I’ll write this without giving any examples from airlines, cable companies or cell service providers.
In the same week the first two items happened and the third is an ongoing issue (especially in the Seattle area).
- My executive suite operator (Regus) informed me I could only book meeting rooms in even-hour increments as their system can’t handle half-hour blocks (so I can’t book a 90 minute time block). They want to round everything up to the next hour, which from their point of view makes sense for clients who pay by the hour. But really? With today’s technology the system can’t handle this?
- I then got a call from a credit agency as a client gave my name as a reference when they applied for an American Express card. I was pointedly asked if I took Amex and if I charged more to take it. A business is using the wrong system if they pay more for different cards (and are being penny wise & dollar foolish). Between PayPal and Square I can take any type of card and my costs are over 1/3 less than when I used the bank (for only Visa and MC).
- Kirkland has Park Place Mall and it’s an old joke that the name is an oxymoron as there is limited parking at Park Place. The same thing is going on in ” Juanita Village,” down the road from us. They keep filling every foot of open dirt with building without any more parking. We have actually gone there to eat and left the complex (to go somewhere else) because there was no parking (this has been in the news because there is also no employee parking). Maybe not a bad practice by the business, more of a bad practice by the developer.
Bottom line, don’t make it hard for people to do business with you.
“Bad taste is simply saying the truth before it should be said.” Mel Brooks