Workplace secrets thread

[BoringSupreez]

I'm a librarian and even though it should be common sense, I think a lot of people don't realize that libraries throw out books. We don't have infinite space! My library has a used book store connected to it, so books tend to go there rather than getting thrown out directly, but removing titles is still necessary to the upkeep of libraries*

My library system has two sales per year to take care of books removed from circulation.

Back on topic: Do any of you guys tip fast food employees? I rarely do as most fast food employees seem like they would rather be any where else on the planet, but if a teller/cashier is polite, courteous, and hands me my food with a smile I'll usually give him/her a few bucks.

Never. I hate tipping, I only want to pay whatever price I see on the menu. For that reason, I never eat anywhere where tipping is expected unless someone else is paying or I'm getting it to go.

[Luke]

Never. I hate tipping, I only want to pay whatever price I see on the menu. For that reason, I never eat anywhere where tipping is expected unless someone else is paying or I'm getting it to go.

That's unfortunate. You can really make someones day with just a Lincoln, and a lot of people deserve to be tipped. Plus, you tip the same person a few times and the favor is usually returned, and if not, no biggie as you don't do favors to expect the favor to be returned. I tip my barber/hairstylist $15 with every haircut I get as she's amazing and I know she'll pay attention to detail (and throw in an amazing massage).

I understand people not wanting to tip, but I like to show my appreciation to people who bust their ass.

[Nemoide]

Back on topic: Do any of you guys tip fast food employees? I rarely do as most fast food employees seem like they would rather be any where else on the planet, but if a teller/cashier is polite, courteous, and hands me my food with a smile I'll usually give him/her a few bucks.

I rarely get fast food, but if I'm at a place with a tip jar, I typically toss my change in there. I worked at a Dunkin Donuts for a while so I empathize with people in similar situations. Tips matter!

And that reminds me of something legit-terrible that would happen at the movie theater I worked at. If you're working at the box office (or concession counter, which I rarely did) we would collect money for charity. This was optional and the average employee didn't bother asking people to donate, but there were little rewards like restaurant gift certificates for the people who collected the most.
Unfortunately, since most people were working 38 hours a week (no benefits) for minimum wage, if they got money in their jar, they would just pocket it. This was entirely the norm and there were maybe a total of three or four people, myself included, who would always turn in the entire contents of the jar. I even had the head manager "miscount" how much money I had by $75 and I suspect he was planning on taking it for himself! (I counted it myself beforehand so I could tell him his total was incorrect.)

So if I see a charity donation jar in some place where I know the employees are underpaid, I don't donate.

[J T]

A theory is a theory, tested or not. Logic is proven. 2 + 2 = 4.

Theory has a specific meaning in science, and I basically gave that definition in my previous post. A scientific theory is not "just a theory" as the term is used by lay people. In other words, it's not just some guys opinion about how the world works. It is a logically consistent explanation that can explain the current empirical knowledge on a topic. Theories not only describe and explain, but they can also make predictions. It's also important that a theory be phrased in a falsifiable way and continue to be tested to show that it is resistant to attempts at falsification.

Logic is the process of deduction, but any logical statement is only as true as the initial assumptions it is founded on. This is how statements can be logically correct, yet still false. If I say 1.) all gamers like Deus Ex; 2.) HobieWan does not like Deus Ex; 3.) Therefore HobieWan is not a gamer; then I have a made a logically correct deduction in step 3, but it all depends on the assumption step 1 and the empirical truth of step 2.

I prefer things that are concrete and known. Psychology asks, Science proves.

This is a common misunderstanding about science. Science never proves. The scientific methods is a process that continues to test, refine, and evaluate theory. But science's methods do not lead to absolute proof. Scientific writers are very careful to state that their findings provide evidence for their theories, but they do no make claims that their theories are proven.

Modern day psychology is a science. It relies on probability more than some other disciplines and it doesn't have the same precise accuracy as physics, but psychology can still make probablistic statements that are far better than conjecture.

