Who's Driving- Get Those Reward Points S4E17

We bounce from new car excitement to the awkward realities of buying, selling, and getting upsold, then use those moments to talk about what good service should feel like. Along the way we share health updates, travel chaos, and a surprisingly heated grilled chicken sandwich take.

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.

Visit www.WesleyTurnerLiving.com to find so much more about all the things we do! Find The Podcast At Whosdrivingpodcast.com

Follow Steven on Instagram at @Keepinupwithstevenand follow Wesley on Instagram at @WesleyTurnerLiving.  Shop our online store at TheNestedFig.Com  Find The Nested Fig on Instagram at @TheNestedFig 

We mentioned The Nested Fig App in this episode. You can Tap Here to get our app and join our live sales 

Transcript

Welcome And The New Car

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Zoom, zoom, baby. Beep beep. It's time for another episode of Who's Driving. Welcome to Who's Driving. I'm Wesley Turner.

SPEAKER_00 0:09

And I'm Steven Merck. We're Two Best Friends and Entrepreneurs.

SPEAKER_01 0:12

Who's Driving is an entertaining look into the behind the scenes of our lives, friendship, and business.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

These are the stories we share and topics we discuss as two best friends would on a long road trip.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

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 party.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

Buckle up and enjoy the ride.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

You never know who's driving or where we're headed. All we know is it's always a fun ride. And speaking of Zoom Zoom, we left off. You were getting a new car. Yeah, we got it. Yeah. You love it? You got it yesterday. Love it. So when this episode comes out, you will be on vacation. I will be on vacation. So we're pre-recording week ahead.

SPEAKER_00 0:57

Um, so I was a little disappointed in one thing. What? I really, really wanted to leave the dealership with a check in hand plus the car. Right. But that's not the way they do it. Oh, we mail you a check.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

Oh, you didn't even go into this. So I didn't talk about that. I was like, Steven got it in the car. Let it go, Steven. You know, he had to get rid of the piece of crap Mercedes because it got a ding in it. And then he got it fixed, and then it bubbled up again, and it was just time for that whole thing to go, you know. Just no, it it really needed to be garage kept. Well, really, it also comes down to you are a true car person. I am. So you like cars, you like trading cars, you like finding cars, you like driving cars, you like the whole process of cars. Everything about you always have.

SPEAKER_00 1:58

Just so started with matchbox cars when I was about four. Yeah. And it's just been a problem. It's my it is my.

SPEAKER_01 2:07

Because I do feel like in recent years, the last five, you've kept cars long. Like used to you got a car all the time. All the time. Like, and it wouldn't be like like he would just be like, I saw this car online today. I went and traded mine in and traded up, and I only had to give him $500. Like you always found this like deal or like fadegling. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:31

And then for a while you stuck with it. Well, honestly, I mean, I think I've had uh, you know, over the years I've upgraded. Right. And I've just had a lot of my love slash dream cars, and so you keep them longer.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

Yeah, you it's yeah, because when I first met Steven, I mean, he had, we've talked about it, he had just gotten a BMW a new Mercedes. A new Mercedes.

SPEAKER_00 3:01

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 3:02

But it stayed at home. But it stayed at home because he didn't want his employees to think any different of him. And he was like a dumbass owning a McDonald's driving around in like 1991 Honda Civic. Yeah. Sky blue. And we're talking in 2009. I mean, that thing looked like it had you y'all know we talk about how particular Steven is with things. This one had gotten to the point that he would even throw the push lawnmower in the back of the trunk and go mow his own McDonald's.

SPEAKER_00 3:36

Literally, it was literally my mom. You know how everybody has a mudder car? Right. Just it was my mom's just taking the trash off car.

SPEAKER_01 3:47

Yeah. And I think it's probably a country thing. Like my mom has a trash truck. A trash truck. And I mean, there's a beater car, a beater truck, the one that you take to the garden center, the one you take to the city.

SPEAKER_00 4:01

You always have in the country. I don't give a damn if it's a Mercedes or if it's a 1981 Hyundai. You're gonna have an extra car. Yeah, it is true. That is pretty true. You're gonna have one. I don't care. And it's the car that that Aunt Betty comes and borrows when her Cadillac's getting serviced. Or it's it's the car everybody in the county has driven at one time.

SPEAKER_01 4:28

Yeah, it gets passed around and passed back.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:31

So that was the Civic.

SPEAKER_00 4:34

Yeah. And you know, and mom had really gotten a new car. She just really wasn't driving it.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:41

It was just in the garage. And I said, Mom, can I have that car? And she was like, The Civic? And I said, Yeah, I want that car. And she's like, Well, take it. She said, I take that thing. I mean, she said, but it leaks, it has water coming in. It's really just a mess.

SPEAKER_03 5:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:04

I said, no, I want it. And do you know I kept it? Do you know I did not get rid of that car? We sold it, finally sold it like to a junkyard for $500. Not because it it had not quit running, I want to say. It still ran like a charm. But water had gotten in between the frame and it had rusted, and literally the part of the car that held the engine and the cab of the car, it was giving way.

SPEAKER_01 5:39

It's just gonna split night.

SPEAKER_00 5:40

It was gonna literally, I was gonna be driving along and my feet were gonna start skidding on the pavement. So and then it started messing up the water intrusion. Yeah. Started messing up all the electrical. So it wasn't, unfortunately, it wasn't even worth fixing.

