Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

sda

Having worked in college in restaurants, Pizza Inn, Pizza Hut, from washing dishes, cook, cashier, waiter I make it a point to tip well. I am very in tune to good service. My younger sister worked in a high end restaurant for years and made good money and did her job well. She has a great personality, cute, and was very attentive to her customers. It amazed her, especially large groups or folks that demanded everything, didn’t tip or tipped poorly.

explorerx4

This house is the 'Family Truckster' of raised ranches.

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

fintail said:

I lived in a small town when I was a kid, rode the bus for several years, and back in the 80s, they still had 60s models in the fleet (the registration was visible above the door when entering/leaving). I swear some of these even had manuals - they looked terrible to drive (probably of debatable safety as well), and I recall even then I felt bad for the bus driver having to maneuver such a beast with a bunch of bratty kids on board. I recall the district would get a new bus now and then. I remember my route got a new bus, and the driver, a very pleasant middle aged woman, had us treat it like a new car. It actually felt special in a way.

oldfarmer50 said:

We had Mercedes turbo diesels in all our big buses. Plenty of torque to impress the kiddies. we had propane fueled buses 20 years ago and they were a disaster. Poor starting, dangerously slow acceleration and such low range they had to be fueled twice a day.

And I retired 2 years too late.

We had plenty of manual shift school buses. 5 speed, kind of fun to drive if you didn’t mind the heavy clutch. I think they eventually outlawed them in NY as someone must have noticed it wasn’t safe to shift with one hand, hold your route instructions in the other and steer with your knees while keeping track of 60+ screaming kids.

Back in the 80's and 90's I did Civil War reenacting and we hauled around our units equipment in old school buses. They usually were cheap and school districts around here retired them after so many years or so many miles (IIRC around 75K miles) . We modified them so we could carry cargo (including full sized cannon, we would have people watch us to see how we got them in and out). Anyway they were manual transmissions and boy were they a handful to drive, especially with the weight we were hauling.

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

abacomike said:

Leaving in about 20 minutes for my second Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine shot over at our clubhouse. Hopefully it will go smoothly with not too much waiting. My appointment is for 1:00 PM and I am bringing the card they gave me after my first shot which shows my appointment time, the manufacturer of the vaccine and the control numbers of the production batch. Can’t wait for this to be over.

Just for giggles I went to the state health department web site where you sign up for appointments. The nearest locations accepting appointments are 150-200 miles away. Yet I see politicians on tv all the time who aren’t in the eligible demographic jumping the line “to show the public the shots are safe”.

Did you get the story about the $8 million a year CEO who is accused of breaking Yukon COVID-19 rules by chartering a plane to the small community of Beaver Creek, a community roughly 450 kilometres northwest of Whitehorse near the Alaska border. Him and his aspiring Russian actress girlfriend posed as employees of a lodge in order to scam a vaccine. One rule they broke was they didn't isolate for 14 days on arrival, and they could be fines about $600 each, could get 6 months in jail each, and he lost his $8 million a year job as CEO. Oh, and the chances aren't good they'll get a second dose.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-couple-vaccination-1.5889269

This has become the ultimate search for the Cabbage Patch doll (remember those) with all sorts of line jumping and cheating.

One of my son’s regular Uber clients has a mother who works at the super mart chain where they are giving out vaccinations. She pestered her boss who let her jump the line and get the shot even though she wasn’t in an eligible group. This was to keep her quiet because all the company executives were jumping the line as well.

I’ll be darned if I get in that kind of competition.

Personally from what I have learned about all of this I'm really not in a big hurry to get the vaccine. I'm pretty much in a "I'll get it when I get it" frame of mind.

snakeweasel

andres3 said:

The day I pay a tip on the sales tax which has absolutely nothing to do with the meal, food, or service, is the day I drive the speed limit or less for more than a minute on I15 on a bright sunny day with little traffic.

Poor logic as the sales tax has as much to do with the meal as the price does since sales tax is based on the price of the meal. So are you not tip on the price of the meal?

driver100

tjc78 said:

andres3 said:

The day I pay a tip on the sales tax which has absolutely nothing to do with the meal, food, or service, is the day I drive the speed limit or less for more than a minute on I15 on a bright sunny day with little traffic.

Well I hope the extra dollar or two is useful for you.

Do the math... on a $100 bill the tax is an average of $7.00 across the country. So it would be an extra $1.40.

IMO if you don’t tip well don’t go out to eat.

.....or to make it easy, tip 20% without tax added in, and 15% with the tax added in, and usually round upward a bit. Some of the VISA machines give you choices for tipping, but they seem to suggest tipping on the whole amount which is a bit of a scam. If I do that I prefer to put in my own amount or go with a lower percentage like 15%.
Like you say, the extra $2 on a bill probably won't bankrupt me but it could make a difference to a restaurant worker.

qbrozen

explorerx4 said:

This house is the 'Family Truckster' of raised ranches.

It does NOT take away from the humor ... but that was never a ranch.

snakeweasel

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

oldfarmer50 said:

jipster said:

abacomike said:

jipster said:

Hey guys. Thought I'd chime in with an update. First of all, my fleet of 5 vehicles is down to 4. My 2008 Mercury Mariner, my son was driving, was rear ended by a pickup truck back in October. It sustained enough damage that my insurance company declared it totalled. My son was shooken up. Had some whiplash, so taken to the hospital for a cat scan. Had some soft tissue injury, seems to be o.k. But still keeping an eye on things. The 80 year old gentleman didn't have much to say, after my son called and I arrived in the scene...which was the dreaded Gene Synder Expressway for those familiar. Traffic had slowed down, and the guy didn't recognize the situation until he had slammed into the back of my car.
Kentucky is a no fault state, so I settled with my Insurance company for $3,950. Which seemed fair at the time.

My son did a good job of getting the other drivers information. Photos of his truck, licence plate, insurance card and drivers license. But, for some reason my insurance company had a hard time tracking the guy's insurance company down. Finally find out a couple weeks ago that the other drivers insurance company (Dairyland) is saying he does not have insurance with them. So at this point I'm looking at getting an attorney. Any advice?