I still don't understand why "nature vs. nurture" is still even in debate. Clone two humans, give them different environments, see how they turn out. Repeat. Problem solved.

This is what they do in psychology studies. They find identical adopted twins reared apart from each other in different environments and they create a heritability index score to determine how much the studied factor is due to their biology and how much is due to their environment. The results are still confusing though because it's not clear what aspects of the environment affected them and if they shared exposure to similar types of environmental stimuli despite being reared apart. Our biology has evolved and self organized to be highly useful in the social contexts we live in, and it is also very adaptive. Pretty much everyone understands nature and nurture are both important and it's incredibly hard to pull them apart since they are both influencing each other all the time.

[MrPopo]

This is how statements can be logically correct, yet still false. If I say 1.) all gamers like Deus Ex; 2.) HobieWan does not like Deus Ex; 3.) Therefore HobieWan is not a gamer; then I have a made a logically correct deduction in step 3, but it all depends on the assumption step 1 and the empirical truth of step 2.

Bad example, step 1 is not an assumption.

[Luke]

Bad example, step 1 is not an assumption.

Hush you, lay person.

[fastbilly1]

I understand people not wanting to tip, but I like to show my appreciation to people who bust their ass.

Being that I use to work as a bartender/waiter for right at $2 an hour with no benefits, I typically tip well. Now I dont often go to a fancy restaurant, typically Waffle House is as fancy as I go sans special occasions for others (Im fine with going to Waffle House for special occasions). But last Saturday we went to an OCharlies where the waiter continued to bring us the wrong food and gave my fiances friends warm unsweet tea even after he went to get them sweet tea for the third time. He ended up with a $3 tip out of a $40 meal. It is really rare for me to not tip atleast $2 on a meal, but he did not deserve that.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Back on topic: Do any of you guys tip fast food employees? I rarely do as most fast food employees seem like they would rather be any where else on the planet, but if a teller/cashier is polite, courteous, and hands me my food with a smile I'll usually give him/her a few bucks.

Never. I hate tipping, I only want to pay whatever price I see on the menu. For that reason, I never eat anywhere where tipping is expected unless someone else is paying or I'm getting it to go.

You must eat at some really bad restaurants...yeesh...I try my hardest not to eat at places where tipping is not expected...

[BoringSupreez]

Back on topic: Do any of you guys tip fast food employees? I rarely do as most fast food employees seem like they would rather be any where else on the planet, but if a teller/cashier is polite, courteous, and hands me my food with a smile I'll usually give him/her a few bucks.

Never. I hate tipping, I only want to pay whatever price I see on the menu. For that reason, I never eat anywhere where tipping is expected unless someone else is paying or I'm getting it to go.

You must eat at some really bad restaurants...yeesh...I try my hardest not to eat at places where tipping is not expected...

I eat fast food and grocery store deli food when I'm out.

[Key-Glyph]

One of my first jobs was working for a bagel chain. I know this is incredibly naive, but before I worked there, I thought a sign like "baked on premises!" meant that the bread batter was mixed from scratch in the kitchen. What it really means is that some headquarters somewhere ships raw, rock-hard frozen dough in the shape of dozens of individual baby bagels to your location, which then throws them into an oven on premises for the final step. For whatever reason I found this really disappointing.

I work at a public library now, and although we don't really have "secrets," one thing worth mentioning is how well libraries within a network can communicate. They will each use the same software, which will be linked to the same patron database. With my particular network's software -- and I assume this is standard elsewhere -- we can put messages in a person's record that will pop up on every participating library's screen when that person's card is scanned. This might mean that a message of "BOB IS LEGAL NAME" will preempt our inquiry and cut back on the maddening number of "Should we have you listed as 'Robert'?" questions you have to deal with on a daily basis. But it might also mean that a message of "HAS HAD INTERLIBRARY LOAN FINE POLICY EXPLAINED; $50.00 WAIVED" will blow your cover if you try to play dumb on the policy a second time -- even if you think you're safe by making your attempt in a totally different town.