At White Castle...



  • I frequently pass by a new White Castle that recently opened in a rather upscale neighborhood so I stopped in to see what was upscale about it. It was your basic White Castle restaurant, only brand new. No big deal.

    As I grabbed my order, I noticed a 16-17 year old girl taking straws, one at a time, out of one of those restaurant boxes of (1,000) straws, turning it upside down and putting it back in the box. Puzzled, I watched for a minute. Then I realized the straws had "This End Up" printed on them, and she was turning them so that they all faced the same way. A few seconds later, I noticed that all the straws had "This End Up" printed at both ends, but only on one side; the back was blank (photo). And no, she wasn't lining up the "White Castle's" to face the same way; she was putting all the "This End Up's" at the top (she assumed that if a straw didn't have "This End Up" showing (e.g.: it was simply facing away from her), that it needed to be flipped.

    When I pointed this out, she looked at the straws for a few seconds and had an a-ha moment. When she pointed out her discovery to her manager (a girl who looked to be about a college junior), she looked at the straws for about 20 seconds before realizing what she had the younger kid doing.

    While I applaud the older kid for her zeal in that she was trying to make everything in the restaurant just right, I can't help but feel sad that both of them made it through the US educational system yet apparently have very little in the way of powers of observation.

    For those who celebrate, Happy Easter / Passover!



  • Even more depressing is that you live in a country where it is needed to have 'this end up' printed on straws......



  • @Weps said:

    Even more depressing is that you live in a country where it is needed to have 'this end up' printed on straws......
    ...or that someone designed it with This End Up at both ends, and some manager approved it.


  • 🚽 Regular

    The "this end up" signs must be a joke... I mean, there's no other reason to have "This End Up" printed on both ends of a straw. It's kind of like those coasters with the slogans on them in Outback Steakhouse like "If you can read this coaster, it means it's time to order another beer".



  •  Congratulations for usurping the manager's spiritual training.  Sounds to me like this apparently pointless task was given to help the young girl develop a mindfulness, to focus on an activity to the exclusion of all else, so that she could become one with the straws.  Roshis on mountaintops in Japan spend decades teaching people exactly the kind of lesson you short-circuited.



  •  It might be a US thing... but why, for the love of god, a straw needs "this end up" printed on it?



  • @bdew said:

     It might be a US thing... but why, for the love of god, a straw needs "this end up" printed on it?

    You could seriously injure yourself if you drank too hot coffee from the wrong end of the straw?



  • Sounds like a QA failure. Surely the reverse side of the "This Way Up" sticker should have the operating instructions?

     



  • When I see "White Castle", I remind of that movie "Harold and Kumar Goto WhiteCastle".

    Not as much funny as the other Harold and Kumar movie, where they go to Gutamo Bay".





  • @da Doctah said:

    It's real, and it's spectacular.

    I'm in the UK and even I've heard of White Castle and know it's real.... thanks to an episode of Undercover Boss USA



    (presumably in America, it's just called Undercover Boss :-)



  • @MeesterTurner said:

    @da Doctah said:
    It's real, and it's spectacular.

    I'm in the UK and even I've heard of White Castle and know it's real.... thanks to an episode of Undercover Boss USA



    (presumably in America, it's just called Undercover Boss :-)

    From what I saw on that show I don't think it looked very good. Worse than buying generic brand bread rolls and patties from a supermarket. But the Harold and Kumar movie is my first thought when someone mentions white castle.

    Fwiw my former boss was featured on "undercover boss Australia" and I heard from former workmates virtually everyone recognised him. But he was a very hands on for a CEO, so he was never going to get away with it.



  • @Zemm said:

    Fwiw my former boss was featured on "undercover boss Australia" and I heard from former workmates virtually everyone recognised him. But he was a very hands on for a CEO, so he was never going to get away with it.

     

    The one here (USA) had that happen last week. Probably didn't help that his ofice was nextdoor to the factory he was working at and that he stopped by for lunch often.

     



  • @mrsparkyman said:

    @Zemm said:


    Fwiw my former boss was featured on "undercover boss Australia" and I heard from former workmates virtually everyone recognised him. But he was a very hands on for a CEO, so he was never going to get away with it.

     

    The one here (USA) had that happen last week. Probably didn't help that his ofice was nextdoor to the factory he was working at and that he stopped by for lunch often.


    ...turning the whole ordeal in a very much failed attempt at bonding with one's subordinates.



  •  @toon said:

    @mrsparkyman said:

    @Zemm said:

    Fwiw my former boss was featured on "undercover boss Australia" and I heard from former workmates virtually everyone recognised him. But he was a very hands on for a CEO, so he was never going to get away with it.

