# Business policies that discourage business / do more harm than good **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 22, 2014, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028 "2014-05-22T20:20:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2014, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028/81 "2014-05-26T20:06:56Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > So you are stopping there anyway and paying more for gas elsewhere, too? My mom would call that, “cutting off your nose to spite your face.” Apparently I’m willing to pay not to encounter ads. A business model that Hulu and the Straight Dope have adopted. I’ve spent money on dumber stuff than not being irritated. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028/82 "2014-05-26T20:30:47Z")
> [@Dr.Woo](#): > > I get kind of huffy over “for your convenience” as a reason for a rule or policy. My nearest grocery store has self-checkouts, which I like, but they don’t permit alcohol sales through them for obvious reasons - no one can check ID. That’s fine, I get it. If I’m buying wine or beer I’ll have to wait in line for a checker. But the sign they’ve put up in front of the self checkout says, “For your convenience and in compliance with state law, no alcohol purchases are allowed”. I learned over 35 years ago that when someone says “for your convenience,” it means “for our convenience.” And AMEX has had a no-fee credit card for at least 20 years – it’s called “Optima.” I’m surprised no one has bothered to mention extended warranties. Most big stores always try to sell them to you – at ridiculous prices (I saw one that meant I would spend more than it cost to replace the item). Yes, they’re pure profit for the company (so you’d think they’d do better offering them of a tenth the cost), but they are ripoffs. I’ve threatened to cancel a sale over it. After all, if they think their merchandise is such junk, I see no reason to buy it. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028/83 "2014-05-26T22:47:27Z")
“Canadian Tire” isn’t a _tire_ store? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2014, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028/84 "2014-05-26T22:59:27Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > “Canadian Tire” isn’t a _tire_ store? 😕 They tire of hearing that question. It was supposed to be “Canadian Tired” but their lawyer fell asleep before finishing the trademark application. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2014, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028/85 "2014-05-26T23:24:04Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > “Canadian Tire” isn’t a _tire_ store? 😕 I was wondering if people really shoplift tires. ---
**Author:** ![SerafinaPekala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SerafinaPekala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SerafinaPekala)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028/86 "2014-05-26T23:50:30Z")
> [@Dr.Woo](#): > > \ Especially if it’s right before, say, Thanksgiving. I know those pesky food-intensive holidays are VERY hard to predict, but maybe the scheduler could contact someone here on Earth to get help with that. :D:p Best bit of snark I’ve heard all week! ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028/87 "2014-05-27T00:41:20Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Here’s another thing I haven’t seen yet on this thread: FOX News on a TV, especially if it’s the kind of business that probably shouldn’t even have or need a TV in the first place. :rolleyes: Which reminds me…CNN starts every hour, and sometimes every segment, with “Breaking News” and “Just In.” I no longer pay attention when they say that, so if something actually breaking happened, I probably wouldn’t notice until I switched the station. (I often have CNN or another news channel on for background noise at home.) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028/88 "2014-05-27T00:49:10Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > … > More mundane: Even if I liked their product, I would never use ADT alarms due to the sheer number of door-to-door salespeople coming by to try and get us to use them. There were 2-3 a week at one point, always different people. Guys, the Jehovahs Witness method is not a good business model! Heh - at our old neighborhood, we came home to an ADT brochure stuck in our front door quite literally EVERY OTHER DAY for several weeks. The setup: A neighbor was raped. So they were hoping to profit from everyone’s fear. The punch line? The woman was grabbed **in front of her townhouse** , arriving home late one evening. Having an ADT system WOULD NOT HAVE HELPED. Needless to say, we will never do business with ADT. Note that another “business” approach, just before this (and not related to ADT at all, to be perfectly clear), was to actually commit the rape, then call the victim a few days later and attempt to sell her a security system. That one made the news when the victim in one of a string of assaults recognized the voice on the phone (kudos to her for remaining coolheaded and getting the police involved). ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028/89 "2014-05-27T02:07:29Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I hate fast-food places that give you no time or place to stand and look at the menu without holding up the line. Unfortunately, their wish to have to make a fast selection of an upsized, high-profit combo means that the menu is either an unreadable jumble, simply doesn’t list many individual items, or all that plus putting it in a place you can’t read it until you’re basically standing in front of a cashier. Wait, it gets even worse! At a major hamburger chain (I’ve blissfully washed my brain of any memory of which), at least at some locations I’ve seen, they now have their menus displayed on an array of huge TV monitors. One of those monitors, which shows a section of the menu, alternately displays that and advertising for their products. So if you’re in the midst of looking over that section of the menu, it will suddenly disappear, and then you have to stand there and wait a few minutes before it comes around again to finish reading the menu. Not _that’s_ dumb! ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028/90 "2014-05-27T02:25:31Z")
