Monday, June 18, 2012

I'm Cranky and I Know It...

Sorry for the earworm...and by the way?  That term grosses me out.  Yet I still used it.  Bah!

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Am I missing something?  When did it become standard for restaurant servers to not give you the coin change when you pay your bill with cash?  This has happened several times lately, and honestly, I've wondered if it's normal and I am not hip enough to realize it?  Last week we had dinner at Cheddar's - our bill was $15.12 and we paid with a twenty dollar bill.  The server brought back four one dollar bills - effectively pocketing .88 in change.  Now, I've not said anything when it was a few cents, but this was almost a buck...and it just struck both Jeff and I the wrong way.  Honestly, 88 cents is not going to break us (and if it was, we wouldn't be eating out), but it's the principle.  Jeff took the check and our change to the manager and showed it to him, who said "I tell the servers to give exact change!"  Jeff asked the manager what he would do in this case, and he said "I wouldn't tip her - they aren't supposed to do this" - so we didn't...but this whole thing just left a bad taste in our mouths (sad considering the meal was good), and we left the restaurant not feeling great about the way it ended. 

Anybody else have this experience?  ARE we missing the new way of paying for a meal?  You know, it's not like this would happen if we used a credit card...so that makes me think that this really isn't acceptable.  Unless restaurants have become cash-haters - but after Jeff's credit card number was lifted somewhere a few months ago, we've become really careful about not letting it out of our hands - hence, the cash payment.

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Social media.  I don't get tumblr.  Or Reddit.  I'm not on Twitter, and I only have a Facebook page for myself, not for my blog.  And speaking of having a Facebook page for your blog, what is the point?  Mostly it seems that it's just links to your blog posts, so why bother?  Also, who can keep up with all of this stuff?!?  Maybe once I enter the 21st century and get a smart phone (mine is barely mediocre), I might be more active with social media, but I doubt it.  I suspect I've reached the point where I'm young enough to have heard about these things, but too old to care.  ::shakes cane::

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Also, eyelashes.  You can't believe any picture these days - it seems like everyone is either wearing false eyelashes or using Latisse - and while I agree that these enhancers make your eyes look amazing, those of us who just go with the old standby of mascara look blah now.  Back in the day, blah was reserved for the days when I didn't bother with mascara. Now I put it on in order to achieve blah!

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The overuse of the words "brilliant" and "genius" on Pinterest make me stabby.  Not everything is THAT awesome, people.

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Blogger.  Apparently most people DID NOT GET THE MEMO when I complained about word verification.  I can't believe my standing in the blog community didn't get everyone to immediately turn it off.  And yes, I feel the need to point out that the last sentence was written with self-deprecating sarcasm...but geez, enough with it, already!

In case I haven't offended most of my readers, I'll just finish off with asking questions at the end of every post.  REALLY?  I come here to read, not answer a quiz!  I know, I know - you're just trying to interact and get a discussion going in the comments.  I TOLD YOU I WAS CRANKY!

 Anybody have anything else they're cranky about?  (you want to slap me now for asking a question, right?  I do, too.)

46 comments:

  1. wait
    you had and lost me at the COIN CHANGE?!
    Im so so not cheap yet that would make me crazy :-)
    Im going to do a social experiment and see if thats happening here.

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    1. That's exactly it - it makes me crazy. Which in turn makes me feel silly for getting worked up over change, but FOR REAL??? Give me mah money!!!

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    2. I haven't experienced this, but what I don't like is when they ask, "do you want change"? Yes...I do (unless I say "it's all set)...then I will figure out your tip.

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  2. Haven't paid cash at a restaurant in ages (heck, haven't eaten at a place with an actual server in ages!) so can't offer anything there. But I am SO with you re: the social media thing. I really don't need to know what my friends are doing 24 hours a day. I don't care where they are right this very second I don't need to see a picture of what they ate for breakfast. I certainly don't need a play by play of their latest drama with their husband/boyfriend/mother, all given in 144 characters or less. I can barely keep up with my own life, let alone the minute by minute updates from everyone I know. I love how you phrased it -- young enough to have heard about it but too old to care. Now that's just....brilliant, LOL!

