What do you think are scams?

[ethanhopkin14]

Also any rewards program from a retailer is a scam.

Absolutely not. For IHOP in particular, I think they're actually losing money on me. Other restaurants, like UNO, Outback, and Friendly's, are 1 in 16, 1 in 14, and 1 in 15 back, respectively.

I think like you do too, especially Kohl's cash.  Then I sit and think, this is a corporation, and they don't like losing money so there has to be a scam there.  It may be them throwing you a bone here and there and you make it up somewhere eles, but what they really want is to harvest your information. 

[JayhawkCO]

Also any rewards program from a retailer is a scam.

Absolutely not. For IHOP in particular, I think they're actually losing money on me. Other restaurants, like UNO, Outback, and Friendly's, are 1 in 16, 1 in 14, and 1 in 15 back, respectively.

I assure you that giving back 5% to IHOP does not make them lose money when they charge $10 for pancakes that cost about $0.60 to make. (Coming from a former restaurant GM that had a muuuuch higher food cost than something like IHOP.)

[abefroman329]

Maybe all of the hundreds of people I have met who smoke the stuff were all naturally dingbats anyway (so smoking it truly had no effect)

everybody has their own unhealthy coping skills.  No need to break your arm jacking yourself off just because alcohol and marijuana aren't on your list.

I'm not sure which part of his post prompted you to write this.

The part I quoted, but really it could have been any of the other parts where he was, you know, about to break his arm jacking himself off because he doesn't drink or smoke pot.

Thank you for assuming I am deviantly pleasuring myself over this.  The contrary.  I don't think I even once talked about how awesome my life is because I don't partake in alcohol or marijuana.  I was mainly pointing out how I always get the "pot is organic so it's not bad for you" of the "it's healthier for you than alcohol so why is it illegal" routines from everyone I have ever met who does it and then I observe the way they act and I think to myself, the way you just spaced out on me has a lot to do why it's a controlled substance.  Never did I once say I am good, and you all are heathens for doing it.  I even said specifically that I don't care if anyone does it.  I personally would like it very much if everyone could not do any type of mind-altering drugs then drive, may it be marijuana, alcohol or meth.  I have seen what any of those things do to a person on them without driving, and it's not good.  I also know how awful some people drive stone cold sober.  I seem to hear a lot how it's perfectly fine for a person to smoke marijuana and drive from someone who does it, while I observe them space off and forget why they were standing there. 

I also don't care if anyone does it all they want, but if they work for me, as some do, don't so it at work and I would prefer you not do it before work, even though I have no control over what they do with their personal time.  As a manager, I get tired of giving the same direction over and over again, and in some cases for years. 

I have family members who have had addiction problems, so I have never had a holier than thou attitude toward people who use vs myself but thank you for assuming I do. 

My only points were I don't think it's as safe and harmless as users say it is, considering the people I have associated that do it.  I think, like a lot of things, a lot of mis-information gets propagated a lot along the way that mainly started as a way for users to justify what they do, not because any of it was hard facts.  There may be some facts to it, and a lot of it makes sense.  Smoking marijuana is probably way safer for you than drinking alcohol, I just think it's like saying drinking paint is better for you than drinking turpentine.  They are both not good for you, but one is better, I guess.

Again, I say that not because I am a better person for not, but I just want to please put a stop to the "marijuana is perfectly fine for you" campaign I hear.  It's not.  It alters your mind and it's permanent (not saying you trip forever, just that if you use something that alters your mind, you better believe it has some kind of lasting effect).

Fair enough, although your original post certainly seemed to involve sneering at those who use.

The truth, of course, is somewhere between "marijuana is harmless" and "marijuana is 100 times as dangerous as whizzing on an electric fence."  I've personally never argued that it's harmless, but I do believe it's less harmful than alcohol, and I also have a problem with the way the consumption of alcohol is glamorized almost everywhere you look, whereas with marijuana, we get dumbshit ONDCP ads with messages such as "don't get high more than three times, or someone will try to sexually assault you" (because that never happens when you get blackout drunk?)

As for driving while high, I'll admit I thought it was fine for a while, but then, one weekend, I went to see some friends' band play a show in Woodbridge, VA.  I got high with them, and I remember getting in my car, getting on I-95 to drive back to DC, and then nothing between that and waking up in my own bed at my apartment.  None of that was fine.

[hotdogPi]

That's not how the rewards system at IHOP works. I usually eat from the $8 meals after 3 PM if I'm not using rewards. Typically, it's $5 spent to receive 1 PanCoin. However, they have had two promotions that allow me to get a whole bunch of PanCoins. In July 2022, an additional 10 each for your first four visits (I did 3). From December 15 or so to December 30, 20 if you go twice.

