This was prompted by a message sent to a mailing list that I read. Some guy sends an irate sort of foaming-at-the-mouth rant to the list. The story is this. He goes into a C-store and asks if he can fill his bottles (cheap, cheap). Clerk says yes and he fills his bottles in the sink which the clerk warns him is filled with standing water containing bleach (ewwww).
He makes a purchase (who the hell eats pound cake on a ride?) and when the purchase is rung up instead of the $1.39 that the pound cake is marked the charge is $1.89. So, fifty cents. He asks about this mis-match between the marked price and what the register shows and the clerk says 'my manager told me to do do.' Guy leaves, then gets so irate - again, let me point out that this is fifty cents we are talking about and he is probably riding a $2,500 bike - that he goes back into the store in a huff and returns the freakin' pound cake.
He then writes a several paragraph rant to a bike list with 1,000+ subscribers expecting, what, sympathy? "Yeah, those bastards, let's go burn the place down?" C'mon. I told him to stick a crowbar in his wallet and pry it open. Another slightly kinder list member reminded him that stores are in business to make money.
I've been on rides where we went into a restaurant and a guy reached into his jersey pocket and pulled out his PB&J and asked for water. I was mortified. I guess I should have been releived that he didn't pull out a fucking tea bag and ask for hot water, lemon and sugar.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
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12 comments:
That's illegal in restaurants here - he would have had to eat it outside to avoid cross contamination. Hopefully he at least tipped for the water...
If it is not illegal to bring one's own food into a reataurant, it is certainy rude. He didn't leave a tip, fuguring that "everybody else had spent money."
Y'know, herent, your comment just reminded me of something that happened on our ride yesterday and has happened in the past. My wife is a chef in the food service industry. We were at a pizza place with tables inside, and when we asked to used the bathroom (after making a purchase, natch) they said no. She didn't argue, as it's not her nature but she told me quietly at the table that if you provide tables for eat-in service you are a restaurant and are obligated to provide bathroom facilities. No tables, no problem, but this one bugged me a little.
I dunno. The water guy sounds a bit tightly wound. But I can see why some people might rather drink from the tap than buy bottled water. First, bottled water is a ripoff. And second, why waste a plastic bottle when tap water will serve as well? I doubt I would have huffed and puffed about four bits, as he did, but it was a bit silly for the manager to charge him extra for the tap water.
As for bringing a PB&J sandwich on a ride, what's the big deal? There's nothing wrong with wanting to save a few bucks by avoiding restaurant meals. Or possibly he has special dietary needs, and it's a hassle to track down every ingredient in restaurant meals. Or maybe he simply didn't know that there would be a restaurant stop. Was he just supposed to throw his sandwich away and order off the menu? I can think of far more mortifying events than this one Fixedgear.
Jim: Bring a sandwich on a ride, and take care of your special dietary needs. This was a pretty exotic rstaurant, using such kooky ingredients as 'bacon' and 'eggs.' He knew we were stopping for a sit-down meal. He wasn't supposed to throw his sandwich away and order off the menu, he was supposed to order off the menu or sit outside and eat his own sandwich.
Stupid slap the bum. If this should happen again, excuse yourself from the table and go flat both his tires. Better yet, don't let the loser ride with your group again. I thought only drivers were so stupid and thoughtless.
I stand corrected regarding dietary needs and such of the PB&J guy. This joker sounds like a first class butt-plug. How dare he think he should enjoy the company of his fellow riders on the ride, when his rightful place is sitting on the curb outside eating his sandwich by himself. I can't believe the restaurant didn't throw him out on his ear for being such a classless slob. Frankly, I'm surprised such an ill-mannered savage didn't squat and defecate on the floor of the establishment.
I think maybe he should find different people to ride with.
Holy Mother of God.
The guy that got charged 50 cents for water needs to get a life.
The guy who brought his PB&J into a restuarant shoulda layed out a nice tip for the whole group,
It's better to be classy then cheap. What's a few dollars?
The guy who refused restroom service oughta get a complaint letter from the PA Dept of Agriculture, since Fixedgear's wife is a chef.......... I'm sure she knows how much the PA Dept of Ag loves to follow up on complaints. I know the local agent and he usually makes life miserable for restuarants like that.
Jim: I'm gonna stop by Freewheel later. I'll bring my bike, my own tools, parts and supplies. I just want to work in a clean well lighted bike shop. My club-mates all shop there, so why should this be a problem?
FG-
Don't forget... Jim is originally from the U.P. of Michigan. They do shit differently out there... like carry guns when they ride.
-Me
FG:
You could actually do work on your bike at Freewheel, and you don't even have to bring your own tools. Lots of people do. We even have a public shop, which isn't free, but many people who use the public shop get shop staff to help them and do the work for them (for free).
I agree that PB&J man should have left a tip as if he had consumed a restaurant meal. Just a buck or two would've gone a long way.
I never rode a bike (as an adult) in the UP. And I don't always pack my piece on my rides.
Jim-
Damnit, you seemed more cool to me when I thought you packed heat on every ride.
-Me
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