Who's Driving
Who's Driving with Wesley Turner & Steven Merck is all about the entertaining stories we share and brainstorming topics we discuss as two best friends would on a long road trip. Come along for the ride as we check in with friends & offer a wide range of informative topics centered around running small businesses, social media, and all things Home and Garden.
Who's Driving
Who's Driving- Furry Friends S3E15
Wesley and Steven recap their busiest-ever Mother's Day weekend at the garden store while sharing hilarious observations from unexpectedly encountering a furry convention in Atlanta.
Don't forget to join our online community at WhosDrivingPodcast.com where members can see video clips of the furries
Join the conversation by calling their hotline at 864-982-5029 with your own stories or topic suggestions, and experience the authentic charm of two best friends who truly never know who's driving or where they're headed.
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Follow Steven on Instagram at @Keepinupwithsteven and follow Wesley on Instagram at @WesleyTurnerLiving. Shop our online store at TheNestedFig.Com Find The Nested Fig on Instagram at @TheNestedFig
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Girl, did you bring a paddle Cause? We need a boat to drive.
Speaker 2:Oh, I thought you meant a paddle, cause we just have been at the furry convention, cause you're gonna spank me.
Speaker 1:It's time for another episode of who's Driving. Welcome to who's Driving. I'm Wesley Turner and I'm Stephen Merck. We're two best friends and entrepreneurs. Who's Driving is an entertaining look into the behind the scenes of our lives, friendship and business.
Speaker 2:These are the stories we share and topics we discuss, as two best friends would on a long road trip.
Speaker 1:Along the way, we'll check in with friends and offer a wide range of informative topics centered around running small businesses, social media and all things home and garden.
Speaker 2:Buckle up and enjoy the ride. You never know who's driving, or?
Speaker 1:where we're headed. All we know is it's always a fun ride, so we're in a boat today. Yeah, it is raining like something. It's raining cats and dogs out there crazy out there, oh my goodness, but we're back at it. You made out here. We just survived a busy week and weekend. It was Mother's Day weekend.
Speaker 1:Our busiest single weekend at the garden store every year, and this year was busier than all the past. Yes, so that's amazing. It was good, it was very good. I haven't been on today's Monday. We're recording this at the last minute. It comes out tomorrow, tuesday, so y'all are up to date on this one. I haven't been on social media in like I don't know all weekend because of being there and doing Flower.
Speaker 1:I mean, I posted a little bit of this and a little of that, but nothing like crazy We've been so busy Like I posted a little bit of this and a little of that, but nothing like crazy.
Speaker 1:We've been so busy Like I feel like it just caught up with me today, like I just it did it's just like you let the air out of a balloon Because it was a very busy nonstop two weeks because we went to High Point Market and got back. I think there was something right before High Point Market. I can't remember that far back we went to the High Point Market. I can't remember that far back we went to the High Point Market and came back and then I had to go to Tennessee and you held things down.
Speaker 2:We were in Atlanta.
Speaker 1:Then we went to Atlanta just at the beginning of last week and then we had Mother's Day and it all just ran together. So last week, this time we were in Atlanta. We went down. They were having a I think we talked about it on the last episode we they were having what they call their sample sale. This is where vendors sell off things from their showrooms as they're resetting for the season. But we really went down to do live sales. We just knew more vendors would be open. So we were there. What? Monday, tuesday, wednesday? I believe we came back Wednesday night or Thursday Wednesday.
Speaker 2:Wednesday night.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it happened again. I feel like we talked about this not that long ago, but it's been years. Podcast we brought it up not that long ago, but it's been years because I was like I don't know when that happened or when we would have been there, but as we were leaving, the furry convention was starting Some weird people. Listen, we may have some furry people If we do?
Speaker 2:I want to know, listen outside, looking in, got weird. But we want to talk to you. But I mean I'm fine with weird, I mean it's your business, but to me, you know, I just don't get it.
Speaker 1:So if you are part of our members only community at whosedrivingpodcastcom and you watch the video version, I am going to put up some clips that we took as we were leaving. I wish, I really wish, we had been there one more day, because when we were leaving the furries were showing up and so we were. We had to go back to the hotel to get our bags and our car and we snuck a little footage for you so you could see. You know and this was again, I don't think they really started until Thursday so all the furry friends I don't know what they would call furry friends is what I'm going to call them were showing up.
Speaker 2:It's called FWA Furry Weekend, atlanta. Okay, oh, and it is at the Marriott Marquis.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's the Marriott and the Hyatt which are connected, but it is the Marriott is where the convention is.
