Sucktomer Random Thoughts Thread

[Slave to the Phone]

Dear customers

Please do not throw the office phones out the window. It upsets children and gets glass in the bushes that I was planning on taking cuttings from.

Thank you,
Slave

(Lavender bottlebrush bushes. I have been enjoying watching the butterflies on them all summer and got permission to take cuttings so I could have a few of my own. They are very bushy and now I'm afraid to stick my hands in them because I won't be able to see the shards of glass.)

[RealUnimportant]

Your confrence starting at 1pm does not mean you can all magically check in at 11am.

I went to a one-and-two-half-days conference a couple years back - the idea was we'd all arrive before noon on day 1 and have introductions after lunch, seminars all day 2, then summarise in the morning on the third day. Due to the fact a lot of us were travelling in from way off, many early check-ins were requested, but the majority of those affected simply left their luggage with the front desk as there was no way they could have so many rooms open for us so soon after checkout time. Unsurprisingly, it worked very well and no-one who took proper advantage of the service was inconvenienced... I do recall a couple of idiots, but they got shut down by their colleagues and other delegates, and also unsurprisingly I've never seen them at another one of these events since!

[WishfulSpirit]

Your confrence starting at 1pm does not mean you can all magically check in at 11am. Whining about how you "need to change" isn't going to convince me to pull a clean room out my arse. The stalls in the bathroom have hooks. Go change in there like I do twice every day.

[Dreamstalker]

My stock cart is not a table or bench. Do NOT move or even touch the boxes. I can see you have a cane but you cannot sit or lean here, it moves and even though cameras/witnesses will back me up I don't want to get sucked into the drama of you falling.

That also goes for any displays that happen to be empty. They were designed to hold product, not people (if those crates can't hold me--yes we tested this--they definitely won't hold you). It's not actually my problem that there's nowhere to sit, if you ask a server very nicely they might let you sit down at an unbooked table as long as it's not busy. Or go focus your wrath on a few of the office-types that think this is their personal Starbucks.

[Slave to the Phone]

Since I tend to use my own grocery bags these days, I started running low on plastic grocery bags, so I asked for them on Freecycle. I ended up with enough to last me for at least a year, proving once again that one man's trash really is another man's treasure.

I did almost the same thing, ran out of plastic grocery bags and asked for some at work. Everyone was very happy to give me their extra bags.

Racket_Man, don't throw those peels and skins away! Put them in a re-sealable freezer bag, toss them in the freezer and keep them for making stock! (Of course you wash everything thoroughly before you peel/cut/whatever, so they are really very safe to use.)

[ladyjaneinmd]

YES I can attest this

Small trash can liner CHECK
Easy food disposal after peeling potatoes or onions CHECK
Free bags for picking up after Miss Doggie Poops-A-Lot Double Check

I have at least 4 little trash cans at home that were bought specifically because they fit those grocery bags perfectly. And I use the bags for kitty litter as well.

Since I tend to use my own grocery bags these days, I started running low on plastic grocery bags, so I asked for them on Freecycle. I ended up with enough to last me for at least a year, proving once again that one man's trash really is another man's treasure.

[Food Lady]

That way people will have to use reusable bags that provide a breeding ground for dangerous pathogens!"

At least they are washable. I think the problem is that people don't wash them often enough. I personally use paper at the grocery store so I can put my recycling in them later. The whole thing goes in the bin.

[Racket_Man]

Not to mention, those disposable plastic grocery bags are useful for all kinds of things around the house. Lining small trash cans, carrying away used kitty litter, that kind of stuff.

YES I can attest this

Small trash can liner CHECK
Easy food disposal after peeling potatoes or onions CHECK
Free bags for picking up after Miss Doggie Poops-A-Lot Double Check

[Deserted]

Those plastic bags were originally meant to save lumber, but turned out to be a major environmental hazard in their own right. Well, we've already got ocean bacteria that have learned to eat plastic, it's a matter of time before the soil bacteria do... or somebody engineers some that can.