I miss that 2008 Mariner. It was a nice car, drove well had been in the family since new. Was planning on using it in bad weather, so I could keep the Accord in the garage, and as a back-up to my other vehicles should they need repair.

Glad no serious injuries.

Shouldn’t the police or State Troopers be advised that the guy that rear ended your son had no insurance? I thought insurance is required by law in most States, if not all States.

Thanks.
The cops wouldn't even come to the accident site when my son called. They said since both cars had been able to pull off the expressway, and there was no serious injury, they would have to handle the matter themselves. My insurance company had said, on a previous call, that if the other party didn't have insurance they would try to use whatever leverage they could for the guy to reimburse them. So, I'm assuming contacting the police. Not sure how much the police not showing up to write up a report will hurt our case.

Police not showing up for an accident is unconscionable but unfortunately becoming common. So far in my area they always respond to an accident. I think if I thought they wouldn’t come I’d claim to have passed out from a head injury or something to get them out of the donut shop.

I would think the likelihood of the police showing up to a minor fender bender is inversely proportional to the amount of crime in the area. If the police are very busy then they are going to the more serious calls and leave those in minor accidents fend for themselves.

In short if your police routinely dont show up for minor accidents consider moving.

I'm sure you mean "speeding tickets" and not "crime." I mean, what else would they be busy with? Let's get real.
I have found, that perhaps a greater allocation of enforcement goes to traffic when there's literally nothing else to do (such as in a low crime small town), but it definitely doesn't go to serving the public like showing up to an accident scene to do a police report (unless someone is hurt or died).

Well you are wrong. I mean actual crime. Despite your opinion police do prioritize police calls. A police officer watching traffic along the side of the road will be called for an accident, a police officer responding to an armed robbery will not.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

The day I pay a tip on the sales tax which has absolutely nothing to do with the meal, food, or service, is the day I drive the speed limit or less for more than a minute on I15 on a bright sunny day with little traffic.

Poor logic as the sales tax has as much to do with the meal as the price does since sales tax is based on the price of the meal. So are you not tip on the price of the meal?

I understand why you would say that but have to respectfully disagree. The government tax fee added to the meal has nothing to do with making or serving the meal. In some states the state tax might be 4%, in Canada it is 13%, why should a server in Canada make a bigger tip just because the tax (which has nothing to do with the meal itself) is greater?

oldfarmer50

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

oldfarmer50 said:

jipster said:

abacomike said:

jipster said:

Hey guys. Thought I'd chime in with an update. First of all, my fleet of 5 vehicles is down to 4. My 2008 Mercury Mariner, my son was driving, was rear ended by a pickup truck back in October. It sustained enough damage that my insurance company declared it totalled. My son was shooken up. Had some whiplash, so taken to the hospital for a cat scan. Had some soft tissue injury, seems to be o.k. But still keeping an eye on things. The 80 year old gentleman didn't have much to say, after my son called and I arrived in the scene...which was the dreaded Gene Synder Expressway for those familiar. Traffic had slowed down, and the guy didn't recognize the situation until he had slammed into the back of my car.
Kentucky is a no fault state, so I settled with my Insurance company for $3,950. Which seemed fair at the time.

My son did a good job of getting the other drivers information. Photos of his truck, licence plate, insurance card and drivers license. But, for some reason my insurance company had a hard time tracking the guy's insurance company down. Finally find out a couple weeks ago that the other drivers insurance company (Dairyland) is saying he does not have insurance with them. So at this point I'm looking at getting an attorney. Any advice?

I miss that 2008 Mariner. It was a nice car, drove well had been in the family since new. Was planning on using it in bad weather, so I could keep the Accord in the garage, and as a back-up to my other vehicles should they need repair.

Glad no serious injuries.

Shouldn’t the police or State Troopers be advised that the guy that rear ended your son had no insurance? I thought insurance is required by law in most States, if not all States.

Thanks.
The cops wouldn't even come to the accident site when my son called. They said since both cars had been able to pull off the expressway, and there was no serious injury, they would have to handle the matter themselves. My insurance company had said, on a previous call, that if the other party didn't have insurance they would try to use whatever leverage they could for the guy to reimburse them. So, I'm assuming contacting the police. Not sure how much the police not showing up to write up a report will hurt our case.

Police not showing up for an accident is unconscionable but unfortunately becoming common. So far in my area they always respond to an accident. I think if I thought they wouldn’t come I’d claim to have passed out from a head injury or something to get them out of the donut shop.

I would think the likelihood of the police showing up to a minor fender bender is inversely proportional to the amount of crime in the area. If the police are very busy then they are going to the more serious calls and leave those in minor accidents fend for themselves.

In short if your police routinely dont show up for minor accidents consider moving.

I'm sure you mean "speeding tickets" and not "crime." I mean, what else would they be busy with? Let's get real.
I have found, that perhaps a greater allocation of enforcement goes to traffic when there's literally nothing else to do (such as in a low crime small town), but it definitely doesn't go to serving the public like showing up to an accident scene to do a police report (unless someone is hurt or died).

Can’t say the police don’t respond to accidents near me. Yesterday we passed an accident (looked like a multi car chain reaction) and there were more police cars than cars involved.

snakeweasel

andres3 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

sda said:

snakeweasel said:

oldfarmer50 said:

venture said:

fintail said:

$180/hr shop rates and cars where the option load is 35% of base MSRP.

I recall the Lexus dealer where I used to live had an amazing spread of sandwiches and pastries - I'd stop by to "look at cars", which meant get a free light lunch. Eventually they cut it back to fruits and drinks, I think. MB dealer usually had some fruit, muffins or cookies, and drinks.

houdini1 said:

I wonder where they get the money to pay for the free coffee and fine china cups. Maybe they have a sideline business somewhere?

When my Subaru dealer remodeled their entire building, one of the things they did was install a coffee machine where you could request the blend and additives you wanted (or tea or hot chocolate) and watch it grind the beans and make the coffee.

They also had a small refrigerator that had single servings of fruit cocktail, yogurt, and other stuff I don't remember. Of course there were pastries, but usually only in the mornings.

That was about 2 years ago.