SPEAKER_01 5:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:59

We'd

The Beater Civic And Owner Optics

SPEAKER_00 6:00

got, I mean, it was a shame because the in, you know, it was a good car, but that was just that one thing that you've definitely upgraded over the years. I have. That was a good little car. But yeah, one of my managers one day said, you know, and this is somebody that worked for me for 20 plus years, and she said, She leaned out the window. I was picking up bank deposits in little scoot scoot, and she said, Why are you driving this? And I said, I just don't like people seeing me. Like, I mean, I own McDonald's restaurants. I don't I I don't I don't want to be seen driving around in a new Mercedes. It just, I mean, people, you know, these are kids making minimum no not minimum. I've never paid minimum wage. But, you know, starting salaries. I said, I just feel weird about it. Uh, you know, it just feels too flashy. And she's like, well, just so you know, everybody, they don't think you're a millionaire, they think you're a billionaire, and they don't think you're smart, they think you're a dumbass for driving that car. Yeah. And I had never thought about it like that. I was like, I guess they do think I'm a super crazy sociopath.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

Right. Because they know there's you shouldn't be driving this car. Right. They're driving better cars than you were.

SPEAKER_00 7:23

They were. No, they were. They were. I mean, at some point I had to let some things go that I mean, I was stuck to. And you know, for a long time, I cut my own grass at the restaurant.

SPEAKER_01 7:38

Right.

SPEAKER_00 7:38

When I owned one, and I was like, customers would see me, and I was like, This don't they thought I was stupid. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

And there is that level of you not wanting to be like pretentious or flashy, but then there's also this signal that like the owners out here mowing their own grass, they can't get someone to do that. You know what I'm saying? That that also can seem a negative. There's a boundary.

SPEAKER_00 8:04

It wasn't really about that. I kind of enjoyed doing it. Didn't you paint your restaurant one time? Yeah. Yourself. I painted my restaurant. I pa I m more than one. Uh I painted two of my restaurants myself. Which saves a lot of money. Oh my gosh. I mean, it saved. Yes, I cut my own grass, I painted my own restaurants. Uh also, I don't know if I've ever told you this, but um, I needed a seal and stripe on my parking lot.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

Oh, yeah, you sealed it.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

I sealed and striped it myself. Now, let me tell you, that was some work. That was the last damn time I did that.

SPEAKER_01 8:53

Well, and we've done all of those similar things in our own business now with the garden store, the home store. I mean, every retail store we've built out ourselves. I was brought up to save the floors in, we've painted, we've done everything. A lot everything. Yeah. So that's how you make it as a business owner, though.

SPEAKER_00 9:13

But I every time I've done this in my history, I've always hurt something. I pulled something, broke something, cut something, hurt, you know.

SPEAKER_01 9:24

That's true.

SPEAKER_00 9:25

But but you know, I mean, you have to you have to save pennies where

Warranty Pitch And Negotiation Lines

SPEAKER_00 9:30

you can.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

And so back to your car though. Steven was super excited because he was trading in his car, his, you know, third car, by the way. Um, but you were trading it in on a car that you like, you know, you got, and getting a check back. So for us, we're like free car. You got paid to get a new car.

SPEAKER_00 9:52

Yeah, and that fool, you know, that fool, listen, this is funny. That fool had me in there, you know, when you sign the paperwork. And that fool obviously didn't know who he was dealing with. And he was like, you know, they pull out that warranty bullshit. Do you know do you know what their their their first one they tried to sell me was? And it was for, you know, everything. You fart in it, they fumigate it. Yeah, until it was like, well, you didn't fart on a Tuesday, so that doesn't count. Yeah. It was $12,000. I said, What? I said, I are you kidding? I I said I would get a new car before I paid that. Yeah. I mean, I would like that's just dumb. Right. Like, I'm not gonna do that. Yeah. That's crazy. And he was like, Well, how long do you plan on keeping this car? I said, not long enough to pay for that. Mm-hmm. This this is. This puppy, this puppy, yeah. I said, you'll you will see me before I no. Yeah. And he was like, Well, what I said, no.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

That is funny.

SPEAKER_00 11:02

You know, and like if I guess if I was gonna keep a car for ever and ever and ever, I don't know what you would. I mean, maybe if you got a Rolls-Royce or a Bentley that you knew you were gonna keep for the rest of your life, maybe. But I mean, I guess that hopefully those come with all that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:23

But I that's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

I mean, it was a good experience. We went to um Hendrick, BMW, and Charlotte, and I guess Hendrick owned they even own some dealerships down here. Yeah. And I have to say, I bought my mom a car from them. Um bought my mom a new car in 2015 from Hendrick, and uh that was the last time I bought from them, and then I bought this one, and I I would I kind of like them. And then coincidentally, another friend of mine had just bought from them too.

SPEAKER_01 11:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 11:58

And ironically, so this was funny. On the drive up, we stopped at one of my friends old McDonald's, and because we needed gas and um we got a snack and we got it. You had to have a snack. Yeah, we had to have a snack. And there was a sign on the wall statistically now. It used to be I think one in four people in the country in the U.S. had worked at McDonald's first job was at McDonald's, and now it's one in eight people. So Dylan calls me over in the McDonald's and he was like, Is this true? And I was like, Actually it is, and he said, How do they come up with it? It was like, well, just the numbers.

SPEAKER_01 12:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:43

Population versus first jobs. And I said, But you know, a lot of famous people, like their first job was at McDonald's.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

And so we were pulling that up and reading all the celebrities that their first job was at McDonald's. And then um we meet the car guy, and the car guy was like, Oh, what did you do? I said, Well, in retail now, but you know, was in the restaurant business. What kind? I said, McDonald's. And he's like, Oh, my first job was McDonald's. Do you know this owner operator here in Charlotte? I was like, actually, I do. And so it was kind of funny because that was his first job.

SPEAKER_01 13:23

Right.

