Hardware Stores...off topic?

dogbytes wrote:
"what years? i hung out with band geeks (madison high 1977) ~ and got kicked outta farrells plenty o times! hopefully if you were our waiter, we tipped ya for your troubles!"

I worked at Farrell's La Mesa summer 1979- summer 1981. I remember a lot of rowdy high school dorks; some we kicked out. I just had the manager do it. One time I caught a guy doing the upside down glass of water on a napkin trick, so I slid the glass off the table right into his lap!

My dad taught me the "put the tip in the upside down water trick" at the Ferrals in H.B. when I was like 6!!! That was like the mandatory tip there. Crazy! Never got one on our lap though.........

Ben,
You'll have to explain to us how to "put the tip in the upside down water" trick. I've never seen that one before!

I couldn't believe people would put a dime tip in an upside-down glass and expect you'll really fish around for it in the bus tray. For a lousy dime! The busboys would just slide the glass off into the bus tub - no muss, no fuss.

I have many other stories from working at Farrell's: like when I threw a handful of pennies at a car as it was leaving because that's all the tip they gave me (those were my aggressive mod days).

We had this really mean manager and one time the cook pissed on his car door handle while he was inside and we all watched through the window as he got in his car.

Another time someone put a jumbo weenie in the gas tank of the manager's company pinto! They had to rebuild the engine.

One time a cook came out on the floor with a jumbo weenie hanging out of his fly!

The dishwashers and cooks were always huffing from empty whipped cream cans.

Many nights we started drinking before work was finished and we'd end up drinking and playing Space Invaders or Asteroids all night in the banquet room.

One day my friend's punk rock band played in the banquet room.

When ice cream sundaes were mistakes we would refreeze them and use them in the bottom of the zoo, frozen whipped cream and all.

One time a mouse ran across the table while my customers were sitting there! They just moved to another table instead of leaving!

When anyone quit working there on their last day the staff would hold the person down and cover the person with whipped cream. I fought back and doused the manager with barbeque sauce from a squirt bottle. He retaliated with a glass of coke in my face.

WALGREENS-They replaced the Kahiki and in the eighties they replaced the fabulous Lanai in San Mateo, CA!

Walgreen's is the anti-tiki!

I have a Wallgreens behind my store. Great deals but the service sucks. Why don't they get a register system that automaticly adds in all those coupons!!? You have to wait in line 10 mins. for the minimal wage cashier to cut them out by hand for the older folks who can't tear them cause they need their arthritus cream that the coupon is for in the first palce!!!! They (wallgreens)have to be making some serious cash so why don't they upgrade to a better register!!? I walk out all the time cause of this. Arggghhhhhh!
p.s. and they card (i.d.) "everyone" for smokes too! yesterday, I saw a 67 year old dude who did not have his i.d. on him and they wouldn't sell him smokes!! ooops, lost another customer!!

Warmart sucks big time! They replaced the Hiway 39 drive-in here in the County of the Oranges.

A pox on both their houses!

I remember a lot of rowdy high school dorks; some we kicked out.

setting the record straight: i was just a friend of the dorks.

we got busted for using straws to blowdart frilly toothpicks. the ceiling looked like a porcupine..

Why go to Walgreen's at all?

bamboo ben wrote:
My dad taught me the "put the tip in the upside down water trick" at the Ferrals in H.B. when I was like 6!!! That was like the mandatory tip there. Crazy! Never got one on our lap though.........

Hey Ben,
My brothers worked at the HB Farrel's in the late 60's/early 70's. So you were the trouble-maker? I shall inform them of your identity, but I take no responsibility for their response. Look out for a low-flying F-18 around downtown HB, though. Ha ha! :)

The "Zoo" was a classic, I recall getting it for my birthdays. Needless to say, the house had a few (hundred) of those little plastic animals laying around. That was a great place, my brothers ended up pretty good for having started their "working" careers there.

This topic should be re-titled, I have been ignoring it thinking the talk was still on hardware stores!

midnite

dogbytes wrote about Farrell's:

"we got busted for using straws to blowdart frilly toothpicks. the ceiling looked like a porcupine.."

The staff used to do that all the time to. We would aim for those styrofoam "straw" hats and hope we didn't hit 'em in the eye!

Ok I would start a new thread on Farrell's but it would be as off topic as... Morrissey, so i won't.

Just to bring up this old chestnut again...there was an article in the Sunday Times (uk) last weekend about an American chap called Robert Putnam who has written a book called 'Bowling Alone'. He may well be old news in the US, but the topic of his book seemed to fit well with this thread. He's basically saying that people are no longer going to 'Funny Hat Lodges' or bars, and are increasingly staying in and watching tv. This leads to social problems such as crime, depression & suicide.

What shocked me is the fact that since Cheers was shot, the number of drinks served in bars has gone down by 35%. Lets hear that once again.....35%! So everyone becomes socially dislocated etcetera.

Well, I think Tiki Central members buck the trend by being particularly friendly and sociable, but for anyone who wants to back this up by the ideas of a Harvard Sociologist who smokes a pipe and has one of those damn cool moustacheless beards might be advised to take a peek at this.

Trader Woody