100 Calorie Bars
My girlfriend and I went grocery shopping this evening and as we were going through the snacks isle, she decided she wanted to try these new 100 calorie snack bars from Quaker Oats. Now, I prefer the regular kind because they have Apple crisp flavored ones. So I grab my kind and decide to compare the calorie count. Guess how much? 100 calories!!
That’s right, both the regular and “special 100 calorie” snack bars had 100 calories. And, get this; the size of the special bars is 22g while the regular is 26g. Plus the special bars had 3.5g of fat while the regular had 2g of fat.
What a fucking rip off!
And, while I’m on the subject, those 100 calorie ‘thin’ chocolate bars are a fucking rip off as well. Sure they have less than half the calories of a regular sized bar. But, they’re also less than half the size and yet cost the fucking same price!!
Seriously, the pubic is really getting into this ‘healthier lifestyle’ trend and the big companies just fucking take advantage of it. And the sad part is, as consumers we’re eating this marketing ploy right up. Gobble fucking gobble!!
The Brick Scammers
I went to “The Brick” last weekend with my girlfriend to find a new dining room table; we saw an ad in the paper for some cheap sets so decided to go there despite our feelings towards this place. When we got there, we were hounded by the salespeople right from the get go. We couldn’t walk 10 feet without having some cocksucker with a fake smile asking if he could give us a hand with anything. This kind of aggressive selling is so fucking annoying. Next time I think I’m gonna wear a plain white shirt and write the following in big bold letters…
“Just Browsing. So Fuck Off!”
… what do you guys think? I think these t-shirts would be a hit. And I don’t mean to single out The Brick for having such pushy pricks as employees. Most commission-based places are like this.
However, I have come to the point where I do not believe a fucking word that comes out of the mouth of a brick employee. I haven’t heard so much bullshit coming out of one place. I mean, according to them everything on the floor has only one more piece in stock so you better buy it now. Or have you ever had the “one day sale‘ sales pitch? You won’t see any ads in the paper or signs in the store but apparently the piece that you’ve shown interest on is actually on a one day sale so you should jump on the low price.
The last time I purchased something from the brick was my leather couch 3 years ago. They had it advertised on sale for $400; that was 50% off of the regular ticket price of $800. A few months later, I saw the couch there and it wasn’t on sale. However, the ticket price was nowhere near the regular price when I bought it. I am fucking convinced that this scamming company jacks up the ‘regular price’ just to make the sale prices so unbelievable.
Internet Scam - Onix Advisors
Here’s a quick tip for everybody that happens to be new to the world of online scams. A website that looks as badly constructed as onixadvisorsgrp.com and claims to be able to give out minimum loans of $10,000 is a scam. If they had that kind of money, they could have put some of it into making a real website.
Seriously folks, if you need a loan, go to a damn bank. And if it’s too cold outside, wait til it warms up. Whatever you do. Do not take a loan from an unknown online company. Especially if you’re not internet-savvy enough to spot an amateur scam like this. I mean, it’s supposed to be a Canadian loan company, yet the majority of their ‘testimonials’ are from clients in the United States.
Unfortunately, some innocent people have fallen victim to this scam and so the Saskatoon police issued a fraud alert for this website a couple of days ago. So consider yourselves warned.
Blockbuster: No Late Fees
What a giant load of shit. Those of you who’ve rented from Blockbuster lately might know what I’m referring to. Yes, there are no longer late fees, but Blockbuster did introduce something called a “Re-stocking Fee“. You are charged this new re-stocking fee if you don’t return your movie or game within a week of the initial due date. Basically, it’s a late fee under a different name.
The really shitty thing is that they also seem to have jacked up the price for rentals. New release movies are just under $6 to rent while XBox 360, PS3, and Wii games are almost 10 fucking dollars per rental. That’s absolutely ridiculous. Every video game is now a huge cash cow for them; they rent it out 3 times and they’ve made their money back on it already. That, of course, is assuming they get these games for a far cheaper rate than us consumers; which I’m pretty sure they do.
Fine. In that case, any time I rent a video game I’ll be sure to keep it for as long as possible just to get my money’s worth. They give you that extra 8 days past the due date and then they start calling you. But you get another 30 days after that to return it before you are forced to ‘purchase’ the game at the retail price. That means you can keep it 38 days past the due date and only get charged the $1.75 re-stocking fee. Now that sounds like a good fucking deal to me.
Vending Machine or VLT Machine
During work a few days ago, I decided to grab a bag of chips from the workplace vending machine. I throw in my $1.35 and press A8 for the Fritos Corn Chips that I was craving. There was a beep and the machine display showed the price. Hmm. I tried again and the same thing happened; no chips, just a beep and price display. Fucking machine! I was still craving the chips and the piece of shit just ate the last of my change.
I looked up above the display and there was a sticker with a phone number. It read something to the degree of, “Call this number if you’re not satisfied with our service.” Fucking rights I’m not satisfied; your ’service’ just ate my fucking money. It went in and out like a goddamn VLT machine; at least when I play em. Did I call the number? Nope; the way I see it, it’s just not worth my time for $1.35.
