Stealing Hotel Rooms, Escaping Dinner Parties, Grabbing Costco Canapés, and More

Nick: Hey, everybody. It's Nick Leighton.

Leah: And it's Leah Bonnema.

Nick: And we had so many great questions from you all in the wilderness ...

Leah: [howls]

Nick: ... that we have a bonus episode. So here we go! Our first question is quote, "Our friend had planned an extended vacation with her husband months in advance, and had booked a specific room in a specific hotel for several nights. Picture a tropical hotel suite with a living room, kitchen and patio. Needless to say, she was excited about this part of her trip. At the hotel, she and her partner were met by another couple, friends of theirs, who were a last minute addition to this leg of the trip. During check in, the desk clerk mixed up the keys, assigned the room our friend had booked to the new couple, and provided our friend with a decidedly inferior single room with no amenities and no view.

Nick: "Upon realizing this, our friend asked the other couple to please swap rooms, as she had researched and booked this specific room, and there was clearly a mix up at the front desk. The other couple refused to surrender the keys. Our friend was furious, but her husband was hesitant to confront them, as the two couples had several days left to go on the trip. Ultimately, our friend—a bit of a force of nature—got her way, but was fuming. I'm confident the interloping couple was wrong. Still, I'm wondering how someone should handle an incident like this, especially early into a multi-day trip where you will have to continue interacting with the other couple."

Leah: The first time I read this, I read this incorrectly. So then the second time I read it, I was so happy to hear that your friend did indeed get the room in the end.

Nick: Okay. How did you read it originally? That she didn't?

Leah: I read it as ultimately "the" friend instead of "our" friend. So I was like, oh, this woman ended up keeping the room the whole time? After this lady had planned it and was looking forward to it? And then on the second—so the second go through, I was so much happier.

Nick: I mean, all I get from this is, is this the pineapple suite? Is this White Lotus? Like, is that what this is?

Leah: Yes.

Nick: [laughs]

Leah: I would talk to the front desk. That would have been my first move. "Hey, you guys gave the wrong room to the wrong couple."

Nick: Oh, you would go to the front desk?

Leah: Is there not another room that they can—I assume these rooms don't cost the same. So I paid more and I'm getting less, so I need to be compensated for what I'm paying.

Nick: Yeah, so the hotel needs to fix it. No, the price of the rooms? That's a great point. Yeah. I mean, how could one room that has, like, living room, patio, and then a room that has, like, no view, these cannot be the same room class, right?

Leah: They can't be.

Nick: Right. But I mean, the way this should have happened was, "Oh my goodness. Of course, here are the keys to the room." Zero further conversation. I mean, if I knew that you had booked something months in advance and this was the room you were supposed to get, here it is. Yeah. I would not put up any fight.

Leah: Oh, me neither. I think I would have realized—in the moment, I—you wouldn't even have to tell me. I would have been like, "Oh, this can't be our room. I think I have your keys." Obviously, I would talk to the friend first, and I would think in a rational world my friend would be like, "Oh, yeah." And then if I couldn't make my friend see rationality, I would then go to the front desk.

Nick: Yeah. I mean, then I guess we go to the front desk and be like, "Oh, my friends want to keep this room, but obviously we would like to have the room class that we paid for. Are there any others?"

Leah: Yeah.

Nick: I guess. But if there aren't, then it's sort of like, oh, what do we do with that?

Leah: A) I absolutely agree that the interloping couple is wrong, and they should have absolutely given up those keys immediately.

Nick: Yes. And the fact that they did it is like, that's the most bonkers thing here.

Leah: How embarrassing!

Nick: But I think the question is, what do you do about something like this? I mean, that's really the question. Like, you know, this has happened. This couple did not act the way they should have. And we're worried to, like, make waves because now we have to, like, be on vacation with you for, like, several more days and, like, oh, how awkward is that? And so I guess that's what we're concerned about. Like, how do we make something not awkward, which is sort of inherently awkward now?

Leah: Well, that's why I would have gone to the front desk, because hopefully—they gave the keys backwards, so hopefully they can get me a room which is what I paid for.

