The world's gone stupid........

[2door]

Blue has a point here about retailers being at fault. My irritation comes at a store when there are 18 to 20, or more, cash registers and they only have two or three open.
This is where I get vocal and start making noise until they round up a couple more checkers and open some lanes. I've actually been applauded by fellow shoppers when my complaints got action.

I find little justification for downsizing the employee numbers at the expense of customers and their time. To stand in a line with eight or ten other people while there are check out lanes not being used is a disservice that needs to be brought to the attention of the store manager. I usually do and it's interesting how many times it works. However it makes me wonder where those extra people came from and what they were doing before being summoned to the check out lanes. They always sort of materialize from nowhere. Maybe someone 'beams' them in?

Tom

 

[Ludwig II]

I think it would help, in the larger shops which have enough staff to arrange it, if they had someone going up and down the checkouts reminding the customers to actually have their cash or cards ready, instead of acting as if it's a total surprise EVERY BLINDING TIME THEY GO INTO A SHOP THEY HAVE BEEN VISITING FOR FORTYFOUR F-F-F-ING YEARS!

I feel a bit better now.

 

[bluegoatwoods]

" as if it's a total surprise EVERY BLINDING TIME THEY GO INTO A SHOP THEY HAVE BEEN VISITING FOR FORTYFOUR F-F-F-ING YEARS!" --Ludwig II

LOL. Yep, you're right.

You know what else would help? If the retailers had more people available to handle snafus. A missing bar code? Then how about if some employee goes back to the shelves to find the needed info. (They already do this, of course.) While that's happening, the cashier simply continues ringing up the rest of the purchases. If the sale is complete before the item in question has been solved, then simply finish up that sale. Collect the money and start ringing up the next in line.

When the employee comes back with the missing bar code, then simply ring up that one item as a separate sale. It seems so simple.

Retailers: If you'd only keep the lines moving, even if it's not very fast, we'll start hating you much less. This shouldn't be so hard.

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

In the small town where I live the only place we have longish queues sometimes is the local supermarket so it's not really so much of a problem for me. The holiday season is the worst time when there's lots of visitors in town. If things are getting held up I take out my Kindle and read because it's a nice low stress way to pass the time.
The funny thing is though before I owned my Kindle I would read old fashioned type paper books while waiting in the queue and whenever I did that other checkouts would be opened up like magic.

 

[silverbear]

Your post made me smile, Anne. I always have a book with me in situations where waiting is involved, doctor offices, dentist, lines to get in or be served, whatever. When I have my book I'm not really waiting, just doing something else which is better and which I would likely be doing anyway if I weren't in a waiting situation. Books are good.
SB

 

[Ludwig II]

NZ queues are nothing to the one at Vale Onlow's motorcycle shop in the 70s. Games of chess, books, all sorts to pass the time.

I think opening the book is a great hint to open up more tills. I must remember to carry one.

 

[2door]

A day without a book to read is like a day without sunshine; only worse. I haven't made the jump to e-books yet, probably never will, but a book is like having another world to 'wait' in or pass the time no matter the situation.

If I can't read, like when driving, I'm listening to an audio book. I can't even imagine how many I read or listen to in a year. Lost count a long time ago.

Tom

 

[bluegoatwoods]

Oh, Tom! You should definitely make the switch to e-books.

Reading in bed is much more comfortable. Your hands don't fall asleep.

Plus there's a whole world out there in the public domain. If it occurs to you that maybe it's time to read, say, "Oliver Twist" or "The War of the Worlds" again, it's in your hand within a minute at no cost.

Just last night I was reading some old issues of "The National Lampoon". It was great. They're not all available. But maybe someday.

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

I resisted e.books for ages until my daughter gave me a Kindle for Christmas. Now I can carry the equivalent of an entire library around with me in one thin little device and the battery life is really good too.
True enough some popular and newly released books can be a bit expensive, but Amazon does a lot of sales too and that's when I pick up copies of anything I'm interested in.

 

[bluegoatwoods]

Another good thing about e-books; you can adjust font and font size plus backlighting and background. Priceless!

 

[2door]

Somewhere in the dust covered archives of this forum is another discussion about e-books and real ones. I'll reiterate what I said in that old thread.

I don't doubt there are advantages to the ease and convenience, portability and diversification of the e-books. Nevertheless, I like the 'feel' of holding a real book. I like turning the pages and even the smell of the paper. There is a tactile aspect of holding and reading a real book that will never be replaced by the e-book, for me.

This isn't based on just supposition because a friend loaned me hers for a week, trying to convince me to buy one. I tried it. I really gave it a chance, but I was left with a feeling of 'something's missing'. The story is there, the words are there and I can read it, but....where's the 'feel' of holding and reading a book? That's part of the attraction for me, and it wasn't there. I can't even accurately describe the sensation of reading a book verses reading words on a screen and why one works for me and one doesn't.

