The sad part is that this has been SOP for decades, and only now have we seen the technology to bypass the bullshit. One of the main reasons why I laugh at the implosion of the big music store chains is because of the number of times I'd ask for something that wasn't in huge piles in the aisles and be lied to, over and over, about its availability. I could list album name, musician, label, and even SKU in some cases, and I'd be told "It'll be in next week" for a month before the clerk would finally sneer "We're not going to order it because it's not on a major label."
Since those first experiences, I've actually been having fun watching the implosion of businesses that used to go out of their way to piss all over customers and expect the customers to thank them for the privilege. The bookstore where the owner might put down her book in an hour when you're standing right in front of her with a question or a purchase? The gaming shop run by the Cat Piss Man who's sharing his extensive porn collection with his unemployable buddies during the lunch rush? The comic shop with the clerk who openly mocks why anybody would want what you're offering perfectly green money to acquire? The magazine shop that's only open two days a week, and that's when the owner didn't decide to sleep in? The magazine that deliberately hires frustrated and bitter journalism majors to handle subscriber complaints? They're all getting smashed, and their cries about "customer loyalty" are music to me. Oh, gee, your customers are migrating to Amazon and filesharing sites? Had you considered, even for a moment, that blaming your customers for your failures is almost as bad as masturbating in their faces in the first place?
The good news is that for every one of these uintatheres, you have about three or four online venues that are glad to take business away from them. I'm watching this happen in horticulture right now, and let me tell you, it's glorious.
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Since those first experiences, I've actually been having fun watching the implosion of businesses that used to go out of their way to piss all over customers and expect the customers to thank them for the privilege. The bookstore where the owner might put down her book in an hour when you're standing right in front of her with a question or a purchase? The gaming shop run by the Cat Piss Man who's sharing his extensive porn collection with his unemployable buddies during the lunch rush? The comic shop with the clerk who openly mocks why anybody would want what you're offering perfectly green money to acquire? The magazine shop that's only open two days a week, and that's when the owner didn't decide to sleep in? The magazine that deliberately hires frustrated and bitter journalism majors to handle subscriber complaints? They're all getting smashed, and their cries about "customer loyalty" are music to me. Oh, gee, your customers are migrating to Amazon and filesharing sites? Had you considered, even for a moment, that blaming your customers for your failures is almost as bad as masturbating in their faces in the first place?
The good news is that for every one of these uintatheres, you have about three or four online venues that are glad to take business away from them. I'm watching this happen in horticulture right now, and let me tell you, it's glorious.