Nick: Right. I mean, my first thought was, based on these people's behavior, this is the last time we're gonna do anything together. In fact, this may be friendship ending. Something like this, this is a character problem for me. I'm not interested in having you as part of my orbit. If, like, this is your response to something like this, like, I'm not interested in you as friends anymore. So if that's the case, then on some level, yeah, just give me back the room and I'm gonna be sort of unpleasant about it because our friendship is over. So at least let me have a nice room for the rest of my vacation, and happy not to see you. Happy not to see you on this property, right? Like, maybe that's the response, like, "Oh, this is—clearly we're done. So we'll be cordial for the next few days but, like, we're done."

Leah: I think the friend would have been happy to do that. I get the idea that the husband was more of a let's-not-make-waves person, so they were trying to find a middle of the—middle of the road way to deal with it.

Nick: Yes, but the husband did not, I think, spend the time researching this room. So I think his investment in the room itself maybe is lower. He's not emotionally tied up.

Leah: Yes, that seems accurate.

Nick: Yeah. But I mean, I do get that instinct too, though. Like, "Ugh. Like, oh, how awkward. Like, oh, we had this little thing with the room, but, like, let's move past it." I guess the way to move past it is pretend it never happened. Like, "Oh, I'm glad we got that sorted out. Ha ha ha! How funny. Mix up. Okay. Well, see you at the pool at three." And then just, like, pretend it never happened and pretend everything's fine.

Leah: Well, if this other couple hadn't been weird about it, it would have just been a mix up.

Nick: I mean, what was that conversation? "Oh, there was a mix up, so we'll just need to switch our rooms." "No."

Leah: "No, I like this one."

Nick: "No."

Leah: "I'm gonna stay here."

Nick: " No, this room is great. No, it's really like the patio, so we're gonna keep it." "Oh, no. But we actually—we booked that one."

Leah: "Finders keepers."

Nick: "Yeah, sorry. They gave us the keys, so no. Sorry!" I mean, it's like, was that what it was?

Leah: That seems what the conversation was.

Nick: [laughs] So yeah, I mean, I feel like, oh, this friendship is done. So I guess it's just up to you how cordial you want to be for the next couple days. And yeah, how do you handle something like this in the future? Polite yet direct. Like, oh, you know—and I think because it wasn't this couple's fault that they got the wrong keys, like, you can have that polite-yet-direct, non-judgmental conversation, which is like, "Oh, unfortunately, they gave you the wrong keys, you know, can we switch rooms?" So, like, that's an easy, non-judgmental conversation.

Leah: Yeah, it's an easy conversation up top.

Nick: Very easy.

Leah: It's when they've decided that they don't care that it's the more ...

Nick: [laughs] Right. Yes. Yes, when they decided like, oh, despite that, we are not going to care. Yeah, that is a problem.

Leah: That's why I loop in, "Hey, give me another room. They can keep that room." And then in the future, I know we can't travel with these people.

Nick: Oh, travel is the least of the things we're not gonna be doing with these people anymore. I mean, do you want these people as dinner party guests? No.

Leah: I would love to hear those people's thinking on it.

Nick: I would be interested what their perspective was. Because, like, I think whenever there's an etiquette crime—and this is an etiquette crime—whenever there's an etiquette crime, there is gonna be some motive. There is some inner logic that they're operating from.

Leah: And it's obviously incorrect. I would just love to hear it. I want to know what you're telling yourself that makes this okay.

Nick: Yeah. I mean, I guess it's that "Oh, well, the hotel made a mistake, so we shouldn't be punished for it." Right? Maybe that's what it is.

Leah: I have so many people in my life that I want to be like, "What is your inner logic on this? Because I would love to hear it."

Nick: Yeah.

Leah: But it's easier just—you can't—you can never figure out. So you're just like, I gotta move on. But it is interesting to know how did you make this okay in your brain?

Nick: Yeah. Because they would have had to.

Leah: Yeah.

Nick: Because I mean, otherwise you can't just be like, "No, we're gonna keep the room that you booked. Okay. Bye bye."

Leah: "Bye bye."

Nick: "Bye bye." [laughs] Yeah, some things are unknowable.

Leah: Some things are unknowable. Or we could set up an interview series called How Did You Make That Okay? and interview people.

Nick: Oh, I love that! Okay. That's a new series. Spin off podcast. How Did You Think That Was Okay?

