# Here come rants, blah-blah (December mini-rants) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 1, 2024, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012 "2024-12-01T05:38:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/181 "2024-12-12T02:37:56Z")
I try to remember the name of the customer service worker when they answer the phone. Usually I note it down. At the very end of the call when they ritually (scripturally?) ask if there’s anything else they can do to assist, I say “Just one more thing …”. Then after a short pause … “If the boss is listening in to this call, [whoever] totally deserves a raise since they are kickin’ it out of the park here.” Then “Get on it!” in my Command Voice that Brooks no Hesitation from my Minions. They usually laugh and are appreciative. I close with “Good luck with the next call.” The survey I’d like to take is: 1. Do you want us to give your agent a raise? 1 to 5 scale of “definitely, probably, neutral, probably not, definitely not” 2. Do you want us to fire the entire management staff of our customer service department? Same scale. 3. Do you want us to fire all of middle and upper management? Same scale. I’d answer _that_ survey every time. And almost always with 1, 1, 2. I’ve occasionally had really weak first line C/S people. But they’re the exception. If they’re helpless, it’s the manager who wrote their script to be helpless who needs the bullet. Not the person mandated to read the manager’s script to you. Messenger-shooting has along, storied, and always sordid history. Don’t be that person. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/182 "2024-12-12T03:04:28Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Messenger-shooting has along, storied, and always sordid history. Don’t be that person Thank you!! With one exception, all the veterans I have dealt with on this job have been understanding. Even if they are very angry, they understand that I am a Private in front line infantry and I must carry out my orders or face serious penalties. I understand when a caller is frustrated and angry. I do not understand why they direct that anger at me. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/183 "2024-12-12T03:08:32Z")
Tried a dollar scratch off. Nothing. Hope is pointless really. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/184 "2024-12-12T03:16:59Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Hope is pointless really. I must respectfully disagree. For a long time, I was sleeping about 15 hours each day. I left the house to buy food or see my psychiatrist. I bathed rarely. Both my apartment and I looked like crap. Now, I have good to great credit. I have done a lot of work on de-hoarding. I bathe and change clothes on a normal basis. My current psychiatrist realized that Vraylar was not helping me and put me on Bupropion. Things immediately and vastly improved. I have a real job with a regular company. Even better, I work from home- no commute and I don’t have to wear pants. As long as you are alive, there is always the possibilty things can get better. Do not give up hope. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/185 "2024-12-12T04:28:35Z")
Not spicy, but I had a Marsala Mayo at a restaurant we went to for our last anniversary that was so good, I asked how they made it. The chef gave me the recipe. I just need to bite the bullet and make it myself. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/186 "2024-12-12T12:59:52Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I don’t mind if a place asks me to do one - I just decline. But some will KEEP NAGGING ME about it. I don’t buy clothes very often, so when I do I buy a bunch. Twenty years ago I went to a Penney’s and tried on a pair of jeans. They fit nicely so I grabbed four pairs. Same thing with dressier pants (chinos?). I went to pay. I was in a hurry. The cashier asked if I was paying with my Penney’s charge. I held up a wad of cash and told her I was paying cash. She asked if I had a Penney’s charge. Again, I’m in a hurry so I curtly told her no, and I don’t want one. So then she just stopped what she was doing and told me how lucky I was. If I applied for and placed my purchase on my new Penney’s card, I would get 20% off my order. I told her no, I’d pay cash. She went on to argue, hard. She added up the total of my purchase, figured out 20% and told me I was walking away from a lot of money. By now I was boiling and I angrily told her I wanted to pay for my damn pants with cash. SHE STILL KEPT IT UP. I nearly walked out without my pants, but I had a lot invested in my purchase and just wanted out of there. She eventually grumpily accepted my cash and I stormed out. When I got home after my 45 minute drive I began unpacking my bags only to find one pair of pants still had the anti-theft tag. Hah! I called Penney’s and took the pair back so they could take the thing off. That was my final time in a Penney’s. That particular location closed down. They could be giving stuff away and I would not enter a store. Fück You Penney’s!!! ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/187 "2024-12-12T13:06:38Z")
Wind chill was -6 when I came out this morning, and my luxurious Italian lambskin gloves are not phone sensitive. So, it’s back to swiping open my phone with my nose and “nose pecking” the apps I need. LOL ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/188 "2024-12-12T13:59:45Z")
They’re doing street work on my street this week. Today I’ll have no water until after 7pm… and I’ll have to park two blocks away. It’s minor… but annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/189 "2024-12-12T14:03:58Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Wind chill was -6 when I came out this morning, and my luxurious Italian lambskin gloves are not phone sensitive. So, it’s back to swiping open my phone with my nose and “nose pecking” the apps I need. LOL. OK this is the first I have heard of nose pecking. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/190 "2024-12-12T14:04:12Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > So, it’s back to swiping open my phone with my nose and “nose pecking” the apps I need. LOL That idea had never occurred to me during the years I frequented cold country. I was forever pulling a glove off to use the phone for [whatever]. TIL. Thank you. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/191 "2024-12-12T14:49:34Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > during the years I frequented cold country. I was forever pulling a glove off to use the phone for [whatever]. I’ve lived with frigid cold winters my entire life. Every year at some point I realize I really need to buy some warm gloves, but I never do. I own three pairs of finger-less kayaking gloves for summer use (vitiligo). ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/192 "2024-12-12T14:59:30Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Every year at some point I realize I really need to buy some warm gloves, but I never do Thinsulate! I love that brand. My last pair from them was 20 years old and still good as new. I had to get rid of them and nearly all other clothing I owned when I found that my appartment was infested with toxic mold. When my famiy was helping me buy a new coat and gloves online, I insisted on Thinsulate. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/193 "2024-12-12T15:03:44Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > > [@Jasmine](#): > > > > So, it’s back to swiping open my phone with my nose and “nose pecking” the apps I need. LOL > > That idea had never occurred to me during the years I frequented cold country. I was forever pulling a glove off to use the phone for [whatever]. > > TIL. Thank you. Seriously. I just tried this and can’t get it to work lol. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/194 "2024-12-12T15:20:14Z")
Rather than schlep all the way into the city to shop at Target I placed an online order for a ninja air fryer. It’s not for me I would’ve bought something else but it’s what they wanted. The package came quickly a couple days ago but I opened it last night to check it out. Imagine my surprise to see a jug of kitty litter, lint rollers and a baby sweatshirt inside. How strange! No tags on the merchandise either. Was I scammed or just an error in the shipping dept? Opened a chat on the app, essentially was told so sorry take up your complaint at a store. Called customer service this morning and she quickly resolved the matter. I’m to keep the shit that was sent do whatever I want with it. Another order was placed and should arrive Monday. Thanks Tarjay! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/195 "2024-12-12T15:24:33Z")
> [@chela](#): > > I placed an online order for a ninja air fryer. My Ninja is my 2nd air fryer. I was an early adopter and while I enjoyed my first one (I forget the brand) it was impossible to clean. It died once, I replaced a fuse, then the second time it died I replaced it with a Ninja. LOVE the Ninja. Air fryer done right. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/196 "2024-12-12T15:39:35Z")
Thanks for the reminder @chela. I have some work shelves that I organize with interlocking open top containers. Think like modular kitchen drawer organizers, but bigger. They come in a variety of sizes and aspect ratios that collectively tile the plane in lots of different ways. When I go to the local store carrying that line their stock is frequently a mess and half the shelf tags have no stock at all. Their website charges a stupid high price for home delivery. None of this stuff is urgent, so I’ve taken to ordering what I want online for pickup at the store whenever they can scrape together all the right sizes and shapes. Eventually they email me that my order is ready and waiting, then I drive over one time and get it all with no fuss. Sounds great, right? Right? With that background … So a few days ago I find I need some more of this stuff for another project. I measure everything out at home, figure out how _this_, _that_, and _the other thing_ will all fit together just so and hold my stuff. Now I put in my online order, congratulating myself on working smarter, not harder. A day later (Woot!) I get the email. Off to the store. While they’re in back retrieving my pre-picked order I go over to that part of the store, see they’re well-stocked with some sizes I didn’t know existed, and begin brainstorming a different container arrangement that might better suit my needs. So I pick out a bunch of those items too, pay for both sets of stuff & head home happy. After some trial and error on the shelves I end up using none of the online order and all of the spur of the moment cash and carry stuff. Cue trip back to the store to return the unused items. So much for careful planning reducing wasted effort. D’oh. 🤦‍♂️ ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/197 "2024-12-12T17:27:15Z")
When my mum came out of hospital in summer after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, my sister arranged to get some carers in a few days a week (on days when sis or i weren’t going). The care company’s contract required them to get 2 weeks notice to cancel … A few weeks ago, on a Wednesday, she had a funny turn - felt weak and spent the day in bed, and the following day (thursday) sis called the care company and arranged to have them go in 3 times a day. Next morning (friday), mum died. Yesterday, i got a final bill from the care company where they charged the full new rate for 2 week after mum died even though they’d only done 1 shift. They even made up some random times when they “would have” been in… I know technically they’re entitled to it, but that doesn’t stop me tthinking that they’re **tone deaf, money grubbing bastards**. ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/198 "2024-12-12T17:29:20Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > That idea had never occurred to me during the years I frequented cold country. I was forever pulling a glove off to use the phone for [whatever]. If you have a banana, that works, too. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/199 "2024-12-12T17:55:28Z")
My wife ordered an electric shaver for our youngest from Kohl’s. It came last week… or rather its box came last week, but no shaver. She called the customer service, and the sent a new, heavier box. Not taking any chances, she looked inside. This time the shaver came. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/200 "2024-12-12T18:41:46Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > I know technically they’re entitled to it, but that doesn’t stop me tthinking > that they’re **tone deaf, money grubbing bastards**. You’re absolutely right about that. I’m so sorry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012.md?page=11)