What cheeses me off

[drron]

I do know that John. But we both have been getting our nails done in Bangkok for 15 years and have always tipped. Virtually all do. The job they do is excellent and those actually doing the job aren’t paid that well so we give them a cash tip.. After all they are human and I certainly don’t feel superior to them.
Walking through the slums of Bangkok as I do I see lots of uniforms hanging up. Some are those of 5 star hotels or other upmarket businesses. So I will continue to tip even though it’s rare for me to do it back home.

 

[Cossie]

Wouldn't camera gear be cheaper on the continent i.e., buy it while over here?

Not sure, if I was going via Singapore, I would say yes, Europe? don't know, in particular with various VATs to be taken into account. I'm happy to pay the GST here and not try to claim it back. I also would prefer to buy it here with associated warranties etc.
However, if I was going to London, I would be more than happy to check out shops like Parks, picked up an absolute bargain there a few years ago, plus no VAT on second hand gear.
I'll make do with what I have, prices for this lens are coming down, so Georges has it at the same price as amazon, but I'm not in Sydney, others will follow soon, I would think. Teds in Canberra has it at the old price.

 

[Cossie]

" No tip at gas station, supermarket, hardware, lighting store, pharmac_, markets, pet store, bank, 7-Eleven etc."

Doubt amyone here in Oz tips at those sorts of places mentioned, but of course, ymmv.

Petrol stations, why do people call them 'gas' stations, it is a liquid, isn't it, well it was when I filled up today..... However, I do realise that some do use LPG, which is a liquid and a gas...... ?

 

[drron]

" No tip at gas station, supermarket, hardware, lighting store, pharmac_, markets, pet store, bank, 7-Eleven etc."

Doubt amyone here in Oz tips at those sorts of places mentioned, but of course, ymmv.

Petrol stations, why do people call them 'gas' stations, it is a liquid, isn't it, well it was when I filled up today..... However, I do realise that some do use LPG, which is a liquid and a gas...... ?

Ah but try paying for the petrol in the remote areas of the Adirondacks . But no problem to pay for the gas.

 

[prozac]

" No tip at gas station, supermarket, hardware, lighting store, pharmac_, markets, pet store, bank, 7-Eleven etc."

Doubt amyone here in Oz tips at those sorts of places mentioned, but of course, ymmv.

Petrol stations, why do people call them 'gas' stations, it is a liquid, isn't it, well it was when I filled up today..... However, I do realise that some do use LPG, which is a liquid and a gas...... ?

Gas station? Really? It's a servo end of.

 

[tgh]

Gas is an abbreviation for Gasoline which is the American word for petrol ( which is an abbreviation of petroleum…I surmise)

 

[anat0l]

Petrol stations, why do people call them 'gas' stations, it is a liquid, isn't it, well it was when I filled up today..... However, I do realise that some do use LPG, which is a liquid and a gas...... ?

Gas in this context is shortform for  gasoline, that word of which has an interesting origin: History of gasoline - Wikipedia

Another case of US vs UK spelling / word differences, but the US have a bit more of the world on this one, including e.g. Avgas.

 

[Cossie]

Gas is an abbreviation for Gasoline which is the American word for petrol ( which is an abbreviation of petroleum…I surmise)

Yeah, I know, I was trying to be funny or amusing, or annoying..... alright, I'll do what they do in some parts of NZ, well maybe only one part and call it l'essence......

 

[anat0l]

WCMO tonight is AMP Go App giving me an error when trying to add an account.

Contact their help and they assume user error, they ask me to provide them screen shots proving the method they say to use isn't working in the android app (noting that app security prevents screen shots) so I have to borrow my partners phone to take photos of my phone, upload to computer edit into a single file, send to them and then delete the pics off my partner phones.

They acknowledge the receipt of the file and that app is up to date but insist I uninstall and reinstall (the whole turn it on and off again bs).

After uninstalling and reinstalling app it is not good enough to log in with account, the 2FA sms code and my password from the device used to sign up, no app makes you take a video which has to be manually validated by a person against the video when you first signed up.

God knows how many days I will be waiting for that to happen - already been waiting an hour to try and get back into my account. There is no website, only app. Seems ridiculous that logging in via account, password and 2FA is not enough, why a 4th factor of video is needed is beyond me.

