Ads when you’re pumping gas
I’m from a US state where we don’t pump our own gas. Since I don’t pump my own gas regularly - only when I’m out of state - I’m not exactly sure when this happened, but all gas pumps seem to play ads now while the pump runs. At least the states adjacent to mine. Like can I not even pump gas in peace? Stop trying to manipulate my purchasing decisions 24/7.
Edit: ok I get it, there’s a mute button. I appreciate the tip, but people are already reporting that it only sometimes works. Knowing there’s a mute button that sometimes functions doesn’t make me less infuriated
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I HATE this if I am PAYING for a product then I shouldn't get a god damn ad.
Paying customers/additional ad revenue
Because you're not PAYING enough, now go INSIDE and buy some FUCKING BANANAS.
Use ads negatively, it makes ads fun.
See an ad? Pledge to never buy that product. My black book is full of spite.
Unfortunately gas stations don't actually make much money from selling you fuel. Most of the money is made from the attached convenience stores.
You sound tired. You should try Lipton 'pick me up' teabags. A refreshing way to soothe the soul. Available now at most retailers. /s
Sounds like you need Ketchup, packed with natural mellowing agents.
You sound like one of them Lake Wobegone types. We don't cotton to that around here, too uplifting.
Ads are like a gas (the physics kind). They expand to take up all available space.
You said ads, but I think you meant “late stage capitalism”
True. That is the generalization of this rule.
And that's why vandalism to destroy them is ethical.
Please don't do this
It won't end well for you. A better option is a boycott
If you can't boycott, maybe some noise canceling headphones to wear while you pump, and Instead of looking at the screen, wash your windows, and dump all your car trash into their bins.
An even better option is to use a credit card and only get 10¢ of gas.
I think the credit card frees are now a percentage
I like the way you think though
I default to having a meltdown, smashing the screen, yelling “where is the goddamn mute button”.
Is this unhinged, yes. But if we all did it, they would eventually get the message.
Really though, I mostly get gas at Costco cuz it’s cheaper and they don’t do that shit.
So, most pump POS used to have a labeled or unlabeled mute button. That has become rare.
So far, I've been able to kick all of them into a diagnostic/trouble menu by pressing pairs of keys on each side of the monitor in sequence from the top.
Some of them have a timeout on this screen, but the counter resets when you hit a key.
Passwords can be entered from the keypad, with ok/enter also working. I bet the passwords are the manufacturer default, probably a 5-7 digit number. I was able to find partial training manuals and setup docs from one of the POS vendors but I didn't find a default password or deeper technical docs for the one brand I looked into.
Fucking ads in my face fucking piss me off.
12345 works as a default a surprisingly large amount.
2580 is another one I've used with success.
Why would 2580 be common?
Straight down the centre.
Had an Android tablet that sat in a lost and found for like three years with no claims. Finally decided to mess around with it. After charging it up there was a password screen. Tried 1234. No dice. 2580 and it opened right up.
That's amazing! I have the same combination on my luggage!
I just have a rubber handle icepick in my glove box that works wonders on gas station speakers.
Can't play an ad if there isn't a speaker.
Very true, and more efficient.
For now, I can mute all that I've found, it also looks like the pump has crashed, which is fun.
It quits working, I may adopt your method.
I never see ads when pumping gas because all the gas stations that have ads that play on their pumps have been
vandalizedimproved so the screens don't work lolThe entire US is a lesson on the consequences of barely-regulated rampant capitalism.
Weirdly enough the PNW just has normal gas pumps that don’t have screens or sound
Circle K here in Burien just outside of Seattle,WA has them.
I’ve def seen them in Seattle
You can just say New Jersey. After Oregon lifted its ban in 2023, it's the only one left!
Yes, just say "I'm from the best US state" next time instead, OP, people will know what you mean.
We'll just have to observe him carefully and see if he's able to complete a left turn without assistance. That'll tell us for sure.
WTF is a left turn?
Do petrol station attendants who have to pump fuel get paid better than those who don’t? I’m assuming that they need some kind of license?
Bro they are lucky if they get paid at all.
???? I was just in NJ for the first time earlier this week and I pumped my own gas.
That's funny. Maybe they just didn't notice? When I was there and started to pump my own gas (being from out-of-state), they stopped me and took over, but it wasn't like the pumps were locked or anything. I did see that stations turned off the pumps after-hours, when they didn't have anyone to pump fuel...
