People who use the "economy is bad" excuse

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

My wife laughs at me for having such a large DVD collection (she doesn't like to watch many movies more than once).

But if we ever have to go without cable, I'm fully loaded baby.

[bainsidhe]

Yup, the economy sucks. Gasoline, though much lower now, had previously been through the roof. Grocery prices are still much higher than ever before. Even if you're employed, you have to make that dollar stetch much farther because costs everywhere have gone up.

I work p/t in a grocery store. Customers will come through sighing how everything is so expensive. I appreciate that, hell, I'll join the conversation right there with them. I especially feel bad for those on food stamps or very limited income, because the pressure is much heavier on them. I've even had customers get all excited because <my store> generally has prices much much lower than the competition.

So it goes without saying that it really irks me when random customers come through my line and "suggest" how <my store> should lower prices because the economy is tough and it would increase sales. Hmm, look around buddy. There's twenty cashiers working right now and we all have lines. What makes you think we need to search for more customers. On top of that, margin for grocery is so small already. Nope, we promote our store by already having low prices. Granted, I just smile and shrug when I hear comments like this, you just can't please people.

A side rant. I like reading message boards, which recently have included a lot about the economy, Christmas, and other spending. Tied into Christmas is the issue of tipping. Now holiday tipping aside, it shocked me how many people commented that they're tipping less in restaurants, because they figure the economy is tough and they need to watch their nickels. Mind you, I'm in the US and I found this very upsetting.

[earl colby pottinger]

The opposite problem.

I have the opposite problem. Due to my last contract ending last month and my spending money that should have gone to paying bills. I now find myself broke, and having increasing bills from the utilities.

But so far they have not turned off my services!

I want my Bell phone, Internet and Cable services suspended until i can pay them off early next year (January) but so far they are still on! I keep calling them, they have my confirmation number and they promise the services will be turned off in a day or two so my bills will not increase, but so far - everything still works! It's been over a week now!

Even when you try to do the right thing, it still goes wrong. Oh well, I guess I read more CS before the lights go out.

[smileyeagle1021]

I work p/t in a grocery store. Customers will come through sighing how everything is so expensive. I appreciate that, hell, I'll join the conversation right there with them. I especially feel bad for those on food stamps or very limited income, because the pressure is much heavier on them. I've even had customers get all excited because <my store> generally has prices much much lower than the competition.

oh, I know what you mean... I bought groceries on Friday, and I was thrilled, like seriously thrilled to have gotten not just one weeks worth, but stocked up on non perishables for $45 (granted, my coupon fu and sale fu is strong... it would have been close to $90 had I gone to one of the more expensive chains and didn't use coupons). The person in front of me though was freaking out over paying $35 for what appeared would be a weeks worth of groceries... I was tempted to point out that if Reams was too expensive for her she could always try Smiths

[Naaman]

My wife laughs at me for having such a large DVD collection (she doesn't like to watch many movies more than once).

But if we ever have to go without cable, I'm fully loaded baby.

I like MMOs for the same reason, £8 or so for a months subscription, that's a little over three pints of beer (which isn't even a night out)

[Hyndis]

I like MMOs for the same reason, £8 or so for a months subscription, that's a little over three pints of beer (which isn't even a night out)

Same. WoW is my poison of choice, and if you do the math, its very cheap per hour of entertainment, vastly cheaper than going out to a movie or other common forms of entertainment, and probably one of the most cost effective forms of entertainment ever. Even cheaper than books!



Why yes, the library here has a sucktastic selection to choose from...me, bitter? Nah...

[Broomjockey]

its very cheap per hour of entertainment, vastly cheaper than going out to a movie or other common forms of entertainment, and probably one of the most cost effective forms of entertainment ever. Even cheaper than books!

Depends on how you measure it. If you go by including cost of equipment required, it's a long time before it breaks down that cheap, since the computer and the game+expansions are factored in.

Also, since a book costs me $10, and it takes me usually at least 8 hours to read it, and I'll eventually read a book 3 or 4 times, I'd say that makes a book pretty cheap for me.

