I don’t know if you ever run into this but lately I am getting really annoyed by gas station pumps asking me all kinds of questions. The one that annoys me the most is asking for my zip code. This is an air-tight security measure that would obviously stop any criminal genius in their tracks. Except, isn’t it pretty likely that if someone other than me has my credit card, they probably have my license too? That little plastic document with my address and yes, zip code, printed right on the front? I highly doubt they magically went into my pocket, lifted only the credit card from my wallet and then ran off. Putting in my zip code just seems like an extra unnecessary step that wastes my time but makes people feel like the enormously insecure piece of plastic in their wallet isn’t that dangerous.
At my local pump I have to do the following:
1) How will you be paying?
**Processing***
2) Please swipe your card
***Processing***
3) Please enter your zip code
***Processing***
4) Would you like a receipt?
***Processing***
5) Would you like a car wash?
***Processing***
6) Please remove the handle
**Processing***
7) Please pump your gas
It might not seem like it, but that is a major pain in the butt. Especially when it is ten degrees outside which it is from late December through early March in merry ole Rochester. When your fingers are frozen every single hit of the keyboard is a major leap to hypothermia. I also fear it is only going to get worse and I won’t be able to pump my gas until I enter a CAPTCHA code and pass a Rorschach test.
This is one of a million tiny examples of how little things are adding up to make life less convenient and more convoluted. It started with calling businesses on the telephone and being tossed into electronic answering services. The latest mind exploding feature on those is voice recognition. So now when I call a company instead of hitting a number to give an answer I have to say what I want. Meanwhile “I want you to F’ing die and a real person to come on the line” never works. But that is what I want!
I sometimes sit at my office cubicle and am heard yelling, “Yes…. I said YES…. YES… Business Customer… BUSINESS CUSTOMER…. I SAID BUSINESS CUSTOMER…. YES…. YES… BUSINESS CUSTOMER… NO!!!” to a computer on the other end of the phone. I wish someone would write a virus to destroy every one of those things.
I just want a “No Bullcrap” button. A handy little option that says “I want to give you my money, please take it from me as soon as possible before I freak out on you! Then give me your product and service and leave me the hell alone!” Is that too much to ask? Is it too hard to realize people want to talk to human beings and when they have to interact with electronics it should be as simple as is humanly possible?
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Tags: Living Conservative