Speaker 2:Yes, I'm reading, but what I?
Speaker 1:found. Uh, I don't know, I don't not odd or funny or whatever, but like some of the furries again, if you're in our members only community you can see this in the clips Some of them just wear parts and bits Like they might have a um, what would you call the head part on? It's like a head.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like an animal head, like a dog or whatever it is, but then regular clothes and everything else. But then some of them are in full costume, like a oh my gosh, what's the word? Like a mascot costume. Some of them it's just the head, some of them it's the head, but they might have on hands and feet but regular clothes, and then some of them it is a full. You can't tell anything. Like I said, like a mascot for a football team or something like that. So it's very interesting and they have all of these like organized I think, like conference things going on and I don't know. You join us over at it is the who's driving podcast dot com. You can see a little cosplay.
Speaker 2:These, it says. These events typically feature a variety of activities, including panels, workshops, fursuit parades, gaming rooms and social events. It's where furries can socialize, connect with others and participate in activities related to their shared passion. To their shared passion. Furry conventions often offer panels and workshops related to fandom, such as art, writing, fursuit making and more so it's workshops making your furry costumes.
Speaker 1:So just all things furry.
Speaker 2:Uh-huh and gaming rooms where attendees play board games, video games and role playing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, I have a question, though I was thinking about this in the shower, of all places, okay, so if you again watch the video, you'll see all types. They all have on their costumes and they're walking around, like one of them has is a dog, that's a furry and it has it's, I guess, like I don't know person walking it, like I think it's on a leash, and the person is dressed up almost like a zookeeper type person, like a handler, I guess is what this person would be called Closest thing I can think of. But here is my question who in the furry world? There's all of these people and they all have on these costumes. So like there are a lot of dogs and I don't know. But what if someone shows up with the exact same costume? Does that matter?
Speaker 2:I don't know that you would. I don't know that that would happen because they're just going to be modified in some way. You know what I mean? Yeah, the way I'm reading through stuff. And there is a 6-2-1 rule for furries. What is that? A rule that mandates the following Six hours of sleep per night, two meals per day, one shower per day.
Speaker 1:That's like the minimum requirements or something, yeah yeah. How are they going to know?
Speaker 2:I don't know that, but it's in here multiple times the 6-2-1 rule.
Speaker 1:So you must. I don't know what if you want to take more than one shower a day.
Speaker 2:I don't know, I think that's the minimum.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's the minimum. Someone I know someone out there is a furry. Come on, Text us on our hotline or call us 864-982-5029. 864-982-5029. It's always in the show notes 864-982-5029.
Speaker 2:I don't know how to say this word. Furries are fans of anthro-pimorphic animals. These are animals with human characteristics, like Mickey Mouse, Sonic, the Hedgehog and many mascots for sports teams. Furries are part of a greater furry fandom. Besides referring to fans as these anthro-whatever characters, furries are also the anthro characters themselves.
Speaker 1:None of that made sense to me, but okay. None of that made sense to me, but okay.
Speaker 2:And they're not. They are, it says, are furries LGBTQ, while not all furries are LGBTQ, plus A significant portion Of the furry community Identify as such. I think you should become a furry Ruff. I Meow, I think you. No, no, I think you should that should be. I think you should become a furry. Okay, I think I'll put you on a leash.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh and walk me around. Yeah, maybe, like maybe you on a leash.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh and walk me around. Yeah, maybe, like maybe you're a bull.
Speaker 1:I didn't see any like bulls. Is that what you said? How do?
Speaker 2:I know if I'm a furry. Listen listen, I think you would know right.
Speaker 2:To each their own. Listen, listen. I think you would know. Right To each their own. Listen, you do you. I just don't get it. I don't get it either. I don't get it. And that doesn't mean it's wrong, no, it just means my country ass does not get this Like it does. I would be miserable. I would be hot, I would be sweaty. My country ass does not get this Like it does. I would be miserable. I would be hot, I would be sweaty. I would be. I would be very angry. I would not be a good furry.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you sweat very easily.
Speaker 2:I sweat like a whore in church. That is a southernism. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:That's a southernism that sounds so vulgar, though You've never heard of that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was sweating like a whore in church, I know, but I don't like it. I don't know.
Speaker 1:I don't like the word, the word, the first word.
Speaker 2:I don't know why.
Speaker 1:It makes me like cringe a little.
Speaker 2:I guess you could be a slut in the synagogue.
