Five Frugal Things
by Katy on September 4, 2023 · 64 comments
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I had to take the Prius into Costco tire this week as the passenger side rear tire had a gouge on it and was slowly leaking air. Taking it in was a pain in the tuchus, as my son drives this car to his office outside of Portland but isn’t able to slip away long enough to run errands.
I was concerned that the car wasn’t safe to drive, so I drove our minivan down to his office and swapped out the cars and still made it to Costco by my 10 A.M. appointment. (He’s nervous about driving an unfamiliar car on the freeway, so I offered up this solution.) I came prepared with a library book and a plan to park myself on whatever couch was up for sale that day. It ended up taking at least an hour and although I did get up to stretch my legs at one point, I didn’t succumb to any impulse purchases, unless you count cat litter as impulsive. I ate two samples.
The transaction took a weird turn when I received a phone call from the tire center manager scolding me about how I was essentially abusing the “road hazard warranty” and that they weren’t going to be able to continue replacing our tires after this one. However, it felt more bizarro world than upsetting as I’m a competent 55-year-old woman and can’t remember the last time someone scolded me. Not in the workplace, not from a family member and definitely not from a retail interaction. Maybe . . . high school?
I left the store wondering if he thought I was deliberately damaging my tires as some kind of warped Munchausen by Proxy syndrome? That I enjoy the attention I get from tire center employees? Whatever it was, I’m glad to be done with it. Weird.
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That library book I brought with me to Costco? I finished it by the end of the day, which is very much not usual for me. The book was Romantic Comedy, by Curtis Sittenfeld and don’t let the schmaltzy title fool you, it was whip smart and full of amazing details and perfectly fleshed out characters.
I don’t want to give too much away, but it follows a woman who’s a TV writer for a fictional SNL-like show who bucks the trend of dorky writers marrying rich and famous women. (Think Colin Jost and Scarlett Johansson.) The author fully did her research on how a weekly late night sketch comedy show is produced, which is almost as good as the plot itself. I’ve probably given away too much, so just suffice it to say that I’m giving it an A+.
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I’m still tired from Covid and get wiped out pretty easily, so I’ve been trying to pace myself and keep my days pretty simple. Staying close to home is frugal.
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• Our daughter gave us an angel food cake and a loaf of artisan French bread from her schwanky grocery store.
• My husband was able to fix the Prius when the power steering suddenly went out. Yeah, when it rains it pours . . .
• My neighbor handed me a can of Dr. Brown’s cream soda when she heard about our Covid-tastic dud of a vacation.
• I used a coupon for a free pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream at Fred Meyer.
• We continue to enjoy blackberry everything from my foraging last month. As jam, on yogurt and added to pancakes. I might swing by my secret spot one last time and see if they’re still ripe. Free food is my favorite food!
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I didn’t scam Costco for a replacement Lear Jet.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 64 comments… read them below or add one }
1. I loved Romantic Comedy. Frugally—I waited five months to get a copy from the library.
2. I’ve been picking a dozen very ripe figs every morning on our long walk and serving them with our hot cereal for breakfast. I have to look carefully to make sure I’m not grabbing drunken wasp as well.
3. We’ve been having company to dine al fresco most weekend nights. A card table and folding chairs (Christmas gift to Grandma in 1947) with a tablecloth and pasta bowls in the front yard. I’ve been cooking our regular fare assuming that guests don’t know we eat lots of bread and tomato salad in the summer. Good conversation and easy to hear despite the Mister’s hearing problems. And we get greeted by neighbors out walking dogs.
4. I sold my two extra pressure canners and gave a small cooker to a refugee family.
5. I bought bulk seconds of tomatoes at $20 for 25#. Canned seven of those boxes during an unusually cool week, so we could leave the windows open and not burden the AC. Rather than reprocessing the ones that didn’t seal (which turns them to mush) I froze them. Have also been making tomato based soups.
Drunken wasps made me laugh
Drunken is an accurate description. Also happens to dropped apples which is why I silently encouraged the deer (and even woodchucks/coyotes) to eat them soon. Drunken wasps and skunks are to be avoided at all costs.
