The general decline in standards today

[R.G. White]

I knew a girl who in her first week of part-time serving (she was in high school) that had two separate groups "dine and dash." She didn't see a paycheck or a tip for almost a month. If you dine and dash, many places make it come right out of your servers' pay. She was making $3.00 an hour plus tips- that's the person you're shoving it to. Not necessarily the owner, not some rich fat guy in corporate, you're sticking it to the server who makes less than minimum wage.

I wonder how many people have been disciplined, lost their jobs, or suffered financially because these jerks are reporting that they have food poisioning. It's really disgusting to take advantage of working people like that.

Would you like to know what's really horrible? I could tell them that and they would say, get ready, "I don't know them, so I don't care." I'm not even kidding, that's how bad it is.
So many of the people my age just have this disrespect that's really disgusting. I'm not trying to say I'm better than any of them, because I'm not, but when I see the way some of them act...

 

[Pompidou]

Where sitting in an auditorium for two hours being cursed at is considered not only acceptable, but professional?

I imagine they hired him to speak because a presentation that followed corporate HR guidelines would be no better than asking everyone to review the company handbook. Like Rambo, or like the A-Team, he was brought in to do things the suits couldn't do and still be eligible for promotion. That's my hunch. Sometimes I get thanked privately for saying things people in certain positions in a group want to say but can't. The only difference is, this guy is getting paid for it. Unfortunately, his message was lost on a not insignificant portion of the audience.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

That's a heck of a ride. Another thing I like about my 'urban assault wagon'. The little tinker toy cars can bring it on! And lord, do they!

This is one situation that makes me wish I still had my '73 Olds Delta 88, the one with the rotted out quarter panels, faded paint, and literally shredded vinyl top. If some feceshead in a Mercedes (or BMW or other luxury car of choice) wanted to bully his way into the place I was occupying at any given moment, I didn't need to brake or swerve - let 'em come! It didn't happen all that often when I had that car because the other drivers could sense that it wasn't worth my while to get out of the way.

 

[Widebrim]

That's a heck of a ride. Another thing I like about my 'urban assault wagon'. The little tinker toy cars can bring it on! And lord, do they!

I think that you and Scotty would appreciate taking a ride in my '52 Packard Patrician, Tom. While driving it, I simply have the attitude of "You better get out of the way, or your car is going to be the one that crumples like a discarded piece of cut-rate aluminum foil." lol By the way, your avatar with you cradling the shotgun in front of the faux wood-panelled station wagon says it all..

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Sounds like a heck of a rig. Don't see Packards at all, period, anymore. Those cars were built how cars should be.

Also, don't forget, under my arm is an AR-15 lol

I think that you and Scotty would appreciate taking a ride in my '52 Packard Patrician, Tom. While driving it, I simply have the attitude of "You better get out of the way, or your car is going to be the one that crumples like a discarded piece of cut-rate aluminum foil." lol By the way, your avatar with you cradling the shotgun in front of the faux wood-panelled station wagon says it all..

 

[Widebrim]

Also, don't forget, under my arm is an AR-15 lol

Oh, sorry. The photo's a bit too small for detail.

 

[Puzzicato]

I knew a girl who in her first week of part-time serving (she was in high school) that had two separate groups "dine and dash." She didn't see a paycheck or a tip for almost a month. If you dine and dash, many places make it come right out of your servers' pay. She was making $3.00 an hour plus tips- that's the person you're shoving it to. Not necessarily the owner, not some rich fat guy in corporate, you're sticking it to the server who makes less than minimum wage.

I wonder how many people have been disciplined, lost their jobs, or suffered financially because these jerks are reporting that they have food poisioning. It's really disgusting to take advantage of working people like that.

The first person who ever told me that they did that was a youth pastor at a large and thriving church. That, I am afraid, was the beginning of the end for me & organised religion.

I also saw it done in a newly-opened restaurant one night a number of years ago (not by people we knew). One table just up & left while the waiter was out back, and one extremely vulgar man ate everything on his plate and then demanded that it be comped because it wasn't very nice. The waiter was in tears, the restaurant closed within a couple of months. How is that an OK way for anyone to behave?

 

[LizzieMaine]

It's the Something For Nothing culture in all its glory. Don't want to pay for movies or music? Download them for free. Don't want to do your own research? Steal someone else's. Hungry? Stiff a restaurant. And people close their eyes and go "la dee dah, kids will be kids, grandma used to swipe apples off the pushcarts." And then they get a call about their dear offspring being arrested for shoplifting, and they wonder what could ever have POSSIBLY gotten into them.

 

[scottyrocks]

I think that you and Scotty would appreciate taking a ride in my '52 Packard Patrician, Tom. While driving it, I simply have the attitude of "You better get out of the way, or your car is going to be the one that crumples like a discarded piece of cut-rate aluminum foil." lol

Before the Olds, I had a '67 Impala 4 dr sedan that looked like it was painted with a brush. It had an unfettered 327, and manual everything, including windows, steering, and drum brakes. I had to put a spinner on the steering wheel so I could parallel park it. It did, however, have a two-speed automatic transmission.

One day I was sitting at a stop light behind a police car when I felt a bump from behind. An older gentleman in a late '80s full sized GM sedan ran into me. The back of my car showed no damage whatsoever, but his entire front clip had disintegrated right down to the radiator. he only damage my car sustained was on the front end because he pushed me forward into the police car that was waiting in front of me at the light. My front bumper had a small bend in it.