SPEAKER_00 13:24

So I was like, that's how you know.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

Funny enough, I don't know anybody, any I don't I do not know anybody that has worked at McDonald's except for you. Like thinking back, like no one in my family, no cousins, no friends. I don't remember any friends in like high school, anybody, you know.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

My aunt worked for McDonald's. She started in '72.

SPEAKER_01 13:48

Like Daniel worked for like Sonic when he was a kid. Or, you know, like teenager or whatever, but I worked at the gas station. You did it all. You made the hot dogs, the fried chicken. And the deposits. I ran that place.

SPEAKER_00 14:07

Little Wesley loved it. You know it.

Why Stocking Shelves Feels Great

SPEAKER_00 14:10

You were putting those cans. I don't know if we've talked about it on here, but it's kind of funny. So when we get our candles in, like, especially at like uh holiday season where we have like hundreds, Wesley loves, loves stacking cans and organizing.

SPEAKER_01 14:37

I love stocking in the stocking, like stock a store sense. I mean, I love doing displays too, but that's different. But like, you gotta no one can do a candle display like me. No one in our business can do a candle display. And I walk in and it's uh screwed up. And I'm not there, it is screwed up every time. They cannot I can come closer to anybody, but then I just let you do it. Yeah. Candles like the utilitarian stuff, if that's what you want to call it in our retail business, stocking candles or stocking the laundry detergent, like Tyler laundry detergent. They screw that display up. They can screw it up so bad in one day.

SPEAKER_00 15:25

Your retirement job, I'm being serious. Your retirement job that you would love is if you were like a stalker at Walmart, just doing the shelves at night, like third shifts. Oh, yeah. Just doing all those cans. And yeah. In those end cans. Lined up. You would that's what your retirement job should be.

SPEAKER_01 15:43

It would be perfectly clothes or Home Depot or any any like third shift stocky. A general store. Oh yeah. I would be a I that's my dream job. That's that's on my bucket list of stores to have in the ends. Like a general mercantile store. So I can just have like the farm stand, Daniel. You know, and he got in all the um jars of food and stuff. When I was able to do that display, I was like, this makes my little heart happy.

SPEAKER_00 16:14

The beanie weenies are over there on aisle too, Betty.

SPEAKER_01 16:18

I must have worked in a grocery store in a previous life or something, I'm telling you. I don't know why that just there's so much satisfaction in in that. I'm really good at that, and I'm really good at packing boxes innately. Just that comes very natural to you. Just so random. Um, but anyway, yeah. So when I worked at the gas station, I was happy, happy as could be. Stocking the drink the cooler. I loved stocking the drink cooler. It being just off full, full, not a spot open. I'd have the labels lined to the front.

SPEAKER_00 16:57

See, no, I liked that in the restaurant, like in McDonald's, like before your lunch rush. I liked making sure everything was just ready to we're gonna do a $1,200 hour or eight. I got it. And I've got two sleeves of cups right there ready. Yeah. Let's do this.

SPEAKER_01 17:20

Yeah. That is that is that is me. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 17:25

Yeah, I mean, everybody has their weird little things.

SPEAKER_01 17:29

Yeah. So I

Claude Surgery Plans And Colonoscopy Talk

SPEAKER_01 17:30

went to the doctor. Oh yeah, we left off talking about um Claude. Uh Claude is your, this was in last episode, your tumor tumor growth um in your back. So fill us in on that.

SPEAKER_00 17:45

Um, I went today this morning, and um you got it scheduled for tomorrow?

SPEAKER_01 17:51

No, no, no, because you're leaving town.

SPEAKER_00 17:54

No, he wa he could have done it during my next market week, and I'm like, can't do that so the Monday when I get back. And luckily, or maybe unlucky, I don't know if it's luck or not, but anyway, it's too big to take out in the office. So um it has to be done at one of the surgery centers. And and who knew there's one like right at our house. Yeah. Like it's really that I've I guess I've brought by, I never knew. Yeah. Um, and it was very easy. I was like, yeah, it's gonna have propofol.

SPEAKER_01 18:32

So what did he look at your little MRI? He did. He was like, we're just gonna do a little incision and rip this baby out.

SPEAKER_00 18:41

No, it's bigger than I thought. But I don't care. Yeah, it's on my sh back shoulder. I mean, it's whatever. How big is the incision? Like four inches? Dang. I know. I was and I was like, how long is this gonna take you? And he said, 40, 45 minutes. Yeah, I mean, they just damn. Isn't it just like yeah, Dr.

SPEAKER_01 19:02

Pimple Popper does it quicker than that? Well, this is different than Dr. Pimple Popper. You got a mass in there.

SPEAKER_00 19:11

Yeah, I'm glad it's gonna you think they'll take a picture of it? Probably. I mean, when I had my colonoscopy, they took a picture of my butt. Oh God. Seriously. No. Did I tell you that? He said, I he said, and just not to alarm you, this is just the way I do things. I start photography from the outside in. And I said, Well, what does that mean? And he's like, Here's you're gonna have a picture of your butt. I was like, Oh, okay, yeah. I zoomed, I sent you a real zoomed-in picture.

SPEAKER_02 19:52

I said, Look at there. Look at there.

SPEAKER_00 19:57

Now, wait, you just turned how old? 45. So it's time.

SPEAKER_01 20:02

Oh gosh, I know it's time. You know, that doesn't even I mean, I am the worst with the doctor and that sort of thing, but the idea that doesn't bother me.

