Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

houdini2

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

houdini2 said:

driver100 said:

It might take most of a day to install the camera, so I was thinking of renting a car......Hertz is in the same plaza. I can get a Mazda 3 online for $61, by using AAA I get a discount that makes it come out to $63! How does that work?

Just take one of your other cars to the dealer and get a free loaner for the day.

We only have one car in Florida. Amazon gave me the choice of 3 places to go for installation. Place A charges $199 and is the closest. He said he needs the car all day, from 9 a.m. and might not finish until 6, depending on complications. Hertz is in the same plaza. Installer B is about 12 miles further and charges $225.
That made me think, maybe these dealers don't make too much on these installations, so maybe A will take all day and work on other cars as they come in. I talked to B and he seemed more honest...he wants me to email him the make and model of the dash cam/back up camera, and tell him what kind of car I have. He'll give me an estimate of the time involved tomorrow...he is really busy today.
$225 and waiting for the car for 4 to 6 hours would be less stress and money than $199 + $60 for a car rental.

Maybe he only needs 5 minutes for the install but then takes your car over to Hertz and they rent it out for the day. New twist on the lot boy joy ride story. You never know what goes on with your car when you’re not around.

That reminds me of an experience I had the other day. I was tasked with bringing a car to a local dealer. As soon as I got in I knew something wasn’t right. There was garbage everywhere. Soda bottles, snack bags and balled up tissues all over the seats and floor. Pretty disgusting. But it gets worse.

As I drove, an empty whiskey bottle rolled out from under the seat.

When I got to the dealer I figured I better clean up the junk and as I tried to pick up the tissues I realized they were stuck to the seats. Ugh!😑 I looked in the second row and it was worse. More bottles, half eaten food, many more tissues, toilet paper, empty condom wrappers and a feminine napkin! The filth continued into the third row and it was then I noticed footprints on the ceiling. I almost gagged at the implications as I filled three bags of nastiness. I made the chase driver wait while I went into the dealership and scrubbed my hands.

Footprints on the ceiling. Reminds me of a story I once heard. Remember those loops in older cars that hung down on each side between the front windows and rear windows? Someone told me they were stirrups.

dino001

oldfarmer50 said:

What’s your opinion of the Tesla truck/F-150 tow challenge? Seems decidedly biased in favor of the Tesla with instant low end torque and four wheel drive. Then there’s the weight bias of only having traction on the light rear end of an unloaded pickup.

https://youtu.be/GQ-Cba4m89o

Classic Musk BS. Invent your own metrics and then claim victory. Bold tires on unloaded RWD F-150 against AWD heavy Cybertruck. Whatever... As Neil DeGrasse Tyson wrote, the test was about physics, not the vehicle's abilities.

Let both participants meet on a neutral ground and make them tow/haul things, not each other. Real world scenarios. Horse trailer uphill, downhill, payload, etc. Also, let Ford choose the vehicle, just limit the price range and factory equipment/options to create real peers.

This reminds me GM's ads in late 90s touting SLS slalom time over 5-series with fine print that 5-series had all-season tires and SLS had performance rubber, or a few years later having its Pontiac G6 with V6 engine claiming performance superiority over four cylinder Altima. Again - make up your own metric and then claim victory.

tjc78

Well guys, I may be having a lot more time to BS with you all. Got word Monday that we will be shutting the doors and liquidating! Still waiting on paperwork, but expect by Monday/Tuesday I'll be handed my package and sent out to pasture. Not sure they will need me for the next two-three months.

Luckily my contact list is large (as is my wife's) so I've already got some irons in the fire. 19+ years, it was a good run.

@oldfarmer50
That's a great story. I once checked into a hotel room that looked similar. Front desk clerk didn't realize the room wasn't cleaned yet. Yeah that was gross... I checked into a different hotel.

driver100

stickguy said:

Just Uber home.

And Uber back....how much does it cost to go 35 miles?

driver100

qbrozen said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

What’s your opinion of the Tesla truck/F-150 tow challenge? .

https://youtu.be/GQ-Cba4m89o

Only because you asked...my opinion is the Tesla looks like it belongs in outer space.

