As someone whose first name is spelt in a way that's uncommon where I live, I can appreciate to some degree how frustrating this is. Most places spell my name wrong thanks to people "helpfully" correcting the "mistake" when I submit forms or other such things.
Children like to blend in and not be noticed as different (adults too of course, but to a lesser degree than children). The label itself is inoffensive, she just didn't like the fact she wasn't seen as just another kid.
I'm not an American, but I am used to being able to modify an order. I don't think of this as being entitled as I am after all paying for the meal and depending on the restaurant it's not exactly a cheap meal. That being the case I don't see any reason for negotiation if I'm not happy with the meal. The only thing I'd agree with is that it'd be absurd to request another meal for free simply because the one you chose wasn't to your fancy.
The customer is always right attitude is one that I appreciate Americans having. While not as bad in Australia as some parts of Europe, the attitude here is definitely closer to "give me your money and and leave" than "what can I do to ensure you leave happy?"
From my European perspective, US customer service is simply too much. Hovering over you, with that unnerving fake-feeling politeness. It makes me feel sort of like an errant child that needs help finding his mommy.
I don't need to be coddled, it's actually rather condescending.
I much prefer the European way of letting you look for yourself and then asking simply "can I help you?", if you look like you don't quite know what you're looking for. And if you tell them "I'm just browsing", they'll leave you alone, to browse in peace. Much less stressful.
It's kind of broken though as most people will only view the most upvoted comments because once again there's just so much content it's impossible to view it all, so you upvote what's already been upvoted. If you're there first you generally will get a lot of karma even if better comments come later.
I wouldn't say it's impossible, but it does have a non negligible impact on your social life. It would be rather dismissive to wave away the impact of removing your social media accounts if you have by any stretch of the imagination a social life.
I think this is an age thing. For that group of people that have not known life without the internet, having a social life not attached to being online seems unfathomable. For those of us old farts that had a life before the internet, having a social life without the facebook is just another day. For those that think not having social media is the end of the world, I'd suggest you're just not very imaginative.
As someone who's experienced life prior to the internet, it's not that one can't live without social media but it does affect how easy it is to organize things when everyone else does. As another comment pointed out, social events are organised as a part of facebook events, or through group chat. Buying and selling things locally are done through facebook groups rather than a newspaper or even eBay or CraigsList. Photos and the like are shared on social media for key important events in people's lives that you mightn't have the opportunity to see all that often.
All of these things can be worked around, but the alternatives are slower paced and less efficient and leave you ultimately out of the loop. So it's not a problem of imagination, it's a problem of wanting to be able to keep up with what's going on.
I think rather that it's not the person themselves but their peers and aquaintances. For example, I had never used facebook before moving to my current town, but now living here I practically had to create an account and use it semi-regularly because everything from finding a house to advertising a music concert was done within facebook.
Now that I am settled in, my usage has wound down a lot. I have found a comfortable rythmn with the activities and things I need, but should I ever want to discover new experiences or join social gatherings I would have to bring it up once again.
In 2014 I bought the top of the line MBP for $2700AUD. To get a top of the line model now it's $4100AUD. As someone who loves macOS, I'm still not gonna buy a new MBP until the price reaches some level of reasonableness. I've been seriously considering of getting a Dell and using Linux instead and I may just do so if there's no budging of the prices in the next 2-3 years.
Yes, as stupid as it sounds the trackpad is one of the things I love most about the MBP. I wish the XPS had the same reputation as it'd make it an easier sell for me.
I don't have a name that evokes such an emotional reaction to it, but I do have a name that stands out. I identify with the doctor a bit because at first I tried to fit in as a kid, but I eventually accepted myself and my heritage and have gone back to using it and not hiding it.
Those numbers are about right IME. I speak two languages and I'm learning a third. With a vocabulary of around 1100 words I am able to make basic conversation (able to talk about myself, who I am, what I do and what I enjoy and so on). If I read a newspaper I understand on average about 60% of what's written which sounds like a lot, but it's often not enough to understand what's going on for certain.
If someone is learning a language for fun, I'd recommend starting off with one with a lot of shared vocabulary with your native language. French for English speakers is a good start. Much better than German (despite English itself being a Germanic language). Even as someone who's only exposure to French was a couple of Michel Thomas cassette tapes; I understand a surprising amount of a French newspaper. I studied German in high school and I understand virtually nothing in a newspaper in comparison.
If you're a co-founder, get legal advice. Don't rely on what people have to say here. Speaking from experience as someone who started a business with a friend, things can get ugly when you want to part ways; even in the very early stages. Sorry to hear that it didn't go well, and best of luck in your future.