Then they weren't paying attention or didn't care.
One of the side buttons mutes it. It varies though as far as I know.
A lot of them have been updated so that no longer works.
I bet a piece of duct tape over the speaker would work. Also, whatever money they are paying the gas stations, they would probably still get that money even if you manually muted the speaker. Really feels like a win win 😀
Hmm, maybe someone could make some stickers with anti-advertising/anti-capitalist slogans on them for the next person to see specifically for this purpose
Or even better, “Join Lemmy, it’s like Reddit with no ads”.
"Your screens should be nicer to you than this one. Join Lemmy!"
“Have you installed Arch yet?”
Unfortunately I’ve found that Lemmy has a more defined “hive mind” so you better make sure you like the same things as the group.
Well fuck. That's terrible news.
Yep. Most of the time someone has marked it somehow because it's immensely annoying. That being said, there are a few stations that aren't able to be muted, so I intentionally make a point to note whatever is being advertised and never buy it.
The speakers are often easy to bust by jamming a key through the slots ☺
Or, you're holding a nozzle that sprays liquid. Just douse the speaker in gasoline.
Gas pumps live outside. Do you really expect a little liquid to hurt them?
A match afterwards might help... better obscure your face, license plate, and use cash.
I try to only get gas at one specific local gas station that doesn't do ads.
Ever came across something you really really wanted to buy, but it was "noted"?
If you absolutely need it, then get it used or other method to where the original manufacturer who paid for the ad doesn't profit, duh.
I don’t think I want to buy used hotdogs
Aye, get your used hotdogs for free straight from the source!
That’s no longer a universal thing.
The gas station I prefer has a mute button labeled on the pumps. Their ads are also less annoying because it's mostly just promos for stuff in store.
Or… hear me out here … we could weaponize them. Most of them are operated by a company called GSTV who sell the ad slots. They could be purchased by activist groups to un-brainwash people who can’t mute them. They could read banned books out loud. Teach science. Explain what’s wrong with the electoral college.
GSTV also offers very precise targeting at specific zip codes or stations. So you could play an ad at your local station about whatever stupid thing your HOA is trying to do.
“We are sorry. We cannot show your video as it against the terms and conditions. Please note we will keep your money though”
What do you do for a living?
I'm not sure I have that kind of cash
Have them play cgp Grey and kurgzkazat videos and the world will become a better place.
No audio is horrible accessibility! What about the blind drivers who need to hear the ads?
/s, in case it's not obvious
Lol, imagine thinking you're allowed a momentary reprieve from advertising in this hellscape of a world we've built.
I could almost stomach the ads if they weren't blasted at max volume; it's like being assaulted at the pump. I feel sorry for anyone who lives in proximity of those stations and have to hear this crap at all hours.
Most have a mute option it's hidden but every one I have seen has a mute button... You might have to press some random button... Pro tip have a sharpie so you can label said mute button
They used to, not so much anymore. Most of them I've been to (I travel A LOT for work) no longer mute at all no matter which button you press.
The new ones I've seen still do... Maybe it's the area but even the newer touch screen ones allow you to turn the volume all the way down
I wonder if that could be considered an ADA violation since some autistic folks may be overwhelmed by the super sudden and loud noise?
The US never stop to amaze me
They've stopped using exposed speaker grilles so you can't shove a screw driver into the speakers anymore :(
Ad blaring pumps are in Canada too. Shell is the most obnoxious.
Is gas less expensive compared to pumps where they don't do that?
Bahahahahahahaha!
No.
Nope!
Typically the button on the right, second from the top mutes. It depends on the model, but it works on some.
I have like a 70% success rate with this trick
When the 2nd from the top on the right doesn't work I proceed to hit all of them. Normally that works
Grab a screwdriver and stab the shit out of the speaker, that shuts them up fairly reliably.
But in all seriousness I refuse to go to a gas station with ads on the pumps because fuck that shit. Old gas stations are the way to go (for now).
The local one doesn't play ads. They get my business for it. I live in a not so good place. I've had weapons pulled on me several times. The ads make me jumpy.
Yep doesn't work anymore. There's probably some series of buttons you can push to put it into settings mode, but I imagine it's different by model.
