Why doesn’t America have any pride left?

^ Oh, and in three nights they never cleaned my room.

Same up here, OP. Ate from the wonderful breakfast menu instead of the tiny pathetic looking buffet last month whilst visiting relatives in Port Alberni, BC.

Because of the American supply chain system, cost of labor, food and supplies, and overall corporate greed.

Corporate greed.

We eat crap in the US but I still wouldn't change it for any other place on Earth.

Late stage capitalism, as formulated by genius MBAs that run American businesses today: pay more, get less. It's their solution for everything.

I got a notice from Wells Fargo bank the other day. Unless, I maintain a $25,000.00 minimum balance, my current free checking account will come with a $35.00/month fee. So, to summarize, if I keep 25K in my checking account, they will pay me @$2.00/month in interest. If I go below 25K, they'll charge me $35/month.

Verizon recently raised my monthly TV/Internet bill by $15/month again, AND cut the number of stations I'm getting with my present package. And then they wondered why I cancelled the whole shebang. .

And my landlord is jacking up my pet rent from $25.00/month to $40/month, despite the fact that I have a lease agreement that runs until 11/15/25 stating my pet rent will be $25/month. No extra charge, though, for the cock roaches they can't seem to get rid of, though.

I take the OP’s point, but I’m somewhat amused at their ability to see the included hotel breakfast as a microcosm for American decline.

OP, did you somehow never travel before Covid? Buffet breakfasts at hotels have sucked my entire adult life, with the exception of a few at five-star hotels (and outside the US).

You also got massively ripped off if you paid $500/night for anything in Crystal City.

He didn’t check Trivago.

We channel all our pride into our Make America Great Again hats.

OP obviously doesn’t own a passport.

R7 R8 My point is that breakfast buffets in Europe, whether included or extra, are incredible. It’s because they take pride in their culture and wanting to give a good experience to guests.

[quote] Late stage capitalism

Not this commie crap again.

OP sounds fat.

R11 How would I know what European hotels are like if I didn’t own a passport?

Buffet breakfasts in Europe are not "INCREDIBLE". There is the full range from industrial to quite good.

"I live in a bubble, have no idea what's happening in the world, don't understand context, and only think in black and white."

[quote]I got a notice from Wells Fargo bank the other day. Unless, I maintain a $25,000.00 minimum balance, my current free checking account will come with a $35.00/month fee. So, to summarize, if I keep 25K in my checking account, they will pay me @$2.00/month in interest. If I go below 25K, they'll charge me $35/month.

Wells Fargo is the worst major bank, and that's saying a lot.

Pull out your money and transfer it to a local credit union, where they don't charge you for having an account.

R6 I assume you mean $2500, not $25,000. Who the hell keeps $25k in a checking account. I only keep about $2000-2,500 in mine.

R5 maybe you need to get out more.

I see the quality of midrange hotels as a sign of decline. It’s like with retail where you have a few overpriced options for high income and the rest is bottom of the barrel with the worst of the worst jeopardizing your safety.

Late stage capitalism = government acting as middle managers for corporations. In America, there's not even the pretense of having some kind of baseline for quality---it's just assumed that unless you're paying extra for a "premium" experience," it's going to suck.

Both parties have allowed the country's wealth to trickle up.

R6 is making shit up

What Wells Fargo Actually Offers

Premier Checking

• Monthly Fee: $35

• Fee Waiver Requirement: You must have at least $250,000 in statement-ending qualifying balances across linked deposit and investment accounts (checking, savings, CDs, IRAs, and eligible brokerage/investment balances) to avoid the fee .

• If your balance drops below $250,000, the $35 fee applies—even if your balance is quite high (like $249,999) .

Prime Checking

• Monthly Fee: $25

• Fee Waiver Requirement: You must maintain at least $20,000 in linked qualifying balances .

Everyday Checking (entry-level account)

• Monthly Fee: $10

• Fee Waiver Options: At least one of:

• $500 minimum daily balance, or

• $500+ in qualifying electronic deposits monthly, or

• Certain age-based or student/military qualifications

"OP, did you somehow never travel before Covid? Buffet breakfasts at hotels have sucked my entire adult life, with the exception of a few at five-star hotels (and outside the US).

R24 = Wells Fargo gay. Dude, gtfo---we don't want ChatGPT on this forum

Wells Fargo is the shittiest bank out there---the idea that anyone would voluntarily pay them $35 a month confounds me.

Why on earth does someone need a checking account?

[quote] How would I know what European hotels are like if I didn’t own a passport?

The same way you know what a big penis is - the internet.

[quote]Late stage capitalism = government acting

Fuck off, Teafake.

Here comes R12, with that “culture” bullshit.