Speaker 1:See, that doesn't bother me as much. Slut's not as bad, I don't know.
Speaker 2:I don't know. Yeah, that is kind of a crude Southernism, but I've got our Southernism segment ready. Whenever you're ready, we've got it.
Speaker 1:We'll dive right on into that. Whenever he loves the Southernism, do you?
Speaker 2:like that went over like a turd in the punch bowl. That means it was very awkward. Oh my.
Speaker 1:Have you heard that? No, I've never heard that one.
Speaker 2:That's a South Carolina one for sure, Lord. That went over like a turd in the punch bowl. I've never heard that.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh. You just never know what's going to come out of your mouth.
Speaker 2:Listen, if you're moving here or you've relocated here, you need to know what all these things mean.
Speaker 1:But I've never heard that one so. I don't think you're going to be hearing that one.
Speaker 2:Oh yes, that is a big South Carolina one.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, Let us know. I don't know about that one. Let us know if that's one you've heard before and where you're from.
Speaker 2:Yeah, if you heard Turd in a Punchbowl.
Speaker 1:Let's just go into our Southernisms. What else you got over there? This?
Speaker 2:is one. Now. I heard this my whole life, so I don't know if you've heard this one. This one is not as vulgar. Have you ever heard? Well, if I had my druthers, I would. If I had my druthers, I would not be here on this rainy day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I have heard that. And is druthers an actual word? Druthers is not.
Speaker 2:And what is that Druthers is not? And what is that Druthers means? I would rather. I would rather be home in my warm bed than be here on this rainy day. But where did druthers come from? We've shortened it Druthers, if I would rather. Oh, druthers, druthers.
Speaker 1:Druthers yeah, see, that's one of those that in college I would have been like trying to type it out and I'd have been, like you know, like rurnt. I was like rurnt, rurnt, rurnt.
Speaker 2:Druthers means I would rather.
Speaker 1:I would rather.
Speaker 2:So if you're in the South or you're relocating here and somebody in your neighbor says, if or you're relocating here and somebody in your neighbor says if I had my druthers you wouldn't park that truck there, it means I would rather you not park that truck right there. Okay, so, we understand, we can use druthers.
Speaker 1:I knew druthers just from knowing it, but I never thought about what does druthers mean? Because what?
Speaker 2:about this one. I know you've heard this one. I've got a hankering for a hot dog Hankering. I got a hankering.
Speaker 1:Like a craving Craving.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, where's that word come from?
Speaker 1:Hankering, I don't know. See, that's something else I try to spell Hankering. I got a hankering.
Speaker 2:I've got a hankering.
Speaker 1:Hankering, hankering.
Speaker 2:Now here's one. Is hankering a word Hankering? I guess I need to find out. I don't.
Speaker 1:I mean, I'm going to ask chat GPT this one, so I can just say it on here. Let me find out if, let me do the one where it talks Is that how? Yeah, yeah, let's see. Yep, it sure is. Hankering means having a strong desire or craving for something. Like you might say you have a hankering for some homemade sourdough bread. Well, thank you.
Speaker 2:So it is a word. It is a word Now. This one has two meanings.
Speaker 1:This next one, the third one, we should ask ChatGPT to tell us a southernism of the day and see if it can tell us something. But we'll continue on with yours.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, we'll ask that next. If somebody says Lord, my brother came by here and he was so tore up over um, losing that mayor's election, that means upset a tore up.
Speaker 1:Is that a southernism?
Speaker 2:that's a southernism no, it's not yes it is that was in the southern living southernisms he's tore up tore up about it.
Speaker 1:He's tore up about it.
Speaker 2:He's tore up about it. That's a Southernism. Yes, Other people don't say he's tore up about it.
Speaker 1:Do you not? No, Do they not no? See that one?
Speaker 2:I feel like surely other people say Well now there's two meanings of tore up.
Speaker 1:Not tore up from the floor up, not like drunk tore up.
Speaker 2:That's toe up, that's different. But this another tore up is oh, I ate those tacos last night and they tore me up. See, that's tore me up, or I was tore up from those tacos. Yeah, that means you were on the toilet. You got the shit, then if it's just, oh, he was so tore up that would be upset.
Speaker 1:He was just very upset, tore up about it.
Speaker 2:I'm just so tore up about it. I'm just tore up about it and it's made me have a hankering for a skins hot dog. Oh my gosh, if I had my up about it. And it's made me have a hankering for a Skins hot dog. Oh my gosh, if I had my druthers I would be eating one right now. You almost need a Southern dictionary if you're around. If I said that at my family gathering, everybody would go, they wouldn't be like, they wouldn't question it at all. What's there to question? If I said that at my family gathering, everybody would go, mm-hmm, they wouldn't be like, they wouldn't question it at all no.