When I was in for an oil change a month ago there was a coffee maker like you would have at home sitting on the counter and machines that sell you typical peanut butter-stuffed cheese crackers, etc. The refrigerator was full of trash.

We have one driver who is always lagging behind and holding up the crew. One day they couldn’t find him when they were ready to leave after making deliveries to a dealer. They finally located him in the waiting room munching on free popcorn and watching the big screen TV.

Here’s a question for you captains of industry. How much does an automatic car wash cost?

Seem that one of our guys tried to take a high top (8’4” tall) cargo van through our car wash with disastrous results. The high van got jammed up in the machinery causing it to self destruct and fling metal parts everywhere. According to the boss a large shaft even pierced the body of the van and was left sticking out the side. It was lucky no one was hurt.

We drove through the lot today and several twisted I-beam structures laying out by the fence were all that was left of the whole system. What a mess.

A quick web search says an automated car was costs between $31k to $49k. I'd say that would be a bargain for a story like that if you had pictures, especially of the shaft sticking out of the van.

Yikes. Does he still have a job?

As far as I know. You wouldn’t believe some of the stuff that’s been pulled over the years. One thing that WILL get you fired is causing damage and trying to hide it. Even too many screw ups in your own car without informing the company will get you the door.

That's probably because in the past some bad Enterprise managers thought they'd try to pin hard to notice damage caused previously by their own forces on the next rental customer. Forced a charge back via credit card company; a case I won by the way.

Every company I worked for would discipline anyone who damaged company property and tried to hide it. We terminate maybe a person every few years or so for the exact same reason.

oldfarmer50

andres3 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

sda said:

snakeweasel said:

oldfarmer50 said:

venture said:

fintail said:

$180/hr shop rates and cars where the option load is 35% of base MSRP.

I recall the Lexus dealer where I used to live had an amazing spread of sandwiches and pastries - I'd stop by to "look at cars", which meant get a free light lunch. Eventually they cut it back to fruits and drinks, I think. MB dealer usually had some fruit, muffins or cookies, and drinks.

houdini1 said:

I wonder where they get the money to pay for the free coffee and fine china cups. Maybe they have a sideline business somewhere?

When my Subaru dealer remodeled their entire building, one of the things they did was install a coffee machine where you could request the blend and additives you wanted (or tea or hot chocolate) and watch it grind the beans and make the coffee.

They also had a small refrigerator that had single servings of fruit cocktail, yogurt, and other stuff I don't remember. Of course there were pastries, but usually only in the mornings.

That was about 2 years ago.

When I was in for an oil change a month ago there was a coffee maker like you would have at home sitting on the counter and machines that sell you typical peanut butter-stuffed cheese crackers, etc. The refrigerator was full of trash.

We have one driver who is always lagging behind and holding up the crew. One day they couldn’t find him when they were ready to leave after making deliveries to a dealer. They finally located him in the waiting room munching on free popcorn and watching the big screen TV.

Here’s a question for you captains of industry. How much does an automatic car wash cost?

Seem that one of our guys tried to take a high top (8’4” tall) cargo van through our car wash with disastrous results. The high van got jammed up in the machinery causing it to self destruct and fling metal parts everywhere. According to the boss a large shaft even pierced the body of the van and was left sticking out the side. It was lucky no one was hurt.

We drove through the lot today and several twisted I-beam structures laying out by the fence were all that was left of the whole system. What a mess.

A quick web search says an automated car was costs between $31k to $49k. I'd say that would be a bargain for a story like that if you had pictures, especially of the shaft sticking out of the van.

Yikes. Does he still have a job?

As far as I know. You wouldn’t believe some of the stuff that’s been pulled over the years. One thing that WILL get you fired is causing damage and trying to hide it. Even too many screw ups in your own car without informing the company will get you the door.

That's probably because in the past some bad Enterprise managers thought they'd try to pin hard to notice damage caused previously by their own forces on the next rental customer. Forced a charge back via credit card company; a case I won by the way.

I don’t work in the rental offices so I’m not sure on exact policy but I have observed the rental agents taking customers on a walk around on cars with the customers.

graphicguy

tjc78 said:

Well.....that should provide some boom. What a beast. Have always loved Klipsch products.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

This house is the 'Family Truckster' of raised ranches.

Now what would be the point of that? Two family house? Or is it photoshopped?

dino001

tjc78 said:

andres3 said:

The day I pay a tip on the sales tax which has absolutely nothing to do with the meal, food, or service, is the day I drive the speed limit or less for more than a minute on I15 on a bright sunny day with little traffic.

Well I hope the extra dollar or two is useful for you.

Do the math... on a $100 bill the tax is an average of $7.00 across the country. So it would be an extra $1.40.

IMO if you don’t tip well don’t go out to eat.

It's funny, but tipping used to be illegal in some of the states (long, long time ago), as it was considered a bribe, but obviously that was changed under pressure of growing hospitality industry.

There is a small group of restaurateurs that tried to abolish tipping in their restaurants in 2016, mainly due to big disparity in the wage potential between front and back of the restaurant, like cooks and dishwashers watching some obnoxious waiter boasting here is another 15 bucks for me (it is funny how when customer likes the steak, it's the guy who brought the plate who gets the money, not the cook). Apparently the move didn't work as well as thought (many good waiters quit for better earnings potential) and some restaurants reversed their course (others stuck with it). Things are as always complicated - instituting a good performance-based compensation system that improves both customer service and fair compensation for all involved is not so easy.

graphicguy

tjc78 said:

Michaell said:

tjc78 said:

It’s pretty large. 21.75” x 18.75” x 24

Luckily I have plenty of room.

That would dominate our family room. And, probably overkill for what we watch (wife is currently binging "30 Rock" on Peacock).

Yeah, this size sub is not really living room friendly. The wall it will go on is over 15’ wide. I could fit a second one easily (which may happen if my wife doesn’t kill me before then).

It’s actually the “right” size for the room which is about 425 sq ft

You SHOULD get another one....you know....just because!

