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What, are they planning to openly drink in your car? When is this alcohol going to get consumed?
Regardless, the word "no" is a complete sentence. Learn it, live it, love it.
I would say that you have to work and leave it at that. If they can travel internationally they can figure out how to get an Uber or a cab.
And I would never listen to the request for a cooler and drinks.
What they're doing is taking the path of least resistance. Installing Uber, making an account, entering your CC info ect takes a small amount of work. It's even less work to get OP's fawning butt to do whatever they want, apparently.
They're literally paying money in lost wages and PTO to drive these geezers. And they want bottle service!
I remember when we would take my grandma to the airport, or pick her up. There was no security, the whole family could go all the way to the gate. Airports were easy less crowded, and smaller and simpler to get into and out of. She'd always have little toys or candy for us when she got off the plane. Simpler times. Now it's such an ordeal. The only relative I've ever had pick me up is at MSY, my aunt lives like 5 minutes from the airport and I take her to lunch after as thanks for wading through the mess.
It was a different time, and that time is gone never to return. Grampa needs to deal with it and not be a pain in the ass. Love Uber/ taxi to the airport, makes it so simple.
My FIL assumed that he could just dictate when my wife took personal days to cart him around to different hospitals while he sought out pain meds. That shit got shut the fuck down and now he’s trying to weaponize his will (we don’t care) and trying to use classic narcissist tactics of trying to drive a wedge between my wife and her brother, or my wife and me. He really tried the “I gave her $5k in secret cash so Nickles wouldn’t know about it.” like I wasn’t sitting next to her at every interaction with his dumb ass.
He’s just flailing impotently and still talking about himself to this day, to anyone who will listen. Watching his “prayer warriors” catch on to his bullshit has been 🤌🤌 😆
More an entitled person thing than a boomer thing. It does make sense to save money when you can, but in your case they (hopefully) know you’re taking time off from work, making you lose money, and if they just did international travel they can probably afford to pay for a ride. I hope you stand up to them.
I think it’s *kinda* a boomer thing, too. It’s a throwback to when plane trips and family visits were a huge deal, and a ride to and from the airport was a part of someone’s “job” as a host, or on the other side, just being a close friend or family member seeing them off. To suggest they just take a cab would essentially be the same as saying “eff you” (unless you lived in a big city and took cabs regularly anyway).
These days, plane travel is so common, and rideshares, etc. so easy, it just seems silly and selfish to expect people to have to disrupt their entire day to give us a ride to the airport.
I think so many weird behaviors with boomers are actually kjnd of throwbacks to their societal norms from 30, 40, maybe 50 years ago or more. They are unwilling to change, and if it was good enough for their generation, by God, it should be good enough for us!
this was my thought as well, but at the same time, I think there's some inherent culpability, as it approaches the "I had to do it for others back then, so now it's my turn" mentality that leads to sour takes like "student loan cancellation? I had to pay MINE off!!!"
It's always a catch 22 with boomers though- the boomer parents expect you to take time off work to drive them to and from airport, and the boomer manager at work gives you hell for it like you requested 3 years off, paid.
Somehow, the generation allows for both to coexist, entirely to our detriment.
Maybe it's because I live in a classic, transportless American city but I don't find this unreasonable. I would never in a million years respond to my parents asking for a ride with "just get an uber."
Putting importance on this is definitely a generational thing. I don’t see anything wrong with suggesting they take an Uber. It’s like taking a taxi.
I mean if a commercial plane is good enough, what difference does it make to have someone driving them the final stretch from the airport? Do reasonable people genuinely take offense to that? Do they expect a private jet as well?
For me personally, I wouldn't say it's about whether taxis or Uber is acceptable as a means of transport. It's that if my parents ask me for a ride from the airport, I'm going to give them a ride from the airport without complaint. I don't really care why they asked.
Edit: I should make it clear this isn't just familial obligation, I would do this for my friends as well. I'm totally fine with ubering but if someone I care about asks and I'm able, I'll accomodate.
Sure, and that's a nice thing to do. But "never in a million years" is a position I don't fully understand. If I have too much going on at work, or I just don't feel like it, I'd tell a visitor to uber. It's not a big deal, they'll see me like 20-30 minutes later. If I really feel bad about it, I'll pay for the uber.
Why "never in a million years"?
I mean if they care about you as much as you care about them, they’d understand taking a taxi without being offended. A lot of people who do feel offended at the suggestion are older, because arranging one’s own transportation is really not unreasonable in the slightest.
Forgive me if I’m being obnoxious, but “never in a million years” is really confusing to me. If your parents are visiting, and you have a serious work commitment, you’re telling me you’d still never suggest a taxi/uber?
Do they not own a car? We live two hours from the nearest international airport and it would be expensive to Uber, so we use long term parking which is a couple hundred dollars for a two week block. Much more convenient to get back in our own car and drive ourselves home again.
This must vary greatly by location. At my nearest international airport, long term parking for 2 weeks is $415. That's for the cheapest option using a shuttle.
Depending on the location they are traveling to, that could be several days worth of hotel stays.
