So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

[Trenchfriend]

Support your local shoestore, it's more important than ever!

I did, twenty minutes ago. And funnily, she got my favorite kind of shoes, this time. "Made in Italy" with the RED shock absorber.

 

[Hercule]

I cannot imagine any bottle of wine being worth $6,499.97. A two or three dollar bottle of Charles Shaw from Trader Joe's may not impress your girlfriend's parents, but I'd suggest that there are many means between the extremes.

Agree. But I would dare say that four+ figures for a bottle of wine would probably be historic and coveted on a plane that we mortals know nothing about. There are such people out there. A good and entertaining read that peeks into that world is The Billionaire's Vinegar. Its ostensibly about the sale of a counterfeit bottle found in Paris and though to have belonged to Thomas Jefferson, but it looks into the high end, very high end, wine aficionados world.

Last Xmas my wife got me a subscription to a wine of the month club. Each month I get 6 wines (3 white and 3 red) each in about the $30 range. They're all good to great but nothing I'd do back flips over. Certainly not like that gift bottle I had 20 years ago that was so dry it took my breath away. Now that was a wine! I still get misty eyed thinking about it.

 

[Zombie_61]

The Village Hat shop had no problems sending my Stetson Sovereign across The Pond. It was dispatched on a Monday and by Thursday of that week I was signing the delivery driver's scanner gizmo.

To be clear, I don't think Village Hat Shop had anything to do with it--they shipped the hats/caps I ordered within a day or two of my placing those orders. I do believe it's the Universally Stupid Postal Service here in the U.S. that screwed things up. I acknowledge they're still laboring under the deliberate mismanagement and tampering of their own Postmaster General (for reasons that shall not be discussed here) and that those working there are doing the best they can under those circumstances (hint - they aren't any happier about the situation than we are), but if they need to waste three days carrying a single parcel up and down the coast of California the least they could do is explain why.

Also, my most recent purchase shipped on Monday (October 25th) and arrived on Thursday (October 28th), so a return to efficiency might finally be in the works.

 

[Fifty150]

Amazon logistics has screwed up every order this month. Arriving late. Lost packages. Wrong item in the box. And it cost $120 a year to be a Prime member.

 

[Zombie_61]

Amazon logistics has screwed up every order this month. Arriving late. Lost packages. Wrong item in the box. And it cost $120 a year to be a Prime member.

I'll have to try to remember to ask my wife's sister if she and her husband have had any problems with Amazon Prime, because whenever they talk about it they seem to be very happy with the service they've received.

 

[BobHufford]

H/P has been monitoring our printer and sending us ink when we need it for years. Then we changed our address to a rural route P.O. Box and that seems to have really confused them. It’s taken them about a month to get the order out and each color was shipped separately and arrived on different days. It might be related to supply chain issues, but I expect to see a price increase soon with an inefficiency level like this.

 

[tonyb]

I ordered an inexpensive piece of kitchenware from Amazon a few days ago and it arrived in less than 24 hours. This evening I ordered two replacement heads (25 bucks, gulp) for our $200 toothbrush. It’s s’posed to arrive tomorrow, a Sunday, and I believe it will.

Yes, I know there are things not to like about Amazon, but they are compelling competitors to up their game.

Contrast that with the porch light I ordered, like, three months ago from another outfit. The shade portion arrived in a few days; I’m still waiting for the light itself. The expected ship date keeps getting pushed back. I can understand supply-chain problems, but it’s bad business to take an order you can’t fill. If it were Amazon, they would have refunded my money and would probably ship me the item anyway. That other outfit won’t be getting any more business from me.

 

[Zombie_61]

An item I ordered last week was shipped through Fed Ex. Their tracking stated it was supposed to be delivered last Sunday before 8:00 p.m.. Around 6:00 that changed to the next day, Monday, before 8:00 p.m.. That became Tuesday, and they finally delivered it Wednesday afternoon at 2:30. I see Fed Ex trucks making deliveries in and around our neighborhood almost daily, so I can only imagine a decision was made deliberately on each day to not deliver our parcel.

 

[Trenchfriend]

One thing, that interests me. Armed Forces topic.

If someone wants to join, for example the USMC boot camp basic training only, at free will, just to get the experience, would they let him take part? Or would he have to pay for the training?

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

The U.S. armed services are not an all-inclusive resort experience for which you pay.

When you enlist, you are entering into a contract which obliges you to serve on active duty for four years and in the reserves for four more years.

More at this link.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Well, it's been quite a swell couple of days. Last night a loutish patron blew his foul breath in my face and otherwise behaved in a threatening manner when I advised him he was required to wear a mask for entry, so I had to expel him from the premises, and this morning I wake up to find the lower end of my street flooded and a bubbling fountain of water spewing from all the sewer drains. Looks like Armageddon is finally on the way.

 

[MisterCairo]

One thing, that interests me. Armed Forces topic.

If someone wants to join, for example the USMC boot camp basic training only, at free will, just to get the experience, would they let him take part? Or would he have to pay for the training?

Quick question, having twice joined the Canadian Armed Forces, and having had to complete officer training TWICE, um...

WHY would you want to do that?????