Actually, I'm running two subs. One is an Outlaw Audio 12" for mid bass and the other is a Power Sound Audio sealed sub for that chest thumping material. Took a while to get them positioned right. But, once I did, it really clicked.

ab348

Since we’re into showing newly-arrived boxes of purchases, this arrived this morning (the cat was already here).

snakeweasel

sda said:

Having worked in college in restaurants, Pizza Inn, Pizza Hut, from washing dishes, cook, cashier, waiter I make it a point to tip well. I am very in tune to good service. My younger sister worked in a high end restaurant for years and made good money and did her job well. She has a great personality, cute, and was very attentive to her customers. It amazed her, especially large groups or folks that demanded everything, didn’t tip or tipped poorly.

Many years ago I would have a weekly lunch with a college buddy of mine. We usually got a little bit obnoxious and gave the waitress (same waitress every week) a hard time. We knew we were being that way and on a check that usually ran $30-35 we would drop $60 for the check and tip to make up for it. That waitress loved us.

graphicguy

ab348 said:

Since we’re into showing newly-arrived boxes of purchases, this arrived this morning (the cat was already here).

Very Nice! TCL has kind of come here and gone gangbusters in North America.

oldfarmer50

I think they make you watch a safety video if you report your screw up. After 3 incidents you’re gone. I’m guessing they count taking out a car wash the same as a fender scratch. Doing damage and not reporting it is one and done.

imidazol97

imidazol97 said:

This sounds like commercial for a new restaurant.
Or for a cooking show on a cable channel.
Or for a new countertop pizza oven machine for sale on HSN or QVC--comes with a receipe for pizza.

I'm interested in how salesmen work to make people believe they "need" the item the salesman is hawking.
I watch the HSN/QVC show to see how they try to puff up the descriptions of the wares. A few are masterful salespeople, but I decided that mostly they're just schlepping merchandise by lying, errr exaggerating, the characteristics. Much like some car sales people.

I love watching them push a Shark vacuum and bragg about how much vacuum power it has, and when I watch it's leaving behind some of the junk they sprinkle on the floor. How they try to cover up that deficiency is amusing: I watched this happen yesterday.

Yet the talk hosts seem to convince some gullible minds to order many of these products.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

The day I pay a tip on the sales tax which has absolutely nothing to do with the meal, food, or service, is the day I drive the speed limit or less for more than a minute on I15 on a bright sunny day with little traffic.

Poor logic as the sales tax has as much to do with the meal as the price does since sales tax is based on the price of the meal. So are you not tip on the price of the meal?

I understand why you would say that but have to respectfully disagree. The government tax fee added to the meal has nothing to do with making or serving the meal. In some states the state tax might be 4%, in Canada it is 13%, why should a server in Canada make a bigger tip just because the tax (which has nothing to do with the meal itself) is greater?

As long as you are respectful disagree all you want. I do understand what you are saying but I see it that the reality is that sales tax is part of the price of the meal and has is based on the price of the meal. What is the difference between paying $21.00 and no tax and $20.00 plus a dollar tax? Kind of like getting an OTD price for a car (Hey I made it car related ). But let us look at it this way, suppose I can get a entre at one restaurant for $17.99 and the exact same entre at another restaurant down the street for $19.99. Should the server at the second restaurant get a bigger tip simply because their boss charges more?

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

explorerx4 said:

This house is the 'Family Truckster' of raised ranches.

Now what would be the point of that? Two family house? Or is it photoshopped?

Could have been a raised ranch and they added a second floor to it. Someone with a similar house did that near me.

kyfdx

In my area, they call that a Bi-Level. Seems someone took a plan and added the extra story, though. Can't imagine you would draw it up, like that.

imidazol97

snakeweasel said:

oldfarmer50 said:

explorerx4 said:

This house is the 'Family Truckster' of raised ranches.

Now what would be the point of that? Two family house? Or is it photoshopped?

Could have been a raised ranch and they added a second floor to it. Someone with a similar house did that near me.

Since the windows on the level above the garage appear to have been kept short to fit under the roof overhang originally and they're not matched in the top level windows which are taller than the middle level windows. They did try to pick similar appearing windows, but I dont' like the effect.

Long ago in a summer job we took off the second story of an older house in a small town and made it into a single story. Not sure why but that was done on a few old houses at the time.

explorerx4

i was browsing a story of some homes that sold in a nearby town and that house made me chuckle.
Here's a modified picture of the same house as a classic raised ranch.

tjc78

graphicguy said:

tjc78 said:

Michaell said:

tjc78 said:

It’s pretty large. 21.75” x 18.75” x 24

Luckily I have plenty of room.

That would dominate our family room. And, probably overkill for what we watch (wife is currently binging "30 Rock" on Peacock).

Yeah, this size sub is not really living room friendly. The wall it will go on is over 15’ wide. I could fit a second one easily (which may happen if my wife doesn’t kill me before then).

It’s actually the “right” size for the room which is about 425 sq ft

You SHOULD get another one....you know....just because!

Actually, I'm running two subs. One is an Outlaw Audio 12" for mid bass and the other is a Power Sound Audio sealed sub for that chest thumping material. Took a while to get them positioned right. But, once I did, it really clicked.

It’s a monster is all I can say. Depth charge scenes from U-571 actually shook the projector 15’ back. Some scenes from Avengers End Game on Blu-Ray were just amazing. Call me a satisfied customer. I may hook the 12” up and experiment a little, but I’m not sure I need it.

tjc78

qbrozen said:

explorerx4 said:

This house is the 'Family Truckster' of raised ranches.

It does NOT take away from the humor ... but that was never a ranch.

Looks like a split level to me.

explorerx4

To me this is a split level Basement is half a story below main level, upper level is half a story up.
Like this.

tjc78

explorerx4 said:

To me this is a split level Basement is half a story below main level, upper level is half a story up.
Like this.

I think @kyfdx used the right name for what I was thinking. Bi-level

andres3

tjc78 said:

andres3 said:

The day I pay a tip on the sales tax which has absolutely nothing to do with the meal, food, or service, is the day I drive the speed limit or less for more than a minute on I15 on a bright sunny day with little traffic.

Well I hope the extra dollar or two is useful for you.

Do the math... on a $100 bill the tax is an average of $7.00 across the country. So it would be an extra $1.40.

IMO if you don’t tip well don’t go out to eat.

