This was one of my favorite episodes from recent seasons. Just the constant increasing outrage from real everyday scenarios combined with Dennis's serial killer tendencies made for an incredibly funny ride.
They used to have a podcast I listened to. All that came from an actual issue Glen Howerton had. He parked his Tesla in an underground parking deck. He had left the key card in the Tesla, expecting to just use his phone to get back in. There wasn't any cellular coverage in the parking deck, so he couldn't unlock the car with his phone. Tesla also could not remotely unlock the car due to no cell signal. He wanted to tow it, but Tesla said he could damage the car by towing it without setting it to "tow mode" first. So he got a flat bed carrier to dolly the Tesla onto, except that was too tall to fit into the parking deck.
And then Charlie gave the anecdote of his electrician asking if he wanted to hook up his lights to his phone to which he said something like, isn’t that what this switch is for… they all talk about coming up with solutions to problems that don’t exist.
I have no idea why everyone wants an app now, stupid business trends. Some dickhead in marketing decided to make an app for something that absolutely doesn't need an app, and every CEO in the country was like "now us, now us!" So goddamn stupid. Enjoy all the false data I put into each and every profile.
I went to get a coffee from a place called luckin coffee today. I started ordering “Sorry sir we only accept orders through our app” I walked out followed by two others behind me. How stupid
I went to have my T tested at a low T center and the app they make you download is so bad.. the app makes you fill out all the forms online but when I showed up for the free test they made me do it all again on an ipad..
I turned to the desk person and said why did I do the app and have to repeat all the forms again.. she was like the app doesn't talk to the ipad.. responded with I dont need the app to talk to the iPad I need the app to talk to your computer/data center that also talks to the iPad. I am not filling all this out again.. I walked out..
My landlord company sent out an email stating my rental insurance was out of date. I replied back with the email receipt I specifically asked them for, when I gave them the insurance.
I was told that oh sorry, we partner with a new company now. I have to go sign up for another account, on a third party website, to upload my insurance.
I just about blew a blood vessel from that exchange. They did eventually relent and do whatever they needed to do on their end because I raised a stink.
But I swear to fuck I am so goddamn tired of speaking to the person in charge of the thing and being told, oh you have to do that on a different website/app.
I watched a youtube court case where a judge was siding with the rental company in an eviction because the tenets were refusing to use third party sites. It was pretty infuriating.
And some of the apps are not intuitively designed at all, so even if I am willing to download the app, I do not want to spend an additional 10 minutes trying to figure out how to complete the order in the app. And the worker is the only one working the front end, so as a former retail worker I am not going to put them in that situation of having to deal with 5 disgruntled customers waiting behind me as they help me navigate the app. Assuming they even know how, cause that's not a given either. I'd rather just walk out the store.
The whole point is that the app is eventually going to make the front end worker obsolete. The worker is just directing customers to their replacement. So he's actually bang on when he says they're both victims in that system, she just doesn't know it yet.
It also happened to be the first season without Megan Ganz in about 5 years. I love her work on Community, and she’s a very funny writer/producer, but it didn’t fit as well with Sunny.
She was an Executive Producer from seasons 13-16, which aren't as good as the earlier seasons, and left before 17 which felt like a return to classic Sunny. She wrote some great episodes and I'm not in a position to throw her under the bus as an armchair critic, the timing could be a coincidence, but I doubt it.
It's even funnier when you remember that in earlier seasons, Dennis was forcing people to use an app to pay for beer in the Paddy Wagon. Him being on both sides of "the system" is absolutely hilarious.
This entire episode only came about because one day Glenn’s Tesla wouldn’t start or open while he was parked down in a parking garage and the spot he was stuck at had no cellular signal. So it was a huge all day long hassle to get his car running.
I’m out of town so I went to a local gym to get a day pass workout. Thought I could hand them $10 and go lift shit for an hour.
I was instructed to scan a barcode and then had to create a visitor account in their system with my name, phone number, email, and then it asked me to upload a photo of myself. To go pick up weights and put them down for one hour.
I just fuckin walked out. Everything is horrible now.
I was on vacation a few years ago and there was a gym right down the street from the beach house we had and the day pass was like $40 and a monthly membership was $65 or something. I was there for a week so I just signed up for a membership and cancelled it before we left. Luckily it was a local gym and not a chain so the cancellation part was easy.
They don't actually want people to pay for the day passes. They get more money from people signing up for memberships and not cancelling so they'd rather do what OP did and pay the $65
I love how the entire episode is just Dennis creating a fantasy where he pins all of his problems on one guy then kills him to calm himself down. Good shit.
My GF makes me feel like I am crazy for not wanting the gazillionth app on my phone that I will use once. For one single action in one single place the one time of my life that I deal with that one single company.
No. I don't want yet another app, thanks. I am sure I am not alone in sharing Dennis' pain
I already hate having to tap pay or use cards for everything, but there's no way I'm downloading a shitty app from some "soon to be data breached" business.
Using tap to pay is actually smart, Google and Apple pay create a virtual id number for your cards, so your real card number is never showing up at these places you use it.
This was me when my gym that had been using my drivers license bar code to scan shifted to an app or SELLING me a key tag for $10. I had to pay $10 when they had already shown they can use ANY barcode, for the privilege of not having them sell my information. Then when I came in the literal GIRL said, “oh you’re a KEYTAG person.” wtf?
The wild thing is that regardless of what they are scanning you in with, they have an employee scan it. You can’t scan in by yourself.
A lot of gyms just have the barcode reader search up the name by the attached number. You could put in any number really, so if some people don’t like carrying around the extra card they can just use their drivers license barcode.
They weren’t checking my license. They were able to use the barcode as my check in since it’s likely people will always have their license.
The point was making was that they had already shown they could use ANY barcode. At that point I could have gone to kind soooers, picked up a free card, and used the barcode.
