Things that baffle you? (1 Viewer)

[BobO'Link]

My wife always remarks about the women who put all their stuff on the belt, but don’t seem to know they have to pay for anything. The groceries are checked out and then they fish around through their wallets for money, coupons or credit cards, while we all wait.
Meanwhile while we were waiting in line we got all ready and have what we need in our hand.

Not to mention the ones who are paying by check and wait until they hear the total before even getting the checkbook out! When I *was* paying by check I'd always have the payee and date filled in before hearing the total.

I now always use a chip CC (fastest way to check out) that's inserted, authorized, removed, and put away long before the checker finishes and get annoyed at the people who wait for the total, then use a Debit Card but can't seem to remember their PIN. Or *that* one's no good/doesn't have enough funds, so they go through another one or two before finally getting one that works, sometimes having to dig for cash to complete the transaction.

 

[BobO'Link]

My local grocery store (Kroger) doesn’t use the “20 items or fewer” check out lane any longer- it’s either big orders, or self-scan.
I despise self-scan to the point where I’ll wait in line 30 minutes before using it that has no wait.

I won't go quite that far but I generally avoid self-scan as they're actually *slower* than going through a checker run checkout.

Most people have no clue how to quickly scan and bag items. Then when they're finished they still dig through purses/wallets looking for the right payment which takes them longer because they seem to feel the need to read the screen to know how to insert a card or cash into the proper slot.

BUT - if it's a choice between a line with one or more loaded carts and an *empty* self-checkout I'll go for the self-checkout though it annoys me that I'm not offered a discount for doing the work of a checker. And, no, you can't convince me the customer saves money by doing it themselves as that "frees that person to do other duties in the store" as most grocery stores historically under staff checkouts (and did even before self-checkouts were invented) by having stock personnel do double-duty if more checkers are needed due to a "rush" of customers.

There's a Walmart grocery here that has *zero* staffed checkouts until the 8 self-checkout lines get too long. I avoid that location if possible as there's *always* a wait to check out.

 

[Bryan^H]

I'm fast with self scan, really fast. But, I never use it unless I absolutely have to (I have a small order, and there are exactly 2 check out lanes with 4, or 6 people deep in each of them...with big orders for example).

The reason I don't use it all the time is because I'm not contributing to a lost job. I don't want to see cashiers disappear, because of the greed of grocery chain. People need jobs. It is wrong, and I will fight it as long as possible, but I fear it will be inevitable that the cashier will go the way the dinosaur in 10-20 years.

 

[Clinton McClure]

As long as grocery stores still sell tobacco, there will always be one manned checkout lane. Also, none of the self checks at either Walmart in Conway accepts cash. You can only use cash at the manned checkout lane.

 

[Jeffrey D]

As long as grocery stores still sell tobacco, there will always be one manned checkout lane. Also, none of the self checks at either Walmart in Conway accepts cash. You can only use cash at the manned checkout lane.

Good point about the tobacco.

 

[Malcolm R]

As long as grocery stores still sell tobacco, there will always be one manned checkout lane. Also, none of the self checks at either Walmart in Conway accepts cash. You can only use cash at the manned checkout lane.

And alcohol. I know this varies in some states, but here you can buy beer and wine in grocery stores.

 

[Jeffrey D]

And alcohol. I know this varies in some states, but here you can buy beer and wine in grocery stores.

Yes in Kentucky, beer and wine is also sold in grocery stores. Seems that there are separate stores for liquor here.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Here it depends on the county and then the city and then the store owner/manager. Where I used to live, the county was wet but the city was dry. I could go one city over in the same county and buy alcohol. You could get beer and wine at Kroger but no hard stuff. Walmart across the street refused to sell any alcohol. Go 45 minutes down the interstate to a different county which is wet, the city is also wet, and Walmart there sells beer.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Here it depends on the county and then the city and then the store owner. We’re I used to live, the county was wet but the city was dry. I could go one city over in the same county and buy alcohol. You could get beer and wine at Kroger but no hard stuff. Walmart across the street refused to sell any alcohol. Go 45 minutes down the interstate to a different county which is wet, the city is also wet, and Walmart there sells beer.

Yes in Kentucky, about 1/2 of the counties are dry. My county recently went wet- we actually have a brew-thru now.

 

[Kevin Hewell]

I'm baffled about the reasons some people will call the police. These are a few items from the police log recently printed in the local paper:

• There was a dirty vehicle in the neighborhood ....
• A female was sitting on the ground ....
• Someone got out of a vehicle without a shirt on and ran behind a building ....

