From my chump change to the chump who ate my food! - Part 2

This blog post is part two of the previous post, regarding the chump who ate my food and things in between. The above video clip reflects that a little bit.

First, before I mention the chump who ate my food, I must mention what happened when I was driving on Port St. Lucie Blvd on the way to my cousin's house at around 5:30 P.M, which, as you know, is a pretty busy time at that intersection.  I was in the right lane waiting for the light to change on Gatlin to make a right turn as shown in the image below.

As you can see from the image above, I was in the right lane which is a right turn only lane depicted by the arrow on the street pointing to the RIGHT (left here but the image is from the opposite angle). There is also a sign posted on the sidewalk. I noticed I was waiting there for a bit and then realized the cars in front of the one car in front of me already went and made the right turn. I then noticed the car in front of me put their turn signal on to turn LEFT. That's when I got pretty upset, as well as the cars behind me, and beeped my horn once. I am usually pretty lenient when it comes to mistakes people make on the road in front of me but this was the extent of my leniency. It was rush hour in traffic and the person was in the turning lane. If they did not want to turn right, they shouldn't have stayed in that lane. If they couldn't have gotten over in time, too bad, so sad. They need to keep going and make the right and THEN make a U-turn. It's as simple as that!

It is rude for a car such as the one I was in front of to hog the WHOLE lane so they can try to get out and go straight when EVERYONE else behind them wants to go right and have the right to, in THAT LANE, to go right with no questions asked! The passenger in the car in front of me, a nice new Black VW Passat or whatever VW it was, put their arm out and flipped me the bird. The Dragon doesn't like getting the bird flipped his way for doing nothing wrong on his part so I beeped the horn again. Then, the person in the drivers side put their arm out all the way and flipped the bird as well. Furious, and with the others behind me beeping, I put my hand on the horn again and KEPT that bitch pressed to show the bird flippers who was boss and to not make the Dragon angry because they wouldn't like the Dragon when he's angry...





Slowly, but surely, while both birds were out, they started to move up until.. they FINALLY made the RIGHT-TURN, which is what they were supposed to do all along. I kept the horn pressed when they made the turn and was right on their tail until they went to the median to make a U-turn. Then I beeped it again and floored it out right around them.

It's assinines like the ones above who make driving the streets a pain in the ass for all of us. Did they surely think the people behind them were just going to sit back and relax and wait for them to get out of the turning lane during rush hour which is pretty much impossible to do at that time? Of course they do! The world revolves around these fools, in their eyes. It's pretty sad, it really is. I love to drive but it's people like the ones mentioned who just make me want to just drive at midnight when the streets don't have as much fools.

Now.... onto the Chili's Chump...

It was past 6 P.M. and I had nothing to eat yet so my cousin said we should all go out so I can eat dinner and they have dessert. My other cousin didn't want to go so it was just me and my one cousin. We decided on Chili's because we went there last time and we both like the atmosphere and the food is pretty good.

I was looking at the menu to decide what to get. I decided on the triple dipper of chicken crispers, potato skins, and fried CHEESE (why they call it that instead of mozzarella sticks is beyond me and my cousin and I were pondering this odd thing for a few minutes. I also ponder about other odd things in life.) because we can both share some of that and she'll get her dessert when we're done with that.

The waiter came and took our order. We sat there and waited, and waited, and waited. We started to converse as to what was taking so damn long. My cousin saw the table behind me get some stuff already which looked similar to what we had ordered but I didn't turn around to get a closer look. So, we waited some more....

About thirty minutes passed until the waiter came back and asked how we were doing. We both said we were doing great but I said in the calmness voice I usually have, "We've just been waiting for around forty minutes for our food!"

The waiter then said, "I know, I'm sorry about that. Your food was ready and they brought it out from the back but gave it to the table behind you by mistake so they took it."
I said, "Oh, ok... but they are at least going to pay for it though because they ate it, right?"
Waiter: "No, it was our mistake."
Me: "Well, that's just stupid. If they took it, they should pay for it."
Waiter: "We just put the order for you in again so it will be out soon. Sorry about that."
Me: "Ah, it's OK. Thanks."

So, justin case you didn't know what just went down; our food was ready and was brought out to the table behind me. The two people at the table behind me just decided to accept the food instead of saying, "We did not order that." No, they just accepted it, even probably saying, "Oh, we didn't order it but we'll take it anyway." so they did, therefore, not having to pay for it! Ain't that some shit!?





