How’s that for a low price guarantee?

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March 16th, 2010 · 119 comments

Wayne and his son were watching the Kite Festival in Huntington Beach, California when they noticed these signs outside a shop on the pier. Says Wayne: “It was a cool store.”

related: Just plane rude

FILED UNDER: "customer service" · blitzkrieg approach · CAPS LOCK · most popular notes of 2010 · retail hell

119 responses so far ↓

#1 Just Me

If I weren’t 3,000 miles away, I’d love to visit that shop just because he deserves a few of my dollars for having a good sense of humor.

I wonder how many shopkeepers are feverishly copying these for their own stores?

Mar 16, 2010 at 7:35 am rating: 90

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- #1.1 Miss Silver
  
  I love the last one! If I had a shop, I’d give out discounts based on those criteria.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 7:39 am rating: 90
- #1.2 molly ringwald
  
  i wonder how many people try to get the 10% for the excellent joke… and i wonder… what are the criteria for said joke?
  
  sorry sir, your joke was awesome, but not excellent… you must pay full price. that is, of course, unless you happen to have on you your valid photo ID from Mars…
  
  and come to think of it… shouldn’t the discount for having a valid ID from another planet be WAY more than 10%? just a thought…
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 10:27 am rating: 90
- #1.3 infant tyrone
  
  Folks from other planets shopping in Huntington Beach
  are not as rare as you might think,
  but finding one with documentation is not as common…
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 10:35 am rating: 90
- #1.4 molly ringwald
  
  perhaps that’s why this discount was offered.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 1:34 pm rating: 90
- #1.5 infant tyrone
  
  I think you’re onto something there.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 3:22 pm rating: 90
- #1.6 fvd
  
  I’m one of those people who want to copy a few of these signs for my store. Especially the “prices subject to change” one.
  
  Apr 17, 2010 at 4:32 pm rating: 90
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#2 Miss Silver

…first?

I never get discounts.

Mar 16, 2010 at 7:38 am rating: 90

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- #2.1 park rose
  
  And no rain checks on calling ‘first’. Sorry, Miss Silver.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 9:48 am rating: 90
- #2.2 molly ringwald
  
  Are you a safe driver? Discount!
  Are you gonna buy online? Discount!
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 2:01 pm rating: 90
- #2.3 AuntyBron
  
  Isn’t saving money wonderful? There’s no discount for agreeing with me.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 11:59 pm rating: 90
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#3 Dayna

That. Is. Awesome.

I would shop there solely based on those signs. You’ve got to have a sense of humor to post stuff like that!

Mar 16, 2010 at 7:39 am rating: 90

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- #3.1 Grumpy McGrumperson
  
  I’m with you — I’d shop there based on the signs alone! Plus, it’s hard not to be sympathetic, I guess. Dealing with people in retail/service-type positions always causes postal-worker level irritation…can’t blame them for having a laugh.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 8:42 am rating: 90
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#4 The Great Joe Bivins

What do they sell, bitch nuggets?

But I’m with them, I freaking hate people that haggle.

Mar 16, 2010 at 7:44 am rating: 90

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- #4.1 Sydney
  
  Ugh, hagglers are the worst! I get them all the time where I work, and we sell furniture!
  
  It’s like, “This is not a street market in Marrakech. You’re not getting a better deal on this sofa just because you ask for it.”
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 9:15 am rating: 90
- #4.2 claw71
  
  Um, Sydney, I thought you were making an ironic joke until you added that last line. There are two places Americans are trained to haggle: Furniture stores and car lots.
  
  A lot of that has to do with the fact that in both environments a sales person is on you like a big green fly on a freshly squeezed turd and the last time I checked, the furniture store was worse.
  
  “I’m just looking,” I told the sales harpy when I walked in the furniture store. But that wasn’t good enough, she wanted to know what I was looking for. I tried to tell her that I was just doing some general browsing. I wanted to look at a number of pieces and decide where to start on a potential redecorating project. Of course I was more likely to blow my budget on skis or a new kayak. I didn’t want a babysittter. So I told her that I’d come and find her if I saw anything I was interested in.
  
  But she followed me. Even though I wasn’t looking for a bed, I stopped and looked at one because the headboard looked strong enough to tie up a pretty strong girl and there’s this hardbody at the gym I’ve had my eye on…but I digress. The minute I touched the bed, the sales whore popped up from behind a dresser and told me all about it.
  