Then they made it so I have to use their app that collects and sells data, or pay $10 for the privilege of getting a new barcode card from them. (And they probably still sold my info)
I know that this might be a reach, but it could be possible that this girl is just socially awkward and just wanted an excuse to say something to you. Lord knows I’ve said dumb things to try and start a conversation. Just a possibility though
There is zero percent chance of that. Sometimes things can be just taken at face value. It’s easier for me to believe that someone half my age things I’m a relic for not wanting an app at the gym, than to believe that person is flirting with me.
My Dennis moment was when I was in an airport last year, and I was walking around looking for a place to eat.
I found what looked like a nice casual sit-down restaurant. I walk in, and get a seat. Server eventually comes over, and asks how my day is going, etc...
I ask if I can get a menu.
Server says... Oh, we don't do physical menus anymore. It's all done online now.
And then I discover... when the server said it's all online, she literally means it's all online. Not only do I have to do the stupid "scan the QR code on the table" thing to get the menu to pop up onto my phone, I also must submit my order through the website that pops up after scanning said QR code, and pre-pay for my food, including tip (all the tables have numbers on them, so you submit your table number with the order as well, so the servers are supposed to know which orders go to which tables, at least).
But, like... screw that. I like browsing a physical menu. I don't want to pre-pay and pre-tip for my food at a sit-down restaurant, considering I don't know the level of service I'm getting since I haven't actually been served yet.
I walk out of there, and find another restaurant in the airport without this mandatory QR scanning and mandatory online order submitting nonsense.
My local Taco Bell no longer allows anyone to order at the counter.
You have to use the kiosk or app. If you have to pay in cash, you have to go to the counter to pay. I have sat there eating and watched several elderly people being walked through how to use the kiosk by employees only to have them have to go back to the counter to have that same employee take their cash.
It's a genuinely terrible idea that isn't helping anyone.
I mean I get the hate for kiosks but it does baffle me how old people can't figure it out sometimes. Its literally press the picture of the food you want, hit + or - to add or subtract, thats it. Maybe im taking for granted how accustomed to modern UX UI elements i am, but i have seen literal children order food off them no problem.
Its like some boomers encounter tech they don't understand and just shut down and refuse to try at all. Like if you want go back a selection maybe you should look around the screen and see the ONLY other thing on the screen is the arrow to go back or an red X, instead some people will just stare at the screen and refuse to even attempt to try and figure it out.
TBH I think they are just going to become more common as older people die and only the people who grew up around screens/interfaces will be left getting rid of most friction. Personally I like the Kiosks because it makes it easier to do substitutions without having to have a mental list of what you want to change or have to recite a bunch of info to the cashier while people wait behind you.
I wonder how many of their sales are done in cash opposed to card? not enough evidently
You're literally talking about people who grew up during the birth of fast food and pay for everything with cash still.
Assuming at 70 they're supposed to overnight learn how to use a kiosk is quite a leap, but to rationalize it that it's to prevent the employee needing to man a counter while still needing them to man the counter for the cash transaction is pretty insane.
I mean IDK about you but everyone I know pays for everything with card. A lot of people don't even carry a wallet with them anymore and just pay with their phone or cards tucked into the back of it.
In 2024, adults aged 55 and older relied on cash for 19% of all payments, while those aged 18 to 24 and 25 to 54 used cash for 10% and 14% of their payments, respectively.
source
Imagine what these numbers are gonna look like in 15 years.
at 70 they're supposed to overnight learn how to use a kiosk
Do they just forget how to use the Kiosk after they use them once? they function the same at every store and at different brand restaurants. If you can figure out one of them you can figure out all of them. Hell if you can figure out an IPAD you can figure out the Kiosks. Its terrifying we have people out on the roads driving 10 ton death machines that apparently can't figure out how to press a picture of a hamburger and then the giant yellow button that says CHECK OUT. Once you reach 50 you don't all of a sudden develop amnesia and an inability to absorb new info.
but to rationalize it that it's to prevent the employee needing to man a counter while still needing them to man the counter for the cash transaction
The point is to streamline the process of getting orders. so instead of having one or two people ordering food at a time you can have 8 people order simultaneously. The Kiosks absolutely help with throughput when the store is packed. While your waiting in line to order I have already ordered and paid with my card.
Most places will have you go pay cash when you pickup the food, so the worker who's job is already to sit up front and expedite just handles the few people who need to pay with cash.
I gotta call bullshit on the "not having people wait behind you" aspect. At self-checkouts and kiosks, I frequently see people taking forever with these things and it running much slower than just having someone working a register. Not to mention how when there are problems with the technology, like if something rung up improperly, it takes forever for it to be adjusted because there's typically one employee overseeing things, and they attend to other duties at the same time.
definitely depends on locations. anecdotally but Ive never waited in a line for a kiosk that was more then 2 people, but i have waited in lines for cash registers that went out the door of the store.
Honestly out of all the apps, TB is the least bad. I don't think they even have accounts (or maybe no more passwords). You just open it up, submit the order, pull up the drive thru and say your name. It's honestly way better than screaming through the stupid speaker.
We binged (1 episode a night) this show for the first time last summer, and I went from being horrified by Dennis’s behavior and opinions to relating to him on nearly every point. He is my Spirit Animal.
As an elder millennial, Starbucks can absolutely get fucked. I will happily pay more at competitors to avoid their bullshit.
Many of the Starbucks locations don't even let you pay with cash or card. You have to use your "Starbucks card" balance through the app. Essentially, a digital gift card.
The kicker is the minimum you can add to your balance is $10, and its $5 increments after that.
It's one of the most anti-consumer systems I've ever encountered.
Been like this for years. Not all locations force you to use the Starbucks card, but I've run into several while traveling where that is the only payment option.
Starbucks made nearly $1 billion in the last 5 years pulling this scam.
