A List of Things That I Often Ponder
1. Why did all the grocery stores start making the Customer Rewards Card? Almost every grocery store I shop at issues a Customer Rewards Card, and you can only save money on their special deals by having the rewards card. Without the card, you have to pay more money to buy groceries - yet with the card you are supposed to save all this money. However, I never really save more than 3-4 dollars, if that. Yes, I realize that over time this will add up, but do they mark the prices up on the things that I am supposedly getting a deal on? For whatever reason, I think we are getting one pulled over on us. Somehow all these savings don't really add up on some level. If I were a grocery store owner, I would try and undercut the competition with the idea that "You don't need to have a card to shop with us, because we give everyone a good deal." I mean shouldn't you want ALL of your customers to feel like they are getting the best deal in town? Just a thought.
2. How many criminals are deterred by the gates at apartment buildings? My apartment complex has a gate, but any smart criminal would just park their car and walk around the fence, right? Are most criminals dumb and not think about that? I really think the gates are there just to annoy the tenants. I experienced a traffic jam of about five cars last night and it was a nightmare. The cars in the position to open the gates, didn't know the code. We just had to sit there until someone finally figured it out. So annoying.
3. On the criminal note - a homeless man told me the other day that homeless people get blamed for the high rate of burglaries in our area and to him that was the dumbest statistic he had ever heard. He said that homeless people weren't "connected" enough to burglarize. From his perspective, this is how it works - first the homeowners association employs rent-a-cops to patrol the neighborhood. Then a homeowner goes on vacation and tells the rent-a-cop company when they are out of town. The rent-a-cop calls up his friend the "professional robber" and tells him when they will be out of town. The "professional robber" steals their stuff, makes some money and gives a cut to the rent-a-cop. So, in his perspective if homeless people had as nice a friends as the rent-a-cop, then they probably wouldn't be homeless. Say what you will - I think the guy has a point.
4. Why is it, when you are going to buy something kind of embarrassing in the store, there is always a really long line or a lot of people? Laugh all you want, but I despise buying tampons. Yes, you read that right, I just used the word tampons - but hey, lets be realistic we all have to buy that kind of stuff. Every single time, the line is five miles long - what is the deal? This week I was in CVS buying some random things I needed (yes, tampons being one of them). So, it is in the middle of the afternoon and there was only one little old lady in front of me. I thought - great this is going to be painless, quick and I will be out of here in a flash. WELL, the CVS checkout lady decides that she is going to help the little old lady save six dollars by showing her one of the deals on something she was going to buy. (When have you ever seen a checkout person say - hey, let me save you some money?) Anyway the cashier left to go find the product, and by the time she came back a creepy man and a nosey woman were in line. The woman was looking over my shoulder checking out what I was buying and standing way too close in line. Of course, I am turning red because I am holding a box of tampons. Then the cashier's machine breaks and her paper print out will not work. TEN minutes later she finally calls someone else to open up another checkout lane. While I am checking out I hear her tell the old woman, "I guess I shouldn't have tried to save you six dollars, maybe my machine wouldn't have broken."
5. Oh, and why do people stand so close in line? I will checkout and trying to get my stuff out of the way and all of a sudden the next person is putting their stuff up on the counter and basically crawling all over me. If you are one of these people - please stop, your turn will come soon enough.
6. Why aren't most of us more assertive with businesses? My grandmother recently saw an advertisement for the paper that she subscribes to. For new subscriptions you could save 50% off. So, she called them up and said - I have been subscribing to this paper for forty years and I want a 50% off savings. The people said, "well, this is only for new subscribers and your subscription isn't up for renewal." When her subscription came up for renewal she wrote them a letter and said "I have subscribed to this paper for forty years and I am going to take a 25% discount." The company called and tried to tell her she couldn't just take her own discount, but after some talking they let her do this "just this one time." Why don't most of us ever do this? I just write my check without even thinking about it. I challenge you to pick one company and try and make up your own discount - let me know if it works.
2. How many criminals are deterred by the gates at apartment buildings? My apartment complex has a gate, but any smart criminal would just park their car and walk around the fence, right? Are most criminals dumb and not think about that? I really think the gates are there just to annoy the tenants. I experienced a traffic jam of about five cars last night and it was a nightmare. The cars in the position to open the gates, didn't know the code. We just had to sit there until someone finally figured it out. So annoying.
3. On the criminal note - a homeless man told me the other day that homeless people get blamed for the high rate of burglaries in our area and to him that was the dumbest statistic he had ever heard. He said that homeless people weren't "connected" enough to burglarize. From his perspective, this is how it works - first the homeowners association employs rent-a-cops to patrol the neighborhood. Then a homeowner goes on vacation and tells the rent-a-cop company when they are out of town. The rent-a-cop calls up his friend the "professional robber" and tells him when they will be out of town. The "professional robber" steals their stuff, makes some money and gives a cut to the rent-a-cop. So, in his perspective if homeless people had as nice a friends as the rent-a-cop, then they probably wouldn't be homeless. Say what you will - I think the guy has a point.
4. Why is it, when you are going to buy something kind of embarrassing in the store, there is always a really long line or a lot of people? Laugh all you want, but I despise buying tampons. Yes, you read that right, I just used the word tampons - but hey, lets be realistic we all have to buy that kind of stuff. Every single time, the line is five miles long - what is the deal? This week I was in CVS buying some random things I needed (yes, tampons being one of them). So, it is in the middle of the afternoon and there was only one little old lady in front of me. I thought - great this is going to be painless, quick and I will be out of here in a flash. WELL, the CVS checkout lady decides that she is going to help the little old lady save six dollars by showing her one of the deals on something she was going to buy. (When have you ever seen a checkout person say - hey, let me save you some money?) Anyway the cashier left to go find the product, and by the time she came back a creepy man and a nosey woman were in line. The woman was looking over my shoulder checking out what I was buying and standing way too close in line. Of course, I am turning red because I am holding a box of tampons. Then the cashier's machine breaks and her paper print out will not work. TEN minutes later she finally calls someone else to open up another checkout lane. While I am checking out I hear her tell the old woman, "I guess I shouldn't have tried to save you six dollars, maybe my machine wouldn't have broken."
5. Oh, and why do people stand so close in line? I will checkout and trying to get my stuff out of the way and all of a sudden the next person is putting their stuff up on the counter and basically crawling all over me. If you are one of these people - please stop, your turn will come soon enough.
6. Why aren't most of us more assertive with businesses? My grandmother recently saw an advertisement for the paper that she subscribes to. For new subscriptions you could save 50% off. So, she called them up and said - I have been subscribing to this paper for forty years and I want a 50% off savings. The people said, "well, this is only for new subscribers and your subscription isn't up for renewal." When her subscription came up for renewal she wrote them a letter and said "I have subscribed to this paper for forty years and I am going to take a 25% discount." The company called and tried to tell her she couldn't just take her own discount, but after some talking they let her do this "just this one time." Why don't most of us ever do this? I just write my check without even thinking about it. I challenge you to pick one company and try and make up your own discount - let me know if it works.
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