I think if you wrote to Master Card and Visa you could get their Merchant status revoked. They cannot make up their own rules for accepting the card. They either accept the card or they don't.
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Anyone else tired of being treated as a crook?[NA]
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Ken Ibold
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Ken Ibold
Once I was dropping my dog off at a kennel for a few days of boarding, and they asked me for my social security card. Huh? I asked why they wanted it and they said they were going to run a credit check to make sure I'd have the money pay the bill for the dog's lodging when I got back (We're talking like 60 bucks) and they wanted to see the card so they'd know I wasn't just making up the number. I told them no way because "I was concerned about issues like identity theft." "What's that?" Hello?!?!?!?! So I said, "How about if I pay in advance?" "Nope. You could leave your dog longer and then not pay the difference." I said, "YOU'D HAVE MY FRIGGIN PURE BRED SHOW DOG!!!!!" That didn't matter. And so I offered to give them a blank credit card swipe, and they took that. Never did business with them again.
flyingcheesehead
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Time for a call to the local bureau of weights and measures... Was there a sticker on that pump?
The latest downhill trend that really drives me nuts is how nobody looks at you and smiles and says "Can I help you?" any more. Instead, they stare vacantly into space and drone "Can I help who's next?" Speaking of which, poor grammar and spelling is starting to drive me nuts too.
wsuffa
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I am not a crook!
Nick, I think you should have worded the title a bit differently. Still, when I read the title, all I can think of is:
This picture
Nick, I think you should have worded the title a bit differently. Still, when I read the title, all I can think of is:
This picture
SkyHog
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Everything Offends Me
Re: I am not a crook!
HAHA - that was completely unintentional as well. I guess the difference is that I really am not a crook. Heh.
HAHA - that was completely unintentional as well. I guess the difference is that I really am not a crook. Heh.
Dave Siciliano
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Thanks Mike. Never thought of that. I'll keep that in mind if something like this happens again.
Best,
Dave
Bill
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Re: I am not a crook!
geez, Bill, two old flashbacks in one day (Banana Splits), you OK?
geez, Bill, two old flashbacks in one day (Banana Splits), you OK?
ScottM
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iBazinga!
This was a problem when I lived in New Mexico. Far too many times I was told that they did not ship to foreign addresses. I always responded thanks for that information but what does that have to do with me as New Mexico is a STATE and has been since 1912! That usually got them thinking.
Maybe they were the product of a school system similar to the one in New Mexico. Here's the story of a future U.S. president.:
http://www.koat.com/news/13320672/detail.html
SkyHog
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Everything Offends Me
I can't imagine how I turned out as well as I did.
Hey. I managed to get a decent background from one of the two or three OK Chicago public high schools. Nobody changed MY grades. I have a transcript to prove it.
Obi Heed Kenobi
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You know, considering how much everyone likes to knock the public school system, I received an excellent primary/secondary education from it. Don't get me wrong, there were few bad eggs among the teachers but, for the stuff that counted, I had some great instructors.
When you add in the fact that I did no work in high school (never studied for a test, never did homework), that is saying something.
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wsuffa
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Wen I wuz yung I couldnt spel injuneer and then I become one.
Seriously...
I went to a public high school, which at the time was the second best school in the top school district in the DC suburbs. A very good school, something like 95% of the graduating class went to college, many to top schools. The two neighboring high schools were near the bottom of the stack, one was the worst.
About 10 years after I graduated the enrollment started to drop off (due to growth in the western part of the county). The school board looked at this, decided they could improve the really bad school by combining the two, and did so over the objections of most residents of the district. Result: it brought the combined school quality way below the median/average, it affected some property values, and it further decreased the willingness of people to move into the area.
Social engineering doesn't work.
Obi Heed Kenobi
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That's actually exactly what happened back home, too. When I was in elementary school, they came up with the "Magnet Program." I don't know if other places had the same thing, but the jist of it was that you had to test into the program, which had an accelerated pace, special curriculum, the best teachers, and very active parent involvement.