Or just in a B-flik

similar, no?

Could be the new Tesla car....they are a close match!

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

houdini2 said:

driver100 said:

It might take most of a day to install the camera, so I was thinking of renting a car......Hertz is in the same plaza. I can get a Mazda 3 online for $61, by using AAA I get a discount that makes it come out to $63! How does that work?

Just take one of your other cars to the dealer and get a free loaner for the day.

We only have one car in Florida. Amazon gave me the choice of 3 places to go for installation. Place A charges $199 and is the closest. He said he needs the car all day, from 9 a.m. and might not finish until 6, depending on complications. Hertz is in the same plaza. Installer B is about 12 miles further and charges $225.
That made me think, maybe these dealers don't make too much on these installations, so maybe A will take all day and work on other cars as they come in. I talked to B and he seemed more honest...he wants me to email him the make and model of the dash cam/back up camera, and tell him what kind of car I have. He'll give me an estimate of the time involved tomorrow...he is really busy today.
$225 and waiting for the car for 4 to 6 hours would be less stress and money than $199 + $60 for a car rental.

I almost gagged at the implications as I filled three bags of nastiness. I made the chase driver wait while I went into the dealership and scrubbed my hands.

You should get danger pay for that job.
You didn't warn Sandy!

oldfarmer50

tjc78 said:

Well guys, I may be having a lot more time to BS with you all. Got word Monday that we will be shutting the doors and liquidating! Still waiting on paperwork, but expect by Monday/Tuesday I'll be handed my package and sent out to pasture. Not sure they will need me for the next two-three months.

Luckily my contact list is large (as is my wife's) so I've already got some irons in the fire. 19+ years, it was a good run.

@oldfarmer50
That's a great story. I once checked into a hotel room that looked similar. Front desk clerk didn't realize the room wasn't cleaned yet. Yeah that was gross... I checked into a different hotel.

You don’t work for A.C. Moore do you? I just heard they are closing the company a/o today. Are you close to retirement age? Might be a good time to take it easy.

driver100

imidazol97 said:

driver100 said:

houdini2 said:

driver100 said:

It might take most of a day to install the camera, so I was thinking of renting a car......Hertz is in the same plaza. I can get a Mazda 3 online for $61, by using AAA I get a discount that makes it come out to $63! How does that work?

Just take one of your other cars to the dealer and get a free loaner for the day.

We only have one car in Florida. Amazon gave me the choice of 3 places to go for installation. Place A charges $199 and is the closest. He said he needs the car all day, from 9 a.m. and might not finish until 6, depending on complications. Hertz is in the same plaza. Installer B is about 12 miles further and charges $225.
That made me think, maybe these dealers don't make too much on these installations, so maybe A will take all day and work on other cars as they come in. I talked to B and he seemed more honest...he wants me to email him the make and model of the dash cam/back up camera, and tell him what kind of car I have. He'll give me an estimate of the time involved tomorrow...he is really busy today.
$225 and waiting for the car for 4 to 6 hours would be less stress and money than $199 + $60 for a car rental.

I'll bet the same installers sell the backup cameras. If you buy the backup camera through them, they make money from the camera sale along with any installation charge. Did you ask if they sold the same or equivalent camera and what their total cost would be so you could compare with the online cost plus the local installation cost?

Good idea...and I may have thought similarly last year when I was looking for a Dash/BU camera. I didn't know Amazon installed, I called shops that did. The cameras they sold were a lot more expensive, and they weren't as up to date. Installation was usually way more.

I think the Amazon advantages are; 1) They have the absolute cheapest prices for this kind of thing, and the cameras with the most current features. Their vendors have low overhead, and can sell way more units than a retail car shop.
2) the next big advantage is they get installation companies that will do the work for a low price. They only award the work to garages with good ratings, and all the work is guaranteed.

I am sure most car add on stores don't want to invest in technology items that get dated quickly and are always changing....and most won't do this work for these prices. But, some smart retailers say it is work we wouldn't have had, it keeps us busy, the other business covers our overhead...if we can make a few extra bucks then they sign up.

stickguy

well, after tomorrow, not any more.