  “blah blah, blah maple. blah blah blah, countersunk. blah blah blah, Amish-like craftsmanship.” Then she said she might be able to work on a price cut if I got the mattress and box springs through them.
  
  I brushed her off and moved on. She did the same thing 3 more times before I decided to leave. All I wanted to do was look around, but a she was hungry for a sale. I’m sure it’s tough in today’s market, but I knew I wasn’t buying anything that day and she was wasting her time following me. I felt guilty.
  
  Aggressive sales people are usually the first sign that you can and should haggle. Don’t hate your customers, Syd, hate your line of work.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 9:45 am rating: 90
- #4.3 park rose
  
  I go to furniture stores run by people from Marrakech. They don’t mind you haggling, and you’ll nearly always get a discount
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 9:51 am rating: 90
- #4.4 anglophile
  
  Oh haggling. That’s so Third World.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 9:57 am rating: 90
- #4.5 park rose
  
  Haggling? Such a chimerical word. So Discworld.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 10:19 am rating: 90
- #4.6 Sirius¤
  
  My strategy for the furniture store is to tell them you’re looking for a nice recliner to masturbate in. 90% of the time they leave you alone, and 10% of the time you can call your friends and tell them you made the local news again.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 12:57 pm rating: 90
- #4.7 claw71
  
  I once asked if one of those very expesnive massage chairs came with a dildo attachment or if they had a more erotic version of that chair that I could order. I was asked to leave the store.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 1:17 pm rating: 90
- #4.8 pony girl
  
  @4.7,
  How rude.
  I just hate when furniture salespeople refuse to haggle.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 1:43 pm rating: 90
- #4.9 AuntyBron
  
  Sirius, if they were really your friends they wouldv’e been in the store with you.
  
  Mar 17, 2010 at 12:03 am rating: 90
- #4.10 Isobel
  
  Over-attentive sales people will make me turn around and walk out of a shop more quickly than anything else.
  
  Mar 17, 2010 at 3:46 am rating: 90
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#5 EvM

lol… I want that first one to put in front of my husband who will look for the lowest price even if its a dodgy retailer or will mean spending an hour travelling in the opposite direction.

I don’t mind when its a lot but when its less than a fiver.. it does annoy me!

Mar 16, 2010 at 7:56 am rating: 90

reply to this comment
#6 Canthz_B

WTF? No Triple-A discount?
This fucking card is useless!!

Mar 16, 2010 at 7:57 am rating: 90

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- #6.1 claw71
  
  Man, you’ve got that right. They’re terrible with their ‘approved’ list as well. I mean, it’s nice to know that the motel I’m checking into meets their standards but it would be better if I had an idea of whether or not the place just barely qualifies or is actually much better than any AAA member deserves.
  
  Also, they never mention the hookers. I know it’s hard to rate a hooker because everybody has their own standards, but I’d love it if I knew which drug the hookers at a particular establishment were addicted to.
  
  Crack whores tend to hold up better than their Meth-smoking counterparts and they’re much more energetic than the hookers who shoot up. If I wanted somebody to lay there in a drug-induced haze I’d stay home with the cheerleader I have tied up in the basement.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 9:20 am rating: 90
- #6.2 anglophile
  
  I think you can order a Trip Ticket with that info, claw. Just see your agent.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 10:03 am rating: 90
- #6.3 claw71
  
  Sorry, glo, but the internet has them beat in that department as well. I stopped using AAA. Now I download all of my maps to a GPS device, I book my rooms through Hotels.com and I can get all my prostituion needs taken care of at slapaho.com. If that doesn’t work 1-800-Big Pimp is pretty good at delivering the whore I want to virtually anywhere in the United States. Except Utah, but I always carry my Mormon Express Card where you earn a wife for every $100 you spend.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 11:01 am rating: 90
- #6.4 anglophile
  
  You ever try Nettrix, claw? I hear you can have as many as three prostitutes at home at a time, and no late fees!
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 11:32 am rating: 90
- #6.5 claw71
  
  Well, I guess that all depends on what’s late.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 11:56 am rating: 90
- #6.6 Sirius¤
  
  Mormon Express has a 10% surcharge though.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 12:59 pm rating: 90
- #6.7 Limeliberator
  
  I got a Triple-A discount at a porn store once. Does that count? Glow-in-the-dark condoms carry a pretty unbelievable mark-up.
  