I have put a hold on Romantic Comedy ,here in Brisbane Australia, at my library, looking forward to it. I had a tiny misread of Katy’s “ cat litter impulse purchase. I ate two samples” Where Katy had a full stop, I misread a much more entertaining comma!
Good grief! The last time someone did that to me, I asked him if he was over-reacting because it truly was not my fault. It does so much damage to the relationship, be it corporate or work, when that happens. Goodyear never blinked when our son destroyed three tires in a year delivering pizzas.
The frugal five at our house:
1. Organized the freezer and pulled out some bags of long-frozen items to create roast pork with veggies. This fed us for three meals.
2. Engaged the math gear in my brain and realized the OTC meds we use are less expensive at the grocery store. Bought accordingly.
3. Sewed up three tiny rips in the front of my husband’s shirt after he picked up our scared girl kitty and she bunny-kicked him to get away.
4. The jeans I bought on eBay for a great price turned out to be just a bit too short but otherwise fit perfectly. To lengthen the legs, I took out the hems, ironed the fabric well, sewed on dark blue bias tape to create a new hem to turn under, and stitched down the hems. Had all the materials in my sewing stash.
5. Read several e-books from the library. Highly recommend Michael Caine’s “Blow the Bloody Doors Off,” a memoir of life and acting, for some great observations on perseverance.
As usual, I find your sewing skills and creativity beyond compare. On another note, I absolutely love Michael Caine. I imagine his memoirs are very enjoyable. I’ll add it to my list. Thank you!
Thank you. Bias tape makes such a tidy hem and it matches well to dark blue denim, khaki and other common trouser colors. I am very short and don’t usually have to let hems down for myself, but did it a lot for my son in his beansprout years.
Ruby, brilliant sewing hack!
Thanks for the book recommendation. I’ll reserve it at the library. I spent a few days on Mackinac Island which is never frugal but I will try.
1. I purchased ferry tickets online for a discount of $18.
2. I filled my water bottle from the tap which was actually really good water. I have well water so most tap water tastes gross to me.
3. I brought snacks along and only purchased breakfast and dinner. I drank the coffee provided in the room.
4. I enjoyed the free activities which consisted mostly of walking and watching my dog play in the water. I walked my dog while my Mom and sister took a carriage tour and visited a butterfly exhibit. No cars allowed on the island so no gas spent except to get there.
5. I read a library book on my kindle. I purchased only a longer leash for my dog for the trip so I could stand on the beach while she swam but no new clothing for myself. I didn’t purchase any souvenirs and avoided the shops.
I admire your restraint in avoiding the World Famous Mackinac Fudge! Sounds like a great visit, otherwise.
I did get to enjoy the smells though and a free sample. That’s Mackinac…smells like fudge and horse poop.
As long as you don’t confuse the fudge WITH the horse poop, all is well.
I really would love to visit Mackinac Island. I’ve enjoyed learning about the island on travel shows. However, I have never been to Michigan.
1. Submitted paperwork to have Visa reimburse me for the extra $450 (!!!) charge on the rental car incurred because the extra driver (dear partner) scraped the bumper against a wall on vacation. Fingers crossed they will cover it.
2. Because of a canceled flight, my car was in NY on campus but I was at home in Boston. Returned to work apartment a day earlier because I was able to hitch a ride with a colleague who was visiting her parents mid-way. As a thank you, I gave her eggs & cheese that I had gotten free from a mystery shop & rice vinegar that I got free with Swagbucks points. I’ll catch a free ride to campus tomorrow with another colleague.
3. Promised to buy lunch for my partner who brought me half-way to NY. He wanted Popeye’s fried chicken. I downloaded the app and was able to get a meal deal, which saved me $12 and I also got a free apple pie.
4. Of course, we made coffee at home before the long drive & brought our own water into Popeye’s.
5. I made 2 last batches of cucumber yogurt soup using cucumbers, herbs, and Swiss chard from the garden and yogurt and red wine vinegar that the house/cat sitter had left.
