Here’s a story about the US Postal Service (USPS) that, sadly, will come as no surprise to anyone who has dealt with them. A few weeks ago, a man needed to mail a 20-page document. So he bought a padded envelope that had a letter-size inside area, affixed the right number of stamps, and went […]

I know of at least one really bad restaurant that has a long line every weekend morning. The food is mediocre, the service is nonexistant, and the people at the cash register can’t even be bothered to say hello when you pay. And I’m not the only one who feels this way: the reviews on […]

The airlines seem to have a fee for everything these days. But I think they’ve missed the boat on certain charges. For instance, they could levy a fee when someone: – Listens to music or another audio source so loudly that people can hear it several rows away – Brings disgusting fast food on the […]

When you’re looking to buy a product online, and the website says something like “Usually ships in 1-2 months”, do you end up buying it? My guess is no. Yet somebody must be purchasing these items, or Amazon and other retailers would just hide them from view when they’re out of stock. But this makes […]

After I use my vacuum cleaner, I empty out the bag and clean the parts that touch the floor. But no matter how careful I am, this process leaves some dust and debris on the floor, so I end up having to vacuum that area again. It’s a minor annoyance, for sure. But I worry […]

A few days ago, I needed to find the addresses of two Metra train stations. So I went to the brand new Metra website and clicked something like “Find a station”. A text box and map appeared, so I typed in the city I wanted: Lake Forest. The map zoomed to Lake Forest, California. Great, […]

Considering how far technology has come over the past decade, it’s disappointing that some large companies still refuse to adopt tools that would improve the customer experience and drive sales. Here are several examples: – Among those retailers that operate both online stores and physical locations, some of their websites don’t provide any indication of […]

We live in a world of asynchronous communication. You send an email, but you don’t know if the other person has received it. You leave a voice mail, but you don’t know if anyone has listened to it. You send an instant message, but can’t tell if your contact has looked at their IM window. […]

I’ve heard some bad hold music over the years. Usually, this means the music is a few decades out of date, and isn’t exactly the sort of classic mix that customers of all ages will enjoy. Other times, it’s a computer-generated soundtrack that only seems to exist in the alternate dimension of conference call services. […]

While walking back from the store on Sunday, I saw one of those signs designed to drum up support for Chicago’s 2016 olympic bid. The ad featured a picture of a cyclist or runner or swimmer or something, along with the text “We support the bid”. Presumably, the idea is that the venue displaying the […]