Recent Posts

1

Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Tipping

« Last post by CNS on Today at 10:37:31 AM »

One that seems to be going in the opposite direction of the norm:  Starbucks. 

They incentivize you to use their app via free crap every so often, birthday drinks, etc.  The app used to ask you, after every purchase, how much you would like to tip.  They took that function away a year or so ago.  So now, you pay with the app, but if you don't have cash(lol, what's that) their employees get no tip.  Kinda wild. 

I assume they found some legal reason to stop doing this and just took the option away before they got sued, but who knows.  Given the tip environment everywhere else, this one is a head scratcher.

when you are checking out on the starbucks app it has the total at the bottom and then a little button that says "wanna leave a tip?" but you do not have to engage with that button in order to complete your order.

When you are scanning the bar code in the drive through, that isn't there.   It used to be a pop up after they scanned your app, though.

am i to understand you are placing your order when you arrive instead of ordering ahead of time so its ready when you get there?

drive through  scanning app.  not pre order

2

Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Tipping

« Last post by BIG APPLE CAT on Today at 10:35:02 AM »

One that seems to be going in the opposite direction of the norm:  Starbucks. 

They incentivize you to use their app via free crap every so often, birthday drinks, etc.  The app used to ask you, after every purchase, how much you would like to tip.  They took that function away a year or so ago.  So now, you pay with the app, but if you don't have cash(lol, what's that) their employees get no tip.  Kinda wild. 

I assume they found some legal reason to stop doing this and just took the option away before they got sued, but who knows.  Given the tip environment everywhere else, this one is a head scratcher.

when you are checking out on the starbucks app it has the total at the bottom and then a little button that says "wanna leave a tip?" but you do not have to engage with that button in order to complete your order.

When you are scanning the bar code in the drive through, that isn't there.   It used to be a pop up after they scanned your app, though.

am i to understand you are placing your order when you arrive instead of ordering ahead of time so its ready when you get there?

3

The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: The Biden (interim) Dictator

« Last post by sonofdaxjones on Today at 10:33:52 AM »

can you point me to the republican infrastructure bills that would have solved this?

infrastructure has gone woke, so don't hold your breath

As has been documented on this blog, one reason why CHIP manufacturers are about ready to tell the policy wonks that you guys love to go eff themselves.

4

The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: The Biden (interim) Dictator

« Last post by sonofdaxjones on Today at 10:32:34 AM »

Lick, the $1 trillion dollar infrastructure bill of 2021 that your boy Pedo Pete signed was named: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill

So I don't know exactly what you're driving at here, but it seems pretty stupid (as usual).

I also do NOT know what this has to do with the feeble pace that the current administration will move in getting that bridge rebuilt.

. . . well, I do know, nothing, what your talking about has nothing to do with the current situation.

5

The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: The Biden (interim) Dictator

« Last post by BIG APPLE CAT on Today at 10:32:25 AM »

can you point me to the republican infrastructure bills that would have solved this?

infrastructure has gone woke, so don't hold your breath

6

The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: The Biden (interim) Dictator

« Last post by LickNeckey on Today at 10:28:57 AM »

i would accept any republican infrastructure bill

7

The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: The Biden (interim) Dictator

« Last post by sonofdaxjones on Today at 10:28:04 AM »

can you point me to the republican infrastructure bills that would have solved this?

  you mean which Republican infrastructure bill that would have taken money from #blueanon pet domestic programs and moved it to infrastructure?  I can't think of any.

8

The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: The Biden (interim) Dictator

« Last post by sonofdaxjones on Today at 10:26:06 AM »

Coal Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of coal during 2022.

Australia: US$83.3 billion (35% of total coal exports)
Indonesia: $46.7 billion (19.6%)
Russia: $42.8 billion (18%)
United States: $17.3 billion (7.3%)
South Africa: $13 billion (5.5%)
Canada: $10.8 billion (4.5%)
Mongolia: $6.5 billion (2.7%)
Netherlands: $2.2 billion (0.9%)
Mozambique: $2 billion (0.9%)
Poland: $1.6 billion (0.7%)
Colombia: $1.3 billion (0.6%)
China: $1.2 billion (0.5%)
Kazakhstan: $946.5 million (0.4%)
Philippines: $883.1 million (0.4%)
Belgium: $763.6 million (0.3%)

As the second-largest exporting hub for coal in the United States, accounting for nearly one-third (28 percent) of total exports in 2023, the Port of Baltimore has helped meet that demand.

so at absolute worst 2% of global supply slack has to be picked up by the global market (including the US) and most of what we export doesn't go to Europe anyway.

I guess, I feel like we may have bigger things to worry about.

I didn't post more from that article because #blueanongE gets extremely triggered and ragey when I do that . . . but always glad to see that you've avoided the "been on the rise" component of international exports of U.S. coal.  While also avoiding nearly a third of all U.S. coal exports departing from that port, and avoiding the impact on domestic coal supply (and I know you guys hate hate hate coal and the power it provides) while also avoiding the impact on special coal needed to power our dwindling domestically controlled steel mills.

9

Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Tipping

« Last post by catastrophe on Today at 10:25:53 AM »

One that seems to be going in the opposite direction of the norm:  Starbucks. 

They incentivize you to use their app via free crap every so often, birthday drinks, etc.  The app used to ask you, after every purchase, how much you would like to tip.  They took that function away a year or so ago.  So now, you pay with the app, but if you don't have cash(lol, what's that) their employees get no tip.  Kinda wild. 

I assume they found some legal reason to stop doing this and just took the option away before they got sued, but who knows.  Given the tip environment everywhere else, this one is a head scratcher.

when you are checking out on the starbucks app it has the total at the bottom and then a little button that says "wanna leave a tip?" but you do not have to engage with that button in order to complete your order.

I get my hair cut at a local salon called Great Clips, where you can buy a card that pre-buys X number of haircuts so when you're done you just swipe the card and that's it for the transaction. The problem is that it makes tipping impossible unless you have cash cause they cannot separately charge your credit card for just a tip.

I actually find that awkward cause I know those people cannot be making much money at all if they're not getting tips. Because you see, even though you might think the highest priority at Great Clips is a great haircut, they are also very focused on making the experience affordable with a great price.

10

Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Tipping

« Last post by CNS on Today at 10:24:27 AM »

One that seems to be going in the opposite direction of the norm:  Starbucks. 

They incentivize you to use their app via free crap every so often, birthday drinks, etc.  The app used to ask you, after every purchase, how much you would like to tip.  They took that function away a year or so ago.  So now, you pay with the app, but if you don't have cash(lol, what's that) their employees get no tip.  Kinda wild. 

I assume they found some legal reason to stop doing this and just took the option away before they got sued, but who knows.  Given the tip environment everywhere else, this one is a head scratcher.

when you are checking out on the starbucks app it has the total at the bottom and then a little button that says "wanna leave a tip?" but you do not have to engage with that button in order to complete your order.

When you are scanning the bar code in the drive through, that isn't there.   It used to be a pop up after they scanned your app, though.