     

    The one here (USA) had that happen last week. Probably didn't help that his ofice was nextdoor to the factory he was working at and that he stopped by for lunch often.

    ...turning the whole ordeal in a very much failed attempt at bonding with one's subordinates.

    It was more of a failure on the part of whoever chose that location for him to do a factory bit. It's almost as obvious trying to be a gopher in your own building.

     



  • @bdew said:

     It might be a US thing... but why, for the love of god, a straw needs "this end up" printed on it?

    Nah .. its the individually wrapped straws that indicate to me that "You are now in the US".



  • @Zemm said:

    Fwiw my former boss was featured on "undercover boss Australia"
    That wasn't a certain pizza chain was it?



  • @OzPeter said:

    @bdew said:

     It might be a US thing... but why, for the love of god, a straw needs "this end up" printed on it?

    Nah .. its the individually wrapped straws that indicate to me that "You are now in the US".

    I'm in Europe, and lots of fast food places have individually wrapped straws here. Granted, I can't think of any that are not part of an American fast food chain.


  • ♿ (Parody)

    @OzPeter said:

    Nah .. its the individually wrapped straws that indicate to me that "You are now in the US".

    The kind where you have unwrapped straws coming out of a dispenser are still around, though probably less common than individually wrapped straws, which just seem...more sanitary. I suspect that drive throughs were a big reason for the prevalence of individually wrapped straws.



  • This goes in the same category as a person throwing out M&Ms for having a w on them rather than an m.  I dont know who is more sad the high school girl who did not notice what she was doing was pointless or her boss for not noticing it in the first place.



  • @OzPeter said:

    @Zemm said:
    Fwiw my former boss was featured on "undercover boss Australia"
    That wasn't a certain pizza chain was it?

    I did give a clue in the tags :-P I first met Don in 2000; he actually owned the franchise I worked at (biggest in aus: 17 stores) before it and corporate merged and he became CEO. He did start his career as a delivery driver, back when it was known as silvio's. I started as a driver too (while at uni) with the intent of working into it dept, but I was too good at my job my manager never put me forward, so I quit and now have a much better job.



  • @Zemm said:

    Fwiw my former boss was featured on "undercover boss Australia" and I heard from former workmates virtually everyone recognised him. But he was a very hands on for a CEO, so he was never going to get away with it.

    My former place of employ wasfeatured on undercover boss usa.  I was dissapointed that when they showed some of our custom machines in the plants that they didn't mention how they are networked and controlled by sql server.

     



  • I'm more disappointed that people watch this shitty reality TV.



  • @toon said:

    @mrsparkyman said:

    @Zemm said:


    Fwiw my former boss was featured on "undercover boss Australia" and I heard from former workmates virtually everyone recognised him. But he was a very hands on for a CEO, so he was never going to get away with it.

     

    The one here (USA) had that happen last week. Probably didn't help that his ofice was nextdoor to the factory he was working at and that he stopped by for lunch often.


    ...turning the whole ordeal in a very much failed attempt at bonding with one's subordinates.

    "The only way I can be seen with you is in disguise."



  • @Zemm said:

    @OzPeter said:
    @Zemm said:
    Fwiw my former boss was featured on "undercover boss Australia"
    That wasn't a certain pizza chain was it?

    I did give a clue in the tags :-P

    D'oh I obviously failed at reading comprehension this morning.

    I saw the episode and what was funny was of the 4 people your former boss trailed around with, one was completely screwing up his job. At the end of the show when the boss dishes out $$ to show that he really cares about the employees, the screw-up was presented with by far the smallest $$ of the lot. Probably around 1/5 of what everyone else got. I'd hate to be that guy and watch the show and then see what everyone else got.



  • @boomzilla said:

    @OzPeter said:
    Nah .. its the individually wrapped straws that indicate to me that "You are now in the US".

    ... individually wrapped straws, which just seem...more sanitary.

    I suspect that the US's obsession with cleanliness will actually be its downfall.


  • ♿ (Parody)

    @OzPeter said:

    I suspect that the US's obsession with cleanliness will actually be its downfall.

    I'll keep my money on our profligate budgetary and Progressive governing tendencies, thank you. Anyways, we're apparently backsliding in our mission to keep stuff clean and healthy, to judge by the WTF-iness demonstrated by the so called "pink slime" hysteria.



  •  @OzPeter said:

    @boomzilla said:
    @OzPeter said:
    Nah .. its the individually wrapped straws that indicate to me that "You are now in the US".

