Stephen thinks that if he demands a full 568 mL serving then everyone else does too. The only reason he does it is so he can foam at the mouth and bore everyone in the pub about getting a full pint. Most people are not that anal and accept what they get as long as it is close enough.
I doubt Stephen can locate one pub that closed up because they lost business for having to much head. Stephen would never entertain the thought of any imperial supporter of being a cheat. Since Stephen prefers to have his purchases weighed on check weight scales simply so he can claim he still bought his bananas in pounds, would he ever notice if he was ever cheated? Jerry ________________________________ From: Ken Cooper <k_cooper1...@yahoo.com> To: U.S. Metric Association <usma@colostate.edu> Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 5:57:10 PM Subject: [USMA:44810] RE: Stephen's meanderings on the topic of downsizing Stephen said "Although in the UK we're at least served draught measures of beer, cider etc in pint glasses (as opposed to highly fractional amounts)." Isn't 19/20ths (the average actual fraction of a pint served) a highly fractional amount? (Source: Various Trading Standards & Camra surveys stating that average serving in a UK "pint" brim measure is 95%) "If customers were served beer with a colossal head then that particular pub would definitely lose customers via a similar backlash to the beer company mentioned in Australia below" If this statement is true, then why are the pubs that use pint line measures or beer engines to deliver a full pint not the busiest in town? In addition, price must surely have an effect too? "I guess this sort of thing goes on in any aspect of measuring - even 'time'. Recently I was charged 22.5 hours labour for work on my mini. This particular area is the hardest to complain about" Why is "time" more difficult to complain about than (say) a delivery of petrol (gas), or LPG or heating oil? In every case I describe, you cannot physically see the goods being delivered into your fuel tank. "In fact there's very little I can do to claim that less than 22..5 hours was spent as it's not tangible enough." Assuming that you were having a standard procedure done on your car, most franchised garages charge by reference to the the standard recommended time in the manufacturers specifications. For example, if you were having a timing belt replaced and the mfrs specs said it should take 90 minutes, you would be charged 1.5 hours regardless of whether the mechanic actually took 110 minutes or 75 minutes. If you query the bill, the garage is likely to refer you to these standards. "Having said that - I'm trusting and believe that most are not out to get a subtle extra out of everyone, although the sceptic in me always keeps me in check" Would you not consider that a "Metric Martyr" that deliberately breaches UK law by using unstamped imperial equipment (like Colin Hunt) is more likely to be willing to short-measure his customers? (How many convictions for short measure has Hunt accumulated now btw? Has he reached double figures yet?) --- On Tue, 21/4/09, Stephen Humphreys <barkatf...@hotmail.com> wrote: From: Stephen Humphreys <barkatf...@hotmail.com> Subject: [USMA:44791] RE: Downsizing To: "U.S. Metric Association" <usma@colostate.edu> Date: Tuesday, 21 April, 2009, 9:36 AM Although in the UK we're at least served draught measures of beer, cider etc in pint glasses (as opposed to highly fractional amounts). So, for example, if customers were served beer with a colossal head (say, 500 ml + head) then that particular pub would definitely lose customers via a similar backlash to the beer company mentioned in Australia below. And that's before the 'authorities' catch them out at short serving. I guess this sort of thing goes on in any aspect of measuring - even 'time'. Recently I was charged 22.5 hours labour for work on my mini. This particular area is the hardest to complain about - ie I can't go to the counter and point at the 'labour' and claim that it's less than 22.5 hours - infact there's very little I can do to claim that less than 22.5 hours was spent as it's not tangible enough. Lesson learned on that one - get a cost up front (and not even an estimate). Having said that - I'm trusting and believe that most are not out to get a subtle extra out of everyone, although the sceptic in me always keeps me in check (apart from in my example above!) ________________________________ From: pat.naugh...@metricationmatters.com To: usma@colostate.edu Subject: [USMA:44789] Downsizing Date: Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:38:10 +1000 Dear All, The bad folk who use downsizing to cheat their customers often have a delightful time as they point out that the process of upgrading to the metric system is an opportunity for such cheats. The truth is, however, that these cheats (and their anti-honesty supporters) don't really mind about honest measuring methods. They will cheat at a time of measurement stability using such things as pints, pounds, inches, and ounces; they will cheat at a time of transition from old pre-metric measures to metric units; and they will continue to cheat once as the upgrade to the metric system nears completion. The purpose of this email is to give you an example of the third of these. It is from the Melbourne newspaper, The Age, from about a week ago (2009-04-15). Here is the reference: http://www.theage.com.au/news/home/business/money/planning/that-shrinking-feeling/2009/04/13/1239474815481.html One of the examples given here is: Two months ago, brewery firm Foster's backtracked after attempting to charge the same price for less beer in a new, specially shaped bottle. Sales of the lager, Cascade, dropped by 33 per cent after a backlash from customers and online campaigns on social networking sites such as Facebook. But this article does not refer to the fact that brewers have been routinely using false measurements to cheat customers for hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of years. However, in the old pre-metric days cheating was less transparent. It is easy to see that 333 mL of beer is less than 375 mL of the same beer — and by how much — hence the backlash reported above. (It is not so easy to see the amount that the beer has been downsized when it goes from 13 3/16 Fl. Oz. to 11 5/8 Fl. Oz. in the UK or from 12 11/16 Fl. Oz. to 11 1/4 Fl. Oz.. in the USA). One of the reasons that Bishop John Wilkins invented the universal measure that became the metric system was to provide honest measures for all people and to thwart the ever present cheats. See http://www.metricationmatters.com/docs/CommentaryOnWilkinsOfMeasure.pdf Cheers, Pat Naughtin PO Box 305 Belmont 3216, Geelong, Australia Phone: 61 3 5241 2008 Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA. Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST, and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com/ to subscribe. ________________________________ Get the New Internet Explore 8 Optimised for MSN. Download Now