  Mar 19, 2010 at 5:57 pm rating: 90
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#7 Jennifer

That one about price subject to change based on customer attitude has to be from a pawn shop. My local one has the same signs up. I guess the more desperate you appear the more willing they are to give you a buck or two more.

Mar 16, 2010 at 7:59 am rating: 90

reply to this comment
- #7.1 pony girl
  
  Actually, I believe they give you less money the more desperate you appear.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 8:57 am rating: 90
- #7.2 infant tyrone
  
  PG, I think your sliding scale has the correct slope.
  Jennifer appears to live in a fantastic neighborhood.
  Definitely not South Austin.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 10:13 am rating: 90
- #7.3 TippingCows
  
  Why oh why does it have to be from a pawn shop just because YOUR local pawn shop has that same exact sign? Do you know how long that “message” has been around in retail stores, young Missy? Ever since I was walking uphill in the snow both ways to school!
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 10:50 pm rating: 90
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#8 ClearlyDemented

Finally, a store we can agree on.

“I’ll take the extremely high quality. And some extremely low prices for the Mr., please.”

Mar 16, 2010 at 8:04 am rating: 90

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#9 Tessey

I would shop here because they always used “you’re” right.

Mar 16, 2010 at 8:06 am rating: 90

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#10 Thanks!

I have got to go to that store!

Mar 16, 2010 at 8:11 am rating: 90

reply to this comment
#11 Captain Planet

That Ruby’s Oreo shake was fu… Ugh, my heart isn’t in it.

Mar 16, 2010 at 8:14 am rating: 90

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- #11.1 park rose
  
  Captain, do you have valid photo ID from another planet?
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 8:54 am rating: 90
- #11.2 AuntyBron
  
  Well, technically he IS a planet so…
  
  Mar 17, 2010 at 12:06 am rating: 90
- #11.3 park rose
  
  Yes, but which planet? If he is an earthling, then he doesn’t qualify. NO DISCOUNT FOR YOU, CAP!
  
  Mar 17, 2010 at 9:26 am rating: 90
- #11.4 Captain Planet
  
  No ID, but I do have my own wikipedia page which must count for something… Alas, as Rose pointed out, I don’t qualify due to my terrestrial status. I think they might offer me police discount though.
  
  Mar 17, 2010 at 9:46 am rating: 90
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#12 chongke

i love this store already!

Mar 16, 2010 at 8:27 am rating: 90

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#13 Canthz_B

If I’ve already bought something elsewhere, why would I want to look long and hard for it in their store?
Who looks for what they already have?
Cat people? People in apartments who have babies by mistake? Food servers?

Mar 16, 2010 at 8:34 am rating: 90

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- #13.1 park rose
  
  People who look long and hard? John Holmes (RIP) possibly?
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 8:56 am rating: 90
- #13.2 Woman on the Verge
  
  Rose, have I told you lately how much I love you?
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 9:01 am rating: 90
- #13.3 Canthz_B
  
  Aw, rose…Long Dong Silver feels slighted…for once!
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 9:02 am rating: 90
- #13.4 TheOldSchool
  
  Rose, Holmes is dead and buried five feet under.
  
  Mar 17, 2010 at 1:05 am rating: 90
- #13.5 park rose
  
  TOS, if you look long and hard you might see him. When I wrote RIP I wasn’t talking about his abs, though it is true, I wasn’t as attentive to the rigours of punctuation as I could have been. Are you maybe talking about the pressing weight of his shaft, which no doubt envelops the dearly departed (porn business is full of shady customers), or wooden you do that? Whichever way you look at it, it’s all a bit of a cock-up. One couldn’t really say a peckadildo, but they might say The fourth, the fifth. The minor fall, the major lift, which would bring us back to 5 feet under, shaft, Issac Hayes, and just about where I lost my train of thought. Hallelujah.
  
  Mar 17, 2010 at 9:22 am rating: 90
- #13.6 infant tyrone
  
  Maybe “long and hard” is code for another L + H ?
  Cassius, with his “lean and hungry look” ?
  
  Give it up, ty, you just don’t know how to inter-pret this one.
  
  Hate to say it, but I don’t know Wadd y’all are talkin’ about.
  
  Mar 17, 2010 at 9:50 am rating: 90
- #13.7 MAMARILLA2
  
  I keep telling ya, that’s my thermos.
  