Yeah, that's how Restaurants go out of business..... getting too greedy. Ask them if they'd rather have a job or not first.

And I didn't say anything about not tipping well, just that I don't tip the tax. I also tip better when the "calculations" on the receipt are correct not to include tax; which is easy to figure out at the 20% mark. Of course, with tip inflation, apparently 20% is no longer a great tip.

andres3

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

The day I pay a tip on the sales tax which has absolutely nothing to do with the meal, food, or service, is the day I drive the speed limit or less for more than a minute on I15 on a bright sunny day with little traffic.

Poor logic as the sales tax has as much to do with the meal as the price does since sales tax is based on the price of the meal. So are you not tip on the price of the meal?

Sales tax goes to the State and Local Governments. What do they have to do with the meal, other than causing it to be more expensive by taxing the Restaurant in other ways?

dino001

driver100 said:

In some states the state tax might be 4%, in Canada it is 13%, why should a server in Canada make a bigger tip just because the tax (which has nothing to do with the meal itself) is greater?

Because of legendary Canadian hospitality ? Or perhaps for the same reason waiter gets a great tip when the steak is good, as if he actually cooked it?

andres3

driver100 said:

tjc78 said:

andres3 said:

The day I pay a tip on the sales tax which has absolutely nothing to do with the meal, food, or service, is the day I drive the speed limit or less for more than a minute on I15 on a bright sunny day with little traffic.

Well I hope the extra dollar or two is useful for you.

Do the math... on a $100 bill the tax is an average of $7.00 across the country. So it would be an extra $1.40.

IMO if you don’t tip well don’t go out to eat.

.....or to make it easy, tip 20% without tax added in, and 15% with the tax added in, and usually round upward a bit. Some of the VISA machines give you choices for tipping, but they seem to suggest tipping on the whole amount which is a bit of a scam. If I do that I prefer to put in my own amount or go with a lower percentage like 15%.
Like you say, the extra $2 on a bill probably won't bankrupt me but it could make a difference to a restaurant worker.

That's a good system; reminds me of the person who left a note on the receipt that said "I KNOW MATH!" when they received one of those "SCAM" calculator receipts for the tip which includes sales tax in their figures.

andres3

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

oldfarmer50 said:

jipster said:

abacomike said:

jipster said:

Hey guys. Thought I'd chime in with an update. First of all, my fleet of 5 vehicles is down to 4. My 2008 Mercury Mariner, my son was driving, was rear ended by a pickup truck back in October. It sustained enough damage that my insurance company declared it totalled. My son was shooken up. Had some whiplash, so taken to the hospital for a cat scan. Had some soft tissue injury, seems to be o.k. But still keeping an eye on things. The 80 year old gentleman didn't have much to say, after my son called and I arrived in the scene...which was the dreaded Gene Synder Expressway for those familiar. Traffic had slowed down, and the guy didn't recognize the situation until he had slammed into the back of my car.
Kentucky is a no fault state, so I settled with my Insurance company for $3,950. Which seemed fair at the time.

My son did a good job of getting the other drivers information. Photos of his truck, licence plate, insurance card and drivers license. But, for some reason my insurance company had a hard time tracking the guy's insurance company down. Finally find out a couple weeks ago that the other drivers insurance company (Dairyland) is saying he does not have insurance with them. So at this point I'm looking at getting an attorney. Any advice?

I miss that 2008 Mariner. It was a nice car, drove well had been in the family since new. Was planning on using it in bad weather, so I could keep the Accord in the garage, and as a back-up to my other vehicles should they need repair.

Glad no serious injuries.

Shouldn’t the police or State Troopers be advised that the guy that rear ended your son had no insurance? I thought insurance is required by law in most States, if not all States.

Thanks.
The cops wouldn't even come to the accident site when my son called. They said since both cars had been able to pull off the expressway, and there was no serious injury, they would have to handle the matter themselves. My insurance company had said, on a previous call, that if the other party didn't have insurance they would try to use whatever leverage they could for the guy to reimburse them. So, I'm assuming contacting the police. Not sure how much the police not showing up to write up a report will hurt our case.

Police not showing up for an accident is unconscionable but unfortunately becoming common. So far in my area they always respond to an accident. I think if I thought they wouldn’t come I’d claim to have passed out from a head injury or something to get them out of the donut shop.

I would think the likelihood of the police showing up to a minor fender bender is inversely proportional to the amount of crime in the area. If the police are very busy then they are going to the more serious calls and leave those in minor accidents fend for themselves.

In short if your police routinely dont show up for minor accidents consider moving.

I'm sure you mean "speeding tickets" and not "crime." I mean, what else would they be busy with? Let's get real.
I have found, that perhaps a greater allocation of enforcement goes to traffic when there's literally nothing else to do (such as in a low crime small town), but it definitely doesn't go to serving the public like showing up to an accident scene to do a police report (unless someone is hurt or died).

Well you are wrong. I mean actual crime. Despite your opinion police do prioritize police calls. A police officer watching traffic along the side of the road will be called for an accident, a police officer responding to an armed robbery will not.

You are actually wrong in this thing we call reality and the real world. With MOST departments, the Police are loathe to write an accident report but quick to write a bogus traffic citation. Not all traffic citations are bogus, but many are.

Why is it the Police are "busy" when you need them and show up hours (plural) later, but are never too busy to harrass perfectly safe drivers? They can't tell me they are too busy or understaffed.

andres3

oldfarmer50 said:

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

oldfarmer50 said:

jipster said:

abacomike said:

jipster said:

Hey guys. Thought I'd chime in with an update. First of all, my fleet of 5 vehicles is down to 4. My 2008 Mercury Mariner, my son was driving, was rear ended by a pickup truck back in October. It sustained enough damage that my insurance company declared it totalled. My son was shooken up. Had some whiplash, so taken to the hospital for a cat scan. Had some soft tissue injury, seems to be o.k. But still keeping an eye on things. The 80 year old gentleman didn't have much to say, after my son called and I arrived in the scene...which was the dreaded Gene Synder Expressway for those familiar. Traffic had slowed down, and the guy didn't recognize the situation until he had slammed into the back of my car.
Kentucky is a no fault state, so I settled with my Insurance company for $3,950. Which seemed fair at the time.

