It was designed to maintain social distance.
In 50 years from now, what will people be nostalgic for from around today's time period?
- Thread starter Chrisinmd
- Start date
Why? And to clarify I'm not saying that's what I want to happen. But 3 years of doing something tends to engrain itself in people.
Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
Because some people are simply stupid.
hoshin1600
Senior Master
i think driving a car will be a top one, once self directed cars work well, insurance companies will sky rocket the rates and make it impossible to own and drive a real car.
however i think America will be unrecognizable.
welcome to the USSA.
however i think America will be unrecognizable.
welcome to the USSA.
dvcochran
Grandmaster
We are social animals. It is engrained in us, just like many other mammals. It is a key requirement to keep us mentally balanced, happy, and alive. Like most other people, it seriously creeps me out to see everyone walking around when you cannot see their face. It is akin to this forum; you only see words written on a screen so you cannot fully gauge someone's meaning or intent.
I am not a great conversationalist because my nerdy/engineering mind tends to cut to the chase and wants to move a group conversation forward too quickly for some/most. But I am good at measuring someone when talking face to face.
Case in point; I would Never buy a car online from a business like Carvana where there is no haggling and the price is 'fixed'. This is the biggest win for the Seller ever. I scratch my head that people are so gullible and not willing to negotiate what they pay for such a large ticket item. A classic case of social conditioning that is bad for people.
dvcochran
Grandmaster
I saw how bad I butchered this, sorry. I meant to right:
"For every reason you would have held a party last year."
hoshin1600
Senior Master
get used to the idea. dealers are going out of business. as soon as the makers figure out how to go direct to consumer you wont have a choice. people dont like to haggle. for most it is one of the most stress full events in their life, they don trust sales people. everyone feels they are getting ripped off because they dont know the actual price. but for new cars the actual price is on the window sticker,, if you dont like it dont buy it,, its the people that do haggle who think they know "the dealer is making a fortune" , which they are not. and every dollar that you negotiate down is a dollar out of the sales guys pocket. the entire haggle thing is the worst thing ever, it hurts the dealer and the sales guy just trying to feed his family. the car makers already made their money before the car even hit the lot.
dvcochran
Grandmaster
For all the reasons you list negotiation is necessary. There are way too many buying choices to take the first thing available. This isn't like buying a pair of shoes. I never have and never will pay sticker price for a new vehicle.
I am dumbfounded by the generational mentality of 'there is nothing I can do about that'.
Steve
Mostly Harmless
Do you haggle when you go to the grocery store or shop for clothes in the mall? They have fixed prices, too. It's very interesting to me that you associate haggling for a car price as social conditioning that is bad for people. The car dealers need to make their money, and provided the markup is fair and the price is reasonable, what's wrong with not wanting to haggle? There's also a value to time. I don't know how you value your time, but if I am spending hours or more like going back and forth to the dealer multiple times, to get what is essentially a 5% discount on a car, no thanks. I have much better ways to spend my time.
Regarding the rest, could you point to your source for saying that most people are "seriously creeped out to see everyone walking around when you cannot see their face?" That hasn't been my experience at all. Most people, like I'd say 99 out of 100-ish, that I run into out in the world at large, seem to interact pretty much the same with masks as without.
All that said, I do agree that we are social animals, and right now, at least in the USA, we have some members of the flock who are choosing to be anti-social, not wear masks, and who become obstinate about doing simple things to help their friends and neighbors. Covid-19 is responsible for anywhere between 10 and 20% of all deaths in the USA right now, depending on the week, some of them most certainly unnecessarily. So, socially, it's up to the rest of us to exert social pressure on these anti-social people who are exhibiting aberrant behavior and shame them into doing the right thing. It's what social creatures do.
And others are complexly stupid.
You mention we're social animals but also that people are moving to less social activities. Online forums/discussions (not necessarily here, but facebook, tumblr, twitter reddit), take out a lot of that personal face-to-face conversation and discussion, and sites like carvana is one of the biggest things.
Plenty of people never learned how to haggle. So they see the price on Carvana is lower than the in-person price, and they are now also saving themselves the effort of having to interact with someone, and it seems like a win-win. People are already ordering their groceries online, or using an app to order food in a 'grab and go' where they don't have to actually talk to anyone to buy/pick up their food.
Society was already heading this way, and COVID is just speeding it along. Again, not saying this is good, but it's what I see happening.
Also in a way, they still do what you discuss, just online. They'll look at the sticker price at 10 different dealers for three different cars, and their listings on 5 different sites for each, and buy it from whomever's offering the best deal at which site. They're not haggling still, but that doesn't mean their 'taking the first thing available'.
Really? If you buy a new/1year old car it'll probably be 20k+. that means a couple hours of going back and forth is saving you $1000, which is more than most people I know make in a couple hours working at their jobs. How much money would you have to save for it to be worth it?
The one thing that gives me pause about this....until the pandemic, if you walked into a bank here wearing a cap and sunglasses, they'll ask you to remove them as you come in. And having worked in the banking world I understood why.
Now everybody walks into the banks here wearing masks and sunglasses. it's so odd to me.
dvcochran
Grandmaster
Yes, but they are still averaging their price based on sticker prices. Total BS, IMHO. I have no problem driving 2 hours for a better deal.
dvcochran
Grandmaster
Possibly in your area, definitely not in the southeast. Things are quickly heading back to normal here.
There is no 'new normal'. Maybe a temporary thing but not permanent.
Definitely different in different areas. But my comment was also towards the idea that culture would change if people continued with current measures for 3 years
dvcochran
Grandmaster
5% on an $80,000 truck, yea I am going to haggle all I can and it is time well spent. You can spend your time and waste you money however you wish.
I do my research and have a pretty good idea what I am going to pay before I ever show up. I run enough service trucks that I am confident I am getting a good price.
Yes, without a doubt people are seriously creeped out about the mask. Apparently "the world at large" that you run around in is pretty small. Just talk to retailers and people outside your circle. It will be interesting when the numbers for the huge increase in shop lifting come out.
Your last paragraph is TOTAL BS. I think you need to stay WAY Northwest. It seems to fit your mentality much better, because dude, you don't have a clue what is going on. Just keep buying the lies and you will be fine.
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dvcochran
Grandmaster
Okay, why would that be a good thing?
