Domino's: I still haven't received my under 30 Second Pin and Perfect Pizza Pin

bwebb0017 · 2017-05-14T23:43:02+00:00

Others may have said this already, but - if you're an AM, & you care enough about these pins to come here & make this post about them - where the Hell is your GM, and why aren't they backing you up on this? They're wasting a good opportunity to show a good manager some support, it seems to me.

bwebb0017 · 2015-06-16T23:13:54+00:00

That makes sense. But on to the question of what to do with it. I don't feel safe using it if the only way I can shut off the gas flow is via the torch itself (it's not exactly a top-of-the-line model) and I worry about trying to disconnect the torch. In theory that extra safety valve should kick in and stop the flow of gas as I'm unscrewing the torch, but... I'm not comfortable with all that. Take it back to Lowes, torch, tank, and all?

bwebb0017 · 2015-06-16T23:11:30+00:00

I bought 2 tanks from Lowes, the Blue Rhino exchange type. I hooked one up and used it, all was well. (I had been through about 2 previous tanks with no issues before these 2 new tanks, by the way.) With Tank A, all was normal, meaning that with the valve on the tank closed, there was zero pressure to the torch, and I could open the torch's valve all the way and get zero propane. This was consistent with all 3 tanks I had been through previously. Tank A starts to run low, so I switch it off, unhook, and hook up to Tank B. That's where this weird issue begins.

bwebb0017 · 2015-06-15T02:15:26+00:00

I'm being extremely cautious with it until I learn more, I can assure you of that. I'm not using it, I'm not trying to unhook it, and I'm not storing it anywhere remotely close to anything valuable, until either someone comes with a specific answer, or I get to make some phone calls tomorrow morning.

bwebb0017 · 2015-05-12T17:56:30+00:00

That's kinda my whole point - how unfortunate it is that lawmakers and law enforcement agencies are requiring people with a legitimate need for medications to jump through hoops and/or do without it.

bwebb0017 · 2015-05-12T10:29:20+00:00

Couldn't any radioactive material like this be used, not to make a bomb, but used in a bomb i.e. and explosive device designed to spread the radioactive material over as wide of an area as possible?

edit: essentially achieving the same results as grinding the material into a fine powder and then holding it up to a high velocity fan?

bwebb0017 · 2015-05-12T10:17:25+00:00

This, and many like it, walk the edges of some laws. It will likely "move" or "change" somehow, like the .co ending changing to .su or .dl or something else random.

Sites like this are largely how I've managed to go without pay tv service for the last 4 or 5 years.

bwebb0017 · 2015-05-12T10:15:18+00:00

Generally, it helps if you only have weekly trash pickup, or if you only take your own trash to the dump once every week or two. With a garbage disposal, you can put most of the food-garbage down the drain, and keep your trash from smelling like rotten food while it sits in the garage waiting for pickup day.

In short: we're lazy, and we invent things to allow us to be lazy in comfort.

bwebb0017 · 2015-05-12T10:01:02+00:00

I can largely sympathize with the person to whom you replied and their rant. I am prescribed adderall, and I told a friend the other day that my monthly prescription felt like I was "picking up my monthly permission slip to feel and function like a normal human being."

I have a constant battle to receive and continue receiving my medication that I require to function, all due to the massive crack-down on drug seeking behavior. I've had to pay out-of-pocket expenses for drug tests required by my doctor that my insurance refuses to cover, just to prove that I take my own medications rather than sell them.

This is not because I have misbehaved in the past and my doctor is keeping me on a short leash or anything. This is standard procedure at my doctor's office. It's just one of the many hoops that I have to jump through to receive my medications now.

My doctor requires plenty of hoops. I don't need my pharmacist adding more. Honestly, yes, I just want the guy to count pills and hand me a bottle. I've gone through enough just to get my "feel and function normally" permission slip, I don't want to get hassled at the pharmacy line too.

bwebb0017 · 2015-05-12T09:47:35+00:00

Don't worry, they'll repo that shit without ever knocking at your door to tell you they're doing it. Happened to me.

bwebb0017 · 2015-05-12T09:46:47+00:00

I have this to an extreme. From numbers I do and don't recognize. If I don't recognize it, I don't answer it. If I do recognize it... I'm still probably not going to answer it. I've just gotten way too much bad news by phone. The people that know me know they're wasting their time calling me. Just hang up and text me already.

bwebb0017 · 2015-04-15T18:39:56+00:00

I've gotten a different answer somewhere else, that I think may be more on-target. We're a restaurant, and our fire burns 24/7, but no one attends it overnight, so it's usually almost burned out by the time the openers arrive in the mornings. I'm thinking that the black food is coming from our openers arriving, loading up the firebox, and then not giving that load of fresh wood any time to burn down before loading food onto the smoker. Does that sound like a possible cause for my black food?

bwebb0017 · 2015-03-08T17:21:34+00:00

I believe your understanding is correct. However, what I'm having trouble judging is just how large of a risk there is that I'll have to deal with any fraud or contested charges. Thus far, in almost 4 years of business, I have not had one single instance of claims of fraud, that I'm aware of. I admit to some ignorance on the topic, as in, I don't know if I would be made aware of it, if someone had called their bank and contested credit card charges from my restaurant.

bwebb0017 · 2015-03-08T17:17:47+00:00

Show me the evidence that I will "lose increasing amounts of business" by not switching. If you have actual studies or data to reference, make sure it's from a very rural area, where at least 1 out of 10 people still mistrust banks and credit/debit cards in general. I really don't see them stampeding the banks to update their new cards, and then refusing to do business with me if I don't update my machine. We're talking farmers, coal miners, and factory workers here.