I hope on if not both of you had their fried chicken sandwich. IMHO, best of all food chains. We don’t eat them very often (they will never qualify as health eating) so they taste even better when we do.
I’ve never had the sandwich there! I think we eat there maybe 2x a year? Tend to avoid fast food, except in rare occasions. Since he was doing me a real favor, it seemed the prudent thing to do (especially because I found a deal!).
I enjoyed Romantic Comedy, too. I just finished the audio-book version from the library.
Boo to the scolding from the Costco tire center manager. I have to wonder if he would have said the same thing, in the same way, if your husband had brought the car in.
1. Husband donated platelets at the American Red Cross and received a free T-shirt and a free haircut at Sports Clips. (He doesn’t do it for the gifts.)
2. Was pretty sure we needed to replace our old laptop, but I switched browsers (from Chrome to Edge) to see if that would help and now it’s purring like a new kitten.
3. At our pup’s appointment for shots, etc., our vet comped the nail trim since our pup just needed her dew claws trimmed. Spent $350 for a free nail trim!
4. Scored a piano bench from my Buy Nothing group. I don’t own a piano, but I needed a bench for the entryway. A perfect fit.
5. Received vitamins and shampoo from a friend who moved into assisted living.
I’ve trained the Mister to refuse the freebies when he donates blood. Prevention of junk in the house is my love language.
Me, too! But I had him text me when he got there to tell me what the freebie was. Since my husband uses the T-shirts for work and wears them out quickly, this is one freebie we always take. It’s also good advertising for the Red Cross.
My husband has a 32-inch-chest and they always give him a large. He never wears them.
Due to a pretty bad childhood home life I found myself in adulthood not allowing people to verbally abuse me. Now, that I’m a senior citizen I can get pretty testy when people overstep the mark. I think I might have torn that tire center manager a new one and also perhaps reported the incident to his boss.
And you can bet your bottom dollar he NEVER would have spoken to a man that way.
“…I didn’t succumb to any impulse purchases, unless you count cat litter as impulsive. I ate two samples.” I didn’t realize cat litter came in different flavors? Ha!
I’m sorry you were scolded. It sounds quite bizarre!
The non-clumping sits oddly on my tongue, so I like to know ahead of the purchase.
If you get the clay-based kind, does flavor vary with the terroir?
Was I surprised tonight to know that Tidy Cat (owned by Purina these days) is now selling a litter https://www.purina.com/tidy-cats/tidy-care-cat-litter
“Designed with the ultimate comfort of your cat in mind. Tidy Care Comfort cat litter brings together the amazing paw feel of smaller granules”
Seriously – the comfort of a cat’s paw is of concern? Shhh.. no one tell my cats. Not that it would matter – dust and fragrance free is all they’ll get. I don’t trust crystals except when the vet uses it to confirm a UTI.
Hahaha, I was JUST coming here to comment the same thing.
Imagine the texture experience.
Love that we all found the same warped pleasure in this post! You can imagine my joy on reading about a man who was startle by thieves “ while eating cereal in his underwear”!
1. Visited friends who rent a summer home in Bar Harbor, Maine. We used air miles and we’re upgraded on one leg of the trip both coming and going. Free food and adult beverages
2. The owner of this rental is a best selling author. Very frugal as all the TP was one ply and all the toiletries were from various high end hotels.
3. Sold two items online and swapped another for something I needed.
4. Bought a couple of mindless books to read on the plane from the second hand bookstore when I took some books into sell.
5. Packed my breakfast/lunch for my 4 hr shift today
OK, now I’m curious to know who this frugal best-selling author who owns the rental. If you can’t drop the name, I understand, but maybe give us a hint or two?
That should, of course, have been “who this..author…is.” I don’t usually leave out verbs, but maybe the heat is getting to me.
I’ll buy that. My language chips all melt in the heat.
Katy, the scolding sounds very strange to me. Have you had bunches of tires replaced? Could he have you confused with someone else? I think that is worth an email to the company.
