Category: Hot Dog Days

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customers Hot Dog Days observation Work Diaries

"Can you please die?"

A guy approached the hot dog stand at work today and was talking on his phone; in the middle of his conversation, he asked me for a Diet Pepsi, so I immediately quoted the price to him: “1.50, please.” The guy’s eyes widened and he proceeded to comment on the exorbitant price to his friend, saying “I’m paying freaking $1.50 for a can of Diet Pepsi! Isn’t that insane?”

He then hands me his $20 bill, which I had to check for authenticity (it’s standard protocol for us to check all big bills). He continues to make commentary to his friend, saying “AND the girl is checking my $20 bill to make sure I didn’t make it just today! Oh my GOSH!” (Yes, the man was rather flamboyant). Finally, he gets off the phone and says to me, “Oh my gosh, can you die now?”

I gave him a look of shock, but I could tell he was joking (kind of…). Then he rambled on about the economy, talking about how, “How can you charge so much for a soda when the economy is in shambles?” And all I could say was “Well, I don’t set the prices, sir…” Then he ended on a nice/weird note, saying, “Well, I hope you will make A LOT of money with your cart…good location, by the way!”

And then he pranced off.

Categories
American Culture holiday Hot Dog Days

Memorial Day: Business slow? Economy?

Business was rather slow today despite the fact that it was Memorial Day. Both at the Wharf and down at Union Square, business was really lagging and it seemed like not many people were out. My boss was thinking that it could have been the gloomy/cloudy weather, or people weren’t really shopping due to the slow economy.

This also brings me to a strange tangent: why is it that there are ALWAYS store sales on all major holidays? Even on the holidays honoring people in the military (Memorial Day, Veterans’ Day, etc.)? It’s so odd–one of my friends put it a good way:

“Why are we saying ‘let’s honor our fallen soldiers’ by going out and shopping?!”

It’s so true, though; has our society really become so commercialized that all holidays are just merely excuses for sales now?

Categories
Hot Dog Days My San Francisco Chronicles tourists Work Diaries

Vacation Mindsets.

Today was the first day for our carts to work at the Wharf this year; from what I could see between the two carts (located at the Cable Car turnarounds), people can be quite rude and idiotic, even more than the people around Union Square.

It is probably because more of the people who walk by the carts at the Wharf are on vacation, and therefore, they have vacation mindsets. They feel they can act however they want to because they are on vacation; no need to care about others’ feelings so much, especially people working behind a counter, hot dog cart, etc.

After awhile, I was very tempted to say this to people passing by:

“You know, just because you are on vacation, doesn’t mean you can act like an asshole.”

I wonder how people would have reacted to that.

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customers Hot Dog Days Work Diaries

T-shirt saying.

While working the carts today, I had a customer come by who was wearing a shirt that had an interesting saying:

“#1 Stud Between the Sheets”

I was a little disturbed yet amused by this shirt; the guy did not look like one to wear such a thing. Oh well, I guess people continue to surprise me.

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Hot Dog Days My San Francisco Chronicles rant tourists Work Diaries

"Where is…?"

How many times do I have to say this: the hot dog cart is NOT an information booth. Please DO NOT ask me for directions to the Apple Store, Macy’s, Chinatown, et. al. Even if I do know, I do not need to tell you since you are not even a paying customer.

I mean, seriously, why do people not look on a map or at least attempt to find the places for themselves first? I would be more accommodating if they were to tell me that they had been searching for a long time, but most people just approach me and grunt “Where is *insert location here*?!?!” And when I tell them “I don’t know” they just frown at me and act pissed off that I don’t know.

I’m sorry I do not know San Francisco so well, but then again, all the places you ask for I don’t even frequent. Look it up on your map, or go to an actual information booth.