Costco and their goddamn free sample stations drives me up the wall. They set one up at the end of every aisle, in an already overcrowded store, cutting access to the aisle in half. Then all the idiot customers block the other half with their carts while they stop to partake. If I can’t get there right when they open - when there are few people there, and the fucking sample stations aren’t set up yet - then I just won’t go. ---
**Author:** ![Space\_Vegetable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Space\_Vegetable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Space_Vegetable)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028/91 "2014-05-27T02:55:36Z")
I normally use long, unique, random passwords. If your web site disables pasting into the password field from the clipboard, my password will be shorter and easier to type (and guess). If your web site disables my browser’s ability to remember and pre-fill my login info, I’m not going to opt for paperless statements. (Yes, I know all about the security issues, and I’m willing take that risk that any robber who steals my computer could view my water bill without having to type a password.) ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028/92 "2014-05-27T03:30:44Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I had the same problem with my Hyundai dealer. > > The intent is obviously nice, but I have to get an **oil change every six weeks**. It was ridiculous. It would have bene much better if they’d just called me once a year. Wow, how far do you drive every day? Even when I was driving a hundred miles a day, I only had to change my oil ever 3-4 months and the car was reliable for almost 250,000 miles. Is synthetic an option for your car? I will never, ever consider using AT&T. Back when I first moved to AZ, I contacted them to get service set up. I sent them my deposit and got a phone number. I used that phone number on the resumes I sent out all over the place. When I moved in, the installer didn’t come out and of course nobody called me because I didn’t have a phone. This was half my life ago, and I was poor. Cell phones were out of my price range. When I called them to find out why I didn’t have a phone, they told me that there weren’t any lines available. Well then, why did you give me a phone number and cash my deposit check? That was to insure that I had a place in line for when the phone lines were installed. Would the number they gave me a month ago be the one they issue when I do get my phone? Oh no. That number probably won’t be available because they will have given it to someone else. I also learned that the job I really wanted had tried to call me for an interview, but, yanno…no phone. Once I was able to afford a cell, I took unholy delight in calling AT&T and cancelling my service. I wasn’t rude to the CSR, but I was very clear that I was shutting my landline off forever because of the lies. The poor girl actually had to try to get my cell number from me, which didn’t happen. Next they started flooding my mailbox, but I know how to deal with that. Put all of their crap into the return envelope and then drop it in a public mailbox. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028/93 "2014-05-27T04:43:15Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Visa/MC has been offering these “features” on their more-convenient, cheaper and more widely-accepted cards for decades. What does more-convenient mean here? Additionally, the perks with an amex card are usually better in my experience. > [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > If Amex were to stop marketing tomorrow, it would vanish - except perhaps in some sliver market of genuine fast-travelin’ executives. Like all marketing-driven products, it’s probably not the wonder most of its buyers have been convinced it is. Do you honestly think most people don’t do the math? All of this grumbling about merchant fees doesn’t matter to most people at all. ---
**Author:** ![Space\_Vegetable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Space\_Vegetable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Space_Vegetable)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028/94 "2014-05-27T04:57:36Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Visa/MC has been offering these “features” on their more-convenient, cheaper and more widely-accepted cards for decades. Scusa me for not being impressed that Amex has caught up… except that most users, the ones who don’t get their Blue card through Costco, still pay an annual fee and face the issue of Amex acceptance. The only plus I hear is that it’s a semi-useful alternate Costco card. I’ll agree MC/Visa are more widely accepted. Seems about a third of the companies I deal with don’t take it. But one of my Amex credit cards has an unlimited 2% cash rebate on all purchases (and no annual fee, of course). I haven’t been able to find such a generous deal for any MC/Visa cards. So that would be an additional “plus”. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028/95 "2014-05-27T05:08:05Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Angie’s List did something like the OP’s Kia dealership. > > I… I also didn’t like the idea that reviews were being posted by people who were half-watching a tv show or on the way out the door or sitting on the toilet. > … I did re-subscribe for a few more years. > > Yeesh. So, now that you know the “reviews” are 90% phony crap written by Angie’s sales reps who have never even talked to the business, you want to read MORE of them? okayyyyy… ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028/96 "2014-05-27T10:28:41Z")
“Business policies” have driven me out of so many businesses in the past decade that I’d have trouble remembering them all. Shouting hello at me when I come in the door, Upselling everything constantly (oil changes, food, merchandise) Hassling me to take another goddamned survey Asking/demanding my email/phone/etc. Too loud music or TV while I try to relax and eat Constant interruptions (“Can I get you anything?”) at fast food restaurants After a decade, my coworkers and I have abandoned our regular lunches during the week. The hassles, irritations, and constant ads and noise have driven us back to our brown-bagged lunch. [old fart rant] I’ve noticed a fundamental shift in the way I deal with businesses now, and I wonder if other older Dopers are feeling the same? I now approach businesses exactly the way I approach candidates for office; not which one I like, but which one I detest the least. Other than stopping by a local pizzeria for takeout, my wife and I haven’t eaten out once this year. Each time we consider it, we decide staying at home is easier and more enjoyable. We only enter businesses when forced by a need, never with any pleasure or anticipation. [/ofr] ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028/97 "2014-05-27T12:38:50Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > I’m growing less and less patient with my Kroger store. The only reason I still go there is because I’ve been going to this store for 20 years and have grown fond of some of the long time employees. > > The management however, sucks. > > \*\*They’ve instructed their cashiers and baggers to separate cold items, pantry items, and chemicals into different bags. Looks good on paper but what winds up happening is instead of putting all my groceries that could easily fit into one bag, I now have three, because ya’ know since butter was my only cold item that day, it clearly needs its own bag. \*\* > Also, management has let solicitors run wild in their store. I’m not talking about the food vendors either. I talking about people trying to sell me newspaper subscriptions, gym memberships and photoshoots. My favorite Publix does this, or tries to. I mostly remember to bring my own cloth bags, which helps. I also say “Milk doesn’t need to be in a bag\* and I don’t care if the bags are heavy, you can put everything together. Just please don’t squash my veggies.” And then I assure them that I don’t need help out to my car, and I go outside and rearrange the bags. If I have to use their plastic bags, I stop by the recycle bins outside to repack, and stuff the extras (there’s always at least two) in the rcycle bins. \*\* Why do they put the items with a nice sturdy handle into a little flimsy plastic bag??? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028/98 "2014-05-27T13:08:21Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > Do you honestly think most people don’t do the math? The overwhelming evidence is that most people don’t do the math. They fall for the come-on and the promises, which are meaningless to about 90% of subscribers, and then pay several years or more of card fees before realizing they never really use the premium booking services or access to airline lounges. > [@](#): > > All of this grumbling about merchant fees doesn’t matter to most people at all. Nope. Just like card fees and promises of glamour don’t matter to the merchants. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028/99 "2014-05-27T14:24:51Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > It took 30 minutes to ring up a sale?? Discount store, fully loaded shopping cart, one person kept running back for more, and it was 11:00 at night. Yeah, $288 took thirty minutes to ring up. It’s not like I’m selling high end, expensive stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028/100 "2014-05-27T15:38:58Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > This has cost my local gas station several hundred dollars worth of business. It’s actually a really good gas station – it has a comprehensive variety of coffees for $1.00/cup (iced or hot, any size), actually decent pastries, and friendly staff. And then they put in the new pumps with TV monitors and loud recorded advertisements (for the coffee, which I was going to get anyway). I found I really, really resented being bombarded with ads in this fashion. So I started buying gas elsewhere, even paying considerably more for it. > > But I still stop and buy their coffee every morning. So…irony abounds. Those TV monitors at the pumps are annoying. The gas station near my office has them, and plays clips from Extra and I get really annoyed, and sit back in my car or clean up the trash from my car or do something else while they play and my gas pumps. But you’re not hurting the station by getting your gas elsewhere and buying coffee there. Gas stations want you to buy food and drinks and other things inside, the gas is only an incentive to get you there in the first place. [This article is a few years old](http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23904590/ns/business-retail/t/stations-hope-you-fill-more-gas/), but I’m pretty sure it’s the same today. Gas stations make very little money on gas, this article says that with credit card fees they might actually lose money. Gas stations make their money with coffee and candy bars. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-policies-that-discourage-business-do-more-harm-than-good/689028.md?page=6)