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    1. Glad to hear I'm not the only one with social media burnout. :)

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  3. Well, I have a smartphone and never did get into Twitter. Facebook and blogging are plenty for me thank you very much!

    I haven't had that happen when paying cash but I sure would mention it if it did. The server does not get to choose if I tip or what I give them, I do! Oh, and we never use our debit/credit card in restaurants - too dangerous with it being connected to our checking account.

    I have too many cranky things to get into them here without taking over your blog so I'm not answering that question!

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    1. You can not be too careful with the debit cards - we were out $500 for nearly a month before it was resolved. That was too big of a hit for us.

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  4. I am the same about social media for my blog self. I did get into Twitter for a while. But you really need to put time and energy into it to get anything back, IMO. And I just don't have the time or energy. Or interest. I also really wish I didn't start a facebook page for my blog. One more thing to spend time on. But I don't. So now I have a ton of friends on there and wonder what will happen if I just shut that thing down.

    BTW - My mom went on an eye medication for glaucoma, in one eye, and boy did she look like she had the most amazing eye lashes and like she had on eyeliner all the time! The finally let her put it on both eyes to look even:)

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    1. I Googled Latisse when I was writing this post, and apparently it IS glaucoma medicine - which would explain your mom's amazing lashes.

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  5. Mr. Pea often refers to me as the "Crustacean Queen"...because I can get incredibly crabby over the most minor of infractions. It's summertime, which means we're positively roasting up here in north central Texas. That makes me crabby. The kids are home from school for the summer, eating everything in sight and then begging me to go to the store. again. That makes me crabby, too. Social Media? That makes me the crabbiest.

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    1. I love the title your husband bestowed upon you!

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  6. Oh how I love this post! I've also never heard of the change thing - that's crazy. I'm glad you mentioned it because I'll be on the lookout for it and have a Zero Tolerance Policy on that. What the hell?

    I'm exactly the same with social media. My very modest blog is separate from my very modest FB page. I go to Pinterest and got an "invite" (?), but just can't be bothered.

    I started on glaucoma drops about 4 months ago, so I also have noticed a little thickening of my lashes, but they were so minimal to start with (I've always been un-hairy!)that it isn't that remarkable. I love Karen's tale of her mom!

    Finally - I literally bust out with a loud chuckle on your shaking of your cane! Wait for 10 more years...I'm totally a geezer at this point, and proud of it!

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    1. I love that you are embracing your geezer - although, to be clear, I do NOT see you as a geezer, LOL!

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  7. Um...not giving you your change at a restaurant - isn't that called stealing? That is just WRONG.

    I'm with you on the social media. I have a FB page, but I don't have one for my blog mainly because I don't want my IRL people to know that I have a blog! I prefer to keep my blog life and my real life as separate as possible, thankyouverymuch.

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    1. Haha, I am the same way - almost all of my FB friends are my real-life ones (there are a few blog buddies on there, but not many), and I don't want them to know about my blog! Glad I'm not the only one who does this.

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  8. LOLOL. Hope that term doesn't make you crabby too LOL. What can I say? I love to laugh and I am too lazy to say it any other way!

    Plus, the change thing? The thing I don't get is don't they know that will make their customers mad, which will decrease their overall tip? Like, they're willing to exchange 50 cents for a possible $2? It just doesn't make any sense.

    Social media. Don't care. Do Not Care. I am not your friend. I do not have hundreds of fake friends. Leave me alone........... (okay, that's not directed to my bloggie friends. Just all those facebook people) and I don't even know what those other things are that you mentioned!

    Okay I had to go and read what Latisse was before I knew what this meant.  Really, it enhances the growth cycle of your hair?  What keeps it from enhancing the growth cycle of your hair on other parts of your face???  What a nightmare!

    The google word verification. WHAT the heck are they protecting us from??? Don't they know that the bad guys will work harder at reading blurry words and nonsensical numbers than us little sane blogger people? (although, if they read this comment, they might have a case against our sanity...)