TJC, I saw that on the news today and figured you would be excessed. And thought it was good that your wife already left. My wife and I for a long time worked for the same company, including times it was probably dicey for the future. Thankfully last year, like your wife, she changed jobs to a better company for more money.

these days, don't want all your eggs in one basket. Especially if you don't own the basket.

hope you land something you like soon. That is where building a reputation, and network of contacts, comes in handy.

driver100

tjc78 said:

Well guys, I may be having a lot more time to BS with you all. Got word Monday that we will be shutting the doors and liquidating! Still waiting on paperwork, but expect by Monday/Tuesday I'll be handed my package and sent out to pasture. Not sure they will need me for the next two-three months.

Luckily my contact list is large (as is my wife's) so I've already got some irons in the fire. 19+ years, it was a good run.

@oldfarmer50
That's a great story. I once checked into a hotel room that looked similar. Front desk clerk didn't realize the room wasn't cleaned yet. Yeah that was gross... I checked into a different hotel.

Good luck tjc, you have a good attitude about this terrible event. I have been let go from more jobs than I can count - probably hold the record, canned from 3 jobs in 4 years........but, I wouldn't change a thing, often the information I learned was more valuable than the job.

What field were you in? (I know, snake is going to say a corn field)

driver100

Hi (last post got repeated....I wonder if I will get an extra credit towards 50000?)

tjc78

stickguy said:

well, after tomorrow, not any more.

TJC, I saw that on the news today and figured you would be excessed. And thought it was good that your wife already left. My wife and I for a long time worked for the same company, including times it was probably dicey for the future. Thankfully last year, like your wife, she changed jobs to a better company for more money.

these days, don't want all your eggs in one basket. Especially if you don't own the basket.

hope you land something you like soon. That is where building a reputation, and network of contacts, comes in handy.

Yes one of us had to go and thankfully she did!

I never expressed who I worked for in the past but I figured the NJ people always could figure it out by my comments. Only a handful of large chains anchored here.

@driver @oldfarmer50
I ran the project teams in the field and was the fixture buyer among many other things. If it was a store project (opening, closing, remodel) I was involved.

I’m no where near retirement age, so the job hunt begins. I’m lucky to already have a phone interview with a recruiter on Friday. Like I said between the wife and I we have a lot of contacts and I’ve gotten my resume into some good hands quickly.

stickguy

Took me a while. I thought it was our big supermarket chain (that I hate!) which made no sense. Then one day I was driving from Berlin to Williamstown and went right by HQ, and was like Duh!

imidazol97

driver100 said:

Hi (last post got repeated....I wonder if I will get an extra credit towards 50000?)

Well you've already got a good start from 25000 level!

imidazol97

driver100 said:

Good idea...and I may have thought similarly last year when I was looking for a Dash/BU camera. I didn't know Amazon installed, I called shops that did. The cameras they sold were a lot more expensive, and they weren't as up to date. Installation was usually way more.

I think the Amazon advantages are; 1) They have the absolute cheapest prices for this kind of thing, and the cameras with the most current features. Their vendors have low overhead, and can sell way more units than a retail car shop.
2) the next big advantage is they get installation companies that will do the work for a low price. They only award the work to garages with good ratings, and all the work is guaranteed.

I am sure most car add on stores don't want to invest in technology items that get dated quickly and are always changing....and most won't do this work for these prices. But, some smart retailers say it is work we wouldn't have had, it keeps us busy, the other business covers our overhead...if we can make a few extra bucks then they sign up.

You've aleady done the comparison work I was wondering about.

oldfarmer50

tjc78 said:

stickguy said:

well, after tomorrow, not any more.

TJC, I saw that on the news today and figured you would be excessed. And thought it was good that your wife already left. My wife and I for a long time worked for the same company, including times it was probably dicey for the future. Thankfully last year, like your wife, she changed jobs to a better company for more money.

these days, don't want all your eggs in one basket. Especially if you don't own the basket.

hope you land something you like soon. That is where building a reputation, and network of contacts, comes in handy.

