I don't like this new fangled way of doing things!

[Cornell]

Interesting, had read the USVI were doing the same thing, disposable, and had wondered.

Where I'm at they are using real plates etc in places we have been.

I carry "real" silverware in my purse now . I'm not going out for a $40-$50 dinner & using a spork.

 

[Cornell]

For those of you interested in joining my "real silverware" movement:

 

[Glynda]

I'm sure those are gone now. The few restaurants we have been to have had nothing on the table, to eliminate any cross contamination from the previous customer. No salt, pepper, condiments, napkin holder, etc. You need to ask for any of that now.

Kurt

As I waited to pick up our take-out order I watched the host clear a table and clean it. There were glass salt and pepper shakers on the table. He picked them up and wiped under them and set them back down. Go figure!

 

[CanuckTravlr]

As I waited to pick up our take-out order I watched the host clear a table and clean it. There were glass salt and pepper shakers on the table. He picked them up and wiped under them and set them back down. Go figure!

This is why we will not be dining out at any restaurant any time soon. Until we can be sure most restaurants have got their act together, and other patrons will be responsible, we will stick to occasional take-out/delivery. Although right now in Toronto and a few other areas in Ontario it is still a moot point. Due to our higher Covid-19 rates, we are still in Phase 1, so still no in-restaurant dining anyway. Much of the rest of the province has started to move to Phase 2, with some relaxation of restaurant dining rules.

For the same reasons, we will not likely be doing any non-local travelling in the near future, and certainly not any flying. We want to see what changes restaurants, airlines, hotels, etc., make to keep their customers safe. We also want to see if they are effective, at least until a treatment or vaccine is available. After 3 months of essentially isolating in our home, we are not in any hurry to be guinea pigs to see if Covid-19 resurges. A number of people seem to think they are immune or can just go back to the old "normal", which makes us uncomfortable, at least in the short-term.

 

[davidvel]

I’ve said for a few years now, it’s best to travel with a teenager to have someone who can work the electronics for me. Somehow they intuitively know how to change the input on the TV screen.

I can never figure out how the kids find the button that says input on the tv remote.

 

[bbodb1]

I'm sure those are gone now. The few restaurants we have been to have had nothing on the table, to eliminate any cross contamination from the previous customer. No salt, pepper, condiments, napkin holder, etc. You need to ask for any of that now.

Kurt

And to add to this point, those terminals (Ziosk - or something like that) were pains in the rear for most wait staff (according to them) as the print mechanisms jammed very easily when customers wanted a printed copy of a bill. I don't think they will be missed by many....

 

[Karen G]

Monday we ate at the Yardhouse restaurant in Las Vegas near the High Roller. We were with our son, our daughter, son-in-law, and two grandkids. They said they couldn't seat more than five people at a table or booth so we three girls sat in a booth and the four guys sat at a nearby table. We drank from regular glasses and ate off regular china plates with real forks and knives. Staff wore masks. It was a pleasant experience and we were glad to be able to go out to eat again.

Hand sanitizers were available at the entrance. We paid by credit card through a machine on the table and it printed out a receipt.

 

[geekette]

I guess I'll be in for a shock too as I don't have data on my cellphone, it is a pay-as-you go cheapest no plan service, but it is a smart phone so I can use any free internet around where I am. Hopefully the menus will also be on a board or sign in those restaurants as well for the technically challenged. I always assumed menus were dirty and always washed my hands after handling one.

~Diane

they won't be finding any helpful codes on my flip phone either. Maybe lots of people want smart phones, but lots of us don't. I'll do business in places where phone is not required.

 

[clifffaith]

BIG SIGH. Just got a call, my doctor won't be seeing patients in person due to the spike in covid cases. No problem, happy to talk to her on the phone next Tuesday. Blah blah video blah blah. "I'll stop you right there" says I, "you are talking to a dinosaur, the phone is fine". Well doctor prefers video chat, load Zoom through the App store. So I trudge upstairs, find my Viking iPad cover that has the scrap of paper with the app password, and I seem to have successfully loaded Zoom to my iPhone. But why? Tell me what possible reason the doctor has for wanting to see my six pounds heavier face (good news the six pounds came the first six weeks of the shut down and has not increased). She has the blood work from two weeks ago, she'll have me take my own temp and BP (as she did Cliff a couple months ago), I already have a list of miseries to discuss with her, why does she need to see my face on her screen? Now I have to get dressed two hours earlier than usual!

