People don’t want to do their own maintenance. I see it with computers/electronics all the time. People run them with problems until they no longer run. Sure, it takes an hour to start up but it still works! I see these all the time. It isn’t until it won’t work at all that they do something.
Briggs and Stratton has introduced a new engine that “never needs an oil change!” I read up on this and they say it should last about 12 years if you add oil. I would NEVER not change the oil on a small air-cooled engine. They say a better air filter, better cooling, and the overhead valve design allow the oil to remain clean for years. I figured an engine like this would use an oil filter but it is just standard splash lube without an oil filter. They are marketing to the disposable crowd pure and simple. I wonder how long these will really last under real-world use. The good news is that you can change the oil but since the engines don’t have a drain plug, you have to turn them upside down or on their side to drain the old oil. I have found that I have to do this with many of my engines with a drain plug as it is since the body/frame/deck of the equipment blocks access to the drain plug and it is easier to do this than remove and reinstall the engine to change the oil.
@Marnet Even thow, the cheap (&@:;:@$) could at least put struts to help you lift it. Not only that, the end of the prop on one side swings to the other making it necessary to maneuver the entire width of the car or have a very long reach. The secondary release is near impossible to find and on one of my cars, if you have pudgy fingers, no way it works.
"a grocery chain called Wegmans is the same. No self checkout."
That is true of most Wegmans locations, but not all of them.
Their “Princeton” store (actually located in West Windsor, I think) has 4 self check-outs clustered together, near the exit.
However, the other Wegmans locations that I have visited don’t seem to use self checkouts.
^
For all I know, it could be the only one.
Perhaps they are experimenting/piloting the concept in one store before deciding whether to expand it to other locations.
Regarding the secondary hood release as mentioned by dagosa, that’s one of the complaints I have about my Lincoln.
Instead of the release being located in the center by the latch assembly Lincoln chose to run a roughly 2 foot long flat piece of steel from the latch to an equally flat plastic knob that is located near the passenger side headlamp and is located in an indention in the plastic radiator support cover.
If I had tentacles instead of fingers I suppose it wouldn’t be an issue. If the wife wouldn’t complain I’d remove it all and add a set of deck pins.
As to not checking the oil I could rob a line from Jeremy Clarkson. “Can’t be bothered.”.
Actually I like the self check outs. Usually no line and you can go at your own pace though. They have pretty sensitive scales though so it goes nuts if you pick something up off the input tray and don’t scan it or it doesn’t match the output tray.
The safety latch on our Acura is also bothersome. Its in the center but the opening is so small, you’d never make it with large fingers.
Re Self check outs: Here in Calif many of the grocery stores were trying to go to all self-check-out aisles. Then the State of Calif informed them they couldn’t legally sell alcoholic beverage products at self-check out aisles. There has to be someone checking the IDS. Oops! Staffed check-out aisles back in business here.
I personally don’t like self-checkouts and will only use them as a last resort.
But even worse are the new zig-zag checkout lines. I’m forced to hobble a lot farther on my cane.
In my minds eye I envision some high-falutin’ self-anointed “expert” giving seminars to senior executives for $5,000 a plate telling them how great these zig-zag setups are. I’ve asked numerous people, both customers and employees, how they like them, and everyone I’ve talked to hates them. One company, Hanniford’s, got so many complaints that they eliminated the zig-zags and went back to traditional checkout lines. It’s good to know that at least one company actually listens to their feedback. WalMart, to its credit, never went to the zig-zag lines.
I agree w/you , awkward to maneuver, never liked them. The advantage of the zig-zag arrangement is you don’t accidentally get stuck behind some customer who takes a really long time while the other lines left and right are moving smoothly. But since one can use that time to catch up on the comings and goings and various antics of the Hollywood film and music celebrities in the National Enquirer, for me a long wait is the only way I know what’s happening in America.
One thing I’ve noticed about self-checkout lanes is that when the local grocery stores have their “senior day” where seniors get an extra 10% off, that if you want an empty lane with no waiting on that day, just go to the self-check lane. Older people in general definitely tend to avoid technology. (or maybe they just like the old way of doing things)
I’ll admit I usually like a cashier to ring up my stuff too.
To link this into cars…and to make a point I haven’t seen expressed here…doesn’t it bother you that you’re functioning as an “unpaid scanner/grocery bagger”?
Gas stations have self-serve stations…but they PAY YOU A DISCOUNT for using 'em! (A pessimist would say “they make you pay more for full-serve,” but that’s really just two ways of saying the same thing.)
OTOH, you get NO discount for using the self-serve registers. I draw the line there, on general principles. I’ll work cheap–I’d even use the self-check-out in exchange for coupons not generally available elsewhere–but I won’t work free. Besides, most of my acquaintances are working-class: what if my self-serve tendencies were what finally convinced the store to let somebody go?
I agree with Joe. It’s like the notes my banks send me, trying to get me to move to paperless accounts. I may consider that when they will pay me a discount to move, but not before, as the paper statements don’t cost me anything and I need them for my records. Specially since most online statements go away after some time period; and the paper doesn’t.
Paypal, for example, I have to save a local PDF each month as they only keep them for a limited time period. Pain in the you know what.
Self service, paperless statements, emailed receipts, etc. is all cost shifting from the merchant to the consumer. I now am running into waiters and waitresses and even store cashiers who dare ask when I pay in cash if I want my change. Damned right I do. And when so challenged about receiving my due change, wait staff receive no tip from me and in stores I demand to speak to the manager. I know have to do all my own service filling the car gas tank, checking tire pressure, etc. at the gas station and usually have to bag my own groceries; I won’t put up with the assumption I do not warrant receiving proper change back when I make payment.
^The discreet way of handling that (as a waiter) is to say, “I’ll be right back with your change…” and then pause for a half-second, to see if you get an “Oh, that’s okay; keep it.” Requesting if the customer WANTS change is poor form, IMO.
I’m mostly an easy going, apologetic mouse. I usually tip fairly generously. I rarely am demanding. But this trend toward assuming I shouldn’t want my change when paying a bill goes too far. I work hard for my money and don’t appreciate anyone trying to scam me out of any of it, no matter the amount.
To get back to the original topic, I suspect the reason most people fail to check the oil dipstick, fluid levels or tire pressure is that most folks take appliances and utilitarian modern conveniences for granted. We expect to flip a switch to turn on the lights, turn a faucet and get clean water, hop in the car and go without thinking to do regular, frequent checks of the basic operating condition of these conveniences.
Regarding zig-zags, that was done on the main street of a small city in the TX Panhandle many years ago. I think that it has been removed now.
The city fathers determined that they could generate more business revenue downtown if they made auto traffic slow and a PITA.
What they did is build islands jutting out from the sidewalk on each side in a sawtooth pattern and then planted shrubs on the islands.
This caused traffic to move along at 10-15 MPH and the thinking (or lack of…) behind it was that slow moving traffic would generate window shoppers and create a tendency for someone who was barely moving to say to heck with it and stop for whatever reason.
I used to visit there quite frequently as I had a couple of girlfriends in that area and have driven that slalom course a number of times. It was difficult to window shop when all of your time is spent trying to avoid ramming an island or someone else coming the other direction on the same slalom course. Not to mention those surprises when one rounds an island and meets someone backing out of a parking spot.
My assumption was that the regulars probably went through a lot of steering components…