Yes one of us had to go and thankfully she did!

I never expressed who I worked for in the past but I figured the NJ people always could figure it out by my comments. Only a handful of large chains anchored here.

@driver @oldfarmer50
I ran the project teams in the field and was the fixture buyer among many other things. If it was a store project (opening, closing, remodel) I was involved.

I’m no where near retirement age, so the job hunt begins. I’m lucky to already have a phone interview with a recruiter on Friday. Like I said between the wife and I we have a lot of contacts and I’ve gotten my resume into some good hands quickly.

Well, I can always get you into Enterprise.

imidazol97

What kind of people leave any car like that?

I recall the shade tree mechanic neighbor got a car to work on that belonged to an assistant pastor in a neighborhood nearer Dayton.

Neighbor called me over to look in on the passenger side. The whole front seat and floor on the passenger side along with the back were trash and "stuff."

sda

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

houdini2 said:

driver100 said:

It might take most of a day to install the camera, so I was thinking of renting a car......Hertz is in the same plaza. I can get a Mazda 3 online for $61, by using AAA I get a discount that makes it come out to $63! How does that work?

Just take one of your other cars to the dealer and get a free loaner for the day.

We only have one car in Florida. Amazon gave me the choice of 3 places to go for installation. Place A charges $199 and is the closest. He said he needs the car all day, from 9 a.m. and might not finish until 6, depending on complications. Hertz is in the same plaza. Installer B is about 12 miles further and charges $225.
That made me think, maybe these dealers don't make too much on these installations, so maybe A will take all day and work on other cars as they come in. I talked to B and he seemed more honest...he wants me to email him the make and model of the dash cam/back up camera, and tell him what kind of car I have. He'll give me an estimate of the time involved tomorrow...he is really busy today.
$225 and waiting for the car for 4 to 6 hours would be less stress and money than $199 + $60 for a car rental.

Maybe he only needs 5 minutes for the install but then takes your car over to Hertz and they rent it out for the day. New twist on the lot boy joy ride story. You never know what goes on with your car when you’re not around.

That reminds me of an experience I had the other day. I was tasked with bringing a car to a local dealer. As soon as I got in I knew something wasn’t right. There was garbage everywhere. Soda bottles, snack bags and balled up tissues all over the seats and floor. Pretty disgusting. But it gets worse.

As I drove, an empty whiskey bottle rolled out from under the seat.

When I got to the dealer I figured I better clean up the junk and as I tried to pick up the tissues I realized they were stuck to the seats. Ugh!😑 I looked in the second row and it was worse. More bottles, half eaten food, many more tissues, toilet paper, empty condom wrappers and a feminine napkin! The filth continued into the third row and it was then I noticed footprints on the ceiling. I almost gagged at the implications as I filled three bags of nastiness. I made the chase driver wait while I went into the dealership and scrubbed my hands.

Not only is that disgusting it’s totally gross. Could the previous renter be billed for out of the ordinary clean up?

stickguy

I would have left it for the professional clean up crew, that would have billed them

driver100

imidazol97 said:

What kind of people leave any car like that?

We had a wholesaler I used to call on. One of their delivery drivers used to park in the lot, and sleep in his car. It was full of garbage and there were KFC chicken bones and other food wrappers all around his car.

fintail

I am in the same boat as you (I think I hinted about it on the CCBA thread). I am on "hiatus" now as I call it - after a long run, I got out, and I am not upset about it. Workplace culture had become toxic, more cuts are likely coming next year (so I may be ahead of the curve compared to some who remain), and I was burnt out. There's probably not much of a hiring frenzy out there, so I am enjoying the break. I got a parting gift and some extended perks, so I am not in freak out mode yet. I am fortunate in that I have no debt and only small expenses outside of car and housing. I've already had a couple recruiters contact me since I put my linkedin status to "available", but nothing that entices me yet. I have some good references and unusual skill sets, so eventually something good will come my way - if I am off for the rest of the year, I won't complain a bit. I feel like a 10 ton weight is off my back, no more 1am emails from imbalanced psychos.

tjc78 said:

Well guys, I may be having a lot more time to BS with you all. Got word Monday that we will be shutting the doors and liquidating! Still waiting on paperwork, but expect by Monday/Tuesday I'll be handed my package and sent out to pasture. Not sure they will need me for the next two-three months.

