I’ve never heard anybody say anything BUT “water fountain.”
I guess I’d know what you meant if you called it a “drinking fountain,” but nobody I know has ever called it that.
Weird, these regional quirks.
You have a point, Bosda. I guess my point was more that a business has the right not to make every customer happy. Sure, they’ll suffer for it if they make a habit of it, but it’s no more a customer’s “right” to get good service than it is their obligation to buy.
And sometimes, with certain customers, you cut your losses…which is all I really meant to say.
Yes, indeed, these regional quirks.
A drinking fountain is what you drink out of, a water fountain is a large fountain in the park that you throw pennies in when you make a wish.
A “bubbler” (to me at least) is an old-fashioned term for drinking fountain, kind of like using “icebox” for refrigerator. I didn’t realize people still used that word.
I guess the two terms are pretty interchangeable, but if someone said they were going to get a drink out of the water fountain, I’d do a double take.
The traditional Wisconsin term is “bubbler” (even though they don’t actually bubble anymore). I’ve heard it attributed to other areas too (Maryland?).
My point about “you guys” is not that there’s anything grammatically wrong with it, but that it should be reserved for casual use. I use it in conversation with my friends and family, but not with my clients.
You’ve described (except for the note) how I’ve cosen to live my life whether dining in restaurants or having the oil changed on my car. More times than not, when I pay my bill, I also get a strong handshake or a greatful smile. And I enjoy that. Nobody had to kiss my feet or rattle their servitude collars in some outdated sign of obediance. And when the bill was paid, the world was honestly a better place afterward, if only for a few minutes.
I always feel good as I leave. The person who sold me the services feels good. (no gritted teeth, no ulcers, no quick trips to the gun cabinet to mow down slow moving coworkers) And I get good service.
Now if somebody gets their jollies playing the Duke of Dickweed or the Duchess of Shitdontstink and treats the staff like slaves bought at a discount, then I can’t support them when they have ‘service horror stories’. Assholes attract bad service the way magnets attract iron filings and its been that way since the beginning of time. But I don’t let thoughts of them ruin my good day.
AAAAHHHHH, when I was working at a Staples Copy Center, I had people rush in at 7am with a 100 page double sided report that they needed 25 copies of it, bound, with color, laminated covers. Sure, no problem. I’ll call you in 2 hours when it’s done.
Oh no, they aren’t looking for 2 hours, they want 20 minutes, and they are going to wait, because it’s a very important report, and their job depends on it.
And you waited until now, why? And these were the people that would stand at the register, and tell everyone that came up that I was working on a more important project, and they would have to wait.
It’s a wonder I made it to the end of the 9 months I was there.
It seems rather superficial to me that some people’s choice of business is based merely on the presence of some symbol.
I’m wondering, would you not go in a convenience store that had a statue of Ganesh on the counter? Or a chinese restaurant that had Buddhist paraphanelia?
If Ganesh was up front and on the counter, I’d certainly hesitate. But “Buddhist paraphenelia” [sic] at a Chinese restaurant? That’s practically part of the decoration!
Now, Buddist figurines at a non-Chinese-specific business, such as an auto repair shop, that’d give me pause as well.
Originally posted by Scarlett67
The traditional Wisconsin term is “bubbler” (even though they don’t actually bubble anymore). I’ve heard it attributed to other areas too (Maryland?).
Twice in my life I have been screwed on home improvement deals. Both times have been by people who had three things in common.
[list=1]
[li]A fish emblem on their business cards[/li][li]Told me at great length about what great Christians they were[/li][li]They fucked me on the deal.[/li][/list=1]
How does that old saying go?
Fuck me once shame on you,
Fuck me twice shame on me,
What would it be for fuck me three time?
Tell ya what, next time I see a fuckin’ Pest Control place with a huge pictures of five Hindu gods and a bootlegged Calvin figure worshipping 'em, I’ll give you a call and tell you whether or not I’ve gone inside.
I’m going with Audrey on the waiter thing. Having been one myself I understand what they go through. Ive taken to basing my tip amount on the number of times they check in. Dollar base plus once for each time they come back. If it figures out to be less than 20% then the service was subpar and it’s their own goddamn problem. Adjustments are made based on time, how busy it is, and so on.