SPEAKER_00 20:12

It's not. It that is the most people should be ashamed talking about it the way they've talked about it and talking it up. It is the easiest thing in the world to do. Yeah. It is literally n the prep is not that bad. It's not that big of a deal. It is You just know you're gonna do it, so just do it and feel it. And it's not like you're it's not like a stomach flu. Like you know when you drink it, you're you're gonna be going to the bathroom. Going to the bathroom. It's not like a sick. No, it's not a sick, awful feeling. It's just an hour. It was like 45 minutes total inconvenience for me for what part of it, and then the next morning another 30 minutes. Not a big deal. But I was reading because uh hit the surgeon's office is where it's kind of eerie. It was on the same floor where my mother got some of her cancer treatment. So I was like, ugh, yeah. But I was reading just walking past because they do colonoscopies there. That's where I had mine. Yeah, and I was reading the statistics, and it made me think of it when I was getting on the elevator and I was like, Wesley's got to get his because I was reading how many people die per year from colon cancer, and how it's the most preventable.

SPEAKER_01 21:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:43

Fifty thousand people die a year from colon cancer, and it's the most preventable. Yeah. So I say you get it, and it'll be fine, and you won't have to go back for 10 years.

SPEAKER_01 21:55

I need to do that in I mean, like right now, I don't have any problems. But do it before. I'm thinking, yeah, before. I'm thinking like in the new year. You know what I'm saying? We're going into holiday season.

SPEAKER_00 22:09

Schedule it with mine because you have this we have the same insurance.

SPEAKER_01 22:12

I need to schedule a physical and that and everything. In the new year. Get all worked up, you know what I'm saying. Yeah. Um, we got to rewind, flashback, and

Marriott Points Brain And Travel Strategy

SPEAKER_01 22:25

talk about. I mentioned this somehow, and I can't remember how I led into it, but we didn't talk about it in the last episode. We were on some subject. So now, but I put so right when I was like, we'll talk about that next week. So I put it in my notes here.

SPEAKER_03 22:40

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 22:42

I don't know how we were talking about maybe you and Patience. I don't know. But there was an incident on our vacation at Palm Springs. With y'all, this is so funny. With Marriott Vacation Club. We've talked about on here that Steven and Dylan are owners in is that what you would do? The vacation club. In the vacation club. So Steven, you know, used his club. I started that.

SPEAKER_00 23:14

I well, I became that. I bought my first in 1998. That's a whole other story. Yeah. Um with Marriott. And and but they've changed it now to where it's simpler, easier. It's the point, it's a point system. You buy points. You buy points and you use them.

SPEAKER_01 23:32

And you can use them at properties. And that's how we got to go to Palm Springs because Steven's like, I have points and I can get us a two-bedroom if y'all want to come join us. And we were like, hell yes, we'll go on a vacation with you. It works.

SPEAKER_00 23:47

Yeah, it works. It works well because you can get one studio, one bedroom, two bedroom, three-bedroom. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:54

And so Steven, before we get into the story, Steven is point driven. If you give him a reward point, like he is the statistic that people set up when they're like, you need a rewards program. Like if you give him a point, he is going to come to you. I maximize it. And he is going to so he is hardcore Marriott because you have the vacation club points that you've bought into. Then the bond void points. You have the Bonvoy points. And when you say at market, you get points. And I have Marriott points too. And I have to say, you know, when I get free stuff or free nights, it's fun. But when we check in, say you've accumulated a lot. Yeah, I have. I'm going to redeem them at some point. But when we check in, like at market or something at Marriott, Steven will ask 15 times, you got my points on there? Now my points are added to my account. Now you got those points.

SPEAKER_00 24:57

What I figured out is I make sure they have it. Then I get the folio at the end. And then see, I follow up because different hotels, I get so much money of free food per day. Right. Well, I caught them not credit. Because one person in the company told me, you need to start checking this because the way the system's set up, it won't credit you. So like our last market trip, they charged, we got $180 taken off.

SPEAKER_01 25:33

And so I mean that that adds up. It does add up, but I'm the type, I give them my number. I don't worry about. I mean, I'll look a year from now. Do I have some points in here? You know, sort of thing. Steven is watching it.

SPEAKER_00 25:45

I'm like one of those couponing ladies, but with points.

SPEAKER_01 25:49

Yeah. And back up before Palm Springs, we went to Dallas, y'all. Y'all, this we didn't even talk about this is a whole nother story.

The Dallas Hotel That Went Wrong

SPEAKER_01 25:58

We went to the Dallas market. Oh God, y'all. So we normally stay at a non-Marriott Anatole, which is not a Marriott property. It's right there by market and it's pricey.

SPEAKER_00 26:13

It's really an iconic hotel. And it's a resort. It's an iconic.

SPEAKER_01 26:18

And so it's pricey. So we were like, we're just gonna be there so many nights, three nights. Is that what we were there?

SPEAKER_00 26:24

Yeah, and you and I had just like from a distance glanced and saw Fairfield Courtyard. We were yard.

SPEAKER_01 26:34

There's other options. Right across the street. Yeah. So we were booking the hotel at the last minute. And we said I got this. Yeah, we decided to book it the collectively to book at the Fairfield right across the street.

SPEAKER_00 26:48

It was significantly cheaper. It was half the price.

SPEAKER_01 26:51

Yeah. And we get there.

SPEAKER_00 26:54

Y'all, I ain't never well, they're franchises, first of all. And that they need a better program to follow up. It was the worst I've ever been to in my life.

SPEAKER_01 27:10

Yeah. And I'm not as particular as you are, but I we walked in and literally, no joke, we have photos. The ceiling was falling in. Mold.

SPEAKER_00 27:20

My I'm very allergic. Like if mold is really bad, even in a house like a building, I I know this sounds crazy. I can tell you when it's really bad because my nose burns. Yeah. And my it's almost like putting my nose over a bottle of bleach. It has that same effect.

