Corporate Manipulation

One Wednesday night, my family and I decided to go to Miller's Ale House for dinner. At the front door of the restaurant stood a chalkboard with an advertisement for a $14.95 whole steamed lobster. After being seated, we placed our drink order with the waitress for three waters and one beer. When she brought our drinks, we each ordered the steamed lobster special.

The food was delicious, but the service was mediocre to poor. After waiting an extended period of time for the check, the waitress became over friendly. As she chatted my husband up about where he was from, telling our daughter in law how cute our grandchild was, and how she hoped to see us again soon, I signed the tab without audit. We hadn’t seen this server more than twice throughout the meal (we placed an order for dessert with another server) and I felt certain her overture (and purple lines and hearts drawn on the bill) were to gain a greater tip.

The next day, I audited the receipt. 

 

We had been charged two dollars each for not ordering a beverage. I went back to the restaurant and spoke to the manager. He said the charge was corporate policy. Later, when I spoke to the corporate rep on the phone, he confirmed, it was corporate policy. He did apologize for the server not explaining the charge at the time of ordering. The lobster dinner is $16.95, you see, if you don’t order a drink. By the way, a soda is $2.69. I was told the firm had to "defray the cost of not ordering a drink." He also apologized for the information not being on any of the advertisements. 

It's not the four dollars. If I had been told there was a two dollar charge for water, I would have bitched, but I would have paid it. I prefer to drink water with my meal.

But this is corporate greed at its finest.

Moral of the story: audit your receipt.


UPDATE:

I've been informed by Miller's corporate office that this is no longer the policy. So, there's that.

I'd still audit the receipt. I mean, what's next? Bathroom surcharge?

Overheard

Overheard at a physical therapy office…

An elderly gentleman sat in the quiet waiting room and played a game on his tablet, when an elderly woman came out of the doctor’s office and stood next to him.

“Harry, I’m ready,” she said to him.

“I’m just finishing this level. Hold on.”

“Harry,” she said with a playful nudge.

“Okay.” A few more presses on the screen and he stood up kissed her cheek. Sympathy in his voice, he asked, “Did they hurt you?”

“A little.”

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I guess.” She started for the exit.

He held the door open for her and said, “Is there anything I can do?” and the door closed behind them.

After they left I stared at the closed door with a smile of gratitude for being allowed to share in that sweet, supportive moment. May we all be so blessed with a long life and a supportive mate.

Facebook vs Privacy

Facebook vs Privacy

by JL Mo

A friend on facebook posted a query asking how to make a page private. This got me to thinking; after all of the information regarding Snowden and the NSA, does anyone really believe there’s privacy?

Because, no. There is not.

You cannot make facebook, or any other website, totally private. It is digitally impossible. If it's on the net (fb, twitter, email, dropbox, flickr, whatever) it can be copied, pasted, shared by whoever has the ability to access it. And that is a lot of people.

Accept that first.

I’m not telling you to not put anything out there. There are moments you want to share with your closest friends. Or your sister. Or your brother. Or hell, even your mom.

Post those moments and let the whole world smile with you. Because that is a possible scenario.

But there are other moments you only want to share with your lover. Or your co-conspirator. Hard and fast Rule Number One, “If you don't want others to see it (parents, friends, good guys, bad guys) don't put it on the web!” Yes, that means your iPhone, too.

That being said, I’ll offer this small piece of advice for non-savvy facebook users. Look at the top right side of your fb screen, where the dark blue line is. There are tabs there. Among them, you'll see an icon that looks like a lock with stripes on one side. That's your Privacy Settings. Click that and the dropdown box will offer, “See More Settings” at the bottom of the list. Don’t glaze over yet, because here you will find a gold mine of useful tools.

Privacy Settings and Tools

Who can see my stuff?

Who can see your future posts?

Use Activity Log

Review all your posts and things you're tagged in

Limit Past Posts

Limit the audience for posts you've shared with friends of friends or Public?

Who can contact me?

Who can send you friend requests?

Whose messages do I want filtered into my Inbox?

Who can look me up?

Who can look you up using the email address or phone number you provided?

Do you want other search engines to link to your timeline?

Explore it. Use it. For a least a small level of security, check it every day. Set a timer to remind yourself if you must. Just Use It.

Then, enjoy sharing on facebook. Just accept the fact that someone else is always watching.

Happy Rum Day

August 16, 2013 – National Rum Day

Today, of all days, we must try to set the record straight.

There is a current television commercial for a particular brand of rum that tells of how the Cuba Libre was first invented. The commercial purports an American solider brought Coke to the island of Cuba. A beautiful Cuban girl pours Bacardi into the bottle. Thrusting the bottle back into the hand of the soldier, she proclaims “Cuba Libre!”

This gives the impression, to anyone familiar with the island’s history, that the drink was created during the Spanish-American war.

It’s a nice story, but, um, there are a few problems with it.

The island didn’t see a Coke until 1900. Roosevelt’s troops left in 1898. 

Meh.

No one knows for certain how the drink came to be, but the one thing (for me) is the lime. A rum and coke, is a rum and coke, is a rum and coke. But, the difference is the lime.

