Minor things that bother you

[Plutonic Panda]

I don't understand why so many people use straws at all.

Because straws are amazing. Same reason I would not eat a doughnut without a hole in it. I don't much care for drinking any kind of carbonated beverages without a straw.

[vdeane]

I don't get the straw obsession many people have either.  They're great when you're taking beverages to go, but aren't necessary the rest of the time (well, outside of milkshakes, anyways).  I'll use one if I'm handed one at a restaurant, since I hate being wasteful, but otherwise refrain.

But speaking of minor things that bother me:
Someone decided to call me near the end of the work day.  It just so happened that they called me when I had stepped out to go to the bathroom, so they missed me by a minute or so.  Easy to handle, right?  Just call the number in their voicemail (which was in my phone's call history) and either talk to them or leave a message, right?  Wrong.  Turns out the number they left is a phone tree, and I didn't have anything recorded on how to get them specifically.  So I dig out the message from the trash, and it turns out, no, I didn't miss anything, they really didn't give me enough information to call me back.  After checking the website and finding a person with the same first name, I finally find their position and extension, but by then it's the end of the day.  And did the phone turn on the indicator that I have a voicemail on when I restored it from the trash?  No, so I instead had to send an email to myself to ensure that I don't just forget that I need to handle this come tomorrow.  Plus the whole affair meant that a couple things I wanted to wrap up got bumped as well.

[kphoger]

I just don't see how a plastic straw or an un-snipped plastic six-pack ring that ends up in the landfill in Wichita has any bearing on sea life in the Pacific.

[Plutonic Panda]

From what I understand and I could be wrong please correct beef I am but the biggest source of pollution are cigarettes. Why haven't they tried to ban that? While the obvious answer is super obvious.

[jeffandnicole]

I don't get the straw obsession many people have either.  They're great when you're taking beverages to go, but aren't necessary the rest of the time (well, outside of milkshakes, anyways).  I'll use one if I'm handed one at a restaurant, since I hate being wasteful, but otherwise refrain.

But speaking of minor things that bother me:
Someone decided to call me near the end of the work day.  It just so happened that they called me when I had stepped out to go to the bathroom, so they missed me by a minute or so.  Easy to handle, right?  Just call the number in their voicemail (which was in my phone's call history) and either talk to them or leave a message, right?  Wrong.  Turns out the number they left is a phone tree, and I didn't have anything recorded on how to get them specifically.  So I dig out the message from the trash, and it turns out, no, I didn't miss anything, they really didn't give me enough information to call me back.  After checking the website and finding a person with the same first name, I finally find their position and extension, but by then it's the end of the day.  And did the phone turn on the indicator that I have a voicemail on when I restored it from the trash?  No, so I instead had to send an email to myself to ensure that I don't just forget that I need to handle this come tomorrow.  Plus the whole affair meant that a couple things I wanted to wrap up got bumped as well.

Our voicemail system, like everything else with the government, is contracted out to the lowest bidder. The current lowest bidder doesn't have the ability to have our VM light actually light, nor can we get an email when a VM has been left, like our previous vendor could do.  So the only way we know if we have a message is to dial into the system to see if a message has been left.  I don't do that, so I basically ignore my work's landlines messages.  It's to the point where I've considered just using my work cell phone as my main work phone - at least I have an easier time getting to my messages left on my cell.

[Rothman]

From what I understand and I could be wrong please correct beef I am but the biggest source of pollution are cigarettes. Why haven't they tried to ban that? While the obvious answer is super obvious.

Heh.  I kind of like the idea of making cigarettes illegal.  Could create a whole silly subculture.

[Rothman]

I just don't see how a plastic straw or an un-snipped plastic six-pack ring that ends up in the landfill in Wichita has any bearing on sea life in the Pacific.

Then again, a big pile of non-degradable trash doesn't sound that great, either.

[hotdogPi]

From what I understand and I could be wrong please correct beef I am but the biggest source of pollution are cigarettes. Why haven't they tried to ban that? While the obvious answer is super obvious.

I'm not sure what the "super obvious" answer is. I can think of two, but they both have flaws.

1. The corporations are preventing it. If so, why are cigarettes so highly taxed?
2. It would lead to a Prohibition-type culture where it won't actually prevent anything. The difference here is that most smokers who haven't just started do want to stop. It's also way more addictive than alcohol is. In addition, in many states, people could legally switch to cannabis.