My son did a good job of getting the other drivers information. Photos of his truck, licence plate, insurance card and drivers license. But, for some reason my insurance company had a hard time tracking the guy's insurance company down. Finally find out a couple weeks ago that the other drivers insurance company (Dairyland) is saying he does not have insurance with them. So at this point I'm looking at getting an attorney. Any advice?

I miss that 2008 Mariner. It was a nice car, drove well had been in the family since new. Was planning on using it in bad weather, so I could keep the Accord in the garage, and as a back-up to my other vehicles should they need repair.

Glad no serious injuries.

Shouldn’t the police or State Troopers be advised that the guy that rear ended your son had no insurance? I thought insurance is required by law in most States, if not all States.

Thanks.
The cops wouldn't even come to the accident site when my son called. They said since both cars had been able to pull off the expressway, and there was no serious injury, they would have to handle the matter themselves. My insurance company had said, on a previous call, that if the other party didn't have insurance they would try to use whatever leverage they could for the guy to reimburse them. So, I'm assuming contacting the police. Not sure how much the police not showing up to write up a report will hurt our case.

Police not showing up for an accident is unconscionable but unfortunately becoming common. So far in my area they always respond to an accident. I think if I thought they wouldn’t come I’d claim to have passed out from a head injury or something to get them out of the donut shop.

I would think the likelihood of the police showing up to a minor fender bender is inversely proportional to the amount of crime in the area. If the police are very busy then they are going to the more serious calls and leave those in minor accidents fend for themselves.

In short if your police routinely dont show up for minor accidents consider moving.

I'm sure you mean "speeding tickets" and not "crime." I mean, what else would they be busy with? Let's get real.
I have found, that perhaps a greater allocation of enforcement goes to traffic when there's literally nothing else to do (such as in a low crime small town), but it definitely doesn't go to serving the public like showing up to an accident scene to do a police report (unless someone is hurt or died).

Can’t say the police don’t respond to accidents near me. Yesterday we passed an accident (looked like a multi car chain reaction) and there were more police cars than cars involved.

Likely that injuries, death, or at least a major traffic snarl on a highly traveled route were involved. Try calling them about a fender bender on a lightly traveled remote residential street.

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

oldfarmer50 said:

jipster said:

abacomike said:

jipster said:

Hey guys. Thought I'd chime in with an update. First of all, my fleet of 5 vehicles is down to 4. My 2008 Mercury Mariner, my son was driving, was rear ended by a pickup truck back in October. It sustained enough damage that my insurance company declared it totalled. My son was shooken up. Had some whiplash, so taken to the hospital for a cat scan. Had some soft tissue injury, seems to be o.k. But still keeping an eye on things. The 80 year old gentleman didn't have much to say, after my son called and I arrived in the scene...which was the dreaded Gene Synder Expressway for those familiar. Traffic had slowed down, and the guy didn't recognize the situation until he had slammed into the back of my car.
Kentucky is a no fault state, so I settled with my Insurance company for $3,950. Which seemed fair at the time.

My son did a good job of getting the other drivers information. Photos of his truck, licence plate, insurance card and drivers license. But, for some reason my insurance company had a hard time tracking the guy's insurance company down. Finally find out a couple weeks ago that the other drivers insurance company (Dairyland) is saying he does not have insurance with them. So at this point I'm looking at getting an attorney. Any advice?

I miss that 2008 Mariner. It was a nice car, drove well had been in the family since new. Was planning on using it in bad weather, so I could keep the Accord in the garage, and as a back-up to my other vehicles should they need repair.

Glad no serious injuries.

Shouldn’t the police or State Troopers be advised that the guy that rear ended your son had no insurance? I thought insurance is required by law in most States, if not all States.

Thanks.
The cops wouldn't even come to the accident site when my son called. They said since both cars had been able to pull off the expressway, and there was no serious injury, they would have to handle the matter themselves. My insurance company had said, on a previous call, that if the other party didn't have insurance they would try to use whatever leverage they could for the guy to reimburse them. So, I'm assuming contacting the police. Not sure how much the police not showing up to write up a report will hurt our case.

Police not showing up for an accident is unconscionable but unfortunately becoming common. So far in my area they always respond to an accident. I think if I thought they wouldn’t come I’d claim to have passed out from a head injury or something to get them out of the donut shop.

I would think the likelihood of the police showing up to a minor fender bender is inversely proportional to the amount of crime in the area. If the police are very busy then they are going to the more serious calls and leave those in minor accidents fend for themselves.

In short if your police routinely dont show up for minor accidents consider moving.

I'm sure you mean "speeding tickets" and not "crime." I mean, what else would they be busy with? Let's get real.
I have found, that perhaps a greater allocation of enforcement goes to traffic when there's literally nothing else to do (such as in a low crime small town), but it definitely doesn't go to serving the public like showing up to an accident scene to do a police report (unless someone is hurt or died).

Can’t say the police don’t respond to accidents near me. Yesterday we passed an accident (looked like a multi car chain reaction) and there were more police cars than cars involved.

Using one of our poster buddies logic, that accident occurred in a low crime area or at least low crime at the time of the pile-up.

jmonroe

andres3

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

sda said:

snakeweasel said:

oldfarmer50 said:

venture said:

fintail said:

$180/hr shop rates and cars where the option load is 35% of base MSRP.

I recall the Lexus dealer where I used to live had an amazing spread of sandwiches and pastries - I'd stop by to "look at cars", which meant get a free light lunch. Eventually they cut it back to fruits and drinks, I think. MB dealer usually had some fruit, muffins or cookies, and drinks.

houdini1 said:

I wonder where they get the money to pay for the free coffee and fine china cups. Maybe they have a sideline business somewhere?

When my Subaru dealer remodeled their entire building, one of the things they did was install a coffee machine where you could request the blend and additives you wanted (or tea or hot chocolate) and watch it grind the beans and make the coffee.

They also had a small refrigerator that had single servings of fruit cocktail, yogurt, and other stuff I don't remember. Of course there were pastries, but usually only in the mornings.

That was about 2 years ago.