  Mar 18, 2010 at 11:26 am rating: 90
- #13.8 infant tyrone
  
  Don’t want to make a monumental thing here , but…
  
  If he’s buried five feet under w/o a casket, is Holmes his own head-stone?
  
  Mar 18, 2010 at 12:09 pm rating: 90
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#14 pony girl

I’m intrigued by the discount offered for Ruby’s Oreo Shake.
I am kind of jonesing for one now.

Mar 16, 2010 at 8:55 am rating: 90

reply to this comment
- #14.1 yodel
  
  i enjoy your lingo. Is that local to your area? I hear “jonesing” as well here in VA, but I dont know if its country wide or what.. Did i miss a meeting?
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 1:26 pm rating: 90
- #14.2 pony girl
  
  I think ‘jonesing’ must be country wide. I picked it up in Kailua, and I’ve heard it used in California, Texas, and Louisiana.
  Not sure about the meeting.
  Nobody ever tells me anything.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 1:35 pm rating: 90
- #14.3 felix
  
  “Jonesing” is yet another bit of heroin slang which has been widely adopted for more mundane applications.
  
  Dates back at least half a century in junk circles, probably further. If you want to blame anyone, it’s all those jazz musicians. As usual.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 5:17 pm rating: 90
- #14.4 Palomon
  
  I know, I know! Everyone wants to blame the rap music, but really, it’s the jazz that started it.
  
  Either way, pesky negroes.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 10:13 pm rating: 90
- #14.5 Palomon
  
  Joking! Jes joking, gang.
  
  C’mon, we all know it’s the Jews.
  
  Jokes! Just jokes! I know it’s the Masons.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 10:14 pm rating: 90
- #14.6 Canthz_B
  
  A “jones” is an addiction, strong craving or strong attaction to something or someone. Heroin is also called “jones”.
  
  You can be jonesing for something/someone, or have a jones for something/someone.
  
  “I’m jonesing for a sack of White Castle burgers.”
  
  “I’ve got a love jones for Anglophile.”
  
  “I need to score some jones, man.”
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 10:38 pm rating: 90
- #14.7 AuntyBron
  
  I learned “jonesing” by watching “Law & Order, SVU”. See, ma, Television isn’t ALL bad.
  
  Mar 17, 2010 at 12:09 am rating: 90
- #14.8 Woman on the Verge
  
  Can you jones for a Jones? Davy Jones? Tom Jones?
  
  Mar 17, 2010 at 8:22 am rating: 90
- #14.9 Mo®
  
  I blame the Irish!
  
  Mar 17, 2010 at 11:37 am rating: 90
- #14.10 yodel
  
  Thanks for the history lesson folks!
  
  Mar 18, 2010 at 11:28 am rating: 90
- #14.11 anglophile
  
  CB! ♥
  
  Mar 18, 2010 at 12:15 pm rating: 90
- #14.12 infant tyrone
  
  Only YT version of their “Keepin’ Up with the Jones” is weak, so instead, another song about medicines…
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYD22-QLFhg
  
  Mar 18, 2010 at 1:04 pm rating: 90
- #14.13 gladystopia
  
  “Jonesing” has been mostly supplanted, in the younger generation, by “fiending”. Same dope, different day.
  
  You know, since we’ve contributed so much to the language, you think us junkies would get a bit more respect.
  
  Linguistics is hard work!
  
  Mar 18, 2010 at 3:55 pm rating: 90
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#15 Tim Kolb

I betcha somewhere in Tijauna there is a shop with a sign that reads “Haggling Policy, Your in Tijauna. Huntington Beach is about 3 hours North… Ok, Maybe not but maybe in a parallel universe somewhere.

Mar 16, 2010 at 8:55 am rating: 90

reply to this comment
- #15.1 park rose
  
  Well, the richest man in the world is from Mexico, isn’t he? Guess that haggling might’ve got him somewhere (I’m not bringing any other dubious business practices into this).
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 8:58 am rating: 90
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#16 claw71

Being the child of a hag, I take exception to the term ‘haggle’. Can’t we use something a little less offensive like ‘gyp’ or ‘Jew’?

Mar 16, 2010 at 9:06 am rating: 90

reply to this comment
- #16.1 Woman on the Verge
  
  Claw, have I told you lately how much I love you? Oh, right… sex does not equal love. I forgot.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 9:08 am rating: 90
- #16.2 Canthz_B
  
  claw, you’re so open minded to see things with such clarity…that was so White of you.
  