It's been a thing for a while. Just google bacteria eats plastic or similar.

[TheSHAD0W]

Paper bags and paper towels that aren't made from scrap sawdust are now made from new growth trees farmed especially for the purpose. These trees grow like weeds and the wood they produce isn't good for much else.

Your opinion on man-made climate change may vary, but if you believe in global warming, note that using paper bags/towels and then disposing of them in a landfill sequesters carbon and lessens the effect.

[Mental_Mouse]

For what it's worth, those bag bans make me want to flip a bus too, and I don't even live near any. Especially since plastic bags were the environmentalists' idea in the first place.

"Oh we can't keep cutting trees for paper, we'll kill all the trees! We have to use plastic!" *years pass* "We have to stop using plastic bags 'cause they don't biodegrade! We're going to force all the retailers & service providers to charge extra for them! That way people will have to use reusable bags that provide a breeding ground for dangerous pathogens!"

Those plastic bags were originally meant to save lumber, but turned out to be a major environmental hazard in their own right. Well, we've already got ocean bacteria that have learned to eat plastic, it's a matter of time before the soil bacteria do... or somebody engineers some that can.

Mostly these days I use Chicobags, which I love the hell out of. These are reusable, sturdy, nylon bags in several styles and sizes, all of which easily pack into an inside pocket of the bag, and they pack up small.

My oldest Chicobag is at least 10 years old, and showing some signs of stretching at the seams, so a couple of years ago I bought a bunch more. Turns out they've since made them even sturdier, and in lots of colors.

[notalwaysright]

I've never had any issue with giving up plastic bags, and I think the idea is not to replace them with paper, but to stop using disposable ones. So some stores around here charge $.10 for a thick reusable plastic bag, and don't offer any paper bags at all. *shrugs* Eventually maybe we'll get it right.

If people really want tons of free candy, they could bring along trick or treating bags/buckets, but that would probably be a small inconvenience.

[Dreamstalker]

Paper bags are actually worse (consume far more resources). Aren't the forests used for paper/paper bags specifically planted/managed for those purposes anyway?

Sometimes mom will send me/we'll do big grocery shops in a nearby town that doesn't have a ban or charge specifically to get plastic bags (we're not jerks about it, just ask for double plastic and make sure to buy enough where the request doesn't sound weird). Our kitchen trash can is a bag frame attached to a cabinet door, and we literally do not have the space for a freestanding can that can take regular "kitchen trash" bags.

[Shotgun Chuck]

For what it's worth, those bag bans make me want to flip a bus too, and I don't even live near any. Especially since plastic bags were the environmentalists' idea in the first place.

"Oh we can't keep cutting trees for paper, we'll kill all the trees! We have to use plastic!" *years pass* "We have to stop using plastic bags 'cause they don't biodegrade! We're going to force all the retailers & service providers to charge extra for them! That way people will have to use reusable bags that provide a breeding ground for dangerous pathogens!"

Not to mention, those disposable plastic grocery bags are useful for all kinds of things around the house. Lining small trash cans, carrying away used kitty litter, that kind of stuff.

[notalwaysright]

I want to know why your kids need to have so much (free) candy that they all separately need bags? Simple solutions off the top of my head... They stuff the candy in their pockets, which is a time honored tradition. Or you parents keep the candy pooled in your bag/purse and give it out as you see fit. Or buy some bags, like normal adults. The overreaction is strong in this one.

It reminds me of the lady who got peeved off because I didn't have paper to wrap her breakable item in the color she wanted. Yes, the paper is free, and for the sole purpose of protecting a breakable item. It's NOT meant to replace wrapping paper, and the store does NOT provide gift wrapping. She asked if I had other colors and when I said no, signed dramatically and told me "fine." I even showed her the stack of paper to show that I really only had that one kind of paper. I do not miss this.