Rewards:
3 – 3 pancakes
12 – A burger or sandwich
The others are less efficient, except for 5 for 5 pancakes, which is too much food and too little variety for me.

This means that my 50 free PanCoins could get me 50 pancakes, or 48 if I solely go by threes. (I did use some for burgers.) Lots of free meals for lunch, while for dinner, I get the $8 omelette + 3 pancakes meal.

In addition, there have been a few times that I activated the reward and it didn't get deleted from my account, allowing me to use it a second time.

It helps that I'm typically by myself.

[roadman65]

Also any rewards program from a retailer is a scam. 
[/quote]^^^^

Except if you are a frequent flyer than the mileage points do save you on airfare over time.

[abefroman329]

The only restaurant rewards program I bother participating in is the one offered by Lettuce Entertain You.

[JayhawkCO]

That's not how the rewards system at IHOP works. I usually eat from the $8 meals after 3 PM if I'm not using rewards. Typically, it's $5 spent to receive 1 PanCoin. However, they have had two promotions that allow me to get a whole bunch of PanCoins. In July 2022, an additional 10 for your first four visits (I did 3). From December 15 or so to December 30, 20 if you go twice.

Rewards:
3 – 3 pancakes
12 – A burger or sandwich
The others are less efficient, except for 5 for 5 pancakes, which is too much food and too little variety for me.

This means that my 50 free PanCoins could get me 50 pancakes, or 48 if I solely go by threes. (I did use some for burgers.) Lots of free meals for lunch, while for dinner, I get the $8 omelette + 3 pancakes meal.

It helps that I'm typically by myself.

But therein lies the great "mirage" of these things. A redemption of 50 PanCoins costs the company about $10 (assuming 3 pancakes cost $0.60 to make). If you spent more than $20 or so to earn those, they're still in the black. It's why when I was training young managers how to deal with guest complaints, I always told them that we should take a discount off their current meal as a last resort. The better option was to offer them a very generous gift card to return. If I take $50 off of their current meal, the restaurant lost $50. But if I gave them $100 to return another time, a) it gave us a chance to prove that their last bad experience was an outlier, b) they might never use it which means it didn't cost us anything, or c) they do use it and the $100 of revenue lost by using the gift card is really only $25 worth of food/drink (given our food and LBW cost).

[hotdogPi]

If you spent more than $20 or so to earn those, they're still in the black.

I'm not entirely sure. I spent $34 (they were $6 before they were $8) to receive 55 PanCoins (1 per purchase + 50 bonus), five three-egg omelettes with ham and cheese, and 15 pancakes (three per meal).

[roadman65]

Oh one time I was a server. The manager comped a $50 meal due to an arrogant customer. I was his server, and I was super busy. He was impatient and saw he was not the only customer I had.

Of course my boss cared more about reputation than whether the man deserved it or not. However he didn't see when I was dealing with him. Well kinda. He asked for heated syrup, which I was going to gladly take care of for him. However other customers had request too, so I took care of my others first and when I finally walked passed his table he had his heated syrup. I then assumed one of my coworkers helped me out so I expressed how glad I was he got his syrup in a timely matter. His reaction was, " I got it myself"  in a snarky tone like he was accusing me of forgetting him. Paid no attention to my concern which insulted me more than a lack of tip from him.

[JayhawkCO]

If you spent more than $20 or so to earn those, they're still in the black.

I'm not entirely sure. I spent $34 (they were $6 before they were $8) to receive 55 PanCoins (1 per purchase + 50 bonus), five three-egg omelettes with ham and cheese, and 15 pancakes (three per meal).

If I'm reading you correctly that the omelets and pancakes were your free redemptions, then I'd guess that:

3 Egg Omelet: $1.30 x 5 = $6.50
Pancake: $0.20 x 15 = $3.00

$9.50 in food cost. IHOP probably averages about 20-25% profit if they're well run, so you, maximizing their plan, made it about a break-even proposition for them to offer it. Most people wouldn't go to the lengths to maximize the rewards, so if they get any incremental loyalty from someone coming back that wouldn't have otherwise, it makes business sense for IHOP.

[hotdogPi]

If you spent more than $20 or so to earn those, they're still in the black.

I'm not entirely sure. I spent $34 (they were $6 before they were $8) to receive 55 PanCoins (1 per purchase + 50 bonus), five three-egg omelettes with ham and cheese, and 15 pancakes (three per meal).

