Chili's new touch screen devices For or Against?

[tbradsim1]

When I was working at Exxon we had a young operater who would bring fried fish from a Chinese resturant and the fish was flat as a sheet of cardboard. It was good and as men do we kidded and called the place 2 Cats. One day the whole crew wanted 2 Cats fish, got directions , it was in a very bad area of town so I had my hogleg on me. Driving up the place did not give me confidence, you did not go in, you ordered from a slit like prisoners get there food. Got the order but it was the last time I ate 2 Cats.

 

[woodsroad]

Michael, I think that it is just another permutation of survival instinct. Do you choose to stay in the village, or go out and hunt? Do you choose to be safe, or to eat? Do you choose to be social, or to save money? Money is survival, and we will almost always choose it over anything else, including food and sex. Of course, the gene pool has been getting a bit murky as of late, so there are those amongst us who would rather have a beer with friends than go out and work. I can relate to that.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

The whole germ angle to all of this is ridiculous. We are, have been, and always will be surrounded by germs, at all times. Tetanus is all over our skin, and it's merely the act of a puncture that gets it into our bodies. And, this is just one of thousands of deadly diseases that are always on our bodies regardless of what we do.
To wipe off something with a chemical merely removes a few, yet coats things with dangerous chemicals (and dead germ corpses). I think that things like antibacterials give us a false sense of security. I am more concerned with the chemicals than the germs. We've managed to live for hundreds of thousands of years with germs in worse conditions than we have today. People used to throw poop into the streets, bathing was never as prolific as it is today, and we were surrounded with pooping, drooling, hairy animals. Our forefathers would be embarrassed by our squealy, sissy reactions to little "sticky" on a doorknob. Wipe your hands on your pant's legs and get on with it.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Woodsroad, I am trying to process what the question is, ha ha. I hunt with friends, as well as go out to eat sometimes with friends. I also save money occasionally. I don't have any answers. I'm just pointing out the situation. It's our own narrow choices that seem to bring us into the murky gene pools, ha ha.

 

[wnghanglow]

Items like this are a hod send to people like me with social anxiety, I couldn't buy my own groceries until walmart put in the auto checkouts and now that I can take my time and order without speaking to the waitress I know I won't mess up and order the wrong items. As for cleaning request a sanitary wipe or request they clean the device.

 

[brass]

Woodsroad says, "Money is survival, and we will almost always choose it over anything else, including food and sex."
Now, think back to your youth. How much money and food did you expend on the fleeting chance of sex? Just saying. :lol:
BTW, smokinTex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xmckWVPRaI

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

-gregprince
About 50 years ago my father worked for a major American corporation. One day he observed that the corporation was purchasing from overseas a product that they manufactured themselves here in the States. He came home and said, "That's the end of America as we know it, when we refuse to spend an extra nickel to keep our own people employed." He was a wise man.

A wise man indeed.

However.

While I agree with this statement in manufacturing, retail is an entirely different issue.

Retail can go die in a hole somewhere. Amazon is absolutely the way to go. Actually I count on the retail business as we know it disappearing in another generation or two, maybe one grocery store per hundred thousand people just for those that need to knock on a watermelon and squeeze a tomato, everything else should be online.

Online specialty shops get to serve a customer base of tens of millions, which is enough to actually keep a decent business going. AKA Smokingpipes.com. As opposed to the local guy who has no selection, gives bad advice, charges $10 an ounce. No thank you. Out of all the retail people I've met only one in a hundred are both honest and competent at doing their job. Retail staff are there just to push buttons, I'll happily push all the buttons if it costs half as much.

A local manufacturing job means no-one got hurt making the thing I just bought and all the incidentals surrounding it are taken care of.

A local retail job just means I paid twice as much to take an hour out of my day and get bombarded by stupid sales people and maybe not even get what I need.

There's still a massive skilled labour shortage on a global scale, those people could be putting their time to much better use.

The sooner we can employ robots to do all of our menial labour the better off we'll be.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

It kills me how people will spend $8 on a damn shot of $1 hooch to set in a bar, but when a tin of tobacco is a dollar more than an online wholesale/retailer, they bawk. I just hate to see the old tobacconists go, all because of stupid people doing math in their tiny noggins.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

-cosmicfolklore
It kills me how people will spend $8 on a damn shot of $1 hooch to set in a bar, but when a tin of tobacco is a dollar more than an online wholesale/retailer, they bawk. I just hate to see the old tobacconists go, all because of stupid people doing math in their tiny noggins.

