Great Western Coffee Shop

We're going slightly off-topic, but ...

I had three phones during my work shift, driving a van, today: one, bolted to the dashboard - no SIM; another, in a hand-held gadget - no SIM; my personal mobile - fully functional.  ::)

Thus, most of my delivery work today was done with reference to a sheet of A4 paper, which contained all of the information I needed.  :-X

Continuing off topic - I had a home delivery yesterday (nice and early at 09:20 and on a Sunday mind you) and the driver had a fully functional PDA, but no stylus.   ???

I've discovered styluses to be as rare as hens teeth, and carry a pen type item with a metal end which does the job well

I scrawl with a finger, ending up with something that looks nothing like my autograph, but satisfies the driver.

I would have thought eight vertical lines joined by several horizontal smaller lines that join vertical lines 1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5 & 6 and 7 & 8 would have sufficed !

Agreed - so do I.  ;)


Agreed - a fingertip works equally well.  The driver is generally satisfied because there is absolutely nothing with which they could compare any 'signature' on the PDA.  My own employer's version includes an option for 'signed by driver' and many of my (generally elderly) delivery customers ask me to do so.  I simply draw a capital C and add a full stop on the screen.  ;D

So what's the point of it?

There is none.  It simply enables the driver to get to the final screen in the delivery sequence on the PDA, to 'confirm departure'.  :-X

Should the customer allege non-delivery, the signaure would be useless as evidence. But it is anyway - my previous job frequently involved questioning people who had alleged non-delivery of certain "instruments of payment" which turned out to have been cashed, and which bore a signature remarkably like the one on the form  reporting the loss or non-receipt. "That's not mine" was a common response. The tax payer will be pleased to know that I had other strings to my bow, and that eventually the whole paper-based system of payments was done away with.
On the other side of the coin, when buying a new car, I had to produce my driving licence to identify myself to satisfy anti-money laundering regulations. Unfortunately, I could not manage a signature than looked sufficiently like the one I had done in the small box on my licence form to satisfy whoever was making the judgment in the dealership's headquarters. Eventually, the salesman managed a reasonable facsimile.
So I don't know what's the point of a signature on a PDA other than, as CfN says, to move the process to a satisfactory conclusion. I suspect that if fraud becomes widespread in home delivery services, the scrawled moniker will be replaced by a photo of the smiling customer on their doorstep, holding a small sample of their groceries in one hand, and a copy of today's newspaper in the other.

Newspaper? That's an outdated concept!

That's the way it's going especially with the price of newspapers ever increasing because their circulations are going down.

So am I, but don't tell anybody!


As a subscriber, I enjoy a substantial discount, and significant perks. Plus, I don't like doing the crossword online.

The van ignition key is also a useful substitute.  ;D

Yup that's the way to go if you are a regular reader of a newspaper.

Apologies if it has been expanded elsewhere, but PDA? Is that Pointless Digital Accessory?

It isn't when driving a Merc van. Tried it but as they don't have a traditional key, and don't have a pointy bit they don't work very well. Our tags with the registration number on them have a pointy end that work! Several of our touch screens don't work, so I opt for the old fashioned paper and pen instead in those cases!

Agreed.  ;)

If all else fails use the blade that's inside the key !.

Apparently it can be expanded as Pathological Demand Avoidance, which I'm sure could have a railway application too.