Undesirables

[protege]

I think I've posted about one of the hobby shop regulars before... This would be John, the annoying twit who bought nothing, and did nothing but annoy customers and waste the owner's time. It didn't matter when I'd go over there, there he was.

This guy, would spend hours leaning on the model train case about 10 feet from the door, and dispensing his knowledge about Pennsylvania Railroad steam locomotives...whether the recipient of said knowledge wanted it or not. While the owner was a train buff, he really didn't have the time to shoot the breeze. No, he was more interested helping paying customers than dealing with someone who, to my knowledge, never bought a damn thing.

Then there was the smell. Either John constantly shit his pants, or hadn't taken a shower since 1982. Whatever it was, seemed to stink up the entire building when he was around. Trust me, it was nasty enough, that you'd smell it about 20 minutes before he arrived If the smell wasn't enough, he'd sometimes be seen wearing the same shirt he did the week before, complete with food stains. Again, barf!

The last time I had to deal with him, was right before the store moved a few blocks away. Even though it was only a few blocks, since John lacked a car...he no longer stunk up the place.

[KellyHabersham]

It could be she's emptying a colostomy bag. My mum went in the disabled after a gentleman did this, and the smell was appalling. It did linger around him as he left as well, since he'd had no choice but to stand there marinating while he emptied it.

Maybe it's something diet-related? Not to get into "TMI mode", but my mom's been known to leave very strong/nasty poop-related smells in the bathroom, she doesn't have a medical condition that might contribute to this, so the only cause I can figure out is it's something she's eating.

[notalwaysright]

Urg, there's this lady that has the longest fake nails I've ever seen. I would guess 3.5". They are beat up, and I can see the nail underneath, along with splotchy glue and dirt. She always has a tiny dog, and complains about everything. She has chronic pain, she can't afford anything (then why are you buying see-through polyester fabric which is used for scarves?) and why can't we do this or that. Like, why can't we just give her the coupons, or give her a "bolt discount" for buying a whole bolt of fabric.

She's not flat out rude or mean, just a giant hassle that sucks all the energy out of me.

[Marmalady]

The trouble is that we are only supposed to use the products supplied by the company. And given that these are about as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike, it can be very hard to get the bathrooms as fresh and fragrant as we would like

[WishfulSpirit]

Oxyclean or hydrogen peroxide is great for odors as well. The oxyegen molecules actually chemically deactivate thails (the compounds that make skunk smell, feces and some species of rot smell bad). We've used it on the floor when Doggie has had an accident and it removes it well enough that he isn't drawn to re-mark, and since he's blind, he relies on his nose even more than most dogs do.

[prjkt]

Lemon juice actually does "erase" bad odours sometimes, leaving a half-cut lemon in a smelly fridge will kill it, something about thr citric acid particles that vaporise into the surrounding air actually breaking up the things that cause odours, it's kind of cool actually

[ladyjaneinmd]

Here you go: http://citrusmagic.beaumontproducts.com/
This stuff is the best thing I've ever come across to help with those smells. It doesn't just cover up the bad smell with a bright citrusy smell - it actually seems to make them go away. I swear by it. You don't want to know why.

[greek_jester]

There's this little old lady who we generally see in store a couple of times a week. She never comes in without visiting the disabled bathroom. And the smell she leaves behind is.... well, put it this way - the other day, I walked past the door and thought, 'There is something truly appalling in there waiting for me to clean up'

There must be something medically wrong, I'm sure of it, and I do feel so sorry for her, but... oh dear.

It could be she's emptying a colostomy bag. My mum went in the disabled after a gentleman did this, and the smell was appalling. It did linger around him as he left as well, since he'd had no choice but to stand there marinating while he emptied it.

[Marmalady]

We have a few regulars who, for reasons completely unknown, always smell like shit or something close to it.

Oh, lordy.

There's this little old lady who we generally see in store a couple of times a week. She never comes in without visiting the disabled bathroom. And the smell she leaves behind is.... well, put it this way - the other day, I walked past the door and thought, 'There is something truly appalling in there waiting for me to clean up'

But when I opened the door.... nothing. Floor, toilet, all appeared normal. Yet the stink was utterly horrific. I nipped out to the desk and asked if I could borrow their can of air freshener (there are wall mounted fresheners in each bathroom, which give out timed releases of fragrance, but I figured this needed direct action) According to the till operators, they all dread her choosing their till - her age makes her slow, and they have no option but to sit there and try not to breathe.

There must be something medically wrong, I'm sure of it, and I do feel so sorry for her, but... oh dear.

[Dreamstalker]

There's a certain subset of the population who loves to complain about prices and sales, and scam as much as they can. I answer them simply and walk away (while still keeping a close eye on them) so as not to get sucked into their insanity vortex.

We have a few regulars who, for reasons completely unknown, always smell like shit or something close to it. They're all oblivious to it, and always have some issue at SCO which requires an attendant to be in their gas cloud for at least two minutes. Most of them are civil however and nowhere near as bad as...

The one known only as Pee Lady or Urinetown. Yes, she has become an actual customer by occasionally buying something (usually from the deli case--deli manager has said something on more than one occasion but she remains un-banned...I don't know if customers have complained). Woe is the cashier/bagger that has to deal with her...anyone who gets her will shut down immediately afterwards and go on the loading dock to get some air before using Lysol "hospital wipes" on the entire register. My chest gets tight if she's within two aisles and if you see someone spraying Febreeze wildly around the store, that's why. We don't know if she's actually homeless; nobody ever sees her at night or on public transit but I can't imagine a shelter or bus/train driver putting up with the aroma.

[flyonthewall]

We have some regulars who don't buy enough to justify their maintenance. Constant returns, complaints, needy, trying to get special deals, etc. There's one lady who will badger associates to get her special markdowns.. Say things like, "Meet me in the ____ section during your break so we can discuss this in private!"

WTF, it'd be nice if these annoying parasites would GO AWAY. Pretending to like these people is exhausting. I want to murder them.

[Geek King]

No question of which is a better camera.

Well, I'd still be wary. I've seen some very expensive turds.

But you're right, a specialized device is quite likely to be better than something that tries to be everything.

[Racket_Man]

, operate as a GPS, .

Not entirely true in a manner of speaking. Even the $300 lower end digital camera I bought a couple of years ago has built in GPS stuff/receiver for geographically marking a photo or video (option to turn it off and on) but obviously this can not be used to plot a trip.

[prjkt]

I think he was confusing "depth of field" with sharpness - which basically means the amount of distance where objects in front and behind the focal point appear sharp - the smaller the sensor (phone cameras are probably no more than a mm or so, the deeper the depth of field. A "full frame" SLR like the one I regularly use has a 35mm sensor, and I sometimes struggle to get what I want all in focus, so I go back to my backup with a 24mm sensor. It was still he strangest photographic technology conversation I'd ever had more than once.

[wolfie]

Let's see. $1k phone (assume he's dealing with a top-end PhrootFone or a Galaxy) which includes a camera. Manufacturer needs to put in either a fast (expensive) lens and a focusing mechanism, or a slow (cheap) lens with enough depth of field to handle 95% of all photos. They also need to put moolah into the specialized phone circuitry, and what's basically a general-purpose computer.

$2k DSLR. Doesn't need to be able to make phone calls, operate as a GPS, or be a general-purpose computer. Start with twice the budget, and it ALL goes into the camera function.

No question of which is a better camera.