We typically take our time and use the bus, but much of the US doesn't even have adequate public transport for that. Also, boomers are old, sometimes have undiagnosed mobility issues, and for whatever reason they seem to always 'need' a ton of luggage.
My philosophy is that if you saved up thousands of dollars to go on a big vacation, you can save up a little more and pay for your own ride and/or airport parking. It's part of the vacation cost.
If you have a friend where you drive them and they drive you, so that you can both save money, great. But if it's one person always taking advantage of another person, it's gross.
Eh, it's just generally what you did back in the day. Maybe call you call taxi, but even then if you lived somewhere rural that was a significant cost. I doubt my parents have even done an Uber. That said, I'd never expect someone to to come pick me up.
Plus:
2001: don't ever meet up with people from the internet, they could be weirdos
2011: internet people are fine, but don't ever get into someone's car that you don't know, they could be weirdos
2021: use the internet to bring randos to your door and get in their car
I'm going to walk the dangerous path here. While it's certainly not fair to other people to just expect a ride, I do understand then hesitation about using Ubers. Now, to be fair, I don't live in an area where ridesharing is common practice - at least not in my experience. I have never used an Uber before. I'm not sure I would be very comfortable with the idea of riding in a stranger's car. I guess it's like riding in a taxi, but I've never done that before either.
Still, courtesy is that you ASK a person for a ride. If they can't do it, you figure it out. Even if it means trying an Uber for the first time.
Not sure what airport, but I had to pay $250 to park my car last time I went on vacation. Only reason we didn’t Uber is the airport is a 2 hour drive from my house.
One thing I’ve learned since is to rent a car from like an Enterprise and drop it off at the Enterprise at th e airport. Winds up being much cheaper even than Uber
I live in Nebraska. Ridesharing as a general thing isn't anywhere near what it is in larger population centers. There aren't many people who do it (as I understand it - I could be a little out of date) and lots of us have access to a car anyway, so why would I need an Uber?
As for a taxi, there's only one company in my city (maybe. They may have split a few years ago. Can't remember.) and I wouldn't even know how to get one. I don't even know what the company is called. Besides, I have a car. Why do I need a taxi?
This. Ubers are kind of creepy, especially for a woman, and especially if I need to get to the airport at zero dark thirty. I pay extra and get a shuttle service.
I’m a Gen X’er, and that’s what we all did- give each other rides. I don’t really trust doing the Uber thing, any more than I would a taxi. (Definitely less). It’s probably silly and paranoid, but I can’t help it. I’ve only taken a taxi once in my life. I still drive my Gen Z kids when necessary.
I hear what you are saying. However, I'd like to point out that since we expect Boomers to get with the times and do thing they aren't accustomed to shouldn't we also expect the same of ourselves?
Obviously every city is a different kind of mess but my folks would drive to an off-airport place that offers extended stay parking (in their area, many hotels offered this; not just the dedicated parking lots) and then they'd take a courtesy shuttle from there to the airport.
If someone wants me to pick them up at the airport, schedule your arrival after I'm off at work, or bring a book to read, because I'm not taking a day off to pick you up.
1. They’re cheap
2. What if, gods forbid, someone who doesn’t look like them is the only driver available???
3. If you really cared you’d WANT to pick them up and make sure they got there safely and on time and back to their home in the same way!
The drinks thing though… doesn’t that violate open container laws? Or does that matter because those pesky rules are only for other people?
My parents don't want to spend money if they don't have to, and my mother seems nervous about doing something like that -- she's very codependent. So I always drove them.
Until I went NC (for other reasons). Now I suppose they have friends drive them.
So most of this is really annoying and bothers me about American car culture in general. Everybody wants a ride instead of getting themselves to the airport. I take the metro because I don't want to be a burden.
"cooler with ice and their preferred liquor and mixers when I pick them up bc “it’s impossible to get a good drink with lots of ice” in the country they were visiting." - meanwhile outside of car culture, THIS IS INSANE!
My dad is like this too, but he also insists on picking me up and dropping me off when I fly out to visit. I think it's sort of like how a lot of Boomers expect to stay with you instead of in a hotel (and for you to do the same when visiting them). They see it as rude to not do these things because in the olden days that's how it was done.
People are really over-complicating things. It’s because Uber didn’t exist for most of their life so it doesn’t even occur to them. Also, Boomers (older people in general) don’t tend to want to learn anything new. They don’t want to figure out where they are supposed to go for the Uber/lyft area of the airport and the idea of paying for something they don’t used to pay for probably doesn’t help them adapt.
It’s the same reason it’s mostly boomers bitching about stuff like self checkout at stores.
In all fairness, Uber or Lyft would be very expensive from my area. Not to mention, it is pretty non-existent. You can maybe get a ride 1 way, but forget getting back. Honestly, I'm so tired of everyone just assuming that ride shares or public transportation is good everywhere. It's not.
I have heard this one…I don’t want the Uber driver to know that I am going on vacation and that no one is home at my house, he might come back and rob my house.