Speaker 1:What's there to question? No, no, Not at all. We need to drop you off somewhere. I had my druthers. We need to drop you off in like New York City.
Speaker 2:So, tina, uh-huh, Savannah Tina.
Speaker 1:Our franchisee.
Speaker 2:Married when she was first with her husband. We were talking about this yesterday, okay, and she said to him one day this would have been when they were first dating. Uh-huh. She said if I had my druthers I would. And he said what in the hell did you? Just say, because he grew up in the city, he's a city boy. And she said I would rather druthers. So I mean, you need to know these things. If you move here, you're going to be really called off guard one day and not know what somebody's saying. That's right.
Speaker 1:First of all is. Southernism an actual word A chat. Gpt gave me some. Oh, this is a good one. You haven't mentioned yet what Full as a tick.
Speaker 2:Full as a tick Mm-hmm. That means I ate way too much gravy and biscuits.
Speaker 1:I'm full as a tick on a hound dog. On a hound dog They've been sucking blood and just full as a tick. She's madder than a wet hen.
Speaker 2:Madder than a wet hen.
Speaker 1:All those were on this list.
Speaker 2:This one yonder have you not mentioned yonder, yet I think we've talked about yonder Yonder's, this one yonder. Have you not mentioned yonder yet? I think we've talked about yonder. Yonder is over there, over yonder. I'll be honest with you. I never said that word. My mother would. No, I never said over yonder. If I did I might have when I was little, not in front of my mother.
Speaker 1:I've never said yonder either.
Speaker 2:If I did. I don't remember it, but you know, I said I called my grandmother Ma. I mean, when I was little.
Speaker 1:That is as southern as you can get, ma yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, I couldn't say Like she was grandmama or grandmother and couldn't say all that so it was too much for you, ma ma, and then, as I got older and way more articulate, I expanded that to mama, mama.
Speaker 1:So I had mama and mama, oh, you were just getting as creative as can be, mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:That's what I always called her. Mama, mama, mama Okay.
Speaker 1:I had a mama and I had a grandma. I had a grandmother and a mama.
Speaker 2:But now she, no, my mama. She did not allow grandma, you're not calling me grandma. Mm-hmm, mm-mm. Miss Bobby wouldn't have let you have called. Allow grandma, you're not calling me grandma. Miss Bobby wouldn't have let you have called her grandma.
Speaker 1:Oh no, you'd have probably got the shit swept out of you. No, no, it was going to be grandmother proper, and my mama.
Speaker 2:let me by with calling her mama, because I just couldn't say it. You were just her favorite. No, I wasn't. Oh, okay, no, I wasn't her mama, because I just couldn't say it, you were just her favorite. No, I wasn't.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay.
Speaker 2:No, I wasn't her favorite, but I couldn't say it. And she was like well, it was special because you're the only one that called me that? Oh, you're the only one that called her mama, there were only three grandchildren and the other two called her Grandmama.
Speaker 1:Grandmama, that's too much. I'm grand mama, well, no different than grandmother. It seems like it's an extra syllable or something in there, grandmother? No, I guess not, I don't know.
Speaker 2:This sounds like a lot for me I don't know, I don't know what the difference in grand mama or grandmother and grandma is. They're all I mean, it's all, you grand, you old.
Speaker 1:You don't have to be old to be a grandmother, oh no, not around these parts.
Speaker 2:And you got that right Around these parts, you might be in your 30s.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, that could be anywhere too.
Speaker 2:Listen, there are people and I hope they're not listening, but it doesn't matter if they are you, do you?
Speaker 1:But people I went to high school with that were literally grandparents at like 40 something, oh no, like late 30s, really yes, I mean, if you have a kid when you're say 16, and then they have one At 16, and then they have one At 16, that's 32. So if you have it at 18 and 18, that's just 36. Exactly, oh, I still don't feel like I could have a kid and I'm 44. You couldn't.
Speaker 2:It would be, dss would have already came and got it. No, that is not true. It wouldn't be. It would. It would.
Speaker 1:It would. You're just an ass. No, you're.
Speaker 2:No, you're not. You're not responsible like that I am.
Speaker 1:So what else you got going on? So we just finished Mother's Day, which was super busy, thankfully.
