Pet Peeves

weilke said:
This morning I called up a hotel to get some nights for a weekend that shows as 'sold out' on the website. Sales managers said, no problem, we allways have some reserve rooms that don't go on the site. So, you may not do that, other hotels do.
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Ah, but that's a whole 'nuther kettle of fish. Read on...

With on-line booking agents jacking their commission to 15% (or higher), a sea change has taken place in the hotel industry. First, it's now easily possible to beat the on-line price by calling the hotel and asking for the owner or manager. Explain to him that you want to book with him, and save him the Expedia (for example) commission.

If he's anything but a complete idiot, he will offer a price 5 - 10% below what's on Expedia, saving himself 5 - 10% in commissions AND making you a happy customer for life. (If he DOESN'T do this, run, don't walk, from this hotel. It is run by morons!)

Second, more and more of us are NOT putting all of our rooms on-line. We, for example, have decided this year to only put one or two rooms per day available on line. This keeps our commissions low, and we sell out anyway.

So, yes, we can "appear" to be sold out on line, but still have availability. It's a smart way to run the business.

My original example was for people who drive into town, sans reservation, and -- despite flags flying and signs a-blazing -- walk in and ask if we have rooms. NO hotel would light the "No Vacancy" light if they had rooms left to rent.

Which brings me to ANOTHER pet peeve -- new hotel construction that is omitting the all-important "VACANCY" light on the big sign out front. Without that sign, potential guests are forced to come in off the highway, find a parking spot, walk into the lobby -- only to then be told "Sorry, we're full." That is the worst customer service on the PLANET. :mad2:
 
Jay Honeck said:
My original example was for people who drive into town, sans reservation, and -- despite flags flying and signs a-blazing -- walk in and ask if we have rooms. NO hotel would light the "No Vacancy" light if they had rooms left to rent.
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Who knows, maybe someone called in that they wont make it in, so the innkeeper can sell the room twice, once to the guest who didn't show up and a second time to the walk-in at full price :wink2:
 
timwinters said:
Businesses that have a pair of doors for their front door but never unlock both of them...they only unlock one.

Note: and not because of strong prevailing winds.
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Encountered that one while trying to leave a restaraunt last night. Grrr...

I keep getting phone calls from a number I don't know. I don't usually answer if I don't know the number - if it's important, they'll talk to voice mail, then I'll decide if I want to call back. This one doesn't leave a message. Looked online and discovered it is a third party that calls saying they are calling on behalf of USAA. Got a post card from them in the mail Saturday. I called them, they want to update my auto coverage info. I told them USAA has all my auto info, and in fact I'm in the midst of an auto claim, so they should know they are up to date, and please put me on your do not call list, as I will not be giving any information to a third party thank you very much.

Last night, I got a phone call while we were eating, and I recognized it as this same place, so I answered it, told them the same thing, and that I had already asked them to put me on their do not call list, so please do not call again.

What does it take???
 
And targeted advertising, especially when it fails. Like at the office. Either someone at the office or whoever had this computer before me is seriously into getting a Brazilian butt lift, whatever that is.
 
Why does it take three hands (or two hands and your head) to operate a f'ing hotel ice machine?

My phone tells me the weather in Dubai and can launch birds at pigs soley for my amusement in addition to making phone calls to anywhere from anywhere...yet we can't make an ice machine for hotels that can be operated by a single human without haviing to press a button with your head???
 
Another pet peeve of mine: taking shortcuts with pre-mission checks in favor of saving time.

I'm not a pilot yet, and I'm not even training right now, so I didn't post this in the "Does anyone pre-flight anymore?" thread. But I do have recent combat deployments, and a current DOD contractor deployment, and am very familiar with pre-mission checks.

My pre-mission vehicle check and prep took upwards of 2 hours at times, depending on what vehicle I was in and what mission was in the works. I can't imagine a pre-flight check taking that long, but even if it did - is it worth a life to take a shortcut on a safety checklist for the sake of saving a few minutes?

I recently read a book by Greg Brown where he mentioned that in over 30 years of flying his habit of conducting thorough pre-flights, rather than a quick run around the plane, has paid off only twice in finding things that would have brought him down before he was ready to land. One of those checks revealed that someone had intentionally screwed with his aircraft while he wasn't in the area. In my mind, those many many hours of extra time and effort were well worth it. When the adrenalin spikes and your gut clenches and you break out in a cold sweat as the realization hits that something Very Bad is about to happen that may have been found/fixed with an investment of a few more minutes in the pre-flight, my guess is any of us would wish we could turn back time and take the extra effort. But by then it's too late, and pilots are lost every single year due to things that could have been caught in a more thorough pre-flight. I'd be willing to bet that most of the ones that go down due to a missed item during the pre-flight considered themselves to be safe pilots, and considered their abbreviated pre-flights to be "good enough". Until suddenly they weren't.