    ... individually wrapped straws, which just seem...more sanitary.

    I suspect that the US's obsession with cleanliness will actually be its downfall.
    @OzPeter said:
    @boomzilla said:
    @OzPeter said:
    Nah .. its the individually wrapped straws that indicate to me that "You are now in the US".

    ... individually wrapped straws, which just seem...more sanitary.

    I suspect that the US's obsession with cleanliness will actually be its downfall.

    Just wait until your population is decimated by unsanitary telephone receivers!

    Now I need to find someone to make me a sandwich. Is there a master sandwich maker around here anywhere?

     



  •  The other day at a Hale and Hearty Soups in Manhattan I tended a $20 bill for a purchase of $9.77.  The girl at the till hit the $50 button for the amount tendered, so the till indicated she give change of $40.23.  She spotted that she'd made a mistake, and apologised, and then left the till before I could say anything.  She brought back a calculator to work out what the change should have been...

     Americans shouldn't feel too bad though - I've witnessed similar muppetry in my home country of England as well.


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    @boomzilla said:

    Anyways, we're apparently backsliding in our mission to keep stuff clean and healthy, to judge by the WTF-iness demonstrated by the so called "pink slime" hysteria.
    Is that the one where they're trying to demonise ammonia to the extent that it seems a parody of the DHMO website?



    Daily Mail (yes, I know...):

    Caustic cleaning chemical is also used to turn milk to cheese

    Similar chemicals used in chocolate and baked products

    (et. cetera, ad naueum..)

  • ♿ (Parody)

    @PJH said:

    @boomzilla said:
    Anyways, we're apparently backsliding in our mission to keep stuff clean and healthy, to judge by the WTF-iness demonstrated by the so called "pink slime" hysteria.

    Is that the one where they're trying to demonise ammonia to the extent that it seems a parody of the DHMO website?

    Pretty much. I'm really afraid what they'll do when they find out how many foods are preserved and enhanced with chlorine containing chemicals.



  • @snoofle said:

    @Weps said:

    Even more depressing is that you live in a country where it is needed to have 'this end up' printed on straws......
    ...or that someone designed it with This End Up at both ends, and some manager approved it.

     For some reason, it reminds me of the pencils Johnny Carson would play with on The Tonight Show. If you watched carefully, or were just a bit more observant than most, you'd notice there was an eraser at both ends. If you wrote them about it, they'd send you one as a prize.



  • @da Doctah said:

    @Nagesh said:

    I think White Castle is place of fiction for movie. Is it real like McDonald?

     

    It's real, and it's spectacular.

     

    If that is case, how come we have to wait to see it in movie, before hearing of it. I think you were pulling my leg, but after google search it look like there is white-castle chain in US. Why not exporting it to other countries?
    It is not definitely famous like McDonald and Burger-King and KFC. KFC is real popular in Bangalore now.



  • @rpjs said:

     The other day at a Hale and Hearty Soups in Manhattan I tended a $20 bill for a purchase of $9.77.  The girl at the till hit the $50 button for the amount tendered, so the till indicated she give change of $40.23.  She spotted that she'd made a mistake, and apologised, and then left the till before I could say anything.  She brought back a calculator to work out what the change should have been...

     Americans shouldn't feel too bad though - I've witnessed similar muppetry in my home country of England as well.

     

    That reminds me of way back when I worked in a bookstore. The software we used to operate the tills was legendarily shitty (maybe I should send in a few stories sometime), and one of the things it simply COULDN'T do was show the cashier what the returns were. For me - a beta of course - not a problem, but many of my co-workers kept calculators handy. Even if they'd learnt the simple trick "count up to the amount tendered, and you have your change". Depressing, really.

     



  • @Nagesh said:

    If that is case, how come we have to wait to see it in movie, before hearing of it. I think you were pulling my leg, but after google search it look like there is white-castle chain in US. Why not exporting it to other countries?

    It is not definitely famous like McDonald and Burger-King and KFC.
    KFC is real popular in Bangalore now.

    They serve mostly beef products. It probably would not go over well.



  • @blakeyrat said:

    @Nagesh said:
    If that is case, how come we have to wait to see it in movie, before hearing of it. I think you were pulling my leg, but after google search it look like there is white-castle chain in US. Why not exporting it to other countries?

    It is not definitely famous like McDonald and Burger-King and KFC.
    KFC is real popular in Bangalore now.

    They serve mostly beef products. It probably would not go over well.