If I'm reading you correctly that the omelets and pancakes were your free redemptions, then I'd guess that:

3 Egg Omelet: $1.30 x 5 = $6.50
Pancake: $0.20 x 15 = $3.00

$9.50 in food cost. IHOP probably averages about 20-25% profit if they're well run, so you, maximizing their plan, made it about a break-even proposition for them to offer it. Most people wouldn't go to the lengths to maximize the rewards, so if they get any incremental loyalty from someone coming back that wouldn't have otherwise, it makes business sense for IHOP.

The omelettes and pancakes were what I paid for to receive the qualifying visits. This doesn't include the free food from the 50 PanCoins, which I think I got two burgers from and used the rest for pancakes for lunch (or still have the PanCoins in my account).

I also want to point out that one visit, they gave me the wrong table's code to scan, and I received 19 PanCoins instead of 1.

[JayhawkCO]

Oh one time I was a server. The manager comped a $50 meal due to an arrogant customer. I was his server, and I was super busy. He was impatient and saw he was not the only customer I had.

Of course my boss cared more about reputation than whether the man deserved it or not. However he didn't see when I was dealing with him. Well kinda. He asked for heated syrup, which I was going to gladly take care of for him. However other customers had request too, so I took care of my others first and when I finally walked passed his table he had his heated syrup. I then assumed one of my coworkers helped me out so I expressed how glad I was he got his syrup in a timely matter. His reaction was, " I got it myself"  in a snarky tone like he was accusing me of forgetting him. Paid no attention to my concern which insulted me more than a lack of tip from him.

Welcome to the restaurant biz - the only industry where customers assume they more know about the business than those who work in it.

[JayhawkCO]

If you spent more than $20 or so to earn those, they're still in the black.

I'm not entirely sure. I spent $34 (they were $6 before they were $8) to receive 55 PanCoins (1 per purchase + 50 bonus), five three-egg omelettes with ham and cheese, and 15 pancakes (three per meal).

If I'm reading you correctly that the omelets and pancakes were your free redemptions, then I'd guess that:

3 Egg Omelet: $1.30 x 5 = $6.50
Pancake: $0.20 x 15 = $3.00

$9.50 in food cost. IHOP probably averages about 20-25% profit if they're well run, so you, maximizing their plan, made it about a break-even proposition for them to offer it. Most people wouldn't go to the lengths to maximize the rewards, so if they get any incremental loyalty from someone coming back that wouldn't have otherwise, it makes business sense for IHOP.

The omelettes and pancakes were what I paid for to receive the qualifying visits. This doesn't include the free food.

Now I'm reading it the way you intended. So, $34 spend to be able to redeem for 4 burgers probably is slightly in your favor (from the company's perspective). If you redeemed for 17 orders of pancakes, the company wins.

[vdeane]

Not to get into it and either, but it's paranoia. No amount of voting "anomalies" could offset an 8,000,000 or 11,000,000 majority for example. That's all I'm gonna say about that.

Correct me if I am wrong, but Bush II vs Al Gore boiled down to a much smaller number of ballots. Presidential elections are decided in swing states, representative majorities  on different levels are decided in swing districts....

I agree, the Electoral College is a scam.  Get rid of that and there won't be any elections decided by swing states/districts, or by small margins (Gore won the national popular vote by about one million votes, as I recall).

The biggest problem with that it one word - 'recount'. Also, the USA's midsection (aka 'flyover country') world really become FLYOVER COUNTRY - only the interests of the biggest urban markets would ever get any attention from the media and the people in charge  (those founding fathers™ were really smart people!).

Mike

So everyone's vote would count equally?  How awful

"A 'democracy' is two wolves and a sheep deciding on what to have for lunch.  'Liberty' is a well-armed sheep contesting the outcome."

Mike

Meanwhile, our actual system is more akin to four wolves and six sheep voting for three representatives deciding what to have for lunch, with two of the representatives voted for in districts comprising two wolves and one sheep, and the third in a district with four sheep.

[kphoger]

When I'm high, I don't care, I just amuse myself with seeing how tightly I can pack the dishwasher or reorganizing the spice rack to be more efficient or whatever.

I don't understand why anyone would organize his spice rack in any manner that isn't alphabetical.

[abefroman329]

Oh one time I was a server. The manager comped a $50 meal due to an arrogant customer. I was his server, and I was super busy. He was impatient and saw he was not the only customer I had.

Of course my boss cared more about reputation than whether the man deserved it or not. However he didn't see when I was dealing with him. Well kinda. He asked for heated syrup, which I was going to gladly take care of for him. However other customers had request too, so I took care of my others first and when I finally walked passed his table he had his heated syrup. I then assumed one of my coworkers helped me out so I expressed how glad I was he got his syrup in a timely matter. His reaction was, " I got it myself"  in a snarky tone like he was accusing me of forgetting him. Paid no attention to my concern which insulted me more than a lack of tip from him.