SPEAKER_01 27:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:44

And I was like, oh my God, this place is like full of mold. I was like, I'm out of here. I'm out of here.

SPEAKER_01 27:52

And I'm normally not that person. So we literally didn't even put our bags down in the room. We walked in, the ceiling was falling in, water damage, mol, like mildew mold on the ceiling. I was like, I'm not doing this. I was like, I know. We are heading. And if they had prepaid. We we probably won't get our money back. I don't care. I'm not staying here.

SPEAKER_00 28:18

I got our money back.

SPEAKER_01 28:19

Yeah. So Steven got our money back and points. This was leading back to the points. So they were like, um, because it was really up to the location to because we called you called Marriott, you know, 800. And they were like, well, you actually got to get the money back from the manager at that location. It was a franchise. Yeah. And so Steven's like, oh my gosh. So the next day he called, talked to the manager, and he got it back, and he's like, and I'm going to give you a hundred thousand free points. Yeah. Stephen was like, I mean, that was like, woo, this is worth it. It was like a new Mercedes baby. So the whole rest of the like two days, I hadn't got my points yet. I mean, we would just be walking through market and he'd pull up his Bonvoy app. My points haven't come in yet. You think they're gonna come in? Oh, wait, he only gave me 50,000 or something.

SPEAKER_00 29:11

He put in, he had to put them in in 50,000 increments and he put 50 in and then left a zero off and put 5,000. I was like, mm-mm.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

Yeah, he was like, no. So he back to this, he obsesses about the points. I don't know how we got. So fast forward, I mean, we went from Dallas basically to Palm Springs.

The Palm Springs Closing Meltdown

SPEAKER_01 29:35

Mm-hmm. We get to Palm Springs, and Steven's little thing is because he's at the vacation clubs and there's points. You know, if you go sit through one of those meetings where they'll, you know, uh try to sell you more points, they'll give you points. You get free stuff every time to choose. He and poor Dylan go to Anywhere. Any any of these vacations. Every trip we go on, we go. They go and sit through one of these one and a half, two hour long presentations where they try to sell them points.

SPEAKER_00 30:10

Well, this one they had said 90 minutes. Yeah. I mean 60 minutes, one hour. Because it was it wasn't Marriott has bought Weston. Yeah. And it was a Weston, so they their their standard is at one hour.

SPEAKER_01 30:27

Yeah. Okay. So Steven goes and Daniel and I are back at the place or whatever. Well, this goes, I mean, they're gone for hours. So I was like, oh, he's buying this time. He's getting him some extra points. And there were reasons behind it. We won't go into all of that detail. But Steven was like, we're we're buying some more points. We're waiting on the paperwork, blah, blah, blah. And that's when Daniel and I were like, well, we're just gonna Uber to this date farm place that we were going to. And y'all just meet us there. And they're, you know, we're fine. Everything's good. We're there at this date farm, and Steven comes storming through the door. I told them to shove it up their ass. I did. So what happened?

SPEAKER_00 31:15

Just so I mean, we were in there, and you know, I'm a pretty decisive person. I don't, I mean, I don't fart around. Like I was, and we we both kind of knew we wanted this many more points to take us to this level. And um, so it was kind of like you wanna we were like, yeah, we'll we'll do it.

SPEAKER_01 31:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:40

And um Well you kind of probably knew before you went, like, the Yeah, I mean, and it was it was um our deal expired in August. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:51

So you were locked in at a price, blah, blah, blah.

SPEAKER_00 31:54

So I said, yeah. I said, but you know, they said, well, can we buy you lunch? And I was like, no, let's just get the show on the road. I've got things to do, you know.

SPEAKER_01 32:05

We're ready to buy.

SPEAKER_00 32:06

Yeah, just let's get it done. Um three hours later, I mean, I've waited patiently. Nobody has said you need a water, kiss my ass, nothing. So, and I'm like, it's fine. We'll just get it signed, we'll be on our way.

SPEAKER_01 32:33

Cause I had been texting, like, how much longer should we just go on without you? You're like, that maybe like 30 minutes.

SPEAKER_00 32:40

It's normally then like an hour later, I was like, I mean, we I've done this like eight times. Yeah. So I mean, I know the process. And so we go back to sign, and the woman, it was like it was her first day on the job. They said she had done 5,000 closings. I said, I don't believe it. And it was, y'all, I've never experienced anything like it. Well, first of all, and I know take with technology, you know, we deal with that all the time. And so she was having computer issues. It wasn't connecting to the portal. I'm like, okay, Steven, just remain calm, be patient. I was like, okay, okay. And then she wanted to talk. She had they had she had visited Greenville for a family wedding. And she wanted to sit there and just talk and talk and talk about how awesome Greenville is. Well, I know how awesome it is. I live here. Right. But, you know, I've been here at this point three and a half damn hours, and I was like, you know, we're kind of in a hurry. Kind of, you know, we kind of got in a portal. And I'm trying to be nice and push it along. And um finally the portal starts working. I start signing, and then she pulls it up and they did the deed. The deed was wrong and had to be redone. After all that, I snapped, I snapped like the elastic in your grandma's panties, and it I thought I was going to kill her or kill somebody, and I said, that is it. And I mean, I was in a maze. I was in a maze, and poor Dylan had gone to the restroom, and he came out, he he was coming back. I said, Let's go. I've had it. And uh that lady is like nervous, she's running around like a little mouse all everywhere. Well, I and I was like, No, I am done. Yes, I am done. And then the salesperson comes out and said, Well, let me buy you dinner. Well, I told him what to do with dinner, and I was like, just tell me how to get out of this place. Yeah, I am so done. I just I cannot be in here any longer. And um it was just horrible. It was it was one of the worst experiences. Like I've done.