Speaker 1:It was good, yeah, and a couple of business things. So I have been we talked about this in our live sales, but if you haven't watched them lately, you need to. We are. I have been busy also behind the scenes working on a new app and we are this close. Around the 1st of June sometime we're going to have a new app launch. So if you do have the Nested Fig app for our online store, just make sure you put it in your brain around the 1st of June that we are going to switch it and if you have an iPhone, it will just be an update. So you just have to hit update, yeah, and if you have automatic updates on, it will just update. If you have an Android phone, you're going to have to get an iPhone. No, no, if you have an Android phone, you are going to have to go to your app store and search the nested fig and download the whole new app. But I've been working on that.
Speaker 2:And why do people have Androids?
Speaker 1:I think it's probably whatever you get used to. You know like you started with one and then, because what's crazy? I can't work an Android phone. Someone hands me one or asks me how to do stuff on it and I'm like it is so foreign to me and it's not. As for me, it's not as intuitive as an iPhone has always been to me. An iPhone's always been super easy to use.
Speaker 2:Well, in 1991 is when I started clemson did they even have cell phones then? No, no, no, no. But I was like my mother.
Speaker 2:My mother worked for the computer center at the university um, she could have at that time a, a desktop at home and a laptop, which means I had a laptop and it was an Apple, a Mac at that time. It was really so. At Clemson back in 91, we had Mac labs and we had PC labs. I was used to Mac, yeah. So even in 91, there was such a difference between Mac and the Macs and PCs.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like I couldn't. But you know, then it was like really different and then I felt like they can't become a little bit similar? They did, and then I always had a Windows computer. But somewhere along the way around the update of Windows I don't even know what they're on, or called now 10, whatever the one. After that I couldn't, it didn't make sense to me anymore how to navigate and find stuff as easy. It's like it got very convoluted when they started putting all these little like icon, picture, like menu.
Speaker 2:Well, PCs tried to be more like Mac. It wasn't as straight to be more like it wasn't straightforward.
Speaker 1:And then I switched to mac computers and now when we go to like the retail stores, we have pc computers and stuff and if something goes wrong and I'm like this is so foreign to me, I do not even know how to work on it, so I've gotten left behind in that kind of area.
Speaker 2:When I was at Clemson, I worked during the week for the computer center.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I had to learn to use everything.
Speaker 1:Yeah, back and forth.
Speaker 2:And that's how.
Speaker 1:I used to be back and forth.
Speaker 2:And now the.
Speaker 1:Windows ones are just. I just don't think like they do anymore. It was awful. But I got you back on using Mac because that's what we got for the live sale.
Speaker 2:I use both now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so now you use both.
Speaker 2:I didn't use Mac. I switched from Mac to PCs for a long time because McDonald's softwares were not compatible with Mac. So all those years I you know, after Clemson I went solely PC, away from Mac, and then and now I use both.
Speaker 1:And that's the good thing. Nowadays, so much stuff is cloud based to like, you can use it on whatever. But anyway, back to. We're getting a brand new app and it's going to be also where we do our live sales. That's where we currently do our live sales, but we're having to switch. We haven't been. I don't know. Our current provider isn't keeping up the way that we have to, but I'm a little nervous about switching.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm nervous about not switching and I'm nervous about switching. Well, I'm nervous about not switching and I'm nervous about switching. And you know I've told this on here that I aged out in McDonald's you know, eventually because we used to get it seems like we got new register systems way too much and in my last five years of ownership I was like I'm out, I don't need to know how to. I don't need to know how to take an order. Yeah, I don't. Maybe it was the last three years.
Speaker 1:I was like I'm not learning this? Anymore. It was the last five, the last three.
Speaker 2:you didn't even show up, that's not true, but I, I said I'm not doing it, and so now I'm like, oh God, I've got to learn one A new program.
Speaker 1:I know that's what I'm not. I'm not nervous, I'm just nervous about it being different. You don't know the ins and outs of something until you get into it.
Speaker 2:Well, the good thing is our inventory part in the back background is the same.
Speaker 1:It's going to be the same system, so that's going to make things better. I couldn't learn both at the same. It's going to be the same system, so that's going to make things better.
Speaker 2:I couldn't do, I couldn't learn both at the same time something new and something new.
Speaker 1:So I'm just hoping that it's, all you know, smooth, because I'm the one heading this up. Steven just lets me head this sort of thing up in the technology department.
Speaker 2:And if it goes wrong I can go what the hell blame me?
Speaker 1:technology department, and if it goes wrong I can go. What did you do? He'll blame me for it.
