If you’ve ever tried to look up information about a park at the corresponding city’s website, you probably noticed that it’s easy to find out the hours, amenities, and other basic details. However, one important thing tends to be missing: actual pictures of the park itself. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a small image or […]

While looking at a few stores and restaurants on a popular local business website, I was amazed at the sheer volume of pictures that some of the venues had. In fact, it wasn’t uncommon for the more popular places to have dozens of user-submitted photos, and I think I saw one restaurant that had 50+ […]

A couple of days ago, I answered a sales call that went something like this: – Customer: “I got an email from your company and I’d like to learn more about your products.” – Me: “Sure, I can help you with that.” – Customer: “What do you guys sell, again?” After that, I proceeded to […]

I recently received a gift that I wanted to exchange for a different version of the same product. The retailer has locations in shopping malls throughout the country, including one that’s only a short walk from where I live. But when I checked the return policy — both on their website and by calling the […]

Over the past year or so, the website for the health insurance company we use has gotten slower and slower. During that same period, our insurance premiums have risen dramatically. I know that premiums go towards a lot more than just the website, but it’s pretty sad that even this very basic part of the […]

The labeling on certain prescription medications puzzles me. For instance, I have a skin medication that says the following on the tube: “For dermatologic use only. Not for ophthalmic use.” If you’re reasonably familiar with medical jargon, you probably know that the warning means something like this: “This product should only be used on your […]

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 […]