 

[Luanne]

@clifffaith there are things a doctor can tell by looking at you that they can't tell just by asking questions. Years ago when my mom would visit her OB/GYN the doctor wanted her patients to remove their nail polish before coming in. She could tell some things by the color of the skin under the nails. Dh's doctor was able to look down his throat by using dh's phone as a camera. It was pretty cool. (And no, he didn't have to stick his phone down his throat ).

 

[Talent312]

My docs still see me in person, but take your temp at the lobby door.

DW has been doing Zoom for a while now, but we ran into a problem:
Some dufus set up a meet that can't be loaded via website, only an app.
So I bought her a Kindle, just to download the app for her one meeting.
<arrgh>

While we're on it...
I get annoyed by McDonald's kiosks and usually walk up to the counter.
But at some of 'em, they won't take your order at the counter anymore,

 

[clifffaith]

My docs still see me in person, but take your temp at the lobby door.

DW has been doing Zoom for a while now, but we ran into a problem:
Some dufus set up a meet that can't be loaded via website, only an app.
So I bought her a Kindle, just to download the app for her one meeting.
<arrgh>

While we're on it...
I get annoyed by McDonald's kiosks and usually walk up to the counter.
But at some of 'em, they won't take your order at the counter anymore,

Only way we could order from a kiosk is with the kiosk monitor's help -- just like at the airport or self service checkout (meaning they see the line backing up behind us and take pity on the other people waiting).

 

[Luanne]

While we're on it...
I get annoyed by McDonald's kiosks and usually walk up to the counter.
But at some of 'em, they won't take your order at the counter anymore,

The food court at the Jet Blue terminal at JFK is completely kiosk ordering. People do deliver the food to you (or rather call out your number) but I honestly don't know what they'd do if someone asked for help at the kiosk. I have seen other customers help folks out who are having problems.

 

[fer829]

DW had an in-person 8:00 a.m. medical appointment earlier this week.
At 7:00 a.m. got a robocall indicating instructions on waiting in the parking lot and to call in our arrival or text number ###-#### (too fast to write it down).
7:45 a.m. arrived in the parking lot and phoned in and got a recorded message that the office was closed until 8:00.
7:50 a.m. tried calling again and got the same recording.
7:52 a.m. got the proper number to text from the fellow in the vehicle beside us. Managed to text in with our arrival and name. Got an automated text back thanking us and to contact again if we didn't get a follow-on text in 10 minutes.
8:05 a.m. nurse came out in a hazmat covering asking who we were and for my wife to come on in.
9:00 a.m. returned home after the appointment and found THREE MESSAGES on the land-line answering machine saying to come into the lobby for the appointment!
Note that our cell phone number is a charge for each use and so the number is only given to family members (and btw, certainly NOT to the timeshare check-in desk for the sales weasels to use).
It appears that there are some people that are not able to adjust to seniors that don't use the techy things that they think everyone should use!

 

[Talent312]

In Paris, a well-meaning fellow stepped up to help us with the Metro kiosk.
It seems we were taking too long to figure it out and he was tired of waiting.

 

[Karen G]

I have a dentist appointment this morning and I just got a text from their office. It said I should wear a mask and call them when I arrive before coming into the office. They said the cleaning process would be modified to reduce aerosol, and also that a $10 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) fee of $10 will be added to the appointment. When my daughter had her teeth cleaned a couple of weeks ago she said they didn't do the polishing at the end of the cleaning, maybe because of the aerosol?? So I have to pay more for less service is what it amounts to, I suppose.

 

[Firepath]

I have had so many messages "texted" to my home# without even asking me first. They just assume every number is a cell #. We have a land line too!

