The Bitching Thread 2.0

[BakFu]

I might get “yeah buts” on this one but I find it to be an incredibly sleazy business practice, mostly BECAUSE it’s presented in a very “look what great corporate citizens were are” kind of way, when in reality it’s a very “fuck you, absorb this cost and if you complain, you’re a scumbag who doesn’t care about the environment” practice.

Charging for bags at the grocery store.

I usually bring bags with me, but today I had to stop and didn’t have my shit with me. The lady kindly informed me that the store was charging for bags, and asked me if I would need any. I said yes I would, at which point she started putting two items in each bag (I had eight items). I asked why she wasn’t putting each item in a separate bag, at which point she started to. I told her I was joking, then asked her why there was a charge for the bags. Her reply was “to save the environment”. I then asked why they sell disposable plastic bags at all if their interests are truly so global and altruistic, to which she replied with a laugh. I then asked if prices on their items would be decreasing now that customers pay for the stores plastic bag stock, another laugh. Then the manager wandered over to tell me that the store is reducing its carbon footprint (jargon checklist complete) and proceeded to rattle off verbatim all of the other shit/points that their overlords fed them to placate us knuckle dragging plebeians if we start using critical thinking when businesses start digging a little deeper into our pockets.

I think I’m done now. Thank you for listening.

[kokushishin]

When it comes down to money there's usually bigger problem areas than haggling over DLC or bags.


Anyway, it's been bittersweet. Professionally it has been "good job, boss lady" Personally I miss my friend and nothing has assuaged my doubts about her current situation, who she's with etc..

[Zealot]

Considering how shitty the plastic quality is on most grocery bags to begin with (lone exception being Target because they actually give a damn about that), I highly doubt that is reducing any carbon footprint. Nothing turns a blind eye to actual environmental concerns like dolla dolla bills ya'll.

Speaking of shitty store practices, can we bring back the Wal-Mart greeters in exchange for the employees with scanners at the exits?

I can't tell you how many times I've been to self-checkout at my local Wal-Mart purchasing a big bale of hay for my guinea pig while the employee looks at me completing the transaction and getting a receipt only to then ask for my receipt after I get to the exit to scan it. For those that have not bought hay for pets before, these are pretty solid blocks with tight plastic packaging. If you try to stuff any shoplifted items down it, it's gonna scrape your hands and have a pretty fucking obvious bulge.

Normally I wouldn't have an issue complying with theft deterrence from any store, but these morons will stop you for a good 1-2 minutes for trivial shit like this and scan the receipt while people with...you know...actual large fucking items like TVs, home appliances, and tote bins which are perfect compartments for theft due to their negative space, waltz on through. 

Meanwhile, one of the employees there was recently arrested for stealing thousands of dollars in gift cards to mail off to his "European girlfriend" in what was an obvious Lonely Hearts scam.

And they wonder why consumers in the area there are pissed at them. They can even stop internal theft.

[Deleted]

Coronavirus madness in the UK. People are stockpiling handwahes, soaps and toilet rolls of all things. Fuck me, the last time I checked it doesn't give you the shits! Some people in the UK are fucking numb, we've got just over 200 cases of it here, more people live on my street! A lot of people need to stop listening to the media spreading its Coronavirus fear and think of others, especially the old and vulnerable.

[Zealot]

They've already wiped out a ton of soap and sanitizer in some areas of the U.S. that consumers are now stocking up on liqours simply for the alcoholic content to stay sanitized. It's a bit insane.

[fullMETAL]

I am just constantly exhausted. Like, all the time.
I'm trying increasing my vitamin intake, caffeine sometimes, going to bed a bit earlier, cutting down my evening calorie intake so that I have less food to have to burn off when I sleep, and nothing is helping.
My alarm goes off and when I wake up, I just feel like a lead weight and want to just turn it off and sleep straight through to the next day.
I do have depression and Bi-Polar II, and I take medication for those, but I take them AFTER I get up from bed and just before I go to bed -- after I get up, it takes me a few hours to get my body up to a functional level, but then after that I'm kinda okay for the rest of the day.
The thing is that I just feel so drained, all day, every day, even during the hours that I feel reasonably functional.

I looked up symptoms and diagnostic criteria for Fibromyalgia, but I can't be sure about that at all because there isn't any kind of definitive diagnostic testing for something like that the way there is for blood/hormone/genetic/etc disorders/diseases.

For now I just have to rely on mega-dosing on Vitamin C after getting up to get me up to "functional" sooner rather than later. :(

[Ramon]

... And now the coronavirus has reached my workplace at the university as well. I mean, didn't anyone play plauge inc.?

[Zealot]

Dude, we're just trying to get people to do simple shit like WASH THEIR FUCKING HANDS and not touch their face.

There are even a few employees at my job already going on a FUCKING CRUISE. 

I mean C'MON!

This is not rocket surgery.

[BakFu]

Yeah, even in the frozen North (Alberta Canada) we have a few cases and much less bleach/toilet paper available on store shelves. My field of work gives me daily access to medical microbiologists/virologists, usually our conversations are rugby, sports, and other crap (or them ragging on me to get my flu shot...), but lately COVID 19 has been popping up. The consensus amongst them is that people should be far more concerned about the flu, in immune competent people the infection is normally quite mild/manageable, N95 masks (not the shit people are wearing on tv, but similar) are good for 30 minutes and you’re better off doing a lot of hand washing and avoiding touching your face until you can hand wash (avoid touching your eyes, mouth and nose, that goes for colds and other respiratory viruses as well if you want to avoid being ill). They’re confounded by the toilet paper thing, but I guess those manufacturers are cleaning up based on the media spin. It is incredible to think how quickly social media/mass media could be weaponized. Imagine what Orson Wells could have done with war of the worlds today?!

I was shocked to see major media outlets distributing this story, it actually has a bit of information and doesn’t spread fear! Who would have thought this could happen? 🙂

www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/03/10/world/europe/10reuters-health-coronavirus-patients.html

[Deleted]

Considering things like the prevalence of the antivax movement, I'm somehow not surprised people have been responding like this.

[BakFu]

The take home I got from the people at work is that this thing can be dangerous and the severity varies from one individual to the next, of course there is no vaccine, and that it’s not going away any time soon, but that you need to educate yourself, not fall for dumb rumours but make sure you take proper precautions. Common sense stuff you don’t need brainiac specialists for I guess. Hopefully this thing ends up contained and under control soon and everyone here stays safe and healthy! 🙂

[Ramon]

So far no toilet paper shortage here in Sweden, but hand sanitizer can't be bought in stores anymore, they've all sold out. All of the lectures regarding classes larger than 100 students at my University has been cancelled.

[BakFu]

Mar 12, 2020 9:38:39 GMT Ramon said:

So far no toilet paper shortage here in Sweden, but hand sanitizer can't be bought in stores anymore, they've all sold out. All of the lectures regarding classes larger than 100 students at my University has been cancelled.

Yeah, same shit here (send toilet paper!) a girl I work with working on her masters (in public health of all things) said all of her stuff is online now. We get students doing their practicums year round, so far they’re still coming. Up to 19 confirmed in our province as of yesterday, yay.

[kokushishin]

We've tightened up cleaning, and with some other stuff going on a lot falls to me.

[El Marsh]

I truly, madly, deeply despise the "the government is trying to kill you" crowd that pops up when things like recession, natural disasters, and disease pop up.

I mean, they're always there but when things go south, they're galvanized to collectively go "see?" to us non-believers.

Like any zealot, they can't be reasoned with and the more you attempt to do so, the more aggressively defensive they become, almost always to the point of irrationality.

It is intriguing in its own way yet incredibly vexing in general.