SPEAKER_01 35:26

I'm glad it wasn't the first time you were trying to buy.

SPEAKER_00 35:28

Oh my God. Well, it would have probably saved me a lot of money. Um, so we left. I talked to the, you know, I talked to Marriott. Oh, he talked to everybody. Everybody. But guess what I got? I still bought it um later once you got back. Two weeks, yeah, two weeks later. But I was like, mm-mm.

SPEAKER_01 35:56

This is gonna be. Did you get any bonuses out of it? Because I know you worked this because Steven is got uh Steven has enough corporate in him to work it, to angle it, and to tell you just how shitty you are.

SPEAKER_00 36:16

I got we got two free weeks in Hawaii. See, there you go. You didn't know. But you know what? I knew you got something out of it. When you're paying that kind of money and you're treated, I mean, it was really bad. Yeah. It was even Dylan was like normally he would be like, you're being crazy, or you need to not be so impatient. I can be impatient. And I know when I know when I'm being impatient, and and I know when I'm gonna snap. This was absolutely uncalled for what they put me through. I mean, and they apologize, like they agreed. Like when I told them, they were like, You are so right, this is embarrassing. They were like, they had they had major technical difficulties on their end, but what they didn't do is they should have came in right then and said, Hey, can we bring this all this over to the resort to you at six o'clock and just let you sign it? Because we're having we'll get it all figured out or fixed up. Or we'll have we'll send it to you via DocuSign. Right.

SPEAKER_01 37:22

Okay. Yeah. Got it. You got what I want. You would have gone all over it again 15 times.

SPEAKER_00 37:27

My problem was letting my ass sit.

SPEAKER_01 37:30

Okay, I have two questions. One, because you ended up doing it. Did that woman get the credit for it, or did you get someone else?

SPEAKER_00 37:40

No, someone else. I said I she's not closing my deal.

SPEAKER_01 37:43

Okay. That's what I was wondering. On that.

SPEAKER_00 37:47

Number two, when we go into Hawaii. Well, I'm waiting for everything to come through. You know, I'm like, I've got to wait till, you know, I'm like, I wonder what they're gonna screw up with this. But I got it, I got it all in email. So I've got yeah, I'm sure this will be a cluster. But it'll be it'll work out. It'll be fine. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:10

It'll be just so funny because he was so perturbed, pissed off, pissed off.

SPEAKER_00 38:19

Like I would like I don't, and I usually don't I'm a pretty patient person. Like I can be like with situations. I'm I'm usually pretty more patient than you with situations like that. I'm not patient with technology. Yeah, I'm patient. I'm pretty patient though. I'm patient.

SPEAKER_01 38:41

You wouldn't have been patient and stuff. I'm not patient with stupid things like that.

SPEAKER_00 38:47

That was uh that was completely avoidable. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:51

And it was just bad service. Yeah, that I'm not patient with.

SPEAKER_00 38:55

Like I wouldn't even let a customer. That would be like me having a customer of ours when we're if we're having POS issues. Go sit down over there. Here's a little bitty bottle of water. Go sit down over there. It's gonna take me about three hours, but I'm just gonna let your ass go sit over there. No, bring you up. I'm gonna say, I will call you.

SPEAKER_01 39:15

Our system's down. Can I write this down? Charge your card. I'm not gonna make you send you the receipt later.

SPEAKER_00 39:22

Yeah, I'll text you the receipt. I mean, come on.

SPEAKER_01 39:25

It is that is crazy.

SPEAKER_00 39:27

Oh my god. In a company that big, yeah, it was it was

Date Farm Surprise And Cashew Facts

SPEAKER_00 39:31

bad. And the place we were going was that date farm. It was kind of it was kind of a tourist trap, but it was worth it.

SPEAKER_01 39:42

Farm is a weird little I mean, I would say go there, but it's not what I thought it was.

SPEAKER_00 39:49

It's not the true big farm. Yeah. It's like their It's a date garden. Yes. It's their visitors.

SPEAKER_01 39:59

That is where the dates come from. They had that area that you can't walk through where all the trees are lined up when you go up there.

SPEAKER_00 40:06

But they can't that can't be all they have. I don't know. They gotta have more.

SPEAKER_01 40:10

But it It was very interesting. It's very interesting to learn about the dates, you know. I didn't know they grew on palm trees, first of all.

SPEAKER_00 40:18

And I didn't realize when people say date palm that it is a date palm, and they don't cr they don't produce dates because you have to hand pollinate.

SPEAKER_01 40:30

Yeah, it was a whole thing. So it was really cool. It just wasn't what I envisioned. But the date shake was so good.

SPEAKER_00 40:38

It's very um, I guess the best word I can say is it's very rich.

SPEAKER_01 40:44

Dates are very rich, and it's almost like chocolate tasting, but they're rich.

SPEAKER_00 40:50

Yeah. It's uh it is a lot of layers to to the flavor. You know, it's not just I don't know what I thought a date was, but I don't think I realized it was on a palm tree.

SPEAKER_01 41:02

Yeah, I guess I didn't either. I guess I never thought of it. Speaking of that, speaking of that, not realizing, do you know how cashews are grown? I read it.

SPEAKER_00 41:12

They're legumes. They're they're actually a bean.

SPEAKER_01 41:16

No, they grow on trees, but they're a bean. It's on the end of a fruit that looks like an apple. It's like an apple, and then this thing is the the little cashew is hanging off the end. So it's like a little turd on the edge of the water. Look up how okay. If you have never looked up, I don't know what I thought. I thought maybe just like a peanut or something, just a different version.

SPEAKER_00 41:44

Your body, your body processes it completely different.

SPEAKER_01 41:48

And they have to hand like harvest these, like off the end of these um things. It's the weirdest thing. If you've never looked it up, this is one of those things that you should know in life.

SPEAKER_00 41:59

How no, it's not a legume, it's a seed that's attached to the bottom of a flesh fleshy cashew apple.

SPEAKER_01 42:09

Yeah. Like look at that. Did you see the photo of one?

SPEAKER_00 42:12

Uh uh.

SPEAKER_01 42:13

Look, this is how it grows. It hangs down off the it's like almost like an apple, and it hangs down off the bottom of it. And it's kind of gross now that I, you know, see it this way. But and they have the hand like harvest, like chop that off of the weirdest thing I've ever seen.

SPEAKER_00 42:31

It is weird. Where do they grow? And I guess that's why they're more they're not as good for you. Expensive. Yeah, they're where do they grow where do they grow? So if you have never looks like a little it looks like a little dingleberry. Cashew trees um grow in warm tropical climates. Let's see. Uh they grow a lot in India, Vietnam, the ivory coast, Brazil, Nigeria, Tanzania. Says Mozambique.

SPEAKER_01 43:05

Cashews are grown in West Africa and Asia with the ivory coast, India and Vietnam.

SPEAKER_00 43:12

Mm-hmm. And it takes three to five years for the trees to start producing the nuts. No wonder they're they high. I love cashews though. Each cat each cashew apple produces just one cashew.

SPEAKER_01 43:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:33

And see, I can eat about eight pounds in one city. I know.

SPEAKER_01 43:37

That's what I'm like. How did I hope each tree is very prolific. It's the weirdest thing that I never knew.

SPEAKER_00 43:44

Now I'm asking, is the cashew apple good? Yes, the cashew apple is quite good, but it's different than what most people expect. The flavor is sweet with a hint of apple, slightly tropical. Tropical with notes of mango and pineapple. Juicy and fragrant, a little tart, depending on the ripeness. And it kind of looks like mango.

SPEAKER_02 44:10

Well, who knew?

SPEAKER_00 44:11

Who hell? Where and like can you buy that somewhere?

SPEAKER_01 44:16

I'm thinking you can't readily because they have to chop the nut off the end. So wouldn't you think that would the fruit would then be bad or rot? You would think that it would make the fruit go bad.

SPEAKER_00 44:28

I mean, because I've never seen a cashew apple in the says they're very hard to find in the US. I guess they can't ship on BLICS. They bruise and spoil within tw twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Oh, so see, yeah. So usually you can find them like at an international or Brazilian grocery store. Sometimes in South Florida. So Dylan and I need, when we're in South Florida, Y'all look for a cashew apple. We need to do that. Oh, Hawaii. Sometimes you can get them in Hawaii. See, we're a teaching podcast. The more you know. It says you're in Greenville, South Carolina. It's very unlikely you're gonna find a fresh cashew apple there. No shit. No shit, Fred.

SPEAKER_02 45:16

That is funny.

SPEAKER_00 45:17

Now I want to try it. I know. I love, love. So I'm not a big fruit eater. I've never been a big fruit eater. I love watermelon and I love apples. So I bet I'm if it's a hint of an apple to it, I would probably like it.

SPEAKER_03 45:37

I guess so.

SPEAKER_00 45:38

But if it's a real fleshy fruit, I wouldn't. See, I hate mango. I had a bad experience with mangoes in Grenada. Yeah, we've talked about that. I still that's the worst smelling mess I've ever stomped through in my life.

SPEAKER_03 45:55

With bare feet.

SPEAKER_01 45:56

He will not eat mango. I mean, it has to be something like I'm like, okay, you do it's got mango in the name, but you're not gonna taste the mango, and he'll try it and he'll be like, okay, but if it's just like you want this mango something, no.

SPEAKER_00 46:13

And that was I mean, that was 20, that was 25, 30 years ago. Damn. Did me in. I'm glad it wasn't an apple. I know, right? I wish it'd been cheesecake or something.

SPEAKER_01 46:27

Oh my goodness.

Eating Better And The Chick-fil-A Rant

SPEAKER_01 46:30

Okay. Uh what? I was just thinking about something. Uh so you know, I think we've, I'm sure we've talked about this over the years. I don't know what made me just think of this. So this is just a total cheesecake, I guess, made me think of it. I've been trying to eat better. I've been trying to diet. I've lost 10 pounds. Good. Okay. So I've been trying to eat better. So, you know, if you've listened, I've been vegetarian for, I don't know, eight years, somewhere around there. So I've recently started working in meat again. Chicken. Chicken. Because I can like I can mix that in to, you know, whatever. It's a whole thing. I don't have anything against eating, you know, meat. It just cooking it grosses me out. Decided to go vegetarian. I really like being vegetarian, but then everyone's like, you need protein, you need protein. You know, whatever. The older you get, you do. So I was like, can't you just work some in, Wesley? And it took me like months to get the idea, okay, you're gonna start having some chicken, da da da blah blah blah. Anyway. And you've done very well with it. I have. You hadn't been real dramatic. No, I haven't. And I've only eaten, like, I'm not eating, I'm still not eating pork or and I don't really like red meat anyway. Like, eventually I'll eat a hamburger. I don't mind a hamburger or whatever, but like steak, no, whatever. I eat steak like once a year. But anyway, so I have been going, I guess my perplexion is since I haven't gone to like uh eat meat that much, over the years I haven't really gone to Chick-fil-A, which you know is so popular. Chick-fil-A, Chick-fil-A, Chick-fil-A, Chick-fil-A. So I have been eating like a chicken sandwich, and I have been getting them when I can, like at Zaxby's. Their chicken sandwich is juicy, good, and fresh every time. When you go to Chick-fil-A down here, and I know they're all the patty is like half the size. I mean, it is like this thing. It is like, it is like if you went to Zaxby's and I get it grilled, first of all, it's I'm only getting grilled. Um, it is like if you filet a Zaxby's chicken sandwich in half and put it on a bun. I'm like, this shit is what people are like.

