I once went back to Kroger to give them the difference on a brisket they'd undercharged me for, they wouldn't take my money and refunded the rest of the price since reporting charging errors made the item free at that time.

OTOH: The time I went into Publix and gave them a 10 with the explanation that two bills had stuck together at register 6 the day before and they'd given me too much change, they took the money. Since it's quite possible some clerk had to makeup the shortfall, I have no objection.

OTGH in Berkeley in grad school errors in change were so common that I eventually declared that any one business only got 3, and after that I would only tell them if correcting the error gave me more change. Since the register was correct in those cases and too much seemed to be far more common than too little, I have no idea how they managed to balance things at the end of the day.

I've also given up with my bank once when I could not give them back their money. (I was forwarded in and out of the same group three different times before I gave up. If you insist I'll take the money.)

By Ryan Opel (Ryan) on Friday, January 08, 2021 - 12:22 pm: Edit

Took me a year to close an account with Bank of America due to a nickel being left in the account (interest paid on the day I closed my account). Several $5 service charges (no deposit made that month), refund of double the amount of service fees, for a 19.95 balance then several more months of $5 service charges and threats to file a credit report for having a negative balance on a savings account for several months.

By MarkSHoyle (Bolo) on Friday, January 08, 2021 - 12:39 pm: Edit

My wife wrote a check for a mail order purchase,
bank cleared it for several $ less than it was written for....
Didn't fight that one, just changed the info in my checkbook....

By Mike Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Friday, January 08, 2021 - 02:04 pm: Edit

On the other hand, I have accidentally left a $20 in the machine when I was "self checking out" and got cash back. The darn cash dispenser is not right next to the receipt... I just suck it up as it is my error.

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Friday, January 08, 2021 - 05:23 pm: Edit

I once walked out of Pennies with an item without paying for it, and yes, when I got to my car and saw I had the item I immediately walked back to the store and paid for it. I am always, for whatever reason, willing to correct an undercharge (you did not charge me enough for what I am getting, the price tag says so), but am somewhat unwilling to argue when I am overcharged for something (unless the overcharge is egregious, or for something I did not get). These days I am arguing with a machine as the person at the cash register simply scans the items and the computer says this is the price, so some human programmed the computer, or listed the item wrong on its label, or there was a price change between the two events). In either case, I tend to be unbearably (in my opinion) polite, kind, and engaging to the server or cashier, even to the point of jesting somewhat, i.e., I frequently tell them to "stay out of trouble, but if you can't, don't get caught, but if you get caught, don't implicate me!" However, I have found that when dealing with people over the phone, particularly after having to go through an automated answering system, I am unable to maintain a level of self control. And, yes I am talking about Suddenlink, the local cable provider, for which I have nothing but contempt for their incompetence.

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Friday, January 08, 2021 - 05:42 pm: Edit

Let me explain this with an example of something.

I called on 30 November, just to ask when the "local outage" that had been in existence since 22 September (yes, a "temporary outage that had lasted over two months by then) would be cleared up.

That morning, before I went to the office, I called a total of at least seven times. Each time I had to go through the whole automated answering system. One time I was connected to a Spanish speaker, who could not transfer me to an English speaker, but required me to call again through the automated answering system. One time the automated answering system finally connected to a lone which was "busy." Four times the person who answered got my name and phone number, then the line disconnected and rather than them calling back I had go though the automated system again. And the seventh time I had to hang up to go to work. And each time I was on hold for a little bit, I was bombarded with a commercial about the wonders of video on demand, which I was not getting and was the reason why I was calling.

The upshot is that I do not want to call Suddenlink for any reason, but on 31 Dec, I HAD to call them, because my Bill for December did not arrive in the mail, and I am so lucky that I had to pay them $10.00 extra to pay by credit card over the phone or my payment would have been late and incurred a late fee. Since I had to call them, I went ahead and again noted the Video on Demand was not working, and they went ahead and sent an "Emergency" technician visit on Saturday, who again noted that apparently my On Demand is held up by a billing glitch and submitted a work order on it (this is the second time this has been identified as the problem), and it is now almost a week after that most recent work order and I STILL DO NOT HAVE VIDEO ON DEMAND.