Welcome to the restaurant biz - the only industry where customers assume they more know about the business than those who work in it.

Are the customers who once waited tables for a summer in college and think all servers fall short of the sterling work they did better or worse than the customers who never worked in restaurants at all?

[JayhawkCO]

Oh one time I was a server. The manager comped a $50 meal due to an arrogant customer. I was his server, and I was super busy. He was impatient and saw he was not the only customer I had.

Of course my boss cared more about reputation than whether the man deserved it or not. However he didn't see when I was dealing with him. Well kinda. He asked for heated syrup, which I was going to gladly take care of for him. However other customers had request too, so I took care of my others first and when I finally walked passed his table he had his heated syrup. I then assumed one of my coworkers helped me out so I expressed how glad I was he got his syrup in a timely matter. His reaction was, " I got it myself"  in a snarky tone like he was accusing me of forgetting him. Paid no attention to my concern which insulted me more than a lack of tip from him.

Welcome to the restaurant biz - the only industry where customers assume they more know about the business than those who work in it.

Are the customers who once waited tables for a summer in college and think all servers fall short of the sterling work they did better or worse than the customers who never worked in restaurants at all?

More annoying I think. When you get the whole "I used to wait tables" thing and then they proceed to one-time you (asking for one thing, when you return needing something else, etc.) and then follow up with a 14% tip? Sure you did, buddy. Sure you did. You must have been terrible.

[abefroman329]

Oh one time I was a server. The manager comped a $50 meal due to an arrogant customer. I was his server, and I was super busy. He was impatient and saw he was not the only customer I had.

Of course my boss cared more about reputation than whether the man deserved it or not. However he didn't see when I was dealing with him. Well kinda. He asked for heated syrup, which I was going to gladly take care of for him. However other customers had request too, so I took care of my others first and when I finally walked passed his table he had his heated syrup. I then assumed one of my coworkers helped me out so I expressed how glad I was he got his syrup in a timely matter. His reaction was, " I got it myself"  in a snarky tone like he was accusing me of forgetting him. Paid no attention to my concern which insulted me more than a lack of tip from him.

Welcome to the restaurant biz - the only industry where customers assume they more know about the business than those who work in it.

Are the customers who once waited tables for a summer in college and think all servers fall short of the sterling work they did better or worse than the customers who never worked in restaurants at all?

More annoying I think. When you get the whole "I used to wait tables" thing and then they proceed to one-time you (asking for one thing, when you return needing something else, etc.) and then follow up with a 14% tip? Sure you did, buddy. Sure you did. You must have been terrible.

A friend of mine (with an extensive background in bartending/waiting tables) once reduced a waitress to tears because the waitress dropped a tray of drinks and said something like "this is why you don't overload a tray" and my friend thought she was blaming us for spilling the drinks.  Don't ask me how.  She blamed pregnancy hormones and refused to acknowledge that she'd done anything wrong.

[JayhawkCO]

Oh one time I was a server. The manager comped a $50 meal due to an arrogant customer. I was his server, and I was super busy. He was impatient and saw he was not the only customer I had.

Of course my boss cared more about reputation than whether the man deserved it or not. However he didn't see when I was dealing with him. Well kinda. He asked for heated syrup, which I was going to gladly take care of for him. However other customers had request too, so I took care of my others first and when I finally walked passed his table he had his heated syrup. I then assumed one of my coworkers helped me out so I expressed how glad I was he got his syrup in a timely matter. His reaction was, " I got it myself"  in a snarky tone like he was accusing me of forgetting him. Paid no attention to my concern which insulted me more than a lack of tip from him.

Welcome to the restaurant biz - the only industry where customers assume they more know about the business than those who work in it.

Are the customers who once waited tables for a summer in college and think all servers fall short of the sterling work they did better or worse than the customers who never worked in restaurants at all?

More annoying I think. When you get the whole "I used to wait tables" thing and then they proceed to one-time you (asking for one thing, when you return needing something else, etc.) and then follow up with a 14% tip? Sure you did, buddy. Sure you did. You must have been terrible.

A friend of mine (with an extensive background in bartending/waiting tables) once reduced a waitress to tears because the waitress dropped a tray of drinks and said something like "this is why you don't overload a tray" and my friend thought she was blaming us for spilling the drinks.  Don't ask me how.  She blamed pregnancy hormones and refused to acknowledge that she'd done anything wrong.

