Posted On: Wednesday - December 20th 2023 10:29AM MST
In Topics:   General Stupidity  Curmudgeonry  Race/Genetics  Big-Biz Stupidity  Customer Care
That "net" has nothing to do with the internet - we mean it as in "net total".
1) This is a follow-up to our recent post Autopay - it's sooooo convenient... . To sum that up, long story short, I am paying $10 more a month for phone service for 2 (for now, anyway) in order to avoid giving these people debit card or bank routing number info. They decided they no longer will take autopay via credit card. OK, I get that there are too many deadbeats, but I'm not one of them. Well, my requesting this was unexpected, I'm sure, and they likely have only a single-digit percentage of customers that do this - nobody else cares about privacy worries over convenience.
This old-is-new-again way was working swimmingly till this month. "We don't have your money. You owe us that, plus 20 bucks for being late." is what my phone read, to paraphrase. The hell you say. I made a call to a guy who at least is in the US (credit where credit is due). After telling him that "no, don't call me a liar, I most certainly did NOT get a bill this month, or I'd have sent in the money" he eased up on the tough talk and suggested he send me an email bill. "No. That's not how it works. I pay that extra $10, so they need to send me a bill with an envelope." It's in the mail, and I'll argue the $20 with another guy.
Big Biz wants all the benefits of electronics, but when you call their bluff, they can't handle the work. Screw you - do your job, and I'll keep up.
2) This goes under the category of "Nobody even cares anymore". We switched internet companies a couple of years back. That was due to the previous one having jacked up the price twice. I've gotten used to the bi-weekly or monthly junk mail from the old company trying to get me to add on a TV connection, as complained about here 4 years back in TV for thee, but not for me, even for free. I'm NOT getting TV, but knock yourselves out sending me back crap with customers' subscription money.
The latest mail was slightly more amusing. "Oh, it's the same thing again, as from way back... no, but wait, this is my CURRENT internet company trying to get me to hook up to the internet!". This is the new way. It's not the first time for this same sort of thing. I suppose it's just too damn much trouble to subtract off info on your own customers in your database from your database of potential customers. That'd take like, an IT guy a day or two to set up. Nah, just send them out to everyone. OK, fine, fireplace fuel is good.
3) I've had this item on my desk since some minor election this past November 7th. It's a black lady, a local businesswoman, running for City Council-At-Large, the flyer says. I really can't tell how at-large she is, as there is only a picture from the breasts up, in which she has a smile that says "I am a serious businesslady, and I am serious about our neighborhood."
Our area "deserves" results such as:
* Safer Communities and Less Crime
* Safer Roads
* Cleaner Communities
* Less Illegal Dumping
* Better Housing Opportunities
* Less [sic] Abandoned Properties
Uh, that'd be great, but lady, you do know that the way to get that is to have fewer black and brown people? Just whaddya' up to here, planning for genocide of your own Communities of Color? That's not nice.
It says at the bottom "Give The People What They Want". (Good and hard?) Errrrmmm, depending on WHICH people, that may or may not work for me.
4) In late November, I related the story of my returning Chinese-made bearings to Wal-Mart in No bearing on the matter? Well, as much as I detest the whole Wal-Mart Walton Family owners* in northwest Arkansas, I will give Wal-Mart due credit here for crediting my card back with the $100 for buying unknown-to-me Chinese made bearings. Amazon had the good Timken ones - I could not get them locally, and they've been out of stock a lot until recently.
I had only opened one of the four plastic bags, so, besides double shipping, they aren't out anything. Thanks for your understanding, Wal-Mart ... computers!
That's 3 stupid items and one non-stupid, giving us a net 2 items of stupidity this morning. Thanks for reading the mundane curmudgeonly post. We'll get back to the larger view of stupidity in subsequent posts.
* See VDare articles on the Globalist ruination of "Ozarkia", here by Neil Kumar and here by Allan Wall.
