People, by and large, will do the thing that’s easiest and most convenient to do. In 1999, the easiest way to get digital music was to log onto Napster and leave it running overnight, and so an era of widely-distributed internet piracy was born. These days, it’s pretty easy to access legal digital goods, so more people do that — but piracy still lurks around the edge. So how to quash it? [More]
inconvenience
Sears Can’t Accept Your Return Because They Just Can’t
By 7.6.12 — Updated: 9.18.14
The Ooma Telo is a voice over IP device that looks like a spaceship and lets you connect up your home broadband connection, your existing landline handsets, and the Ooma service. Francesca ordered one of these devices last week from Sears.com while visiting family, and used in-store pickup to fetch it from a Sears store near where she was staying. She didn’t open or use the Telo, and decided not to keep it. But that’s the point of visiting large chain retailers, right? You can buy an item from one place, or online, and return it anywhere. That’s true in theory, but not at Sears. [More]
Walgreens Launches Innovative Showroom Store, Where You Can Look But Not Buy
By 6.9.10
The thing about locking up all of your merchandise behind glass is your customers can’t actually buy it. Well, they can if you have employees who give a damn about helping a customer. This Walgreens in Brooklyn does not have those kind of employees. [More]
Spirit Airlines Charges $10 For Buying Tickets Anywhere But Ticket Counter (Again)
By 3.24.09
Habitually awful carrier Spirit Airlines is bringing back its “passenger usage fee,” which charges passengers $4.90 each way for booking tickets online or over the phone. The only way to avoid the fee is by purchasing directly from a ticket counter at the airport. Convenient!
