Minor rant thread. Post your rants o' the day here!

Appleseed said:

In reply to RX Reven' :

I was orginally going to take the dark path, suggest upgrading a $12 sub to anxiety, depression, nuclear war, crippling dept, chronic illness, heavy duty E36 M3 like that.  

"Wars and pandemics and natural disasters oh my...wars and pandemics and natural disasters oh my" 

I hear you.

My comment about only having 20 years left can be seen as a good thing...I've got 60 years in the bank that can't be taken away.

I'm a super duper good worrier and I fear failure more than anything else (raised on a rich diet of conditional love).

I checked the last box on my major life goals back on march 20th and I feel like I've transitioned onto a smooth highway after driving for hours on a rough dirt road.

Anyway, back to minor rants.

mtn said:

Kiddo was waking/restless/crying around 2-2:30 this morning. I've been "sleeping" in the recliner in her room since about 3. 
 

At 3:45 or so, she needed to go to the bathroom. Since she's 4, I helped her... and whoa kid, you're running a fever. Don't know how high, can't find the thermometer. But I digress. Pump some ibuprofen down her throat.

 

4am, she's in our bed. She falls asleep. 
 

5am, she's singing/chanting icky sticky bubble gum. Back to her room, back to the recliner... now I'm listening to her make up songs about Skye and Ryder and Marshall. It's wonderful, it fills my heart with joy, she's sweet and funny and the medicine is clearly working... but tomorrow is gonna suck with about 3 hours of solid sleep. 

Dude. I think 3-4 is the most adorable age. That's our youngest right now and I've especially enjoyed all of them at that stage. They know just enough to be amazing, but not quite enough so they're hilarious or adorable with it. 
The other day, she was sitting beside me in the Z4 with the convertible top down, "daddy? How do people know to make things?" Like what? "Like top downs (convertible tops)-- daddy how do people know how to make that?" -- what an astute question-- it's a complicated thing!

Or the songs she continually makes up. The rest of us just stop and nonchalantly listen in

/unRantOver

stuart in mn said:

Fast food joints are pushing customers to use the self service screens to place their orders.  In my experience, if the screen works (which isn't always the case) it takes a lot longer than simply walking up to the counter and saying "give me the #7 meal to go."  I don't see any advantage for the consumer.

Similar to grocery self checkouts, the kiosks allow many customers to order simultaneously with minimal employee oversight.  It's easier for franchises to use those and apps to take orders than to pay multiple employees to cover the cash registers.  The advantage to the consumer is it can keep costs down.

It's just capitalism.

prodarwin said:

stuart in mn said:

Fast food joints are pushing customers to use the self service screens to place their orders.  In my experience, if the screen works (which isn't always the case) it takes a lot longer than simply walking up to the counter and saying "give me the #7 meal to go."  I don't see any advantage for the consumer.

Similar to grocery self checkouts, the kiosks allow many customers to order simultaneously with minimal employee oversight.  It's easier for franchises to use those and apps to take orders than to pay multiple employees to cover the cash registers.  The advantage to the consumer is it can keep costs down.

It's just capitalism.

It almost certainly increases order accuracy, too, I bet.

But no, it's all an evil corporate plot.

prodarwin said:

The advantage to the consumer is it can keep costs down.

I suppose in theory the savings could go to keeping costs (to the consumer) down, but in practice there's never been any hint of that, probably because the budget for executive bonuses is always hungry.

Undiscovered tribes in the wilds of Borneo already knew you were going to say that.

Duke said:

prodarwin said:

stuart in mn said:

Fast food joints are pushing customers to use the self service screens to place their orders.  In my experience, if the screen works (which isn't always the case) it takes a lot longer than simply walking up to the counter and saying "give me the #7 meal to go."  I don't see any advantage for the consumer.

Similar to grocery self checkouts, the kiosks allow many customers to order simultaneously with minimal employee oversight.  It's easier for franchises to use those and apps to take orders than to pay multiple employees to cover the cash registers.  The advantage to the consumer is it can keep costs down.

It's just capitalism.

It almost certainly increases order accuracy, too, I bet.

But no, it's all an evil corporate plot.

 

I'd believe that if I saw costs being kept down.

Appleseed said:

Duke said:

prodarwin said:

stuart in mn said:

Fast food joints are pushing customers to use the self service screens to place their orders. 