[kkt]

I don't understand why so many people use straws at all.

Yes.  I'd rather just drink from a cup.  Okay, maybe if I'm in a moving vehicle... but I'd rather stop and eat like a semi-civilized human than while I drive anyway.

[Max Rockatansky]

I don't understand why so many people use straws at all.

Yes.  I'd rather just drink from a cup.  Okay, maybe if I'm in a moving vehicle... but I'd rather stop and eat like a semi-civilized human than while I drive anyway.

Most of my negative paper straw encounters have been from I get milkshakes.  I'm on the same page with eating a meal while sitting down but a shake can be enjoyed in the car.  At least it can until the paper straw starts breaking down from getting soggy.

[SEWIGuy]

I don't understand why so many people use straws at all.

Because straws are amazing. Same reason I would not eat a doughnut without a hole in it. I don't much care for drinking any kind of carbonated beverages without a straw.

These two things really don't seem related at all.

[kphoger]

I'll use one if I'm handed one at a restaurant, since I hate being wasteful, but otherwise refrain.

If the straw is still in its wrapper, then I just leave it in hopes that they'll put back in their stock and give it someone else later.  No waste in that case.

Turns out the number they left is a phone tree, and I didn't have anything recorded on how to get them specifically ... they really didn't give me enough information to call me (them?) back.

I don't have any control over what number shows up on caller ID—whether it's the company's tree or my specific extension—and I doubt they did either.  But, as I figure, if they don't leave you enough info for you to actually get back in touch with them, then they must not care too badly if you do get back to them.

[Rothman]

I don't understand why so many people use straws at all.

Because straws are amazing. Same reason I would not eat a doughnut without a hole in it. I don't much care for drinking any kind of carbonated beverages without a straw.

These two things really don't seem related at all.

That settles it.  We need the "like" function back.

*chomps Boston Cream donut*

[JayhawkCO]

Late to the conversation, but add me to the list of people who don't understand the need for straws. Lots of people ask for them at restaurants, but do those people drink with straws at home too? I tend to doubt it. What is it about restaurants that makes using a tool to get liquid into your mouth a necessity?

[mgk920]

From what I understand and I could be wrong please correct beef I am but the biggest source of pollution are cigarettes. Why haven't they tried to ban that? While the obvious answer is super obvious.

Discarded butts are also a major ignition source for wild fires . . .

Mike

[SEWIGuy]

Late to the conversation, but add me to the list of people who don't understand the need for straws. Lots of people ask for them at restaurants, but do those people drink with straws at home too? I tend to doubt it. What is it about restaurants that makes using a tool to get liquid into your mouth a necessity?

There are a bunch of things that people don't need, but they like to use in certain situations.

[Max Rockatansky]

I do like the style lids that Dutch Brothers uses for their drinks.  I've found those easy to drink from while driving around.

[Rothman]

Have to say that I don't like paper straws, but I rarely use straws, anyway.  No straw > paper straw.

[kphoger]

Late to the conversation, but add me to the list of people who don't understand the need for straws. Lots of people ask for them at restaurants, but do those people drink with straws at home too? I tend to doubt it. What is it about restaurants that makes using a tool to get liquid into your mouth a necessity?

I almost never use one in a restaurant.  It can be mildly annoying for the ice cubes to hit my face while drinking out of the glass, but it's not really any big deal.  If I'm driving, though, you bet I want a lid and a straw.

At home, I use a straw when I'm having a 'long drink' cocktail such as a Tom Collins, but that's about it.

Everyone else in my family uses refillable metal sports bottles, and a couple of them use them not just when going out but also around the house.  Those all have straws that came with them.

From what I understand and I could be wrong please correct beef I am but the biggest source of pollution are cigarettes. Why haven't they tried to ban that? While the obvious answer is super obvious.

I hate it when people who would presumably not otherwise throw garbage out their car window think nothing of throwing their cigarette butt out.  Just once, I'd like to be at a long enough red light that I could get out of the car, pick up their cigarette butt, and throw it back in their open car window.

[webny99]

Late to the conversation, but add me to the list of people who don't understand the need for straws. Lots of people ask for them at restaurants, but do those people drink with straws at home too? I tend to doubt it. What is it about restaurants that makes using a tool to get liquid into your mouth a necessity?

Simply put, straws are easier and more convenient for drinking and eliminate the risk of dribbling or spilling.