When doing a risk analysis the foremost thought going through my mind is almost always "what is the worst that can happen?", and I do my best to make sure that my plan addresses that worst case scenario. Usually this means a thorough pre-mission check/prep. Every time.

flame-suit on. :)
 
jpower said:
When AOPA tries to get me to join their organization by sending me "personalized" emails that were allegedly forwarded internally...well, I can't really explain it. Look at the attachment.

That does NOT make me want to join AOPA. It makes me :mad3:.

(I mean, they're even trying to pass off the phone numbers as their own when it's in fact the generic number at the bottom of the homepage.)
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Speaking of AOPA...here's a good one for you. I just sent them this e-mail:

To Whom It May Concern,

Early this spring I had a very disappointing phone conversation when I was trying to get assistance with an issue. So, I asked to be transferred to the department in charge of membership renewal. I was transferred and I asked that party to take me off of auto-renew.

Then, in May, after another disappointing conversation regarding the availability of educational materials for the general public (or lack thereof) I again confirmed that I had been taken off of auto renew.

I really hadn't decided yet if I was going to renew or not (August deadline) but it seems that you've made that decision for me. You AUTO RENEWED me on 7/4 even though you were instructed not to. TWICE.

Please cancel my membership and reverse the charge.

Sincerely,
Tim Winters
(former) member #04604186
 
Used Gum.

People who deposit their used gum ANYWHERE besides a trash can. I've lived my entire life and have never thrown gum down on a sidewalk, parking lot, or under a table or chair.
 
Captain said:
Used Gum.

People who deposit their used gum ANYWHERE besides a trash can. I've lived my entire life and have never thrown gum down on a sidewalk, parking lot, or under a table or chair.
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You sir, have obviously not lived life to the fullest. Try it sometime. It's liberating. :lol:
 
Treading on dangerous ground ...

It's 83F outside. My bride has the AC thermostat set to 70F ... and is running
the space heater in her office to warm it to 84F.

I tried explaining that ... oh, nevermind. Thump, Thump, Thump.
 
Tin Foil Hat people.

Instant anger that I struggle (with varying levels of success) to contain.
 
Captain said:
Why does it take three hands (or two hands and your head) to operate a f'ing hotel ice machine?

My phone tells me the weather in Dubai and can launch birds at pigs soley for my amusement in addition to making phone calls to anywhere from anywhere...yet we can't make an ice machine for hotels that can be operated by a single human without haviing to press a button with your head???
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Ice machines are disgusting. Kids spit in them, mold lives in them, anyone could pee in one. We keep ice in the lobby, and personally dispense it to our guests.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
When people ascribe to know what they are talking about, and will not admit it when called out that they clearly do not.:mad2:
 
Nine pages and nothing on telemarketers or did I miss it?

Even if the Useless Do not call list worked, they are like cockroaches.

I usually answer when the ask for Mr whoever, "He is dead". Most immediately move to "May I speak to Mrs Whoever?" and I reply "She's dead also". Next comes "Well who am I speaking to?" to which I answer "This is Detective Friday and we are investigating a murder suicide. Who is this?"

Usually but not always ends any future contact.

Cheers
 
X3 Skier said:
Nine pages and nothing on telemarketers or did I miss it?

Even if the Useless Do not call list worked, they are like cockroaches.

I usually answer when the ask for Mr whoever, "He is dead". Most immediately move to "May I speak to Mrs Whoever?" and I reply "She's dead also". Next comes "Well who am I speaking to?" to which I answer "This is Detective Friday and we are investigating a murder suicide. Who is this?"

Usually but not always ends any future contact.

Cheers
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Came across this years ago and you just made the think of it:

 
X3 Skier said:
Nine pages and nothing on telemarketers or did I miss it?
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I think telemarketers go beyond pet peeves and are in the realm of those-that-deserve-to-rot-in-****.

Edit: check out posts 70, 95, and 96
 
Lengthy cell phone calls while on the commode in public bathrooms. I'm waiting for Miss Manners to update her commentary for the Digital World.
 
Dude, I was inside Safeway yesterday (large supermarket). I decided to go for the self checkout. Bad idea.



The first lady was trying to scan A ZUCCHINI and looked upset when the machine didn't understand. No, the squash did not have a sticker on it or a barcode. She just kept doing that and putting things back in her cart. We were watching her stealing. (The machines weigh everything)


The second lady, at the second scanning machine, was so large she needed a moto scooter to get around. It was huge and she blocked the aisle - the worker needed to tell her to move since nobody with a shopping cart could get by. She took even longer than the first lady and just stared at her wallet and back at the screen like she couldn't figure out how to pay.


After about 5-10 minutes, and with a tiny woman in front of me, also waiting, holding a 40lb bag of dog food, I gave up. I went to the line with cashiers and still beat the self checkout people. Plus I could just let them ring me up and it was so much easier. I felt bad for the tiny lady with all the dog food just standing there.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
The first lady was trying to scan A ZUCCHINI and looked upset when the machine didn't understand. No, the squash did not have a sticker on it or a barcode.
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I'm in a mood today after the dog and the car. Can you point me to where I can sign up to just beat her over the head with said zucchini and get it over with? Darwin has failed.
 
denverpilot said:
I'm in a mood today after the dog and the car. Can you point me to where I can sign up to just beat her over the head with said zucchini and get it over with? Darwin has failed.
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I will hold her down while you beat her. I was that mad. I thought the self checkout was to speed us all up not slow us all down???