Here's an article about a cashless test run in a posh neighbor in Seattle (mind you this test run allowed credit cards, just not cash... but still fits into u/bedintruder 's claim):
If you attempt to do an 'order ahead' on their website, there are certain stores that limit payment methods. Including some that limit it to just starbucks digital cards. You just have to go on the website and attempt an order ahead and you can see them. Most of these locations are 3rd party franchises (think a kiosk or starbucks in a target) and are a result of the payment processing methods between store owner and starbucks themselves (it's easier/cheaper to reconcile through the card system on their accounts side). Of course this is not a highly advertised thing because... why would they!? It's inconvenient to the customer so Starbucks doesn't loudly talk about it, but it's also mundane enough and effects the kinds of locations that makes it of little interest for articles to be written about it (print media is dead after all). Thus it mostly being talked about in reddit threads by disgruntled customers... but the evidence exists on the starbucks website (after creating an account and searching in the appropriate locations). Like u/bedintruder pointed out about their Tampa location.
Furthermore, what this is all called is a 'Closed Loop Payment System':
Closed loop systems are gaining popular with companies, especially beverage companies like Starbucks. Over the years they've done controlled testing with the product at special locations (again, like u/bedintruder referred, or the cashless link I posted above). This is how companies move towards new ideas... they do limited testing of them in controlled locations to see how well it works before going nationwide on them.
There is a trend towards closed loop systems. Slowly rolling them out along side other payment methods. And then slowly trimming back those other payment methods. And they're incentivized to do so because well... tests have shown that it's more profitable and/or "increases customer engagement" (meaning, people spend more money). It's also helpful that there is no regulation on it... California actually attempted to pass laws to require all brick & mortars to accept cash, but it failed... and there is evidence part of its failure was due to corporate lobbying against it. You know... like Starbucks!
Is it out there everywhere? No. But it's where they're moving towards.
It literally happened to me at a Starbucks in Tampa just last fall.
It is a location-by-location policy. I can still pay with a credit card at the local Starbucks by my house, while I have been to multiple locations while traveling over the last several years that only accept the Starbucks card payments.
Yup. It’s that scene from Role Models where Paul Rudd loses it at the Starbucks employee.
I’d argue it’s done better there, as Rudd is kind of painted as an asshole in that scene despite being objectively correct in calling out their size system.
This doesn’t feel congruent with early IASIP, and feels more like “comedian writes jokes to dunk on minimum wage workers.”
The whole “the system won’t allow me to do that,” thing goes out the window when a minimum wage worker hears “I can do less work?” And just make the tea without the boba, charge him full price because “that’s how the system works.”
Just look at the audience reaction: “He’s so right, too many apps,” “service workers stuck in their scripts,” when the show used to be about how ridiculous the gang is.
My feelings exactly, like the gang used to clearly be always in the wrong, they were horrible people and we never sided with them. Now, all of a sudden we are supposed to agree with them? We spent years building up Dennis as a narcissist borderline rapist, to all of a sudden him being the common man dealing with dumb service industry workers.
The difference is that boomers who don’t want flavored coffee can still get it. The other day I had to download an app for a fucking parking meter. I had change, I had a card, but I had to download an app in order to park.
Watch the actual episode, these jokes are fit perfectly and are even funnier when you realize they are all real situations the gang faced and complained about on the podcast
Dude, dude, think about it. She’s out in the middle of nowhere with some dude she barely knows. She looks around and what does she see? Nothing but open ocean. “Ahhh, there’s nowhere for me to run. What am I going to do? Say no?”
Lots of people are on the ''Its Always Sunny is bad now'' train. Even if they drop a good episode.
Personally I do think the show has dropped in quality, but it doesn't mean its bad. There's some iffy moments here and there, some mediocre moments here and there. But generally its okay, with still some good episodes. Most people think in extremes though. Before they'd say ''its a perfect masterpiece'' now they'll say ''its completely horrible trash.'' While before it was good, with some meh moments here and there. But generally speaking it was mostly good with some really great gems in between.
I'd hazard a guess that there is a strong correlation between age and people's enjoyment of this episode. 15 years ago I would have rolled my eyes at this, when I saw it it felt too relatable.
Maybe location has to do with it? I live in a reasonably large metro area (~30th biggest) and even in newer locations/businesses I've not really been forced to deal with apps.
So this clip ends up feeling a lot like the played out "just coffee, black" joke that has been made for years.
And yeah, nothing wrong with making jokes that don't land for everybody! Just offering something worth considering on why it wouldn't land for somebody.
The 30th metro is 2.3 million people? Wow I need to brush up on some geography. How spread out is that? Is the core city a significant portion or is there a huge suburban sprawl?
I'm actually kind of surprised you've never run into a store like the clip. Not specifically Boba Tea but any shop that has made it needlessly difficult to complete a basic transaction without using some sort of proprietary app or needlessly requesting personal information. I feel like those would definitely exist in a city that size but I could be wrong.
I'm Canadian, so 2.3 million people is like Montrealish, our second biggest city
Maybe it's a chain thing? A local coffee shop probably has less incentive to swap from existing Point of Sale technology to an app if it'll only be used at like 3 locations max.
I do handle everything for AMC (the movie theater chain) on my phone, but I have found that vastly preferable to waiting in a ticket line. And on the off chance I want concessions, I do just go up and order in person and pay with my card, no need to use the app.
Nowadays it feels like more restaurants use QR code menus than real ones here in the UK, and some of those (especially the chains) push you towards apps.
When I think about what an award-worthy comedy performance looks like, it's Glenn Howerton in this episode. He's turned in some great moments in the show, but he's at 150% in this one.
Yeah, that’s just me feeling old. I remember watching Sunny when they were like 20-somethings and now the dude is literally playing old man yelling at a cashier.
Obviously I'm in the minority here but I hate this episode with a passion. It's like a mediocre Seinfeld stand up bit, what is the deal with apps? The last thing I watch Sunny for is humor that makes the whole reddit thread be about how relatable it is.
I'm glad that people have turned back around on this. I remember when it was airing everyone loved it, then when season 17 came out it's like everyone forgot how good 16 was. The talking point for season 17 was, "now this is sunny back to its true form!", as if season 16 wasn't.
Holy shit. I had something like this happen.
I made an online order for a dispensary, got how much it would be and I had enough. Drive across town and when we try buying it, learn its like 15$ more and couldnt get it. So I went inside to ask and the lady was like "well, you're paying with a card so we have to round it up to the nearest 10th dollar" because they had to charge it as an atm withdrawal and then they give you your change back. I decided on the order because I could afford it but I can't now because of how they charge cards. If I had cash, then it would be for as much as I saw online. We ended up leaving but even before we left she was like "do you still want your order?" Like, uhh I can't. Wtf? Did you not just hear my complaint, or?
Season 16 Episode 8. I just watched this last night and told some friends it was the best television episode in television history. Seeing this posted today on Reddit makes me actually question reality. Coincidence? I think not.
I mean the point is valid but they’re so late to it. Even when this came out I was like…really this? ‘Modern life is annoying’ has been done to death for like 5 years by this point
Humor is about making a situation absurd. Sometimes the situation is already so absurd it’s just someone stating the situation so people can laugh at the absurdity.
This really shows how It's Always Sunny has changed over the years. In the earlier seasons, the main cast would never apologise or be so polite to staff, nor would there be a whole episode about the minor inconveniences of modern life.
this whole episode is about Denniss struggling to stay chill because he has high blood pressure. the show hasn't changed. the characters are all still their awful selves.
Its scenes/episodes like this that made me disagree with this highly upvoted comment the other day. Glenn Howerton is an amazing actor even to this day
Eh if a teashop or anyplace made it that inconvenient to do a simple transaction it wouldn't be in business for long, so the whole premise falls apart for me.
This was one of my favorite episodes from recent seasons. Just the constant increasing outrage from real everyday scenarios combined with Dennis's serial killer tendencies made for an incredibly funny ride.
N, as in nightmare
N, AS IN NIGHTMARE
And at the end when he realises that the chaos of the rest of the gang isn't so bad after all, compared to the outside world.
They used to have a podcast I listened to. All that came from an actual issue Glen Howerton had. He parked his Tesla in an underground parking deck. He had left the key card in the Tesla, expecting to just use his phone to get back in. There wasn't any cellular coverage in the parking deck, so he couldn't unlock the car with his phone. Tesla also could not remotely unlock the car due to no cell signal. He wanted to tow it, but Tesla said he could damage the car by towing it without setting it to "tow mode" first. So he got a flat bed carrier to dolly the Tesla onto, except that was too tall to fit into the parking deck.
And then Charlie gave the anecdote of his electrician asking if he wanted to hook up his lights to his phone to which he said something like, isn’t that what this switch is for… they all talk about coming up with solutions to problems that don’t exist.
"What was ever wrong with a key?"
“We’re both victims here” “what?”
It’s just you and me Daisy, fighting the good fight!
“Tendencies”
Plus the last 5 minutes elevated the entire rest of the episode, like when Napoleon Dynamite dances at the end of that movie.
“Napoleon Dynamite”?
REPRESENTATIVE
I thought he was going to kill and eat her. He’s a terrifying actor.
That's 2 apps today.
I have no idea why everyone wants an app now, stupid business trends. Some dickhead in marketing decided to make an app for something that absolutely doesn't need an app, and every CEO in the country was like "now us, now us!" So goddamn stupid. Enjoy all the false data I put into each and every profile.
Because aside from your purchase, they make money from stalking you and then selling your data.
https://www.starbucks.com/terms/privacy-notice/#how-we-use-your-information
The fact people still haven’t figured this out is kind of depressing.
The real problem is that we don't care
wild username buddy
[deleted]
.....ya
If you have a choice, use a browser versus an app. You're safer. Once you go through the app, you're exposing way too much.
hence why my profiles are all false data. They know my email and the purchase habits under a fake name. They're free to enjoy that.
They don't care about your name though, just all the other stuff you can't fake.
This they steal this data for one main reason.
ADs. They know your buying history and search history that is enough to collect some $.
It's the guys that don't fake it, they're the ones that get it the worst
I don't think I can outsmart them.
I know Google knows who I am, even when I'm not logged into my account. Even when I'm logged into my alt account.
I went to get a coffee from a place called luckin coffee today. I started ordering “Sorry sir we only accept orders through our app” I walked out followed by two others behind me. How stupid
Settle down Dennis
I went to have my T tested at a low T center and the app they make you download is so bad.. the app makes you fill out all the forms online but when I showed up for the free test they made me do it all again on an ipad..
I turned to the desk person and said why did I do the app and have to repeat all the forms again.. she was like the app doesn't talk to the ipad.. responded with I dont need the app to talk to the iPad I need the app to talk to your computer/data center that also talks to the iPad. I am not filling all this out again.. I walked out..
Walgreens did the same shit for me just for a Covid shot years ago.
This is Dennis Reynold’s Falling Down
Let’s be honest, this is all of our Falling Down.
Falling down was all of our Falling Down.
My landlord company sent out an email stating my rental insurance was out of date. I replied back with the email receipt I specifically asked them for, when I gave them the insurance.
I was told that oh sorry, we partner with a new company now. I have to go sign up for another account, on a third party website, to upload my insurance.
I just about blew a blood vessel from that exchange. They did eventually relent and do whatever they needed to do on their end because I raised a stink.
But I swear to fuck I am so goddamn tired of speaking to the person in charge of the thing and being told, oh you have to do that on a different website/app.
I watched a youtube court case where a judge was siding with the rental company in an eviction because the tenets were refusing to use third party sites. It was pretty infuriating.
I love that this episode is mostly based on real situations lol
The “download the app” conversations at stores can be so annoying..
The bit about getting locked out of the Tesla was a story Glenn told on the podcast wasn't it?
That and I believe they also had a “download the app” situation at a store that they complained about.
Yes I believe the story was he parked in an underground garage and the car basically bricked itself without an internet connection
I am currently looking for a new place to develope film because they now make you order online even if you go into the store.
Like, come on. Its 2026 and I'm shooting film, I clearly dont wanna have to order in on your damn app.
