Penny-Pinchers, Lawyers and Druggies! Oh my!

[siskaren]

I call em' Dunning-Kruger people.

Look it up!

Wow, there's a word for that!

[bhskittykatt]

Recently, I've had to had a couple cars towed (mine when the car door caught fire and I had to tow it to a shop; Hubby's when he hit a snowy patch and wiped out in the Interstate median and needed to just get unstuck), and used 2 different tow companies, and Mint.com registered both charges as "Parking". I thought that was kind of odd, since it wasn't really parking at all. Then I remembered your customers, Argabarga, and suddenly it all began to make sense why they'd classify tow companies like that...

[RealUnimportant]

Not to threadjack, but what's the shortest distance you have towed someone from the original offense to the car pound?

If memory serves, Arga's tow company is responsible for a lot directly over the road from their yard; given the width of some US streets, I'd guess this means about 50 feet or less.

[protege]

Shortest distance for me was the Tercel...after I blew out a tire. I was pulling into a parallel spot, and was more concerned about hitting the other cars than the curb. A high curb meant that I couldn't get the jack in place. So I moved the car to the other side of the street...where it promptly got stuck in mud! All I needed was a few feet so I could change the damn tire. The driver insisted on changing the tire, so I slipped him a few bucks--AAA picked up the rest of the tab.

The longest was the Corolla on Thursday night. After work, the car wouldn't start. The key was worn *just* enough that it wouldn't turn. By the time we figured that out, I'd already accidentally engaged the steering lock. No option but to tow the car the 17 miles across town to the dealer. Again, I slipped the driver a few extra bucks, since it was cold, and getting that car secured (the wheels were stuck) was a pain.

[Shalom]

Wow, there's a word for that!

I read the pikiwedia article, but it seems to boil down to "too stupid to even know they're too stupid".

[wolfie]

After work, the car wouldn't start. The key was worn *just* enough that it wouldn't turn.

PSA: keys are made of brass, the tumblers are made of steel. Clearly, the key will wear faster than the lock. For every lock you have, keep an original key that is used ONLY to make copies, and use the copies as your "everyday" keys. When the keys wear too far to work properly, you can then make replacements from an unworn key, rather than have the person operating the cutter try to compensate for wear when cutting a new key.

[Shalom]

PSA: keys are made of brass, the tumblers are made of steel. Clearly, the key will wear faster than the lock. For every lock you have, keep an original key that is used ONLY to make copies, and use the copies as your "everyday" keys. When the keys wear too far to work properly, you can then make replacements from an unworn key, rather than have the person operating the cutter try to compensate for wear when cutting a new key.

Unless things have changed recently, it's the opposite. Tumblers are brass, original keys (on most Euro cars) are steel. Brass wears out; steel snaps. (So does brass if you cut it low enough; more anon.)

(Most replacement/aftermarket blanks are brass, though, because steel wrecks cutters unless you have a carbide one or feed it REALLY slowly and carefully. I didn't have any steel keys in stock except the Borkey 1477, which at the time wasn't available from any other manufacturer. This only fit the Mercedes 1117 box truck, which was mostly used by Pepsi distributors and practically nobody else, so I didn't have that many in stock.)

We used to run into many problems with the old SAAB 900 and earlier cars, though, because the original steel keys could be cut really thin, but brass replacement keys if cut to a #4 depth would break off in the lock, and old SAAB ignition cylinders were a pain in the @$$ to remove. Especially if you didn't have a working key to start with.

And if the guy making the key knows what he's doing (e.g. me, back in the '80s when I did automotive locksmithing fulltime), he can originate a key to the manufacturer's specifications that will work better than the one you gave me. It'll cost you, though. Still a good idea to keep an unused original, though.

[Jester]

OH there's plenty of student parking, we're a nationally recognized sports university, so there's TONS of unused stadium parking for all but a handful of days a year.

problem is, that's all the way out at the STADIUM, and I'll have to walk or bike or use the free bus pass I got when I purchased stadium parking, and that could add ten or even FIFTEEN minutes of planning/work to my schedule!

Sounds a lot like my school. At ASU it was the dreaded Lot 59, which was on the northern end of campus next to the stadium and sports arena. It was the largest and cheapest parking lot, and the one everyone hated, because while it was technically of campus, it wasn't exactly convenient for getting to class quickly. Especially when people are lazy, and the campus is in the middle of the desert where it often tops 110F in the shade...and there wasn't a whole hell of a lot of shade.

Me, I never had to deal with Lot 59. Why? Because I never got a parking pass of any kind. My first two years at ASU, I lived in the southern dorms, and biked to all my classes, leaving my car in the dorm parking lot. After that, I parked in the parking lot of my apartment complex, which was just half a mile from campus, and again biked to all my classes. And my complex was actually further from most of the campus than Lot 59. But then, I'm not a lazy whiner, and found that bicycling was the most efficient way to get around campus anyway.

But what if I had lived further away than I did? I would have paid the cheapest amount possible and gotten a pass for Lot 59, and locked one of my many bicycles at a bike rack at Lot 59, so when I parked, I would just hop on the bike and head to class, and when I was done at school, ride the bike back to Lot 59, lock it up, get in my car, and go the fuck home. Why? Because I'm not a lazy whiner.