Leah: [laughs] And I'm sure people are very committed to their answers.

Nick: Oh, yes. No, people do not like cognitive dissonance, so they're definitely gonna try really hard to make it square.

Leah: It's all getting put away in there in a nice little box tied up with a bow.

Nick: Yeah. Okay, look out for that spin off.

Leah: Look out. It's coming soon!

Nick: [laughs] So our next question is quote, "When gifting someone a photo or a print, should I also give them a frame? I'm worried that they may not like the frame that I pick out, but the gift without the frame feels much less special."

Leah: This is so funny because I'm right in the middle of doing this.

Nick: Oh, okay. Is it a print or a photo?

Leah: It's a print.

Nick: Okay. And so what are you gonna do?

Leah: Well, the thing is is that it's large, and so I feel like the frame is really gonna be a part of the statement in the home.

Nick: Ah, okay. And do you know these people well enough to know their decor and, like, I mean, do they even want the print?

Leah: I don't want to—I've decided that I do not want to pick the frame. I feel like that's the thing that they may want to do. So what I'm going to say is, "I will also get you the frame, but I didn't want to choose the frame."

Nick: Okay, but frames can be expensive. I mean, I should have gone in the framing business. Have you ever bought a frame? I mean, these are incredibly expensive. What if they're like, "Oh, we want to have a frame with museum glass. And so now it's like $3,000."

Leah: I'm getting the frame. I'm not gonna get the glass. I will get the edges.

Nick: [laughs] Okay. Edges only. Do I get a little wire in the back to hang it or that's extra?

Leah: And they get a thumbtack.

Nick: They get a thumbtack. Okay. But you feel confident enough to know that they want the print?

Leah: Yeah, the print is perfect for them.

Nick: That the print is something they want.

Leah: Yes.

Nick: And it goes with the decor.

Leah: Goes with the decor.

Nick: But you feel like picking the frame would get out over your skis.

Leah: I feel like I'd be going over my skis with the frame.

Nick: Interesting. Okay.

Leah: Because it also depends on which room they want to put it in, don't you think?

Nick: Ah, okay. This is fair. So I think it depends on the size of the thing. If this is a thing that's going on, like, a desk, like a five-by-seven photo, you know, if it's that size, you know, it's a table top item, then I would say simple black wood frame. Can't go wrong. Neutral. Classic. They can always swap it out later. Gift it with a frame. If this is more of a poster, this is more art, this is something that's hung on a wall, then I feel like we want to kind of let them make framing decisions. Or there needs to be a real strong sense of what would work for them.

Leah: Well, that's exactly what I just said.

Nick: Okay. Well, I was just telling you how I got there.

Leah: No, but I—so if this was small, I would frame it.

Nick: Okay. All right. So we are on the same page.

Leah: We're on the same page.

Nick: You're a little hostile. You're a little hostile with this, Leah.

Leah: [laughs]

Nick: [laughs] No, I'm agreeing with you. We should celebrate this.

Leah: Well, no. I'm celebrating. I'm more panicked about this theater glass. This uh ...

Nick: Museum glass.

Leah: Museum. I'm more panicked about this museum glass, because obviously, I'm hoping my friend is like, "Can you just get this $5 frame that I saw at Michael's?" And I'll say, "Yeah, no problem."

Nick: But I mean, it does feel like prints and photos are a bold gift because you really do need to know the recipient fairly well.

Leah: Yes.

Nick: Right?

Leah: And I do think small, you can frame it with a black frame as you were saying.

Nick: Yeah. Okay. So we're on the same page.

Leah: We're on the same page, which is ...

Nick: Okay, great.

Leah: ... uncomfortable for me. [laughs]

Nick: [laughs] Great. So our next question is quote, "My partner and I were recently at a dinner party hosted by a couple I had only met once before. Although grateful for the invitation, the whole evening felt very uncomfortable. The food was delicious, but the courses took forever to be served as the increasingly confused hostess refused the guests' offer to help and her partner remained seated, not even helping to clear the table. Around 10:30 pm, she kindly asked if any of us were in a rush to get home. We said we had a dog who needed to be let out, and our other friend said he was working in the morning. Well, although the couple acknowledged our need to get out the door at a reasonable hour, this apparently went into one ear and out the other.