 The advantage to the consumer is it can keep costs down.

It's just capitalism.

It almost certainly increases order accuracy, too, I bet.

But no, it's all an evil corporate plot.

I'd believe that if I saw costs being kept down.

How do you know that costs wouldn't be even higher without the kiosks?  Prove to us that this isn't keeping costs down.

In reply to Appleseed :

Oh, it can definitely keep costs down.  You wouldn't believe the number of times I've missed that pack of tortillas I'd forgotten was under the dog food. That's a big savings right there 

In reply to Peabody :

You be all like "Oops, my bad"

I'd rather use self checkout at a store just so I don't have to deal with the slow idiot behind the register. 

I refuse to use it at a restaurant. I will walk out. If I wanted to order food from a machine I'd be at a vending machine. 

Duke said:

prodarwin said:

stuart in mn said:

Fast food joints are pushing customers to use the self service screens to place their orders.  In my experience, if the screen works (which isn't always the case) it takes a lot longer than simply walking up to the counter and saying "give me the #7 meal to go."  I don't see any advantage for the consumer.

Similar to grocery self checkouts, the kiosks allow many customers to order simultaneously with minimal employee oversight.  It's easier for franchises to use those and apps to take orders than to pay multiple employees to cover the cash registers.  The advantage to the consumer is it can keep costs down.

It's just capitalism.

It almost certainly increases order accuracy, too, I bet.

But no, it's all an evil corporate plot.

 

Subway is one place where you HAVE to watch them make the food.

If you get a sub with heated meats, a lazy/rushed person will put the veggies on first while the meat is in the microwave, which makes for a bad sandwich experience.

I used to work across the street from a Subway.  I went to the one six minutes up the street because if I asked for onions on a sub at the one across the street, I got like three or four thin little sprigs on onion on a footlong.  No I want that sub coated with veggies.  The one up the street had staff that would do it Right.

There used to be a Subway with a drive-thru.  Went there once.  We ordered two footlong veggie subs.  (Cue Jules' Pulp Fiction quote here) We got no questions of what we wanted on them.  When we got home we found that we got subs with everything on them, and mayo and mustard.  On a veggie sub.  Berking gross.  We weren't asked what we wanted and weren't told what we were going to get.

Fast food prices in general have gotten crazy relative actual restaurants, but I don't understand how Subway has any sort of presence outside of desolate highway rest areas.   In Manhattan which is generally comically expensive, I can still get a good sandwich with more meat and better roll than Subway for about $15 with chips or a pickle.  A $12 footlong makes Katz deli's giant, overpriced, touristy pastrami sandwiches look reasonable.  

In reply to Duke :

Easy for the self checkout. Without fail, no matter the grocery store, Lowe's, home Depot, or wherever else, the 4 people milling around the self checkouts instead of actually running a register need to come and intervene because something is ringing up wrong or not at all. Sure, on a long enough timeline, it may become cheaper to just have the self checkouts, but not when you're paying for both a self checkout machine AND a person to watch it all day and correct any errors. Eventually annual maintenance and updates should get cheaper than wages and benefits, in theory. That's just increasing costs and annoyances, and costing future sales because I will leave carts full of stuff sit if the only way to pay and leave is self checkout, and I won't come back unless I absolutely have to. Turns out ordering stuff online is still cheaper and easier than going to a physical store for 90% of stuff. 

I prefer to use apps to order, so when my order comes back wrong I know it's because the dip E36 M3 in the back doesn't know how to read instead of just ringing in the order wrong. Not that it changes anything other than making me wait longer for the order to be remade correctly, and again, costing them money because Johnny on the grill can't read. 

I haven't run into the kiosks, but I don't know the last time I actually went into a fast food joint. App to drive thru or delivery app only when I have discount codes. 

In reply to Toyman! :

Sam's Club out here is pretty infuriating... 80% self checkout, but then EVERYONE has to que up for a single 'loss prevention' person at the exit door to randomly check items in the cart against the receipt.

Sir,  self-checkout is open.

I'm sorry, I don't work here.

I think I have another kidney stone. 

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

There used to be a Subway with a drive-thru.  Went there once.  We ordered two footlong veggie subs.  (Cue Jules' Pulp Fiction quote here) We got no questions of what we wanted on them.  When we got home we found that we got subs with everything on them, and mayo and mustard.  On a veggie sub.  Berking gross.  We weren't asked what we wanted and weren't told what we were going to get.

