I'm PISSED at Petco

[VenusRising]

We had to run out today to get a few groceries from the store. The weather is absolutely horrible out there. It's raining and in the low 30's and the freezing rain line is barely north of us. Needless to say it is not pleasant. So, on our way to the store, I noticed that on all the street corners surrounding Petco, they had people outside in this freaking horrendous weather holding 30% off Sale signs. WTF?! Why on Earth would you make anyone stand out in this kind of weather just to promote your sale? I don't know for sure, but I would wager that they don't give these people health care coverage. People are going to to whatever it takes to earn money for their families especially in this economy, but it really pissed my off that these poor people would have to stand outside holding sale signs. Most of them were using their signs as shields from the wind and rain.

Anyway, thanks for listening. I'm just really pissed off about this.

:rant:

[ThomCat]

1. That does sound like a pretty shitty manager runs that store.

x(

[VenusRising]

3. If I had been by myself I would have gone in

and given that manager a piece of my mind. x(

How are you today, handsome?

:hi::hug::loveya:

[ThomCat]

6. I'm doing wonderfully!

:hug:

My Rheumatologist put me on 10 days of Prednisone to see if it can help with this current flare up of arthritis. I am doing so well that I made myself dinner today!

:woohoo:

I held my chef's knife! I was able to use it to chop vegetables. And I wasn't cursing my fingers! :7

It's not helping my feet or ankles yet, but by the end of the 10 days it might. Right now I'm just excited about being able to use my hands! I don't know how long this will last, but I'm going to enjoy the hell out of this while I can. :)

[VenusRising]

9. That's fabulous!!!!!

I hope things continue to go well with it.

:woohoo::bounce::party::toast:

:hug:

[DarkTirade]

15. Best of luck with that.

Now that your hands are working, you can cross your fingers and hope for the best. :)

:hug:

[ThomCat]

16. I can definitely do that!

:hug:

[SallyMander]

17. Hands are working, time to start another flamewar!!!

:evilgrin:



:hug:

[ThomCat]

26. I don't know if I could handle being at the center of two

flamewars so quickly. :P

I've been spending the evening giving my cats thorough brushings, and scritching and scratching like they haven't had in a while. OMG, are these cats happy today! :)

[SallyMander]

29. Purrrrrrr

Glad you and the kitties are feeling good. :D

[Guava Jelly]

2. I first read this as "I Pissed at Petco"

:rofl:..It is bullshit to make people do that.
I hope Petco loses their ass

[VenusRising]

4. LOL!

Well, I won't piss there now.

I'll never go there again.



Are you staying warm?

:hi::hug:

[Guava Jelly]

5. Lord I am trying too

It is quite ugly here in KCMO.

:hi: :hug:

[VenusRising]

7. Here, too.

My little sister called me and said that her car is covered in a sheet of ice. :wow:

There's a fire at our house. You're always welcome, even though they haven't invented beaming yet.

Although, if they had invented beaming, I'm thinking the last place you would want to visit is my house. :P

[Guava Jelly]

10. It's just slick as snot out there.

Hell If I could beam I'd bring the coffee. :D

[VenusRising]

11. Sounds awesome.

Now would someone hurry up and invent that beaming thing already?

Sheesh.

[DarkTirade]

19. Not until I finish my time travel machine.

Jeez, some people are so impatient...

[VenusRising]

22. I am impatient.

I'm sorry.


*Goes and waits for DarkTirade to finsish his machine.*

[DarkTirade]

23. Once I finish the time machine you won't HAVE to wait for anything anyway. :)

[VenusRising]

32. And I'll bow to your genius every day.

;)

[DarkTirade]

34. Actually, once I finish my time machine I'll probably just peep into the future to see

what the next set of winning lottery numbers are... :)

[VenusRising]

35. Will you get me a winning set of numbers for my birthday?

Pretty please.

[DarkTirade]

36. Only if you promise to use the money to do good things.

Buying lots of stuff you've always wanted but could never afford to support the economy is a good thing, right? :)

[VenusRising]

37. I'll get those poor sign holders family health insurance.

That's good, right? O8)

[DarkTirade]

38. Works for me. :)

It's 5-17-22-23-45-49


D'oh. I didn't get a chacne to write down what state that winning number is gonna be in before the time portal closed... stupid one-shot flux capacitors.

[VenusRising]

40. Thanks!

:eyes:

[DarkTirade]

58. Ironically, I can't afford another flux capacitor unless I win this lottery.

D'oh.

[VenusRising]

59. Fail to plan...

plan to fail.

:evilfrown:

[DarkTirade]

60. It's not my fault!

Do you know how hard it is to get equipment that will survive a 1.21 gigawatt burst?

[VenusRising]

61. As long as you are pronouncing "jig-a-watt"

impossible.

:rofl:

[DarkTirade]

62. Hey, I just fell and hit my head right before I came up with the idea...

don't be surprised if my brains are a little scrambled. :P

[VenusRising]

67. Is there are thing as "concussive genius"?

Cause I think you have it!