Comments:
Bill H
Saturday - December 23rd 2023 9:22AM MST
PS Good point, Mr. Moderator, hard to say.
I do recall some 20 years ago we had a mailman who was clearly a drunk. He was standing at the mailbox examining mail and pocketing anything that looked like it might be worth stealing, dumping stuff on the ground, tossing stuff back into his truck at random... We complained to the postmaster and his response was a) he could do nothing due to the union and b) to just live with it because it would be over in six months when the guy retired.
I do recall some 20 years ago we had a mailman who was clearly a drunk. He was standing at the mailbox examining mail and pocketing anything that looked like it might be worth stealing, dumping stuff on the ground, tossing stuff back into his truck at random... We complained to the postmaster and his response was a) he could do nothing due to the union and b) to just live with it because it would be over in six months when the guy retired.
Moderator
Saturday - December 23rd 2023 6:58AM MST
PS: "Number (3): My goodness, you are naughty, aren’t you?" Sorry, Mr. Blanc, I'd thought you'd meant comment #3 till now. This site is lacking features ...
Yeah, well, the flyer really struck me as ironic. Maybe the lady understands that all these wish-list items match up pretty well with "bring in the White people", but she can't say that, and she doesn't really want that, I don't think.
Yeah, well, the flyer really struck me as ironic. Maybe the lady understands that all these wish-list items match up pretty well with "bring in the White people", but she can't say that, and she doesn't really want that, I don't think.
The Alarmist
Saturday - December 23rd 2023 6:04AM MST
PS
The USPS loses most of what is important both ways between Europe and the US. Things like tax and insurance payments. What they don’t lose are the BS candidate mailings around election time. I once traced a missing tax payment, and it went to Singapore after arriving in the US. They couldn’t trace it beyond that.
What ends with t and rhymes with what?
The USPS loses most of what is important both ways between Europe and the US. Things like tax and insurance payments. What they don’t lose are the BS candidate mailings around election time. I once traced a missing tax payment, and it went to Singapore after arriving in the US. They couldn’t trace it beyond that.
What ends with t and rhymes with what?
Moderator
Friday - December 22nd 2023 8:41PM MST
PS: Bill, do you think it's your local postman or in the office or in transit, where you stuff disappears? I have been lucky, I guess, because as far as I know, only 2 bill payments were totally lost in a far-away city I lived in. I'd place them in one of those big blue street mailboxes that used to be everywhere.
OTOH, I've had mail carriers screw up all the time, BUT, only when it's not our local guy who unfortunately just retired a couple of weeks ago. Whenever he was out, there was a 5-10% chance that I'd get some of the neighbors' mail. One time, they were all off by one house. I went to the neighbor's to drop hers off, then saw that the next neighbor down had mail in that box, brought it over, and that's as far down the rabbit hole, errr, block, I was going...
I even got the local guy to hold the junk mail for half a decade or so. Alas, then my wife wanted to start looking at it.
OTOH, I've had mail carriers screw up all the time, BUT, only when it's not our local guy who unfortunately just retired a couple of weeks ago. Whenever he was out, there was a 5-10% chance that I'd get some of the neighbors' mail. One time, they were all off by one house. I went to the neighbor's to drop hers off, then saw that the next neighbor down had mail in that box, brought it over, and that's as far down the rabbit hole, errr, block, I was going...
I even got the local guy to hold the junk mail for half a decade or so. Alas, then my wife wanted to start looking at it.
MBlanc46
Friday - December 22nd 2023 11:01AM MST
PS Number (3): My goodness, you are naughty, aren’t you?
Bill H
Friday - December 22nd 2023 8:34AM MST
PS @Hail, They are not just happy talk, they are services which the community is supposed to be delivering already, regardless. She's merely saying, "I'll do what I'm supposed to do." We should not need to hear that, we should be able to assume it.