Luckily my contact list is large (as is my wife's) so I've already got some irons in the fire. 19+ years, it was a good run.

roadburner

oldfarmer50 said:

What’s your opinion of the Tesla truck/F-150 tow challenge? Seems decidedly biased in favor of the Tesla with instant low end torque and four wheel drive. Then there’s the weight bias of only having traction on the light rear end of an unloaded pickup.

https://youtu.be/GQ-Cba4m89o

You'd have to pay me to take either one...

oldfarmer50

sda said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

houdini2 said:

driver100 said:

It might take most of a day to install the camera, so I was thinking of renting a car......Hertz is in the same plaza. I can get a Mazda 3 online for $61, by using AAA I get a discount that makes it come out to $63! How does that work?

Just take one of your other cars to the dealer and get a free loaner for the day.

We only have one car in Florida. Amazon gave me the choice of 3 places to go for installation. Place A charges $199 and is the closest. He said he needs the car all day, from 9 a.m. and might not finish until 6, depending on complications. Hertz is in the same plaza. Installer B is about 12 miles further and charges $225.
That made me think, maybe these dealers don't make too much on these installations, so maybe A will take all day and work on other cars as they come in. I talked to B and he seemed more honest...he wants me to email him the make and model of the dash cam/back up camera, and tell him what kind of car I have. He'll give me an estimate of the time involved tomorrow...he is really busy today.
$225 and waiting for the car for 4 to 6 hours would be less stress and money than $199 + $60 for a car rental.

Maybe he only needs 5 minutes for the install but then takes your car over to Hertz and they rent it out for the day. New twist on the lot boy joy ride story. You never know what goes on with your car when you’re not around.

That reminds me of an experience I had the other day. I was tasked with bringing a car to a local dealer. As soon as I got in I knew something wasn’t right. There was garbage everywhere. Soda bottles, snack bags and balled up tissues all over the seats and floor. Pretty disgusting. But it gets worse.

As I drove, an empty whiskey bottle rolled out from under the seat.

When I got to the dealer I figured I better clean up the junk and as I tried to pick up the tissues I realized they were stuck to the seats. Ugh!😑 I looked in the second row and it was worse. More bottles, half eaten food, many more tissues, toilet paper, empty condom wrappers and a feminine napkin! The filth continued into the third row and it was then I noticed footprints on the ceiling. I almost gagged at the implications as I filled three bags of nastiness. I made the chase driver wait while I went into the dealership and scrubbed my hands.

Not only is that disgusting it’s totally gross. Could the previous renter be billed for out of the ordinary clean up?

No telling where the car came from. When a dealer buys a car it could come out of a local office or from across the country. Whoever drove it last, whether a customer or an employee had one heck of a time.

oldfarmer50

fintail said:

I am in the same boat as you (I think I hinted about it on the CCBA thread). I am on "hiatus" now as I call it - after a long run, I got out, and I am not upset about it. Workplace culture had become toxic, more cuts are likely coming next year (so I may be ahead of the curve compared to some who remain), and I was burnt out. There's probably not much of a hiring frenzy out there, so I am enjoying the break. I got a parting gift and some extended perks, so I am not in freak out mode yet. I am fortunate in that I have no debt and only small expenses outside of car and housing. I've already had a couple recruiters contact me since I put my linkedin status to "available", but nothing that entices me yet. I have some good references and unusual skill sets, so eventually something good will come my way - if I am off for the rest of the year, I won't complain a bit. I feel like a 10 ton weight is off my back, no more 1am emails from imbalanced psychos.

tjc78 said:

Well guys, I may be having a lot more time to BS with you all. Got word Monday that we will be shutting the doors and liquidating! Still waiting on paperwork, but expect by Monday/Tuesday I'll be handed my package and sent out to pasture. Not sure they will need me for the next two-three months.

Luckily my contact list is large (as is my wife's) so I've already got some irons in the fire. 19+ years, it was a good run.

