Things that baffle you? (3 Viewers)

[Stan]

Agree. Must be universal. All our KFC's are horribly run. RUDE employees all of which act like they couldn't care less about you or working there.

I'm thinking about going back to some part-time work. KFC sounds like the perfect place. I can be rude, sarcastic and snarky, I'll fit in with everybody else

 

[Alf S]

Baffling that in the new era of McD double drive thru's (we've had them for a couple of years now at least) people still don't understand the concept.

Went this morning only to find a line formed, thing is everyone was lined up in lane 1....Lane 2 was wide open. I of course drove around all of them and went to bay 2 and placed my order and zipped right on through.

 

[Stan]

Baffling that in the new era of McD double drive thru's (we've had them for a couple of years now at least) people still don't understand the concept.

Went this morning only to find a line formed, thing is everyone was lined up in lane 1....Lane 2 was wide open. I of course drove around all of them and went to bay 2 and placed my order and zipped right on through.

The few times a year I go to a McD, I skip the drive-thru and go inside. It's faster, you can see what they're doing so your order isn't messed up, get your own drink that's not 90% ice. I'll drive away and the same cars are still waiting in the drive-thru

A little trick is to ask for unsalted french-fries. They have to make a new batch, still almost always salt them, like robots with no brain function, but you get fresh fries that haven't been sitting under a heat lamp for 30 minutes.

 

[Alf S]

I've tried the "go inside" trick a couple of times and every time, they are more focused on getting drive thru business sped through vs. "to go" orders from inside. Pretty much every time I walk out with my orders, all the cars that were there are long gone with their food.

So I just stay in line, it just goes faster.

 

[Stan]

I've tried the "go inside" trick a couple of times and every time, they are more focused on getting drive thru business sped through vs. "to go" orders from inside. Pretty much every time I walk out with my orders, all the cars that were there are long gone with their food.

So I just stay in line, it just goes faster.

Funny how that works. Maybe the franchise owners have different rules on how they run things.

Sounding like a fast-food junkie, which I'm not. But I've learned another trick with a local chain. Never ask for french fries, which could be soggy and old. Always order tater tots or onion rings, those are always made to order.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I was in the biz years ago.

They DO give priority to the drive-thru. They always have.

But, like Stan, I find going inside gives you a better chance at some semblance of a quality fast-food meal.

 

[Malcolm R]

I was in the biz years ago.

They DO give priority to the drive-thru. They always have.

Ditto. When I was a young'un with my first job at Burger King, we were instructed to give drive-thru priority. There were usually 3-4 people working DT during busy times (one taking orders, one collecting money and delivering orders, one or two other "runners" filling the orders), while those working at the front registers mostly had to do everything for themselves. Food went for DT orders first, then to the front counter.

This was before the self-service beverage stations, so no matter which way you ordered, your drink was always 90% ice.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I was a young'un with my first job at Burger King

Me too!

Hold the pickle, hold the lettuce,
special orders don't upset us.
All we ask is that you let us serve it your way...

Oh...the brown and yellow polyester uniforms!

 

[Malcolm R]

Oh...the brown and yellow polyester uniforms!

Fortunately I was a bit after that period. We just had blue pants and maroon polo shirts.

 

[Mike Frezon]

The ladies got to wear Jiffy Pop hats:

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Crazy eyes!

 

[Carabimero]

Here's what baffles me.

My wife and I were fortunate enough to be in one of the most spectacular places on the planet, where the fleeting view was to die for. Everyone there had paid handsomely for the privilege. I looked around. Most people were staring down at their cell phones.

WTF?

Paint me baffled.

This supports my argument that cell phones don't truly connect us. They disconnect us. From the real world. From each other. Especially when we don't visit others as much in person anymore because we can text them instead. Or when we don't look at others when talking to them because we are staring at cell phones. All I need to do is go to a restaurant and see a family seated around a table, all of them interacting with their phones instead of one another.

