thanks Obama!

[dalesys]

... Now I feel like a Ford Edsel

My teen years bedside radio was salvaged from an Edsel. A Hybrid. One transistor for the power output and low-voltage (12VDC plate!) tubes for the other stages.

[Teefies2]

Agreed.

I remember when the BBB had both funding, and the respect of many businesses, as well. Since the 90's, I simply recall hearing about them less and less and less, until today, when they've pretty much become pre-internet Yelp (tho i think they're still better than Yelp has ever been). I'm sad to have witnessed their gradual decline

And to make me even sadder, I mentioned to a *young* coworker recently that I had worked for the BBB, and she said ....

"What's the Better Business Bureau?" This coworker was about 25 years old! Now I feel like a Ford Edsel

[Dreamstalker]

We visited the Grand Canyon in January, and saw a LOT of people who evidently thought "Arizona! Desert! HOT!" and packed nothing but shorts, tees, and flipflops. They'd dash out of the car, take a couple of hasty pictures, and dash back. It must happen every year, all winter.

When I was an undergrad, my dad and I decided to drive up through Colorado and visit a few of the parks (drive up to CO, cross into UT for a bit then return through AZ). This was mid-April.

While the weather is picture-perfect through Ghost Ranch and northern NM, we cross into CO and the start of a massive blizzard; roads closed, chains required to get any further on our original route, etc. Seemed like the second we hit the state line it started blowing snow. So we hole up in a hotel in Durango to recalculate everything. The one thing I remember about that trip is losing the shocks on the SUV outside Monticello UT; of course it was just above freezing and we only had light jackets. Somehow we survived.

This was before GPS and weather apps became common and we had dumb cellphones.

[EricKei]

Agreed.

I remember when the BBB had both funding, and the respect of many businesses, as well. Since the 90's, I simply recall hearing about them less and less and less, until today, when they've pretty much become pre-internet Yelp (tho i think they're still better than Yelp has ever been). I'm sad to have witnessed their gradual decline

[Teefies2]

"What a lovely woman Sad that she still imagines that the BBB is relevant and/or has some sort of enforcement power."


This makes me sad. I was VP/Operations for the BBB in 2 different cities in the 80s, and we actually *were* relevant. We didn't have (never did have) any enforcement powers, but we did make a difference. I believed in what the BBB stood for and, in fact, had planned on spending my career there. Unfortunately, the 90s happened, funding died, and the BBB became "irrelevant".

It's a shame though, because the BBB went a long way in keeping businesses a least a little bit "honest". If there was a scam, we called it - most of the time WAY before thousands of people got ripped off. Now, millions of dollars are lost before law enforcement/DA/etc do anything about it.

Sorry - stepping off my soapbox now :/

[EricKei]

What a lovely woman Sad that she still imagines that the BBB is relevant and/or has some sort of enforcement power.

I encountered the "unprepared tourist" thing back in New Orleans on occasion, as well. I'll grant that "near-freezing" as a low temp is something that typically happens maybe 4~7 days per year at most, that doesn't change the fact that it's still incredibly humid there year-round. That same oppressive humidity that makes your beehive hairdo wilt as you break out into a full-body sweat 0.3 seconds after leaving an air-conditioned building (read: all of them) during our 8 months of summer also causes what cold weather we have to penetrate light jackets, jeans, and other forms of heavy winter wear as if they weren't even there. Bring a real coat if you're headed to NOLA for the Winter month, y'all!

sorry for the 2 month necro on this

No worries If the system has yet to lock any given thread, feel free to necro if you have a relevant point to add (and you do ) or a relevant question to ask. We'd rather have epic threads than redundant ones. If it's been locked (which takes a loooong time with no posts whatsoever), just make a new thread and link to the old one.

[Cai1987]

Yes and no. I live in the desert. If I tell you to bring a jacket because it will get cold, you need to remember that my idea of cold could be much different than your idea of cold. I just put on a heavy jacket, gloves and snow boots to do some yard work. Its currently 45F, which is shorts weather for the local snowbirds.

That happened to me a couple weeks ago. We just moved from Pennsylvania down to North Carolina (to stay with my mom for a while). Our bedroom was too warm, so I opened a window. In the morning, my mom freaked out that I opened it, because she had turned on the heat and we were wasting electricity.

"what? why would you put the heat on in this weather?!"

"It dropped into the 50s last night! It was cold!"

Yeah, see, in PA, we turn the heat OFF when it gets that warm.

[WishfulSpirit]

Happens in reverse here in Colorado. People bring windbreakers and whine about how hot it is in Denver. In August. Yeah we're on the plains dumbass. If you want cool weather you're going to have to go to Aspen or Vail or somewhere else in the mountains.

[Iceleopard]

Newbie here. Now I'm wondering how many people threaten to sue the National Park service for cold and snow. We visited the Grand Canyon in January, and saw a LOT of people who evidently thought "Arizona! Desert! HOT!" and packed nothing but shorts, tees, and flipflops. They'd dash out of the car, take a couple of hasty pictures, and dash back. It must happen every year, all winter.

[eltf177]

What an idiot. I'm glad corporate laughed at her, and what does she think the BBB will accomplish?

Give it a rest and find something better to do...

[katzklaw]

sorry for the 2 month necro on this, but apparently the lawyers laughed in her face and now she's trying the BBB again... we JUST got a notice today that she'd reported us to the BBB complaining about her water not working... oh and apparently now the stove didn't work either (which she never mentioned to me once).

i look forward to seeing what the managers/owners response will be.

[katzklaw]

lol. it happened in the mountains of northern CA. average temperature this time of year: right around freezing. the person who is the object of ridicule in this story lives in a city that is one hour away, but due to elevation difference is so much warmer they have freakin palm trees growing there. average temperature this time of year: around 50ish. people come up here because "it's so beautiful." (and it IS beautiful) some of them seem to forget that that beauty is harsh if you're actually in it, and not just looking at a postcard.

the boss described what she was saying as almost like she could not conceive that it could possibly get that cold anywhere in the world. that the fact that it got cold enough to freeze her pipes was ludicrous... how could anyone possibly live there?!? how could anyone subject someone else to that?

this isn't the coldest winter we've tried to suffer through in our camper. it's actually been remarkably pleasant for the most part...,just a few dips into the teens. yeah our water has frozen a couple times. ehh. crap happens. just meant i needed to go to the office to get water for hubby's coffee in the morning. also meant we needed to insulate our hose better, which we have now done, and not experienced any more freezing ^_^

[Sparklyturtle]

If this took place in the northern hemisphere, did she happen to notice that it was winter?

[katzklaw]

Oh this person came and stayed both nights she'd reserved... She wanted her money back because it got cold.

[notalwaysright]

$100? O.o dang. The local shelter adopts cats out for 35 bucks.

I understand that shelters want to make sure the pet is adopted into a good home, but some seem to have gone a little far. I haven't had personal experience with the one in this county, but I've heard it described as "harder to get a dog than it would be to adopt a child." Again, I totally am behind the idea of not giving a St Bernard to someone living in a small apartment. But if the rep of the shelter gets so bad that nobody even tries, that's also counterproductive. It's actually quite hard to get a kitten around here. If I was looking for another animal I would 100% go for an adult, as they are the one's in need.

Aaaand, back to the thread. I hope that if she tries to sue you can keep us updated. If having a non-refundable deposit was illegal, than pretty much all hotels are breaking the law.