What would an employer expect you to do at 1am?

It’s been over 30 years since I was booted out of the rat race and in hindsight it was a blessing.

Good luck to you both.

28firefighter

Oh man. Sorry to hear that @tjc78 and @fintail, though sounds like it could be for the best for both of you.

Hang in there.

fintail

You can't ask such questions from a background of logic and reason. It has no place in the office. Fortunately, I never checked my email until I arrived at my desk, but the timestamps remain. I was fortunate to have a direct leader who didn't buy into the idiocy, but those above could get carried away.

I recall 20 years ago when I was still a student, a professor warned about the "educated proletariat", and the poor work-life balance that awaits for many. He was right, you'd have people putting in 60+ hours regularly, and likely high turnover for a supposed professional environment, due to workload and gormless leadership. Some of the benefits were nice (I hope I can find something else before my health insurance runs out, that being the greatest failure of the American system IMNSHO), but life is too short to be owned by a job when you don't own the firm.

oldfarmer50 said:

What would an employer expect you to do at 1am?

It’s been over 30 years since I was booted out of the rat race and in hindsight it was a blessing.

Good luck to you both.

fintail

Thanks. I am optimistic it will lead to something better, both in career path and stress. I'll miss some of the co-workers, but we can keep in touch. I won't miss several other things.

28firefighter said:

Oh man. Sorry to hear that @tjc78 and @fintail, though sounds like it could be for the best for both of you.

Hang in there.

qbrozen

I am in NJ and still have no idea what company TJC is referring to.

driver100

fintail said:

Thanks. I am optimistic it will lead to something better, both in career path and stress. I'll miss some of the co-workers, but we can keep in touch. I won't miss several other things.

28firefighter said:

Oh man. Sorry to hear that @tjc78 and @fintail, though sounds like it could be for the best for both of you.

Hang in there.

Been there done that several times. I fully understand, and though you can rationalize it....it isn't nice or really fair.
Often, it feels so good to get off of the merry-go-round, and regroup.
Best of luck to you and tjc.

stickguy

qbrozen said:

I am in NJ and still have no idea what company TJC is referring to.

same. I got the sense it was one of the biggies out there that everyone knows the name of though!

oldfarmer50

The only job I ever had where I worked 60 hour weeks was when I owned the business. That’s different of course because you can at least rationalize that you are building something.

I know the young managers at my current company work those hours but they are building a resume’ with the training they get. After a few years they move on to better things.

stickguy

I only worked that many hours a few weeks really. I was doing new client implementations and a few were a doozy, and since the call center was open for a 12 hour day, ended up babysitting that for a few weeks until they stabilized. In before they opened, left when they closed, then some more laptop time when I got home.

a few weeks of that and I was mentally and physically fried. Though I did lose about 10 pounds!

thankfully that got offset by periods when not much was going on in my area and I got lots of free time. so it kinda averaged out.

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

snakeweasel said:

tommister2 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

imidazol97 said:

fintail said:

Where I live, both rust and sun damaged paint are rare, mostly seen on either cars over 30 years old, or transplanted cars (and as so many people here have moved from elsewhere and now moan and groan about this area, there are more transplanted cars than in the past).

Scotty is funny, but not in a ha-ha way. Joke is on us though, as he no doubt pulls in 6 figures via his blather.

Do people living near the ocean have salt damage from the airborne spray and from salt from that wind blown spray on the roads at times.

People say that but having bought 3 cars that started life in Florida you’d be hard to prove it by me. I was looking under my Sebring which spent the first 7 years in Florida and I was amazed how clean a 20 yo car could be. Now, I’m assuming that the subsequent owners in Maine and MA stored it in the winter but if sea salt rotted them out I would expect to see more damage. Certainly no comparison to the northern rust belt.

I think if you live very close to the ocean you would be more vulnerable to damage from the salty sea air and water. For example, my Dad lived at the oceanfront in Virginia Beach for many years. His truck took a beating from mostly just sitting in the driveway. He had a few brake lines rust out, for example. I think this happens to people in the north east but it is not generally common in Virginia.