[datasuspect]

8. i pissed on the window of a radio shack

and got a ticket for it.

[Kat45]

12. Is that particular store closing down?

The only time I've seen a lot of people holding up signs for a sale is when a store is closing down and everything is on sale because they have to get rid of it all. I'm not sure, but I think sometimes they've hired homeless people to do that; they're outside anyway, so they do it to earn a bit of money. :shrug: (Petco sucks anyhow.)

[VenusRising]

25. I don't think it's closing.

It's just on a very busy thoroughfare with lots of wealthy shoppers.

Agreed on the sucks anyhow.

:hi:

[lost-in-nj]

13. I understand your frustration

we have the same thing here.......

I hate this type of advertising.....

:hi:

lost

[VenusRising]

27. It just seems so wrong.

Maybe I'm just a humanist.

:hi:

How are you, darling?

:hug:

[Wcross]

14. They probably don't work for Petco.

We have a company called "sign spinners" in the Nashville area that does that. They do outdoor advertising, rain or shine. I wouldn't be so quick to blame Petco, they only hired the company for today. They didn't plan the weather.

On edit- some video of a sign spinner.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EfjKDjdg4k

[VenusRising]

30. It just bothers me that people have to work in bad conditions

most likely with no health insurance just so Petco and I guess other businesses who hire them make a profit.

I understand the practice, but I still don't like it.


Thanks for informing me, though.

:hi:

[SallyMander]

18. That SUCKS!

Which one was it? I usually go to the Lennox and i've never seen anything like that! :grr:

[VenusRising]

20. It was the one on Sawmill.

I was livid. My husband got an earful about it from me as we went on down the road.

It's lucky he was with me and driving or I probably would have stopped and said something.

[SallyMander]

21. Poor sign-holders

I hope they got a hot shower & cup of coffee afterwards :(

[VenusRising]

31. So do I.

And I hope they all took their vitamins and got their flu shots.

Although, I don't know if the shot would stop pneumonia.

:(

[gmoney]

24. Yeah, there are similar signs near the Pep Boys store here...

You know the neighborhood is going downhill when the autoparts stores all move in... but when they start closing down, OMFG.

Dollar stores, payday loans, and auto parts... oh, and Wal-Mart. Death knells for a neighborhood.

[VenusRising]

28. I think this is just holiday sale stuff.

Kind of like....Don't forget to spend money on your pets!!

I just hate seeing people have to stand out in that kind of weather for 30% off something.

[BlueJazz]

33. Good thing I'm not there. I'd stop taking my Meds for a few days and then....

...Go Fire-Bomb the place.





:rofl:

[Rosemary2205]

39. I think slavery has been outlawed.

no one is FORCED to stand out in the weather holding a sign.

[VenusRising]

41. They are forced if they want to be paid.

But you're right. They could quit and have no money for rent, bills, money for their family. :eyes:

[Rosemary2205]

42. Yeah because

shitty retail jobs are so hard to come by these days......... no place else to work but PETCO.

come on.

[VenusRising]

43. People don't take shitty jobs if they can help it.

Most people do what it is they have to do to pay the bills, no matter what the job.

The economy isn't so great that people have a lot of room to be choosy.

[SallyMander]

44. The OP was just expressing some sympathy

for people with a crappy job made crappier by crappy weather... Not everyone can get a "shitty retail job" as you put it. I know of a kid with Down's Syndrome who worked as one of those "sign holders" -- he probably wouldn't be able to do retail work.

Nothing wrong with a little sympathy... :shrug:

[Rosemary2205]

51. So why be mad at Petco?

For hiring someone who is basically unhirable? That would seem philanthropic to me, not abusive.

My uncle has downs - he folds laundry at a big hotel. In the summer it can get over 100 degrees in the laundry room. Dear uncle LOVES going to work even on those days. He's a man with his own job, not a victim.

I'm a wheelie and my job is much less that what I had before because getting someone to hire a wheelie is a real challenge. My employer is willing to accomodate me and pays me a fair wage for what is asked but I have to make a few concessions too. But quite frankly, if someone started hating on my employer because my work environement less than idea, I'd be offended. I'm no victim. I'm a woman with a paying job and I deserve to be respected for being able to make my own decisions about what's best for my life.

But hey, if I'm all wrong then so be it. Who knows, maybe the sign holders are just poor little victims who need us to hate on their employers for them even though they seem perfectly happy to sit out there in the weather for a paycheck. I'd feel differently if Petco employees were out in force telling us Petco is just outright abusive.......... but barring that I personally think people who accept a job and seem happy with the conditions of that job enough to keep it should be given respect, not pity.

I don't understand it, but honestly, if I'm wrong then I apologize for my comments.

[SallyMander]

69. Well, she didn't know that they're not Petco employees

Believe me, i have the utmost respect for people who overcome obstacles -- whether they be physical, mental, or situational -- to accomplish their goals. But i think it's possible to sympathize with someone without PITYING them -- that's totally different IMO. I don't think either the OP or myself are thinking of the sign holders as "poor little victims," as you say. Rather i just hope that they are in a position to be treated fairly by their employer. Not everyone has a "nice" employer or a union looking out for them, so there are instances of exploitation -- surely you can't argue with that? So i can respect them for having a job and making the best of it, but i can also hope that they aren't exploited and sympathize with their being stuck outside in crappy weather.

