Let’s say that I’m recording something on my Tivo. I check out the program and decide I don’t want it. So, I stop watching that program before it’s over, and I tell the Tivo to stop recording the program. Will I be keeping that recording for later? Doubtful, since I manually cancelled the process. So […]

When you make a purchase in a retail store using a credit or debit card, one of the first things you see on the screen (or get asked by the cashier) is quite predictable: “credit or debit?” For Visa and MasterCard, this makes sense: those brands issue both types of cards. But what about the […]

I recently listened to an interview with one of the product managers at Facebook. During the interview, they briefly touched on the issues that Facebook has experienced whenever they’ve changed the interface or modified the privacy settings. One statement from the Facebook rep really caught my attention, though. While talking about past updates, she said […]

When interacting with customers and prospects, it’s important to choose the right tone. For example, consider the following ways of closing out a sales conversation: – “We’ll do anything possible to win this deal — even give you the product for free!” – “We’re really busy with new orders, so I’m not going to waste […]

Let’s say I’m shopping for shoes. I start by choosing Men’s Shoes, and then click additional filters for the desired Brand, Color, Size, and so on. I don’t find what I’m looking for, so I go back to the homepage and start again. But even on e-commerce sites that are renowned for their smart interface […]

When I see a DVD in my Netflix queue that’s listed as “Very Long Wait”, I know that I’ll need to be patient. Very, very patient. Heck, I think I waited three months to get the “Caprica” pilot, making me wonder if they only bought one copy and made all the BSG fans stand in […]

Through a series of otherwise normal events, I placed an order with Amazon and received a confirmation email, but then I noticed that the order was nowhere to be found in my order history. The confirmation message didn’t have an order number, either — perhaps because the order was generated through Amazon’s Subscribe & Save […]

In general, the purpose of offering free samples in a retail store is to encourage customers to try the product, realize they like it, and buy it right then and there. Trader Joe’s has a sampling area in the back of the store for this exact purpose. But when I tried to get a small […]

I recently ordered a “6 piece set” of storage containers, but when the package arrived, I was disappointed to find out that it only included 3 containers. The lids, it turns out, are considered 3 items on their own. I told the merchant about the problem and they made it right, but I still find […]

After my previous doctor decided to relocate out of the city, I needed to locate a new primary care physician. Based on a very positive referral, I selected a doctor at a different practice. Prior to my appointment, I downloaded all the new patient forms from the doctor’s website and filled them out. But when […]