When I was in for an oil change a month ago there was a coffee maker like you would have at home sitting on the counter and machines that sell you typical peanut butter-stuffed cheese crackers, etc. The refrigerator was full of trash.

We have one driver who is always lagging behind and holding up the crew. One day they couldn’t find him when they were ready to leave after making deliveries to a dealer. They finally located him in the waiting room munching on free popcorn and watching the big screen TV.

Here’s a question for you captains of industry. How much does an automatic car wash cost?

Seem that one of our guys tried to take a high top (8’4” tall) cargo van through our car wash with disastrous results. The high van got jammed up in the machinery causing it to self destruct and fling metal parts everywhere. According to the boss a large shaft even pierced the body of the van and was left sticking out the side. It was lucky no one was hurt.

We drove through the lot today and several twisted I-beam structures laying out by the fence were all that was left of the whole system. What a mess.

A quick web search says an automated car was costs between $31k to $49k. I'd say that would be a bargain for a story like that if you had pictures, especially of the shaft sticking out of the van.

Yikes. Does he still have a job?

As far as I know. You wouldn’t believe some of the stuff that’s been pulled over the years. One thing that WILL get you fired is causing damage and trying to hide it. Even too many screw ups in your own car without informing the company will get you the door.

That's probably because in the past some bad Enterprise managers thought they'd try to pin hard to notice damage caused previously by their own forces on the next rental customer. Forced a charge back via credit card company; a case I won by the way.

Every company I worked for would discipline anyone who damaged company property and tried to hide it. We terminate maybe a person every few years or so for the exact same reason.

Happens all the time on construction sites. Might make a good case for putting up a surveillance system when you build something because the CSI is almost impossible, but I don't think the workers would like that.

tjc78

andres3 said:

tjc78 said:

andres3 said:

The day I pay a tip on the sales tax which has absolutely nothing to do with the meal, food, or service, is the day I drive the speed limit or less for more than a minute on I15 on a bright sunny day with little traffic.

Well I hope the extra dollar or two is useful for you.

Do the math... on a $100 bill the tax is an average of $7.00 across the country. So it would be an extra $1.40.

IMO if you don’t tip well don’t go out to eat.

Yeah, that's how Restaurants go out of business..... getting too greedy. Ask them if they'd rather have a job or not first.

And I didn't say anything about not tipping well, just that I don't tip the tax. I also tip better when the "calculations" on the receipt are correct not to include tax; which is easy to figure out at the 20% mark. Of course, with tip inflation, apparently 20% is no longer a great tip.

Well it’s my humble opinion that if you don’t tip on the entire amount of the check it’s not a good tip (percentages equal of course) I could care less what the calculations are on the check, I do my own math.

And in today’s climate restaurants aren’t going out of business for being greedy.... they are going out because of shutdowns, reduced capacity, crazy delivery costs, extra cleaning measures, etc.

nyccarguy

I ALWAYS tip the entire bill (including tax) at 20%. If the service is particularly awful I'll leave nothing, but that's only happened maybe 5 times.

My wife and I used to go to this Spanish restaurant. We bought a groupon for it that included an autographed copy of the Chef's recipe book. The place was empty, the food wasn't cooked right, they took too long to bring out the appetizer, and then rushed the entree out. The server was nice. I tipped 20% of what the food would normally cost. We were on our way out and they asked if something was wrong. I told them everything that went wrong, but the problems were resurrected and the food was delicious as always. They then had the nerve to ask why I tipped so little. I explained that I tipped on what the normal cost of the meal was. They said to me, "But you got the book from the chef that we normally sell for $59." I walked out and haven't been back since.

andres3

oldfarmer50 said:

andres3 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

sda said:

snakeweasel said:

oldfarmer50 said:

venture said:

fintail said:

$180/hr shop rates and cars where the option load is 35% of base MSRP.

I recall the Lexus dealer where I used to live had an amazing spread of sandwiches and pastries - I'd stop by to "look at cars", which meant get a free light lunch. Eventually they cut it back to fruits and drinks, I think. MB dealer usually had some fruit, muffins or cookies, and drinks.

houdini1 said:

I wonder where they get the money to pay for the free coffee and fine china cups. Maybe they have a sideline business somewhere?

When my Subaru dealer remodeled their entire building, one of the things they did was install a coffee machine where you could request the blend and additives you wanted (or tea or hot chocolate) and watch it grind the beans and make the coffee.

They also had a small refrigerator that had single servings of fruit cocktail, yogurt, and other stuff I don't remember. Of course there were pastries, but usually only in the mornings.

That was about 2 years ago.

When I was in for an oil change a month ago there was a coffee maker like you would have at home sitting on the counter and machines that sell you typical peanut butter-stuffed cheese crackers, etc. The refrigerator was full of trash.

We have one driver who is always lagging behind and holding up the crew. One day they couldn’t find him when they were ready to leave after making deliveries to a dealer. They finally located him in the waiting room munching on free popcorn and watching the big screen TV.

Here’s a question for you captains of industry. How much does an automatic car wash cost?

Seem that one of our guys tried to take a high top (8’4” tall) cargo van through our car wash with disastrous results. The high van got jammed up in the machinery causing it to self destruct and fling metal parts everywhere. According to the boss a large shaft even pierced the body of the van and was left sticking out the side. It was lucky no one was hurt.

We drove through the lot today and several twisted I-beam structures laying out by the fence were all that was left of the whole system. What a mess.

A quick web search says an automated car was costs between $31k to $49k. I'd say that would be a bargain for a story like that if you had pictures, especially of the shaft sticking out of the van.

Yikes. Does he still have a job?

As far as I know. You wouldn’t believe some of the stuff that’s been pulled over the years. One thing that WILL get you fired is causing damage and trying to hide it. Even too many screw ups in your own car without informing the company will get you the door.

That's probably because in the past some bad Enterprise managers thought they'd try to pin hard to notice damage caused previously by their own forces on the next rental customer. Forced a charge back via credit card company; a case I won by the way.

I don’t work in the rental offices so I’m not sure on exact policy but I have observed the rental agents taking customers on a walk around on cars with the customers.

What's the "official" policy on observing a car inspection while the car is soaked in water? Water makes it impossible to inspect the body and paint work, yet it seems "drying" isn't part of the car washer's job description.