I do want to hit in the septum people who say "Job opening!" when they hear a broken dish or glass.  Cost of doing business sadly.

[skluth]

When I'm high, I don't care, I just amuse myself with seeing how tightly I can pack the dishwasher or reorganizing the spice rack to be more efficient or whatever.

I don't understand why anyone would organize his spice rack in any manner that isn't alphabetical.

I only do that with CDs and DVDs, CDs by artist and DVDs by title (or series like Star Wars). I sort my spice rack by container type and frequency of use since some of them come in giant Costco containers. Clothing is another type of sort as I sort my closet into clothing types and then by color. If I want to wear a black tee shirt, I can find it in the tee shirt section with its matching black plastic hanger. I rotate wearing other clothes like underwear and jeans so they wear more evenly.

[kalvado]

Not to get into it and either, but it's paranoia. No amount of voting "anomalies" could offset an 8,000,000 or 11,000,000 majority for example. That's all I'm gonna say about that.

Correct me if I am wrong, but Bush II vs Al Gore boiled down to a much smaller number of ballots. Presidential elections are decided in swing states, representative majorities  on different levels are decided in swing districts....

I agree, the Electoral College is a scam.  Get rid of that and there won't be any elections decided by swing states/districts, or by small margins (Gore won the national popular vote by about one million votes, as I recall).

The biggest problem with that it one word - 'recount'. Also, the USA's midsection (aka 'flyover country') world really become FLYOVER COUNTRY - only the interests of the biggest urban markets would ever get any attention from the media and the people in charge  (those founding fathers™ were really smart people!).

Mike

So everyone's vote would count equally?  How awful

"A 'democracy' is two wolves and a sheep deciding on what to have for lunch.  'Liberty' is a well-armed sheep contesting the outcome."

Mike

Meanwhile, our actual system is more akin to four wolves and six sheep voting for three representatives deciding what to have for lunch, with two of the representatives voted for in districts comprising two wolves and one sheep, and the third in a district with four sheep.

Given how everyone is willing to adopt a sheep and wolves analogy, its probably time to look for either a decent divorce lawyer or an ol'good dictator...

[JayhawkCO]

Given how everyone is willing to adopt a sheep and wolves analogy, its probably time to look for either a decent divorce lawyer or an ol'good dictator...

We have politicians on "both sides" that would love to fulfill role of the latter.

[formulanone]

Given how everyone is willing to adopt a sheep and wolves analogy, its probably time to look for either a decent divorce lawyer or an ol'good dictator...

We have politicians on "both sides" that would love to fulfill role of the latter.

Also, politicians get to make 90% of the rules which constitute their own jobs, so very little actually changes.

[Scott5114]

Oh one time I was a server. The manager comped a $50 meal due to an arrogant customer. I was his server, and I was super busy. He was impatient and saw he was not the only customer I had.

Of course my boss cared more about reputation than whether the man deserved it or not. However he didn't see when I was dealing with him. Well kinda. He asked for heated syrup, which I was going to gladly take care of for him. However other customers had request too, so I took care of my others first and when I finally walked passed his table he had his heated syrup. I then assumed one of my coworkers helped me out so I expressed how glad I was he got his syrup in a timely matter. His reaction was, " I got it myself"  in a snarky tone like he was accusing me of forgetting him. Paid no attention to my concern which insulted me more than a lack of tip from him.

Welcome to the restaurant biz - the only industry where customers assume they more know about the business than those who work in it.

I think that's true of casino gaming too. The number of people who assert with confidence that we have a switch behind the counter that makes the machines pay out...

When I'm high, I don't care, I just amuse myself with seeing how tightly I can pack the dishwasher or reorganizing the spice rack to be more efficient or whatever.

I don't understand why anyone would organize his spice rack in any manner that isn't alphabetical.

I actually don't have a traditional spice rack. Instead, one time when I was high, I found a small wire shelf that I had put in my locker in high school and had yet to find a use for since. I placed it over top of the bread, and then put a selection of our most frequently used spices and condiments (kosher salt, seasoned salt, a few other things I can't think of at the moment) on it. Before that they'd kind of float around the kitchen to wherever someone had used them last. (They still kind of do because my wife would rather die than put anything back where it goes, but at least it has a "correct place" now.)

The spices that are only used for cooking go in the little cabinet above the vent hood.

[kkt]

When I'm high, I don't care, I just amuse myself with seeing how tightly I can pack the dishwasher or reorganizing the spice rack to be more efficient or whatever.

I don't understand why anyone would organize his spice rack in any manner that isn't alphabetical.

Color?  Genus and species of the spice?  Frequency of use?