Telephone etiquette. Don’t just say hello, state who you are and where you’re calling from.
I tend to drop the call if none of that is forthcoming.
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That is such a peeve of mine. I get too many calls where they hide behind privacy and confidentiality. If they can’t tell me who they are and what they want without me “verifying” my private information, then they have called the wrong number.
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Yep, that just screams “telemarketer” to me. The moment I get someone saying “Hi, how are you this evening?” my response is “I’m not interested thanks”.[quote=“ClockWorkXon, post:808, topic:542, full:true”]
That is such a peeve of mine. I get too many calls where they hide behind privacy and confidentiality. If they can’t tell me who they are and what they want without me “verifying” my private information, then they have called the wrong number.
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That screams “scammer” (actually not that far distant from “telemarketer”, just a bit more extreme).
The question “Can I just verify some details please?” gets the response “No you can’t. Who are you and what do you want?” usually followed fairly soon after by me hanging up 
The thing is that you don’t have to be polite to these people. I will be polite at first, because they are just doing the job they are paid to do, but the moment they get pushy the gloves are off.
http://www.vox.com/business-and-finance/2015/12/15/10161100/brian-roberts-comcast-bad
Or, you know, you could stop insulting our intelligence. You could stop lobbying for the “right” to control what I watch and what I read…
Yeah, I know. While I’m at it, I’d like a pony.
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You’re not the highest bar in the sewer grate, are you?
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I have 100% confidence that my husband’s truck is going to start when I go out in a few minutes to crank it.
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Don’t ask me how I am. I might tell you and neither one of us needs that.
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in that same vein, “How am I doing? Well, I’m busy enough that I don’t have time to answer questions from random people walking by. You might be doing this just to be friendly, but by doing so, you’re putting me in a position that if I don’t answer you, I look like a jerk.”
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My take on that is if they ask the question, they are going to get the answer: all of it, truthfully, honestly, and bluntly. If they don’t like it, then they will be educated about not asking questions that they don’t want the answers to.
My house is a self-cleaning house, and when I wake up in the morning it will be sparkling.
Also, my alternator is just peachy and does not need to be replaced. That whine is just it purring with excitement to do its job.
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Replace it soon. I had an alternator punch a hole in my hood, from the fan blades.
Shop opens at 7a tomorrow. I got the battery light while idling in a parking lot. Battery tests full, and there’s a whine, so alternator it is. Not awesome after the tie rod end, battery, and flat tire we replaced on DH’s truck a couple weeks ago, but still cheaper than a monthly car payment, eh?
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No matter how many times I tell myself that, somehow it doesn’t help.
I have the same issue with grocery store shopping and vending machines. A bag of chips is too much at $.45 a bag at the grocery store, for 12 bags, but paying $1.25 at two in the afternoon when I’m snacky seems just fine. The sensible decision seems so silly at the time, because of course I can resist that stupid bag of chips.
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Woodman, I think that’s related to the old advice of “never go grocery shopping while hungry”. You’re inclined to buy more if you do, and without a shopping list, quite a bit of that will be impulse buys. The bag of chips in the afternoon makes it both. You’re hungry and it’s an impulse.
Regarding vehicle repairs, I’ve been fortunate that repairing my truck still meets that. About one thing to fix each year, or take care of ahead of time, like the tires I just bought because the previous ones still had tread but not good traction in wet conditions. Just passed its 24th birthday last month and will hit 528,000 miles within 2 weeks. (Second motor, for those interested. Another case where I replaced it ahead of failure because it was starting to have some issues.)
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Awesome, my Town and Country blew through an engine at around 200k, it was 13 years old and getting on 300k when the transmission went out. I was down to two kids in the house, and it was crap 3 grand to get it fixed, or buy another car. I gave it to a friend and his daughter is now driving it after he drove it for a couple years, he still uses it for DJ gigs. And except for the speakers being blown out now, it’s still in really good shape.
The Beetle needs about $900 a year in various fixes. And if wasn’t a convertible we’d be fine, but the back quarter windows and the rear window are all screwed up, the two back windows are $2k to fix, and the back panel is a top replacement for about $1000. We’re about ready to put all the windows down, put the top down with the leather cover and just put a cover over it 5 months a year and only drive it with the top down.
This might be the first documented case of a Chrysler transmission outlasting the engine it’s attached to.
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I think my sister’s T&C is about 6 or 7 years old and on it’s second of each. Both were replaced under the extended warranty that my brother in law purchased when he was buying the van. I’m guessing the transmission lasted about 50k and the engine maybe 70 or 80? Kinda sad. They’ve only had the van back a couple months from getting the new engine bugs worked out.
I did buy it six years old and with 55k on it, so maybe it already had one.
“Have you never seen snow before?”
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Welcome back.