 

[MisterCairo]

Well, it's been quite a swell couple of days. Last night a loutish patron blew his foul breath in my face and otherwise behaved in a threatening manner when I advised him he was required to wear a mask for entry, so I had to expel him from the premises, and this morning I wake up to find the lower end of my street flooded and a bubbling fountain of water spewing from all the sewer drains. Looks like Armageddon is finally on the way.

Otherwise okay?

 

[LizzieMaine]

I haven't looked in my cellar yet. Had to go in to make sure the theatre was intact, and almost floated when I was turning out of my street. Between the rain last night and leaves clogging the drains, it looks like we won't get much of a crowd for the 3pm show.

 

[tonyb]

An item I ordered last week was shipped through Fed Ex. Their tracking stated it was supposed to be delivered last Sunday before 8:00 p.m.. Around 6:00 that changed to the next day, Monday, before 8:00 p.m.. That became Tuesday, and they finally delivered it Wednesday afternoon at 2:30. I see Fed Ex trucks making deliveries in and around our neighborhood almost daily, so I can only imagine a decision was made deliberately on each day to not deliver our parcel.

Does the FedEx online tracking show when and where along its journey the package was scanned in and out, as does USPS tracking? My guess is that it got misplaced in a facility for a couple days.

FedEx contracts out much of its work. Even vehicles in FedEx livery aren’t necessarily FedEx equipment. Many years ago friends I had worked with years before that went into the “logistics” business. I worked with them for a fairly short spell. They did work for FedEx, mostly off-hours pick-ups and deliveries. And our drivers were independent contractors as well. So FedEx farms out to us and we farm out to the person who actually does the transporting. And some of the guys we contracted with? Well, let’s just say you wouldn’t want them near your daughter. And the condition of some of the vehicles? You wouldn’t take ’em any farther than you could afford to have ’em towed.

I imagine operations have tightened up some since then. New tech has made it harder to tell untruths about when and where things did or did not happen to any shipment, so the shiftier sorts either changed their ways or got out of the enterprise.

 

[Hercule]

I see Fed Ex trucks making deliveries in and around our neighborhood almost daily, so I can only imagine a decision was made deliberately on each day to not deliver our parcel.

We had issues with FedEx recently too and switched to UPS. Much better, surprisingly. I actually could be coerced into cutting FedEx some slack if they didn't lie about attempting deliveries. We have a security camera and can see that no attempt was made. And once we even saw the FedEx truck stop in front of our house, only to drive away a few minutes later. Short while later the status in their system claimed the package couldn't be delivered because we weren't home. Actual logistical issues is one thing, but lying and a whole nother!

 

[Harp]

One thing, that interests me. Armed Forces topic.

If someone wants to join, for example the USMC boot camp basic training only, at free will, just to get the experience, would they let him take part? Or would he have to pay for the training?

Funny story: After Vietnam ended and my honorable discharge from the US Army, I went home for a
well needed rest and recuperation and received a signed inquiry letter from the Deputy Commandant, USMC
right before I went to Hawaii and surfer beach bum frolic. The general wrote that he did not know why I
left the Army but the Marine Corps desired my consideration to pursue a military career in the Corps.
I promptly responded, declining his offer and explained my primary objectives in the future were wine,
women, and song. Never heard back so he presumably got my letter.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Is it still happening, that Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Airforce are "hoaxing" each other, when they meet on whatever occasions, like it's shown in some Hollywood movies?

 

[tonyb]

We had issues with FedEx recently too and switched to UPS. Much better, surprisingly. I actually could be coerced into cutting FedEx some slack if they didn't lie about attempting deliveries. We have a security camera and can see that no attempt was made. And once we even saw the FedEx truck stop in front of our house, only to drive away a few minutes later. Short while later the status in their system claimed the package couldn't be delivered because we weren't home. Actual logistical issues is one thing, but lying and a whole nother!

I’ll spare you and myself the blow-by-blow of all I went through to get a properly functioning over-the-range microwave delivered and installed, except to say it involved hours on the phone, numerous emails and text messages, and a total of four visits from the installer, for which I had to hold open four-hour blocks of appointment time, two of which he failed to make on time.

The problem is that the major big-box home improvement outfit (it starts with an L) I entrusted with this task contracts out the installations, who in turn contracts out the actual work. The installer arrived in an open, aged pickup truck. He cut corners on the installation, which, as it turned out, was the reason for the malfunction.

I had a pleasant and respectful series of exchanges with the store’s manager. He doesn’t much care for the system he has to work with, either, but he’s powerless to change it. And he understands that from the customer’s perspective, the money was paid to the store starting with L, and that the store is the problem.

 

[Harp]

Is it still happening, that Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Airforce are "hoaxing" each other, when they meet on whatever occasions, like it's shown in some Hollywood movies?

Barfights. Especially with the Navy. In Athens word was put out whenever the Fleet pulled in
since swabbies and jarheads liked to bar brawl once off ship, we were to avoid town, which of course
meant we always went to town to brawl. Sometimes with merchant seamen of foreign stripe.
I had a first sergeant who was born in Scotland and we were in a bar up north in Salonika when a
dozen British merchant marines came in, and top started a fight. Three Americans against a dozen Brits.
Topkick first shirt sergeant started it by saying the sun never use to set on the British Empire, and now it didn't
even sh.t on it. We got our asses kicked pretty good. But we damaged the other guys. Then we all had some
drinks since I took top's wallet out when he was still unconscious groggy and paid for a few celebratory rounds.