And some of the apps are not intuitively designed at all, so even if I am willing to download the app, I do not want to spend an additional 10 minutes trying to figure out how to complete the order in the app. And the worker is the only one working the front end, so as a former retail worker I am not going to put them in that situation of having to deal with 5 disgruntled customers waiting behind me as they help me navigate the app. Assuming they even know how, cause that's not a given either. I'd rather just walk out the store.
The whole point is that the app is eventually going to make the front end worker obsolete. The worker is just directing customers to their replacement. So he's actually bang on when he says they're both victims in that system, she just doesn't know it yet.
This is one of the best Sunny episodes in the last few seasons.
This last new season was much better than the 3-5 years before.
It also happened to be the first season without Megan Ganz in about 5 years. I love her work on Community, and she’s a very funny writer/producer, but it didn’t fit as well with Sunny.
She wrote some of the funniest episodes though, like Dee Day and Times Up For The Gang are hilarious.
Compared to any earlier (like pre season 12?) stuff though? No way, imo.
But compared to the remainder of those recent seasons? Yes for sure.
Her episodes were generally much stronger than the surrounding ones, but season 17 is definitely the best they've done in a while.
Huh, I thought she was just their podcast producer, didn't realize she was really involved with the show or other shows. TIL!
She was an Executive Producer from seasons 13-16, which aren't as good as the earlier seasons, and left before 17 which felt like a return to classic Sunny. She wrote some great episodes and I'm not in a position to throw her under the bus as an armchair critic, the timing could be a coincidence, but I doubt it.
She works on Mythic Quest which is a fantastic show. But I guess Sunny wasn't a fit for her like you said.
Mythic Quest was cancelled unfortunately
THANK YOU. I totally agree
Feels very much like back to classic Sunny
It's even funnier when you remember that in earlier seasons, Dennis was forcing people to use an app to pay for beer in the Paddy Wagon. Him being on both sides of "the system" is absolutely hilarious.
I've only been to one place that doesn't accept cash. It was a bobba tea place.
There are loads of card only businesses in London these days, but you don't need an app, you just tap your phone/card on the reader.
NYC too
Don't think this is true, NY has a law that forces businesses accept cash
Same in Oregon but many business just don’t follow it
It was a growing trend in NYC before that law went into effect though. I think the push for the law was in response to this trend.
This entire episode only came about because one day Glenn’s Tesla wouldn’t start or open while he was parked down in a parking garage and the spot he was stuck at had no cellular signal. So it was a huge all day long hassle to get his car running.
It’s based on when Glenn’s Tesla got stuck in a parking garage cuz his phone couldn’t get service.
I’m out of town so I went to a local gym to get a day pass workout. Thought I could hand them $10 and go lift shit for an hour.
I was instructed to scan a barcode and then had to create a visitor account in their system with my name, phone number, email, and then it asked me to upload a photo of myself. To go pick up weights and put them down for one hour.
I just fuckin walked out. Everything is horrible now.
Application. Waiver. Profile. Payment method.
I was on vacation a few years ago and there was a gym right down the street from the beach house we had and the day pass was like $40 and a monthly membership was $65 or something. I was there for a week so I just signed up for a membership and cancelled it before we left. Luckily it was a local gym and not a chain so the cancellation part was easy.
$40/day. Actual insanity lol.
They don't actually want people to pay for the day passes. They get more money from people signing up for memberships and not cancelling so they'd rather do what OP did and pay the $65
One of the most relatable episodes ever.
Yes, including the part where he eats the heart of the person responsible for all that app nonsense.
I love how the entire episode is just Dennis creating a fantasy where he pins all of his problems on one guy then kills him to calm himself down. Good shit.
And the calming effect of Roxette
My GF makes me feel like I am crazy for not wanting the gazillionth app on my phone that I will use once. For one single action in one single place the one time of my life that I deal with that one single company.
No. I don't want yet another app, thanks. I am sure I am not alone in sharing Dennis' pain
Tell her the apps aren't for you or her, they're for the company to snoop on you.
I’m 35 and I side with Dennis on this. Mark the day. Today I realized my mentality is boomering
I already hate having to tap pay or use cards for everything, but there's no way I'm downloading a shitty app from some "soon to be data breached" business.
Using tap to pay is actually smart, Google and Apple pay create a virtual id number for your cards, so your real card number is never showing up at these places you use it.
This was me when my gym that had been using my drivers license bar code to scan shifted to an app or SELLING me a key tag for $10. I had to pay $10 when they had already shown they can use ANY barcode, for the privilege of not having them sell my information. Then when I came in the literal GIRL said, “oh you’re a KEYTAG person.” wtf?
The wild thing is that regardless of what they are scanning you in with, they have an employee scan it. You can’t scan in by yourself.
Definitely almost had a Dennis moment.
My gym just did this and i get irritated every time I have to pull up the app on my phone and have it scanned.
Yo that drivers license thing makes so much sense, I wish my gym would do this.
Why would a gym need to scan your drivers license in the first place? Just give a membership card
A lot of gyms just have the barcode reader search up the name by the attached number. You could put in any number really, so if some people don’t like carrying around the extra card they can just use their drivers license barcode.
They weren’t checking my license. They were able to use the barcode as my check in since it’s likely people will always have their license.
The point was making was that they had already shown they could use ANY barcode. At that point I could have gone to kind soooers, picked up a free card, and used the barcode.
Then they made it so I have to use their app that collects and sells data, or pay $10 for the privilege of getting a new barcode card from them. (And they probably still sold my info)
I know that this might be a reach, but it could be possible that this girl is just socially awkward and just wanted an excuse to say something to you. Lord knows I’ve said dumb things to try and start a conversation. Just a possibility though
There is zero percent chance of that. Sometimes things can be just taken at face value. It’s easier for me to believe that someone half my age things I’m a relic for not wanting an app at the gym, than to believe that person is flirting with me.
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My Dennis moment was when I was in an airport last year, and I was walking around looking for a place to eat.
I found what looked like a nice casual sit-down restaurant. I walk in, and get a seat. Server eventually comes over, and asks how my day is going, etc...
I ask if I can get a menu.
Server says... Oh, we don't do physical menus anymore. It's all done online now.
And then I discover... when the server said it's all online, she literally means it's all online. Not only do I have to do the stupid "scan the QR code on the table" thing to get the menu to pop up onto my phone, I also must submit my order through the website that pops up after scanning said QR code, and pre-pay for my food, including tip (all the tables have numbers on them, so you submit your table number with the order as well, so the servers are supposed to know which orders go to which tables, at least).
But, like... screw that. I like browsing a physical menu. I don't want to pre-pay and pre-tip for my food at a sit-down restaurant, considering I don't know the level of service I'm getting since I haven't actually been served yet.
I walk out of there, and find another restaurant in the airport without this mandatory QR scanning and mandatory online order submitting nonsense.
Taco Bell had Carmel apple empanadas again - my favorite fast food fried apple pie dessert.
So I go through the drive-through and attempt to order 2 Carmel apple empanadas.
Can't. I'm told I can only order them through the app.
So, me, a potential paying customer said fuck that.
I won't give your buisiness my business if I'm forced to use an app to make a purchase. Fuck that.
My local Taco Bell no longer allows anyone to order at the counter.
You have to use the kiosk or app. If you have to pay in cash, you have to go to the counter to pay. I have sat there eating and watched several elderly people being walked through how to use the kiosk by employees only to have them have to go back to the counter to have that same employee take their cash.
It's a genuinely terrible idea that isn't helping anyone.
I mean I get the hate for kiosks but it does baffle me how old people can't figure it out sometimes. Its literally press the picture of the food you want, hit + or - to add or subtract, thats it. Maybe im taking for granted how accustomed to modern UX UI elements i am, but i have seen literal children order food off them no problem.
Its like some boomers encounter tech they don't understand and just shut down and refuse to try at all. Like if you want go back a selection maybe you should look around the screen and see the ONLY other thing on the screen is the arrow to go back or an red X, instead some people will just stare at the screen and refuse to even attempt to try and figure it out.
TBH I think they are just going to become more common as older people die and only the people who grew up around screens/interfaces will be left getting rid of most friction. Personally I like the Kiosks because it makes it easier to do substitutions without having to have a mental list of what you want to change or have to recite a bunch of info to the cashier while people wait behind you.
I wonder how many of their sales are done in cash opposed to card? not enough evidently
You're literally talking about people who grew up during the birth of fast food and pay for everything with cash still.
Assuming at 70 they're supposed to overnight learn how to use a kiosk is quite a leap, but to rationalize it that it's to prevent the employee needing to man a counter while still needing them to man the counter for the cash transaction is pretty insane.
I mean IDK about you but everyone I know pays for everything with card. A lot of people don't even carry a wallet with them anymore and just pay with their phone or cards tucked into the back of it.
source Imagine what these numbers are gonna look like in 15 years.
Do they just forget how to use the Kiosk after they use them once? they function the same at every store and at different brand restaurants. If you can figure out one of them you can figure out all of them. Hell if you can figure out an IPAD you can figure out the Kiosks. Its terrifying we have people out on the roads driving 10 ton death machines that apparently can't figure out how to press a picture of a hamburger and then the giant yellow button that says CHECK OUT. Once you reach 50 you don't all of a sudden develop amnesia and an inability to absorb new info.
The point is to streamline the process of getting orders. so instead of having one or two people ordering food at a time you can have 8 people order simultaneously. The Kiosks absolutely help with throughput when the store is packed. While your waiting in line to order I have already ordered and paid with my card.
Most places will have you go pay cash when you pickup the food, so the worker who's job is already to sit up front and expedite just handles the few people who need to pay with cash.
I gotta call bullshit on the "not having people wait behind you" aspect. At self-checkouts and kiosks, I frequently see people taking forever with these things and it running much slower than just having someone working a register. Not to mention how when there are problems with the technology, like if something rung up improperly, it takes forever for it to be adjusted because there's typically one employee overseeing things, and they attend to other duties at the same time.
definitely depends on locations. anecdotally but Ive never waited in a line for a kiosk that was more then 2 people, but i have waited in lines for cash registers that went out the door of the store.
Honestly out of all the apps, TB is the least bad. I don't think they even have accounts (or maybe no more passwords). You just open it up, submit the order, pull up the drive thru and say your name. It's honestly way better than screaming through the stupid speaker.
We binged (1 episode a night) this show for the first time last summer, and I went from being horrified by Dennis’s behavior and opinions to relating to him on nearly every point. He is my Spirit Animal.
Even the implication and the Dennis system.
This is just the elder millennial version of the boomer Starbucks joke.
You'll be there too, one day.
I used to be with it. Then they changed what "it" was. Now what I'm with isn't it. And what is it seems weird and scary to me. It'll happen to you!
The moment I'll know I'm there is the moment this reference ceases to be recognized!
I think the IASIP folks are Gen X, no?
As an elder millennial, Starbucks can absolutely get fucked. I will happily pay more at competitors to avoid their bullshit.
Many of the Starbucks locations don't even let you pay with cash or card. You have to use your "Starbucks card" balance through the app. Essentially, a digital gift card.
The kicker is the minimum you can add to your balance is $10, and its $5 increments after that.
It's one of the most anti-consumer systems I've ever encountered.
What? I’ve never been to a Starbucks that didn’t let me pay cash or card.
I’ve never even heard of that.
https://www.reddit.com/r/assholedesign/comments/e1kbri/update_starbucks_forces_you_to_pay_with_an_empty/f8pstpb/
Been like this for years. Not all locations force you to use the Starbucks card, but I've run into several while traveling where that is the only payment option.
Starbucks made nearly $1 billion in the last 5 years pulling this scam.
I can’t find any evidence of this aside from that linked Reddit’s post.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/21/tech/starbucks-rewards-credit-card
Even this article states that Starbucks allows credit cards.