Speaker 2:Yes oh my gosh. No, there's always going to be a little glitch. Yeah, it's just the way it is.
Speaker 1:I'm excited because there's new programs, like I've been working on one today that we'll be able to launch with it.
Speaker 2:I'm excited about one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what I was working on today. Yeah, that's what I was working on today.
Speaker 2:There's going to be a new loyalty program with it.
Speaker 1:So you get points. Steven is a point hoe.
Speaker 2:Is that how you use it? Yes, you can call me whatever you want.
Speaker 1:He loves points. The loyalty programs were made for Steven were made for Steven, Like when we check in to the Marriott.
Speaker 2:He is going to ask them to make sure he gets his points at least 10 times before we leave the desk. Oh, and then I get my folio, because sometimes they make mistakes and you don't get your points and don't think I don't get on that phone and call and say where are my points. But you know they add up, they really add up and that's why I mean it's just a bonus of shopping. Yeah, I mean in the past and I do love.
Speaker 1:I love points too, but I'm just not that Like. I give them my point number and if I get the points, I get it. If I don't, I don't, I'm not going to. I don't even check to see if I got it. Steven is going to check. He'll be like I'm going down to the desk, I didn't get my points, I got to stop by the desk on my way out, but it's really good. So this loyalty program that will be part of our new app sort of thing, we can give points. I was setting it up today. So, like, there's points when you sign up to create your account, there's points on your birthday, there's points when you make a purchase, there's points If you refer a friend, if you follow on Instagram, if you follow on Facebook, so you can add up a lot of points and then you can get free stuff yeah.
Speaker 1:You can earn, like free shipping, you can get dollar amounts off your order, I mean basically like a store credit for just doing stuff, and so you know. So I'm excited about that, and there should be some more, um, fun things that we can do on the app that we haven't been able to do on our current app so you know now about it it's a.
Speaker 2:Thing but it's been quite the project I think dylan told I may be wrong He'll listen to this and correct me but I think I'm right. One of the housewives was getting divorced and one of the things that came up in the divorce was the point.
Speaker 1:account On what On like an Amex or a Bonvoy?
Speaker 2:Don't quote me on this you know, looking back with my ex, that's the only thing I did not go after and I did not. I was not smart on that.
Speaker 1:The points but is there enough to really matter? I mean, are we really getting that it?
Speaker 2:was, it was a lot. Yes, yes, we would have, yes, we would have, but you, know that, right there is why it didn't work out.
Speaker 1:Huh, mm-hmm, that attitude right there.
Speaker 2:No, it was not my attitude, but it's funny, I know it was your fault, Mm-hmm. Oh my, you know, it's funny because of one of my really good friends that's a retired McDonald's owner too, and he's older you know, because most of my friends I mean McDonald's are a lot older than me. I mean a good bit. You know, he's in his late 70s and he said we were and he keeps up with his Marriott points. And he said, yeah, I'm saving my. No, he's 78. Why are you saving?
Speaker 2:points I said what are you doing with those? And he was like I'm trying to get to 2 million. And I said why? And he said I don't know. And I said, well, let's just transfer those out into my account because you can transfer. Let's just put those in and you can work back up to a million.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm like why are you saving me? But see, that's what happens with these loyalty programs and points, because it becomes like a game. There's some psychology there about it is?
Speaker 2:It is like that, and now.
Speaker 1:I Because, even with you, like we've had Amex points and stuff and you'll be like, let's save them. I don't want to use them for this. Our points are getting low.
Speaker 2:We need to save it up Well what I do is I have a strategy with points. It is. It is strategic and I've always been this way. It is strategic and I've always been this way. If it's a short trip, if it's a short or really short, inexpensive flight, you're going to pay for it, I'm going to pay for it and get those points. And if it's a short trip, I'm going to pay for it and get those points. Now, when you're at five days or more, we're going to use points. Is that your strategy? If the flight is more than $450, then we're talking points. Is that how you work it out?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's so funny to me.
Speaker 2:And if it's West Coast or Hawaii, it's got to be points, because that gets expensive. I'm just telling you my strategy. There's a strategy that makes it work. Yeah, and then I'll save them up. You know, because, like three years ago now no, it was four years ago we went to Hawaii. I had saved my Marriott Bonvoy points. And we stayed 10 days at the Westin in Maui.
Speaker 1:Do you realize? I mean, we went to Hawaii in 2021. You just, I don't know. I don't know until you look back, but you had all those points and we stayed there for free. And then we had Amex points and flew for free, like we went to Hawaii.