1. I have been peeling and cubing for the freezer the endless butternut squash that volunteered in my garden. They choked out everything else. I may as well get some benefit from them.
2. I was reimbursed for a medical test I had to pay for in advance.
3. A friend gave me a bag of apples from her mom’s tree. I used half of them for a pie and shared with the friend. I will peel and slice the rest to freeze for a future pie.
4. I passed along a book and a jigsaw puzzle to friends. Gave a large box to another friend who needed it to ship an ebay sale. She gave me some clear cases for a craft project I want to try.
God, the Costco tire mgr was a complete jerk! I, every year, have to replace tires bc of s$&@ on our roads. My family has also hit five or six dear over the past 20 years, including totaling two maybe four vehicles. Not our fault they dive out in front of car from behind a tree!!! Like you really wanted to spend the whole day in Costco!! People are so whack these days!
Deer. I swear spellcheck changed that one… lol
Sheesh..what sort of employee does that to a customer with a valid warranty? When I think of scenes like that I think “What happens to this person when something REALLY goes wrong in his/her life?” On the bad side, maybe it’s this person’s way of interacting with the world. On the more hopefully realistic side, maybe his boss is pressuring him to not accept any more claims. Who knows? Sorry you had to experience a scolding!
1. I painted some rocks I picked up on the beach last week to “hide” for fellow hikers (hopefully children) on the trails DH and I love to walk. Beach rocks are the best for painting and trying out calligraphy skills due to their smooth surfaces. Aside from the original cost of paints purchased years ago, this is a free activity that hones any artistic skills (!) I possess and gets me out walking. There’s also the knowledge someone will get a bit of joy from finding one, too.
2. We were invited to a Labor Day party at a friend’s house who lives on a lake and she asked me to just bring a dessert. I made a Blueberry Buckle from scratch with on sale blueberries and picked up a container (I used to say half gallon but alas, no more…thanks shrinkflation) of store brand vanilla ice cream to serve it with. I have an incision from day surgery last week so was not able to swim in the lake but to sit and look at it and converse with friends was more than lovely.
3. I found a gift card in the street last fall and bought some books with it. One was The Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen, a Danish poet and writer. It was a memoir, a genre I am particularly fond of, and one I had been meaning to read for years. It brought me into the mind of a writer, and I feel I have a better understanding of the thought process that is part of the creativity that flows through a top notch writer.
4. We have decided to stop feeding the wild birds in our backyard after the resident racoons tore our feeders apart twice. We had been taking them in before dark to prevent this but twice we stayed out later than we anticipated and sure enough, they were a broken mess with the seed emptied when we got home. Done with replacing feeders plus not buying birdseed will save us around $25 monthly.
5. Drinking water, homemade iced tea and fruit infused water, coffee, all at home. Hanging clothes out on the line. Meals at home. Reading, reading, reading outside on the deck as much as I can…the winters are long here and reading outside is not an option then. I miss it in the dark days of winter and try to soak in as much as I can of it in the good weather. Happy September to all!
Sorry. Didn’t mean to post this in a comment to your post.
FFT, Lazy Labor Day Edition:
(1) Katy, I think your experience with the Costco tire manager is worth a complaint to a higher-up. But speaking of Costco, I have discovered that a neighbor husband and wife have a Costco membership and will be happy to pick up the few things I still like to buy in bulk when they make the trek to our only local Costco. As I’ve noted in the past, this Costco is on the other side of the county, and it also doesn’t make much financial sense for me to have a membership as a single woman.
(2) I took a walk around a local park early this hot Labor Day morning with the friend who runs the cognitive care programs that DH used to attend (she’s the closest thing to a mental health counselor I’ve got). As expressions of esteem and regard, I took her a jar of my refrigerator dill pickles (she says her husband is crazy about these) and a Patagonia flannel shirt I found at the Salvation Army in her extremely small size. (She’s 4’11”, weighs about 80 pounds, and is solid muscle. She was heading out for a bike ride after this walk. Staggering.)