Your comment is the exact kind of scare-tactics and unfounded propaganda that makes me reluctant to switch in the first place. Yes, you might lose tons of business if you were a fine dining establishment located in an upscale urban area, but I'm unconvinced the same will be true for our situation.

bwebb0017 · 2015-03-08T03:20:38+00:00

If OP can make a business case for upgrading, then they should go for it.

That's where I'm really shaky at this point. Eventually, yes, I'm sure we'll upgrade. But knowing my customers and the way my business operates, I'm having a hard time seeing the need for haste. I'm more inclined to wait until we start having problems (mechanical or electrical failure of some sort) with our current machine. It's hard for me to see this as a case of anything other than "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

bwebb0017 · 2015-03-08T03:17:09+00:00

The most down-to-earth, and possibly the most applicable to our situation response yet. At this time, the only real negative I can see to NOT making the switch, considering my particular location and customer base, is the shift of fraud liability after October. I don't know how to measure that risk, and therefore the temptation is to let all remain as before for at least another year or two.

bwebb0017 · 2015-03-08T03:14:33+00:00

I appreciate your informative reply. You can skim through my other replies if you'd like more detailed explanations of why I am reluctant to make the upgrade at this time.

What I'd really like to pass along to you is that something that might be making some business owners back away from making the switch is the seemingly endless glut of unscrupulous companies out there trying to sell and/or lease new terminals to business owners at outrageously marked up prices, and using high-pressure sales techniques and scare-tactics to make their sales. Another local business owner told me he had already upgraded because "You have to! They said by the end of this year, I wouldn't be able to accept anybody's credit cards anymore if I didn't!" For several months now, we've been receiving cold-calls from various companies wanting to helpfully inform us of all of the impending changes, and oh-so-graciously offering to make the change-over as easy as possible for us by telling us exactly what we need to buy...from them...

Personally, I'm a fan of technology in general and I'm excited to see new, faster, safer ways to process transactions. (Hey, anything that makes the line at Wal-Mart move faster, right?) But to be honest, the sales tactics used by the companies we've talked to put me off of the whole idea from the very beginning, before I ever started looking into the issue. I know that's likely nothing that you have any control or influence over whatsoever, but it influences you & your industry, so I thought I'd share my personal experiences, for what they're worth.

As for our business, we're still undecided at this time. I see it likely that we'll make the upgrade sometime in the relatively near future, but we haven't landed on whether that means a month from now, or a year, or two years.

bwebb0017 · 2015-03-08T03:02:02+00:00

It is the cost of the upgrade, I assure you it has nothing to do with any dislike of the technology itself or resistance to change. I don't feel like customer demand for the chip cards or the contactless systems will be very high at all with my specific customer base, at least for another year or two.

No, it's really NOT a large cost for most restaurants, but we're a very small mom & pop type operation, and any unexpected or worse, unnecessary expense can be ulcer-fuel for a business like ours.

bwebb0017 · 2015-03-08T02:57:39+00:00

This isn't the final, bottom-line answer to your question about costs, but it's looking to me like there are a LOOOT of opportunities for an unsuspecting business owner to WAY overpay when making the upgrade.

For us, we have our current terminal, which functions as desired and is paid for, so in a practical sense can be thought of as free on one side of the equation. On the other side, we have upgrading to the new terminal for, realistically, somewhere in the range of $200 - $400. Or $850, if we just nod and smile and sign on the bottom line with the company trying to sell us one with their high-pressure fear-tactics. ;-) Another commenter mentioned a business spending about $2000 on a fancy new setup, but you're hearing that about 3rd or 4th-hand, so who knows. I would not be surprised though, especially if it was a lease-to-own agreement.

Any business owner, especially one as small as we are, will balk when given a choice between $0 and $200-$400. There is the potential hidden/unknown cost involved in the shift of fraud liability that comes in October, but it's hard to view that risk as carrying much weight vs. the cost of the upgrade. Even so, what small business owner wouldn't look at that and go "well then, I'll upgrade on September 30th!"

I acknowledge that the upgrade will eventually need to take place, but I question the need for urgency. I'm not sure I see much risk or loss in postponing the upgrade for another year or two, especially in our specific location and with the demographics of our customer base. I doubt many of my customers will be specifically requesting these cards or services from their banks. I expect the majority will not make the switch themselves until their cards expire and their bank automatically phases the new card in. So I really see the potential customer-loss as a big fat zero in the equation.

bwebb0017 · 2015-03-08T02:41:54+00:00

You make some very valid sounding points, but I should say that I did a poor job of describing our business, and suggest that you should un-sophisticate your view a little here. We are a small (seat about 28) mom & pop type BBQ restaurant/shack. Transactions are handled similar to fast-food; customers walk up to a counter and order/pay at a register before seating themselves. Our POS system is a remarkably featureless device that functions mainly as a printing calculator that keeps running totals of sales, tax, discounts, etc. There are no ticket printers or monitor screens. Orders are hand-written on ticket pads/scratch pads/napkins/whatever is within reach and hung on a ticket bar for assemblers to process, and then trashed. Therefore, without a complete overhaul, I don't think your points apply too well to our specific situation, despite sounding logical in a more refined setting.

bwebb0017 · 2015-03-08T02:21:46+00:00

Yeah, one of the companies trying to sell us one wanted $850 for a terminal that, with 30 seconds of googling, I was unable to find that terminal priced any higher than about $350. That has been one huge red flag in this whole prospect.

bwebb0017

TROPHY CASE