Was a Big Fan

I frequented Cracker Barrel often, appreciating their delicious meals and attentive staff. However, recent visits have been less satisfactory, leading to conversations with management that I’d prefer not to elaborate on. The details are inconsequential.

The last time my wife and I ate there, we decided not to ever go back. It wasn’t so much that we didn’t like them as it was that they didn’t seem to want us.

It is a mistake that many businesses make. If they do not respect and appreciate their customers, it will not be long before they have none.

I possess the discernment to recognize when a service establishment lacks genuine commitment to customer satisfaction. When dining experiences are marred by prolonged wait times and fundamental service oversights like missing utensils, the message becomes unmistakably clear.

I believe my audience will readily grasp these subtle implications.

However, the best thing is to withhold your complaint. If they do not like you, you can tell your friends and relatives. You can even tell your worst enemies. The best way to get back at a business is just to go somewhere else.

Envision a scenario where Cracker Barrel experiences a sudden 10-15% drop in business within a mere fortnight. Would management not immediately seek to understand the underlying cause? Such a significant decline would likely trigger a comprehensive review of operations, customer service, and strategic approach. While some corporate leadership might remain detached, truly successful organizations would swiftly analyze and address the root issues to prevent further revenue erosion and potential financial instability. In the long run, if those in the corporate ivory tower might need to instruct their lawyers to start filing bankruptcy papers. It would not be the first time nor would it be the last.

Prolong Social Security?

Make sure we stop sending payments to any illegal aliens. Stop sending payments to the dead; they don’t need it. Stop sending payments to people who are receiving them illegally or fraudulently.

By the way, I suspect that there could also be some trimming of personnel, particularly at the higher ranks.

I admit that it would still fall short of fixing it. After all, it is an inherently flawed system. However, it just might help it last through the rest of my life.

Helmets & Autos

One day many years ago, I drove down the road, or was it up the road? That one always confused me as to which was which.

Regardless, I heard what seemed to be a good message. It is highly unlikely that we will ever be required to wear helmets while riding in cars, even convertibles. This is true regardless of how much evidence is collected about how many lives it would save. As near as anyone knows, it is virtually impossible to put on a helmet and remove it without messing up that fifty-dollar hairstyle.

That is nice to know, especially if you are one of those with 4 or 5 kids. It does make me wonder how much it would cost for six helmets. Actually, that would be seven to allow for an occasional extra passenger.

Recently, I have begun to reconsider. I may go and buy a helmet with a mask. You see, recently, I came to a stop to wait for cross traffic, and the guy behind me kept going.

So now my 2-year-old Nissan, which had not one scratch, is now customized. I have no idea why he did that. I didn’t ask him to.

However, be that as it may, it is beside the point. I only said that to say this. It made me think I could have been killed. That other driver just might have ended my life. It is conceivable I might have had my face scarred for the rest of my life.

You see, if he had been going just a little faster, my airbag might have deployed. Without a helmet to protect me, it might have killed me. It might have lacerated my face. It could have blinded me.

Obvious

I sat here in my living room in my recliner and watched the news programs on my HD TV. I watched one guest and host after another discuss the employment numbers, and it was all I could do to keep from trying to enter my screen, as if it were feasible, and shout to them all that they are overlooking perhaps the number one reason for the lower numbers.

Surely, my readers know what it is. It is one of the most predicted outcomes of one of the most misguided ideas of the Democratic political party. You see, some people in certain cities in some states had the idea of increasing the minimum wage.

It was predicted. It was foretold. Many of us called it from the proverbial mountaintops. And then, when the prediction came true, it seemed that one and all simply got amnesia. How in the world could that happen unless it was intentional?

Please don’t make me explain. Surely, there is no need. Hopefully, you figured it out without my reminder.

I Just May Start Paying Cash for Groceries.

During my recent grocery run, I was tempted by the cashews but balked at the steep $20 price tag, ultimately deciding to leave them behind on the shelf.

My grocery bill finally dipped below $100, a milestone I haven’t hit in recent memory. Skipping the cashews was a strategic move that prevented the total from climbing by a fifth, leaving me feeling both financially savvy and satisfied.

Upon returning home, I discovered an email from Wal-Mart inquiring about my recent Lunchables purchase, seeking feedback on my shopping experience.

It seems a pattern these days: two or three emails a day. What business is it of theirs?

I haven’t consumed these yet, and I’m not particularly concerned about who knows. However, I prefer to maintain my personal space and dislike when others intrude on my privacy.

Despite my initial impulse to seek alternatives, the retail landscape offers limited options. With Walmart’s dominant market position, finding a comparable shopping destination proves challenging.

That means the alternative is to use cash, at the least, as much as possible. That way, if I buy Peter Pan instead Jiffy peanut butter, they won’t know it. Moreover, they won’t even ask me.

By the way, it’s usually Skippy. It was advertised by Annette Funicello.

A Matter of Inches

Perhaps, as the saying goes, baseball is more a game of inches than any other. Any avid fan will agree. It can be inches between a home run or a long fly out… A stolen base or a disappointing walk back to the dugout. It can be oh so frustrating when that slide into home plate was a fraction of an inch shy and, instead of a winning run, it means taking the field instead.

I played Little League ball and I know what it’s like to see that wonderful home run pass two inches to the left of that foul pole. It happens.

However, I don’t think I saw anything closer than that last presidential election. Thinking back over it, the Democrats were inches away from running Old Joe again for president.

I think, looking back, the vast majority of us know that would have, could have been inches from the worst thing in American history. I like to think the obviously demented old man would have never been re-elected, They did manage to drag him across the home plate once. Who’s to say. That home run by Trump just might have been blown fowl by an ill wind.

I guess sometimes politics can be a game of inches, which is really scary. Right?

A Compromise?

The Democrats always love to talk about compromise. They have also proposed amnesty for about 10 million people. Okay… A compromise. One. A law making English the official language. All legal documents must be in English, federal, state, and local.

Two. Only those who denounce any and all other nationalities. Those under 60 must become fluent in English.

If they commit a felony or aid someone else in committing a felony, deportation is automatic upon conviction.

It is only right. If they cannot make the compromise, why should they be allowed to stay under any conditions?

My guess… They would and will reject the compromise and all parts of it. The dems don’t want any official language. They don’t want them to have to denounce their loyalty, though no one should be permitted citizenship until they are loyal to th US. Certainly, if they cannot obey our laws, why should they be permitted to remain here where we would need to provide for their food, shelter and health benefits.

Complaint or Affirmation?

Over the years, in my attempt to write books, I have learned. For instance, there is a legal term “waive.” There is also a word, “canvass.” I found that out the hard way. My worst mistake was misspelling one of my books titles,”The survivers.”

I am not going to make excuses for myself. It was a dumb, stupid mistake, and a woman called me out on it. I corrected the mistake, and others went on to read and enjoy the book. I even got one 4-star review, though most were only 3 stars.

The thing is, the woman did me a great favor, or even a privilege, with her complaint, and I was genuinely thankful for it. Moreover, I will be grateful for any other corrections. You see, I really enjoy the affirmations, but I find the complaints more profitable.

I am not the first to realize that complaints are good things. There was a man who pleaded with his customers, “Please give me the privilege of hearing your complaints.” He built a retail empire because of it.

Lately, many submit an opportunity to use surveys to rate them. You know, the 1 to 5 star rating thing. Invariably, I notice many companies pointing to survey results, boasting about how many stars they have.

It is but one reason I refuse to take part in surveys. It is fine for some things such as books. However, sometimes I get the idea that big corporations seek not the complaints but rather the affirmations.

Immediately after I purchased my Chevrolet HHR, they had me take a survey. Three years later, I could not find a place anywhere to register a complaint. They wanted the affirmations right after I bought the car. They clearly have little interest in complaints three years later.

Actually, my purpose was to help them with my remark. Clearly, they weren’t interested.

Lately, Walmart has been requesting surveys from me. It would seem they were seeking complaints, but I suspect they just want to accumulate stars. In other words, they are seeking those wonderful accolades.

I was tired of deleting the surveys, so I filled it out. I’ll let you guess how I did it. I don’t think they will like me anymore.

For anyone else who might see this, they might decide against asking me to fill in their survey. Better to keep it simple. Just ask if I have any complaints. Better yet, provide someone to take my complaint to—that is, assuming they really want the privilege of my complaint.

Frequently, we customers don’t complain. If possible, we simply go away.

Decreases in Memphis Crime

Well, that’s what “they” say. I’m still hesitant to believe it, not when it seems I see the report of a murder a day, not when I see videos daily of violent robberies spread throughout the city—north, south, east, and west.

Still, let’s take their word. Let’s say the numbers are really going down. There is still no reason for them to get boastful yet. Bear in mind many out-of-towners have been chased back south of the border. Moreover, those that remain don’t want to be noticed by ICE.

Finally, the state of Tennessee is doing what it can to curb criminal activity, despite the lack of cooperation from local politics.

Of course some would like to write it up to coincidence. However, those of us that watch detective shows know coincidences don’t exist.

Here They Come

Subtitle: I Told You So

Years ago, maybe one or two will remember, I wrote a post about driverless cars. The prediction has come true. I heard it on the news today.

There was a crowd that speculated 60 Teslas had accidents while on Autopilot. They suggest the loss of 60 lives because the computer does not drive as well as a human. Personally, I challenge the concept. Suspect it is likely half and half. Likely a little more one way than the other.

Whichever way, whatever happens, the die is being cast. Those legal eagles, ambulance chasers have smelled blood in the water, and soon the lawsuits will start flying.

Buckle up for a wild ride through the autonomous automotive frontier! While self-driving cars rev my imagination, I can’t help but ponder the ultimate showdown: Silicon Valley’s algorithmic prodigy versus the unpredictable human behind the wheel. Will our robotic chauffeurs outsmart the caffeine-fueled, text-messaging, road-rage-prone human drivers? The jury’s still out, and this technological tango promises to be more suspenseful than a high-stakes game of bumper cars.

Expert witnesses will parade in, each side wielding their technical wizards like legal weapons. The computer’s impeccable security will be interrogated, cross-examined, and dissected with surgical precision. Meanwhile, the lawyers will be grinning from ear to ear, their framed diplomas casting a victorious gleam on the courtroom walls, knowing they’re the only true beneficiaries of this digital drama.

The ambulance chasers will likely win their share, and the defense attorneys will likely win a few. Most will likely be settled out of court. Sometimes the defense will be afraid of losing and set a standard. Sometimes, the prosecutor will settle, afraid to set the standard the other way.

As all the paperwork from all the legal briefs finishes trickling down from above, the losers will be the drivers. The cost of the cars will skyrocket, and naturally, the cost of auto insurance will likely follow.

Sure, a settlement might line a few pockets, but who’s signing up to trade their body parts for a payout? Not this savvy survivor, that’s for sure. I’d rather keep my limbs intact and my bank account untouched.

So, at some point, the computer has to become better than the human. I ask you, do we take the steering wheel out of the hands of humans for the safety of others? On the other hand, do we permit humans to hold onto the wheel in spite of it being more dangerous?

Futurists, brace yourselves: the million-dollar question is lurking just around the corner, ready to pounce when we least expect it. And hey, while we’re at it, we might want to whip up some shiny new laws that are as clever as they are cutting-edge.

Considering laws are made by lawyers for lawyers, I don’t expect to see it in my lifetime.