(3) Instead of going out for a bike ride, I went down to our SA superstore and found a few things–notably a nearly new Columbia backpack with several insulated compartments for food and drink, for $3.50. (It had a yellow tag, and yellow tags were 50% off today.)
(4) I then went to the nearby Aldi and picked up two more gallons of white vinegar for the vinegar, salt, and dish liquid solution with which I’m treating some persistent weeds in a gravel walkway.
(5) And I’m spending the rest of the day cleaning out the glory holes for more donations to our local Cat Coalition’s upcoming garage sale. Two pleasant young folks from this organization came earlier in the summer to pick up most of the things that didn’t sell at our street-wide garage sale in June, and I’d like to give them some more help.
I use this homemade weed killer too. It works amazingly well. It isn’t harmful to the environment and cheap!!!!
My frugal 5 are all about fruit. So much fruit.
1. Figs coming on (mmmmm)
2. Apples in abundance. Freezing as sauce and chopped for pies
3. Plums. Not sure what do with besides eat them.
4. Asian pears. Trying to give them away. Also eating them.
5. Blackberries! There are still some good spots. Picking and freezing for pies and crumbles.
I’m irritated on your behalf by the tire manager. Don’t offer a product & then complain when people use it. Either adjust your warranty policy, or appreciate that there will always be people at either end of the spectrum for usage. Sooo strange.
1) Made lots of interesting meals this week, as we tried to use a few things up.
2) Went through my son’s outgrown clothes & gave all of it away via BN. Teen boy clothes can be difficult to find (skinny & tall) & expensive, as they often have very clear taste/preferences/styles. I made some other parents very happy.
3) Used a few grocery store gift cards to stock up on items we needed
4) Charged our car for free at work this weekend, by dropping it off for a few hours
5) Finally found a merchant who would accept an Amex gift card (they can be hard to use, unless they are in your name vs anonymous), so used part of the value of that to buy my sister a 50th birthday gift.
Interesting they would scold you. I’m assuming this isn’t the first time you have had it repaired. But if Costco claims they do it for free, they can’t say you are taking advantage of them by taking them up on that claim.
1. Stopped in an annoying, forever in renovation grocery store for the loss leaders. Used the restroom and noticed the discount bins. We got boxes of granola bars for $0.75, lentil chips for $0.75 a bag, fancy marmalade for $1.
2. Many years ago we bought a used split rail fence. It has since started falling apart. We have replaced many rails over the years but since covid have been unable to find them – like ever in our area. Today we went around the yard and found tall, skinny and straight trees and cut them down to make our own rails. We were able to do 10 today and know which trees to cut down to do the remaining 5 needed.
3.Listed around 15 items on ebay.
4. Paid our large CC bill from our cross country trip this summer. Now I have a better idea of exactly what I have in our account. This gives me information on what I need to do to make the most of our money. We are working on a new budget (new school year, new pay). I already changed our direct deposit to funnel more money each month into a high yield savings acct.
5. Told my ds that he could not borrow money for rent. We have been bailing out our 2 grown kids right and left as they move and transition to real jobs. I don’t have any more money to bail them out. We HAVE to start thinking about our long term goals and retirement more now that we are 90% done paying for college for 4 kids. it was hard to do, but had to be done. I did give him food.
You are doing the right thing by not giving anymore money. First time, I can maybe understand. Second time I am looking at your budget/expenses/bills & talking about your choices. Third time won’t happen unless there was unforeseen emergency. Just my personal opinion , but others think differently & in some of those casesI have seen the adult child never learn responsibility & expect others to take care of them (forever?).
1. We received a letter that said a credit of $22.45 will be applied to our water bill. It is an effort to use up Covid relief funds. I have no idea how they decided this was a good idea, as we are not low income and our neighborhood is not either. Both a neighbor and a friend also received similar letters. I will take free money.
2. Early Saturday we took a walk and found $4 in the street near the middle school. More free money. I also wedged $.17 out of the Coin Star machine last week.