I mean, what are they gonna do? They gonna send someone to deliver me a bag of Fritos Corn Chips within the rest of my 15 minute break? Nope. They’re probably gonna send me a check or coupon for $1.35 which will arrive 2 weeks later. What good is that gonna do me 2 weeks later? I want the fucking thing now.
Anyway, this afternoon a co-worker of mine was telling me how that same machine ate his money earlier in the day. I asked him if he called the number and he had the same response I did; not worth the hassle and time for the small change.
That brings me to the question; how many people call that number for a refund? I know of maybe 2 instances where somebody actually did that. Out of the hundred or so times that I’ve heard stories of vending machines eating money that’s a horrible percentage. Of course, not for the company that owns it; they got free money over 98% of the time. I, alone, have probably lost about $20 to those machines. And, I’m sure they won’t be devising a better way to fix this any time soon. Bastards.
The Canadian Tire Promo Card
I was going through the flyers today; something I enjoy doing while I’m in the can. I picked up the Canadian Tire flyer and saw the heading “$25 Promo Card”. It sparked my interest so I read on. Basically, it states that if you ‘defer’ a store payment of over $200 to your Canadian Tire options mastercard, they will give you 6 months of no payment and no interest. On top of that, they will give you a $25 Promo Card; a gift card in nature. Pretty good deal, huh?
Not really. I read the fine print and it says that their is a $25 administration fee to use this service. Pretty fucking stupid, I thought. Borderline scam if I may say so. I mean, yes you get a $25 gift card. But, you have to pay $25 to receive it. So, essentially you’re not getting anything for free here.
For those of you who think that this is still an okay deal since you’re still getting the 6 months of no payments or interest. I guess I should also add that this offer is valid until February 1st, 2008 and the Promo Card expires February 22, 2008. Which means that if you don’t spend the $25 promo card on time, you lose it. Along with your $25 administration fee. Meaning the 6 months are not free; it cost you 25 bucks. That equals over %12 of your bill if it was $200. I don’t know about you folks but I think that a %12 loan cost over 6 months is pretty friggin pricey; more than the interest on most credit cards.
In conclusion, don’t take this deal unless you are sure you can spend that $25 promo card on time. By the way, there’s a reason they’re calling this a Promo Card: it’s illegal to have an expiration date on Gift Cards.
Boxing Day Scam
For those of you who don’t know, Boxing Day is
It’s a well known fact that consumers go nuts for almost an entire month before Christmas; spending ridiculous amounts of money on regular priced products to give as gifts to their loved ones. Then, once Christmas is over and all the gifts are bought, the retailers put everything on sale on Boxing Day. It’s just a fucking money grab. And we, as consumers, eat this shit up thinking that we’re getting an awesome deal.
Well we’re not, people. The retailers are just using Boxing Day as an excuse to sell off the inventory that wasn’t sold during the Christmas rush. And we fall for it hook, line, and sinker every goddamn year. The only real way to beat this scam is to buy gift certificates as Christmas gifts for everybody. That way the 50 bucks you spent on the certificate can buy them a lot more on Boxing Week than it would have if you spent it before Christmas. Just be careful as some places won’t accept Gift Cards on special occasions or sale items, AKA Boxing Day. Fucking scammers.
Shortchanged at the Bar
As the title suggests, I was recently shortchanged at the bar. It was a sports bar that my friends and I like to go to for the Monday night game. I was purchasing an alcoholic beverage for my friend and I; she had a gin and tonic and I had a rye and coke. I handed the bartender a bill out of my pocket for the $7 tab and he shortly returned with $3 in change. I hesitated, accepted the change, left $2 for tip, and walked off.
Not long after, the waitress came around to our table to bring us our orders. I pulled out the cash to pay her for my order of wings (BBQ and honey garlic). While I had my money out I decided to do a quick count as I was still questioning if I was given the correct change earlier. I knew it! I gave that bastard bartender a $20 bill. I specifically remember that I had a lone $10 bill with me and there I was, still holding it. Fucker took an additional 10 bucks for tip!
Now, I wouldn’t be making a big deal about this if it was the first time; but it wasn’t. I remember that this type of thing has happened to me on multiple occasions before, although the recollection was always groggy at best. I also questioned my friends to see if this has happened to them, and the majority census was yes. So be on guard my fellow alcoholics as this seems to be a new trend with today’s bartenders.
What makes me think that they would pull such a devious act? Because they can. This is something that you could easily get away with; you just have to pick your targets carefully. For example, you’re the bartender and you get some drunk staggering towards you and order his umpteenth drink of the night. With his eyes barely open, he clumsily pulls out a bill without looking and hands it to you. Best bet is that this guy doesn’t even know what bill he pulled out and therefore wouldn’t how much the correct change would be; easy prey for a shortchange scam. The beauty is, even if he notices and calls you on it, you can simply play it stupid. Just apologize and say something like, “It’s been a long night”, and correct your innocent mistake.
Admit it; this type of scam would work on you if you were in an inebriated state. There’s probably bartenders all over the world taking advantage of unfortunate, unsuspecting drunks with this technique. And the worst part is that they can’t be stopped. The plan is too perfect. Damn you bartenders, damn you all!