Nick: "Around midnight, our hostess declared that she was going to turn on the oven to bake the dessert. My back was sore from sitting on a stiff chair for five hours, and we were bored out of our minds and very anxious to go home and let our dog out to relieve herself. When everyone finally finished their dessert, my partner and I thanked the hosts for what was truly a delicious meal and an unforgettable evening, and we left. I had a mild panic attack when I thought I couldn't unlock the front door! We didn't want to be rude, but we had been held hostage for over five hours listening to this couple talk over each other with no interest in what their guests might have to say, and our puppy desperately needed to be let out. What could we have done? In the future, short of declining the invitation, is there any way to get out of this situation without hurting our host's feelings? They meant well, I think, and nobody wants to be rude or appear ungrateful, but we felt trapped and we needed to get home."

Leah: One thing I love about Los Angeles ...

Nick: Uh-huh?

Leah: ... is that when you have a dog, you can literally leave mid-conversation.

Nick: [laughs] Okay.

Leah: "I gotta go get my dog." And everybody's like, "Okay."

Nick: Okay. Okay, that just gives you license.

Leah: Well, you do have to go get your dog.

Nick: Yeah. I mean, you—uh! Well, first of all, what a nightmare. I mean, what a—what a nightmare of an evening, right?

Leah: Nightmare!

Nick: What a nightmare. And I can relate. I definitely have friends who are not good at the pacing of their meals, where you're like, oh, you have no sense of timing. And I think timing is the whole game when it comes to having a dinner party in your home. Like, that's the whole trick to it. And it is hard. It is a skill, and not everybody's good at it. So yeah, I mean, these people are clearly not good at it.

Leah: And one step—they're one step beyond not good at it. They are—who starts baking at midnight? That's ...

Nick: [laughs] Right.

Leah: I do think though, like, with a dog, like, if somebody invites me over and I'm not bringing my dog, I tell them up front, "Hey, I have a dog, and she can't be left alone for more than blank." And so I have to leave.

Nick: Yes. I mean, I feel like you wouldn't necessarily feel like you had to do that for this because you're like, well, clearly I'm not gonna be here for 20 hours, so I may not need to, like, pre-announce my departure time, because clearly that'll be reasonable. But in the future, should you accept an invitation from these people—which I would not—I would definitely set that sort of boundary, for sure.

Leah: Well, and then when you said, "They asked around 10:30 if any of you were in a rush to get home," and you said you had a dog, at that point ...

Nick: That was your out.

Leah: That was your out. Just get up and go.

Nick: Yeah. I mean, I think there are people who don't take the verbal hints, which is like, "Oh no, we have to go." They need to see the visual hint.

Leah: Yeah.

Nick: I mean, the Midwest is famous for the "whelp," where you slap your legs, you know, you slap both of your thighs together and you say, "whelp," and then you stand up. You know, it's a gesture, it's a sound. So you need just like the thigh slap, and then you stand up and you're like, "This has been so great. Thank you so much for having us. So sorry we can't stay for dessert. I have a dog I have to get to, but can't wait to do it again." And as you're saying all of that, your coat is being put on, and your hand is on the doorknob and it's twisting.

Leah: You're moving.

Nick: Yeah, you gotta move. We gotta combine this with the physical motion. Yes, because otherwise you just said, "Yeah. Well, we have to get our dog." But if you stayed in your seats, yeah, I mean, do you really have to get your dog?

Leah: Yeah. As soon as you said that, you could be like, "I gotta go in 15 minutes. But thank you so much."

Nick: "I gotta go now."

Leah: Well, you're just giving them a heads up if they were, like, wrapping something up. I will be walking.

Nick: But yeah, I think if something goes on for this long and you're like, clearly at midnight, dessert is about to be prepared, not even served? Like, you could—you don't have to tough this out.

Leah: No. No!

Nick: Now we have talked about reseating people in your theater, and the type of relationships that we want to have with people. I think an etiquette 2.0 thing is there are different scenarios in which we want to have relationships. So I have friends that are great friends but, like, I don't enjoy them after they've had a couple drinks. And so they are not evening friends for me. They are breakfast friends, they're afternoon coffee, they're a museum out friend, but I'm not gonna put myself in a scenario where we're having evening dinner drinks, friends. Like, that's not—that's not the scenario for them.