Maybe it's because I was raised in the Jurassic period?

Tom

 

[silverbear]

I'm with Tom in enjoying the feel of a book with actual pages in my hand. No batteries to die or data charges for downloading. By the way, Tom, I used to use zip ties for book marks, but my new favorite is an old cut off spoke with the nipple attached. The perfect book mark, much better than ones sold for the purpose. As Mikey says, "Try it, you'll like it!"
SB

 

[Ludwig II]

Besides, if you doze off holding a book, it isn't damaged by falling to the floor, and then being trodden on when you wake up and look for it.

 

[Trey]

I like the 'feel' of holding a real book. I like turning the pages and even the smell of the paper. There is a tactile aspect of holding and reading a real book that will never be replaced by the e-book, for me.

I can't even accurately describe the sensation of reading a book verses reading words on a screen and why one works for me and one doesn't

Tom

Concur.
This is something that I feel very strongly about, but oddly enough I can't say why. As we all know, I'm not usually at a loss for words
On the up-side, used books are almost free around here. Scored a really expensive large sized, hard back National Geo photo book for 0.50 just a while ago.
A person should do what works best for them for sure.

 

[bluegoatwoods]

"....... Nevertheless, I like the 'feel' of holding a real book. I like turning the pages and even the smell of the paper. There is a tactile aspect of holding and reading a real book that......." --2door

I can kinda understand this.

I've still got a whole slew of real books around. Some of them were losers, actually. I've read the really good ones enough that I'll never really need to read them again. Even though I might well read one from time to time, it's no longer necessary. I know them by heart.

They went to the attic some time back. And I think about getting rid of them from time to time. After all, they're really just dead weight.

But I can't force myself to get right down and do it. A couple of times I've managed to donate a few to Goodwill. But not many.

I simply like them. I like them being here. I don't really want to see them go.

I have the same problem with old bicycles and parts. I have more than I need. But I can only summon enough strength to part with bits and pieces on occasion.

The rest ain't going nowhere.

 

[silverbear]

I am a diehard fan of our local public library which is part of the Arrowhead Library System. It is like a home away from home, where the lady librarians greet me by name as a friend and one of their best customers when I come through the door. They pass along hot tips on books I might enjoy and know that in the cold dark of winter I may go through a book a day to pass through the long hibernation. And they will order books for me through the inter-library loan program. I can check out DVDs and use their internet wifi connection and even one of the computers. It really is remarkable to have access to all of this absolutely for free. What a wonderful thing. The main thing libraries need in order to be there for us is for us to use them. Why buy books when you can borrow them for free? I rarely look to see what a new book costs, but when I do I am floored at the expense. Even paperbacks. Like cigarettes, I don't know how people afford them, especially avid readers who go through several books a week. At my rate of consumption a month's bill for books would come to hundreds of dollars. Of course ebooks are less expensive and many are free, which is a good thing.

Like having a real book with pages to turn and shelves to sit upon, I like being in a library and walking along, surveying the richness of titles and authors, some of whom are long dead and yet are good friends. It is a nice thing to pull down a volume by an author new to me, sit in a comfortable easy chair and settle into a feast of words. If it is agreeable then it comes home with me on loan as a favored guest in my home. Some things are better simply because of the effort and commitment involved in partaking. A film viewed in a movie theater is a different experience from a T.V. or computer. Live theater is different from a filmed play. And a library is different from a website, like entering a great cathedral of the written word.
I was seventeen years old when I read my first book by choice. Once I did, there has been no going back except for more.
SB

 

[Ludwig II]

Cathedral of the written word.

Bless you my son, I shall steal that phrase.

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

Despite being a Kindle owner I've still got groaning bookshelves here at home. There is something very comforting about being able to curl up with a good book, - especially an old book which has been much read and much handled.

I agree totally about libraries Silverbear. One of the first things I've always done when I've moved to a new town is join the local library.

 

[silverbear]

Cathedral of the written word.

Bless you my son, I shall steal that phrase.

The nice thing about words is that they're free and can be conjured at will. And when you want to make something out of them, there's no waiting for the parts to come by mail.
SB

 

[2door]

Don't know what I'd do without my local library. It's next door to a beautiful park with a lake. In good weather I'll take a new book I've just borrowed from the library and go sit in the park to start reading it. In bad weather, winter, I'll sit in my pickup and listen to a new audio book for a while.

I have my favorite authors and always look for them but I've discovered some great works by unknowns with only one or two books to their credit. Recently I've had the pleasure to have a dialog with several of them; two from the Denver area and one with a race horse history that I've been able to share with him because my Dad trained race horses.

Most of the big names don't have the time, or inclination, to communicate with their readers but the little guys seem happy to hear from a satisfied 'customer' and will respond, usually within a day or two. That makes enjoyment of a book even more meaningful when you can actually talk (type) to them. Most will have contact information printed somewhere on the jacket or inside.

Tom