Speaker 2:First class and car rental. We paid. I added it up. It would have been around $45,000 for that vacation because we went first class. We stayed at the Westin. I mean the whole trip was first class, you and.
Speaker 1:Dylan and me and. Daniel, so there were four of us in two rooms. And we used points and we went for free.
Speaker 2:Yes, I want to do that again. I rest my case. So it does, so it does work, it works, it does, and that's why I'm excited that we can offer that for our customers Because, frankly, if you work for Neiman Marcus or something, I think y'all need points.
Speaker 1:Well, it's even just like this, not my favorite company, but even like the Starbucks stars the points you know. Again, I'm not as point driven as some are, but you know, when I pull up there and I got enough points to get a free drink, I'm like it's exciting and when you pay a lot, I mean the problem is. Here's the problem with our points. We get too happy If you never watched our live sales. We give shit away all the time. We give away huge discounts. We give away way more than we should.
Speaker 1:But that's what makes it fun, so I know we are going to be up on our points being like oh, double points today, oh, get your reward.
Speaker 2:Hells. Yeah, I'm getting on the point program. I'm going to be like I have eight million points.
Speaker 1:What am I going to get me?
Speaker 2:You know I'm going to sign up for the points you are. I'm going to have the points. I'm going to be like. I bought $480 worth of stuff last night. How do I return this?
Speaker 1:One of the points you can do as a reward, too, is just visiting our store, the app or the website. If you just go to it, you get a point.
Speaker 2:You can get one point per day, or ten points, I forget what it is. Kid, is there a way to tie it into the retail stores? No, it is Kid. Is there a way to tie it into the retail stores? No, different thing, I mean.
Speaker 1:There's not a really crossover, yeah, you can't do that, stick your ass somewhere. That'll be update next time when you won't know how to keep up yeah that's when I'll be out.
Speaker 1:Speaking of business things, though, great news, as we've been talking, you know, the last here and there episodes about tariffs. So today, again, not political, we're just stating the facts. Talking tariffs, the tariffs were put on a pause. Well, I think they were dropped, I don't know to 30 percent, but that is so minimal, because there was already like a 20, 20%, I don't know what it was before, honestly, but basically, for us, the tariffs have been paused for 90 days, which is amazing, because one before this just happened.
Speaker 1:Today. Before, like yesterday, I was thinking, oh, we need to talk about the tariffs tomorrow. I was after visiting the market last week. I was starting to get a little nervous. I'm not going to lie. I was getting nervous about not the tariffs and what they were going to cost us, but hearing how vendors had everything on hold, and so we're getting to that kind of. For us, the summertime is when all of our holidays things start coming in, so I left market like, oh't have it, if it doesn't show up, then you can't do anything about it. But luckily, today, you know, it was announced that they've been paused for 90 days, which is great for us. Again, every industry is different on their timing.
Speaker 2:Here is what it is I just? Pulled it up. The US will temporarily, if I can talk, lower its tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30% Right, and China will reduce its levies on American products from 125% to 10% Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Speaker 1:So now I want to look the article I read though and I don't even know where it popped up was fascinating because they were specifically mentioning a like a faux Christmas tree manufacturer that they had interviewed, and they were saying how you know, like 30% would pretty much get absorbed on the manufacturing and the importer side and not really amount to that much. Maybe a few dollars or something increase as it goes through the supply chain. So I was like that is that was funny, that it specifically related to our industry.
Speaker 2:It's really good because it was 25% before Now it's just 30%. And before China was 34% on American goods, Now it's 10%. So net-net, we're much better. 10 for 90 days.
Speaker 1:I'll take it.
Speaker 2:And again, it's not political, I don't care.
Speaker 1:But so the 30% they were saying the article I was reading would be very minute, you know, because there were already tariffs and that sort of thing before. So it wouldn't be that big of a change and it would just be a few dollars. But for us in our, you know, home decor, seasonal decor boutique, like I said, it's different for every industry depending on the supply chain, timing or whatever, but this gets us three months, gets us into like August, and so most of our vendors would have everything that we need already here, pretty much anything we would need through the end of the year. So I'm like, whew, maybe we can skate through 2025.
Speaker 2:And now the next hurdle will be spring 26.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but hopefully they'll get it all worked out before then.