If you can't mute it with software, then the only remaining way is via hardware. Carry some packing tape in your car and slap it over the speaker - wipe fingerprints off just in case.
I vote with my money. If they have ads I go somewhere else. I tell the employees why. I also pay with cash. Ads don't work on me. I'm too poor for their products anyway.
Get an EV. Charge at home. Watch YouTube ads while you wait.
What are YouTube ads?
Signed, an AndroidUser
What’s youtube? Signed, a Nebula user.
ps. Ik ik tell me I should use PeerTube.
What's a computer?
I'm a computer.
Used electric cars are some of the cheapest you can buy with the lowest total cost of ownership. If you have to drive, at least spare yourself the awful experience, cost, and pollution of gas stations.
There's one near my house, and it has no mute button whatsoever. No buttons at all, in fact. You tap your card to the reader, then lift the pump of whichever variety you need, and that moment the ads start. With sound on full blast as well.
I've left a negative google review and make sure to update it monthly so that it stays on top, and drive to another station quite a bit further off just to avoid this crapshoot.
If I can't mute them (usually one of the unlabeled buttons on the right), I'll go to another station. I really hate those. God damn Cheddar TV or whatever. Fucking Maria Menounos, ugh.
Hold up… they have ad stations? That feels worse.
Lol he means another gas station
Well I'm pretty sure they also have ad stations but that's besides the point
Idk if that was me being completely stupid and misreading that, or if ad stations is something in our near future that we should be worried about
"Hello, I'm officer Sackless. This traffic stop is brought to you by your excessive speed and the good people of the Wiownyu Corporation. If you would like to know more, scan this code and receive a 20% discount on your traffic fines."
One of the benefits of living in shit hole rural America is most of our gas stations use old pumps with either basic digital displays or ones with mechanical meters like it’s the 1970s still haha.
The button second from the top on the right hand side of the screen is the mute button(usually).
Most of them in my area have disabled that. There is no non-destructive way to mute them.
Yes, the chopstick-to-the-grille is plan B.
If not, try all of them, one usually mutes it. If not, hold the top two for ten seconds to force the pump into maintenance mode, gas pumps as normal, then times out eventually to the main screen.
Not anymore, it stopped working a while ago
I'm boycotting Valero because of it. None of the gas stations around me seem to do it, it's just them. So fuck them.
They're loud as hell too. Makes me want to put a shishkabob skewer through either my eardrum or the speaker. That my be an exaggeration, but I'm not exaggerating when I say that I actively the avoid gas stations in my city that have this "feature".
The buttons around the screen should mute it. It's usually the 3rd one down on the right of the screen. You can also use the lower ADA buttons.
Many have been updated to make them unmuteable.
The auxiliary mute button is accessed by puncturing the speaker cone.
Like an electronic lobotomy. Insert rod and wiggle around until the offending behaviour ceases.
I have found that button too.
I’ve tried them all and in the last year or so, none of worked anymore. They fixed the glitch.
It was an intentional feature for techs working on the devices.
Second button from the top on the right will mute the ad.
So will sticking a needle into the speaker.
Pretty sure that would just make the speaker slightly buzzy.
This works on most I've encountered, but not all. New gas station near me built less than 2 years ago has no mute button, and the ads play 24/7 whether someone is there or not. If you are pumping gas late at night with nobody else around you get to hear 10 pumps all blaring ads to nobody and each milliseconds out of sync. It's totally fucked.
Yo fuck that shit… Playing 24/7? Is the speaker visible at all or hidden in the machine?
I’m glad I sold my car.
I'm from Washington and occasionally drive in Oregon, which is one of those states.
welcome to like ten years ago?
yes it's awful. Everything is awful.
you can mute them or turn down their volumes. The buttons are there so you can press them.
if it's not on the pump: yeah that's truly evil.
late stage capitalism, in some cases, is still capitalism. You could tell the station worker or owner you don't like that and it's bad. But good luck with them not spitting in your face in return.
do you live under a rock? Are you so isolated somehow that the GAS STATION is your only exposure to this bullshit? Tell me your secrets, I need that level of peace in my life.
I kinda set a no ads tolerance policy for myself. I pay for some services (e.g. $5/month for Nebula, I donate monthly to Lemmy, etc). YouTube is the main area where ads tend to creep in since iOS doesn’t have an ad blocker for YT. My goal was to totally ditch YouTube for Nebula, but they are missing some creators I like.