[chainedbarista]

times are tough, but then again, there's always some difficulty at some point, even during the 'good times,' so those excuses are pure steaming bs, especially when these are the same people who have luxury crap that we can't afford because we do pay our bills.

it's priorities and inability to distinguish between a need and a want, which most people lack severely.

no one needs cable, a cell phone or a swanky xtra large suv, but they get them anyway, then complalin about their 'hardships.' sell that to someone who's buying, pal; this store is CLOSED.

[Broomjockey]

a cell phone

Doctors, taxi drivers, truckers, EMTs, firefighters, people who move often and so can't keep a landline, business travellers, and I'm sure there's more that I haven't thought of. I'd say those people would argue that they need a cell phone, usually more than a landline.

[Hyndis]

Depends on how you measure it. If you go by including cost of equipment required, it's a long time before it breaks down that cheap, since the computer and the game+expansions are factored in.

Also, since a book costs me $10, and it takes me usually at least 8 hours to read it, and I'll eventually read a book 3 or 4 times, I'd say that makes a book pretty cheap for me.

I read fast. A 600pg novel only lasts me about 4 hours. Even though I do end up reading it multiple times, books are expensive.

The local library used to be awesome, but when they did remodeling they threw away all of their paperbacks.

So, yeah...their selection utterly sucks. A regular bookstore probably has a wider selection of books than this library does. And what sucks even more is that the city is inflicting this same stupidity on every library in the area, tearing down all the old, cozy libraries packed full of well-read paperbacks, the kind where you just want to sit down on one of those couches and reads for days on end...replacing them all with these garishly bright, sterile, cold wanna-be bookstores, where books have to be set on shelves with the cover facing out in order to minimize the amount of bare space on the shelves.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Doctors, taxi drivers, truckers, EMTs, firefighters, people who move often and so can't keep a landline, business travellers, and I'm sure there's more that I haven't thought of. I'd say those people would argue that they need a cell phone, usually more than a landline.

*puts hand up* It costs far more, what with line rental and all, to run a landline than a mobile. And I can't exactly take my landline to work with me, now can I? Therefore, I have a mobile and no landline.

[cinema guy]

Entirely OT: I remember as a kid, the family was on holiday at the seaside. We were walking along the harbour of some small seaside town, when we see a flare in the sky. We watch as cars pull up and the lifeboat gets ready to launch. A lady approached us and asks my grandfather if he has any change, as she needed to phone some members of the lifeboat crew from a callbox.

People got by before cell phones. They aren't essential, they just make things a lot easier.

Note: The UK lifeboats are manned entirely by volunteers and the whole organisation is a charity, the RNLI.

[powerboy]

I get that a few times, here at work. We had one guy move out of his unit's because he just could not afford it anymore. He got laid-off from his job over a year ago. He is having a hard time, finding a job and keeping it. One he had to quit, because gas was costing him more, then what he was getting paid.

[Chromatix]

I'll agree on the mobile phone thing. When I got my first mobile, I bought the most basic model (Nokia 3310) for about £70 up-front - basic models are cheaper now. My only charges after that were £1 per month for an itemised bill, and whatever I spent on outgoing calls and texts (not much).

At the time, a BT landline would have cost something like £15 a month. It's still in that general region now. After 5 months, I had broken even.

I only kept a landline because I needed DSL, and then I was miffed because I had to pay two separate bills for it - one for the landline and one for the ISP. And then the ISP was nearly powerless to keep their service levels up because the exchange equipment was still managed by BT, who were absolutely useless at it.

Even now, in a different country, I keep a mobile phone on a minimum monthly fee and still reasonable call costs. The only difference is that now I have an unlimited data allowance on it as well, for which I pay a monthly fee. But I may have to trim that away too, since it doesn't get much usage and I'm having to trim my budget too.

[EmiOfBrie]

in many states, it's actually illegal for the utility companies to cease service for nonpayment during winter and summer. Some states see gas and electricity and water as a partial right.