's the ripple affect as most of these costs are fed through to the consumer. That's where their profit affects you and me.

Honestly, what you describe isn't capitalism at all. Capitalism is producing a product or service people want, and profiting from it. In the case of speculators manipulating the prices of commodities, exactly what end product or service are they producing which justifies their tidy profits? None that I can see. And that brings me to one of my major pet peeves-people who make lots of money but don't provide any real good or service. All these people are doing is manipulating the market so money heads in their direction. Commodities trading should be banned, plain and simple. It's the primary reason we have such price volatility among many essential goods. No reasonable person will complain about paying more if a good is in short supply relative to demand. But as you say, having people suffer and lose their livelihood just so someone can turn a big profit manipulating the price of goods goes beyond the pale. And yeah, tax the profit these speculators make. At 100%.

 

[DM51]

BriteIdea, jtr1962... this thread is about Pet Peeves. It is not for political rants. If you really want to harangue people in this way, please do so in the underground.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

I have a lot of pet peeves around Windows, for instance -

Cryptic error codes. Why do I have to write down an error number and go look it up somewhere? If Windows knows what the error is, why can't it tell me in plain english?

 

[Biker Bear]

There was once - when OSes could be reasonably measured in KB or maybe a few MB - where error numbers made sense. (And the Amiga OS had fun with them, calling them "Guru Meditation" numbers. But now that Windows spans gigabytes of memory - who's going to miss the data file that lets it spit out an english translation along with the error code?

 

[BriteIdea]

oop-s clicked on wrong post

 

[BriteIdea]

BriteIdea, jtr1962... this thread is about Pet Peeves. It is not for political rants. If you really want to harangue people in this way, please do so in the underground.

Respectfully, mine was not a politcal rant. Mine, and I'm sure jtr1962, were both commenting on the price of gas, the possible causes of the high prices and that those profits should be taxed.
Neither of us aimed comments at politicians or parties

 

[PhotonWrangler]

There was once - when OSes could be reasonably measured in KB or maybe a few MB - where error numbers made sense. (And the Amiga OS had fun with them, calling them "Guru Meditation" numbers. But now that Windows spans gigabytes of memory - who's going to miss the data file that lets it spit out an english translation along with the error code?

...and the original AmigaOS only needed 74k to run. And it came with color, sound and multitasking right out of the box, and was rendering 3D animations for TV. In 1985.

But I digress.

 

[DM51]

Neither of us aimed comments at politicians or parties

Both you and jtr1962 ticked a whole bunch of tired and overworked political boxes.

This is supposed to be a light-hearted thread about minor everyday annoyances, such as under-filled potato chip packets, or people who stink of cheap aftershave (etc, etc).

Most of the posts here have entered into the spirit of this; but a minority have chosen to jump onto over-flogged and half-dead political hobby-horses. The stultifying dullness of such posts will most likely drive readers away, and if allowed to continue will ultimately cause this thread to be closed.

Commodity prices? Taxes? The filthy rich? Speculators? SNORE, GROAN. Take that garbage to the underground, where you'll find other people already boring everyone to death on such topics.

 

[Illum]

Guys . . . That's the reason why I don't let anyone borrow my gear unless it's truly an emergency.

you can borrow my flashlight sure, but it won't get more than 3 feet away from me...I know because that's as far as the chain will go before your tugging on my belt:thumbsup: