Minor things that bother you

[kphoger]

And once it ends up on the register there's no easy way to take the money for yourself, anyway, because now it's accounted for.

Most important part of your post.  You can't ring up a total for too much money and then pocket the "too much" part.  Your drawer would be short at the end of the shift.

[zachary_amaryllis]

It's very rare that the guy running the register is going to actually get an extra $1.50 if they overcharge you $1.50–that money is just going to end up in some corporate bank account in Delaware, so why would they bother?

They don't keep the difference for themselves and keep the amount in the register as it should be?

That said, I mostly agree with you, especially since I've been undercharged about as often as I've been overcharged.

You're still going to see the amount due before you pay. Line level employees probably can't void things off without managerial approval (otherwise they could void and keep all of the cash). Credit cards are 90% of all transactions anyway, rendering it even more moot.

Depending on the business there may be a lot of cash handled, and most places are not 90% credit cards. Depending on the POS system the cashier may or may not be able to pocket the difference.

Especially if they keep a running total throughout the day and palm it out in one lump some (making sure not to under or over take) at the end of the shift.  Though I'm thinking more about incorrect change (or short-change) than a straight-up overcharging.

from back in my own fast-food days (not proud of this, but it seems relevant)

if you're talking on the phone when you do your money transaction at the window, count your change. i used to make a LOT of money on this. if i were caught, it was a simple matter of 'oh.. whoops'. i think i had to do that like twice. every other time, customer zooms off yakking away.

[HighwayStar]

It's very rare that the guy running the register is going to actually get an extra $1.50 if they overcharge you $1.50–that money is just going to end up in some corporate bank account in Delaware, so why would they bother?

They don't keep the difference for themselves and keep the amount in the register as it should be?

That said, I mostly agree with you, especially since I've been undercharged about as often as I've been overcharged.

You're still going to see the amount due before you pay. Line level employees probably can't void things off without managerial approval (otherwise they could void and keep all of the cash). Credit cards are 90% of all transactions anyway, rendering it even more moot.

Depending on the business there may be a lot of cash handled, and most places are not 90% credit cards. Depending on the POS system the cashier may or may not be able to pocket the difference.

Especially if they keep a running total throughout the day and palm it out in one lump some (making sure not to under or over take) at the end of the shift.  Though I'm thinking more about incorrect change (or short-change) than a straight-up overcharging.

from back in my own fast-food days (not proud of this, but it seems relevant)

if you're talking on the phone when you do your money transaction at the window, count your change. i used to make a LOT of money on this. if i were caught, it was a simple matter of 'oh.. whoops'. i think i had to do that like twice. every other time, customer zooms off yakking away.

Arguably a good reason to use that credit card.

[Scott5114]

When the glue holding a box closed is stronger than the actual box is, so that whenever you try to open the box, it just tears horribly rather than opening neatly.

[kphoger]

When the glue holding a box closed is stronger than the actual box is, so that whenever you try to open the box, it just tears horribly rather than opening neatly.

Absolutely!

Also, when the seal on a plastic bag is stronger than the plastic bag itself.

Get a box of cereal.  Attempt to open the box such that you can re-insert the little tab into the little slot.  No luck, because the glue is stronger than the box itself, so you end up ripping the top flaps all to hell.  Call it some dirty names, then take a deep breath and calm down.  Set to opening the bag inside the box such that you can easily pour just the right amount into your bowl each morning  No luck, because the seal is stronger than the bag itself, so you end up ripping a big gash down the side of the bag, and now bits of cereal spill out down the side of it every time you get breakfast ready.  You feel like throwing the darned thing across the kitchen, but that would only compound the problem...

And they can send men to the moon!

[Scott5114]

When the glue holding a box closed is stronger than the actual box is, so that whenever you try to open the box, it just tears horribly rather than opening neatly.

Absolutely!

Also, when the seal on a plastic bag is stronger than the plastic bag itself.

Get a box of cereal.  Attempt to open the box such that you can re-insert the little tab into the little slot.  No luck, because the glue is stronger than the box itself, so you end up ripping the top flaps all to hell.  Call it some dirty names, then take a deep breath and calm down.  Set to opening the bag inside the box such that you can easily pour just the right amount into your bowl each morning  No luck, because the seal is stronger than the bag itself, so you end up ripping a big gash down the side of the bag, and now bits of cereal spill out down the side of it every time you get breakfast ready.  You feel like throwing the darned thing across the kitchen, but that would only compound the problem...

And they can send men to the moon!

No lie, I've taken to buying the off-brand cereal that comes in just a bag, primarily because it opens in a more consistent way (and it's got a little zipper on it, so it stays fresher than the name-brand bag-in-box variety). And it's cheaper to boot.

A related annoyance is the disappearance of true tabs and slots on boxes. In the 90s you would actually have a real slot that the tab on the other flap could be seated in. It wasn't perfect, but at least it kept the box closed. These days a lot of boxes have a tab but the other flap just has a notch in it. That isn't anywhere near as good at holding the box closed as an actual slot is. I can only imagine this change was made because it's somehow 1¢ cheaper per box to do it that way than to have an actual slot cut into the cardboard.