 

[C-dot]

While driving it, I simply have the attitude of "You better get out of the way, or your car is going to be the one that crumples like a discarded piece of cut-rate aluminum foil." lol

One day I was sitting at a stop light behind a police car when I felt a bump from behind. An older gentleman in a late '80s full sized GM sedan ran into me. The back of my car showed no damage whatsoever, but his entire front clip had disintegrated right down to the radiator.

I want a car like that!! Brings me around to the sense of entitlement again: a 17 year old girl thought she would pass me on the driver's side through oncoming traffic while I was making a left turn, signal on and everything. Her car (1999 Ford) got scratched across the passenger doors - Mine (2000 Pontiac) got a crumpled fender and smashed headlight assembly, and because of where she hit me, the airbag censor was struck and gave me a nice purple chin. On top of all that, *I* got the ticket (though I had it drastically reduced.)

The kicker? Her dad phones me up a month later and wants $1000.00 bucks. Lady-likeness be damned, I told him where to go.

And then they get a call about their dear offspring being arrested for shoplifting, and they wonder what could ever have POSSIBLY gotten into them.

My parents would have slapped me if they ever got that call...

 

[Travis Lee Johnston]

Wasn't alive 50 years ago so I can't really comment on this "decline of standards". I will say that the old people around here who were in their 20's and 3o's during that fond era, tend to be the nastiest ill mannered entitled scum bags you've ever met. Even towards other card carrying old folks. For people that don't work and get government assistance and good parking spots, they sure seem to have a rock in their shoe.

 

[C-dot]

For people that don't work and get government assistance and good parking spots, they sure seem to have a rock in their shoe.

I wasn't alive either (though I would have fit right in with all my historical knowledge), and I have a rock in my shoe most days viewing the modern world. If I had been alive, I'm sure the rock would be a boulder!

 

[Travis Lee Johnston]

I've thought about that. Viewing a modern world from a 70 year old perspective. I'd hate it in a lot of ways, but doing things to get people fired at their jobs or complain to the higher ups about any and everything while polluting the air with my potty disposition. That aint cool. Grampa needs a nap.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I've taken a lot of guff from customers complaining about why they can't get a senior discount at 62, stuff like that. But I've never had one call me a "scum bag."

 

[Widebrim]

The first person who ever told me that they did that was a youth pastor at a large and thriving church. That, I am afraid, was the beginning of the end for me & organised religion.

(A bit off topic.) I can understand your reaction to what this "religious" individual did, Puzzicato, and there is no excuse for his actions. However, we are greatly limiting ourselves if we judge the validity of a religion/philosophy based on the contradictory actions of someone claiming to be a practitioner of said religion/philosophy. (If such were the case, we wouldn't be able to adhere to the ideas of any organized or collective group.) Although to those around him, that particular youth pastor would be viewed as a representative of his faith, he obviously was not following its teachings, and therefore dis-qualified himself of such identification. The validity of any religion or philosophy does not, then, hinge upon the acts of someone clearly not in accord with its teachings, and therefore should not be judged based on the hypocrisy of said person(s). Any set of beliefs needs to be judged by what its actually teaches or proposes, and by whether the claims that it makes can be empirically validated.

-Lee

 

[LizzieMaine]

Meanwhile, here's an interesting item from the comments section of an article on "consumer bullies" --

My priority when dining out is to cause the restaurateur to lose money. Groupon, restaurant.com, chinook book, discounted "holiday" gift cards, credit card discounts (5% on most months) are my methods. I also always pay with a high surcharges credit card, such as, discover or american express. The way to really cream them is to stack discounts. I rountinely stack credit, groupon/restaurant.com, and gift card discounts for savings of 60-80%. Some restaurateurs are also dumb enough to include alcohol in the restaurant.com and groupon discounts. Be sure to really sock it to these cretins.

PS: Its easy to buy an unlimited number of groupons using email aliases or guerilla mail. I haven't been caught yet!

PPS: Restaurant.com has 80% discounts $2 for a $25 off $35 doscount.

PPPS: Many restaurants offer 20-25% discounts on gift cards at Xmas. Abuse this! The stacking opportunities are surreal! They also don't know that you bought the card with discover/am ex at a cash back rate of 5% and are stacking it with a groupon (-50-60%) or restaurant.com (45-70%).

PPPPS: Food blogs and local neighborhood papers often have 50% off codes or coupons. Once again abuse this.

Now, if you read the full comment, you'll see this person justifies his behavior on "political" grounds -- but honestly, if you don't like the values of a business, don't go there and leave it at that. This kind of prancing I'M SO COOL I'M STICKING IT TO THE MAN nonsense is just embarassing. And it'll end up ruining decent discount/savings programs for people who actually need them.

 

[Widebrim]

^^He's also abusing the concept of a postscript...

 

[LizzieMaine]

His anarcho-syndicalist views extend to grammar. Warriner was just a tool of The Man.

 

[Gregg Axley]

Oh Lizzie, big words....
I'm a Southerner, speak plainly please.
Extreme couponing/gift carding is ruining it for all of us.
I've seen a change in many store policies because of this.
Nobody deserves to get a discount, but it's provided to drive business and beat out the competition to allow you to shop at that store, and buy the said items rather than another brands.
Case in point, the store in my inlaws town of 3400 people. You don't like the prices, you don't have to shop there, you can drive 25 miles away. Why? Kroger and other major brands won't build a grocery store in a town that small, it's not worth the investment. The local store knows this too.
I could go on about deserving in gov't, but I'd rather not. Suffice it to say that many feel they are entitled to x or y because they work there. Uh no, you are entitled to work there until the entity decides you are no longer neccessary, either by laying off or firing due to your inefficient work.
Ahh, feel better already.

 

[C-dot]

Extreme example of getting something for nothing: Product promotion gone awry.

This is so clever, its almost inspired.