Get over yourself, R12.

This IS America. We give the consumer as little as possible, while charging as much as possible.

That’s it.

You wanna know why we don’t take pride in our culture? Because we don’t have one, in the way you imagine it.

Our culture is MONEY, & you’re a fool if you don’t believe those restaurants and/or hotels also prioritize MONEY above culture.

They just know how to disguise it better so that you keep coming back.

[quote]My point is that breakfast buffets in Europe, whether included or extra, are incredible. It’s because they take pride in their culture and wanting to give a good experience to guests.

R12, this is far too much of a generalization, and lumping the entirety of Europe into a single bowl is absurd. Mid-range chain hotels usually have the same types of continental breakfast American ones do, with zero "cultural effort." Europe admittedly has far more small, urban hotels than the US – and I can believe *those* offer quality service – but we really don't have much equivalent stateside. The most inedible buffets I've ever seen personally were in Eastern Europe, albeit as a college backpacker at the time.

Also, the most elaborate, over-the-top buffets I've seen have been at five-star Asian hotels: Singapore, Kuala Lumpur & Hong Kong have a bunch if you know where to look, sometimes using the American-style brunch model.

OP is conflating two very different experiences. It is true that the experience he is describing in Europe is perhaps more accessible and affordable and common than it is in the US. But the same experience is most certainly available to US travelers who aren’t staying in corporate chains in Crystal City, VA. I mean, that whole area is Pentagon and Gov Svces hellhole.

The problem with US domestic and US corporate travel is that you have to work a bit to break out of the horrible Marriott / chain bubble. It is sri al that Marriott was allowed to to buy Starwood. The industry is way too consolidated, and despite the proliferation of “brands,” the prices are high and the experience is generally horrible or for the masses.

European hotel buffets run the gamut, too. Some are swanky and lavish, but quite a few are sad and basic.

They don't put as much into breakfast as we do, so you'll see a platter of cold cut meats and cheeses, some baked goods, and whole eggs next to a pot of boiling water. You're supposed to cook your own hard-boiled egg. But the saving grace of ANY European breakfast is multivitamin juice. You can hardly find it in the States.

"The same way you know what a big penis is - the internet."

Honey, you're saying more about yourself than OP if you assume that people spend their lives on the internet telling pointless lies.

R34 I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express next to the airport in Copenhagen for one night because I was catching a plane to Greenland the next day. They had this incredible breakfast spread with all kinds of breads, meats, fish, eggs, cheeses, jams, etc.

OP sounds fat.

r6 I also got rid of Verizon. Not only did they keep raising my bill, but there were these bullshit "fees and charges" all the time. I'd finally had enough and canceled them. Horrible company.

[quote]Why on earth does someone need a checking account?

To pay bills?

R28 cashes his welfare check across the street from the fried chicken place.

I live in Europe OP and our hotel breakfast is THE point of discussion for much of any trip away. I've never been to the US and have no desire to after reading your post, so I'll take your word on the subpar spreads offered up for the most IMPORTANT meal of the day. I would rate Portugal as generally having very good breakfasts- best in Europe. The brits are mean cunts- and that's before we even talk about their breakfasts!

Isn't the point of going to Europe experiencing the culture and NOT eating at your hotel but a cute cafe or anywhere else but that?

Breakfast in European hotels is all over the map - and it varies by country. Of course, I've mostly stayed at pensions, rather than larger corporate hotels, which are much more expensive than their US counterparts so I can't speak to those.. (Pensions are small, family-run hotels or guest houses). Mind you, many of those kind of hotels also some sort of bathroom-sharing situation. SOMETIMES you get a toilet in your room. Occasionally a shower. But you can't count on it.

In northern Europe, bigger breakfasts are part of the culture - and the breakfast buffets reflect that. But they are not American-style breakfast foods. So, you could expect an very wide assortment of breads and rolls, butter, jam, cold cuts, cheeses, hard-boiled eggs, juice, coffee. Occasionally you will find muesli or some other sort of dry cereal and maybe a small pitcher of milk. In southern Europe, and parts of France too, breakfast at home and out is a minor affair. Some bread, butter, jam, coffee, hot chocolate. Possibly some sort of pastry. That's about it.

Europeans still smoke, so breakfast isn't a big thing. When you're a smoker you're not really hungry in the morning.

Pride? Pride just barely edges out jealousy as one of the most useless things that someone can possess.

And besides that, look around, there's nothing for Americans to be proud about. They have sunk to an all time low of proud stupidity, avarice, and hatred.

For more than 50 years they've been laying it on thick about being first and better and the greatest goddamned country that ever was. They've thought that the rest of the world should envied them...for fucking what?

Americans have too much pride, not a lack of it.