Blackmail by 'professionals"?

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Instructors don’t deserve a discount just because they’re an instructor. I’ve seen the same attitude among other groups (active duty military/veterans/first responders) that often are offered discounts and loudly demand discounts at stores just because they think they deserve one

IMO active duty military/veterans/first responders should be given a discount if anyone is. They certainly provide more service to more people and at much higher risk to themselves than almost any other occupations. Certainly way far more than dive professionals.
 
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Instructors don’t deserve a discount just because they’re an instructor. I’ve seen the same attitude among other groups (active duty military/veterans/first responders) that often are offered discounts and loudly demand discounts at stores just because they think they deserve one
In my many years as a RCMP officer's daughter, a reservist and a military wife, I have seen only the opposite behaviour.
People will often drive by a shop to go home and change before returning to the shop in civilian dress just so they don't influence nor intimidate the interaction.
 
In my many years as a RCMP officer's daughter, a reservist and a military wife, I have seen only the opposite behaviour.
People will often drive by a shop to go home and change before returning to the shop in civilian dress just so they don't influence nor intimidate the interaction.
+1.
 
The only discount I ask for is a cash discount. Sometimes they have one, sometimes they don't. Hey, if they don't want to report it to the government that's their business.
 
It has been 2.5 years since I retired from the military. Never in the 22.5 years since I joined the military have I ever seen/heard a military member or veteran "demand" a discount. I have heard plenty "ask" if one is available/offered. Now I am not saying that it doesn't happen, and I have not been in the presence, obviously, of all military members and veterans at each point of sale policing this, but most military folks that I have come across tend to act with more humility than to "demand" or argue about a discount....most of the junior guys tend to not make waves in fear that their command will hear about it.

As a retired veteran of 3 wars, I have mixed feelings about military discounts. I often find it uncomfortable when someone says "thank you for your service". It comes across almost cliché and empty. I have tried to think through and reconcile why I and my fellow brothers and sisters in arms are gifted discounts at various retail locations....The only thing that seems to ring consistent is the expression that "every person who has joined the military has written a blank check made payable to "The United States of America," for an amount of "up to and including their life."

I don't think military and vets are entitled to any sort of discount...but if a business owner/manager understands the sentiment in quotes above, and chooses to extend the offer of a discount, I will graciously accept it, and I hope my fellow service members (active, retired, separated, etc)...graciously and humbly accept it as well.

If a service member is "demanding" a discount, being argumentative about it, or otherwise misbehaving, snap a picture of the person and send it with a note to the local base...they will be dealt with. For a vet, or someone not in uniform, don't be afraid to say something to them about how they are acting...a simple "you should be ashamed of...." will usually be enough to snap them in line...military personnel put up with a lot of frustration and uncertainty that does not exist in the civilian world...those robes are not easily shed once we leave service, and sometimes we are overwhelmed to the point we forget we are interfacing in the public etc....it does not take much to remind us and get us to fall back in line with the accepted standards of the venue/situation. I am not trying to make excuses, just trying to provide insight.

I do believe that there are folks out there that struggle more than the folks in the military. There are plenty of people living at or below the poverty line, there are plenty of people out of work, and there are plenty of people that struggle to feed and cloth themselves and their families. There are no specific discounts offered to those people. I wish there were, as they often need it more than the folks in the military.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

-Z
I have had a veteran tell me that they are entitled to a veterans discount from me (and I offer one) however, being told he was entitled lead me to tell him no.

I'm a veteran as well.
 
My father was a fighter pilot for 30 years. He sat alert in B-52's in the 70's and first couple years of the 80's before he sat alert flying F-111's out of the UK. Read that as sitting, waiting for a bunch of Stealth fighters to clear nothing more than a 10 mile gap in Eastern Europe so he could fly thousands of miles from home to nuke the Soviet Union. He still smarts because Lakenheath was selected to run Operation El Dorado over the squadrons at Upper Heyford despite the fact that they had better readiness numbers, higher bomb scores, and more flying hours. (Tiger Tiger Roar) It was a political decision at TAC. I watched the Berlin Wall fall from a little house in Middleton-Cheney. In the early 90's he missed being deployed to the Gulf War because he was hand selected to be the lead test pilot in the development of the GBU-28 while stationed at Nellis. He turned down the opportunity to be a squadron commander of an F-117 squadron before anybody knew what they were. After that he flew Sandy missions in A-10's up until a few years before his retirement, and up until the US invaded Iraq again, he had more time in the Middle East than anyone else in the USAF. Towards the end of his career was the highest ranking CENTCOM/SOUTHCOM officer in Haiti save the USMC General in charge when all that fun stuff went down. It involved rolling around in a humvee with guys whose DD-214's have more stuff redacted than readable. It involves everything you think that would entail..... In between he developed the command and control center that overseas air, space, and intelligence operations that include 31 countries, covering 1/6th of the Earth's landmass, and more than 559 million people. All because the PACAF commander personally wanted him to work for the USAF for a few years longer. Suffice it to say, if anyone deserves a couple bucks off, it's him.

You know what he doesn't do? He doesn't ask for a discount. If someone offers a veterans discount he says, "thank you for the discount, I really appreciate it."

The moral of the story is, it doesn't matter who you are or what you've done, you're not entitled to anything. And if someone sees fit to offer you one for whatever reason, be gracious and say thank you. If you ask for a discount and they say no, don't be a jerk. Better yet, just don't ask. Unless you're being paid as a professional, you're a client just like everyone else.
 
I have had a veteran tell me that they are entitled to a veterans discount from me (and I offer one) however, being told he was entitled lead me to tell him no.

I'm a veteran as well.

I agree 100% with and am glad you handled it the way you did. I believe, and I hope i am correct, that the entitlement attitude that this guy displayed is not widespread throughout the active duty, retiree, and veteran community.

-Z
 
My favorite example of the “I’m entitled to a discount” was in 1991 when US forces were being deployed for the first Gulf War. I was in ny senior year of college, working in a mall chain bookstore. Some 20-something was buying lots of books. He asked for a discount as he was being deployed. He was shopping with mom. Manager said no, I’m sorry, we don’t give anyone discounts. He started arguing with the manager and then his mom got involved in the argument. It was really fun to watch. They ended up buying the books anyway.

This was in Ann Arbor, MI.
 
IMO active duty military/veterans/first responders should be given a discount if anyone is. They certainly provide more service to more people and at much higher risk to themselves than almost any other occupations. Certainly way far more than dive professionals.

It’s the demanding a discount I take issue with.
 
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