The World According to Glissando

Tag: business

  • It Will Be Easy – Tech BS

    It will be easy…seamless! That’s what businesses and organizations always tell their customers or members when they are going to a new online system. The reason they say this is because the people who are setting up their systems tell them it will be easy for their customers and members to adapt to the new system.

    You know what? This is a lie! It is never easy for the customer or member to adopt a new online system. Even if you are reasonably computer literate, it doesn’t matter. When the new system is activated there are so many problems. The new system doesn’t recognize your name. The new system doesn’t recognize your email address. The new system doesn’t recognize your password. The new system doesn’t recognize your account number, and on and on it goes. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

    We’re not dumb. You don’t fool us. The implementation is messed up right from the start. What is supposed to happen doesn’t happen. But the digital masters of the world would tell us they are never wrong. They tell us they and their products are perfect and you are dumb. But it’s techno-BS machismo.

    Nothing is easy, period! When someone says: “I’m doing something simple. It’s easy. I’ll be there in two minutes.” Well, we all know that it is NEVER just two minutes. Life is not simple. Stop believing the endless claims and proclamations that it’s easy. It’s not! It never is. Life is much more complicated than that.

    There is no sure bet, be it sports or implementation of a new online system which is ridiculously more complicated. There are always ongoing glitches in the digital realm. There is a reason why ransomware thrives. There is a reason why operating systems are constantly updated for all kinds of problems. Tech companies are not perfect despite their constant claims. That’s what makes AI so underwhelming and unsettling at the same time. Much is promised, much less is delivered and often with grim results.

    You and I are not dumb. Tech is far from invincible. So, when a company or organization makes the big platform switch and you’re having problems, don’t let them throw it back in your face and say it’s your fault or it’s just a learning curve. It’s just not true. All change is hard. Nothing is easy, especially when it involves the digital realm.    

  • Beware

    Walmart is not in my good books right now. A couple of months ago, I decided to order online a travel cribbage game that was posted at a supposed online only low price of $8.97. When I went to the cart though, there was an added $5.00 handling fee. So the real price was $13.97. Some would call this, at best, a deceptive practice. The next day, I decided to go to an actual Walmart store. Guess what, the price at the store was the exact same price as the online only low price. Some would call this, at best, a deceptive practice.

    The other day, I checked Walmart online for some “coin” batteries for my car fob. A two-pack was priced at $5.84. Again, when I went to the cart, there was an additional $5.00 handling fee. I decided to go somewhere else in person to buy the batteries.

    Yesterday I was on my way to visit a friend in the hospital, and decided along the way to quickly purchase a few food items. One of the items, which I usually got somewhere else, was well-priced, so I picked up the item.  Walmart has long since switched to self-checkout. To encourage you to do this, they only had one cashier checkout open, which is pretty standard in business these days. As I was self-checking, the item I picked up that I thought was a good deal was not the price posted on the sign by the product, but, a little bit higher priced. Now, the difference was only around a $1.30, so I just made the purchase. However, because it was a self-checkout and very busy, I really had no recourse on this item unless I wanted to hang around for ten to fifteen minutes, which I didn’t. If this was through a cashier checkout, it would have been addressed immediately.

    Finally, I have been trying to unsubscribe to Walmart sales e-mails, not because I was mad at them, but, I have been unsubscribing to prune the number of selling emails I was receiving from businesses in general. The Walmart emails did not stop initially. It took a few “un-subscribes” to get them to finally stop. As well, I came to realize Walmart sends out emails through other, different email address, so, I had to unsubscribe from those multiple times.

    These practices by Walmart are not unique; they have become the norm in business in general in many cases, and that’s the point. Purchasing products, whether online or in-store, is often not what is presented, so it is still “buyer beware.” Yet, in the beckoning less regulated world, we are supposed to trust companies and their commitment to business integrity. I have some doubt.

    Finally, this is not about asking for a consumer boycott of Walmart. Walmart is usually a reputable business to purchase items from, often at very attractive prices, so don’t stop shopping there. I won’t. I’m pretty sure the food item price snafu was unintentional. I was talking more about resolution of the price discrepancy.

    The point is this…in today’s multi-faceted selling environment, the adage “buyer beware” is more true than ever before. And, in this environment, it makes trusting businesses harder, not easier. Someday I’ll talk about online commerce and the word “free.”