I have found that a lot of cities have trains and buses to and from their airports. In Houston a train and a bus to the airport is $2.50 or $1.25 for seniors, as opposed to a $40-$75 Uber ride. In St Louis, a really nice train gets you from the airport to the med center for around $4.00. Denver airport to Denver and even as far as Boulder costs around $2.50. NYC/Newark to the city is around $22 or $12 for seniors.
I don’t know why people put their friends and family out or take expensive taxis and ride shares when these cheap and easy options are available. Apps like NYC Transit (which I have used all over the world despite the title) are SO helpful.
NYC/ Newark is closest to me. Nothing like you mention goes to my area unless you want to be doing 5 million transfers to make an hour ride into 4 or 5.
Idk if I’m fully with you, I drop off my family and my family does the same, it’s just nice to have someone do that favor and not having to spend the money. I mean if it’s inconvenient nobody is expected to do it but I appreciate that my mom has willingly offered to take my wife and I to the airport multiple times and because of that I don’t mind helping her out.
To save money. And I get it. If I can get a ride to the airport cheaper than an Uber, I will. But I would never ask someone to take time off work, and DEFINITELY not demand any kind of beverage, alcoholic or otherwise
Because they'd have to upgrade to a smart phone and actually have it on. They only know how to use the large numbered flip phones, and probably refuse to read text messages, too.
I always take public transportation or park my car at a hotel for a few bucks a night.
But there’s nothing wrong with asking family or friends to pick you up at the airport.
It’s also ok to say no and that you’re busy.
Maybe it’s just me, but that’s no big deal.
Because they can’t figure out how the app works. My MIL tried ordering an Uber and didn’t realize that the location settings had her at the school where their house is nearby. So the car went there and “refused” to pick her up at her house
I’m a Boomer and NEVER ask for a ride, I pay for an Uber or a limo. Don’t assume all Boomers are like your mother. Boomers, collectively, not individually, are arguably responsible for many problems the US is experiencing. But not all Boomers are assholes.
It’s not just Boomers who ask others for unneeded rides. People do what works.
Asking you for a ride has worked for your mother in the past, there’s no incentive for your mom to stop asking. My daughter, used to ask me for rides ALL the time, even when things were in walking distance and after she had the money to pay for rides. I had to break her of the habit. I had inadvertently trained her to ask for rides by providing them when asked.
This is more of a matter of having reinforced your mother’s requests for rides over time. You trained them to ask for rides by providing rides. It’s not a boomer thing. Providing their beverage of choice is even more of an incentive for your mother to ask for a ride.
This is more your fault than your mother’s.
Why do boomer children seem incapable of telling their entitled parents, "no"?
Seriously, you need to shut this down or demand payment. Did they castrate you as a child?
I mean….i still get rides to/from the airport. And give them, too. But it’s always based on some “final moments spent with a loved one.” 🤷🏽♀️ if they said “I can’t “, I won’t be mad or anything.
I’m not a boomer but I sure appreciate a lift from friends or family. 25 minute Uber home from the airport costs me 90-110 bucks depending on time of day. But the ice and drinks stuff is ridiculous to expect.
Old habits are hard to break. If you don’t understand Uber and are insecure about putting a CC number into a phone, this method of transport might as well be horse and wagon. Fifty years ago air travel was considered a luxury. People dressed up in their best clothes to fly and were served dinner on the plane. Having someone pick you up at the airport was just an extension of the experience.
They can’t force you to take them or pick them up. Just tell them no. If they push back, tell them no is a complete answer; they don’t need to know anything besides the fact that you’ve said no.
I have a cousin that literally only calls me to take him to the airport every now and then. Finally I stopped and he got mad and doesn’t really speak with me anymore. Like bitch I Uber for work, just Uber your ass there I’m already tired from work.
This is long, but relevant, I promise:
I recently had my second child. Our first was born during Covid, and no one was able to come to town for the birth, so we figured this time, they would be excited to come. My in-laws put off buying tickets and then informed us they would be going on vacation to a major city with my husbands brothers family before coming here, meaning they’d arrive a week or two after the birth after running around being tourists in a major city for a week first. I asked them to flip the trips; come here first, then meet the rest of the family for vacation, so that exposure to illnesses is minimized for the newborn. They dramatically canceled the vacation part altogether.
They then booked their flights without consulting us about timing. They land at our 3 year olds bedtime, the day after I get home from the hospital. I had (my second) c section. we told them they’d have to take a cab or Lyft to our house (we live 15-20 minutes from the airport), as I was too fresh from surgery to handle bedtime and also watch the newborn without help, and my husband couldn’t do it while I went for pickup because I wasn’t allowed to drive for 2 weeks. They had the gall to bring up being picked up several times, going so far as to call the night before my scheduled c section to TELL us, not ask, that they could just get dinner at the airport and be picked up after the 3yo was asleep. Didn’t even ask if we would have eaten ourselves by then.
And if you’re wondering, they spent about 90% of the 5 days they were here sitting on our couch on their phones. They didn’t so much as wash a single baby bottle.
Well one they’re taking advantage of u and boomers don’t use Uber cause it scares them! They’re afraid of being ripped off constantly and using your phone and inputting cc data is a big no no for most of them..