If my wife and I were college students today, for instance, it’s likely we’d never meet or strike up the conversation that led to our very happy 31-year (and counting) relationship. I first saw my future bride standing outside history class. We were both early. The hallway was ours. It’s reasonable to assume given the same circumstance today, we’d have our faces buried in cell phones and, caught in the enticing trap of cyberspace, miss our real-world moment.

Speaking for myself, I believe one of the reasons my wife and I are so happy is that we don't have electronic leashes. We make sustained eye contact and talk to each other instead of our phones. For us, I can't overstate what a huge thing that is. People are amazed to meet us and learn we don't own cell phones. Sooner or later many of them tell me they are envious, that they would get rid of their phone if they could, but feel trapped by the convenience of it.

 

[Eve Babcock]

When is the second coming of Christ in this world

 

[Stan]

Here's what baffles me.

My wife and I were fortunate enough to be in one of the most spectacular places on the planet, where the fleeting view was to die for. Everyone there had paid handsomely for the privilege. I looked around. Most people were staring down at their cell phones.

WTF?

Paint me baffled.

This supports my argument that cell phones don't truly connect us. They disconnect us. From the real world. From each other. Especially when we don't visit others as much in person anymore because we can text them instead. Or when we don't look at others when talking to them because we are staring at cell phones. All I need to do is go to a restaurant and see a family seated around a table, all of them interacting with their phones instead of one another.

If my wife and I were college students today, for instance, it’s likely we’d never meet or strike up the conversation that led to our very happy 31-year (and counting) relationship. I first saw my future bride standing outside history class. We were both early. The hallway was ours. It’s reasonable to assume given the same circumstance today, we’d have our faces buried in cell phones and, caught in the enticing trap of cyberspace, miss our real-world moment.

Speaking for myself, I believe one of the reasons my wife and I are so happy is that we don't have electronic leashes. We make sustained eye contact and talk to each other instead of our phones. For us, I can't overstate what a huge thing that is. People are amazed to meet us and learn we don't own cell phones. Sooner or later many of them tell me they are envious, that they would get rid of their phone if they could, but feel trapped by the convenience of it.

I posted this several years ago, maybe on HTF.

In the waiting room to see my doctor. Two tweens are on their phones, texting, etc. sitting three feet away from each other. Turns out they were texting each other

I always look for the good things in life, thought maybe one of them was deaf so it was a good way to communicate. Wrong.

Shut your f**king phones off and talk to one another.

 

[dvdclon]

Speaking for myself, I believe one of the reasons my wife and I are so happy is that we don't have electronic leashes. We make sustained eye contact and talk to each other instead of our phones. For us, I can't overstate what a huge thing that is. People are amazed to meet us and learn we don't own cell phones. Sooner or later many of them tell me they are envious, that they would get rid of their phone if they could, but feel trapped by the convenience of it.

I'd been thinking about posting this in the "Annoyances", but something that annoys me and creeps me out at the same time is people having a conversation in front of a mirror, whether in movies or real life. I just know that the participants are really checking themselves out in the mirror.

Maybe this distancing effect is actually intended in movies, but I always took to be more of a technical challenge for the camera crew to stay out of the shot.

 

[NeatStuff]

I posted this several years ago, maybe on HTF.

In the waiting room to see my doctor. Two tweens are on their phones, texting, etc. sitting three feet away from each other. Turns out they were texting each other

I always look for the good things in life, thought maybe one of them was deaf so it was a good way to communicate. Wrong.

Shut your f**king phones off and talk to one another.

Especially with children. Facial expressions and tone of voice are a huge part of developing communication and socializing. What ever happened to good old playing outside with your friends... sigh

 

[Bryan^H]

Here's what baffles me.

My wife and I were fortunate enough to be in one of the most spectacular places on the planet, where the fleeting view was to die for. Everyone there had paid handsomely for the privilege. I looked around. Most people were staring down at their cell phones.

WTF?

Paint me baffled.

This supports my argument that cell phones don't truly connect us. They disconnect us. From the real world. From each other. Especially when we don't visit others as much in person anymore because we can text them instead. Or when we don't look at others when talking to them because we are staring at cell phones. All I need to do is go to a restaurant and see a family seated around a table, all of them interacting with their phones instead of one another.

