.....Why I'm glad I got out of the civilian job market.
(Though I'm getting to the point I'll have stories about encounters with officers at some point... There almost as bad.)
PrincessKatieAirHostess thread about luggage reminded me of some more pet peeves and gripes from my Greyhound days.
For a quick rundown- Greyhound baggage policy states you're allowed to bring 100 pounds with you per the price of a ticket.
This breaks down into two items: 50-50 or 60-40, etc.
Invariably I'd always sigh inwardly when someone would automatically tell me that "You don't need to weigh that! It's just clothes!"
Ah... Clothing... One of the heaviest items around.
I encountered enough to where I could tell how much a bag weighed simply by picking it up.
"How much does that weigh?"
"Oh, it's only 40 pounds. Can you put it on the scale for me?"
*PG lifts with a grunt*
"Sir/Mam', this bag weighs 80 pounds!"
*Insert blustering disbelief here until I drop it on the scale and it clocks in at 83 pounds*
"Yeah, your going to have to repack this."
Invariably you'd end up with that one person who would scream, whine and moan about how there was no way possible that they were going to repack the bag... Until it was pointed out that I would have to charge them for the extra luggage.
Something more amusing than hassle though, was the number of times I saw someone literally moving via Greyhound.
They would pay for the extra luggage, but I swear this one family had twenty wrapped items that was set to go with them.
And of course, luggage stories wouldnt be complete without the lost items tales.
Like the genius who called us routinely, daily, without fail for two months to gripe-
Apparently a foreign exchange student from Japan had a expensive laptop and Hard-shell backpack with them when they got on the bus and not when they reached their destination.... What were we going to do about it!
Well, considering the guy was calling from New York and didnt know at which point the bag had been stolen from it's start in Washington State, sadly, there wasnt a lot we could do.
Or the memorable one that started the moment this large black woman got of the bus and into the terminal. .... Commence with the yelling, the screaming, the tantrum of basic basicness in which she's getting a lawyer, she's going to sue, she had to wait for her son, blah-da-da, fiddle-dee-dee, tell someone who cares.
When she finally comes back from Planet Setroidal Rage, I gave her one of our compensation/lost-luggage sheets and thus the fun began.
These sheets are simple forms. Write down what you lost and a description and if it comes in, we'll get it to you. If not, Greyhound can compensate you for the loss.
Mind you, you need valid baggage claims, which amusingly enough, she had.
That list read like a whos'who Gucci shopping list.
300$ wardrobe items, 100$ Nikes, 200$ Evening Shoes, X amount of assorted jewlery, Exspensive CD Players, etc. etc. And all contained within a large, brand-name leather luggage case.
I have never seen a form more completely filled on both sides, including the blank side. This lady was claiming 3,000+ dollars worth of missing luggage.
There was a slightly good turn to this tale.
Though it was late by a couple of weeks, her "luggage" did indeed make it to our station. Heh... The "luggage" that caused all of this high-priced fuss and daily phone calls to belittle us about how poorly we did our jobs?
One battered, beat-up, ratty black backpack with a dying pair of sneakers and some change of underwear and shirt.
Forget the expensive items, it wasnt even big enough to hold half the crap she had listed!
We got her bag back to her, but alas, she did not get the free wardrobe she'd envisioned.
(Though I'm getting to the point I'll have stories about encounters with officers at some point... There almost as bad.)
PrincessKatieAirHostess thread about luggage reminded me of some more pet peeves and gripes from my Greyhound days.
For a quick rundown- Greyhound baggage policy states you're allowed to bring 100 pounds with you per the price of a ticket.
This breaks down into two items: 50-50 or 60-40, etc.
Invariably I'd always sigh inwardly when someone would automatically tell me that "You don't need to weigh that! It's just clothes!"
Ah... Clothing... One of the heaviest items around.
I encountered enough to where I could tell how much a bag weighed simply by picking it up.
"How much does that weigh?"
"Oh, it's only 40 pounds. Can you put it on the scale for me?"
*PG lifts with a grunt*
"Sir/Mam', this bag weighs 80 pounds!"
*Insert blustering disbelief here until I drop it on the scale and it clocks in at 83 pounds*
"Yeah, your going to have to repack this."
Invariably you'd end up with that one person who would scream, whine and moan about how there was no way possible that they were going to repack the bag... Until it was pointed out that I would have to charge them for the extra luggage.
Something more amusing than hassle though, was the number of times I saw someone literally moving via Greyhound.
They would pay for the extra luggage, but I swear this one family had twenty wrapped items that was set to go with them.
And of course, luggage stories wouldnt be complete without the lost items tales.
Like the genius who called us routinely, daily, without fail for two months to gripe-
Apparently a foreign exchange student from Japan had a expensive laptop and Hard-shell backpack with them when they got on the bus and not when they reached their destination.... What were we going to do about it!
Well, considering the guy was calling from New York and didnt know at which point the bag had been stolen from it's start in Washington State, sadly, there wasnt a lot we could do.
Or the memorable one that started the moment this large black woman got of the bus and into the terminal. .... Commence with the yelling, the screaming, the tantrum of basic basicness in which she's getting a lawyer, she's going to sue, she had to wait for her son, blah-da-da, fiddle-dee-dee, tell someone who cares.
When she finally comes back from Planet Setroidal Rage, I gave her one of our compensation/lost-luggage sheets and thus the fun began.
These sheets are simple forms. Write down what you lost and a description and if it comes in, we'll get it to you. If not, Greyhound can compensate you for the loss.
Mind you, you need valid baggage claims, which amusingly enough, she had.
That list read like a whos'who Gucci shopping list.
300$ wardrobe items, 100$ Nikes, 200$ Evening Shoes, X amount of assorted jewlery, Exspensive CD Players, etc. etc. And all contained within a large, brand-name leather luggage case.
I have never seen a form more completely filled on both sides, including the blank side. This lady was claiming 3,000+ dollars worth of missing luggage.
There was a slightly good turn to this tale.
Though it was late by a couple of weeks, her "luggage" did indeed make it to our station. Heh... The "luggage" that caused all of this high-priced fuss and daily phone calls to belittle us about how poorly we did our jobs?
One battered, beat-up, ratty black backpack with a dying pair of sneakers and some change of underwear and shirt.
Forget the expensive items, it wasnt even big enough to hold half the crap she had listed!
We got her bag back to her, but alas, she did not get the free wardrobe she'd envisioned.
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