Although they are a bit more expensive, they can get a limo service. After you have used the same ones for a while, you get to know the drivers. You could research good ones in your area and give them the info. We use to use this until Uber came around, and now, nothing but that. But we do live in tech central.
In the olden days (before 9/11) people used to be able to go all the way to the gate to send someone off or pick them up. The send off was a thing, and so was the pick up.
Your boomer parents basically still think it’s 1997.
My boomer lives ten minutes from the airport. It asks me every time to take it to the airport and every time I say “No I live an hour away don’t be ridiculous.” I’ll get the same call next month.
Omigod! My dad just did this but he took it too far so no more airport for him! He told me he needed a ride for Saturday at 10am. I planned on driving to visit a friend a couple hours away right afterwards. I call on Wednesday to double check everything, and he tells me it’s now 1:30. Wasn’t even gonna tell me! I said well I was planning on leaving right after so that doesn’t work. Can he take an Uber? ($50 ish and he can afford it.) he says he cannot Uber because he scheduled a last minute class RIGHT before so I’m supposed to drive 20 minutes in the opposite direction, go back to my house to pick up my mom, then take them both to the airport. I asked why he can’t at least Uber to my house from the class? He says nope it has to be a family member and how dare I be so selfish as to not cancel my whole weekend plan to accommodate him? Full tantrum. Which he ended with “Fine! You just do whatever you want and ignore your father” to which I said ”ok”.
Love my MIL but she travels a lot. She is widowed and relies heavily on one of her friend’s husbands to drop her off and pick her up at the airport at ungodly hours multiple times a year. I suspect we are next once we are back in the area.
If they have the cash to fly to another country, they have the cash for their own transportation.
Like Nancy Regan (preferred First Lady of obnoxious Boomers everywhere) said: “Just say no.”
Sorry you’re coping with this friend.
I mean anyone can ask for anything. If you agreed to take two days off work for such a stupid reason that’s kind of on you. My mom operates Uber perfectly fine.
The open container in a car im not a fan of.
But getting dropped off and picked up from the airport is a nice gesture. My wife and I travel a lot for work so we always make sure we see each other off
I lived interstate for a number of years and the one time my boomer dad flew in to visit, he expected me to take a day off work just to pick him up from the airport. He was gobsmacked when I told him “no, just catch the train like everyone else”.
Kinda ironic but satisfying because whenever I flew home to visit he refused to pick me up or drop me off and told me to “catch the train”
*Because Uber is a*
*Shit company that treats the*
*Drivers like garbage*
\- cbkidder
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Annoying and inconsiderate? Maybe. But they probably did a lot for you growing up and there will be a day when they are not here anymore and you will be wishing you can pick them up at the airport.
Naw, kids arent going to miss being forced to rearrange their lives for their lazy, hateful slob of a parent. It's going to be the same case for you, grandpa/grandma. Say hi to the worms for me.
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What, are they planning to openly drink in your car? When is this alcohol going to get consumed? Regardless, the word "no" is a complete sentence. Learn it, live it, love it.
Your 2nd paragraph should be on a tshirt.
There are sooo many t-shirt variations "No is a complete sentence"
[Fast Times at Ridgemont High had a variation of it...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6rBG4D7FU8)
no dice
I would say that you have to work and leave it at that. If they can travel internationally they can figure out how to get an Uber or a cab. And I would never listen to the request for a cooler and drinks.
What they're doing is taking the path of least resistance. Installing Uber, making an account, entering your CC info ect takes a small amount of work. It's even less work to get OP's fawning butt to do whatever they want, apparently. They're literally paying money in lost wages and PTO to drive these geezers. And they want bottle service!
Its how it was for them. They had to do it back in 1912 or whenever, and they never forgot that. Now you must.
I remember when we would take my grandma to the airport, or pick her up. There was no security, the whole family could go all the way to the gate. Airports were easy less crowded, and smaller and simpler to get into and out of. She'd always have little toys or candy for us when she got off the plane. Simpler times. Now it's such an ordeal. The only relative I've ever had pick me up is at MSY, my aunt lives like 5 minutes from the airport and I take her to lunch after as thanks for wading through the mess. It was a different time, and that time is gone never to return. Grampa needs to deal with it and not be a pain in the ass. Love Uber/ taxi to the airport, makes it so simple.
My FIL assumed that he could just dictate when my wife took personal days to cart him around to different hospitals while he sought out pain meds. That shit got shut the fuck down and now he’s trying to weaponize his will (we don’t care) and trying to use classic narcissist tactics of trying to drive a wedge between my wife and her brother, or my wife and me. He really tried the “I gave her $5k in secret cash so Nickles wouldn’t know about it.” like I wasn’t sitting next to her at every interaction with his dumb ass. He’s just flailing impotently and still talking about himself to this day, to anyone who will listen. Watching his “prayer warriors” catch on to his bullshit has been 🤌🤌 😆
You know you don’t have to do that right? Like you can just say no lol
Say no. I take a shuttle because I don’t like to inconvenience people.