If my wife and I were college students today, for instance, it’s likely we’d never meet or strike up the conversation that led to our very happy 31-year (and counting) relationship. I first saw my future bride standing outside history class. We were both early. The hallway was ours. It’s reasonable to assume given the same circumstance today, we’d have our faces buried in cell phones and, caught in the enticing trap of cyberspace, miss our real-world moment.

Speaking for myself, I believe one of the reasons my wife and I are so happy is that we don't have electronic leashes. We make sustained eye contact and talk to each other instead of our phones. For us, I can't overstate what a huge thing that is. People are amazed to meet us and learn we don't own cell phones. Sooner or later many of them tell me they are envious, that they would get rid of their phone if they could, but feel trapped by the convenience of it.

I'm not sure if I posted this tale of cell phone woe before, if I have and you read it forgive me.

My brother and his friend were at a diner. A man on a cell phone, and his son were sitting across from them. For the entirety of dinner my brother heard most of what the man said "I'm with my son, have him for the weekend, were at...name of diner...blah blah blah".
This continued for the length of the dinner more than 30 minutes. The man never getting off his phone(just toward the end of his meal)and the young boy looking miserable.

This was quite a few years ago, and I'm not sure what is more sad-that at the time the man was completely ignoring his son, or if it were modern day that had the scenario been repeated the boy probably would have had a phone or device himself, and lost in it to compound the sadness.

 

[Carabimero]

Here's a sad story. I met with an old friend at a stopover in an airport. I had an hour between flights. We hadn't seen each other in thirty years and likely will never see each other again. We met and talked for about five before he received a series of phone calls, none of them important, yet he never seemed to realize our hour was slowly ticking away. I finally had to interrupt the last call he received and tell him it was time for me to board my flight. We parted and that was it. He expressed no awareness (or remorse) at talking on the phone 85% of the time while I idly sat there. He didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with his behavior.

What makes this story sad for me isn't so much that we lost an hour for no good reason, one that we can never get back. My sadness is for him--and any others--who no longer realize how cell phones are quietly destroying the intimacies of their lives.

 

[Stan]

Here's a sad story. I met with an old friend at a stopover in an airport. I had an hour between flights. We hadn't seen each other in thirty years and likely will never see each other again. We met and talked for about five before he received a series of phone calls, none of them important, yet he never seemed to realize our hour was slowly ticking away. I finally had to interrupt the last call he received and tell him it was time for me to board my flight. We parted and that was it. He expressed no awareness (or remorse) at talking on the phone 85% of the time while I idly sat there. He didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with his behavior.

What makes this story sad for me isn't so much that we lost an hour for no good reason, one that we can never get back. My sadness is for him--and any others--who no longer realize how cell phones are quietly destroying the intimacies of their lives.

That is very sad. I don't own a cell-phone because of things like that. I used to have one for work purposes (did all the IT stuff, but I was famous for ignoring calls). Nothing is so important that it can't wait a while, especially coming across a friend you haven't seen in 30 years, which would take priority over just about anything else.

I'll probably get a cheapo Trac-Phone, prepaid thing to keep in the car for emergencies, but really no other reason to have one. It certainly won't be a "Smart-Phone", costing $750 and $100+ a month to keep going.

To keep with the "baffling" topic, I've got friends who pay these ridiculous fees, have to have the latest, greatest technology to keep up with the Jones'. Why? I won't give up my computer or Dish Network access, but you reach the cut-off point eventually and many things are just ridiculous luxuries.

I've got a very nice wide-screen TV, yet in my bedroom, have an old Sony Trinitron from 1983 that works just fine. My car is a 1998 Monte Carlo, not a big driver, only 91K miles, but it runs fine, why buy something new?

Silly story, but my neighbor had to replace the battery in her Subaru SUV for the third time, it's maybe a 2010 model. I still have the original battery my car came with.

Of course, now I've jinxed myself, my car will probably explode in the next few days

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Wow! Car batteries around here last about three or four years, due to the climate. Eighteen is crazygonuts!