The first lady is one of those who thinks she's intelligent but really isn't. (Is there a name for this type of person? Besides Sucky Customer, that is...)

Idiot. Imbecile. Moron. Fucktard. Ass clown. Douchebag. Dimwit. Witless. Stupid. Douche canoe. Fucktrumpet. Asstard. Asshole. Jerk. Dip. Dipshit. Shithead. Dummy. Dim. Empty headed. Twit. Brainless. Brain dead. Mental midget. And of course, frat boy.

[XCashier]

Idiot. Imbecile. Moron. Fucktard. Ass clown. Douchebag. Dimwit. Witless. Stupid. Douche canoe. Fucktrumpet. Asstard. Asshole. Jerk. Dip. Dipshit. Shithead. Dummy. Dim. Empty headed. Twit. Brainless. Brain dead. Mental midget. And of course, frat boy.

Yes, of course. But what I meant was: is there a scientific/psychological term for people like this? Dunning-Kruger is a good term. I dunno, maybe I'm just overthinking this (my inner science nerd is showing!). Perhaps someday Science can give these people the help they need. Or just them until their brains slip back into gear.

[Jester]

You're right. You're overthinking this. Sometimes an idiot is just an idiot.

[wolfie]

Unless things have changed recently, it's the opposite. Tumblers are brass, original keys (on most Euro cars) are steel. Brass wears out; steel snaps. (So does brass if you cut it low enough; more anon.)

Speaking from experience. Last summer, I needed to put new locks in my truck. The disc tumblers were steel, and the original keys that came with the new locks, while silver-coloured, were non-magnetic (I assume brass chromed after cutting).

Or just them until their brains slip back into gear.

Their brains are already in gear - "Georgia Overdrive" to be precise.

[sms001]

Lady - "You have to! It's legal tender!"

Ya know, we hear this one so much, it's yet more proof that people just don't use common sense. Coca-Cola doesn't HAVE TO take, say, twenties in their vending machines, and they don't. It's getting pretty darn hard to find a c-store that'll take a fifty these days too. "Legal Tender." I don't think that means what they think it means....

[re.: Hee Haw]
GAAHHH!!! NOOOO!!! Anything but that!

Not a big country music fan, but there was some MAJOR talent on that show. Roy Clark and Buck Owens were rather incredible at what they did, and ya gotta respect that. (Not to mention those Hee Haw Honeys. )

[veniteangeli]

The first lady is one of those who thinks she's intelligent but really isn't. (Is there a name for this type of person?

I think the word you're looking for is "customer".

[Argabarga]

Unless things have changed recently, it's the opposite. Tumblers are brass, original keys (on most Euro cars) are steel..

You just described what happened to my old Taurus, the tumblers wore out so that there was enough play in them that you didn't even need the key, you could just turn the lock cylinder and the car would start right up 9 times out of 10, only needing the key if you deliberately went all the way back to accessory position.

Eventually, one of the tumblers went cock-eyed in the lock, and it refused to turn, even with the key, unless you used some excessive force, to the point that I could feel the steel key starting to bend...

That's when I came to my senses and just got a new ignition lock installed

Sounds a lot like my school. At ASU it was the dreaded Lot 59,

Here, it's Lot 44

Same thing, out at the stadium, but, opposite problem, lazy people don't want to bike/wait for a bus when it's 4 degrees out and snowing.

I have the same general feeling about them as you do. Plan ahead, you're failure to think of contingencies doesn't entitle you to break rules when you find yourself in a bind.

Back when I was a student, I had a pickup truck and a bicycle, and even with a Lot 44 permit, I was never more than 15 minutes at most from class, even on the furthest corner of campus, as it was all downhill from 44.

Now, getting BACK after a day of class? that kinda stunk somedays.

Half or better of the cars we get from the burger place, look inside and you'll see, hanging from the rearview, a red/white "44" card. At least the buildings immediately across the street are the Engineering and Geology schools, not the law/business colleges, so there's a tiny bit of hope.

Lazy asses get what they deserve.

[Jester]

I was never more than 15 minutes at most from class, even on the furthest corner of campus, as it was all downhill from 44.

Now, getting BACK after a day of class? that kinda stunk somedays.

Now there's a problem Sun Devils don't really have to deal with, as there are no major hills on campus, and very few of any consequence in surrounding Tempe. A few slopes, sure. But the biggest "hill" one might have to deal with on any given day on campus was the University Bridge, which was a pedestrian bridge over University Drive. And bicycles were definitely not to be ridden over it, and such activity was discouraged by steps on the bottom of each ramp. Not that that stopped us hellbent, cyclists, mind you, though most of us would just say fuck it and cross. University at a light, or at a break in traffic. But honestly, getting on your bike at the top of the Univeristy Bridge and riding down it, even over the lesser steps, and hauling ass down Palm Walk through and around the pedestrians? Worth pushing your bike up the bridge in the first place!

Sorry. Bit of college reminiscing there. We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread.....




Go Devils!