The proper recipe -

Cuba Libre

 1 part rum

2 parts soda

The juice from 1 wedge of a Key Lime

The Key Lime is non-negotiable. If you use a Persian lime, it is not a Cuba Libre. Persian Limes have a tart flavor, where key limes are almost sweet. It is a perfect compliment to a wonderful drink. It’s what makes the rum and coke a Cuba Libre.

So, raise a toast to a Free Cuba!

Happy Rum Day!

The Bank

Today at my bank login page I was instructed to go through (another) security setup. You know, for my protection. Again.

So, the end of the form reaches the “Security Questions”. The text reads, “We will only ask these questions if additional information is necessary to verify your identity. Are you ready for Question One?

“What is your greatest fear?”

OH. MY. GOD. I don’t give anyone that information. What makes The Bank think I would tell them?

Perhaps it’s a test for just how deep they can rob me of my privacy. Just how much information will I give away?

What did I answer? NUNYA

The Joy of Coffee

 There is nothing in my life so soothing as the first sip of coffee in the morning.

No matter how stressful the day before me might be. It does not affect that first sip. Its satisfying warmth spreads through me. I stop to embrace the comforting sensation. I am awake.

The second sip holds no such charm. Don’t get me wrong. I’ll drink the first cup and have another, thank you very much.

I do love my coffee.

A Free (Ford Fusion) Car

A true story as told to me by my son, Dan...

            A free 2013 Ford Fusion? Why, yes, I’d be interested in that, thank you.

            It all started with a YouTube video. A thumbnail of one of my favorite stars, Joel McHale, caught my eye, so I clicked it. A National Scavenger Hunt, sponsored by Ford, endorsed by Ryan Seacrest would be held for a total of 47 hours. Forty-seven black boxes were to be placed in forty-seven cities across the nation.

            One of the sites would be my hometown of Orlando, Florida. Two clues of its exact placement would be unlocked on the “Random Acts of Fusion” website at a pre-designated time. With those clues, a ‘word of the day’ posted onsite that must be said to the rep in order to win.

            The first clue: the latitude and longitude of the Ford representative with the box. The second clue being a picture taken from where he stood. Orlando’s clues would be unlocked on October 28, at 11:15am. The problem? Orlando covers a little more than one hundred square miles, and more than 250,000 people here. The chances were slim, but I decided to try.

            October 28. I had rehearsed with my smart phone how to jump back and forth from their website, to my GPS, back to the website. I parked in a location that offered quick access to four of the main thoroughfares branching out into the city. I was set.

            11:15am. The clues unlocked and I fed the coordinates into my map. My strategic placement was perfect. I jumped on I-4 and raced to the Princeton Drive exit. I recognized the somewhat blurred view from the photo. The rep stood on the grounds of the Mennello Museum. I arrived and threw my car in park, frantically trying to decide if view was from the far end behind the building or closer to main road along the river. The museum’s grounds covered a couple of acres. Another car came, a little too quickly, into the parking lot. A decision had to be made. Now.

            On the footbridge about 200 feet away stood two people. Deciding those were the reps, I covered the ground in record time. I glanced back to the other car, smiling inwardly. I had won! But when I reached the people on the bridge, I discovered they were not Ford reps. Arg!

            The occupants of the original car ran the other direction, behind the building. Another car came, and the driver jumped out and ran to follow the first pair. F*ck! I’d made the wrong decision. The rep must be behind the museum.

            Since there was only one winner per locale, I knew I’d lost. I glared down at the water, fifteen feet below, and felt like spitting. I leaned on the handrail and looked up at the Spanish moss hanging off the branches of a nearby oak tree. A breeze moved the moss, allowing a full view of the riverbank. A man stood alone under a pergola at the water’s edge, wearing a Ford t-shirt!

            I ran off the bridge and took the short cut down the side of the steep embankment, rather than the long way around. Flip-flops should not be the shoe of choice when trying to navigate a wet, grassy, steep decline. I lost my footing then slipped, slid and rolled down the entire fifteen feet. When my body came to a stop I jumped up and tried to run. Still making no traction, my feet slipped beneath me. I ran in place for another few seconds. I knew I looked a grass-stained, bloody fool. I didn’t care.

            When I reached the Ford rep, he was doing an admirable job suppressing laughter begging to burst from him. I didn’t care.

            “Damn it! I forgot to get the word of the day!” I blurted as I checked the website on my phone. The man did not utter a sound. I found the word after reaching the spot in front of the Ford rep.

            “Benevolent!” I shouted.

            “Congratulations,” said the grinning man. “You’ve just earned a one in forty-seven chance to win a 2013 Ford Fusion.”

            After filling out the required paperwork (which relinquished my firstborn if I should so much as post a reference to Ford on any social media site prior to the drawing on Tuesday), I received the coveted black box. It contained a water bottle, a travel mug, a tee shirt, a thumb drive and my number for the drawing.

            The coolest part was the number, printed on a holographic sticker inside a plastic display box upon which mounted a model of the 2013 Ford Fusion. Very cool.

            Alas, Tuesday’s drawing is done, and my number did not win. Meh. It was still a blast of fun trying.