People who use the "economy is bad" excuse

[tamezin]

Cable company

Don't cut them any slack, unless their phone, internet etc is tied to their cable, cable is not a necessity. I would much rather go w/o TV than internet. My entire life is managed online.

[MoonChild2007]

Don't cut them any slack, unless their phone, internet etc is tied to their cable, cable is not a necessity. I would much rather go w/o TV than internet. My entire life is managed online.

Well, our internet is tied to our phone so if the internet is dead, so is phone, unfortunately. However, I do not feel for anybody who doesn't pay their bills on time and bitch about we are the enemy who won't turn their services on. We send them notices to pay their bill by this date and act all surprised when we turn off the services. Then they use that excuse, oh the economy is bad or "we didn't get a notice" which I find utter BS.

[taxguykarl]

I get it all the time. They would rather open up the credit card for 10% off of a $40 purchase. They bitch about some dollars off an item they don't need but they will sign up for a credit card right away! WHAT

Did I read that right?! Signing up for a credit card to save a whopping $4.00
When my wife signed up for one it was for a new stove. Maxed out on the spot, but with no payments for a year, we agreed to pay for it with our next tax refund.

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.

Yeah, but MoonChild's is with a cable company. Unless there is a cable-access show listing jobs this should be one of the first expenses to cut (premium channels at least).

[Rapscallion]

Oh well, I guess I read more CS before the lights go out.

We'll be here when you get back online, mate.

Rapscallion

[Naaman]

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.

A quick run through of the expenses;

A mid range gaming PC (using old keyboard, monitor and mouse) - £350 (last time I specced, prolly cheaper by now)

An MMO box (inc. one month free play) - £35

Monthly subscription - £8 paid by the month, goes down if longer periods are brought)

One years gameplay - £473 or £1.3 per daily session.


Don't get me wrong, I adore books but I'm another speed reader. An average Sci-Fi book will last me 4 hours, it'll cost me £6. If it's "good, but not brilliant" I'll probably read it again in six months and maybe four times over five years.

Getting to the library is awkward, at best, and they have a crappy range of stuff that I'd read. I still buy a metric ****ton of books though and still get through three or so a week

[Broomjockey]

A quick run through of the expenses;

A mid range gaming PC (using old keyboard, monitor and mouse) - £350 (last time I specced, prolly cheaper by now)

An MMO box (inc. one month free play) - £35

Monthly subscription - £8 paid by the month, goes down if longer periods are brought)

One years gameplay - £473 or £1.3 per daily session.

Lemme break it down for you in Canadian dollars.

High end gaming rig - Mine cost about $2000 for what's in it now.

MMO game - $60, yearly expansions $40 at least

Monthly subscription - $15/month if bought 6months at a time, $20 otherwise.

That's the basics. If you really get into it, it's another $50 for a headset with a decent mic, and ancillaries like that.

The cost of the computer may seem high, but it'll play everything you can throw at it for the next 5 years. That mid-end PC will be lucky to do well after 2.

[Imogene]

Not sure if I posted this, but it's an OLD story, from working at The Chesterfield.
We had a regular customer who came in every damn Tuesday to check out our upcoming reservation titles list. He'd not leave without reserving seven to ten different movies.
We loved him for that.
However, within the next two days, he'd return, and get refunds for eight to eleven other reserved titles. Every time, he'd explain it as, "The economy's crappy right now." (This was in 2003 economy... "Oh, yes, it's crappy 'Now'...)
After, apparently, years of having done this, the Old SM finally cut him off, saying, "No more reservations for you, 'K' (Not his real name, obviously), in fact, don't bother returning to our store."
This happened the week before Old SM was transferred to a failing store in our district on a day I wasn't working (crazy, I know, with how often they called me in to work at Chesterfield). K, apparently figuring Old SM was off his meds or something that day, attempts to come in and order more stuff from us.
Lucky me, I'd heard the 'firing useless customer' story as I came in, and when K came up to my register, I got to stare at him, and growl, "Out."

K did leave, and went to the other store where Old SM was now working. And, if I remember correctly, got booted immediately.
Made me happy, as he was extremely annoying, requiring intense upkeep to keep him happy.

[Naaman]

The cost of the computer may seem high, but it'll play everything you can throw at it for the next 5 years. That mid-end PC will be lucky to do well after 2.

I tend to favour less outlay but space for upgrading. My current PC cost £750 which includes 6Gb RAM, a 2.8 Core Duo (Wolfdale) and a Gigabyte GTX260 it'll play anything you care to throw at it for years to come.

[Broomjockey]

I tend to favour less outlay but space for upgrading.

I put mine together myself, so I started out with things near the top while putting it together, and since have swapped out the motherboard and graphics card in it, so I was including the old parts in that cost (or the monitor, which I picked up at the same time), but if you use the original costs, then it cost about the same as yours in the conversion rates. I just have 2GB less RAM since I have 4x1GB sticks, but I have a 2.6GHz Core 2 Quad vs. your 2.8 Duo.

[Chromatix]

I agree with that. I've been able, twice over, to change the CPU and graphics card to vastly superior versions after about 3 years without having to change anything else - and those things made a huge difference at relatively little cost. You can also always put extra RAM in, if you chose your motherboard carefully in the first place.

Which is why I always specify a full-length ATX board, and a case to suit that. Micro-ATX just isn't big enough to be properly expandable.

[Rapscallion]

Well, this thread sure went and drifted. Can we steer it back on track, please?

Rapscallion

[chainedbarista]

a good point broom, but i'm not referring to professionals who must keep in contact with work on a constant basis (should have clarified); i'm talking about the average joe with no real need for such things, but get them because 'billy, sally, bobby and sue all have one, so i have to have it too, in fact i neeeeeeed iiit!'

the average person doesn't need these things, they just tell themselves they do; i lived just fine without a cell or computer for years and i'm sure i will manage if they are taken from me for whatever reason.

technology is a great thing, but when we tell ourselves the possession of things that, for the average person, simply make things easier, are actually necessities, and are valid reasons for saying we can't take care of actual necessities, then there's a real problem.

[protege]

I too lived without a cell phone for years. In fact, it's really more of an annoyance than a necessity. Still, it has come in handy...like when the MG broke down in July and I had to get it towed. Sure, I had someone following me in the Corolla, but I wasn't about to leave the MG sitting somewhere. I wasn't about to see it get hit, or worse...damaged by some idiot trying to break in, or steal it.

Getting back on topic, it pisses me off when people try to use the "the economy is bad" excuse. Unless you've lost your job, there's no excuse for you not paying your bills or being a dumbass. Suck it up and deal

[persephone]

Getting back on topic, it pisses me off when people try to use the "the economy is bad" excuse. Unless you've lost your job, there's no excuse for you not paying your bills or being a dumbass. Suck it up and deal

What I hate is that all these people using "the economy is bad" as an excuse, are making it harder for people who ARE having problems -- the ones who HAVE lost their jobs and, while trying, can't find anything else -- to deal with things. Because everyone assumes they're just telling a sob story and people are less likely to want to try and help them out.

I do feel really bad for those families this Christmas. Christmas is hard without having to worry about whether your bills are paid.

[edible_hat]

*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.

I have both. Now that naked DSL's available we could get rid of the landline and use naked DSL and a VOIP phone, but my fiance is Deaf so we qualify for a free TTY phone included in our phone service. Without it she wouldn't have as much independence, especially since her grandparents refuse to learn to use SMS.