Grocery Delivery in the Boonies

Sugar Bowl opens Friday, and we're driving up this morning with the turkey and pies and stuff.

My experience with the girl-boy thing in ski resorts is that it's pretty symmetric. We do come equipped with biology.

It's not a matter of guts; writing the email isn't easy. But it's more comfortable for all parties if it's done by email. Not always, but usually.

I think I've personally fired two people in the last 20 years, so there's not much experimental data.

We actually call dismissals "layoff" not "fire" because with a layoff they get unemployment compensation without question. We usually give them three months pay and health care too.

If I hire a dumb kid and spend years paying kid and teaching kid how to be a good engineer, and then let them go, I should get a medal, not a penalty. Kid can take the skills to a better job if he wants.

Unpleasant situations are never going to be comfortable. That's where the "guts" comes in.

Which rather conflicts with your previous paragraph!

Agreed.

But that needn't be spoiled by lack of guts.

That's another thing I never understood. "Experts" are people who know a lot about a particular topic. As long as you are interested in their topic, experts are /exactly/ the people you should trust - they are the ones that know more about it than anyone else. But some people seem to view ignorance as a virtue.

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I like experts that go down in flames when their work goes down in flames.. ..The old "captain goes down with his ship" Today we have all kind of expe rts who espouse all kind of crap and suffer no penalty when they are wrong.

I was told that when building the old cathedrals that the guy who directed all the labor and came in as an expert had to stand under the arch when the supports were pulled out....yeah, I do love those kind of experts.

As much David likes to think there is something remotely like uniformity in jobs in the US he ignores the fact that working for tips in a restaurant i s very different from working for a major corporation. Employees have righ ts in the US, but we acknowledge the difference in the level of responsibil ity IBM has regarding their employees and Joe's Eats has to their waitresse s.

Ignoring that difference makes any argument pointless.

They guy who delivered my groceries is providing his own car and likely is barely making enough money to get by. On the other hand, if someone else o pens a competing business with better pay and/or benefits, he can and will jump jobs in a heartbeat. That's the reality. Everyone is looking out for themselves.

I'm glad I tipped because my delivery was not the five minute quickie they usually deliver. I would be interested in knowing where and how the money flows in this arrangement. I've always heard there is very low markup in m uch of the inventory of grocery stores. How much do the stores pay to be p art of this arrangement?

If someone is not willing to embrace new knowledge in their field, they are not an expert. A good scientist is /happy/ when someone proves them wrong. (Well, scientists are usually human too, and it might take some time for them to realise that they should be happy!) Of course experts will want something substantial to justify it when someone says they are wrong - not just some made-up "alternative fact", or wild claims from a non-expert (in that field).

A real expert never "goes down in flames" - nor does their work. They examine the new evidence with a sceptical eye, and if they are convinced it is correct, they take the new knowledge on board.

The key concepts are...

An expert is unlikely to be in that position.

An expert will have stated what is and isn't known, their presumptions, and error bounds on their results.

As more information becomes available, they will revise their results.

Those are ignoramuses and/or shills and/or attention seekers. They are unlikely to be expert, except at advancing themselves.

Bridges, not cathedrals.

I know a glider inspector that, after he has certified a repair, likes to be the first to fly the plane.

Did you miss the part where I said explicitly "as always, laws vary" ?

The jobs are different, and the responsibilities are different. Where European (especially Scandinavian) and American philosophies diverge is that we think the /people/ are the same, with the same rights, responsibilities, and needs. Why should someone have job security just because they are highly qualified? (Getting paid more, of course, is entirely reasonable.) You might have written that "all men are created equal" in your declaration of independence - modern Europe, especially northern Europe, is a lot closer to making it a reality. (And we include women there too.)

I am in no way blaming the delivery guy, or you, for the situation. I'm not even blaming the employer who pays him so little and still expects him to provide his own transport - they have to compete too. I'm saying the system is bad - bad for everyone. But like many other things wrong in the USA (or other things wrong in other countries - I claim Scandinavian countries do things better, not that they are close to perfect), it's very hard to see how to fix things. Understanding the problem, and how other places do things better, is merely the first step.

I have no idea. But I also have heard that grocery shops have low markup on a lot of their goods. Some things have more - you get a clue to that by seeing what they place near the checkout to tempt you for quick, unplanned purchases. Another thing you see is cheap "store brand" goods with plain packaging next to more expensive versions with a fancier brand name and packaging, and a significantly higher price. Often the two items are made by the same supplier with only marginal difference in reality, but big differences in the markup for both the producer and the store.

Ah, so an explicit acknowledgement that the statement was faulty? Ok, got it!

BTW, the issue is not laws.

Again, you seem to be arguing with yourself. All people are equal, but job s aren't?

If you hire someone to do a task, like painting your living room, are you o bligated to have him or her paint the kitchen and bath as well? Or are you free to hire someone cheaper? Which jobs are up for grabs and which jobs convey entitlement? There's no one definition of "fair" and so no way to l egislate entitlement without encompassing a lot of baggage.

So in Scandinavia there are no freelance jobs, get paid for the work with n o obligation?

I think you are blowing smoke. I bet if you look into what happens here it is not much different from elsewhere. They had a skit of the Trump show, "The Apprentice". I guess on the show they claim to be filming real job co nditions and someone pointed out that if he fired 14% of his work force eve ry week he would be out of business in no time. lol

Sometimes little difference, other times big differences. As part of this order I got two spinach ravioli brands, store and name brand. The store br and is pure crap. Crackers, not so much difference, about the same as betw een brands or even within a brand from one purchase to the next. I had a s tyle of cracker not be available from the CV shortages. When it came back it was not as good. I'm guessing they had to change the wheat they used. The point is there are no generalizations with store brands.

Odd that we didn't have delivery here even though there is a store nearby, exactly one within 15 miles. Then we got delivery, but only concerning tha t store. However, several of the things I bought were not items sold in th at store. So where did they come from???

You really do have two notable abilities: 1) to bizarrely mis-comprehend other people's statements in a way that supports your preconceptions 2) to ignore the points other people are making, which allows you to continue to repeat your point.

He says while apparently mis-comprehending and clearly ignoring my points.