3. We had cool weather on Friday. I opened the windows and baked muffins, cookies, and chicken. Much of it was frozen for future use. The house did not feel overheated.
4. We continue to declutter using Freecycle.org. Junk out = a more peaceful home (priceless).
5. I signed up for Medicare Part A (there are no premiums). We are still covered by medical insurance through DH’s work.
4.
3.
Sheesh..what sort of employee does that to a customer with a valid warranty? When I think of scenes like that I think “What happens to this person when something REALLY goes wrong in his/her life?” On the bad side, maybe it’s this person’s way of interacting with the world. On the more hopefully realistic side, maybe his boss is pressuring him to not accept any more claims. Who knows? Sorry you had to experience a scolding!
1. I painted some rocks I picked up on the beach last week to “hide” for fellow hikers (hopefully children) on the trails DH and I love to walk. Beach rocks are the best for painting and trying out calligraphy skills due to their smooth surfaces. Aside from the original cost of paints purchased years ago, this is a free activity that hones any artistic skills (!) I possess and gets me out walking. There’s also the knowledge someone will get a bit of joy from finding one, too.
2. We were invited to a Labor Day party at a friend’s house who lives on a lake and she asked me to just bring a dessert. I made a Blueberry Buckle from scratch with on sale blueberries and picked up a container (I used to say half gallon but alas, no more…thanks shrinkflation) of store brand vanilla ice cream to serve it with. I have an incision from day surgery last week so was not able to swim in the lake but to sit and look at it and converse with friends was more than lovely.
3. I found a gift card in the street last fall and bought some books with it. One was The Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen, a Danish poet and writer. It was a memoir, a genre I am particularly fond of, and one I had been meaning to read for years. It brought me into the mind of a writer, and I feel I have a better understanding of the thought process that is part of the creativity that flows through a top notch writer.
4. We have decided to stop feeding the wild birds in our backyard after the resident racoons tore our feeders apart twice. We had been taking them in before dark to prevent this but twice we stayed out later than we anticipated and sure enough, they were a broken mess with the seed emptied when we got home. Done with replacing feeders plus not buying birdseed will save us around $25 monthly.
5. Drinking water, homemade iced tea and fruit infused water, coffee, all at home. Hanging clothes out on the line. Meals at home. Reading, reading, reading outside on the deck as much as I can…the winters are long here and reading outside is not an option then. I miss it in the dark days of winter and try to soak in as much as I can of it in the good weather. Happy September to all!
Oops! This was still in my comment section and I thought I had forgotten to hit Submit earlier today. Guess I hit it after all.
Cat litter samples… you ate cat littler samples?? (smirk)
And I always thought it was “tuckus,” but you usually say it, not spell it.
(Now I will crawl back into my English lit major closet, and behave myself.)
Not sure what the original was, but if it was”tuchus” it’s Yiddish, I think! In my eary teens I was “ shabbas goy” for very “ frumm” elderly neighbours! 30 years later I was employed by an older Jewish couple, and startled them by offering to carry something she had told her husband she couldn’t shlepp so far.! They decided in the end that I remembered enough Yiddish to disqualify me from being called a “shiksa” ! Yiddish is such a glorious language, I credit my couple of years residence , in late 1950’sSydney, Australia, in an area within walking distance of a synagogue, with my Yiddish vocabulary, surrounded as I was by many of Sydney’s “schmatta” traders!
1. Availed myelf of the local free mulch pile and filled my car boot for the 6th time in a month (I keep big, sturdy chicken food bags for that reason)
2. Borrowed library books instead of adding to my own tbr pile.
3. Dropped off 2 boxes of donations to the op shop, and resisted buying anything.
4. Took 2 of my nicest dresses to the alterations shop to be adjusted. They have always been very tight around the armholes but a perfect fit and very flattering everywhere else. And the price quoted was very reasonable.
5. Cobbled together a super tasty fridge dinner for myself (the men were having home made pizza) of pan fried spring onion, silverbeet and broccolini in soy, oyster sauce, chilli oil and maple syrup with sesame seeds and and an egg scrambled through it at the end. On rice. Mmmmmm.