Nick: Or I have friends that are always late. They just cannot help themselves. And they're good friends, they're good people, they just cannot get it together. So those people are, "Hey, I'm working in this coffee shop for the afternoon, meet me at three." And if they show up at 3:45, okay, I have another 45 minutes where I got to do emails on my laptop, and you haven't really inconvenienced me."

Nick: So, like, the scenario for you is you're not gonna put me in a situation where you're inconveniencing me. And so that's the scenario for you. So I think we can think about our relationships not just in terms of how close they are—acquaintances, close friends—but also in what scenario do we want to actually engage with them? So for these people, yeah, dinner party? That's not a scenario for you. I'm not interested in this scenario for our friendship. Other things might be great, and so we could still be friends, it's just I cannot be friends with you in certain scenarios.

Leah: I hate to agree with Nick back to back ...

Nick: [laughs]

Leah: ... but I also do this with my friends. You know what people's strong points are and when you guys get along well.

Nick: And then of course the thank-you note. It would be worth sending one. You know, "Thank you so much for a very memorable evening. And thank you?" I don't know what else we say. Not that we should do it again sometime. Yeah, just "It was so memorable. Thank you so much. So great spending time with you all."

Leah: I guess.

Nick: "That chocolate cake? Worth the wait."

Leah: I mean, that all sounds very passive aggressive.

Nick: [laughs] But I think it would be nice just to go through the motions of sending the gratitude. And then should you get a future invitation—and you will—I don't think these hosts think that anything went wrong with the dinner party, so, you know, you can just decide if you're just unavailable that night.

Leah: Yeah. And I do think in the future, if we don't know a person well and we have a dog, we just say, "Hey, thanks for inviting me. I'd love to come. We have a dog at home, so we can only be gone for this amount of time. Does this work for you, yes or no? And if it doesn't? No problem. We'll do something else."

Nick: And if you don't have a dog but just want an out, I guess you could also say this.

Leah: Just create an imaginary dog.

Nick: [laughs]

Leah: Steal some pictures from the internet.

Nick: Well, just use photos of Leah's dog.

Leah: You can also just say, "I'd love to come. I have to be home by 9:30. I have work tomorrow. Does that work okay?"

Nick: I don't think you need to even have "the work tomorrow" part. "I would love to come but I have to be home by 9:30."

Leah: "Does that work?"

Nick: Yeah. I mean, I think that would be something to explore.

Leah: I just always say what my parameters are at the beginning, and if that doesn't work for them, they can let it go. And that way I don't have to be anxious about it. Am I gonna be done by that time? Am I gonna be out by that time? I've already said what my needs are.

Nick: Yeah. Although even if you said any of that, none of that was gonna help here.

Leah: I know, but I've said it, so now I'm gonna leave.

Nick: Okay.

Leah: I can't leave Lacey Jane watching Friends that long.

Nick: Oh, but it's the one where the dinner party goes too long.

Leah: [laughs] I always—I sit there with her and I go, "What TV are we leaving you with?" Because you don't want to have something that has commercials that are, like, louder. You know, it's a very big choice. Very big choice.

Nick: What, so Friends is like the right vibe?

Leah: Yeah, because I used to put on Hallmark, but Hallmark Channel has a lot of medical commercials. And the commercials sound so sad. I don't want her surrounded by that. I come home, she's a hypochondriac. You know, I can't have that.

Nick: Right. And actually, a lot of people do learn English by watching Friends. So interesting to see how that works.

Leah: I come home, she's got great timing. She's so funny.

Nick: [laughs] Okay. So our next question is quote, "I know not to wear white to a wedding, but does this apply to all the pre-wedding festivities? Like, all the days of a bachelorette party, an engagement party, or a bridal shower?"

Leah: This is what my immediate thought was.

Nick: Okay.

Leah: Except for obviously sometimes people like to wear their white-white sneakers to show they're dressing up or, like, a white t-shirt underneath maybe a track jacket, for example. Why risk it?

Nick: Why risk it? Okay, interesting.