Think when I finally get back in i will just be transferring fuds out of the TXN account and closing; way too much palava for simple banking.

WMCO are apps made by companies that don't test on both Androids and iOS.

In fact, WCMO is the obvious trend that software testing often only tests user pathways assuming only standard parameters and valid inputs, cf. the days when testing meant, "here, try to break this".

 

[anat0l]

Yeah, I know, I was trying to be funny or amusing, or annoying..... alright, I'll do what they do in some parts of NZ, well maybe only one part and call it l'essence......

Any parts of NZ that might call it Benzin, like a conspicuous corner of the world does?

 

[JohnK]

Bangkok Bank?

This one was Kasikorn Bank but I think they're all the same.

@RooFlyer my reference to what @drron said in regards to an Italian mother tipping 20 baht for 2 kids at nail salon is spot on. Tipping in Thailand is not compulsory regardless of what type of service is provided. So 20 baht should be seen as bonus not frowned upon. And no tip is also OK.

And @drron you'd be surprised what sort of money they make. My sister in law gets 350 baht a day as a private housekeeper in Chiang Mai and gets 1 day off a week. Occasionally she gets 100-200 baht bonus on her salary at end of month. Please don't tell me that she does not work as hard as the Hilton, Holiday Inn, Marriott etc housekeepers who are on a decent salary and then get showered with daily tips for just doing their job. I've seen people hand them 50 baht and 100 baht a day. I'd say clueless tourists but you'll just put me down.

@Cossie in Thailand they are gas stations. And malls or plazas not shopping centres.

Note I tip where I feel it benefits me, not the worker. People can put me down all they like. I don't owe anyone anything. But I'll help where I feel it's necessary. I do not need to be prompted.

Last night we went to buy spices and sauces from local supermarket to take back to Brisbane. Guy outside was selling bags of fried banana slices. They were 20 baht each and he had no customers. I bought 3 bags and he said 3 bags for 50 baht and he had 2 bags left so I gave him another 30 baht and he sold out. I then saw him buying 2 bottles of oil for 45 baht each. He was happy and I was happy for helping out.

 

[Denali]

So, nothing yesterday, tracking shows it went back to the depot in Hume at 11:02 Sunday night. That is about 5 km from me. Phoned again, yes it will be delivered tomorrow, although I thought (unusual for me...) maybe because it is a public holiday here, that may cause issues.
Hung around all Sunday, nothing, sigh, called them last night, it will be delivered today.
Updated special requests to say we wouldn't be home in the morning. Called again, yes it will be delivered today, we have until 8pm, if not it will tomorrow, still showing as being at the depot since Sunday night.
Got an email from them, if it isn't delivered tomorrow, Wednesday, it will be put down as lost and I will be given a refund........ But I wanted it for this trip, as well as the data roaming sim for Europe that was with it.
I'm guessing I can buy it when I return, prices have dropped significantly on these lenses, new model possibly coming. It was $1000 off......

As an aside, we still don't have a working loom for our tow bar on the troc.The poor guys dealing with this here, hate to have their job. The lights all work and it connects to the ecu, but throws up a red light and warning message, more coding needed in Germany. They will have it for the next 4 weeks, hopefully it will be done buy then.
Absolutely no complaints about the guys here, as I said, i would hate to be doing that sort of stuff for a job. They have had a Skoda with the same issue which they haven't able to fix for getting on for 20 months....

I ordered a $500 item from Amazon the other day and instead of next day delivery, after 3 days I claimed lost deliveyr and was refunded.

Stranglely the next day it showed up on FB Marketplace and the seller claimed that his brother also ordered one so he was selling his as it was still in wrapped box and from Amazon. Ummm, if from Amazon and sealed, you can return it for full refund. Knowing Amazon doesnt like to give money away, I hope the person is caught for stealing

 

[markis10]

Maybe you need to rig up an exploding parcel for the porch thieves

 

[Aeryn]

Sounds like AMP Go should be taken off my list for possible replacements for my Citibank/NAB account then....

To be fair a supervisor called me (and reached out via app) first thing next day, admitted issue with a flag on their end fixedaand gave me 1k QFF points for trouble. All working OK now.