Speaker 1:But that was just, you know, a relief to be like, okay, let's because we've had a very good year coming into 2025 this far, and you know you just don't want something to throw a big kink in it. 25 this far, and you know you just don't want something to throw a big kink in it. And, like I said, more than anything it's the talk about tariffs that gets the consumer going. You know I don't know what to do. It makes them nervous and that affects things even before tariffs. You know kick in is like oh, do I need to do this? Do I need to do that, whatever? So I was excited that that. So hopefully that can be one thing off of our brain.
Speaker 1:Not having to worry about.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I'm just glad that they are, like I said, politics outside of it.
Speaker 1:I'm just glad they're all working together because it the problem now is every manufacturer is going to, as quickly as possible, try to get things imported and it's going to cause a backup, a backup at the ports and then that becomes an issue. But we'll just deal with that but, like I said I think we mentioned this before we're in our like everyday steady season for the next, you know, through the summer. So as long as we get our holiday, those those ports are going to be.
Speaker 1:Don't you know? Today they were trying to get us. They will be hopping and a popping because they'll be trying to get everything that they need, you know, before the 90 days are up. It'll be interesting to see how that continues to play out, but I guess that's kind of the. I mean, I guess there won't be any more update on the tariffs until we see what happens in 90 days. Well, and hopefully-.
Speaker 2:We've kind of touched on it.
Speaker 1:So, like we talked in the last few episodes, we really have skated around-.
Speaker 2:Anything significant.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't know of any. Like I said on the last I think the last episode one vendor was saying hey, if you don't take it by this date, there's going to be a 20% tariff. But I hadn't taken it and I don't know if they'll take it off.
Speaker 2:They should take it off. Well, if they don't, that's just stealing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if they don't, I'm not going to take the order specifically because I know those items were already in stock when I ordered them and I just put a future ship date on them. So if they're like, no, you know, blah, blah, blah, I'll just be like we'll cancel that order and we'll just, you know, move on to the next one and there won't be a tariff or something.
Speaker 1:So I don't know, we'll see how that goes, but I guess that's kind of our run through of the tariffs until unless something else happens hopefully they're still gonna continue negotiating yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm just saying we probably won't hear much, for unless something comes to the end at the 90 days and it starts all over again or something, I mean hopefully by the end they'll have it all resolved. But yeah, for us, because of the supply chain timing and like our vendors were holding off on bringing orders in and that sort of thing, we didn't really get affected from the vendor side. I do think it made consumers a little more, like you know.
Speaker 2:Well, and I'm just happy, like for the technology industry, the auto industry, everything would have been. I mean it could have really jacked up everything, it is true.
Speaker 1:Well, we got to pull this. I feel like this was a quick episode. How long have we been talking? Like 40-something minutes. Okay, we can pull this baby over. I mean really, really, row, row, row your boat, I'm watching it. Rain, it is raining so hard today.
Speaker 2:We might as well keep talking, because I'm not going out there.
Speaker 1:That is terrible. We have got to get to our retail store. We are at our home store, the Nested Big Home. If you are local to Greenville, we're doing something we haven't done in five years. We are doing an in-store tag sale in our just kind of like end of spring. Yeah, it's been five years. It's been five years since we've done this at our retail store. So if you are local to Greenville, I want to come into the Nested Fig home this week. Come grab some deals. We have some like floor samples and just things we want to clean up. You know we have all of our market items coming in and we thought you know what we haven't done that because we've done like warehouse sales. We got out of the house. We didn't need it, yeah. So we hadn't done that at the retail store in so long and we're like you know what That'll be fun.
Speaker 2:Let's do that again.
Speaker 1:There's going to be some great deals. So we're going to go up there and tag items and get ready for our tag sale.
Speaker 2:Some blowout deals. Starts tomorrow and goes through Sunday.
Speaker 1:Yes, this week, so if you're local, come see us.
Speaker 1:But it's time to pull this baby over. Put the windshield wipers on, get your life jacket on your galoshes and your rain jacket and let's go. Let's get into the weather. Let's do this, all right, bye. Y'all. See you next week. Remember to join our online community at whosedrivingpodcastcom. You can also go there and listen for free, or At who's driving podcastcom. You can also go there and listen for free, or you can listen for free anywhere that you can listen to podcasts. And remember to leave us a review and share us with your friends. And I forgot We'll do it. Next week, we have to give away our hydrate spark water bottle. I'm going to do that this week.
Speaker 2:One of our online community members.
Speaker 1:So we'll do that. Next week, any active member will pick one random and send them a walk-on.
Speaker 2:Whoever doesn't get it will be so torn up.
Speaker 1:So we'll do that next week. Bye y'all, Bye.