We were the first class through the system, and many of us have done well.
About three years after the program started, parents whose kids didn't get in started complaining that it was discriminating against blacks, low-income families, and, get this, stupid people. After some threatened lawsuits, the result was exactly the same as you describe above....
I have no problem admitting that, at the tender age of 13 (which is about when that happenned), I became a firm believer in social Darwinism.
Where did you go to high school?
That's what they did to my high school. It's one of two tech magnet schools. It always turned out students who did great on tests, had a high percentage going to college, etc.
The big problem is the other schools were dismal. Solution: give the dismal schools all of the money and starve the good one. When I went back my school didn't have a functioning computer and at that they ones they had were 5-10 years old, when the kids had decent stuff at home. The other schools had the new computers so the kids breaking in to steal them could get the best return when selling them on the street...well the ones they hadn't already destroyed in the classroom.
Skip Miller
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Anybody remember the Iowa Tests? I took them in the 8th grade. Did pretty well on all sections but excelled in the mechanical aptitude test... I scored in the 107th percentile. (God bless the curve!)
The teacher embarrassed the hell out of me
by holding up the graph of the various test results for all to see. There I wuz, along the top with this summit from which I could look down on everyone else's score.So the teacher sent me to see the principal who was also the advisor. His advice was that I should quit school, go to trade school, and become an auto mechanic.
Well, he wasn't wrong, I would have made a good auto mechanic.Little Skippy runs home and says "Hey Ma! Guess what?...." My parents were properly shocked and within the week I was in a private high school.
-Skip
Obi Heed Kenobi
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iBo Deeh Ibonek
Anybody remember the Iowa Tests? I took them in the 8th grade. Did pretty well on all sections but excelled in the mechanical aptitude test... I scored in the 107th percentile. (God bless the curve!)
The teacher embarrassed the hell out of me
So the teacher sent me to see the principal who was also the advisor. His advice was that I should quit school, go to trade school, and become an auto mechanic.
Little Skippy runs home and says "Hey Ma! Guess what?...." My parents were properly shocked and within the week I was in a private high school.
-Skip
Hahaha, that's really funny!
When I was in 8th grade, we had to take some kind of test which would tell us the career that would be best for us. I purposefully picked the answers that I knew would indicate "pilot." And it did!
I believe the other possibility was something along the lines of mechanic, engineer, etc.
K
KennyFlys
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Anybody remember the Iowa Tests? I took them in the 8th grade. Did pretty well on all sections but excelled in the mechanical aptitude test... I scored in the 107th percentile. (God bless the curve!)
The teacher embarrassed the hell out of me
So the teacher sent me to see the principal who was also the advisor. His advice was that I should quit school, go to trade school, and become an auto mechanic.
Little Skippy runs home and says "Hey Ma! Guess what?...." My parents were properly shocked and within the week I was in a private high school.
-Skip
Imagine the money you could have made if you followed that advice!
I remember when I was 7-11 telling people I wanted to be an engineer.
Every time I had to explain,"No. Not the choo-choo kind."
The "choo-choo" kind was what I had in mid earlier when was "... or a policeman, or fireman, or ..."
Ironically, I came very close to being a Chicago cop late in life when I took the test on a whim and scored so high they couldn't believe it.
I always loved tests.
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Ghery
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The Washington Pre-College Test (a relic of the 1960s, the Washington universities didn't use the SAT in those days) said I should be a welder. OK, so I got a degree in electrical engineering instead. SAT scores were good, too.
Where'd I go to high school? In a university town where everyone was education oriented. Only had one high school (they still only have one, the town isn't that much larger after 37 years), but they had programs for all. I can't complain about the quality of education there. They've probably social engineered it to death by now, though.
Where'd I go to high school? In a university town where everyone was education oriented. Only had one high school (they still only have one, the town isn't that much larger after 37 years), but they had programs for all. I can't complain about the quality of education there. They've probably social engineered it to death by now, though.
NC Pilot
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Imagine the fun you could have had beating up people and getting away with it...