It's better when they tell you they won't go after you for negligible scratches and dents. I felt that's what the contoured dent was, but that's what the so-called manager tried to pin me with. Haven't had a problem in years, including with Enterprise, but I don't rent often.

andres3

nyccarguy said:

I ALWAYS tip the entire bill (including tax) at 20%. If the service is particularly awful I'll leave nothing, but that's only happened maybe 5 times.

My wife and I used to go to this Spanish restaurant. We bought a groupon for it that included an autographed copy of the Chef's recipe book. The place was empty, the food wasn't cooked right, they took too long to bring out the appetizer, and then rushed the entree out. The server was nice. I tipped 20% of what the food would normally cost. We were on our way out and they asked if something was wrong. I told them everything that went wrong, but the problems were resurrected and the food was delicious as always. They then had the nerve to ask why I tipped so little. I explained that I tipped on what the normal cost of the meal was. They said to me, "But you got the book from the chef that we normally sell for $59." I walked out and haven't been back since.

So on a meal with good service, that costs $100, in CA (@8% tax) you'd be tipping a buck sixty more than me. I doubt they say "WOW" that @nyccarguy is such a greater tipper than @andres3.

andres3

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

The day I pay a tip on the sales tax which has absolutely nothing to do with the meal, food, or service, is the day I drive the speed limit or less for more than a minute on I15 on a bright sunny day with little traffic.

Poor logic as the sales tax has as much to do with the meal as the price does since sales tax is based on the price of the meal. So are you not tip on the price of the meal?

I understand why you would say that but have to respectfully disagree. The government tax fee added to the meal has nothing to do with making or serving the meal. In some states the state tax might be 4%, in Canada it is 13%, why should a server in Canada make a bigger tip just because the tax (which has nothing to do with the meal itself) is greater?

As long as you are respectful disagree all you want. I do understand what you are saying but I see it that the reality is that sales tax is part of the price of the meal and has is based on the price of the meal. What is the difference between paying $21.00 and no tax and $20.00 plus a dollar tax? Kind of like getting an OTD price for a car (Hey I made it car related ). But let us look at it this way, suppose I can get a entre at one restaurant for $17.99 and the exact same entre at another restaurant down the street for $19.99. Should the server at the second restaurant get a bigger tip simply because their boss charges more?

You bring up a good point here, and for that matter, why should the servers at McDonald's make less than the servers at Mortons?

Why should selling a MB get you more commission than selling a wannabe?

Why should a realtor make more selling a house in La Jolla than in La Mesa?

EDIT: Why should a server in El Cajon make 20% tips on 108.25% of the meal cost where one in San Diego only gets 20% on 107.75% of the meal cost? Now that's a good question.

dino001

andres3 said:

As long as you are respectful disagree all you want. I do understand what you are saying but I see it that the reality is that sales tax is part of the price of the meal and has is based on the price of the meal.

Then restaurateurs should include that tax in what they call "price" on their menus. It cuts both ways: you want to disown Uncle Sam's cut as "not part of the price", then don't use his cut to calculate the tip. It's of course all academic, as one can use whatever percentage they want, but if we agree that there is some "minimum goodwill" percentage, the general rule should not include the tax, IMHO.

I remember that story here about a waiter being upset for not getting a tip on a supposed (grossly inflated, too) value of a free chef's gift book. This was a good example or expectation inflation.

dino001

andres3 said:

You bring up a good point here, and for that matter, why should the servers at McDonald's make less than the servers at Mortons?

Why should selling a MB get you more commission than selling a wannabe?

Why should a realtor make more selling a house in La Jolla than in La Mesa?

EDIT: Why should a server in El Cajon make 20% tips on 108.25% of the meal cost where one in San Diego only gets 20% on 107.75% of the meal cost? Now that's a good question.

At the end market decides, but if I had to guess, selling McDonald's hamburgers may require lesser skills than waiting tables at high-end steakhouse. At least that's the expectation, I think...

stickguy

Truckster house is a raised ranch. Town I grew up in was full of them.

The other one posted was a split level. Actually called a side split. They also come as back splits (looks like ranch from the front, 2 story from the back.)

driver100

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

The day I pay a tip on the sales tax which has absolutely nothing to do with the meal, food, or service, is the day I drive the speed limit or less for more than a minute on I15 on a bright sunny day with little traffic.

Poor logic as the sales tax has as much to do with the meal as the price does since sales tax is based on the price of the meal. So are you not tip on the price of the meal?

I understand why you would say that but have to respectfully disagree. The government tax fee added to the meal has nothing to do with making or serving the meal. In some states the state tax might be 4%, in Canada it is 13%, why should a server in Canada make a bigger tip just because the tax (which has nothing to do with the meal itself) is greater?

As long as you are respectful disagree all you want. I do understand what you are saying but I see it that the reality is that sales tax is part of the price of the meal and has is based on the price of the meal. What is the difference between paying $21.00 and no tax and $20.00 plus a dollar tax? Kind of like getting an OTD price for a car (Hey I made it car related ). But let us look at it this way, suppose I can get a entre at one restaurant for $17.99 and the exact same entre at another restaurant down the street for $19.99. Should the server at the second restaurant get a bigger tip simply because their boss charges more?

Should the waiter get more because his restaurant overcharges. And the governments extra tax added nothing to the quality of the meal or the service....it should not get counted as part of the actual cost of the meal.

If someone asks you how much your chicken dinner was you say $19.99 or $20, not $21.39 because tax is not part of the dinner.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

To me this is a split level Basement is half a story below main level, upper level is half a story up.
Like this.

That’s very similar to my house.

driver100

kyfdx said:

In my area, they call that a Bi-Level. Seems someone took a plan and added the extra story, though. Can't imagine you would draw it up, like that.

Glad you explained it, I thought I was seeing double.

stickguy

oldfarmer50 said:

explorerx4 said:

To me this is a split level Basement is half a story below main level, upper level is half a story up.
Like this.

That’s very similar to my house.

I’m trying to convince the wife we should buy your place. Does it have a garage? Or a barn you can park in? Bonus points if I can put a lift in!