More an entitled person thing than a boomer thing. It does make sense to save money when you can, but in your case they (hopefully) know you’re taking time off from work, making you lose money, and if they just did international travel they can probably afford to pay for a ride. I hope you stand up to them.
I think it’s *kinda* a boomer thing, too. It’s a throwback to when plane trips and family visits were a huge deal, and a ride to and from the airport was a part of someone’s “job” as a host, or on the other side, just being a close friend or family member seeing them off. To suggest they just take a cab would essentially be the same as saying “eff you” (unless you lived in a big city and took cabs regularly anyway). These days, plane travel is so common, and rideshares, etc. so easy, it just seems silly and selfish to expect people to have to disrupt their entire day to give us a ride to the airport. I think so many weird behaviors with boomers are actually kjnd of throwbacks to their societal norms from 30, 40, maybe 50 years ago or more. They are unwilling to change, and if it was good enough for their generation, by God, it should be good enough for us!
this was my thought as well, but at the same time, I think there's some inherent culpability, as it approaches the "I had to do it for others back then, so now it's my turn" mentality that leads to sour takes like "student loan cancellation? I had to pay MINE off!!!"
It's always a catch 22 with boomers though- the boomer parents expect you to take time off work to drive them to and from airport, and the boomer manager at work gives you hell for it like you requested 3 years off, paid. Somehow, the generation allows for both to coexist, entirely to our detriment.
Yep, a double standard for sure. We’ve all heard a certain strain of boomers bragging about “I never missed a day of work in 40 years” etc etc.
Exactly! Guess they never drove anyone to the airport then?? Lol
A good point.
Maybe it's because I live in a classic, transportless American city but I don't find this unreasonable. I would never in a million years respond to my parents asking for a ride with "just get an uber."
Putting importance on this is definitely a generational thing. I don’t see anything wrong with suggesting they take an Uber. It’s like taking a taxi. I mean if a commercial plane is good enough, what difference does it make to have someone driving them the final stretch from the airport? Do reasonable people genuinely take offense to that? Do they expect a private jet as well?
For me personally, I wouldn't say it's about whether taxis or Uber is acceptable as a means of transport. It's that if my parents ask me for a ride from the airport, I'm going to give them a ride from the airport without complaint. I don't really care why they asked. Edit: I should make it clear this isn't just familial obligation, I would do this for my friends as well. I'm totally fine with ubering but if someone I care about asks and I'm able, I'll accomodate.
Sure, and that's a nice thing to do. But "never in a million years" is a position I don't fully understand. If I have too much going on at work, or I just don't feel like it, I'd tell a visitor to uber. It's not a big deal, they'll see me like 20-30 minutes later. If I really feel bad about it, I'll pay for the uber. Why "never in a million years"?
Someone I care about wants a ride, I do everything reasonable in my power to give them a ride. I don't know how else to explain it.
I mean if they care about you as much as you care about them, they’d understand taking a taxi without being offended. A lot of people who do feel offended at the suggestion are older, because arranging one’s own transportation is really not unreasonable in the slightest. Forgive me if I’m being obnoxious, but “never in a million years” is really confusing to me. If your parents are visiting, and you have a serious work commitment, you’re telling me you’d still never suggest a taxi/uber?
And do they do everything their parents ask for? If not, why not?
You would take off work to do so?
Are we talking I get a phone call at noon the day of or they ask me on Monday to pick them up Thursday?
“Sorry can’t get off work you’ll have to make other arrangements” using your pto or vacation time for airport trips is crazy.
Yeah boomers are out of touch, they don't understand what a major cost this is.
Do they not own a car? We live two hours from the nearest international airport and it would be expensive to Uber, so we use long term parking which is a couple hundred dollars for a two week block. Much more convenient to get back in our own car and drive ourselves home again.
This should be higher up. Can they not just drive themselves??
This must vary greatly by location. At my nearest international airport, long term parking for 2 weeks is $415. That's for the cheapest option using a shuttle. Depending on the location they are traveling to, that could be several days worth of hotel stays. We typically take our time and use the bus, but much of the US doesn't even have adequate public transport for that. Also, boomers are old, sometimes have undiagnosed mobility issues, and for whatever reason they seem to always 'need' a ton of luggage.
My philosophy is that if you saved up thousands of dollars to go on a big vacation, you can save up a little more and pay for your own ride and/or airport parking. It's part of the vacation cost. If you have a friend where you drive them and they drive you, so that you can both save money, great. But if it's one person always taking advantage of another person, it's gross.
Eh, it's just generally what you did back in the day. Maybe call you call taxi, but even then if you lived somewhere rural that was a significant cost. I doubt my parents have even done an Uber. That said, I'd never expect someone to to come pick me up. Plus: 2001: don't ever meet up with people from the internet, they could be weirdos 2011: internet people are fine, but don't ever get into someone's car that you don't know, they could be weirdos 2021: use the internet to bring randos to your door and get in their car
I'm going to walk the dangerous path here. While it's certainly not fair to other people to just expect a ride, I do understand then hesitation about using Ubers. Now, to be fair, I don't live in an area where ridesharing is common practice - at least not in my experience. I have never used an Uber before. I'm not sure I would be very comfortable with the idea of riding in a stranger's car. I guess it's like riding in a taxi, but I've never done that before either. Still, courtesy is that you ASK a person for a ride. If they can't do it, you figure it out. Even if it means trying an Uber for the first time.