Hopefully i've explained this better? :)


Edit for clarity... :crazy:

[VenusRising]

71. Thanks, SallyMander.

That's exactly it.

:hug:

[MonkeyFunk]

45. I imagine a lot of people

would rather work in bad weather and get paid than not work at all.

[VenusRising]

46. I'm sure you're quite right.

It just doesn't sit well with me to have people out in that weather just for a sale.

I'm sure there are things that could have been done indoors today. More sign making. Pulling used signs apart.

I just don't like seeing people suffer to make a living, and you could tell they were suffering.

My heart went out to them is all.

[MonkeyFunk]

48. I feel bad for 'em, too

but I feel bad for my mail-lady when the weather's bad, but I don't think she should be allowed to sit inside and sort mail for the day.

Some jobs suck. I've done a few of 'em.

[VenusRising]

49. The mail lady I'm sure has benefits and perks to her job.

I'm not so sure those sign holders have that.

[MonkeyFunk]

52. I'm sure they don't

but that's not my point.

I've had crappy jobs, and I've had to do some of 'em in lousy weather. I was happy to have the job.

To get pissed at Petco over this strikes me as silly.

[VenusRising]

53. I'm sorry that it strikes you as silly.

I was just having a little compassion for some people standing out in the freezing cold and rain to earn a living and most likely not having health care.

The reason my anger is directed at Petco is because it was their sale. As if saving money on pet products is more important than the health and well being of the people standing outside who most likely do not have health insurance.

I completely understand about having a crappy job and being happy you have it, especially in this economy.

I was moved emotionally by what I saw. I'm an emotional person. It pissed me off. That's the end of it. I'm not calling for an all out boycott or to write angry letters to Petco. I'm just saying that I find this instance distasteful and bothersome and I chose to vent in the Lounge.

:hi:

[MonkeyFunk]

54. Here's your mistake

you presume that because I don't get mad at Petco, that I have no compassion. That's a non sequitur.

[VenusRising]

56. Here's your mistake.

You think this is about you.

I never made any presumptions about you at all.

I said I have compassion for those people out there. Me.

Before I started the OP, I didn't know that those sign holders were not direct employees of Petco.

And now you're just beating a dead horse so you can be right about a sympathetic and emotional issue that had nothing at all to do with you.

[MonkeyFunk]

65. ah

so sorry for imposing MY thoughts on a thread that's all about YOU.

[VenusRising]

70. You should be.

Especially when you are assigning motives to my posts that were never there.

I never asked you to get mad at Petco and didn't presume that anyone else would get mad at them either.

Again, I was mad at them and chose to rant in The Lounge.

Your "non sequitir" post was just a judgmental piece of crap based on what you perceived I wanted others to do in reaction.

I didn't want anything from anyone. I just wanted to vent.





And now I'm done with this.

[Marrah_G]

64. it's good that your heart went out to them

It means you are still human. It always sucks seeing people working in the element, whether that be snow, rain or heat.

My son goes out and shovels driveways for hours when it snows for 5 or ten bucks each (yeah he should charge more)He does it because he wants the money and doesn't mind working hard in the cold for it. I still always pity him when he gets home because he looks simply frozen.

[VenusRising]

66. And your son is wonderful for doing that.

I know there are heart patients, like my husband, who are expressly told not to shovel snow. So, unless someone else in the house takes up that job, it's unlikely to get done unless someone is hired to do it.

I'm just the kind of person who would take hot chocolate, tea, or coffee out to someone who was working in that kind of cold whether I was paying them or not.

:)

[Marrah_G]

72. Me too!

You sound like a really sweet soul :)

[Wcross]

47. 99% of all jobs suck. Some suck harder than others.

Be thankful you have a job that allows you to say the sign holding job sucks!

[VenusRising]

50. I don't have a job.

But I would say it sucks no matter who was doing the job.

[crispini]

55. You know, the people who are doing that job...

probably don't have much of a choice, otherwise they wouldn't be doing it. The sign-holding folks are usually hired specifically to do that -- this isn't the case that some manager is making his clerks or stockers stand outside holding signs. So, yeah, it does seem kind of pointless to be mad at Petco... those people are probably glad to have those jobs.

[VenusRising]

57. I didn't know that they weren't direct Petco employees.

And I understand that those people are probably very happy to have the jobs because it's money for their family, but I thought it sucked for them regardless.

[Marrah_G]

63. Not all jobs are comfortable

I suppose the person earning the money would rather be there then being sent home for the day without pay. many people have jobs that have them working in the elements.

What I am saying is that no one is forcing them to stand on a sidewalk with a sign. They can leave if they want and look for other work.

[VenusRising]

68. Yes, I know.

I've conceded all of those points, but still feel bad for them having to stand out in those conditions.