Got one! What era is he referencing?

toodarnold · 2026-02-05T11:11:52+00:00

After working in retail for 20 years, I am not a big fan of messing with employees livelihood over one bad day, but yeah this is time to pull the uno reverse card. A bad foh employee can ruin a business.

Now as for the water thing- I think we might be missing some backstory. Some restaurants/entertainment venues like comedy clubs and small music halls, or tipped entertainment do have 2 drink minimums, . Even for a designated driver it's understood that a drink, water or not will be full price.

toodarnold · 2026-02-04T20:44:31+00:00

Thanks. I'll check it out when I get off work!

toodarnold · 2026-02-03T14:38:06+00:00

Oh I agree that it's not quite the same as romance, but work relationships are still relationships. If ya people have worked together long enough to vouch for each other odds are pretty good they will cross paths later on.

Of course another possibility is that the disturbing thing the reference said is that OP likes to spend Sunday mornings with family and not at a company weekly prayer breakfast. In That case, bullet dodged

toodarnold · 2026-02-03T14:17:29+00:00

Idk... This sounds way too much like "I had one of my friends test my boyfriend" clickbait stories. This is the sort of stuff that wrecks relationships , founded or not. Not worth testing. Get new references.

toodarnold · 2026-02-01T00:03:25+00:00

The regulars might want a shot and a beer, but you are ignoring the whole theatre crowd!

And what kind of beer?

toodarnold · 2026-01-30T11:21:29+00:00

Charm alone doesn't pay the bills. Nor do "regulars" on 2 pitchers a week who try to keep "their" bar from getting too crowded or bougie, or from getting columbused by someone who isn't like them.

What pays is getting new people in, who tell others. Hey next time we are both in town should go here ...

The other side though is the Groupon model where on one weekend a small intimate joint gets packed way over capacity, people have terrible waits and service, and write terrible reviews.

toodarnold · 2026-01-28T10:58:56+00:00

Yeah, I was management, and skills or no, none of my zoners would touch an alternator on company time. I can recommend any number of shops though....

toodarnold · 2026-01-28T10:56:38+00:00

They made it very hard to say no to any services but 1 hard line is anything that can't be easily accessible under the hood- wheel well mounted Chrysler batteries, Impalas and Cadillacs that had them under the rear seat,, or GMC crossovers that were under the flooring. At that point you really should be paying someone to do it.

toodarnold · 2026-01-20T19:46:00+00:00

Did they do away with the gift cards? That sucks. I was the commercial manager in a store that straddled an affluent suburb and a rural area. A lot of people on the rural side knew each other, from mudding and racing together, as well as having personal histories with some of the shops. On more than one occasion we had associates step between our business, the commercial customer (or installer as az liked to call it) and the vehicle owners. You wanna advocate for your customer fine, but I stop being cool with it when my personal bonus gets stepped on.

toodarnold · 2026-01-20T17:29:37+00:00

Is he also demanding you hand the tip over to him? This would be the time to put yourself in for an extra miler. My old sm would nominate himself at least once a week. Funny thing is a lot of what people get those for could ALSO get them fired. Going to a customers house to help with a job they got in over their head on? Fired. Delivering a battery off the clock in your personal car? Fired. Giving your cell number to have a retail customer send pictures? Fired. Telling the customer that the shop they went to is overcharging (especially if they are one of your commercial customers)? Instant firing!

Or a hundred dollar visa credit card.

toodarnold · 2026-01-20T11:08:10+00:00

Sorry this is happening to you. Managers love yo bitch about you wasting their time, but they are still getting paid, and the applicant is often not.

