Yeah, that's a pretty good eplanation. I like to think of it this way...
When you are standing in line at a burger joint, you're a customer that wants a burger. (The good news is that they don't make you pay a deposit to get the right to stand in line.) As you move up, they have specific plans to make your burger, but you are indeed still just a customer on the "wait list." You're number five in line, then number four, then number three... The excitement builds. :drool:
Then, when you get to the register, they have a "candidate slot" available to make your burger. You can have it how you want it. That can be thought of as "an allocation." Once you say exactly how you want your burger, it goes into the order pool and is "imaged." The computer, (or the little slip of paper on the spinning rack in the window to the kitchen) will say what you want... Extra Onions, No Pickle, Red Leather, Limited Slip Differential... You know, burger stuff. :skep:
So now there is an "order." And they even give you an "order number" to go along with your "image."
That does NOT mean that they have started building your burger yet. And, if you order it before 10:30, they may take your order but say that there is a "constraint on cheeseburgers because we are still cooking breakfast." :bs: But let's not go there for now.
Then, one magic moment, some guy in the kitchen looks at your slip and says "Okay, we're going to build this burger next." You now have a "TPW" - or Tentative Production, er, "Week." And, if all goes well, they will start cooking your burger when they say they will. Of course, a constraint may come up in the kitchen - "Oh no! We're out of bacon! We have to whip up some more!" That can cause a delay.
What happens then, see, is that the lady with the two bratty kids who were kicking you in the back of the knees while you were standing in line? Remember them? Well, you see that THEY get THEIR food FIRST! How can that be? I mean, they're throwing Chicken Globules at each other, and you're still waiting! And
you were in line
first - AHEAD OF THEM!!!
Life is so unfair.
But, eventually, your burger is built, and they put in on the tray, and you wait for the very slow senior citizen or pimply-faced kid to come around and take your order to your table. Sometimes this can be very fast between the time when the burger is done and gets to your table. Sometimes it can sit under the heat lamp for a while, and when it finally makes it onto the tray the confused delivery person wanders around the dining room several times :willy: looking for the little flag that is sitting CLEARLY on the END OF YOUR TABLE... WHAT IS THEIR PROBLEM? HOW CAN IT TAKE THIS LONG???? I JUST WANT MY BURGER -
NOW!
I'm sorry. What was the question again?
Oh yes. So then you get your burger, and it comes on a tray with a little paper sheet on it. These are known as "mandatory dealer options." You don't have a choice. You have to get those if you want your burger. Then, just before you leave, you drop a little bit of change on the table. This is known as a "Fair Market Price Adjustment." :thumbs:
Then, you go home, and post pictures of your burger on the forum, and tell everybody that it is just the best burger ever, and that they're all going to love their burgers, too, if they ever get them, but you can't explain how great the burger really is, and they all think you're kind of nuts...
Then, one guy, compares his burger to that which is made at a similar restaurant owned by the same company, pointing out the differences between the two... And he gets called a JERK - and then...
Oh, sorry. I think I'm done.
:leaving: