quote:

Originally posted by ulsterman:
It is as mundane as "Have a nice day".

Something that irks me even more, is "Have a nice one."

No idea why that grates on me the way it does, but it annoys me.

I am very proud of my restraint and self-control though. Yesterday, I was able to keep myself from replying to the girl at the register who said that. I was able to keep my mouth shut instead of replying "My wife says I have a GREAT one!"

Is it "Have a Bless-ED Day" or "Have a Bless-DD Day"?

I don't care for those, either.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Is it "Have a Bless-ED Day" or "Have a Bless-DD Day"?

I don't care for those, either.

Right up there with "Bless your heart."

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ronin1069:
Be grateful if someone chooses to acknowledge your service, but to be angry or upset because it was not enough acknowledgement, or not on a day that is most convenient? Come on.

One of my biggest fears is that the public at large is eventually going to get bored with the idea that they are "supposed to" honor Vets at every turn...and there will be a backlash.
[QUOTE]


Spot on, brother. My enlistment straddled 9/11, so I experienced both peacetime and wartime service, and how people reacted in general to your service. It wasn't bad, but people weren't tripping over themselves with thank yous and free stuff. I'd hate for a sense of entitlement to impact all the legit support efforts for Vets that really need it.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
Right up there with "Bless your heart."

Yes, but said by the right person, that is usually a veiled insult. Especially effective from smartass little old ladies.

quote:

Originally posted by mcrimm:
I just picked up $200 worth of crap from HD. Only one item was on sale at $29 so I anticipated a little discount of about $17. The nice clerk thanked me for my service and proceeded to tell me that none of my items were eligible for the discount.

I asked what things in the store qualified and she didn't know. Nothing else was on sale on my trolley.

HD used to thank you for your service by giving you 10% off on certain holidays. Now it appears to only be lip service.

I bought a Stihl leaf blower at Murdocks - a great home and ranch store. They gave me 15% off with proof of service.

The Good, the Bad and I didn't get Ugly.

Mike

Don't listen to that crap from some cashier!

Demand to see the manager, and be prepared to take names.

I don't feel I have the right to form an opinion on the matter because I didn't serve but I do agree with Ronin. My father and grandfather both served and have never once asked for any special service or even for a simple thank you and I believe they'd feel awkward if it was any other way and I think its hard not to respect that type of attitude.

I'm the OP.

Here's my view. The discount is offered to Veterans as an incentive to shop. It's in reality a sale.

I shop sales just like many of you. If you shop a sale and the business does not honor the sales price, how would you feel.

The extra $17 I spent by not getting the 'sale price' is of no consequence to my world. I'm not the type who will complain to a higher authority over something trivial only to demean a poor part-time clerk who is trying to hammer out a living.

It's just one of those little things that stick in your mind and could affect future buying choices.

I again contrast that to Murdocks - a local home and garden store. I was in early last week and the clerk asked me if I had served. When I told her I did, she told be to come back this weekend as everything but guns is 15% off. Guns are 10% off. She also gave me a flyer about the promotion.

Let's see. Whose treatment won the day? I spent $200 there after I left Home Depot.

Mike

I've searched the topic and consistently found the following policy:
"Home Depot Military/Veteran Discount Policy

They offer a 10 percent discount, up to a $500 maximum, to all active, reserve, retired or disabled veterans and their family members with a valid military ID, every day of the week.

All other military veterans qualify for a 10 percent discount during Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Independence Day."

It is not clear from your post that you retired from the military or are a disabled veteran. If you don't qualify under the listed conditions, and you complain about the absent discount, you may be a member in good standing of the "where is my free cheese" club.

My local HD gives me 10% on most items even though I just served one hitch. I do have a VA disability but they never asked for it.

This seems like a good example of "it's not the money, it's the principle." Nobody should expect businesses to offer a discount, but if they do offer it then they should honor it.

quote:

Originally posted by brecaidra:
This seems like a good example of "it's not the money, it's the principle." Nobody should expect businesses to offer a discount, but if they do offer it then they should honor it.

I couldn't have said it better.

quote:

Originally posted by Elk Hunter:

quote:

Originally posted by mcrimm:
I just picked up $200 worth of crap from HD. Only one item was on sale at $29 so I anticipated a little discount of about $17. The nice clerk thanked me for my service and proceeded to tell me that none of my items were eligible for the discount.

I asked what things in the store qualified and she didn't know. Nothing else was on sale on my trolley.