As the other half of "we" in this story, I feel obligated to point out that this happened in 1998, over 25 years ago, and Pete is still crabby about it.

When Pete opines, he opines HARD.

--the vegetarian girlfriend who pretty much made Pete a vegetarian

RBCA said:

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

There used to be a Subway with a drive-thru.  Went there once.  We ordered two footlong veggie subs.  (Cue Jules' Pulp Fiction quote here) We got no questions of what we wanted on them.  When we got home we found that we got subs with everything on them, and mayo and mustard.  On a veggie sub.  Berking gross.  We weren't asked what we wanted and weren't told what we were going to get.

As the other half of "we" in this story, I feel obligated to point out that this happened in 1998, over 25 years ago, and Pete is still crabby about it.

When Pete opines, he opines HARD.

--the vegetarian girlfriend who pretty much made Pete a vegetarian

They put MUSTARD. and MAYO.  on a VEGGIE SUB.  COMPLETELY UNPROMPTED.

That was almost as bad as that time we went to My Friends and the waitress completely ignored you when she took our order.

(sees the date that was written)

...okay, maybe I do tend to hold on to things a bit.

I have known that I needed to start this cosplay project for about three months.  It needs to be packed up for transit to Dragoncon by Thursday.

I started it Friday.

I hope I can pull this out of my ass.

Who in their right mind would ask their [adult, married, mother of 2] daughter why her clothes are "so tight"? Never mind the fact that the clothes are relatively loose fitting and your daughter is in good shape, what the hell were you thinking? Who asks that?

I legitimately think the answer to that question is that you're not in your right mind, but I did not need to deal with this today. 

berkeleyity berkeley. (As an aside, should we have a filter word for "bitch"?)

I woke up in the middle of the night on Friday with nagging ankle pain.  It's been hurting all weekend and I can't really walk without a ridiculous limp.  I had to cancel all my weekend plans.

I don't recall doing anything to "hurt" it.  What is even happening to me?

prodarwin said:

stuart in mn said:

Fast food joints are pushing customers to use the self service screens to place their orders.  In my experience, if the screen works (which isn't always the case) it takes a lot longer than simply walking up to the counter and saying "give me the #7 meal to go."  I don't see any advantage for the consumer.

Similar to grocery self checkouts, the kiosks allow many customers to order simultaneously with minimal employee oversight.  It's easier for franchises to use those and apps to take orders than to pay multiple employees to cover the cash registers.  The advantage to the consumer is it can keep costs down.

It's just capitalism.

Actually, I don't have any issues with the grocery self serve checkout (at least at my local grocery store)  It works well with minimal problems, and doesn't have built in delays like the kiosk at McDonalds.

1) It asks if I want to use their 'app'.  No, I don't, and stop asking me.

2) It doesn't have one touch buttons for combo meals.  If I want a #4 which is a plain chicken sandwich, fries and a drink I first have to push the sandwich button, scroll down to find the chicken sandwich, click on that, then it says "Add to your order?"  Yes, that's why I pushed the button.  I then have to go through the same procedure for the fries and drink, and then it finally asks, "Oh, so you want the #4?"

3) Step #2 is dependent on whether the touch screen even recognizes my finger when I try to push on the buttons.  My limited experience shows I have to press each button five to ten times before it clicks (if it clicks at all.)

4) It asks me what kind of drink I want.  What does it matter, I'm going to walk over to the drink machine and fill up my cup myself.

5) It asks if I want to round my payment up to the next dollar.  No, I don't.

6) No, I never use credit or debit for buying fast food, so stop asking me that too.

In reply to stuart in mn :

Yep, I used a McDonald's kiosk in Portland, OR a few weeks ago and it was so stupid that it was actually amusing.

In addition to the points you referenced above, there were no condiments at the beverage station so after all of the kiosk time suck B.S. I still had to walk to the counter and wait for someone to give me stuff; durp!

Can we just call it...can we just make all of the beverage selections Brawndo, The Thirst Mutilator and be done?

I think the self checkout at Walmart is, after you've scanned everything, still six steps till you pay.

It's ridiculous, and infuriates me every time.