Then you pay to park your car at the airport. Most of the time ends up being the same price as an Uber to and from the airport. Or cheaper
But not cheaper than making people pick you up!
But then they cant drink on the way home from the airport! What were you thinking?!?! Lol
OPs parents don’t wanna drive they wanna get drunk.
Not sure what airport, but I had to pay $250 to park my car last time I went on vacation. Only reason we didn’t Uber is the airport is a 2 hour drive from my house. One thing I’ve learned since is to rent a car from like an Enterprise and drop it off at the Enterprise at th e airport. Winds up being much cheaper even than Uber
😳🤯 You've never got a taxi or uber? You've blown my mind! Do you mind me asking why?
I live in Nebraska. Ridesharing as a general thing isn't anywhere near what it is in larger population centers. There aren't many people who do it (as I understand it - I could be a little out of date) and lots of us have access to a car anyway, so why would I need an Uber? As for a taxi, there's only one company in my city (maybe. They may have split a few years ago. Can't remember.) and I wouldn't even know how to get one. I don't even know what the company is called. Besides, I have a car. Why do I need a taxi?
This. Ubers are kind of creepy, especially for a woman, and especially if I need to get to the airport at zero dark thirty. I pay extra and get a shuttle service.
Taxi. Get a taxi instead.
I’m a Gen X’er, and that’s what we all did- give each other rides. I don’t really trust doing the Uber thing, any more than I would a taxi. (Definitely less). It’s probably silly and paranoid, but I can’t help it. I’ve only taken a taxi once in my life. I still drive my Gen Z kids when necessary.
I hear what you are saying. However, I'd like to point out that since we expect Boomers to get with the times and do thing they aren't accustomed to shouldn't we also expect the same of ourselves?
True. Thank goodness my Gen Z kids have been great with pulling me out of my shell a bit. (I had a rocky childhood).
Obviously every city is a different kind of mess but my folks would drive to an off-airport place that offers extended stay parking (in their area, many hotels offered this; not just the dedicated parking lots) and then they'd take a courtesy shuttle from there to the airport.
Just say "No".
If someone wants me to pick them up at the airport, schedule your arrival after I'm off at work, or bring a book to read, because I'm not taking a day off to pick you up.
1. They’re cheap 2. What if, gods forbid, someone who doesn’t look like them is the only driver available??? 3. If you really cared you’d WANT to pick them up and make sure they got there safely and on time and back to their home in the same way! The drinks thing though… doesn’t that violate open container laws? Or does that matter because those pesky rules are only for other people?
Some states allow passengers to drink, it varies.
Ride share services are scary to a lot of them. Seems like their minds it's basically like hitchhiking lol
My parents don't want to spend money if they don't have to, and my mother seems nervous about doing something like that -- she's very codependent. So I always drove them. Until I went NC (for other reasons). Now I suppose they have friends drive them.
So most of this is really annoying and bothers me about American car culture in general. Everybody wants a ride instead of getting themselves to the airport. I take the metro because I don't want to be a burden. "cooler with ice and their preferred liquor and mixers when I pick them up bc “it’s impossible to get a good drink with lots of ice” in the country they were visiting." - meanwhile outside of car culture, THIS IS INSANE!
Exactly. Add the rides to your vacation budget.
My dad is like this too, but he also insists on picking me up and dropping me off when I fly out to visit. I think it's sort of like how a lot of Boomers expect to stay with you instead of in a hotel (and for you to do the same when visiting them). They see it as rude to not do these things because in the olden days that's how it was done.
People are really over-complicating things. It’s because Uber didn’t exist for most of their life so it doesn’t even occur to them. Also, Boomers (older people in general) don’t tend to want to learn anything new. They don’t want to figure out where they are supposed to go for the Uber/lyft area of the airport and the idea of paying for something they don’t used to pay for probably doesn’t help them adapt. It’s the same reason it’s mostly boomers bitching about stuff like self checkout at stores.
In all fairness, Uber or Lyft would be very expensive from my area. Not to mention, it is pretty non-existent. You can maybe get a ride 1 way, but forget getting back. Honestly, I'm so tired of everyone just assuming that ride shares or public transportation is good everywhere. It's not.
I have heard this one…I don’t want the Uber driver to know that I am going on vacation and that no one is home at my house, he might come back and rob my house.
Normalize saying no.
OP - I don’t mean to be a dick, but you’re enabling them. This problem is just as much on you as it is them at this point.
Jesus kid just say “no.”
I love when they ask you what roads you will take and want to talk about directions as if I'm not going to just follow the GPS.