I think this is how you feel:

memory-stick-00375-450x450.jpg
 
Sac Arrow said:
That's what I thought too - I had to go back to her original post to get the context!
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I've always heard tha great minds think alike.:D...






...I gues the same is true for sick b******s too.:rofl:
 
Pulling past the white line at a stop. I am ok with the people that get stuck past it but if the light is red and you pull past the line I want to get out and beat you lol.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
Dude, I was inside Safeway yesterday (large supermarket). I decided to go for the self checkout. Bad idea.



The first lady was trying to scan A ZUCCHINI and looked upset when the machine didn't understand. No, the squash did not have a sticker on it or a barcode. She just kept doing that and putting things back in her cart. We were watching her stealing. (The machines weigh everything)


The second lady, at the second scanning machine, was so large she needed a moto scooter to get around. It was huge and she blocked the aisle - the worker needed to tell her to move since nobody with a shopping cart could get by. She took even longer than the first lady and just stared at her wallet and back at the screen like she couldn't figure out how to pay.
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Just whip out your taser and...

Oh wait. Never mind.
 
My pet peeve is smokers sticking their cigarette out their car window in traffic. Seriously, you paid big bucks for that tube 'o death. Close your window and enjoy...

Last week, someone in front of me at a drive through really peeved me. He dropped his burning cigarette right under the drive through window so everyone getting food had to put up with that stench.
 
kyleb said:
My pet peeve is smokers sticking their cigarette out their car window in traffic. Seriously, you paid big bucks for that tube 'o death. Close your window and enjoy...

Last week, someone in front of me at a drive through really peeved me. He dropped his burning cigarette right under the drive through window so everyone getting food had to put up with that stench.
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Someone near the airport says the same thing about the smell of Jet-A. Careful what you wish for.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
I will hold her down while you beat her. I was that mad. I thought the self checkout was to speed us all up not slow us all down???

I think this is how you feel:

memory-stick-00375-450x450.jpg
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Self checkouts have nothing to do with getting you out faster. It's all about not having to pay for extra clerks. The stores figure the shrinkage (read theft) will be less that the cost of a fulltime/parttime clerk.
I hate selfcheckout for anything more than one or two items. I would have said bag of groceries but that still comes out to two items. Them little plastic bags don't hold ****!
 
For some unfathomable reason, some people around here leave 5-10 feet between cars at a red light with the result only half the cars that should get through on the green. I sometimes wish I had a Cat D8 so I could close up the gaps in front of me.

Cheers
 
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silver-eagle said:
Self checkouts have nothing to do with getting you out faster. It's all about not having to pay for extra clerks. The stores figure the shrinkage (read theft) will be less that the cost of a fulltime/parttime clerk.
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Not to mention the theft by that part-time clerk. For the big chains, 40% of shrinkage is from customer theft, the rest employee malfeasance. Less employees, less exposure.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
I will hold her down while you beat her. I was that mad. I thought the self checkout was to speed us all up not slow us all down???
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I'm really old. Many of you young folks have not yet become cynical enough to understand that the business plan is always to make more money. The self checkout system is used because stores can have one cashier handling four checkouts and even if the customers take twice as long to checkout they still have a labor savings which equals more $$$.

At our local Walmart we used to have self checkout. Walmart did away with that and I would guess that they figured out that the losses from stealing were making it a $$$ loser. My observation, and remember that I am old and cynical, is that Walmart couldn't hire employees willing and able to minimize the theft problem. When they remodeled to eliminate the self checkout they ended up with about 30 registers. Anytime I have been in the store they have not had more than 6 to 10 open with lines at each. I wondered about the possibility that the lines would cause some customers to not come back. Then I read that the loss of those customers is more than offset by impulse buying of the customers waiting in line who pick up things from the product racks that you get to study while you are waiting. Bottom line, it's all about the $$$$. :sigh:
 
X3 Skier said:
For some unfathomable reason, some people around here leave 5-10 feet between cars at a red light with the result only half the cars that should get throught on the green. I sometimes wish I had a Cat D8 so I could close up the gaps in front of me.

Cheers
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Plus those geniuses prevent people from getting into the rightturn lane.
 
X3 Skier said:
For some unfathomable reason, some people around here leave 5-10 feet between cars at a red light with the result only half the cars that should get through on the green. I sometimes wish I had a Cat D8 so I could close up the gaps in front of me.

Cheers
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Bob Noel said:
Plus those geniuses prevent people from getting into the rightturn lane.
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You should see them when a snowplow shows up behind them. :yikes: They move, real quick.:D
 
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