     So, the food eventually came but I was expressing my feelings about what just happened because of the inconsiderate bastards behind me like I never have before...

"MMM....this is some mighty fine fried CHEESE right here! I wonder if their FRIED CHEESE behind me were just as good!! MMM....... DAMN GOOD!!"
"These chicken crispers sure are CRISPY!! I wonder if the ones behind me were just as crispy!!"
"One should not take that which does not belong to them! It's just a foolish and inconsiderate thing to do!"
"MMMM........ these 'tator skins sure are yummy! I wonder if their tater skins were just as good too!"


Each time I was saying the above, I was doing it loudly and while my head was turned to the side so the douche bag with his date behind me could hear it. My cousin said they weren't really paying attention much because they were probably engulfed in their conversations just like they had engulfed our food of which they DID NOT have to pay for of which I DID, even though my cousin and I were the ones who were INCONVENIENCED because we had to wait over thirty minutes for it! 


So, here's what should have been done on Chili's part and should be done in the future:


If they serve the order to the wrong table and the person at the table chooses, for whatever selfish reason, to accept it and eat it anyway, that table should be the one who pays for it. It's just a matter of common sense and business practices; he/she who eats something in a restaurant should, in return, pay for what has been eaten unless the order was not satisfactory or not correct, of course. It's as simple as that.


Now, for the other table who has been waiting LONGER than USUAL for the order to arrive because the selfish morons at the other table chose to eat their food, the other table in which the order has been intended for should NOT have to pay for the selfish table's mistake on their part because they have to wait LONGER to serve whatever they have been ordered. The rolls should have been reversed; the selfish table should have paid for what was not intended for them but consumed anyway and the other table who did not receive their order on time because of such incident SHOULD NOT have been obligate to pay for the order sans drinks and tip. Now, you tell me, would this not be the just thing to do in any establishment?

Your input would be appreciated! I'm sure Chili's will read this post about them so an update with their feedback and how they resolved this minor issue will be posted in another blog post.

Until next time,

Justin

From my chump change to the chump who ate my food!

The above video correlates a bit to my money pit:

Business has been slower than expected during the past week so I had to resort to my "Holy Shit! Funds." This is my emergency fund set aside which consists of change collected in a container during the span of many months. I do not use change when I purchase things so when I pay for things with paper money, I keep the change and just stick it in that container you see above and fill it up to the rim until a situation like this arises.

I grabbed my container of HSF (Holy Shit! Funds) and headed to my bank, Bank of America. Yea, I know what you are already thinking after what has been going on lately but I'm not going to open that can of worms... or am I?

I arrived at the bank, parked, grabbed my HSF and headed through the door... only to find a man who already beat me to it, although I didn't expect this at all when I walked in. There was an older man with the bank greeter lady standing next to a table, putting his change in those "rollers."

*The following quoted texts are near identical to what has actually been said.*

I asked the lady, "Hello, I'd like to deposit this here."
The lady responds, "I'm sorry, we can't take it like that. You have to put them in rollers."
I then said, "You don't have a machine here?"
She answered, "No, we don't have that here but you can take it to Publix but they'll charge you a fee or you can put them in rollers and deposit it here."
I said, "OK, thank you!" I was about to just head out the door and she interrupted, "Do you want to get rollers and deposit it here or take it to Publix?"
"I guess I'll do it here."
"Ok, you can get the rollers up front."
"Ok, thank you."

So, I went up to the front, got a crap load of rollers, left the bank, and went back in my car and said, "WTF?! I don't have time to sit here and roll all this shit nor do I want to! This is justin sane!" I decided to then take a trip to the credit union down the road my mother and sister have an account at because they have a machine thing there.

I arrived at the credit union, grabbed my HSF, and walked in. I got on line and after less than a minute, a man left the line saying, "Have a Happy Monday!." I thought that was pretty stupid then went to the next teller available. I said, "Hi, I just have a quick question. I just came from my bank and they don't have a machine to put the change in. My mother and sister come here and they told me there's a machine here. Can you take care of this?"