    YOu are right. A place that not serve chicken burger will flop in India. McDonald also put up desi menu to cater to our taste-buds. Lots of masala and aaaloo tiki. You should try it, but it may not be alright with your intestines.



  • @OzPeter said:

    @boomzilla said:
    @OzPeter said:
    Nah .. its the individually wrapped straws that indicate to me that "You are now in the US".

    ... individually wrapped straws, which just seem...more sanitary.

    I suspect that the US's obsession with cleanliness will actually be its downfall.

    What the fuck? So wanting a straw that hasn't been touched by every single other person who has reached their hand in is an obsession? Then again, you're from Australia, so your backwards country probably lacks utensils; everybody just dips their hands into the communal pot of stew..


  • ♿ (Parody)

    @Monomelodies said:

    For me - a beta of course - not a problem, but many of my co-workers kept calculators handy.

    What does "beta" mean in this context? The only thing that makes any sense there was "beta male," but I've never heard that beta males were good at doing arithmetic in their heads.



  • Anyone who didn't realize that "This end up" is a joke is an idiot.



  • Also White Castle sucks.



  • @boomzilla said:

    @Monomelodies said:
    For me - a beta of course - not a problem, but many of my co-workers kept calculators handy.

    What does "beta" mean in this context? The only thing that makes any sense there was "beta male," but I've never heard that beta males were good at doing arithmetic in their heads.

    We've gone over this before. It's some Euro-countries way of classifying people into "smart" and "fucking retarded", apparently. It determines which schools you're allowed to attend, because Europe is a lot like our dystopic novels.

    It's so ingrained in those racist, prejudiced, brains that they just assume every society labels people like slabs of meat and treats them like shit if they get the wrong label.



  • @blakeyrat said:

    @boomzilla said:
    @Monomelodies said:
    For me - a beta of course - not a problem, but many of my co-workers kept calculators handy.
    What does "beta" mean in this context? The only thing that makes any sense there was "beta male," but I've never heard that beta males were good at doing arithmetic in their heads.
    We've gone over this before. It's some Euro-countries way of classifying people into "smart" and "fucking retarded", apparently. It determines which schools you're allowed to attend, because Europe is a lot like our dystopic novels.

    It's so ingrained in those racist, prejudiced, brains that they just assume every society labels people like slabs of meat and treats them like shit if they get the wrong label.

    Exactly.  I know I'm smarter than everyone around me, but I don't go calling myself a BETA *scoff*


  • @Sutherlands said:

    Anyone who didn't realize that "This end up" is a joke is an idiot.

    Aww, why'd you have to ruin the fun? I enjoy watching idiots out themselves..

    @Sutherlands said:

    Also White Castle sucks.

    Seriously. The food is so bad only drunk and stoned people eat there. The meat looks like it was shaved off a dead horse using a planing tool. And everything else is subpar, too. I had a shake there and I swear to God you could see globules of orange grease forming on the sides of the cup. I had throw it away but still ended up with explosive diarrhea.



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    explosive diarrhea

    When people use that phrase I like to picture poop laced with nitroglycerin, a very interesting way to die



  • @Sutherlands said:

    Also White Castle sucks.

     

    Aw, and you were doing so well.

     



  • @serguey123 said:

    poop laced with nitroglycerin

    Ah, I see you've eaten at White Castle...



  • @rpjs said:

     The other day at a Hale and Hearty Soups in Manhattan I tended a $20 bill for a purchase of $9.77.  The girl at the till hit the $50 button for the amount tendered, so the till indicated she give change of $40.23.  She spotted that she'd made a mistake, and apologised, and then left the till before I could say anything.  She brought back a calculator to work out what the change should have been...

     Americans shouldn't feel too bad though - I've witnessed similar muppetry in my home country of England as well.

    I have a fast-food receipt from 2008 taped to my cube wall which I keep as a reminder...  It's for $3.88 (two breakfast burritos), and printed near the bottom is:

    CTND    .12

    Yes, they print the Change To the Next Dollar on the receipt in case the carhops (that might be a clue) need to make change.

    This is why I no longer feel squeamish about using a credit card for a $4 meal.



  • @CarnivorousHippie said:

    I have a fast-food receipt from 2008 taped to my cube wall which I keep as a reminder...  It's for $3.88 (two breakfast burritos), and printed near the bottom is:

    CTND    .12

    Yes, they print the Change To the Next Dollar on the receipt in case the carhops (that might be a clue) need to make change.

    This is why I no longer feel squeamish about using a credit card for a $4 meal.