 

[PigsDad]

I have a dentist appointment this morning and I just got a text from their office. It said I should wear a mask and call them when I arrive before coming into the office. They said the cleaning process would be modified to reduce aerosol, and also that a $10 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) fee of $10 will be added to the appointment. When my daughter had her teeth cleaned a couple of weeks ago she said they didn't do the polishing at the end of the cleaning, maybe because of the aerosol?? So I have to pay more for less service is what it amounts to, I suppose.

Our dentist is charging a $20 PPE fee now. As if they weren't expensive enough!

Kurt

 

[Luanne]

I have a dentist appointment this morning and I just got a text from their office. It said I should wear a mask and call them when I arrive before coming into the office. They said the cleaning process would be modified to reduce aerosol, and also that a $10 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) fee of $10 will be added to the appointment. When my daughter had her teeth cleaned a couple of weeks ago she said they didn't do the polishing at the end of the cleaning, maybe because of the aerosol?? So I have to pay more for less service is what it amounts to, I suppose.

I had my teeth cleaned on Monday. I wore a mask. I went into the office to check in and since there was already one person in the waiting room they had me wait outside (where there were chairs). Someone came out to take my temperature. Then the hygienist came out and asked me the standard 4 questions. She escorted me in. I removed my mask when I got into the chair. She was wearing a mask. I asked if they were using the shields and she said only for procedures that would produce aerosol (which I keep calling spatter). She did not use the water instrument for cleaning, which is fine with me, due to aerosol. She also did not polish for the same reason. She said they are following the ADA policies. There was no charge for PPE since she didn't use it. I wonder if I'd had a procedure that required it if I would have been charged? It cost plenty anyway since I needed x-rays and a check by the dentist. We don't have dental insurance so it was a bit of an "ouch".

 

[clifffaith]

LOL, last night I dreamed the doctor had me on the phone from 9am to 7pm trying to figure out how to see me on my phone. Had to wake myself up out of it to "change channels" because it was so frustrating!

 

[Cornell]

My precious daughter got her wisdom teeth taken out this morning. Zillions of special procedures, etc, which I'm cool with. I couldn't be in the surgical center once I dropped her off. As a result, I couldn't be with her in the recovery area either. The nurse was the one who assisted her upon leaving and because she wasn't with "mom", she got delivered to my car in a wheelchair. She enjoyed that experience (diva moment).

 

[Karen G]

Now that I'm done with the dentist appointment, a few things were different from what I expected. The hygienist did do the polishing part of the cleaning and I was glad for that. She didn't do the water machine--I think she called it a cavitor?--and that's the thing they use to scrape off plaque. She said she'd do the scraping by hand instead. She did a great job of it. She wore plastic gloves, a gown and two masks--one the N95 and the other a regular mask on top of the N95. She also had a clear plastic face shield and things she looked through sort of like small binocular lens.

When I was called into the office they took my temperature and had me use hand sanitizer. They said to have a seat in the waiting area, which had no magazines or any other materials and the lights were off so it was kind of dark there. No one else was in the waiting room and in a few minutes the hygienist came to take me back to the exam room. All things considered, it wasn't a bad experience.

 

[Beachclubmum]

My dental visits (3 of them) last week were kind of loosey goosey. No extra charges for PPE.

After the hygienist was done cleaning my teeth she lowered her mask so she could talk to me better as we were chatting. I thought that was a little risky.

Water was definitely squirting around when they worked on a tooth. Some of it splashed back into my face but it came from my own mouth so I wasn’t too worried.

They took my temp as I checked in on two of the three days. They asked me the standard covid questions on the first day only. At one point 3 people were in a fairly small waiting room so I moved myself over to the other side away from the chairs.

 

[WinniWoman]

Today we actually dined inside a restaurant and it was wonderful. Real glasses and plates and utensils and menus!

 

[WinniWoman]

As I waited to pick up our take-out order I watched the host clear a table and clean it. There were glass salt and pepper shakers on the table. He picked them up and wiped under them and set them back down. Go figure!

When we dined out this evening the ketchup bottle was on the table for each patron to use. I was surprised but I used it.