She said, "Do you have an account here?"
"No."
"I'm sorry, the only way I can use the machine is if you had an account here. The money goes in the machine and gets deposited into the account and you can withdraw it."
"Oh, alright, thanks anyway!"
"You're welcome. Have a nice day."
"You too!"

So, I grabbed my HSF and headed out the door and back in my car. There I sat, HSF sitting in the passenger seat wondering what the heck to do now. Sure, I could go to Publix and have the machine take care of it for me but I don't feel I should pay for such a "convenience" of something so simple. It was now a little after 3PM and I was running out of time. Maybe my family can assist with the "rolling" of this change so I can have it all finished before the bank closes. I gave a couple a call.... no answer. So, there I sat, in my car with no choice left but to dump the HSF on the car seat and start rollin.... some coins! So much change, so little time. I took care of all of the quarters then some dimes, ending up with a total of $65 in rolled HSF. During that time, I got a business call and told him I'll be there within an hour. So, I put the rest back in the HSF container and deposited the rolled coins through the drive thru. Of course, I needed a deposit slip. I didn't have a deposit slip. I got a deposit slip. I filled out the slip, gave back the slip, then got back another slip with the deposit amount. I was all set... all to prevent my account from getting a $35 charge for dropping down to below 0. With the check I got from the customer, it was enough anyway but I didn't know that until after the rolling started.

Now.... to get to the meat (or, if you're a vegetarian, tofu) of the story...

Coins (also called "change") is a form of money just like paper bills are. Money, no matter what kind it is should be deposited at any bank with no questions ask. A person should be able to take a container, box, or sac of any amount of coins to either deposit or get some other form of cash or even a money order or cashier's check. If the bank does NOT have a machine to put the coins in, such as the case with BANK OF AMERICA, they should PURCHASE one to make this task simple instead of making it the customer's obligation to roll the damn coins themselves, which, as you know, is time consuming. And, before you mention it, I know there are "consumer-based" devices out there which do this task for you automatically but I don't believe we, as a consumer, who are even paying banks monthly fees, should have to purchase such a thing if the bank should do it for us with no questions asked.

Teller: "Good afternoon, sir/mam. How can I assist you today?"
Customer: "Hi, I would like to deposit this bag of coins."
Teller: "I'll be happy to assist you with that."
Customer: "Thank you."
Teller: "I'm going to put it all in the machine over here and deposit it right to your account or if you cash back, in any form you wish, back."
Customer: "Sounds great, thank you!"

Badda bing, badda boom, done! How hard is that, Bank of America? Is that really too much work? I'll tell you what, I'll even buy the machine for the bank for you. Oh, wait, I already have! I'm already spending $144 a year for the "convenience" of having MY money in YOUR bank. I also, a LONG while back, spent over $500+ in overdraft charges so that should cover the price of the machine you fail to have in your banks as of yet.

Or, if you don't want to provide a machine in your bank, hire a "change roller." This person's job will   specifically be to just roll change:

Teller: "Good afternoon, sir/ma'am. How can I assist you today?"
Customer: "Hi, I would like to deposit this bag of coins."
Teller: "I'll be happy to assist you with that."
Customer: "Thank you."
Teller: "I'm going to hand this bag to our change roller, who is sitting in the room right over there. He/she hasn't had much change today, so he'll/she'll be glad to roll your change.
Customer: "No offense, but how can I trust he/she doesn't take any of my change while he rolls?"
Teller: "I understand your concern and there is no need to worry. We have multiple cameras in the room above and under the desk. If he/she slips some change in his/her pocket, he/she will be terminated and the money he/she took will placed into your account where it belongs.
Customer: "Sounds great. Thank you very much."
Teller: "It's my pleasure. Would you like to wait for the roller to be finished with your change to get money back or would you like the amount to be just deposited into your account?
Customer: "You can just deposit it into my account."
Teller: "Ok, you're all set. Have a great day!"
Customer: "Thank you, you too!"


There, so there are two options for you. I'd say, the better option, in my opinion, would be to hire "change rollers" because that will put more people with jobs instead of without. They must be able to pass a change rolling test though which will consist of being able to roll quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies. They should also be paid at LEAST $10/hr so they can afford to live in this area somewhat comfortably.


That's it! So, Bank of America and the other banks out there who still make your customers roll the change to make it more convenient for YOU, get to it!


This concludes the first part of this two part blog post.