You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?

[The Gravekeeper]

I personally don't like when places like "Mickie D's" tries to be healthy.  Thats why I like BK, they simply keep throwing more fatty stuff on their menu as if to say "F-You" to the health nuts.  Hey I'm all for a healthy lifestyle, I eat pretty good and moderate my fat intake.  BUT if I want health food I know better than go to BK.  When I want grease, fat and salt...thats the place man. 

Mmmm...greasy, salty fat. My arteries and I have reached a compromise: I can eat something that unhealthy once in a provided I've been getting plenty of excercise lately and that I have time afterward to go for a nice, long walk or bike ride.

[WingedSerpent]

Certain Question types that keep getting repeated on Yahoo answers.

The first batch is questions where the asker already knows what they want the answer to be-and will not listen to any post that contradicts them.  One question I remeber answering was "Who would win in a fight between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Ghost Rider".  Ghost Rider won a majority of the answers.  I even gave an answer of decent lenght with several reasons why Ghost Rider was more powerful and would win.  ONE other person said they thought Buffy would win (with no real resons given) and the asker choose them as the winner.  Even the response text the asker gave seemed to indicate that he thought nobdy else knew what they where talking about.

The second group is the Steelers/Pirate questions.  People who ask "Where can I watch this movie/tv show for free".  There are plenty of legal sites that allow you to watch movies and tv for free-but they ask for movies that are still in theaters or illegal torrent sites.  I keep wondering if I should just ignore them or tell them that illegal downloads are wrong and if they want to see a movie in theaters they should go to the movies and pay to see it.

Then off course there is the "Do you have any common sense?" questions.  These are asked by people who think Lost Tapes or the Blair Witch projects where real events.

Finally, there are the questions asked just because sombody wants to make a statement, point cause arguments.  Usually about religion.  And the people who usually answer them get real mean or high on themselves.

[AndyC]

Certain Question types that keep getting repeated on Yahoo answers.

The questions that bug me are the ones that appear to have lots of answers, because a dozen people have posted "I'd like to know that too."

But the ones that really annoy me are answers that don't answer the question. Somebody asks how to do something or where to find something, and the first people who leap on the question are the ones who just want to express some strong opinion on the matter. If, for example, somebody asks how to do some specific thing with a particular piece of software, it doesn't help to tell them how much you think what they're using sucks and they should buy something else. The poster has made his own choices for his own reasons, which are not known, nor are they relevant. He has one little problem that is not best solved by going to the trouble and expense of changing software, so saying "you wouldn't have this problem if you used Brand X" is not helpful. Just provide the requested information or keep quiet.

Software is just the clearest example, but people do this with virtually any kind of question. They don't even necessarily know anything, as demonstrated by the many people who post vague speculations on how something doesn't seem like it would work, or doesn't seem like a good idea. If you don't know, don't answer.

What bugs me more is when one of these responses is voted "best answer" when it doesn't answer the question at all.

I've never asked or answered a question on Yahoo or similar answer sites, but searches for information frequently lead me to someone else with the same question, and I keep sifting through this crap, in hopes that someone who knows something might have actually answered it.

[Rev. Powell]

Consumers who complain that it's the "fault" of "greedy corporations" when something's priced higher than they wish it was.  No one should be allowed to complain about pricing unless they've actually tried to run their own business first.

[AndyC]

Consumers who complain that it's the "fault" of "greedy corporations" when something's priced higher than they wish it was.  No one should be allowed to complain about pricing unless they've actually tried to run their own business first.

It's been my experience that greedy corporations usually drive prices down, below the point where smaller businesses can make a profit.

[ulthar]

Consumers who complain that it's the "fault" of "greedy corporations" when something's priced higher than they wish it was.  No one should be allowed to complain about pricing unless they've actually tried to run their own business first.

How about people so cheap they don't want to pay an honest wage for work they don't want to do themselves?

I was recently approached by two dudes to do some work for them.  I told them that I was surprised that they could not find someone to do that work...there are quite a few around here that do that kind of work.  They said, "oh yeah, but they want $x per hour."

So I said I would not do it for free, to which they proceeded to tell me what I should charge...which was about 25% of fair market value in this area.  I said, "Fine, do it yourself, then."

I mean, why should I charge 1/4 what I COULD charge for a service (ie, what everyone else is willing to pay) just because they are CHEAP?  I didn't want to do it anyway...I have enough on my plate now.  Yet they acted like they were doing me a favor offering to "LET" me do their work for them for a tremendous savings for THEM.

[Mr. DS]

Personalized license plates.  It was cool in the 80s for about 10 minutes.  Sad to say an in-law has the worst one I've ever seen.  I won't go into details but its a song title from a band that has mostly disappeared. 

[The Gravekeeper]

Consumers who complain that it's the "fault" of "greedy corporations" when something's priced higher than they wish it was.  No one should be allowed to complain about pricing unless they've actually tried to run their own business first.