    Shaking my walker right along with you my friend. And embracing my inner geezer, as Leslie said!


     

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    1. You know I love LOL! And haha on the Latisse - my luck, I'd use it and get it on my chin, which does not need any help in promoting hair growth, thank you very much!

      Cranks and geezers, unite! :)

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  9. I hate twitter. Hate it - along with the hashtag thing used in other places? What is up with that. I have a twitter account, but I don't ever go there. I think my blog is set up to ping twitter, though. I can't really remember.

    The tip thing is rude. I hope that they actually just forgot the extra dollar in returning your change and didn't round up for their own sake. That is not cool and that server might be out of a job after you spoke to the manager.

    Sounds like I do a lot of the things that make you cranky. You had better get some froyo today. :D

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    1. Oh, the hashtags on non-twitter things! Really??? Bah!

      The first time the non-change thing happened, I blew it off as forgetfulness. But it's happened more than a few times now. So wrong.

      Nah, you don't annoy me. But froyo might be warranted anyway. :)

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  10. You know what? You're cranky and WHO CARES! Everyone has a right to be cranky now & then so just go with it, haha. As far as the change goes, HECK NO that's not right!! Like you said if it was .05 cents or something sure but .88 cents, nope, just wrong, don't do it. Heck if she didn't want to mess with the pennies she could have just given you .80 cents back, I mean that would have at least been minimally acceptable, but in reality they should not assume they are getting tipped & they should just give you ALL your money back. As for the social media, uh just saying the word is tiring. I don't know why it's so important to post every mundane thing you're doing throughout the day. And unless you work in a job that deals with social media, I just don't see the importance of it. Put down twitter people & go chat with your neighbor whom you've probably never even met!! That's the real way to tell a stranger about your boring day, maybe you'll even get a pie or something out of it. I have to admit I signed up for Twitter, but it's just sooo boring. I don't get why anyone thinks this is fun?? Ha, this post is starting to sound like yours & I'm not even in a cranky mood, lol. Ok, I'll go get my walker & shuffle on :)

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    1. OK Candi, you made my day with the pie comment. That was hilarious!

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  11. Ha - I loved this post Shelley - and laughed out loud when I read this: ::shakes cane::!

    I only go on Facebook to find out what my daughter and step-son are up to mostly and same with Twitter - its the only way I know what's going on with them!

    Like my step-son will tweet that he and his fiance have just checked into a restaurant - I'll go check out the menu and text them "If I were you I'd get the fish tacos!"

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    1. Twitter/Facebook stalking your adult children is necessary sometimes...it's like they don't know how to communicate any other way!

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  12. You are hilarious. The restaurant thing is crazy. It might as well be stealing. Lots of things make me stabby (which happens to be my favorite way of saying crabby)

    I have to admit, I love Facebook because I don't have to talk to anyone anymore in real life...speaking of getting stabby.

    I'm going to start asking random questions at the end of my posts like where do babies come from?

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    1. "Where do babies come from?" LOLOL.

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    2. Ok Tina, that question is pretty hilarious in and of itself actually. I dare you to do it.

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  13. Hmm, can younger people be cranky, too? Cuz I swear I could have written this post myself! Actually the change mishap has never happened to me, but I can imagine what my husband's response would have been: "Ok. I'll just take it out of their tip. No biggie!"

    I was part of the college wave that joined FB early on and was addicted (ok, maybe still am), but I don't post as much anymore and learned the hard way that one does not need to update people on every stupid little thing that you do.

    Ha! and I also don't advertise my blog AT ALL on FB. Too embarrassed. Can't quite explain it...but somehow I feel so much more comfortable with strangers reading my blog. Like they're meeting me for the first time and won't judge. Way too many people on FB who would use my blog as ammo. Pretty sure of it.

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    1. At first we did take the change out of their tip, but it still rankles. Plus, it made us look like bad tippers! ARGH.