HD used to thank you for your service by giving you 10% off on certain holidays. Now it appears to only be lip service.

I bought a Stihl leaf blower at Murdocks - a great home and ranch store. They gave me 15% off with proof of service.

The Good, the Bad and I didn't get Ugly.

Mike

Don't listen to that crap from some cashier!

Demand to see the manager, and be prepared to take names.

And become that guy.

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:
[T]here will be a backlash.

Yes, there will be.

The reason people show appreciation toward members of the armed forces and military veterans at the moment is because, as Samuel Johnson put it long ago, “Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier, or not having been at sea.” But that’s true only when being a member of the armed forces is not obligatory or the threat to the nation and its individual members is obvious. People stop thinking that when, as during the Vietnam War, service was obligatory (as least for a significant portion of the population) and the threat was far from obvious. That trend started during the Korean War, but matured somewhat over a decade later, and probably due in large part to the civil rights movement that demonstrated it was possible to take on “the government” and ingrained social norms and win.

The best way to justify opposition to something like a war and those who wage it is to learn to hate them. It’s no longer a matter of not wanting to put up with the inconvenience and danger of doing one’s duty to the nation, it’s a matter of ascending to the much higher plane of resisting the forces of evil. As Lewis Sorley put it in the book A Better War, “It was obviously in the interest of those who opposed the [Vietnam] war, and those who evaded it, to portray those who served in the worst possible light.”

So, what does that have to do with today? I believe that sooner or later people will begin to wonder why it is that military veterans deserve things like store discounts. As both the number of veterans and their “privileges” increase, there will be more and more times when someone standing in line will hear someone’s loudly complaining about not receiving something that the listener isn’t eligible for himself.

And when enough people are thinking that sort of thing, they’ll stop thinking and start complaining themselves, such as the members here whom I’ve seen bitch about the types of “free” medical care that veterans can receive through the VA system. When enough people think those things and enough become willing to express them out loud, then “Tommy” will no longer be the “saviour of the country,” and it will be, “Chuck him out, the brute.”

________________________________________________

“I was a soldier, I am a soldier, I will always be a soldier.”

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

And when enough people are thinking that sort of thing, they’ll stop thinking and start complaining themselves, such as the members here whom I’ve seen bitch about the types of “free” medical care that veterans can receive through the VA system. When enough people think those things and enough become willing to express them out loud, then “Tommy” will no longer be the “saviour of the country,” and it will be, “Chuck him out, the brute.”

Perfectly said.

Post like this drive me up the wall. I currently work at Lowes. i know not home depot. Fuck you for demanding a discount. I also served 6 honorable years of federal service. I did it for my brothers not for a discount. Sure they are great but not expected.

People who make a scene about thee are the scum of the veteran community and make us all look bad.

Its supposed to be a privilege to serve and it doesn't earn you scything other than a retirement(maybe) and/or disability as well as pride.

Thank you Ronin for your reply. It summarizes how I feel.

I never ask for a discount. I was there because I signed up for college money. I did my time and then separated. My service feels small next to a family member who gave everything to an IED, so I keep my status to myself and expect nothing extra from society, particularly a private entity.

quote:

Originally posted by brecaidra:
This seems like a good example of "it's not the money, it's the principle." Nobody should expect businesses to offer a discount, but if they do offer it then they should honor it.

What do you say about in the case, as this appears to be, that a discount was not offered? A discount is offered to active military, disabled vet and retired vets.

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:
This is NOT directed at the OP, but I am beginning to tire of this generation of vets and their "where's my free shit" way of thinking.

There are guys I know who literally plan their shopping/dining on where they know they can get a Veteran's freebie. A few weeks ago I took my son to see Logan and the dude in front of me was complaining to the girl working the ticket window because the theatre did not offer any type of Veteran's discount.

Personally I think it is an extention of the whole "there I was" book writing phenomenon that many of the Navy SEAL's have written. As a military (and a generation) we have lost the ability to be humble.

Be grateful if someone chooses to acknowledge your service, but to be angry or upset because it was not enough acknowledgement, or not on a day that is most convenient? Come on.

One of my biggest fears is that the public at large is eventually going to get bored with the idea that they are "supposed to" honor Vets at every turn...and there will be a backlash.

I could go on, but likely I've pissed some folks off just by my statement above.

I was thinking this while reading down the thread, and agree with you, my thoughts exactly.

Gimmie-Gimmie-Gimmie-Gimmie

Also known as ME-ME-ME-ME-ME-ME-ME-ME-ME