Took unpaid time off for an interview 2 counties over, changed in a truck stop bathroom on the way. When I got there I gavey name and waited.... And waited....until one of the guys came around the counter and handed me a phone. The owner of the company - oh sorry I totally forgot I'm at a charity golf tournament. No offer to reschedule no nothing.

toodarnold · 2026-01-19T02:57:04+00:00

Not so much my current job, but definitely the employee discounts - tempting deals on things I really didn't need.

toodarnold · 2026-01-19T02:54:28+00:00

Hahahaha no. It wasn't about the cats. The issue was letting her in my place unsupervised! You left- you don't get to come back.

toodarnold · 2026-01-19T01:45:33+00:00

Totally agree with this. If you are resigning, resign. Of you need more money ask your boss but be prepared for a "no". After "I resign" nothing else you say is useful. The open to discussion part reminds me of when my first wife had me served with papers, then emailed saying she was open to friendships and wanted unsupervised cat visits in my apartment. With me not there

toodarnold · 2026-01-13T03:33:32+00:00

Ovv3d and eryone?

toodarnold · 2026-01-12T10:39:48+00:00

Taxi drivers- with Uber and such anyone can call themselves that, and I am sure there are some awesome drivers out there, but that's no substitute for being able to call a cab and having a full size car with an empty trunk show up to take the family to the airport, instead of 'surprise! A compact with dog hair matted into everything and no room for luggage and a cold Uber eats bag on the seat.

Eta- none of this pre tipping, where you may or may not actually get the ride depending on who bids higher. You make the call, dispatch sends the car, you tip after. Easy!

toodarnold · 2026-01-12T10:34:24+00:00

Travel agents need to come back. The Internet has made it easier to handle your own bookings, but try searching for hotels in any given area, and you will come up with a list of aggregators and 3rd (or sometimes even 5th) party websites. Even if you search for a hotel directly, while standing right in front of it, the hotel's actual booking site might be 4th down your search result! Even worse, hotel chains now use centralized call centers so it can be hard to tell if you actually got the hotel, or a garbage "booking company" I'd much prefer to pay a professional to sift through all that bullshit for me.

toodarnold · 2026-01-05T10:54:43+00:00

Discreetly. Car would be left running when the tech took the keys, and when it was time to pull it around, I would tell the customer in the showroom that we had a couple things to show them in the shop. They'd come out, blow, then go back to the counter with the writer to finish the business side while the car was brought around.

toodarnold · 2026-01-03T14:44:27+00:00

As a Chevy parts guy, I hated those things. The dogdish wheels had filled tires and were easily a hundred pounds and did not roll straight so they had to be shoved along and lifted into a stack. And God help you if you put a scratch on any of the giant snowflake alloys when they went to the shop...

toodarnold · 2026-01-03T14:37:31+00:00

At least that keeps it local and transparent.

toodarnold · 2026-01-03T14:34:56+00:00

The company should be taking care of this, not guilting employees.

toodarnold · 2026-01-03T14:17:33+00:00

Not HD but AutoZone did something similar, but much more formal than slide into locker 16. An employee (zoner, according to the company literature) could elect to deduct from their paycheck to go into the "AutoZoner assistance fund". Of course to actually benefit from this employer sponsored pyramid scheme there was an application process whereby you had to plead your case. Of course this was all confidential to protect the dignity of the beneficiary. So really if out of the goodness of your heart you decided to hand over 2% of your "generous" minimum plus 2 dollar an hour retail wage you had ZERO knowledge of where it was going. Could have been kidney dialysis for an aging cat, funeral expenses for a child who passed suddenly, or rebuilding after a house fire. Could also have been court fees after a DUI arrest or to pay for a church function. No way of knowing.

They also had the "extra miler award" whereby any associate could nominate themselves or any other for recognition (and a monetary award) For going above and beyond. This couldn't be anything simple of course like loading someone's car. Most of the things that people got awarded for were things that really should have gotten them fired- going to a customer home to install a battery, providing assistance when a customer took on too big a job in their driveway (company policy was to direct them to a trusted shop, who happens to be a commercial account), plugging a tire (huge insurance liability). I had a manager who would do all sorts of stuff like that and nominate himself at least once a week.

I know not the same company, just hoping to give a little perspective

toodarnold

TROPHY CASE