If you’ve spent even a modest amount of time interacting with the tech support and billing departments at any number of organizations, you’ve probably noticed that some companies go overboard when talking about their customer service. For instance, their on-hold message might include phrases like these, repeated over and over: – “Your call is very […]

Whenever the overpriced grocery store in my building has a sale on basic items like frozen vegetables, I like to stock up on those products. Most recently, this meant taking home a bunch of frozen peas. While putting them in the freezer, I noticed something strange about the package design: instead of just saying “Peas”, […]

As part of the new patient forms that you fill out when visiting a medical or dental office for the first time, there’s usually a seemingly innocuous document stating that you agree to pay the fees for services rendered. I’ve never thought twice about that stipulation before, but a recent experience made me reconsider my […]

While looking at an otherwise well-written instruction sheet, I noticed something odd. The instructions mentioned the use of several third-party products, which the typical person would probably have to purchase separately. However, there was no mention of “Supplies Needed” until the end of the document. Thus, someone who took a quick glance at the instructions […]

If you purchase an item and have it gift wrapped by the retailer, the odds are quite good that they’ll remove the price tags and include a special receipt that doesn’t show any prices. From what I understand, this is standard practice for gift-wrapped orders. As a result, you don’t have to wonder whether there […]

Last week, I got a rather peculiar email from a company whose products I use. Based on the text in the “From” field, I could easily see that the message was from the department that handles online account management and bill payment. But the subject line was another story. It said “Your login is changing”, […]

When I was at the dentist the other day, I received an unexpected treat: trial-sized packages of a few dental care products that I use. As pretty much everyone knows, it’s a hassle to cram all your personal care products into a single plastic bag when traveling on a plane. Thus, swapping out a few […]

I’ve been keeping track of the new product announcements from several of the major wireless carriers, in the hopes of identifying a suitable replacement for my current cell phone. As the holiday shopping season approached, I expected all of the carriers to release a flurry of long-rumored handsets. However, Black Friday and Cyber Monday have […]

As more and more people start using e-book readers like the Kindle and Nook, the practice of giving e-books as holiday gifts will probably become quite common. In fact, I purchased my first e-book gifts a few days ago. Overall, the process worked smoothly, though I was left wishing for one thing: the ability to […]