Here's an article about a cashless test run in a posh neighbor in Seattle (mind you this test run allowed credit cards, just not cash... but still fits into u/bedintruder 's claim):
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/starbucks/starbucks-tests-no-cash-policy-at-downtown-seattle-store/
If you attempt to do an 'order ahead' on their website, there are certain stores that limit payment methods. Including some that limit it to just starbucks digital cards. You just have to go on the website and attempt an order ahead and you can see them. Most of these locations are 3rd party franchises (think a kiosk or starbucks in a target) and are a result of the payment processing methods between store owner and starbucks themselves (it's easier/cheaper to reconcile through the card system on their accounts side). Of course this is not a highly advertised thing because... why would they!? It's inconvenient to the customer so Starbucks doesn't loudly talk about it, but it's also mundane enough and effects the kinds of locations that makes it of little interest for articles to be written about it (print media is dead after all). Thus it mostly being talked about in reddit threads by disgruntled customers... but the evidence exists on the starbucks website (after creating an account and searching in the appropriate locations). Like u/bedintruder pointed out about their Tampa location.
Furthermore, what this is all called is a 'Closed Loop Payment System':
https://smartdev.com/starbucks-closed-loop-payment-system-a-success-story/
Closed loop systems are gaining popular with companies, especially beverage companies like Starbucks. Over the years they've done controlled testing with the product at special locations (again, like u/bedintruder referred, or the cashless link I posted above). This is how companies move towards new ideas... they do limited testing of them in controlled locations to see how well it works before going nationwide on them.
There is a trend towards closed loop systems. Slowly rolling them out along side other payment methods. And then slowly trimming back those other payment methods. And they're incentivized to do so because well... tests have shown that it's more profitable and/or "increases customer engagement" (meaning, people spend more money). It's also helpful that there is no regulation on it... California actually attempted to pass laws to require all brick & mortars to accept cash, but it failed... and there is evidence part of its failure was due to corporate lobbying against it. You know... like Starbucks!
Is it out there everywhere? No. But it's where they're moving towards.
It's why lots of people are noticing it.
It literally happened to me at a Starbucks in Tampa just last fall.
It is a location-by-location policy. I can still pay with a credit card at the local Starbucks by my house, while I have been to multiple locations while traveling over the last several years that only accept the Starbucks card payments.
Coffee flavored coffee.
Yup. It’s that scene from Role Models where Paul Rudd loses it at the Starbucks employee.
I’d argue it’s done better there, as Rudd is kind of painted as an asshole in that scene despite being objectively correct in calling out their size system.
This doesn’t feel congruent with early IASIP, and feels more like “comedian writes jokes to dunk on minimum wage workers.”
The whole “the system won’t allow me to do that,” thing goes out the window when a minimum wage worker hears “I can do less work?” And just make the tea without the boba, charge him full price because “that’s how the system works.”
Just look at the audience reaction: “He’s so right, too many apps,” “service workers stuck in their scripts,” when the show used to be about how ridiculous the gang is.
My feelings exactly, like the gang used to clearly be always in the wrong, they were horrible people and we never sided with them. Now, all of a sudden we are supposed to agree with them? We spent years building up Dennis as a narcissist borderline rapist, to all of a sudden him being the common man dealing with dumb service industry workers.
The difference is that boomers who don’t want flavored coffee can still get it. The other day I had to download an app for a fucking parking meter. I had change, I had a card, but I had to download an app in order to park.
Yeah, jokes like these start to whiff for me. I think they have incredible writing in IASIP, but this is not it.
Watch the actual episode, these jokes are fit perfectly and are even funnier when you realize they are all real situations the gang faced and complained about on the podcast
Covert Diabetes Delivery Mechanism.
Listen to your heart
The older I get, the more I relate to Dennis
Please tell me you don't own a boat
He just has it so he can take women to a secluded place where they can make rash decisions based on fear, nothing sinister at all
Except for the implication.
Dude, dude, think about it. She’s out in the middle of nowhere with some dude she barely knows. She looks around and what does she see? Nothing but open ocean. “Ahhh, there’s nowhere for me to run. What am I going to do? Say no?”
What if the boat is used for shrimping and P-Diddy style parties?
At this point there's gotta be hundreds of boats literally called 'The Implication', right?
How's your Range Rover?
I wish, I did used to own an Alfa Romeo tho
That's a decent starter car.
haha that’s crazy. i made uniforms for this boba shop a long time ago
This episode is amazing
This is literally just Curb your Enthusiasm
Curb doesn't own relatable/observational comedy
I think it's wild that so many people don't seem to like this episode.
Like, what?
Probably people so embedded into the system they just don't understand like that register lady.
I had a similar exchange with DoorDash support and I echoed Dennis’s sentiment. Rep thanked me for making their day.
Damn, that is terribly depressing.
Lots of people are on the ''Its Always Sunny is bad now'' train. Even if they drop a good episode.
Personally I do think the show has dropped in quality, but it doesn't mean its bad. There's some iffy moments here and there, some mediocre moments here and there. But generally its okay, with still some good episodes. Most people think in extremes though. Before they'd say ''its a perfect masterpiece'' now they'll say ''its completely horrible trash.'' While before it was good, with some meh moments here and there. But generally speaking it was mostly good with some really great gems in between.
I found it relatable but it just didn't feel like a Sunny episode to me. Their latest season is great though!
Who said that? It’s one of their most highly rated episode on IMDb
I'd hazard a guess that there is a strong correlation between age and people's enjoyment of this episode. 15 years ago I would have rolled my eyes at this, when I saw it it felt too relatable.
Maybe location has to do with it? I live in a reasonably large metro area (~30th biggest) and even in newer locations/businesses I've not really been forced to deal with apps.
So this clip ends up feeling a lot like the played out "just coffee, black" joke that has been made for years.
What is the population of the 30thish metro area of America? I'm just curious.
That's the thing with any observational humour though, if it isn't relatable you aren't the target audience and that's ok
2.3 million, according to a 2024 estimate
And yeah, nothing wrong with making jokes that don't land for everybody! Just offering something worth considering on why it wouldn't land for somebody.