  I mean that in a good way…that’s what she said…bless your heart.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 9:16 am rating: 90
- #16.3 claw71
  
  But I do love sex, so there’s that.
  
  And CB, thanks for noticing my whitenicity. It’s not easy pretending that you don’t look down at everybody else.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 9:30 am rating: 90
- #16.4 Canthz_B
  
  I just love the cut of your jib, my Brotha!
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 9:34 am rating: 90
- #16.5 molly ringwald
  
  ‘Jewing’ actually makes a lot of sense…
  
  I love stereotypes.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 10:24 am rating: 90
- #16.6 Palomon
  
  Claw- wish I’d read this thread before adding to number 14.
  
  Did manage to offend the blacks, though, so…
  
  Who’s my Caucasian?
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 10:18 pm rating: 90
- #16.7 Canthz_B
  
  Dave Brubeck?
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 10:43 pm rating: 90
- #16.8 infant tyrone
  
  Don Knotts edges Tim Conway for the Gold…Brubeck a distant bronze.
  
  Mar 17, 2010 at 9:55 am rating: 90
- #16.9 MAMARILLA2
  
  Wait,,, Do either Lester Holt or Bryon Gumbal count..
  
  Mar 18, 2010 at 11:32 am rating: 90
- #16.10 Rachel
  
  Actually, ‘jewing’ is probably appropriate for the area, considering the skinhead populati0n. However, since it’s turned from people declaring ‘corners’ as it was in my HS days, i.e. skinhead corner, punk corner, preppy corner (I swear these ‘corners’ were approximately ten feet away from each other) into a crazily expanding (upward mostly due to lack of room on the crowded streets) retail mecca, they’d probably want to avoid alienating potential customers…. Oh, wait….
  FYI~ If it was on the pier it was the kite shop or the bait shop and I’m betting on the kite shop. Both sell other trinkets as well. Unless they’ve been supplanted by another identical surfwear shop or some other incredibly overpriced establishment in the last couple of weeks (entirely possible). Or a pawn shop, hoping to get their own show on the History Channel.
  
  Mar 20, 2010 at 5:55 am rating: 90
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#17 farcical aquatic ceremony

Sorry, all, but these signs are just plain rude. As someone who wouldn’t think to haggle with or ask for a discount from a shop worker, and who’d never say anything along the lines of “I could get this at (store-x) for $10 less!” I’d resent this guy assuming that I was that kind of ill-bred mouth-breather, and wouldn’t spend my money in his store. Having worked retail, I understand where the urge to put up these signs came from, but bad behavior doesn’t excuse bad behavior.

Mar 16, 2010 at 9:07 am rating: 90

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- #17.1 Q
  
  Just because *you* don’t do those things doesn’t mean that other people don’t. I doubt that the shopkeeps one day just put up a sign because they felt like offending you and only you, oh person who’s probably never even shopped at their stores. It’s not really a threat to say that you’re never going to shop at someone’s store if you’ve never been there to begin with.
  
  And honestly, a threat like that is like a threat that someone isn’t going to shop at Wal-Mart. One individual doesn’t really mean much, it’s the herd that matters.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 10:01 am rating: 90
- #17.2 veritybrown
  
  Wow, you sound like the the I-won’t-show-my-receipt people at Consumerist!
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 11:05 am rating: 90
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#18 GumCloud

The last one was amazing. Really funny!

Mar 16, 2010 at 9:13 am rating: 90

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#19 anglophile

I’m thinking of using the “sure, if you agree to take the same pay cut at your job” line with a certain customer of mine.

Mar 16, 2010 at 9:21 am rating: 90

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- #19.1 Sirius¤
  
  I thought you were out of that line of work, Glo!
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 1:02 pm rating: 90
- #19.2 Schuyler
  
  I’d love to use that one, since I did just get a 20% pay cut. Nice to know they’re helping out in difficult times.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 2:21 pm rating: 90
- #19.3 anglophile
  
  You gotta put bread on the table, Sirius.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 8:28 pm rating: 90
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#20 claw71

I’ve got to give them credit for spelling it correctly, but I wonder if they, like 99% of all Americans, call it ‘TEE- A-WANNA.”

To me, Tijuana is a lot like that little pile of kitty barf you’ll find on your doorstep after your cat ate too much grass outside. I keep wondering when somebody will hose it off.