You're going to hate this response, but if you're already paying to avoid ads, you could get YouTube premium. I got grandfathered into it from Google Music and honestly I feel it's absolutely worth it. It's about the same cost as Spotify and comes with YouTube Music that works just as well. So I look at it like paying for Spotify with the added bonus of no ads on YouTube and being able to play videos in the background. I also tend to watch a ton of YouTube videos and often use them to fall asleep to.
At this point, it's the only subscription service I still pay for. I've ditched all the others, but that one has stayed. Anytime I see someone watching YouTube without it, or without a good quality ad blocker, I'm horrified. So. Many. Ads. I don't get how anyone can watch anything like that.
But I get it; most people would rather drag their ass through a mile of broken glass than pay YouTube a dime, and I totally respect that. Just sharing my experience.
The problem is I also have a deep deep distrust of Google. So much so, I think I would rather pay a little extra for a subscription that I feel more directly benefits creators and doesn’t support a company who’s business model is selling spyware and tech addiction. For example, in addition to Nebula I’d consider Dropout TV, Floatplane, Curiosity Stream.
There’s a certain level of cognitive dissonance on my part since I use Apple products. So I’m trying to slowly self host more things and migrate away from big tech.
I still don't get any ads on YouTube using ad blockers on Firefox and greyjay on mobile.
I never got hit by Google's anti Firefox bollocks. Maybe cos I'm not in the US, dunno.
Protip: moving to a place where it takes effort to understand the language turns ads into a dadaist experience.
In my neck of the woods, gas station owners have sharpies which of the 10 buttons is the mute button.
So as soon as the ad plays you just press mute.
It is God awful though.
Most have four buttons on the left and four on the right. The second or third button on the right side has been the mute button on every system I've tried.
Never understood this. Sincerely hope that any place trying out here is shunned.
EVs will hopefully put the tactic out of business forever. 'Plug in and fuck off somewhere else for half an hour' is not a position you can really advertise in.
Unless it becomes 'watch ad to enable charger' 😬
Had an electric car for the last 7 years so I got jump-scared when I went to fill up a borrowed truck and an ad started blasting.
The first time I see a video screen on a charger I'm going to start worrying.
You should be more worried about the screens in your car…
For those of us plugging in at home, ads can never happen.
I could see a "NetZero" approach to electric charging where you choose to watch ads for free or discounted electricity. Which will then turn into you having to watch ads to enable the charger.
Gotta boil the frog slowly I suppose.
Almost two decades ago, I worked at a network service provider who had as a customer a company that provided the technology for serving those gas pump ads.
At each gas station they had a VSAT, a router and of course the digital signage boxes on each pump.
They fed the ads to thousands of pumps via a single T1 to HughesNet in Atlanta. They'd multicast the ads, and have a local cache at each pump that would receive the stream, cache it and serve it.
It was one of the most elegant setups I've ever seen, and should serve as a case study in multicast for efficient bandwidth utilization across an expensive data transmission medium.
Well, sure, but not on our gas pumps. Only on TV and radio. And in magazines and movies and at ball games, on buses and milk cartons and T-shirts and bananas and written on the sky. But not on gas pumps. No, sir-ee!
One of the unlabeled buttons on the side of the screen should mute it. Whenever I find it, I'll take a pen or sharpie and mark which one is the mute button for future people who don't want to be subjected to that shit.
They will just disable the mute buttons. It happens around here all the time, marking them accelerates it.
I now avoid any gas station with immutable ads. But if I am in a pinch. The longest sharpest key on your key ring can slide right in and puncture the speaker, thus solving the issue more permanently.
The 2nd button down on the right side of the screen mutes it. I always hit it when pumping gas.
We shouldn’t have to OPT OUT of being assaulted. I’m bringing matches.
I've seen a couple where someone had torn out the speaker with a pen, car key, etc
A well placed sticker does the trick.
This doesn't always work. Every gas station I've been to in North Carolina appears to have this feature disabled.
NC here and I haven't found one this didn't work on. Maybe the button is broken from people rage pushing it? :D
New Jersey or Oregon?
It started happening a few years ago in my area. Maybe like right before the pandemic?
For a while some of the stations had a hidden option where you could hit one of the unmarked selection buttons and it would at least mute the ads. But starting around the end of last year they took that option away.
The only stations I know of that don't show ads are Costco (and I assume Sam's Club too, but idk). Plus they have slight discounts on gas because they are member only. But my local Costco station is such a headache to get through these days - even at around 9pm after the main store closes - that I not just go to a local Shell or Valero and resentfully try to ignore the fucking ads that always play.
It’s crazy how there are just more and more reasons popping up to go to Costco (e.g. supporting DEI, infinite return policy). I’m gonna get a membership.
You're going to get membership at a bigbox store? I'm not sure Dwight would approve...
May I introduce you to the wonderful japanese ads on the toilet?
No, I will respond with hate speech if you do
This might bring out my inner Picasso and start painting.
Might start bringing a sharpy with me everywhere to cover them all up.
Yep. And a lot of the gas stations in my area have the auto-hold latches busted or removed, so you have to stand there and have a super loud ad screamed in your face. Which is why I now have a pack of reusable zip ties in my car that I will slap on the fill handle if I come across a pump like that. And no, that’s not dangerous - the stop mechanism in the pump handle operates such that the handle depresses further when the auto-shutoff engages, so it does not disrupt the safety of the filler mechanism.
I just jam my gas cap in the handle.
It's safe until it's not. I worked at gas stations throughout high school and college and saw a few gas spills caused by the auto-shutoff system not activating. In all cases the amount spilled was minimized by the pumper being able to turn it off quickly (even with the built in trigger holder engaged. A zip tie would take a bit longer, but you'd probably still be fine. Jamming the gas cap in would also be quick to remove. I've seen rubber things sold for this purpose, too.
I never go to those gas stations
I'm running out of options. What's obnoxious is that my only current options are the overpriced yet run down one with sketchy vibes or Sam's Club and giving money to the Waltons.
Can one accidentally disable the annoying shilling screen whilst jostling the nozzle toward the intended vehicular orifice?
Press and hold two buttons in each corner. If those don't work, try the other two. Keep iterating through pressing and holding one button on either side of the screen. Eventually, you will open a diagnostic menu. You can't do anything here without a passcode, but it will stop the ad.
I've only come across a few pumps where I could not figure out the combo before I finished pumping.
With the few stations near me that have them, the mute button is the 2nd down from the top on the right side of the screen.
Try jolting the nozzle toward the screen that insists upon your attention. You may find that LCD TFT panels are not as strong as steel.
Point said nozzle towards offending ad dispensing machine, squeeze trigger for a few moments, light a match, tell yourself that it was all worth it while recovering in a jail hospital.
I haven't lived in the US in a while, and every time I visit and one of these things starts shouting at me, I wonder how anyone tolerates this shit.
Occasionally you'll see one button that's more worn, maybe bottom right iirc, that mutes it. Doesn't always work, though.
You can just say you're from NJ lol, it's not like any other state has an employment scam where you're legally required to hire people to perform the simple, relatively safe act of pumping gas. At least not since WA finally trusted people to pump their own gas a few years back.
Edit: Sorry, OR not WA
Oregon. And at least half the pumps must still be staffed. Washington has had self-serve for at least 30 years (when I moved here).
Ahhhh gotcha, didn't realize that, my mistake!
Looks like Oregon allows self service in rural areas now, so it's only New Jersey that has a statewide ban.
"You're legally required to hire people..."
When you're writing from the business's perspective as "us"
I think most people work for a living
Yeah my annoyance at having to pay more is totally from the business's perspective you dumb piece of shit
They have even been removing the mute where I’m at
Small knife/chopstick etc through the plastic grate in front of the speaker does the job too
Do me a favor, when you've got a minute, go by a Wawa and grab an Italian hoagie and enjoy it for me? I miss them every day, man. Gas pump ads, shitty gas station hoagies, it's rough movin across the Sheetz/Wawa line
I will buy 2 and pour one out for you
<3 u a real one
Oh man, do I miss Sheetz and Wawa, especially the fried Mac n cheese, pretzel bun sandwiches, and Hoagie Fest.
Go ad lite for 5.99 a month or full ad free for 12.99. terms and conditions apply* Meaning they will be changed to be worse when we want more money.
Every single gas station in my state has gas pumps with screens and ads. Honestly one of the most annoying things today.