Better wash your car and put on a shirt lest the local "Gladys Kravitz" calls the police on you.

View attachment 128983

I like how you put the original "Gladys" there.

 

[Kevin Hewell]

The "20 items or less" lane right next to the other has exactly one customer. So does this person with 4 items move to that lane get checked out in less than two minutes, or wait 15 minutes in the lane he is in?

I love how Publix has a "10 items or fewer" line. Yay for correct English.

 

[jcroy]

Eddie Trunk is a fan of this band (even though Paul is definitely not a fan of his), and Eddie says Alive was massaged in the studio to make it sound better.

At minimum, I would guess they would go back to the studio to overdub over their live mistakes. Beyond that, it is not as clear what was done (or not done) in the studio.

In a more general sense hypothetically, some "fake live" recordings could just be stuff which was recorded during the soundchecks, where the "live cheering" noises are added in later in the studio mixdown. (For example).

 

[TJPC]

We live about one hour from the border, and go across about once a week to shop,eat, and go to the casino. Our dollar is only .77 American right now, so we have to be careful. My wife is a bargain hunter, and we are still able to find many things that are 1/2 price next to what we pay at home, as well as items unavailable in Canada at any price.

My question here is why Americans are not streaming into Canada to shop. I used to buy my Blu rays in the states, but now find a strange anomaly. First of all, the selection at Targer and Walmart is truly pathetic, and consist of only a few of the latest movies. Yesterday I found the latest Doctor Strange blu for $24.95 us. That is the same price at the Canadian Walmart and Amazon.ca! Wouldn't it be best for Americans to shop in Canada?

 

[Jeffrey D]

We live about one hour from the border, and go across about once a week to shop,eat, and go to the casino. Our dollar is only .77 American right now, so we have to be careful. My wife is a bargain hunter, and we are still able to find many things that are 1/2 price next to what we pay at home, as well as items unavailable in Canada at any price.

My question here is why Americans are not streaming into Canada to shop. I used to buy my Blu rays in the states, but now find a strange anomaly. First of all, the selection at Targer and Walmart is truly pathetic, and consist of only a few of the latest movies. Yesterday I found the latest Doctor Strange blu for $24.95 us. That is the same price at the Canadian Walmart and Amazon.ca! Wouldn't it be best for Americans to shop in Canada?

My first guess is the pandemic has made it more of a hassle to cross the border.

 

[TJPC]

You do have to be vaccinated and download and fill out the “ArriveCan” app. I guess the latter is a pain in the ass, although it is easy.

I know the mayors of border towns on our side are constantly on the news lobbying to have the app discontinued.

 

[bmasters9]

First of all, the selection at Targer and Walmart is truly pathetic, and consist of only a few of the latest movies.

That is, for a while, what my local Walmart used to be like on that front-- just a few of the latest films and shows; nothing worth purchasing, IMO (sometime back, however, they started getting wiser, and stocking more of the shows I'm more likely to get on DVD [mainly the classics]).

 

[Malcolm R]

How you can buy several "quick pick" lottery tix and have so many of the same numbers. I bought 5 draws for tonight's Mega Millions. Two of the five have the same "megaball" number and across the regular numbers, four different numbers are duplicated across the draws.

This seems to happen pretty regularly to me when purchasing supposedly random, computer-generated quick picks. With 70 regular numbers and 25 "mega" numbers, you'd think a computer could generate five draws without using the same numbers.

Wonder if that's a sign? On the way home I should stop and buy another ticket that includes all the duplicated numbers in a single draw.

 

[Jeffrey D]

How you can buy several "quick pick" lottery tix and have so many of the same numbers. I bought 5 draws for tonight's Mega Millions. Two of the five have the same "megaball" number and across the regular numbers, four different numbers are duplicated across the draws.

This seems to happen pretty regularly to me when purchasing supposedly random, computer-generated quick picks. With 70 regular numbers and 25 "mega" numbers, you'd think a computer could generate five draws without using the same numbers.

Wonder if that's a sign? On the way home I should stop and buy another ticket that includes all the duplicated numbers in a single draw.

Yes I have the same mega ball on 2 of my 3 tickets (that’s all I’m buying). Very common for me to have the same numbers spread across multiple tickets, whether I buy them at 1 location, or multiple locations.

 

[Jeffrey D]

I didn’t have any of last night’s numbers on any of my 3 tickets. No word yet about how many winning tickets were sold, at least from the website or the news outlet I follow.

 

[BobO'Link]

Playing the lottery. Considering the odds, it seems more cost effective to put any money you'd spend on tickets in a 401K for retirement. Better odds of a good payoff as well.