NC Pilot
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Nick,
Why don't you open a gas station or become a cop and place yourself on the other side and see how long it takes for you to develop the same attitude you are ranting about? I bet not long.
Forget TSA. You might be overqualfied for them...
ScottM
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iBazinga!
Did you know someone on the job with CPD or have a connection to City Hall? If not I doubt even with the top score you would have gotten an offer. It is after all, the city that works......on greed and corruption.
Dave Siciliano
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Did you know someone on the job with CPD or have a connection to City Hall? If not I doubt even with the top score you would have gotten an offer. It is after all, the city that works......on greed and corruption.
I'm really taken back by that comment, Scott
Where in the world did you come up with that view <g>My Dad, who was a depression era guy and so honest he'd return a lost penny if it cost him ten bucks, took a boiler operator's test in Chicago three times. All his brothers, who were tradesmen, told him he would never pass if he didn't pay someone. Dad didn't believe it. Studied real hard and failed; studied again and failed. One of his brothers finally sent someone $20. Dad deliberately did poorly, and.....you guess it.....passed. Just what we need in government, guaranteed incompetence.
Well, at least things are predictable. It's one reason I left that area. Merit and ability didn't matter.
Best,
Dave
On the other hand, I went into a restaurant in Spanish Harlem - definitely a seedy part of town - and ate a delicious lunch. Then I presented them with my credit card. I had already made sure by looking at the sticker on the door that they accept credit cards because I knew there was absolutely no cash in my pockets. Turns out they have a minimum charge of $15 and as they explained, it costs them too much to charge less. I offered to let them charge me $15 for the lunch. They would hear none of it and insisted that I just come back sometime and pay the bill. It was three weeks later before I got back and had another nice lunch and paid both bills.
flyingcheesehead
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I took a test like that too. Told me I should be a cartographer.
There's a reason I don't have much faith in such tests...
Did you know someone on the job with CPD or have a connection to City Hall? If not I doubt even with the top score you would have gotten an offer. It is after all, the city that works......on greed and corruption.
They were being watched at the time by the federal courts. It would have been hard to make a high score disappear.
Truth be told, there was no problem. It really was on the legit. They don't sweat rank and file jobs too much.
Now, if I had gotten on like my brother did, I would have needed to know someone to move up in rank. THAT was looked at, too.
A lot of things get looked at. When the lookers leave they just laugh and go right back to it.
Witness the current indictments.
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gprellwitz
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Back to the original topic, I was in the store today, and the allergies have been making me a little congested lately. I guess I was aware that they now have the pseudoephedrine hydrochloride behind the counter, but this was the first time I've tried to purchase some since that went into effect. They said that I'd need to show my driver's license. I didn't like it, and told her in so many words that they were treating me like a criminal, but was willing to play along. Then she said that I'd have to pay there, rather than taking the medicine with and paying for it with the rest of my purchases. At that point, I just said thanks, but no thanks and left the stock-keeping card on the counter and walked away. I didn't have all the things yet that I was planning on purchasing, and didn't want to go through the forking out of moolah twice. Ugh.
Ahhh...one mistake. You had other things you planned on purchasing. Under similar circumstances, I've left the entire basket in the store and gone on to the competition.
gprellwitz
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Thought about it, but it was starting to rain and my moral indignation only goes so far. That's why we're doomed to fail!
Dwight B. Van Zanen
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You know, of course, that treating everyone like a potential criminal is because retailers have to deal with a lot of people who actually are criminals. Got to treat everyone the same, because you can't "discriminate" against the scum bag customers only. Things are different in some small towns in rural areas, where they still know most of their regular customers by name and see them in church every week. But in urban areas, how can you blame them for protecting themselves? My solution is build more prisons, and lock up more of the bad guys longer so the rest of us can treat each other better.
Dave Siciliano
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Ah, you have your finger on the pulse here. Most of the retailers I frequented used to know me! Or at least someone there did. Did seven and eight digit wire transfers over the phone once they knew me. That all changed when everyone had to get big. I can go in the same grocery store now twice a week and not have a sole recognize me; even if they did, they don't care. They have no ownership; they're all union folks that get paid the same. Very few places had someone that recognizes me when I walk in; a few, but far in-between.