Leah: So don't wear the white. Let the—if the person wants to be the only person wearing white, there's a lot of—lot of colors to choose from.

Nick: Yeah. I mean, the whole point of not wearing white is to not upstage the bride and not get confused with the bride. I mean, that's kind of where this should come from. So I think we just want to make sure we're not doing that. But we all have those friends who are getting married who want a certain amount of control over the color palette at all times. And so I think you just need to know that if that's your friend.

Leah: But I also think you also need to know—that was wearing something with white on it. And then obviously, you're wearing something that looks like you could be the bride. And there's a difference.

Nick: Sure. I mean, I guess who has the decorative hat? Do we all have the decorative hat?

Leah: Is everybody wearing a sash?

Nick: Right? Yeah. No, I mean, normally the sash goes to the bride to be, right? Or do we all wear sashes?

Leah: I think sometimes we all wear sashes. The bride has, like, "Bride to Be," and then ...

Nick: I've never been to Nashville, so I'm not quite sure.

Leah: Oh, I have. And they all have, like, sashes that are in league with ...

Nick: I see. But yeah, why risk it? Yeah. I mean, when in doubt, just like don't. Just don't. But I mean, a lot of casual clothing is white, though. I mean like a white t-shirt? Am I not allowed to wear a white t-shirt?

Leah: Yeah. You can wear a white t-shirt with, like, a—like a throw over it. That's not ...

Nick: Yeah, a little shrug, a little pashmina.

Leah: But I also don't think anybody's thinking of white t-shirt is the bride.

Nick: Yeah. Okay.

Leah: I think our listeners are discerning enough to know how much white is too much white.

Nick: Right.

Leah: When do I cross over from I'm just wearing a white t-shirt to possibly I'm getting married?

Nick: Yeah. I mean, because I feel like white t-shirt and jeans and white sneakers? I'm not getting bridal from this.

Leah: I'm not getting bridal from that. I'm not at all. I'm getting were you in a hip hop group in the late '90s? Yes, I was.

Nick: [laughs] Yeah. What are these, BK Knights?

Leah: BK Knights! Nick!

Nick: Right? I mean, talk about 1990s footwear.

Leah: [laughs]

Nick: So yeah, I think when in doubt, just don't. But there are times when actually the bride will specify a color palette for these different events. So you may be told, "Please wear white."

Leah: Feel the waters. Don't test the waters, feel the waters.

Nick: Or ask. Ask the waters.

Leah: That's what I meant by—by—ask the waters.

Nick: Sure. When in doubt, do not wear a white dress that may have princess sleeves.

Leah: Or a corset.

Nick: Yeah, and a veil. Maybe too far?

Leah: Veil is too far. I think we can categorically agree on that.

Nick: Don't hold maybe some flowers in front of you at, like, waist height.

Leah: Oh, that's really, I think, pushing it.

Nick: And then don't have, like, your father there holding your arm. Don't do that. [laughs] So our next thing is an etiquette crime report.

Leah: [sighs] You know what I thought? May I just say?

Nick: Okay. In that brief silence, Leah was supposed to make a siren sound, but we're working on this.

Leah: So multiple times, you know, Lacey howls when it's a fire truck or a specific kind of ambulance.

Nick: Okay.

Leah: So I thought pretty cool if we could get Lacey to do an ambulance sound here.

Nick: Uh, oh, we have to now insert, like, a sound effect of your dog making a siren sound?

Leah: [laughs]

Nick: I mean, I'm happy to workshop anything, so if you can get a recording that's high quality of this, I'm happy to test it out.

Leah: It really excited this bus of—you know, they have the double bus tours around LA? She did it in front of one of the—and everybody took pictures. It was ...

Nick: [laughs] Okay.

Leah: ... proud mama moment! She's howling! Thank you! But okay, I'll try one. Say it again?

Nick: All right. Here we go. So it's an etiquette crime report.

Leah: Wee-oo, wee-oo, wee-oo, wee-oo.

Nick: [laughs] Okay. Um, got a little Doppler effect there. Very nice. So it is quote, "I went to Costco the other day, and the one thing that makes shopping pleasant is the delicious samples that they offer. There was a line for the blintzes—a thin pancake rolled around a filling of cheese. As I walked past, I hear the sample woman saying, 'It'll take another 10 minutes to make a new batch,' so I decided to continue my shopping and I'd come back to try this tasty treat.

