RECCE ROOM

This is my third "Dealing with the Public" post this evening. I had several memories tonight and wanted to get them down just for you, kind reader. Setting: I was a "Management Assistant" at Enterprise on Covington Pike in Memphis. This would have been spring 2000. I was actually at a point where I would be promoted soon, so I was getting the hang of the rental business at this point. Now let me tell you a few things that will help you understand this story. First, many people in Memphis had an "entitlement" mentality. They felt they deserved something for free. Working in the car rental industry in Memphis was very taxing on a person's mind for this reason. I had fewer renters like this in 18 months of rental in the Nashville area than I dealt with in a week in Memphis. When dealing with car rental operations, renters with that "entitlement mentality" often requested/demanded/expected things to be different just for them. Many people would a...

OK, here is another one dealing with the public. Understand, I am neither bitter nor angry at these people I write about. I have long since forgotten any ill will I might have held against them. I use these memories as sources of humor. And I know some of the people that follow this blog appreciate them. So in this instance, you need to know some background. From this story , you can read that we had a body shop that occasionally tried to extort us. Never worked. I made it a point never to "deliver" rental cars anywhere - that is to say that we always returned to the rental lobby for a brief moment to do paperwork and select a car. This also gave us a moment to advise all renters to return the car to the location. This way, there would never be a question about how long to charge the renter or their insurance company. So one Friday afternoon, I am there at the lobby, checking some renters into cars for weekend specials, and returning cars from other renters. Most of t...

I did not know whether to tag this as a repo story, or as a dealing with the public story, so this one is both. Now, I must admit it was not a repo, exactly. In fact, it was just a time when a car that was rented had been dropped off at a repair shop. Side note: Folks, I strongly advise you to never leave a rental car anywhere, even if the rental company says it's OK. I have witnessed firsthand all sorts of bad things happen to customers who did this. I would say you have a better than 1 in 5 chance of having the car damaged before the rental agency gets it back, or being way overcharged for your rental. Side note off. Often, and for various reasons, body shop managers would tell people to just leave the rental car there at the body shop. This was poor advice. Well, we had a renter do just that. Good news was she called us (5 minutes before close) to tell us what she had just done. Since there was no way we could get that car then, I told her we would get it tomorrow and I advised ...

Much like the prior thread: 1. We really, really enjoy Martial Arts. As a consequence, even when we know better, we will talk to you about Martial Arts. Just like someone interested in Photography, or Golf, or a Television Show. Please don’t take it as a threat to your ego. We are not challenging you in any way. Just smile and nod like you do to everyone else’s boring stories about interests you don’t have. 2. Also, please don’t take this as an opportunity to spout out "That’s why I carry a 9mm in my car at all times!" We are perfectly aware that Martial Arts training will not stop a bullet. Are you aware that we are currently between you and your car, and our Martial Arts knowledge is not locked in the glove compartment? 3. While we are on that note, nothing it our code of conduct prevents us from owning firearms, either. 4. No, I don’t have to register my hands with the police. No state law says "black belt = deadly weapon". 5. Also, there really is...

These can be things I have learned directly, taught others, or I have seen others learn (before I made the same mistake). 1. A pistol is a pistol and a rifle is a rifle. 2. I don't care what you've heard about shotguns, you still have to aim them. 3. It is cool to catch brass as it is ejected from the gun... but you'll only do it once. 4. Ladies with low cut shirts find out about #3 in places they wish they didn't! 5. When shooting a semi-automatic pistol, one does not wrap one's weak-side thumb over one's wrist. 6. Shooting without hearing protection can hurt. 7. Cleaning up after you have shot is very polite. 8. Pointing a gun at someone will not make the two of you friends. 9. I don't care about caliber debates - I prefer not to get shot with any gun, thank you. 10. The difference between shooting and chess: Everybody claims to be a decent shooter, but they rarely get out and shoot. Everybody plays chess, but nobody claims to be an expert. 11. Be wary of ...

A number of people have asked me why I carry. Here a few reasons, in no particular order: 1. Self defense. I have a black belt in 3 martial arts. I am 6'3" and about 275 pounds. There are few people in this world that I cannot handle 1 on 1. Most are professional fighters. However, throw into the mix the fact that I have a wife and two kids. Add to it that most predatory criminals travel in packs and bring weapons. Now we see that all that training is compromised when there are multiple armed opponents. Enter my self defense tool - a GLOCK model 22 - and those "advantages" a bad guy (or guys) may have are reduced significantly. 2. Police. Police have no direct duty to defend you (Supreme Court, 2005 - Castle Rock vs. Gonzalez). They are there to clean up after the fact and gather information for some detective work. Even when they do decide to defend you, they are mere minutes away. As an experienced martial arts instructor, I know that most altercations are over in ...

Yes, I must admit it on this blog. I am in favor of gun control. You see, gun control is absolutely essential. It is a must have. Now I see many of you asking if I left my brain at home, or if someone hijacked my blog. I can assure you, this is Usagi speaking and I am completely in favor of gun control. I define gun control as the ability to accurately hit one's target.