How about people so cheap they don't want to pay an honest wage for work they don't want to do themselves?

I was recently approached by two dudes to do some work for them.  I told them that I was surprised that they could not find someone to do that work...there are quite a few around here that do that kind of work.  They said, "oh yeah, but they want $x per hour."

So I said I would not do it for free, to which they proceeded to tell me what I should charge...which was about 25% of fair market value in this area.  I said, "Fine, do it yourself, then."

I mean, why should I charge 1/4 what I COULD charge for a service (ie, what everyone else is willing to pay) just because they are CHEAP?  I didn't want to do it anyway...I have enough on my plate now.  Yet they acted like they were doing me a favor offering to "LET" me do their work for them for a tremendous savings for THEM.

There's a similar problem for aspiring artists, although it's much more widespread. People seem to think that they're doing us a favor when they ask us to spend our time and materials on a project for them for no money (it's even worse when they say that they don't need to compensate us for our time because we can put the finished product in our portfolio; most artists have time to come up with and execute some truly portfolio-worthy stuff). Most people wouldn't think of, say, not paying an architect or an interior decorator; why wouldn't you pay an artist to create something nice for your home or business?

[El Misfit]

Personalized license plates.  It was cool in the 80s for about 10 minutes.  Sad to say an in-law has the worst one I've ever seen.  I won't go into details but its a song title from a band that has mostly disappeared. 

Let's see, I saw a new Mustang with the license saying DRAMA4U. And you won't believe one Virgina plate that had the Big V and what followed.......

[AndyC]

Consumers who complain that it's the "fault" of "greedy corporations" when something's priced higher than they wish it was.  No one should be allowed to complain about pricing unless they've actually tried to run their own business first.

How about people so cheap they don't want to pay an honest wage for work they don't want to do themselves?

I was recently approached by two dudes to do some work for them.  I told them that I was surprised that they could not find someone to do that work...there are quite a few around here that do that kind of work.  They said, "oh yeah, but they want $x per hour."

So I said I would not do it for free, to which they proceeded to tell me what I should charge...which was about 25% of fair market value in this area.  I said, "Fine, do it yourself, then."

I mean, why should I charge 1/4 what I COULD charge for a service (ie, what everyone else is willing to pay) just because they are CHEAP?  I didn't want to do it anyway...I have enough on my plate now.  Yet they acted like they were doing me a favor offering to "LET" me do their work for them for a tremendous savings for THEM.

The problem is there's always some numbnuts willing to undercharge just to get the job, then work his ass off for hardly any money. They're afraid to let any potential customer get away. That hurts everybody in the field.

My thinking is if you charge twice as much and only make half the sales, you're just as far ahead doing half the work. If I charge more, some of the customers are going to go somewhere else, but I can afford to let them go.

People are always going to come in with assumptions about what something should cost. If they can't accept what things actually do cost, they aren't the kind of customers you want, and you're better off letting them go elsewhere, where they can be more trouble than they're worth for your competition. I love it when people say they can get it for X amount somewhere else. Great. Go tie up somebody else for no money. I'll take the paying jobs he can't do while he's wasting his time on that.

[Mr. DS]

Personalized license plates.  It was cool in the 80s for about 10 minutes.  Sad to say an in-law has the worst one I've ever seen.  I won't go into details but its a song title from a band that has mostly disappeared. 

Let's see, I saw a new Mustang with the license saying DRAMA4U. And you won't believe one Virgina plate that had the Big V and what followed.......

I do have to admit I like this one...
http://www.snopes.com/photos/risque/license.asp

[Rev. Powell]

Consumers who complain that it's the "fault" of "greedy corporations" when something's priced higher than they wish it was.  No one should be allowed to complain about pricing unless they've actually tried to run their own business first.

How about people so cheap they don't want to pay an honest wage for work they don't want to do themselves?

I was recently approached by two dudes to do some work for them.  I told them that I was surprised that they could not find someone to do that work...there are quite a few around here that do that kind of work.  They said, "oh yeah, but they want $x per hour."

So I said I would not do it for free, to which they proceeded to tell me what I should charge...which was about 25% of fair market value in this area.  I said, "Fine, do it yourself, then."

I mean, why should I charge 1/4 what I COULD charge for a service (ie, what everyone else is willing to pay) just because they are CHEAP?  I didn't want to do it anyway...I have enough on my plate now.  Yet they acted like they were doing me a favor offering to "LET" me do their work for them for a tremendous savings for THEM.

There's a similar problem for aspiring artists, although it's much more widespread. People seem to think that they're doing us a favor when they ask us to spend our time and materials on a project for them for no money (it's even worse when they say that they don't need to compensate us for our time because we can put the finished product in our portfolio; most artists have time to come up with and execute some truly portfolio-worthy stuff). Most people wouldn't think of, say, not paying an architect or an interior decorator; why wouldn't you pay an artist to create something nice for your home or business?