Even worse, though, are the boxes that have a top flap that has additional flaps extending down away from the top of the box, which are glued to the inside sides of the box. I get those on frozen-food boxes sometimes. Whoever designs these boxes must be an alien from another planet, or else someone rich enough to pay someone else to open boxes for them, because nobody who has never opened a box themselves would design a box that way.

[GaryV]

When the glue holding a box closed is stronger than the actual box is, so that whenever you try to open the box, it just tears horribly rather than opening neatly.

Something similar is the old green-bar paper in the line printer.  How could the perforations be stronger than the paper itself?

[J N Winkler]

In the last couple of years or so, I've noticed cereal boxes have been made of a thinner grade of cardboard that not only delaminates more easily if you try to separate glue joints to flatten an empty box, but also is more likely to leave cuts.

[Scott5114]

In the last couple of years or so, I've noticed cereal boxes have been made of a thinner grade of cardboard that not only delaminates more easily if you try to separate glue joints to flatten an empty box, but also is more likely to leave cuts.

I wonder if this accounts for the change in tab closure style that I described in my last post.

[kkt]

When in doubt, fetch the scissors.

[Scott5114]

If I'm standing in my kitchen trying and failing to get into a cereal box at 3am, what makes you think anything about my life is together enough I would have thought to go get the scissors beforehand?

[kkt]

Keep a pair of scissors in the kitchen just for these 3 am emergencies

[kphoger]

Doesn't everyone keep scissors in the kitchen?  I certainly do.

[formulanone]

I even keep a tiny pair of foldable scissors in my backpack (because the TSA hates knives and I don't want to fumble with sharp edges at odd hours). Kept them in my stash for about 8 years...

[1995hoo]

Doesn't everyone keep scissors in the kitchen?  I certainly do.

I believe we have three pairs of scissors there for different purposes (the ones used to cut open shipping boxes are never used for cooking, for example).

[abefroman329]

I even keep a tiny pair of foldable scissors in my backpack (because the TSA hates knives and I don't want to fumble with sharp edges at odd hours). Kept them in my stash for about 8 years...

I have something a lot like this and the TSA hasn't found it in the 6-7 years I've had it.

[JayhawkCO]

Doesn't everyone keep scissors in the kitchen?  I certainly do.

I believe we have three pairs of scissors there for different purposes (the ones used to cut open shipping boxes are never used for cooking, for example).

Not all are in the kitchen, but sewing scissors, box opening/random stuff scissors, small bathroom scissors (stray hairs and beard trimming), and kitchen shears.

[Scott5114]

Doesn't everyone keep scissors in the kitchen?  I certainly do.

I have a place for scissors in my kitchen.

Does everyone in the house put the scissors back in that spot when they're done with them? No.

[kphoger]

Doesn't everyone keep scissors in the kitchen?  I certainly do.

I have a place for scissors in my kitchen.

Does everyone in the house put the scissors back in that spot when they're done with them? No.

Our kitchen shears have a plastic case, and we hang them up above the sink on a pair of nails whenever we're done with them.

[JayhawkCO]

Our kitchen shears have a plastic case, and we hang them up above the sink on a pair of nails whenever we're done with them.

Ours have their own spot in the knife block.

[Bruce]

Doesn't everyone keep scissors in the kitchen?  I certainly do.

Scissors are an essential utensil. Need big ones to cut up meat for galbi.

[HighwayStar]

The last couple weeks the trees by me were blooming or something to that effect, and dropping copious quantities of these pollen laden pods everywhere. Including on any car parked remotely near these things.
When dry they mostly blow off once you drive away, but if it happens to rain on them before that they stick to everything and give the car the appearance of having been assaulted by a bottle of mustard.
I spent more quarters on car washes in 2 weeks than I did in the last 4 months.

[kphoger]

the appearance of having been assaulted by a bottle of mustard

That right there is what's called poetry.

[formulanone]

I even keep a tiny pair of foldable scissors in my backpack (because the TSA hates knives and I don't want to fumble with sharp edges at odd hours). Kept them in my stash for about 8 years...

I have something a lot like this and the TSA hasn't found it in the 6-7 years I've had it.

I'm always tempted to pick one up when I make a visit to Harbor Freight Tools...

[oscar]

A recent TV ad by Dell Technologies, featuring a woman dragging her desk into the middle of a city street, and pounding away at her laptop, soon joined by others doing likewise (one of them towing a worktable behind a vehicle, apparently from a rural location). The ad theme is "there's an innovator in all of us". But I don't get why this "innovation" was portrayed as being on a busy non-closed city street, apparently blocking traffic (including a bus), rather than inside an office, or on a sidewalk, or in a park. Kind of baffling, and not exactly a display of productive innovation, IMHO.