Recently I got a bug up my butt and complained about crappy service at the my local coffee shop.

In my complaint I said I had waited for 3 minutes before one of the two counter people finally addressed me and took my order. It was a simple complaint about slow service in an empty shop.

The reply from the coffee shop manager was ten paragraphs long. In it they gave several possible explanations for why the counter people didn't take my order ranging from being engaged in a business related conversation to unavoidable staffing issues. The reply also included a detailed timeline of my visit to the shop based upon the security camera footage. Literally detailed to the second. Apparently my rough estimate of 3 minutes was wrong, I had actually only waited 1min 43 seconds, and the manager made sure to point that out in their email.

My reply was less than polite and ended with:

"Was the point of your email to keep me from ever being a customer again?
In what way did you think the ten paragraphs below are a better response than
'Sorry, our bad, next ones on us.' ? "

Sometimes it makes more sense say "Sorry" and stop digging that hole.

Actually you brought up a direct comparison of Canada to the US to push this idea of Unilateralism being either good or bad but not both.

It's a dumb idea, or question, or red herring. Unilateralism describes actions, it's those actions that determine the good or bad consequences.

If you don't understand that concepts such as sovereignty, security, and the various legal and moral traditions of a nation apply to it's policies and governance, than I don't recommend a career in international relations.

My first thought on reading the article was : "What a f*cking Idiot"
Seriously make my eyes bleed some other day.

Well there's always Switzerland, they have some incredible medical treatments. They wouldn't mind us sponging, especially since we do pay our own way. Or any of the other westernized countries with modern medicine. Just like other countries send patients here for medical procedures and treatments that they don't offer. It's a small world now, and reciprocity is an understood concept.

But really the fact is regardless of the style of medical care or health system offered, because the US is a large, educated, wealthy, populous, first world nation, it will always be a natural aggregate point for advanced medical techniques.

It doesn't matter how you pay for it, in the end medical advances will continue.

I don't begrudge those citizens of the US that lie to get Canadian health care (sometimes for things as simple as the flu). I do sincerely wish that there were better options for them. I suspect a lot of Canadians think like that.

I was wrong when I said I'd be laughing two years later, that was cruel and I'm sorry. The reality is I mourn all unnecessary deaths.

The above may be a joke - but I used to sell this kind of technology years ago (just before the 2001 bubble burst).

I concluded then that the reason for the failure of the company I worked for was that we were competing with cell phones. Find me Follow me, One Number, etc, however you market the service ultimately you are adding a layer of complexity and hassle when 90% of the phone calls will be coming to your cellphone anyways.

There's nothing here that hasn't been done by unified communications software and providers before. Of course Google has a name and cachet, but my prediction is that for most the current cell phone/voicemail solution will continue to endure.

And why do so many Americans come to Canada and lie to get basic medical treatment?

Here's the deal:
Most Canadians would rather not get stuck in some American hospital bankrupting themselves for survival. So most of us don't go to the US for care.

The thing about Waiting Lists is that because we have regular contact with our doctors (free contact) we can identify issues early on. It's called Preventative Medicine, rather than addressing problems after they happen, we identify them before they start. It sucks to wait 9 months for a knee replacement, but that knee problem was spotted potentially months earlier for a Canadian as opposed to an American who may have waited until they were forced to go to an expensive doctors visit because their knee doesn't work.

However there are some treatments that are more developed in the US, some of the *rare* cancer treatments. That's because there are 300million Americans, allowing for more specialization in health problems that affect a very small .00001% of the population.

And here's the kicker: Our Socialized medicine will pay for Canadians to go to the US for these treatments when they aren't offered here.

Some Canadians aren't going to the US for rare treatments though. There are also some who feel that good enough Health Care isn't fast enough. They spend their own dough in the US, saving my health system money and generally showing their stupidity.

And then there are the Boobs. I'm hard pressed to find anything comparable to the Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon in Canada. Of course Socialized medicine shouldn't be buying Boobs as a general rule of thumb.

-------
What it really comes down to is LIFE EXPECTANCY
You can shout to me until your blue in the face that the United States has a superior Health Care system than Canada. It's certainly more expensive per capita, but 2 years after you're dead I'll still be here laughing.

Being Canadian I like to follow the rules as well KraftDinner.
It's the Canadian way really, just like saying 'sorry' when someone steps on our foot. We just have to watch out for our tendency to over legislate things once in a while.

It is not a failing to play by the rules when others cheat. There are sometimes bigger pictures beyond individual situations that the rules are meant to address. If the system and participants in it encourage cheating then the whole thing ultimately breaks. (cough banking cough)

Some countries and businesses may disagree, I just don't have to respect them. Though I'd never say that to their face.

Instead I'd give them a little of the silent moral condemnation that we Canadians can do so well.

Something like acknowledging what few 'merits' there may be in their solution, things like it being fast and cheap while subtly reminding them of the legal ramifications those 'merits' may bring with them.

Sigh, I suspect I did a useless post as well.
Ah well. We can't all be smrt on the internets.

yeah but now we know where to post to get the achievement.