I haven't had any problem finding people to do artwork, layouts, and writing for free.  I usually offer a percentage of the profits but explain that's unlikely to amount to more than a few dollars.  I wish I could afford to pay an up-front fee, but the types of low-profit projects I'm working on just won't allow it. 

My mom is a painter and she gives away most of her canvases for free.  She has to, she doesn't have room to store them all! 

It's damn near impossible to make a living in any sort of creative endeavor.  Maybe 10% can make a living full time doing what they love, but many people who are just as talented can't make it.  The serious ones usually end up teaching in the university system, where they can spend significant amounts of free time working on their art. 

[AndyC]

OK, here's one that always bugs me. The flimsy plastic bags supermarkets switched to a few years back. I have no problem with using as little material as possible, but these bags only hold their contents in when you hold them by the handles. Set them down and anything inside that decides to tip over or roll around will get no resistance from the bag. It will obligingly slide out of the way of a rolling can as if it weren't there at all. Loading groceries into the car, I have to make sure everything is wedged against something else for support, and even then things go rolling everywhere the first time I turn a corner. Try as I might, there is no way to avoid it, short of taking every corner at the speed of a parade float. There has to be some way they can design a bag so it won't yield so easily to shifting contents.

And on the subject of shopping bags, it also annoys me that cashiers assume that just because they now charge a nickel a bag, I'm going to want everything crammed into one bag. Very considerate of them, but I'll pay an extra nickel or a dime to keep my heavy cans from crushing my potato chips and my hot rotisserie chicken from melting my frozen peas. I live in a small town, so I think after a while my preferences would be known at the local Foodland, where I go several times a week. But I keep having to ask for another bag after the cashier has gone to far too much trouble to pack it all into one. Just pack them as if they're still free, use as many as necessary, and I'll pay the extra dime. I really don't mind.

[Jim H]

Consumers who complain that it's the "fault" of "greedy corporations" when something's priced higher than they wish it was.  No one should be allowed to complain about pricing unless they've actually tried to run their own business first.

How about people so cheap they don't want to pay an honest wage for work they don't want to do themselves?

I was recently approached by two dudes to do some work for them.  I told them that I was surprised that they could not find someone to do that work...there are quite a few around here that do that kind of work.  They said, "oh yeah, but they want $x per hour."

So I said I would not do it for free, to which they proceeded to tell me what I should charge...which was about 25% of fair market value in this area.  I said, "Fine, do it yourself, then."

I mean, why should I charge 1/4 what I COULD charge for a service (ie, what everyone else is willing to pay) just because they are CHEAP?  I didn't want to do it anyway...I have enough on my plate now.  Yet they acted like they were doing me a favor offering to "LET" me do their work for them for a tremendous savings for THEM.

There's a similar problem for aspiring artists, although it's much more widespread. People seem to think that they're doing us a favor when they ask us to spend our time and materials on a project for them for no money (it's even worse when they say that they don't need to compensate us for our time because we can put the finished product in our portfolio; most artists have time to come up with and execute some truly portfolio-worthy stuff). Most people wouldn't think of, say, not paying an architect or an interior decorator; why wouldn't you pay an artist to create something nice for your home or business?

I haven't had any problem finding people to do artwork, layouts, and writing for free.  I usually offer a percentage of the profits but explain that's unlikely to amount to more than a few dollars.  I wish I could afford to pay an up-front fee, but the types of low-profit projects I'm working on just won't allow it. 

My mom is a painter and she gives away most of her canvases for free.  She has to, she doesn't have room to store them all! 

It's damn near impossible to make a living in any sort of creative endeavor.  Maybe 10% can make a living full time doing what they love, but many people who are just as talented can't make it.  The serious ones usually end up teaching in the university system, where they can spend significant amounts of free time working on their art. 

Yeah.  As someone who now owns a decent amount of videography equipment with total costs in the thousands of dollars, it's a little annoying seeing people looking for a videographer who want to try to pay you in the beer you'll drink while spending twelve hours shooting their music video and another 5-10 editing it.  Not hoping for good pay (not with my experience level and abilities at this point), but when it's virtually nothing (and sometimes so low it'd literally be negative money as I'd have to drive there) I'll just spend the time on my own damn projects instead.

[Skull]

OK, here's one that always bugs me. The flimsy plastic bags supermarkets switched to a few years back. I have no problem with using as little material as possible, but these bags only hold their contents in when you hold them by the handles.

lol... me too...

I think the switch was made with the price of oil going up, not too many people realize that plastic comes from oil and I also believe there was a shortage for oil for non-gas products in the last 2 or 3 years or it has gotten too expensive. I remember noticing the change on bottled Laundry Soap that the products are suddenly "condensed" and the bottles are suddenly smaller. I just don’t buy the idea that 3 or 4 major (and generic) Laundry Soap companies has "condensed" the formula so they could reduce the size of soap bottles because it's good for the environment (or whatever reason they are telling us).

I’ve also doubt the formula is really “condensed.”