I have to agree with many of the other readers. I think that a call to the store manager or a stop at the Costco service desk is warranted. A member of management should never, ever berate a customer for utilizing the store’s services.
On another note, I see that you bought Ben & Jerry’s. I found immediately after recovering from covid that all I wanted to eat was ice cream. A year later my sense of taste and smell have not yet returned. I’m still eating too much ice cream.
1. I have continued decluttering. It seems to be never ending. My goal over the last two months has been to put 3 items per week on Buy Nothing. I recently started giving away other people’s things too. I took a giant roll of screening off the curb and gave it away on BN. Very little work and kept a usable item out of the landfill while saving someone else $$$$$.
2. I have a very big birthday coming up the first of October. My husband and I decided to celebrate with a trip to the West Coast and Yosemite. We saved and are using his airline miles, rental card rewards, and hotel points. These programs will pay for nearly 70% of our trip. Travel rewards programs can be worth the effort.
3. I purchased a book online, Day Hikes in Yosemite from Goodbooks (Goodwill). The $5 price included shipping. The REI price was $22.
4. I suspect that it will be cooler in the Sierras than in Florida. I’ve been combing the Goodwill for warmer clothing. I found a black down weatherproof vest and I nice long-sleeve, NWT merino wool t-shirt for $13.
5. I did the usual things – cooked my meals at home, brewed my own coffee, enjoyed library reads. My current read is The Violin Conspiracy which has a little of everything. I am enjoying it!
Wishing everyone peace, good health and prosperity!
Must be our frugal funny bones are in sync today.
I had the same thought about the cat litter
Back in 2000,my daughter bought a brand new Kia downstate in a dealer where she was working,we live upstate,near Binghamton and Utica,she would take the car to the dealership closer to our house for warranty work.
The service manager would harass her Everytime,why didn’t she buy it there,why didn’t she buy a Toyota?????? Very rude & condescending to her until her father showed up with it 1day and a little discussion was had about his attitude.
This is a very common occurrence with the male gender and women in the auto world.I second the idea he wouldn’t have pulled this on your hubby and I’d be calling Costco headquarters and or the tire manufacturer.
I had to have some body work done to my car. I was charged for work that wasn’t done. The service person told me that I didn’t know how to read the bill. Really????
I calmly asked him to email a copy of the bill, so I could forward it to my husband and my lawyer along with photos of the car showing the work not done. He change his tune fast. It makes me so mad.
My husband’s regular mechanic is a woman!!
I’m still troubled by the scolding. What is a warranty for if not to fix something that’s broken? One of our local tire outlets has my loyalty and business because they honored their warranty without fuss and have been fantastic about other tire sales, etc.
Time for an email to Costco corporate (I own shares – not a lot but I technically am a shareholder) to report the tire center’s “manager’s” blatantly bad behavior. Another commenter is right – highly unlikely he’d pull that stunt a male (or I should say a male he felt confident is heterosexual). Time for the tire center “manager” to take mandatory training.
I’m serious – email the home office.
Thanks for the book recommendation! Went into my library account to put a hold on it, and it’s already on my hold list! Glad to hear it’s good.
Can’t believe that Costco guy – what a tool.
Hope y’all are back to normal soon!
The long holiday weekend was good to us. As I am down to one car without working AC, I have not been doing my side hustle DoorDash in a few weeks and it has given me a lot of time to cook, spend time with my son, and feel a little less stressed. I’m really trying to weigh out if I want or need another car considering associated costs.
Regarding the Costco person, mention it to store management. They take complaints about customer service pretty seriously.
1. I did a ton of cooking and food prep this weekend. I was able to score ribs for 1.99 a lb and made those yesterday. I also bought and separated chicken breasts, cooking two and freezing the rest. I will use these for lunches with black beans for myself. Baked off cookies for my son, cooked a lb of bacon for fast breakfasts in the morning. It sounds like nothing, but the prep, cooking, storing, and clean up are a massive amount of time, to me at least.