@Mr. Moderator, the USPS fails to deliver a seriously large percentage of the mail entrusted to it. I have several providers billing me by mail, and I only receive their bills about 70% of the time. About 30% of the time the bill arrives two or more days after the bill is due, guaranteeing that I will pay it late. If someone is sending me something and I really need to be sure I get it, I tell them to send it FedEx.
@Mr. Moderator, the USPS fails to deliver a seriously large percentage of the mail entrusted to it. I have several providers billing me by mail, and I only receive their bills about 70% of the time. About 30% of the time the bill arrives two or more days after the bill is due, guaranteeing that I will pay it late. If someone is sending me something and I really need to be sure I get it, I tell them to send it FedEx.
Fred the Gator
Friday - December 22nd 2023 7:33AM MST
PS "What has four letters, sometimes has nine, and Never has five..."
I saw something like this, but I'm afraid I saw it here????
My friend said, "What starts with 'f' and ends with 'k'?"
"No it doesn't," I replied.
I saw something like this, but I'm afraid I saw it here????
My friend said, "What starts with 'f' and ends with 'k'?"
"No it doesn't," I replied.
Moderator
Thursday - December 21st 2023 7:16AM MST
PS: I figured that one out, Adam, but I think I've fallen for it before.
Yes, that sounds good, Alarmist. My brother does something like that, but not for anonymity so much - he just doesn't use it much.
Yes, that sounds good, Alarmist. My brother does something like that, but not for anonymity so much - he just doesn't use it much.
Moderator
Thursday - December 21st 2023 7:15AM MST
PS: Yep, it's just happy-talk. I don't think even the best of the local pols really have concrete plans for all that, Mr. Hail. At least they may come out on one side or the other when more of that Section 8 or other "affordable housing" is being planned. I know which side this lady would be on, cause, homies...
The best one can do, for safer roads, for example is "Yes, speed humps! We need MOAR speed humps." at the Council meetings. Hey, they're better than MOAR 4-way stop signs.
For my one vehicle that does the worst with the speed humps (sorry, not bumps), the trick is to get the right side wheels up onto the street shoulder, beyond where the hump ends. Otherwise, some of these are vicious for that car - I've got to remember which one I'm driving and have a speed in mind for each hump.
The best one can do, for safer roads, for example is "Yes, speed humps! We need MOAR speed humps." at the Council meetings. Hey, they're better than MOAR 4-way stop signs.
For my one vehicle that does the worst with the speed humps (sorry, not bumps), the trick is to get the right side wheels up onto the street shoulder, beyond where the hump ends. Otherwise, some of these are vicious for that car - I've got to remember which one I'm driving and have a speed in mind for each hump.
The Alarmist
Thursday - December 21st 2023 5:47AM MST
PS
I use a “pay as you go” monthly phone service, and I buy top-up vouchers with cash.
They don’t know me from Adam ;)
🕉
I use a “pay as you go” monthly phone service, and I buy top-up vouchers with cash.
They don’t know me from Adam ;)
🕉
Adam Smith
Thursday - December 21st 2023 5:28AM MST
PS: Good morning, everyone!
What has four letters, sometimes has nine, and Never has five...
Cheers! ☮️
What has four letters, sometimes has nine, and Never has five...
Cheers! ☮️
Hail
Thursday - December 21st 2023 1:47AM MST
PS
"Our area "deserves" results such as: ... Safer Communities and Less Crime, Safer Roads, Cleaner Communities, Less Illegal Dumping, Better Housing Opportunities, Less [sic] Abandoned Properties..."
None of these are are even close to policy proposals. They are just happy-talk slogans. What are the policies she supports? Who knows?
"Our area "deserves" results such as: ... Safer Communities and Less Crime, Safer Roads, Cleaner Communities, Less Illegal Dumping, Better Housing Opportunities, Less [sic] Abandoned Properties..."
None of these are are even close to policy proposals. They are just happy-talk slogans. What are the policies she supports? Who knows?
What rhymes with but, cut, glut, gut, hut, jut, mutt, nut, putt, rut, and slut.
Cheers! ☮️