Last night I was sufficiently angry that I called them to make arrangements to turn in the box as I am completely sick and tried of the mess. I think there is enough content on You Tube and Roku to keep me amused for the remainder of my life, I do not need regular TV, especially since all of the shows I watch have running plot lines for the season which makes them not viewable if you miss an episode (which because of a local outage that lasted a week I have missed one episode of each of the shows I watch) ...

I have just had it and I fear I was more than a little "cranky" to the person on the other end of the line.

By Jeff Anderson (Jga) on Saturday, January 09, 2021 - 01:14 pm: Edit

A favorite tale from my father...

My parents were on a flight that had to change planes at a major hub. At the hub, there was a problem with the plane they were supposed to board and it resulted in a MAJOR delay (I think nearly eight hours).

Anyway, while it did annoy my father (to put it politely), when he went up to the ticket station to complain, the man in front of him was SO abusive, my father was more annoyed at him than the delay.

So, here's the conversation my father had with the young lady at the counter...

"I suppose you get that a lot," he asked her with a quiet note of sympathy in his voice.

She nodded.

"Well, after all that, you don't need that from me. Please just let your superiors know we're unhappy with this."

About ten minutes later, the young lady came up to my parents with a pair of tickets upgrading them to first class.

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Saturday, January 09, 2021 - 06:19 pm: Edit

Just to add to things. I got a call from sudden link last night saying they wanted to try to a few things to see if they would fix the problem.

They called. they have my phone number, they know I am wake and home

In the middle of the call, I am looking at the back of the Tivo box with a pin trying to find the reset hole the individual said was there (it was apparently well hidden, as I did not find it although he telling me it was labeled0.

And sure enough, the connection dropped. And he did not call back and I never found this mythical reset hole I was supposed to stick the needle into.

By MarkSHoyle (Bolo) on Saturday, June 05, 2021 - 12:46 pm: Edit

Friday night, Tucker Carlson had a guy from a Group,
who is making Brownies/Fudge and Chocolate covering Cicadas....
Each to their own, he said with billions of them out there, why not profit a bit.....

By Garth L. Getgen (Sgt_G) on Friday, August 20, 2021 - 09:32 pm: Edit

I asked my wife for a ham & turkey sandwich this morning, so she heated the deli meat on the griddle and put it on hot English muffins. It's really good that way. Try it next time you want a snack.


Garth L. Getgen

By Jean Sexton Beddow (Jsexton) on Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - 04:22 pm: Edit

All posts prior to 2023 will be deleted June 27, 2023.

By Garth L. Getgen (Sgt_G) on Thursday, February 01, 2024 - 12:40 am: Edit

My wife found an interesting way to do baked potatoes. She cut them up about 1/4" slices, but not all the way thru, so she could fan them open like an accordion. She sprinkled season salt and added butter, and closed them back up. She then baked them in the same dish as the chicken parts, where they could absorb the flavors. Turned out really good.


Garth L. Getgen

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Thursday, February 01, 2024 - 08:23 am: Edit

That does in fact sound delicious, Garth.

By Mike Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Friday, February 02, 2024 - 08:02 am: Edit

Hasselback potatoes. Done properly they are pretty great

By Mike Erickson (Mike_Erickson) on Friday, February 02, 2024 - 12:34 pm: Edit

I recommend topping the potatoes with shredded Gruyere cheese for the last few minutes for a nice gooey cheesy effect. Or you can put the cheese on a little earlier for a crunchier toasted effect.

--Mike

By Terry O'Carroll (Terryoc) on Thursday, October 31, 2024 - 10:05 am: Edit

I recently bought a new variety of Stagg brand canned chilli that advertised itself as having Carolina Reaper chillies in it. Holy capsaicin, Batman! My nose dripped, my eyes turned red. I had to pace up and down to distract myself from the pain in my mouth. My mouth felt oddly numb for about twenty minutes after the pain finally faded. It's beyond my spice tolerance! I'll stick with jalapenos in future.

By Mike Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Friday, November 01, 2024 - 10:14 am: Edit

Numb usually means "aleppo peppers."

By John Barnes (Nitehawke) on Saturday, December 14, 2024 - 03:51 pm: Edit

I'll have to see if I can find that variety of Stagg chili. My local supermarket used to have Pepperjack cheese made with ghost peppers, and it was delicious.