2. I have a lot of canned items I bought when the pandemic first started. I have been slowly using one or two cans a week for ourselves, and giving ones I have too much quantity in or that I doubt we will use away to neighbors so I dont end up with a bunch of expired food around my house. I gave a neighbor with covid three cans of soup and a box of crackers as a gift left outside her door. My neighbors across the street got some other shelf stabilized food that I haven’t gone through. I also pulled a can of pumpkin pie mix for pumpkin bread which I’ll make this week.
3. I visited the car dealer I bought my Kia from and spoke to the owner. He agreed to let me tow the car and have his mechanic look at it for free. He said if they can get it to run he will sell it at auction for me. I had it towed there this morning. Haven’t heard from him yet, but hoping he can get it running. If not it’s getting sold for scrap price which really stinks. I did look into replacing the engine, but the two quotes I got were higher than the cars current resale value and both mechanics suggested I put that money into a newer lower mileage car instead of replacing the engine. I may just not have a second car for a while. The insurance on newer vehicles seems to outweigh the cost of having a second vehicle sometimes anyway. So if I save $1200 a year on insurance, plus maintenance, tags, registration, etc….maybe it’s just better to keep old faithful and pause on a new vehicle for a while anyway.
4. We went to the beach for sunset on Sunday, and again for a few hours on Monday during the day. The parking is currently free at Fort Myers Beach as the beach is still recovering after hurricane Ian. I would like to check out Sanibel and Captiva next week as the bridge toll is currently free on Sundays. I’m really trying to find more personal life balance and the beach was the right thing for us to do. We packed a cooler with drinks and had a few nice hours out of the house on the cheap.
5. A neighbor had a trial run of her new food truck at her house and invited neighbors to come and eat for free. We saw this on our neighborhood Facebook and went. My son got a steak bomb sandwich, and I got the same minus the bread. It was great! I left a $5 donation as did many others who went despite the owner saying no thank you.
Onward and upward to resolving the car this week and then continuing to try and live and enjoy life.
I’m going to let it go as I’m really not looking to cause trouble.
Do it for the next woman who has to deal with him.
This was my mantra when I was dating.
Katy, I understand your reluctance. There is another option if you’re so inclined. Many years ago, I had a similar situation in which I actually started to cry as I left the store, although mine was a saleswoman who was dismissive and disrespectful. Once my emotions cooled down, I called her on the phone to ask why she treated me that way. She said she was thinking about our interaction and it pained her, so she was glad that I called. She was very apologetic and said there was no excuse for her behavior. I presume she never treated another customer that way again. Of course, you and the tire center manager may not bond as she and I did.
Kudos to you MB, for handling a painful situation with such patience and grace. And I’ll bet in the future she thought twice about speaking disrespectfully to a customer or anyone for that matter.
Man up or grow a pair as the saying goes. While you and yours can absorb a hit to the budget if man-child manager puts a “note” on your record to not replace, there are others that he bullies, yes bullies, that cannot absorb the hit. You did NOT deserve this a$$holes abuse nor should you just “let it go”. Give it some thought.
I actually don’t like either of those sayings.
Sorry, no time to read through the comments. Apologies if this has been covered.
About that Costco incident. Here are some techniques I recommend:
Look the dude straight in the eye and say, “Is this your policy or the corporate policy?
“Can you show me that in writing?”
“May I please speak to your manager?”
If they are the manager, go find the warehouse manager and express your chagrin at being bawled out in the tire center.*
My brother used to manage a Costco Tire Center. In his very long career there, he says that was his favorite assignment. An example from him: when a tire blows out around the entire perimeter, it almost always means it was underinflated, i.e. the driver’s fault. Costco replaces them anyway, because they want your loyalty.
Costco does a lot to keep their members happy and there are lots of workarounds. I think you just encountered a jerk.
*I highly recommend you make a complaint at the warehouse or on Costco’s website.
The conversation was by phone, so the opportunity to face off wasn’t there.
I’m going to remember this if this situation ever repeats. Thanks!