Mar 16, 2010 at 9:27 am rating: 90

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- #20.1 pony girl
  
  I don’t mind how Tijuana is (mis)pronounced, I just freaking hate it when people call it TJ.
  Usually they are the same people who say Cali.
  I don’t know which one I hate more.
  If I had a store, that’s the sign I would put up.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 10:18 am rating: 90
- #20.2 shwonline
  
  Everyone knows that TJ is Trader Joe’s.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 10:33 am rating: 90
- #20.3 molly ringwald
  
  i’d be willing to bet those are the same people who say words like ‘ridic’ and ‘obvi.’ people are too lazy to finish words these days…
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 10:34 am rating: 90
- #20.4 infant tyrone
  
  Maybe 99% of haole-Americans say Tee-a-wanna.
  There’s a bunch of Mexicans and hispanic-Americans from Mexico
  and further south who at least occasionally call Tijuana “TJ”.
  Not as often as people in general call Los Angeles “LA”, but…
  Total U.S. hispanic population is in the 15% range now and likely to double in 40 years, so Tee-whana will get more play day by day.
  
  I lived in San Diego for about 21 years and never heard anyone refer to Trader Joe’s as TJ (or TJ’s), but I didn’t live near the beaches, so…
  
  PG, It’s ridic for people to say Cali unless they’re talking about Colombia and obvi that y’all oughta avoid them whenever poss.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 11:05 am rating: 90
- #20.5 Jonathan
  
  Frisco makes me wanna slap a bitch. THE CITY, please.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 11:51 am rating: 90
- #20.6 pony girl
  
  it, when I went to school in San Diego, I only heard haoles say TJ. Same in Texas.
  I haven’t spent much time south of the border, though, so I’m sure you’d know more than I about that.
  
  ps- hi!
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 12:35 pm rating: 90
- #20.7 Sirius¤
  
  I thought haole was Hawaiian, not Merkun.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 1:05 pm rating: 90
- #20.8 pony girl
  
  Haole is Hawaiian.
  What’s Merkun?
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 1:37 pm rating: 90
- #20.9 infant tyrone
  
  PG/Sirius,
  My understanding is that haole is a Hawaiian term for a more or less Anglo/European/Caucasian person, so my haole-American was intended as a Hawaiian version of what my former Hispanic students used to politely refer to as Anglos.
  
  All of the Hispanics I heard use TJ were either high school kids or their parents. My guess, PG, is that you were in SD about 1990. Hispanics make up a larger percentage of the SoCal population than they did then and a bunch of them are in high school. If you were in college in SD, I suspect Hispanics on campus were more reluctant to say TJ then than high school kids are these days. Some constellation of socio-economic/education/class/etc. factors. College kids don’t need to cross the border to get served in a bar, while for high schoolers that is a primary reason to go, so the younger set has more of an attraction to Tijuana, talks about it more, and is more prone to abbreviate it to TJ.
  That’s a hypothesis that doesn’t care about being validated and promoted to a theory, so if someone’s got a better explanation I’m ready to switch.
  ty
  
  Oh, yeah…my take on Merkun is that it’s what haoles speak between Mexico and Canada.
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 3:19 pm rating: 90
- #20.10 pony girl
  
  it,
  Sounds like a valid hypothesis.
  RE: Merkin- So that’s how you spell it. I’ve heard it, but always figured it was spelled ‘mercin, or something like that.
  I’m still jonesing for Ruby’s shake and it’s affecting my reasoning.
  
  Mar 17, 2010 at 3:30 pm rating: 90
- #20.11 infant tyrone
  
  PG,
  Yer “Merkin” may be a better phonetic fit for the word we seem to know but cannot spell here because we (at least I) don’t have a “schwa” key.
  And in yer neck o’the woods, many Austinites will emit something that sounds a lot more like “Merkin” than “Merkun”.
  
  Not that it’ll help in a big picture way, but to take your mind off the Oreo shake, recall the “date shakes” made at Hadley’s Orchards stores in SD.
  If you ‘decide to motor West’, now you’ve got two places to ‘get yer kicks’.
  (I just figured out what to do for a birthday road trip 7 years from now.)
  
  Mar 18, 2010 at 12:21 pm rating: 90
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#21 Matt

Damn shame I had to renounce my citizenship of Mars in order to become a naturalized US citizen.