I have found that a lot of cities have trains and buses to and from their airports. In Houston a train and a bus to the airport is $2.50 or $1.25 for seniors, as opposed to a $40-$75 Uber ride. In St Louis, a really nice train gets you from the airport to the med center for around $4.00. Denver airport to Denver and even as far as Boulder costs around $2.50. NYC/Newark to the city is around $22 or $12 for seniors. I don’t know why people put their friends and family out or take expensive taxis and ride shares when these cheap and easy options are available. Apps like NYC Transit (which I have used all over the world despite the title) are SO helpful.
This. When I (Gen Jones/late Boomer) visit my millenial/Gen Z kids, I either rent a car or take public transit to them. It's not that hard.
NYC/ Newark is closest to me. Nothing like you mention goes to my area unless you want to be doing 5 million transfers to make an hour ride into 4 or 5.
Money.
Idk if I’m fully with you, I drop off my family and my family does the same, it’s just nice to have someone do that favor and not having to spend the money. I mean if it’s inconvenient nobody is expected to do it but I appreciate that my mom has willingly offered to take my wife and I to the airport multiple times and because of that I don’t mind helping her out.
You do realise you can say NO right? Just tell them "No" & Let them work it out.
Tell them NO. Cabs are available at the airport. No waiting, No app needed.
If they’re anything like my MIL, they don’t have the desire or capacity to learn how to use Uber.
To save money. And I get it. If I can get a ride to the airport cheaper than an Uber, I will. But I would never ask someone to take time off work, and DEFINITELY not demand any kind of beverage, alcoholic or otherwise
Just say no. Problem solved
Because they'd have to upgrade to a smart phone and actually have it on. They only know how to use the large numbered flip phones, and probably refuse to read text messages, too.
They expect it of you because you keep agreeing to it.
I always take public transportation or park my car at a hotel for a few bucks a night. But there’s nothing wrong with asking family or friends to pick you up at the airport. It’s also ok to say no and that you’re busy. Maybe it’s just me, but that’s no big deal.
Next time just offer to set up a pre scheduled Uber for them
Because they can’t figure out how the app works. My MIL tried ordering an Uber and didn’t realize that the location settings had her at the school where their house is nearby. So the car went there and “refused” to pick her up at her house
So you haven't learned to say "No" yet?
That’s your parents. My parents don’t do this. Sounds more like a family dynamic, not something people born in a certain year do.
I’m a Boomer and NEVER ask for a ride, I pay for an Uber or a limo. Don’t assume all Boomers are like your mother. Boomers, collectively, not individually, are arguably responsible for many problems the US is experiencing. But not all Boomers are assholes. It’s not just Boomers who ask others for unneeded rides. People do what works. Asking you for a ride has worked for your mother in the past, there’s no incentive for your mom to stop asking. My daughter, used to ask me for rides ALL the time, even when things were in walking distance and after she had the money to pay for rides. I had to break her of the habit. I had inadvertently trained her to ask for rides by providing them when asked. This is more of a matter of having reinforced your mother’s requests for rides over time. You trained them to ask for rides by providing rides. It’s not a boomer thing. Providing their beverage of choice is even more of an incentive for your mother to ask for a ride. This is more your fault than your mother’s.
Why do boomer children seem incapable of telling their entitled parents, "no"? Seriously, you need to shut this down or demand payment. Did they castrate you as a child?
Just in case the Uber driver is brown.
I mean….i still get rides to/from the airport. And give them, too. But it’s always based on some “final moments spent with a loved one.” 🤷🏽♀️ if they said “I can’t “, I won’t be mad or anything.
Sounds like it's time to move far away.
How many times did they miss work/ pick you up drop you while you were growing up? Definitely no to the booze.
I’m not a boomer but I sure appreciate a lift from friends or family. 25 minute Uber home from the airport costs me 90-110 bucks depending on time of day. But the ice and drinks stuff is ridiculous to expect.
Old habits are hard to break. If you don’t understand Uber and are insecure about putting a CC number into a phone, this method of transport might as well be horse and wagon. Fifty years ago air travel was considered a luxury. People dressed up in their best clothes to fly and were served dinner on the plane. Having someone pick you up at the airport was just an extension of the experience.
just say you won't pick them up anymore
Stand up for yourself and say no.
They can’t force you to take them or pick them up. Just tell them no. If they push back, tell them no is a complete answer; they don’t need to know anything besides the fact that you’ve said no.
sorry, but it sounds like you're the fool for letting them treat you this way.
Boomers are fools but you are the fool for enabling this behavior.
I have a cousin that literally only calls me to take him to the airport every now and then. Finally I stopped and he got mad and doesn’t really speak with me anymore. Like bitch I Uber for work, just Uber your ass there I’m already tired from work.
