I’m a newbie here, but I just got back from a walk to
the store, and I’m good and pissed right now… I actually
had to wait /5/ minutes extra at the checkout because the
asshole in front of me was talking on her friggin phone!
She walked into the checkout line talking on it, carried
on a conversation while the cashier checked her goods
through, then made the cashier WAIT until the call was
finished to give her the money!
The worst part is, it wasn’t even an important call. It sounded like she was gossiping to a friend… “Well I heard that down the street, the Joneses are having family problems…” Who cares, eh? I don’t!
I wish it was legal to reach out and SMACK stupid, inconsiderate, self-centered people like her.
if it were legal, we’d all have to have guidelines on what is stupid and therefore legal, groups would spring up opposing it as ‘infringing on the rights of the sensability challenged’, kids wandering around waiting for adults to do something stupid so they could gang whack them…
Not a pretty picture.
And besides, there would be too many people to slap.
The only problem is, ‘sensability challenged’ seems to be alive and well. A lack of common sense seems to be a human right… hence the McDonald’s coffee lady, and the sole reason why lawyers are so well-off.
Of course, the general public’s attachment to suing for whatever reason is another thread entirely.
Lots of things about our society piss me right off, but mostly the lack of common sense and courtesy, and the apparently God-given right to sue for millions of bucks for no reason.
I was hoping this was going to be about soccer moms yakking away on their cell phones in traffic while they are driving their behemoth SUV’s. But we’ll save that for a future rant. But I am right there with you on the OP. I would hang it up for them…
I have a cell phone. I use it when I’m out for the evening and my son is with a sitter, or my son is with his dad. That way if anything happens, I’m always available. I do not talk in grocery stores, etc. I think thats mainly people with huge egos that do.
Have you ever noticed how people with cell phones talk louder than normal too?
Watch it Timban, you don’t know a thing about the McDonald’s coffee incident. One of the lawyers who originally prosecuted that case pointed out some very dangerous practices that fast food restaurants are often involved in. And he was my friend and a very good man too.
Hey Sue.
I’m not arguing against all people with cells. I have two, myself, and my mate has one. However, we’ve set our phones up with caller id, call return, voicemail, and a pager, so that if we’re in a bad place (Like a grocery checkout :), we can return the call later. I also turn mine off in movie theatres and performance halls… unlike some people I’ve seen.
There are some people out there with some manners, I’ll admit… it’s just the ones that don’t have any that get my goat.
And I have noticed that… I think they talk louder so everyone knows they’re on the phone. 5 years ago, they were a novelty. Oh, wow, he has a cellphone! Now they’re commonplace. People need to learn that.
It doesn’t really matter what kind of practices the fast food industry is involved in… I seriously doubt that the person behind the counter poured the coffee on that lady. I have a very George Carlin view of things, it all boils down to her own stupidity. Coffee is hot, it will burn! The lady was just stupid enough to spill it on herself.
Hell, I’ve spilt coffee on myself before. It usually results in, “Ow, fuck!”, and that’s it. I don’t sue the maker of the coffee.
I got bit by a mosquito in a wal-mart one time. does that mean that I should sue them for 17.4 kajillion dollars for not providing me with a safe shopping environment? No.
Should that lady have raised hell? Maybe.
Should the McDonald’s manager offered to pay medical bills ON THE SPOT? Absolutely. I would even say that he should have offered to feed her for a month.
Should she and her attorney sue the company for THAT much money, when, quite frankly, you don’t get that much for DEATH in most cases? Not a fucking chance.
How about this? I’m gonna go down there and seduce her, and get her to write me into her will. Then, I’ll start banging her dog right in front of her so that she drops dead of a heart attack. Would that be ethical? How about if I hired an attorney to write a pre-nup that says that if she dies, I DON’T get her money, unless she died while watching me pound her poodle’s ass? How many attorneys would be willing to do that? (If you have your hand down, you’re fibbing)
First, I must comment that this is a great hijack. It came out of nowhere, and most importantly, didn’t involve pulling up of lawn chairs and requests for gettin’ nekkid.
Now to the McDonalds question. I agree that some of these lawsuits are ridiculous and exist solely to fatten the pockets of the lawyers, but this case really gets a bad rap. One of the news magazines (20/20 I think, but I forget which one…they all seem the same) did a follow-up of the story a couple years ago and focused on the details of the case that were not covered in the jokes told by talk show hosts. The huge punitive damage ($2.7 million) was awarded primarily to punish McDonalds for it’s continuing practice of serving dangerously hot coffee, even after there had been hundreds of prior claims of injury from the stuff. The amount was eventually reduced to about $400,000. Apparently the woman involved suffered serious burns that required surgery. I found one link here that goes into the details, but it is a lawyer’s site, so buyer beware.
I must agree that McDonalds coffee always was really hot.
However, knowing that, I’ve always taken care when opening the lid (Or any coffeecup lid, for that matter.)
Not to mention that I have one problem with the lady…
And I quote from the link given to me:
The injured (burned) plaintiff in this case, 79 year old Stella Lieback, was not driving her car. She was seated as the passenger in her grandson’s parked car, holding the coffee cup between her legs while removing the plastic lid. The cup tipped over and poured the scalding hot coffee into her lap causing third degree burns.
End quote…
How many times has a person spilled a drink while holding it between their thighs? It’s a precarious position for a cup, especially while you’re trying to remove a lid… especially for scalding hot coffee in a relatively flimsy styrofoam cup. Again, it’s all about common sense. Use a cupholder or hold the cup in your hand, somewhere where it’s less likely to spill.
A lawyer AND a good man? Funny! Mind if I use it? It’ll slay 'em.
Cites, please
I understand that McDogmeat’s did research that showed coffee tastes best when served at around 180 F. They were forced to serve cooler coffee after the lawsuit, which is probably one reason their coffee tastes like cardboard.
Other dangerous practices? Details please.
IMHO, the lady in question was a cretin who did something stupid, received the usual reward, and then proved to the world her total lack of principals or ethics by shafting somebody else for it. IMHO, the lawyer in question was a low, calculating cock fart who intentionally pursued a baseless claim for his own profit without regard to bad precedent, or anything else. He can be compared unfavorably to old time strip miners who destroyed entire river valleys using hydraulic cannons. I sincerely hope he has cancer of the balls. Please show me how this monkey stroking slab of offal is not a waste of air.
I GOT A TELEMARKETING CALL ON MY CELL PHONE TODAY. AND IT WAS A FUCKING RECORDING! MAY THE PERSON WHO THOUGHT THIS UP BE CURSED FOR 10 GENERATIONS. WHAT KIND OF MUTHA FUCKA THINKS THIS SICK JOKE IS GONNA WORK? WHO THE FUCK HAS THE TIME TO LISTEN TO A RECORDING. AND NO ONE HAS MY CELL PHONE NUMBER. IT MUST BE THE FUCKING CELL PHONE COMPANY. AND THEY FUCKING CHARGE FOR IN COMING CALLS. MAYBE THEY’RE DOING THIS AND CHARGING FOR IT. TIME FOR A FUCKING CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. FUCK THE CELL PHONE COMPANY. FUCK ALL TELEMARKETERS AND MAY THEY ALL DIE, SOON.
I’m sorry, I didn’t get my friends briefs (don’t even think about it you pervs) on the case. So I don’t really have any way of citing it. I’m just pointing out what denbo said previously in this post. They superheated the coffee so it would stay hotter longer.
I guarantee that when you make your coffee in the morning and if you spilled it on yourself, there is not a chance in hell it would give you 3rd degree burns. That is a dangerous practice.