It would be great if that were the case, unfortunately the trend is clear, Brick and Mortar charges double, if not more (the exception being places that actually compete online and have a retail outlet).

Now, I do live in Canada and retail here is a little bit special, you usually have a very small customer base, but they charge double. If you even hint at anything "internet" they tell get snarky. So that's the end of my relationship with retail.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Also, the B&M's pay very close to the online price for their stock, because smokingpipes is a part of the wholesale group, which gives them an unfair advantage on the sticker price. That said, retail barely makes a profit on their tobaccos. And, while I'm still a bit steamed, you live in retarded Canada that taxes things to death.

Even at double the price, that still doesn't compare to what people pay for hooch to set in a bar.
B&M's are not way more expensive, it's that online stores charge excessively less than normal, because they control the prices of everywhere else. But, we've been through this in past posts. I just don't want to catch anyone bitchin' about not having a place to go smoke when all of the B&M's are gone. ::

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

-cosmicfolklore
...you live in retarded Canada that taxes things to death.

It gets better, I actually paid $21 for that ounce, before taxes it was $10.

 

[thesmokingtexan]

Wow it is amazing where this thread is going. Don’t stop I am interested where this journey will lead..... 8O
I don’t like high taxes either that is why I vote for republicans and not for liberals or socialism ….” I bend down to blow the fire with an open can of gas in my hand thinking how hot could it really get?”

 

[woodsroad]

Damn, I wish that changing tax policy was as easy as voting republican.

 

[tuold]

@dochudson said:

seriously the germ thing is way overblown

You may certainly know better than I, but I've seen people who have lost limbs (and worse) from infections that came about from nothing more than scratching a mosquito bite. These were people who had no other contributing co-factors, either. No HIV, diabetes or anything like that. Healthy one day, in an ICU bed the next, then in surgery to remove necrotic tissue and wound washout, then transferred to a burn unit for skin grafts, if they are lucky. So I think these days the concern is a valid one. (especially considering antibiotic resistance)
I'm not trying to raise undue fear or be an alarmist. I'm just telling you why I'm more cautious than I used to be. Oh, and yes, hand washing is good thing. My hands are raw at the end of the day from it I listen to the advice of professionals though. So if you tell me not to worry...well...I'll try!

 

[thesmokingtexan]

Yes I agree with tuold. The people in our past died all the time due to unhealthy and unsanitary conditions (The Black Plague" it was common to die of an infection. However I am not a gremaphobe I just don’t want to touch that screen when I see a bunch of nasty greasy fingerprints and a thick layer of grease. It is just gross.

 

[txbeerboy]

I can't believe someone actually thinks robots could do it better. Talking to and automated Asian voice box is better than actually speaking to someone that might be able to answer you back. Are the 1% of the people with all the money would be better off by causing the unemployment of a waitress with a new sticky touch screen at a restaurant. It isn't just about germs.

 

[txbeerboy]

I hate to sound horrible but when I was a kid there were men (maybe 40 years old) making a living throwing pizzas in the air. Now I see a frozen pizza go into a microwave or oven ( not sure what it is ) A teenage holding his crouch and another scratching zits on his face until a bell goes off. I don't think things are getting a lot better with technology.

 

[dochudson]

might I suggest for some of folks.. (just in case get the latex/powder free)

 

[dcrguns]

I just went to a Chili's yesterday and actually used the machine. I have been before and have never used it. I ordered my food and drinks with it and re-ordered my refills too. The whole system was much faster than waiting on the server. I am sure this was their intent. I really don't like talking to the servers anyway. My wife and I were just discussing this exact thing. I liked it, she did not. She won't use it, I will. Funny how people are different that way. I really don't like aromatics but lots do. It seems like a personal preference thing. I really did not think about the germ thing. The Chili's I went to was very clean and I use sanitizer before and after eating. I can see this being something lots of places will try. Interesting discussion.

 

[crazypipe]

I don't eat at Chili's ,never have never will