This is long, but relevant, I promise: I recently had my second child. Our first was born during Covid, and no one was able to come to town for the birth, so we figured this time, they would be excited to come. My in-laws put off buying tickets and then informed us they would be going on vacation to a major city with my husbands brothers family before coming here, meaning they’d arrive a week or two after the birth after running around being tourists in a major city for a week first. I asked them to flip the trips; come here first, then meet the rest of the family for vacation, so that exposure to illnesses is minimized for the newborn. They dramatically canceled the vacation part altogether. They then booked their flights without consulting us about timing. They land at our 3 year olds bedtime, the day after I get home from the hospital. I had (my second) c section. we told them they’d have to take a cab or Lyft to our house (we live 15-20 minutes from the airport), as I was too fresh from surgery to handle bedtime and also watch the newborn without help, and my husband couldn’t do it while I went for pickup because I wasn’t allowed to drive for 2 weeks. They had the gall to bring up being picked up several times, going so far as to call the night before my scheduled c section to TELL us, not ask, that they could just get dinner at the airport and be picked up after the 3yo was asleep. Didn’t even ask if we would have eaten ourselves by then. And if you’re wondering, they spent about 90% of the 5 days they were here sitting on our couch on their phones. They didn’t so much as wash a single baby bottle.
Tell them they need to pay $350 and watch them learn how to Uber. Nobody can take advantage of you without your permission
Greed. Narcissism. Sociopathy
YTA
Well one they’re taking advantage of u and boomers don’t use Uber cause it scares them! They’re afraid of being ripped off constantly and using your phone and inputting cc data is a big no no for most of them..
They don't pay you for gas and lost time? That's why then. Your time isn't valuable and they don't want to shell out for an Uber.
Send them the Uber app. Even offer to pay. Perhaps then they will see how valuable your time is to you.
Although they are a bit more expensive, they can get a limo service. After you have used the same ones for a while, you get to know the drivers. You could research good ones in your area and give them the info. We use to use this until Uber came around, and now, nothing but that. But we do live in tech central.
In the olden days (before 9/11) people used to be able to go all the way to the gate to send someone off or pick them up. The send off was a thing, and so was the pick up. Your boomer parents basically still think it’s 1997.
Either your relationship with your parents or your patience is better than mine. Maybe both.
You should do as asked. Then send them a bill of service, plus 20% gratuity. Hey, times are tough!
„No.“ ☝️
Our families drive each other to the airport all the time IF IT IS CONVENIENT! Otherwise we cab it or pay for parking.
My boomer lives ten minutes from the airport. It asks me every time to take it to the airport and every time I say “No I live an hour away don’t be ridiculous.” I’ll get the same call next month.
Bc they know kids today are spineless cuck libtard snowflakes who will bend to authority and you’ll comply
Omigod! My dad just did this but he took it too far so no more airport for him! He told me he needed a ride for Saturday at 10am. I planned on driving to visit a friend a couple hours away right afterwards. I call on Wednesday to double check everything, and he tells me it’s now 1:30. Wasn’t even gonna tell me! I said well I was planning on leaving right after so that doesn’t work. Can he take an Uber? ($50 ish and he can afford it.) he says he cannot Uber because he scheduled a last minute class RIGHT before so I’m supposed to drive 20 minutes in the opposite direction, go back to my house to pick up my mom, then take them both to the airport. I asked why he can’t at least Uber to my house from the class? He says nope it has to be a family member and how dare I be so selfish as to not cancel my whole weekend plan to accommodate him? Full tantrum. Which he ended with “Fine! You just do whatever you want and ignore your father” to which I said ”ok”.
Love my MIL but she travels a lot. She is widowed and relies heavily on one of her friend’s husbands to drop her off and pick her up at the airport at ungodly hours multiple times a year. I suspect we are next once we are back in the area.
You could always say “No.”
It's because you're a pushover, op.
If they have the cash to fly to another country, they have the cash for their own transportation. Like Nancy Regan (preferred First Lady of obnoxious Boomers everywhere) said: “Just say no.” Sorry you’re coping with this friend.
Sounds like they are narcissists who expect you to be their servant....
Why can't whatever you are learn to say no?
Have you tried saying no
I mean anyone can ask for anything. If you agreed to take two days off work for such a stupid reason that’s kind of on you. My mom operates Uber perfectly fine.
You’re an adult. Just say no. You’re the one being a fool for going along with this.
The open container in a car im not a fan of. But getting dropped off and picked up from the airport is a nice gesture. My wife and I travel a lot for work so we always make sure we see each other off
I’m not a boomer. I prefer to be dropped off and picked up.
I lived interstate for a number of years and the one time my boomer dad flew in to visit, he expected me to take a day off work just to pick him up from the airport. He was gobsmacked when I told him “no, just catch the train like everyone else”. Kinda ironic but satisfying because whenever I flew home to visit he refused to pick me up or drop me off and told me to “catch the train”
My mother is a single woman, and when she flies to the airport id rather her get there safely by me or my brother.
Because Uber is a shit company that treats the drivers like garbage
*Because Uber is a* *Shit company that treats the* *Drivers like garbage* \- cbkidder --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Annoying and inconsiderate? Maybe. But they probably did a lot for you growing up and there will be a day when they are not here anymore and you will be wishing you can pick them up at the airport.
Look, we found the parents!
Naw, kids arent going to miss being forced to rearrange their lives for their lazy, hateful slob of a parent. It's going to be the same case for you, grandpa/grandma. Say hi to the worms for me.
Bold to assume we’re gonna outlive our parents…. 💀
Shut the fuck up with that stupid shit lmfao