The 30th metro is 2.3 million people? Wow I need to brush up on some geography. How spread out is that? Is the core city a significant portion or is there a huge suburban sprawl?
Okay I can probably be less coy about what area I'm talking about, because anybody who looks at my post history can see I'm talking about Cincinnati.
2020 metro census is 2.25m, 2020 urban census is 1.69m
I'm actually kind of surprised you've never run into a store like the clip. Not specifically Boba Tea but any shop that has made it needlessly difficult to complete a basic transaction without using some sort of proprietary app or needlessly requesting personal information. I feel like those would definitely exist in a city that size but I could be wrong.
I'm Canadian, so 2.3 million people is like Montrealish, our second biggest city
Maybe it's a chain thing? A local coffee shop probably has less incentive to swap from existing Point of Sale technology to an app if it'll only be used at like 3 locations max.
I do handle everything for AMC (the movie theater chain) on my phone, but I have found that vastly preferable to waiting in a ticket line. And on the off chance I want concessions, I do just go up and order in person and pay with my card, no need to use the app.
Nowadays it feels like more restaurants use QR code menus than real ones here in the UK, and some of those (especially the chains) push you towards apps.
I hate it personally.
This whole episode...
Everything's an app now! Brilliant episode throughout.
One of the most relatable episodes of television of all time.
When I think about what an award-worthy comedy performance looks like, it's Glenn Howerton in this episode. He's turned in some great moments in the show, but he's at 150% in this one.
This sums up how I feel about America
Tangentially related: how do so many places not accept cash now? I mean isn't that technically not legal (its "legal tender" after all)?
Since no one here as said it yet, both Glenn Howerton and the actor playing the "cashier" are phenomenal in selling this scene
edit: The cash-less cashier in question is Alice Kors who will hopefully get some bigger roles
I haven't seen the last few seasons, but fuck he got old. Even the humor is "he's old", it seems.
Yep, people age.
Yeah, that’s just me feeling old. I remember watching Sunny when they were like 20-somethings and now the dude is literally playing old man yelling at a cashier.
Why is this downvoted lol, Reddit is so pointlessly fickle sometimes
20 years on air. Legendary they are still making episodes
Don't worry, you've aged too.
Holy shit people age?!? I don’t know how I can handle this information
Sending you reddit cares, which will supply you with links and information for support.
Obviously I'm in the minority here but I hate this episode with a passion. It's like a mediocre Seinfeld stand up bit, what is the deal with apps? The last thing I watch Sunny for is humor that makes the whole reddit thread be about how relatable it is.
So you must love apps and download all of them? Sometimes always sunny doesn’t have to be about ridiculous shit. Sometimes it’s fun to relate
I'm glad that people have turned back around on this. I remember when it was airing everyone loved it, then when season 17 came out it's like everyone forgot how good 16 was. The talking point for season 17 was, "now this is sunny back to its true form!", as if season 16 wasn't.
Holy shit. I had something like this happen. I made an online order for a dispensary, got how much it would be and I had enough. Drive across town and when we try buying it, learn its like 15$ more and couldnt get it. So I went inside to ask and the lady was like "well, you're paying with a card so we have to round it up to the nearest 10th dollar" because they had to charge it as an atm withdrawal and then they give you your change back. I decided on the order because I could afford it but I can't now because of how they charge cards. If I had cash, then it would be for as much as I saw online. We ended up leaving but even before we left she was like "do you still want your order?" Like, uhh I can't. Wtf? Did you not just hear my complaint, or?
I hate how relatable this is. I actually hate how relatable it is. I never want to agree with Dennis on anything. But in this moment, my God.
Season 16 Episode 8. I just watched this last night and told some friends it was the best television episode in television history. Seeing this posted today on Reddit makes me actually question reality. Coincidence? I think not.
What are people without smartphones supposed to do in places like this or restaurants that only have their menu in an app?
u/seancbo give this a sus aye mate, the comments love it!
What the fuck does that mean
the natural acting in this recent season is streets ahead
Oh lmao. It's a good scene for sure.
This guy'd make a great terminator or immoral scifi scientist on a spaceship.
I mean the point is valid but they’re so late to it. Even when this came out I was like…really this? ‘Modern life is annoying’ has been done to death for like 5 years by this point
The rest of this episode was fine, but this scenario was too dumb for me. Feels very “old man yells at cloud”
Humor is about making a situation absurd. Sometimes the situation is already so absurd it’s just someone stating the situation so people can laugh at the absurdity.
In this case this is really a caricature. No cash, minimum $10 for card payment in a shop where most transactions are lower than that?
Go into any of these coffee shops and then try and say that again.
The real old man comment is that you think every place is like this.
Never have a ever been to a coffee shop that doesn’t take cash and makes you pay with an app
This really shows how It's Always Sunny has changed over the years. In the earlier seasons, the main cast would never apologise or be so polite to staff, nor would there be a whole episode about the minor inconveniences of modern life.
Well you're missing the framing of this episode where Dennis is specifically trying to keep his blood pressure down (hence the beeping watch).
Thank God the show changed. Can you imagine a show not changing for 20 years?
Sure, any show going that long will have to change, but I'm not sure if it has changed for the better.
this whole episode is about Denniss struggling to stay chill because he has high blood pressure. the show hasn't changed. the characters are all still their awful selves.
The characters were young.
Now they are old.
People change.
Its scenes/episodes like this that made me disagree with this highly upvoted comment the other day. Glenn Howerton is an amazing actor even to this day
Is Dennis now a grouchy boomer?
It’s funny but this one really made it clear how old the gang has gotten. Kind of boomer humor
Eh if a teashop or anyplace made it that inconvenient to do a simple transaction it wouldn't be in business for long, so the whole premise falls apart for me.
This is based on a real interaction they had, shops like that definitely exist and are only getting more common
That's crazy. If I had to download an app to pay for a boba I would have just left
I'm right there with you
This is several years old...