So, because they had to get big, we all get treated like complete strangers. How much to you trust a complete stranger?
Best,
Dave
ScottM
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iBazinga!
Umm wrong. In Illinois all the OTS allergy medcine with pseudoephedrine hydrochloride in it is sold like regardless of whether you are in the big city or podunk. It is the law here.
gprellwitz
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Requiring ID is a state requirement. But requiring payment at that time instead of paying with the rest of your purchase?
ScottM
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iBazinga!
Yeah they have to log the purchase. If they just hand you the product after you have shown id you could hand it to someone else to buy who may misuses it.
That is the theory.
By doing it this way you have to buy it and that of course will stop you from handing it to someone else when you walk out of the store(NOT). It is all a knee jerk response to the Meth scare.
It is all stupid.
wbarnhill
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Funny thing is, I read somewhere (I want to say wikipedia but can't find it right now) the pharmaceuticals were working on another form of pseduephedrine that had all the benefits but couldn't be used for making meth (couldn't be isolated/reduced). After the costs reached a certain level, the idea was scrapped and they decided instead to focus on phenylephrine which works about as well as a placebo.
Another fun meth note:
Better not be carrying Sudafed over the border there....
gprellwitz
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Yeah, it's a load of malarky. As you say, if a "bad guy" was trying to get it, he could just have somebody else actually buy it for him, instead of just have them show their ID to the pharmacist. Really no difference.
BTW, I asked the pharmacist how the side effects may change at altitude (I specified 18K), and she had no idea and had never even thought about it. She did say, however, that it was "a good question."
ScottM
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iBazinga!
You sure she was really a pharmacist? Most of those places will employ one pharmacist and the rest are all pharmacy technicians. They no longer really know what all the drug interactions are or do compounding. If something pops up on their computer they may ask. In our area there is only one compounding pharmacy left.
BTW a lot that special higher altitude and underwater type questions are lost on regular doctors too. I see all kinds of medical clearances that state things like patient has sensitivity to pressure changes and should only dive shallow. from 0 to 33 FSW is where the greatest pressure gradient is with pressure doubling in that short span. Even my doc had some pretty off the wall stuff about diving. I bought her a very detailed medical book on treating dive injuries and maladies written for medical professional for Hanukkah one year. She told me she learned a lot.
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silver-eagle
En-Route
Well here we go. Story on the news says Stop and Shop will now start carding individuals buying COUGH MEDICINE because young adults are abusing the drug.
We majority keep paying for the abuses of the minority. The best thing we can do to combat this trend is to treat everyone with respect and courtesy. The officer that asks for your id gets a "Yes sir", we give way to the emergency vehicle on call, and the always popular "THANK YOU!".
Have a GREAT day. Do a random act of kindness.
Now, kiss off and get the H**L OUT OF MY WAY!
We majority keep paying for the abuses of the minority. The best thing we can do to combat this trend is to treat everyone with respect and courtesy. The officer that asks for your id gets a "Yes sir", we give way to the emergency vehicle on call, and the always popular "THANK YOU!".
Have a GREAT day. Do a random act of kindness.
Now, kiss off and get the H**L OUT OF MY WAY!
It took trips to 3 drugstores to get pseudophedrine on our vacation recently.
We first stopped at the drugstore I had frequented 20 years ago when living in Tulsa. The pharmacist told us what we needed, but since he didn't have any in small enough quantity for individuals, he sent us off to the next stop.
I asked the Wal-Mart pharmacist (yes, her pin identified her as such) who was ready to provide the product, but my driver's license was back at the motel. Hubby, who was also sneezing and coughing, had his driver's license and tried to purchase it, but was told he couldn't because I was the one who asked first and there was a possibility he would share with me. She went on to say that it was obvious that I really needed some.
At Walgreen's Hubby asked for, signed for, and id'd for a package of pseudophedrine.