I have one gas station that I frequently use and found one of the pumps has a blown out speaker. Even though the ads still play, I hear nothing! The infuriating part comes when that pump is already in use when I arrive. I’ll have to try some of the other comments suggestions here about pressing a side button to mute it
You could also fix the speakers on other pumps you use.
I never go to Shell, they have a speaker right above the pumps blasting out music and ads. Fuck Shell. Too many other places to get gas.
There’s usually one of the buttons you can hold down to mute the ads, near the bottom right in the little phalanx of buttons all around the screen.
If you find it, label it “MUTE” in marker or something, spread the word.
Sometimes, I've started seeing newer ones in some places where there is no mute button
It’s like that at every gas station where I live; every single one. All of the small gas stations have been bought and sold within the last couple of years and upgraded to this stupid video ad model.
Around here they played audio very loudly for about a year and then they all stopped with the audio. Most still play a video, although they seem to mostly be for the convenience or grocery store that the pumps are at.
Drove out of state recently and there were pumps that still played the noise, so I pushed the one button that was well worn and it muted the sound.
I'd say this is a point for electric cars, but it's only a matter of time until those start playing ads... And you're gonna be there for 10-30 minutes....
They're already putting in ads on the dash screen in Jeeps... I'd imagine electric cars (well, teslas, anyway) are going to start getting grumpy that radio stations and spotify get so much 'free' ear time, and start putting in their own ads in the speakers that will play when they feel like it.
I'm scared because I have a huge iPad for a center console.
Am I the odd one out, because I find it incredibly easy to ignore ads.
Yes, you are the odd one. Ads are literally designed to be difficult to ignore.
It's still very rare for me to see a pump with ads. Mostly happens at stores with attached gas stations: Kroger, Walmart, etc. I don't go to those places. Not because of ads though. That's just a bonus.
I got gas from Sheetz today and it put up a silent and stilla ad on the display while the pump was running.
Is this a euphemism for farting?
That sounds frustrating, you should buy a pair or Ray Ban sunglasses to reduce the glare from the ad screens. Never hide - Ray Ban.
The screens on the pumps (around me at least) have a mute button on the screen.
But you do have Mt Hood and the Columbia River and the coastline to console you. 😍
Holy crap if they started doing that in my area I'd switch to an EV within a month.
Last I checked electric still required a significant amount of emissions for power generation. Only the car itself is “clean” energy. There is also a significant amount of emissions in manufacturing the electric car. I believe we should start phasing out gas cars asap and build a more green power grid. Personally, I bought a used gas car which I believe is more economic and better for the environment than a new gas car. And I live in a more walkable area now, so I do much more walking than I used to. I know I’m still contributing to the problem, but I’m trying to be better.
If you charge overnight, the base load is less likely to be fossil fuel. If it is fossil fuel, emission controls on a power plant are far more effective than anything with wheels.
The average car emits 400g CO2 per mile
https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-typical-passenger-vehicle#driving
My power company emits 364g per kWh, which will take an EV about 3 miles. So that's ~120g CO2 per mile, one third of a gasoline car.
https://www.climatiq.io/data/emission-factor/65ad9f91-28a1-45b2-bbab-3dcdd5de6a46
That's the total mix- natural gas is the primary peak fuel so charging at night is likely less than 100g/mile
I agree - I'm not expert but I know that the mining of rare earth metals and the disposal of some EV components are problematic. It's not a perfect solution.
That said, better solutions such as fuel cells or hydrogen are still 10-15 years away, and "better" shouldn't be the enemy of perfect. I'm not particularly car proud and cars tend to last me twelve-fifteen years so I went for an EV hoping that an even better tech will be available by the time I need a car next time round.
This popped up today, if you're still interested
https://lemmyverse.link/lemmy.ca/post/47682873
https://theicct.org/publication/electric-cars-life-cycle-analysis-emissions-europe-jul25/
My state just made self-serve gas a thing so I got an electric. If I'm going to have to fuel up my own car, I'll do it in my carport.
350% increase in spilled fuel. How much fuel were the full service attendants spilling? Not much at all, I think is what that stat is trying to imply. Why did they report it as a percentage? So you wouldn't know how much would be spilled, I've never spilled fuel when gassing up my car. I doubt many people have spilled much at all--and certainly not routinely.
All that aside, I like to see people employed.