I for one received a drink tumbler with a built in straw as a gift, so I do technically use a straw at home, albeit a reusable one. We also have metal drinking straws at home that are mostly used for mixed drinks when we have guests, but I will occasionally use them for everyday beverage consumption.

[formulanone]

Late to the conversation, but add me to the list of people who don't understand the need for straws. Lots of people ask for them at restaurants, but do those people drink with straws at home too? I tend to doubt it. What is it about restaurants that makes using a tool to get liquid into your mouth a necessity?

Restaurants where they refill the cup/glass within one millimeter of the top are require a straw (I also don't like dunking my nose in the liquid or splashing it all over the table), if an overwhelming amount of ice is used in the drink (looking at you, Zaxby's), or I'm served a drink in some massive 40-50 ounce cup which is otherwise unwieldy.

I also need one in a to-go cup while driving, if I didn't order a bottled drink. Otherwise, I don't need a straw.

[kphoger]

At home, I use a straw when I'm having a 'long drink' cocktail such as a Tom Collins, but that's about it.

We also have metal drinking straws at home that are mostly used for mixed drinks when we have guests, but I will occasionally use them for everyday beverage consumption.

I should clarify, the straws I use at home are metal, with rubber tips in a variety of colors.

[hbelkins]

Back last winter when my Bell's palsy first kicked in, I had to use a straw for everything, even bottles of pop. Either that, or hold one side of my mouth closed with my hand while I drank out of the bottle. Try that when you're driving.

It was a joy to recover enough to be able to drink out of a bottle without using a straw.

[JayhawkCO]

Late to the conversation, but add me to the list of people who don't understand the need for straws. Lots of people ask for them at restaurants, but do those people drink with straws at home too? I tend to doubt it. What is it about restaurants that makes using a tool to get liquid into your mouth a necessity?

Simply put, straws are easier and more convenient for drinking and eliminate the risk of dribbling or spilling.

I for one received a drink tumbler with a built in straw as a gift, so I do technically use a straw at home, albeit a reusable one. We also have metal drinking straws at home that are mostly used for mixed drinks when we have guests, but I will occasionally use them for everyday beverage consumption.

Outside of picking up fast food while driving, where a straw makes sense only because a lid is necessary due to bumps, the thought of needing to use a straw at home is about akin to sitting on your couch with a seatbelt.

[Scott5114]

I wouldn't.  I don't appreciate being nickeled-and-dimed as a customer.  And that's true at Arby's just as much as it is at non-fast-food restaurants.

I think I mentioned in this thread that a recent trip to Arby's led me to the conclusion that it is in no way worth the price they charge these days. Everything has gotten more expensive over the last few years, and Arby's has gotten more expensive than that. The price now rivals that of local sit-down restaurants with much better food.

I think the only thing the current President has done that has had near universal support was to come out strongly against paper straws. 

FWIW I'm in agreement that paper straws have pretty much been universally fucking terrible. 

I have only used them on a few occasions (Nevada has no state policy on straws one way or the other but a few California-based chains have them) and, much like the people who freak out about the possibility of not having a gas stove, led me to wonder what all the fuss is about. It was vaguely annoying that the straw stuck to my lips a little bit, I guess, but if that was the biggest problem I had all day I'd be doing pretty all right for myself.

When it comes to the nature of the transaction, though, pretty much all my other expectations are the same between them.  At both, I expect to pay extra for refills;  free refills are a bonus, not an expectation.

For me, free refills are an expectation. That's because I've seen the financials for a fast-food restaurant and I know that the cost of soda is barely more than the water contained in it. The vast majority of the cost of a soda is the cup, and the markup on that cup is high enough that you could fill it about two dozen times before it starts to approach the restaurant breaking even. (In fact, one of the perks of working at that restaurant was that we let employees have all the soda they wanted for free, as long as they used one of the cheaper cups that didn't have the restaurant logo printed on it.)

So to me, getting tightfisted about the cost of soda is a sign that the management is probably tightfisted about other things they probably shouldn't be. Do they actually throw out expired meat? Do they actually change the grease in their fryers? Do they keep their fridges set as cold as they're supposed to be? Those are all cost centers that an overly money-minded manager could try to skimp on to save a few cents, too, but they affect the quality and safety of the meal. I can't check any of those things as a customer, but being unable to let go of three cents for a soda refill is a red flag that not everything is likely to be on the up-and-up.