AIBU to think commerce has utilised technology in a way that makes some aspects of our lives more cumbersome

[HauntedBungalow]

Supermarket shopping for example, not just the customer physically doing more but also the multi-tiered pricing systems.

Having to book many leisure activities in advance is another, also the pricing of these has gone rogue.

Accessing films, music too is complicated - theoretically we have everything at our fingertips but actually it's all parcelled up in subscription services and ownership/access changes all the time.

And if you hit a bump in service of any kind, your only remedy is to have a bot chat at you.

I thought the technological revolution would look a bit different, from this.

Ah but the password isn't enough anymore, we now need to send you a code by text/email...so you have to go into messages or email and await code...which doesn't come so you go thru the rigmarole again only to find the first code has arrived 20 minutes later, so you try that and it locks you out cos that code was only usable for a nanosecond so your whole account is LOCKED DOWN and you have to speak to someone in India, called Dave to unlock your account, who asks you if you're having a good day...you only wanted to buy a coffee and use your loyalty card...🤦‍♀️

No, I know @Needtosoundoffandbreathe.

I'm going to have a line ready in future -

No thanks, I don't share my personal data in shops. Can I have a paper receipt please?

FFS, why does everything have to be such a trial.

Fully agree.
streaming music and films seems to narrow your options because the algorithm thinks it knows you. It doesn’t know that you used to like to sit down with the Saturday guardian review section and read what would be coming up and then experiment for yourself. I like being introduced to thinks by humans, in situations, not by devices.
I hate that the radios in our house are nearly all internet radios and stop working when the internet goes down.
the smart devices that help you manage your life seem to take away your autonomy

I hate this. I find they just want this information for marketing purposes though. I tell them no, and kindly ask for the paper receipt.

Parking apps (just have a sodding card reader at the car park!)

Anybody else remember the halcyon days of writing a workman a cheque before he left? Now he doesn't want a cheque because the nearest bank is at least 10 miles away, rather than there being 3 in the nearby small town.

Buying a coffee at the Odeon means using a self servive terminal to order, then you go to the counter to wait for your number to be called, the you are given your empty cup to be sent to the other side of the foyer to use the self service drink dispenser. Madness!

Latest piece of market research indicates that 73% of respondents HATE (not just ‘dislike’) chatbots.

Son wanted some walking boots for his birthday. Gave me the website link. It wouldn't let me in until they had my email and set up a password.

WHY?

Yes it’s a nightmare. I really resent it.

Actually, parking apps are probably the one I like the most - no more sprinting back to the car park to get another ticket if you decide to stay longer than you thought you would. You get a reminder so you can get back to the car on time. Yes, they take time to set up but once that’s done you’re away.

I recently was very kindly given a lift to a nearby town to register the death of my MIL. I don't drive - they say keep death off the roads, so I'm just doing my bit after previous disastrous attempts to learn, so I'm still in the "shovelling of loose change into metal printy box" era of parking charges in my head.

So friend and I approach the "get your app here" machine. I wanted to pay, but you can't just tap your card of course. Friend is au fait with the process and knows I'm a rabbit in the headlights at the best of times, never mind on an emotional occasion such as this, so she does the business. And it took a dogs age - because it was raining, and we didn't have an umbrella. The rain on her phone screen meant several attempts, with much wrangling of garments trying to protect it, several wipes and swipes which just confused matters for the phone. We were both sweating by the time it was done.

It's stupid things like this that drive me nuts. Wouldn't it be sensible to have a little roof/ shelter over the machine, especially in this often damp climate? Apparently it's all no pain, no gain with technology.

There was a good series on Radio 4/BBC sounds about the inconvenience of convenience a while ago- I’ve just seen it’s still available- worth a listen!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001mbz1?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

I think they have offloaded their admin on to the customer. Yes, some software guides you through the admin but it doesn't do it. Then some places charge a booking fee for you do the effing booking yourself.

Yes yes and yes to all of the above

Lack of spontaneity really gets my goat!

book a 10 minute time slot for an attraction- there’s traffic and ooh we may be able to fit you in.
aw you’re sick - oh well no refunds

I do think life was easier when I was a child.

Three channels on the TV, video recorders not a thing, and nothing else plugged into the telly, only the telly itself needed a plug socket.

No passwords to remember. If you wanted cash you went to the bank. It was easier to manage your money as it wasn't possible to spend 000s in the middle of the night on Amazon because you were upset or drunk.

Technology has changed our lives in many beneficial ways, but we have lost the simplicity. And is why I think ASD appears to be on the rise. I don't believe it is, it's just harder for people with ASD to function in today's world and it becomes more apparent much earlier.

I find it much better. Long may it continue

Why didn’t you just do it in the car if it was raining? All you need to get is the location number from the machine and then you sit in the car to do the rest.

The demanded feedback on EVERYTHING! I just want to take my item, give you my money and fuck off. And if you want to know my ‘Customer experience’ I’ll tell you that it’s all the worse for being forced to give bloody platitudes to your needy company.

I don’t want to ‘rate’ anything. If you’ve gone above and beyond I will give thanks. If I’m desperately unhappy with something I’ll let you know. For everything in between, just leave me alone.

I even had a text from the NHS asking me to review my ‘patient experience’ while I was lying in a hospital bed fighting for my life with sepsis. There’s a time and a place!

Because we'd already trekked across the car park from the only available space, weren't sure what sort of machine it was, didn't want to trek back because the place we were going was closer to the machine than the car was, so we did one journey on foot rather than three?

Why didn’t you just do it in the car if it was raining? All you need to get is the location number from the machine and then you sit in the car to do the rest.

Maybe they couldn't get a signal - this can also be an issue

Oh, do NOT get me started on paying for parking! I almost weep for joy if I fetch up at a car park and can pay via the machine.

Last year, several other mourners and I stood helplessly in a car park near the church to which we were going for a funeral as each of us could not - just could NOT - access the remote payment facility. Fortunately, my cousin (whose father's funeral it was) already had an account and paid for all of us.

Absolutely.
Yesterday I wanted to post a parcel to the US. Post office said cheapest way was with Evri, but they need the recipients email address to complete the form to print the label.
No problem I have that. Except, no mobile data reception in the post office so I had to go back outside the shop, walk up and down the street until I could get reception to look up the address, then go back to the post office and queue up again.

Technology has gone too far.

And "Do you want a receipt?" Yes, yes I DO because if I have to bring something back, you'll be arsey about it if I haven't got the receipt.

Had to take 2 tins of tuna back to Tesco recently because on opening they were both completely. Didn't still have the receipt (had bought them at least a couple of months before, but would have asked for it at the time), but both were well within sell-by date AND were own brand- we said "Our Club card will show when we bought them, won't it?"

"No, it only goes back a month..." We finally got the refund but blimey, they were difficult about it.

Haven’t read the whole thread. Has anyone complained yet about computer software? All those different subscription options and a lack of proper technical support?

How I long for the times when you used to be able to pay a one off fee for it, and there was someone to speak to if it went wrong.

The problem is capitalism. The impetus to make a profit over all else is preventing us realising the benefits of technical advances to improve our quality of life.