IIRC sea spray under the right conditions can reach as far as 15 miles inland. However going more than a few hundred feet inland the spray is very fine and wont amount to a much salt, essentially its zero. Salt does not dissolve into air. Rust occurs when iron or its alloys are exposed to oxygen, water and/or salt are not needed for rust to happen although they do speed up the reaction.

Most modern vehicles are constructed with aluminum alloys that do not rust. Chassis's are built with iron alloys and do rust under the right conditions as do brake discs. There are many older vehicles in my condo development that show no signs of rust. My best friend owns a 2008 Infiniti M35 that has 110,000 miles on the odometer that he bought from my dealership. No signs of rust anywhere on his car.

I am sure the closer one lives to the Atlantic Ocean, the better chances are that the vehicle he/she owns will begin to show signs of rust.

My 2008 Sebring didn't show any signs of rust until last year when some rust started to appear on the underside of the doors. So 10 years of winters to get rust to show.

28firefighter

Read the Inquirer from yesterday or today.

ab348

fintail said:

I feel like a 10 ton weight is off my back, no more 1am emails from imbalanced psychos.

As a comedian once said about people who claimed they liked their work: "If it's so great, how come they have to pay you to do it?"

I can relate. Even though I spent most of my career in the public sector, the last dozen or so years were the worst of both worlds in that I was the middleman working for a govt-owned liquor board so I dealt with both the overdriven private-sector management that were brought in to run the place, and the politicians and senior bureaucrats who had an interest in its actions. Inevitably, those two worlds collided periodically with results like the meeting of matter and anti-matter. So I got the 1:00AM emails from the senior management types, the 9:00PM phone calls, the "drop everything" emails in response to what they perceived as an existential crisis, the communications/PR types jumping like they had just been shocked by a 220V line in response to something in the media, you name it. But the govt/political side was worse. I recall a pious elected representative blaming us for his 16 y-o daughter being busted for underage drinking because obviously we should not have sold her the booze (video showed we didn't, it was a legal older friend, but no matter, it was our fault). Perhaps my favorite in retrospect was a summer Saturday series of phone calls at home and emails from senior govt bureaucrats (some of whom I had never even met or talked to previously) demanding my assistance RIGHT NOW to help smooth over the issues arising from another govt agency entirely, relating to the liquor license for a rural wedding reception for the Premier's (Governor's) aide's wedding reception 300 miles away being held later that afternoon. We had nothing at all to do with that since it was a regulatory body throwing the blocks, nor did I have any contacts at that level inside the regulator's organization, but it was liquor-related so surely I must be the one to fix it. Insanity. So glad I no longer have to deal with that kind of stuff.

qbrozen

Guess its AC Moore. Any reason why we are being cryptic about it?

tjc78

qbrozen said:

Guess its AC Moore. Any reason why we are being cryptic about it?

Yes, it is. I never really mentioned it by name simply because although we all chat here usually we don't mention our employer's names.

At any rate, I started long ago with the parent company who bought ACM in 2011 and I was brought over.

It was a good run.

Here is a link https://6abc.com/business/ac-moore-to-close-all-of-its-stores/5719419/

This is the press release. Down toward the bottom is a link from two years ago when we opened our flagship store. Many aspects of that store were worked on by me, my team or part of a larger group. It was our crown jewel at the time and a major undertaking.

tjc78

stickguy said:

qbrozen said:

I am in NJ and still have no idea what company TJC is referring to.

same. I got the sense it was one of the biggies out there that everyone knows the name of though!

Only on the East coast. I'm not a big social media person but I'm pretty shocked at the support of the customers who shopped us. Posts and posts on FB and Twitter.

stickguy

I meant fintails former employer with that comment.

tjc78

28firefighter said:

Oh man. Sorry to hear that @tjc78 and @fintail, though sounds like it could be for the best for both of you.

Hang in there.

Thanks, like @fintail hoping this lands me somewhere better.

tjc78

stickguy said:

I meant fintails former employer with that comment.

Gotcha.