Nick: "The 10 minutes had passed, and now I'm patiently waiting in line to get this cheesy, yummy blintz. My turn comes and there is only one left. There is this sweet little old lady standing behind me, so I offer it to her. She tells me that she's not standing in line, so I happily turned around and started to reach for this delicious sample. My hand is pretty much right above it, and then this man out of nowhere just swoops in and grabs the sample. He then has the audacity to turn to me and say, 'Oh, did you want this?' Like I'm gonna say, 'Yes, sir, I'll take the blintz that you just touched with your grubby hands.' What a piece of garbage person! I just stared at him, flabbergasted, and then I just walked away with so much rage inside of me. I wasn't gonna spend another 10 minutes of my life waiting on a sample, so I sadly never got to try this blintz. This happened a few weeks ago, and I'm still fuming."

Leah: Oh!

Nick: [laughs]

Leah: Oh!

Nick: Oh, it's so sad!

Leah: It's so sad! A) I love blintzes. B) our letter-writer was being so lovely by asking this other person, and then to have someone reach under your hand and touch your blintz!

Nick: Yeah. And then be like, "Oh, do you want this?"

Leah: "Do you want it after I cut you and clearly took what was about to go into your hand?"

Nick: So I'm sorry that this happened to you.

Leah: I'm so sorry.

Nick: This is definitely an etiquette crime.

Leah: Such a crime. And I'm sorry that Nick and I weren't in the parking lot.

Nick: [laughs]

Leah: So when the person came out, we just walked next to them with a bullhorn. "Blintz stealer! Blintz stealer! Line cutter! Line cutter!"

Nick: [laughs] Oh, yeah. No, I would have been delighted to have asked a few follow-up questions to this gentleman.

Leah: "Hi. What are you thinking?"

Nick: Yes. "Did you see that this person was there before you, yes or no? Yes. Did you realize?"

Leah: Obviously. Because they were like, "Oh, did you want it?"

Nick: Yes, she did want it.

Leah: And you stole the last one.

Nick: Yeah. I hope—I hope he's satisfied. I hope it was worth it to him.

Leah: I'm sure he was. He's like, "Yeah, I got to eat the blintz." Rude.

Nick: And you know he didn't actually then buy the product. He just ate the sample and walked away.

Leah: I'm very upset for you. And also blintzes? So good.

Nick: Yeah, blintzes are fun. Yeah. Although do we eat blintzes with our fingers? Is it a finger food?

Leah: Nick, it's a Costco sample.

Nick: [laughs] Okay. All right, I was just—I'm just picturing the times I've had blintzes.

Leah: Have you been to Costco and seen what the finger food section is? We're not getting knives and forks.

Nick: Okay. No, I mean, this is all valid.

Leah: Context. Context. Context.

Nick: Well, I mean, is it an hors d'oeuvre? It's an hors d'oeuvre. Yeah, is this—are we having hors d'oeuvres?

Leah: Imagine it as an hors d'oeuvre.

Nick: Okay. Is it a canapé?

Leah: This is a canapé blintz.

Nick: Am I going to Costco for canapés?

Leah: You're going to Costco for canapés!

Nick: [laughs] Oh, how delightful! Are they—but they're not past. They're not past canapés.

Leah: No, you're actually past. You're passing the canapés.

Nick: Right. And then you do have to wait, so that's sort of a—I don't know about this flow.

Leah: And you may have to get in a fistfight with somebody who's gonna steal your blintz.

Nick: So it's dinner and a show. Okay.

Leah: [laughs] Dinner and a show.

Nick: [laughs] So I'm sorry this happened. It is a crime.

Leah: Very sorry!

Nick: And you out there, if you've been the witness or a victim to an etiquette crime, please let us know. You can report it at EtiquetteCrime.com. And if you've got questions for us, a vent, a repent, we'll take it all. Send it to us at our website, WereYouRaisedByWolves.com. Or you can leave us a voicemail or send us a text message: (267) CALL-RBW. And we'll see you next time!

Leah: Bye!

Nick: Bye!