SPEAKER_00 49:00

I'm gonna tell you something. Chick-fil-A, in my opinion, and listen, I like Chick-fil-A. I'm a Chick-fil-A fan um ish, but they really I think they've gone to hell in a handbasket.

SPEAKER_01 49:14

I mean maybe they have over the years. I think it's just they've got to be able to do that. I'm just like this chicken patty. If you open the bun and look at it, it is so tiny and so thin and more expensive than if you go across the street to Zaxby's, which is like a plump chicken breast done, like it's crazy the difference. Fried chicken, is it fried? No, only grilled, just grilled. I don't want to get the fried, so I can't compare the fried, you know, the fried versions. But I'm like, the quality, I was just flabbergasted. And then the whole chick filet, this goes back to, you know, I ain't gonna complain about that. But them standing outside also irritates me. I get it when it's busy, but like I will go, you know, I don't have a good eating schedule or life schedule or work schedule. Like, I'll go in there at the weirdest time, four in the afternoon. There ain't no, uh there ain't nobody in the line at all, and they got someone standing outside to take your order. So dumb. It's so irritating.

SPEAKER_00 50:22

So dumb. You do that when your line is around the building and you're trying to like wrap it up. You're wasting your money. Yeah. Like and it's awkward.

SPEAKER_01 50:33

It's awkward and annoying then. Put them.

SPEAKER_00 50:37

It's impressive if they're doing accomplishing something, giving you better service. Right. But they're not giving you better service. They're uh they're a a human speaker and it's awkward. Right. Because they're staring in your car and it's weird.

SPEAKER_01 50:53

And let them go sit at a table inside with their headphone on and their iPad and take the order if you need to. It doesn't impress me at all. Yeah. And as a customer. Just like these other places, like Seven Brew, who I hate and won't go to because they stand out there. Um, if you are gonna do that, like Chick-fil-A now I assume I'm just new back into the Chick-fil-A line, but I have not been there when they don't have people outside. Like, I don't think they use their menu board or speaker anymore. Like, I think their model now is to have the people outside. Well, you need to pay the damn money and move your menu back to the other end of the line. Because your menu board is after It's so dumb. You try to order. So then you gotta go. Do you have well? I think I saw or sometimes you don't know what you want.

SPEAKER_00 51:49

I think it from a restaurant owner perspective, I think it costs them money because I can't tell you how many times I go to somewhere and then I order, and then I see that ice cream cone or that pie or something.

SPEAKER_01 52:08

And I'll take that too. And I'll have this. It costs them money. It it really does. Because, see, for me now, I don't know what they have because I haven't been there in so long, but I know I can get a grilled chicken sandwich. That's all I'll get. I'm not adding on anything because I don't know what your salads are. Uh-uh. Because I'm trying not to eat fried, so I don't want to add on the fries. But what is my other option? I don't know. Maybe you have a side salad, maybe you don't. Maybe I could get a cup of fruit. I don't know, but I'm not gonna ask this little teenager standing here with their iPad in my face.

SPEAKER_00 52:40

It's and even some of them, like you know, they used to have stellar employees. I will say that. Well, they're not as stellar as they used to be. Yeah. And we'll tell you that. Well, I told you like uh a few weeks ago, I was like, something's going on.

SPEAKER_01 52:58

Well, their food quality is going on, I'll tell you that. Maybe I'll have a different take on it. Let us know on our hotline. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 53:05

Let us know their grilled chicken can be really, really good or really, really, really bad.

SPEAKER_01 53:14

I've gotten in the course of, you know, I've probably gotten it five times now, and not one has been good or comparable, like literally to Zaxby's. Not that I'm saying that's amazing, but that's what I had to compare it to. Because there's a Zaxby's out by our house. So like if I get a grilled chicken, but theirs is like, I'll just show you, I'll get one and show it to you.

SPEAKER_00 53:35

That is crazy. The grilled chicken at the clock in Powdersville is supposed to be the bomb.com. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 53:44

Well, we'll see. I don't, I'll have to go that way sometimes. That's not far from my house. It isn't. All

Vacation Timing And Schedule Update

SPEAKER_01 53:50

right, you got anything before we wrap this baby up? No, pull this baby over. Zoom, zoom. So you're on vacation. When this comes out, you'll be on vacation. I'll be on vacation. My vacation overlap. So next week, when you're listening to this, we will not have a podcast episode. We're skipping another week. So this episode will come out on August 4th. So the week of August 11th, we're trying to give you a heads up. We will not have a podcast, but we'll be back on the 18th, right? We will. We'll be back, and then we'll be able to talk about our vacation because otherwise I'm just gonna have to record one and talk about nothing. So that is um coming up. Wait, wait, wait a minute. When do you go back to Atlanta? It's on the 16th. Okay, so we'll we'll record this for you. So we're back on wait, where am I? What what month is this? This is coming out on the 4th, and then we'll have we're skipping the 11th, but we'll record, and there'll be one posted on the 18th. Okay, I will see you before we go to Atlanta. He'll be back in Atlanta. Ah, it they come and go so quick. Christmas is coming in. We'll be launching that before we do it. We're launching fall. All right, we'll see you next week. Bye, y'all. Bye.