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

What’s your opinion of the Tesla truck/F-150 tow challenge? Seems decidedly biased in favor of the Tesla with instant low end torque and four wheel drive. Then there’s the weight bias of only having traction on the light rear end of an unloaded pickup.

https://youtu.be/GQ-Cba4m89o

Stack the deck in your favor and get the results you want. I would like to see it with a V8 F150 with 4 wheel drive engaged.

graphicguy

@tjc78 ....I hate when I hear companies doing this sort of thing over the Holidays. Bad enough that they’re sending 1,000s of people to the unemployment line. But, to do it over Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years? They couldn’t come up with a little money to wait until after the first of the year?

You’ll be fine. You’re a good person.

nyccarguy

tjc78 said:

qbrozen said:

Guess its AC Moore. Any reason why we are being cryptic about it?

Yes, it is. I never really mentioned it by name simply because although we all chat here usually we don't mention our employer's names.

At any rate, I started long ago with the parent company who bought ACM in 2011 and I was brought over.

It was a good run.

Here is a link https://6abc.com/business/ac-moore-to-close-all-of-its-stores/5719419/

This is the press release. Down toward the bottom is a link from two years ago when we opened our flagship store. Many aspects of that store were worked on by me, my team or part of a larger group. It was our crown jewel at the time and a major undertaking.

The theme to my son's Bar Mitzvah was the beach. My Mom found these adorable, miniature, Adirondack Chairs at AC Moore. We spray painted them and used them as place cards.

The corporate world stinks in general, no doubt when things like this happen. I'm sorry you lost your job so abruptly. It was the driving reason I left the advertising world back in 2002. My job isn't perfect, but I have 100% job security. One of the downfalls, I work the Friday AND Saturday after Thanksgiving every year. People often ask me if I get a day off for working those 2 days. I tell them yes, Sunday.

imidazol97

This beats the Aztek.





Who says Edsels were a bust. I think this is more practical than the Musk thing. But I don't like the rims they chose.

suydam

Bar mitzvahs have a THEME? I feel like such a country mouse! I assume you’re referring to the party after? We just had a whole bunch of 13 year olds, a ton of food and a DJ. They were a blast!

tjc78

nyccarguy said:

tjc78 said:

qbrozen said:

Guess its AC Moore. Any reason why we are being cryptic about it?

Yes, it is. I never really mentioned it by name simply because although we all chat here usually we don't mention our employer's names.

At any rate, I started long ago with the parent company who bought ACM in 2011 and I was brought over.

It was a good run.

Here is a link https://6abc.com/business/ac-moore-to-close-all-of-its-stores/5719419/

This is the press release. Down toward the bottom is a link from two years ago when we opened our flagship store. Many aspects of that store were worked on by me, my team or part of a larger group. It was our crown jewel at the time and a major undertaking.

The theme to my son's Bar Mitzvah was the beach. My Mom found these adorable, miniature, Adirondack Chairs at AC Moore. We spray painted them and used them as place cards.

The corporate world stinks in general, no doubt when things like this happen. I'm sorry you lost your job so abruptly. It was the driving reason I left the advertising world back in 2002. My job isn't perfect, but I have 100% job security. One of the downfalls, I work the Friday AND Saturday after Thanksgiving every year. People often ask me if I get a day off for working those 2 days. I tell them yes, Sunday.

How well I know that item... Which location did you typically shop in?

Thanks for the well wishes, yes corporate world is tough. It was a little different here because we were family owned, but the "exit" was very corporate.

@graphicguy
Yeah couldn't come at worse time of year. I have my speculations why it was done this week, but not going to go into it.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving, be safe if traveling and even safer if you are hosting the family like we are!!!

nyccarguy

suydam said:

Bar mitzvahs have a THEME? I feel like such a country mouse! I assume you’re referring to the party after? We just had a whole bunch of 13 year olds, a ton of food and a DJ. They were a blast!

Yes. The party theme was The Beach.

tjc78

@roadburner
You buy a TV yet?

driver100

I hear that young people find they can climb the promotion ladder faster by switching companies instead of staying for a long time. Something about HR people think there is something wrong with you if you are content to stay with your current employer.