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  14. Uh oh. *hides eyelash extensions,turns off word verification, and sstops asking questions on blog* LOL
    You crack me up. :)

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    1. LOL! You DO look amazing with your eyelash extensions, though!

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  15. I'm just so happy that I'm not the only one who is excessively crabby that I have nothing further to say. :)

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    1. What's that saying? If you don't have anything nice to say, come sit by me?

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  16. IF someone tried not to give us our "change" I would be pissed.

    I don't get tumblr and reddit. I hate clicking on a weight loss picture on pinterest only to find out it doesn't link to a blog with info but something on f'ing tumblr. wtf. that's lazy blogging, imo. Watch I'll get spammed to hell for that and have to turn on word verification again ;) LOL J/K!

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    1. Thank you - I've thought the same thing when I click on a blog only to find a weird picture/gazillion reposts on tumblr. And what's with that spelling, anyway?!?

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  17. Oh Shelley!! I loved and laughed at this post. The "shakes cane" thing is BRILLIANT! And the eyelash rant? GENIUS!!! HA!!! So joking...some smart a*& had to say that...may as well have been me. :) Thank you for making me smile this morning, hope your day gets better!

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  18. Seems like my eyelashes get thinner and thinner. Getting old is the pits.

    And no, I don't think that is standard tipping practice. Not in D/FW anyway.

    Sheryl
    http://500daystowhereiwanttobe.blogspot.com

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  19. OK, I adore that you opened your hood. HAHAHAHAH! Do NOT mess with the cranks!

    Jeff said the was going to leave a note the next time the short-changing thing happened. GMTA. :)

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  20. We went to a restaurant last night and the opposite happened - our bill was something like $75.07 and we paid with a hundred dollar bill and the waitress gave us back $25.00. I guess she took the seven cents out of her tip to give back to the restaurant? I always pay with a credit or debit card, so I'm not familiar with the cash habits of restaurants I guess.

    As for those stupid code things on blogs - I hate them! Why does someone need a code - it's not like I'm trying to break into the White House or something. How do you politely tell someone that their blog is a pain in the butt to comment on?

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    1. Today I had one that had a picture of nothing, and a funky word. WTH? It's really frustrating to write a comment and then fight the captcha to get it posted!

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  21. My take on your social media rant: I use Twitter to follow the news, not people. It is way more efficient to scan tweets and open only the links that interest me. I'm way more informed since I got a Twitter account. The downside? My subscription to my local newspaper is at risk, because the news is "so yesterday." It took me a while to embrace FB, and like you, it's annoying to read a post that links to a blog post, but I use it to follow family members, and a few magazines (bye bye subscriptions). I tried Pinterest after they honored me with an invite :) Do not get it, so that one is idle. Likewise, Tumbler and all those other ones you mentioned in your post.
    As for the wait staff keeping the change? Two things: I use a credit card for most all purchases so I can accumulate points or cash back. Of course, this only makes sense if you pay off in full at the end of each billing cycle. Secondly, as noted, the waitress shorted herself what might have been a more generous tip by keeping the change. Not brilliant.

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  22. I have recently become addicted to Twitter, who knows why. I am not tech savvy at all, but enjoy tweeting. As for Tumblr and Reddit-huh-don't get it. I thought I was the only one that got cranky, or at least my hubby thinks :-) P.S. I hate the word verification, especially now that they have added those darn numbers.

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  23. I have never had the change thing happen here in Cali... I would be upset though. One should never assume that they are owed something.

    There are blogs that I can't comment on because of the word verification thing <--- Totally bugs me too!

    I do like FB but I could never really get into Twitter. I did use it the other day and it really helped me.

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  24. This one made me laugh :) You can't get me cranky right now about anything because I'm well rested after our vacation with still 1.5 week to go.

    I tried Twitter but I don't like it. As you know I'm on Facebook but I don't link my blog to it because I don't want all my facebook friends being able to read my blog (especially not some co-workers I have on FB). Besides FB and my blog I don't use social media. I don't have the time to keep up with all of it.

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