Just let me vent and rant....

[VacuumVoodoo]

It's a hot day today, sun is burning my brains even through my panama hat so my irritation threshold is low so it's not all that difficult to stumble upon something to get upset about. On my way to our traditional saturday morning coffe meet at a french coffee bar nearby I stopped by a kiosk, bought my saturday smoke and a box of matches. Arrived at the coffee bar, ordered a large latte and a baguette tuna&egg sandwich. Sat down at the table and just out of boredom counted the matches in the box, there were 34 and somehow the box seemed way too large for this number of matches. So I'm reading small print on the box, it says there are on average 45 matches in a box. Fine, but isn't 20% less than average boardering on cheating? A hidden price increase it is. My coffee an baguette arrived. Now what the f...k is going on here? I ordered a large latte and a full size baguette - why am I being served half sized stuff? The waitress says these are full size - no I say, that's not what I was served last Saturday, these are half size by comparison. I'm not paying full size price for half size portions. We have an argument with the owner going on for about 15 minutes. I'm loudly protesting these hidden 50% price increases by cuting the size of servings. Some people are nodding, but I'm not sure if these are nods of agreement or not. Anyway, nobody opened their mouth in support. What's wrong with people? They're being blatantly and openly screwed over and they don't protest. It begins with size of large latte....

Am I becoming a grumpy old geezer or can I still call myself a concerned citizen?

PS. A loaf of bread, labeled weight 1kg in the supermarket nearby weighed 0.78kg but it was priced per 1kg loaf. They refused to adjust price as per actual weight. I need some shade and cool air......

[gururyan]

The only thing I raise a stink about is when I order an "import" beer at a bar, and although they charge me the "import" price, they bring me a 3.2 version instead of the 6. version. You see, in Oklahoma our beer (domestic beer) is only 3.2%. If you want "normal" 6% beer, you have to order it at a bar or get it from the liquor store. The beer at the grocery or gas station is 3.2%. Some brands offer both in Oklahoma, so that bars and liquor stores can server the "real" bear. Anyway, when I order a $3 Corona, I'd expect a 3.2. If I order a $5-$6 Corona, I damn well better get the 6. version. The bars offer the same expectation....that is unless they want to screw you. How can you tell if a beer is 6. vs. 3.2? Good question, I will tell you. Look at any 6. beer you have in your house, on the bottle somewhere you will see "OK+". This tells you that it is above the Oklahoma 3.2% rule. Doesn't matter where you live, you will see this. If it doesn't, then it's a 3.2. I point this out to the waitress every time they try to charge me for a 6. and bring me a 3.2. They don't usually know the "code", but when I tell them to go tell the bartender that I paid for a 6. and tell them that the bartender will know "the code", they always come back with their foot in their mouth and give me what I paid for, which is usually a 6. version or they give me an addition 3.2 at no charge.

As it should be.

[PeeWee]

It's nice to see that we in the US aren't the only people getting screwed on a regular basis. I think that you're entirely in your right to raise hell in being over charged, Aleksander. It's too bad that most people don't have the stones to voice their opinions publicly. Whatever happened to the slogan "the customer is always right"? Seems that these days - no matter where in the world you live - the consumer should just bend over and take that giant, money-grubbing dick up the poop pipe and be happy about it. It seems that everything now costs more than it did from week to week and we're always getting less for the money. I notice this every week at the grocery and I drive my wife nuts by loudly complaining about it. I've watched my weekly food expenses rise to the point where in some instances, I'm paying near double what I paid for the same item not more than a year ago. Happy about it? Hell no!! Until the consumer can re-establish themselves as the controlling factor in business, we'll all continue to be reamed by the system until we're forced to make choices on what gets purchased and what goes by the wayside....either that or we finally say enough is enough and raise our voices in protest. Ya say ya want a revolution......??

[BJF]

Hi,

Yikes, yes! I buy a lighter, drink my coffee at home and eat at home.
Oh well I went to a resturant yesterday as it was friday and a special one at that and they have excellent food. Right so I order the chef's tip. Very nice menu and waitress asks what I'd like to drink, then in next sentence says they don't have any rights anymore.............well that doesn't bother me as I've come to eat, while I understand I won't get the welcome drink that used to be served. This doesn't bother me either. All is well until I see the bill and notice they have charged what they used to charge for a beer for a lingonberry soda or 260% more than they used to charge for a lingonberrysoda.
Oh well, I guess they got to live too. Maybe I'll go there only for lunch henceforth ;) at least they charge something decent for the lingonberry soda then...........

But yes I'd join the grumpy old men's club when exposed to half a sandwich and 3,2 beer if I had ordered 6.0 and a whole sandwich.........and............
Such things just change my habits,thank you and goodbye.

Right so I don't go out much, just don't want to count the matches or weigh the bread as secretly I know and really what used to be my favourite bar don't have my favourite beer on tap anymore and I know noone who goes there anymore, but then I don't have use for that either.

Today the wind is still and there's no shade, and so I put on the airconditioner that I got last summer to make things just normal and I pull down the shades and continue working.

End of coffebreak......

Carry on gentlemen
BJ


"I wish it could be 77. I wish I could be in heaven again. I wish it could be 76 when I had teenage kicks" The Bradshaws

[tonefinger]

Ok, since we are in griping mode, what about the freakin' price of gas? I commute 40 miles one way to work, and gas prices are killing me. As far as I know, there is no shortage or natural disaster that they can blame for the high prices, they are just charging an arm and a leg and laughing while we bend over.
Unfortunately, I work on Saturdays, so I go to get a sandwich for lunch, not a big one-just an ordinary size sandwich, and it costs me over ten bucks. As I sit eating my sandwich, I think to myself, this isn't even a good sandwich, so what kind of fool pays 10 bucks for a shitty sandwich? Me. I don't know why we continue to pay for some of these things that don't even compare to the cheaper, older things.
So ends my rant.