Mar 16, 2010 at 10:55 am rating: 90

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- #21.1 park rose
  
  Have you given up eating cars and bars and guitars?
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 12:02 pm rating: 90
- #21.2 infant tyrone
  
  Hey, Matt is Marshall Dillon from Gunsmoke.
  Yer beating up the wrong guy…
  
  Mar 17, 2010 at 9:57 am rating: 90
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#22 Bossy

Haggling is not just for south of the border. Clearly these people have issues: racism, elitism, who knows. Haven’t they ever been to a car dealership in the U.S.? If you straight up pay the sticker price they think you’re a sucker. I’ve even had jewelery stores haggle with me (Zales initiated it, pretty much cut the price in half without me ask, just because I was walking away). Many prices are negotiable, get off your high horse and realize that sometimes it’s better to make some money rather than no money…if you’re stuck on making X times more than something is worth and others don’t agree on your pricing, you’ll be stuck with the item.

Mar 16, 2010 at 11:08 am rating: 90

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#23 oi

This store employees are bored. These many notes? The first one clearly indicates so. Even they know that there is no real point in the entire note. These notes would serve better if there was an audience to appreciate it such as you know customers. oh. Wait, then they would not have time to generate these many notes!
they could have passed time better such as going on PAN and berating strangers.

Mar 16, 2010 at 11:50 am rating: 90

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- #23.1 Dee
  
  Right, they most-likely had too much time on their hands to write up a few signs. They couldn’t have done that at home or anything. However, these people probably do not make much money, considering that they don’t have much of “an audience to appreciate it” and all, so maybe they keep their shop open 24/7.
  
  Mar 18, 2010 at 12:22 am rating: 90
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#24 Lauren

Oh man. I live in Huntington Beach, and though I’ve never seen those signs, I know the shop they’re talking about. I’m so going to see it myself when I’m home for spring break and hope that those signs are still there.

Mar 16, 2010 at 12:00 pm rating: 90

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#25 felix

I think it would be really awkward giving or receiving the “10% – because we know and like you” discount.

It’s kinda like saying “we like you but only half as much as we like some of our other customers”.

Mar 16, 2010 at 5:23 pm rating: 90

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#26 matt_at_tafe

I want consecutive discounts:
10% – for a good joke
10% – because I’m a nurse
5% – if i get/have an oreo shake instore
20% – After they get to “know” me and found out how stunning I really am

Thats a 45% discount Pls…

Mar 16, 2010 at 7:19 pm rating: 90

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- #26.1 pigglebrain
  
  10% – A’s and B’s
  5% – student teacher
  5% – joke I made up when I was 7
  20% – I’ll take any pay cut right now just to get a job
  10% – would really like me…or really like me to leave.
  
  Total – 50 %
  
  Mar 16, 2010 at 10:11 pm rating: 90
- #26.2 Woman on the Verge
  
  I’m pretty sure I could score a 100% discount if I promised to take claw out of the store with me.
  
  Mar 17, 2010 at 8:25 am rating: 90
- #26.3 Dee
  
  I’m sure there’s some kind of fine print that only a flea could read that states “discounts cannot be combined.” =P
  
  Mar 18, 2010 at 12:26 am rating: 90
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#27 GhostWriter

Places where I’ve haggled and won:

Car lot
Discount appliance store
Pawn shop
Best Buy (clearance shelf in back)
Arbitration
IRS

Places where haggling did not help at all:

Traffic court
My share of Mom’s birthday gift
Disneyworld tickets
McDonalds
Blackjack table

Mar 17, 2010 at 9:16 am rating: 90

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- #27.1 park rose
  
  Fraggling rocks! . . . hold on. . .
  
  Mar 17, 2010 at 9:35 am rating: 90
- #27.2 gladystopia
  
  Hey. You. Stop that.
  
  Don’t you know you can only fraggle a rock if it explicitly consents to be fraggled?
  
  And just how old IS that rock, anyway? Because you know what underage-rock-fraggling leads to….
  
  Mar 18, 2010 at 4:00 pm rating: 90
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#28 Service with a snarl | PassiveAggressiveNotes.com — funny (if not necessarily "passive-aggressive") notes from pissed-off people

[...] How’s that for a low price guarantee? Share0mail [...]

Aug 23, 2010 at 8:52 pm rating: 90

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#29 The town recommends you hold it. | PassiveAggressiveNotes.com

[...] How’s that for a low price guarantee? [...]

Sep 29, 2010 at 8:09 pm rating: 90

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