    I'm going to say I'd prefer to have the change printed, either as customer or server. As a customer, it would seem to make it much more likely I will get the correct change. As a server, sure, I could do the math in my head, but why would I want to? I'm getting paid minimum wage to carry sacks of grease around for smug asshole customers, am I really wanting to engage my brain to do trivial arithmetic when a computer can do it better, faster and cheaper? Also, if you are doing hundreds a day you are going to make a mistake some time, even if you are good at elementary arithmetic; repetitive, tedious tasks are the easiest to make a mistake on.

    I have no idea why any of you are complaining about this. Making change isn't even a useful life skill unless you're working a dead-end cashier job, so why are you concerned if people learn it or not? It's like saying "OMG, I went to the mechanic today and he had some kind of wrench powered by air that doesn't require you to use your muscle.. what is this world coming to??"

    Hell, we're in IT; our entire job is to automate repetitive tasks. I use a calculator for almost all arithmetic or binary/octal/decimal/hex conversions. Could I do it in my head? Sure, but why would I want to? There seems to be this retarded quasi-machismo amongst tech people about who can waste the most amount of time doing arithmetic in their head. It's pointless mental masturbation.



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    @CarnivorousHippie said:

    I have a fast-food receipt from 2008 taped to my cube wall which I keep as a reminder...  It's for $3.88 (two breakfast burritos), and printed near the bottom is:

    CTND    .12

    Yes, they print the Change To the Next Dollar on the receipt in case the carhops (that might be a clue) need to make change.

    This is why I no longer feel squeamish about using a credit card for a $4 meal.

    I'm going to say I'd prefer to have the change printed, either as customer or server. As a customer, it would seem to make it much more likely I will get the correct change. As a server, sure, I could do the math in my head, but why would I want to? I'm getting paid minimum wage to carry sacks of grease around for smug asshole customers, am I really wanting to engage my brain to do trivial arithmetic when a computer can do it better, faster and cheaper? Also, if you are doing hundreds a day you are going to make a mistake some time, even if you are good at elementary arithmetic; repetitive, tedious tasks are the easiest to make a mistake on.

    I have no idea why any of you are complaining about this. Making change isn't even a useful life skill unless you're working a dead-end cashier job, so why are you concerned if people learn it or not? It's like saying "OMG, I went to the mechanic today and he had some kind of wrench powered by air that doesn't require you to use your muscle.. what is this world coming to??"

    Hell, we're in IT; our entire job is to automate repetitive tasks. I use a calculator for almost all arithmetic or binary/octal/decimal/hex conversions. Could I do it in my head? Sure, but why would I want to? There seems to be this retarded quasi-machismo amongst tech people about who can waste the most amount of time doing arithmetic in their head. It's pointless mental masturbation.

    I see your point, but:

    (1) I'm concerned that they learn elementary math skills (and making change is exactly that) because otherwise, when they have kids, the parents will be ill-equipped to reinforce the importance of these same skills.  I adopted one at age 14 who came from this environment, and even now at age 18, he's only able to do elementary math.

    (2) This $3.88 breakfast was typical for me, and once (maybe on this occasion) I gave the cashier $10.13 because I only had a ten and change and wanted to get rid of some of it... and (after a confused look) got back the original 13 cents and then the $6.12.



  • @CarnivorousHippie said:

    (1) I'm concerned that they learn elementary math skills (and making change is exactly that) because otherwise, when they have kids, the parents will be ill-equipped to reinforce the importance of these same skills. I adopted one at age 14 who came from this environment, and even now at age 18, he's only able to do elementary math.

    I think we've had this discussion way back in the nebulous past on this forum, but here goes again.

    My reaction to this is: so?

    Until someone proves a coorelation between "math skills" and "quality of life", I'm always going to answer "so what?" when people complain that Kids These Days (tm) can't do math without a calculator. Guess what? I can't do math without a calculator. Hell, I can barely do math with a calculator (I get dyslexic if numbers have more than 4 digits). That's exactly why I learned computers-- so I could tell the computer to do it for me and give me a result I could copy and paste elsewhere. And, at the risk of being "that guy", I make more money than all of my friends and family*-- primarily because I work with computers in an area with a large and healthy IT market.

    Even cheap crappy jobs already have computers doing this work for you. I mean, we're talking about it right now: you enter the amount tendered, and the computer tells you exactly how much change.

    Step back. Think about your assumptions. If someone tells you, "man these kids won't get anywhere in life if they can't make change," your brain should instantly respond with, "what... is that true? Prove it."

    Teaching your kids skeptical thinking will get them a hell of a lot further in life than making change.

    *) Including my brother, who was in "Math Olympiads" in school.


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