# "Convenience" products and services that do the opposite **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 10, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173 "2018-04-10T17:39:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2018, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173/41 "2018-04-11T14:44:19Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > ETA too late: > > I see some folks have had problems with Home Depot. Interesting. It’s not like I use them that often (or always get in the self pay line) but it’s tended to work when I’ve done so. None of this: > > • “Sir, you have to put that pack of LifeSavers into a bag on the checkout platform or it ‘thinks’ you’re trying to steal it”. “But I scanned it! Why would I scan it if I were going to try to steal it? That makes no sense!” “All scanned items have to go into the bag…” They’re not worried you’re stealing life savers, they’re worried your scanning life savers and walking out with something more expensive. The registers know about how much each item weighs. If you scan lifesavers and put a hammer in the bag, it’ll call the attendant over. Similarly, if you drink half of your Dr Pepper while in line, that’ll throw it off too. My issue with Home Depot is that I could never get my Samsung Pay to work there. I’ve never had issues with it anywhere else, even places that don’t take wireless payments (my phone can emulate the mag stripe on a credit card). Not a big deal, but often I get 5% back when I use it. > [@GESancMan](#): > > Though it’s touted as a “benefit” rather than a “convenience,” I’d like to nominate Amazon Prime Pantry. So, you fill up a box, pay a shipping charge on top of the annual Prime fee, and you get to wait longer than the standard, free, Prime Two-Day Shipping for your items. This is a “benefit.” Got it! That’s why I won’t use Pantry. I’m paying a hundred dollars a year for shipping, why should I have to pay a hundred dollars a year plus shipping for Pantry? I have used it once or twice though. The shipping cost was waived for whatever reason and the products were considerably cheaper (or not elsewhere available). > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > In the long run, that’s also convenient for the patient, because imagine having a migraine, and not being able to take your medicine at all because the tablets got pulverized in a bottle? Imagine having a migraine and having to turn on all the lights from your bedroom to wherever the meds are and finding out that the blister pack _requires_ a scissors to open. [Here’s](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4Xik5k7JKjQ/V_PBv9DcRVI/AAAAAAAAFsg/YZCKEMSNSYc-1lxjvXQ9-iqZoYsOcqU1wCLcB/s1600/20161004_094405.jpg) the sumatriptan I get from OptumRx. It cannot be opened without a scissors. Not something I want to do at 2 in the morning, being woken up by a throbbing headache. More times that I can count I’ve convinced myself “I’ll be find by morning” and go back to bed. Of course, I’m never fine by morning. For this reason I keep Maxalt-MLT nearby. The packages are easy to open and it dissolves in your mouth so I can keep it by my bed. Wake up, pop one in my mouth, go back to bed. Granted, this is an issue more about this specific product than blister packs in general. However, there’s a handful of youtube videos and angry blog/message board posts about these specific blister packs. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2018, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173/42 "2018-04-11T14:53:00Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > I once had a credit card company issue me a new card, without my asking, and claim it was for my convenience and an upgrade of some sort. But it was a truly new card with new numbers, which meant I had to go an change my information with every vendor I did business with regularly. > > Cancelled the card. It would have been bad enough for them to merely take this action, but trying to claim it was for my convenience and benefit was \*\*\*ing offensive. My ex-wife would continuously get “Convenience Checks” from Discover. The ones you write like normal checks, but they charge you 30% interest as a cash advance. My issue was that she never asked for them. I called them 5 or 6 times over as many months asking them to knock it off. They would tell me if she doesn’t need them, she doesn’t have to use them but my problem is that she wasn’t expecting them so if someone stole them she wouldn’t even know they were missing until the charges showed up on her account. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2018, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173/43 "2018-04-11T14:54:32Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Just curious, was it Capital One? Because they pulled that crap on me many years ago. They sent me a new card for no reason, different account number, and it was a Platinum card or something that had a yearly fee. I didn’t ask for it, immediately cancelled, and I wouldn’t use Capital One again if they were the last CC company on Earth. What’s in my wallet? Your grubby fingers, apparently. No, a different company. But your experience seems to validate that this kind of crap isn’t a fluke occurrence. I switched over to a card from the bank I’ve used for many years. They’re no angels either, but they have so far been true to their word that they wouldn’t pull that kind of nonsense. Edit: Actually, there’s no reason to anonymize them - the offending company was CitiBank. Edit, edit: Bastards. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2018, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173/44 "2018-04-11T15:04:41Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > They’re not worried you’re stealing life savers, they’re worried your scanning life savers and walking out with something more expensive. The registers know about how much each item weighs. If you scan lifesavers and put a hammer in the bag, it’ll call the attendant over. Similarly, if you drink half of your Dr Pepper while in line, that’ll throw it off too. That makes sense. I was wondering WTF their thought process was. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2018, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173/45 "2018-04-11T15:31:35Z")
Are self checkouts the new “What’s the deal with airline food?” Maybe it’s because I had a brief stint working as the self checkout person at a grocery store, but I almost never have issues with them. You scan the item, you put it in the bag. Don’t set your coat, purse, child, etc on the platform. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2018, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173/46 "2018-04-11T15:37:06Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > That makes sense. I was wondering WTF their thought process was. I’m a systems engineer specializing in software design. I completely understand the thought process behind it. “Customer scans item. Customer bags item.” Period. No exceptions, no variations. The use case is written, carved into stone, translated into specifications, and coded. No user ever does anything different, because the designer said so. If the user’s behavior differs from the software’s design, the user is wrong and must be trained to conform to the system. That’s the fundamental rule of UX design. Teach the user to obey the interface, because there’s no way in hell to teach the interface to obey the user. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2018, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173/47 "2018-04-11T15:40:21Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > My ex-wife would continuously get “Convenience Checks” from Discover. The ones you write like normal checks, but they charge you 30% interest as a cash advance. My issue was that she never asked for them. I called them 5 or 6 times over as many months asking them to knock it off. They would tell me if she doesn’t need them, she doesn’t have to use them but my problem is that she wasn’t expecting them so if someone stole them she wouldn’t even know they were missing until the charges showed up on her account. Yes I used to get those pretty often too, but they seem to have declined in recent years. I called to complain about them too. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2018, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173/48 "2018-04-11T16:08:43Z")
Here’s one about a specific type of appliance: My wife and I both cook, usually alternating. Whoever cooks, the other one cleans up the kitchen. My wife has a min-food processor (in addition to her real one). She uses it to chop onions, celery, garlic, etc. Since it is so small, she has to cut the onions and celery, as well as peel and prep the garlic, before putting it in the bowl. So, when it’s my turn to clean up, I have a food processor bowl, lid, blade assembly, and even the little scraper she uses to get everything out to clean and wash. Mind you, this is in addition to the kitchen knife and cutting board she used to prep whatever she put in. I’m constantly pointing out to her that she could just chop everything on the cutting board. If you’ve peeled and quartered an onion, it’s just 15 seconds or so to chop it. Drives me nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173/49 "2018-04-11T16:20:28Z")
What chaps my hide are “convenience fees” that are actually more convenient for THEM than they are for YOU. Example: The State of Illinois charges a “convenience fee” for registration payments made on line. Really?! Doesn’t paying on line actually SAVE them money? When you send in a check, there has to be a human to open the envelope and process the payment whereas, if you pay on line, it is handled by computer automatically. So, in essence, they are punishing you for saving them time and money. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2018, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173/50 "2018-04-11T17:19:56Z")
Grocery stores are now required by law to state when seafood has been previously frozen. My local Giant Food store, instead of posting “Previously Frozen” posts “Thawed for Your Convenience” (or when handwritten, “Thawed for You’re Convenience” ;)) If it had been frozen, I’d rather keep it frozen until I’m ready to cook it. > [@DCnDC](#): > > Example: I’ve never seen Apple Pay work correctly. I started using Google Pay when I got a smartwatch a couple of weeks ago and I’ll never go back. Wave the watch and sign, and I’m done. I don’t have to fish out and scan a credit card, and the merchant never sees my credit card number. Has worked correctly every time. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > They [issue the card with a new number] when your credit card has been compromised. It’s a minor inconvenience compared to having to deal with the credit card company to remove charges – especially since the charges can come in as long as the card is valid. > > I did notice years ago that when a company does something for your convenience, they’re doing it for _their_ convenience, but in the case of the credit card, it benefits both of you. Their motivation for it is 100% cover their own ass because you are not liable for fraudulent charges. If it saves you any trouble it’s purely a coincidence. > [@gnoitall](#): > > I’m a systems engineer specializing in software design. > […] > That’s the fundamental rule of UX design. Teach the user to obey the interface, because there’s no way in hell to teach the interface to obey the user. I am reading this as cynical tongue-in-cheek. I manage web projects, including one we did for the federal government for 40M users, and my UX guys say the whole idea is to make a system with a flow that is based on how people think, behave, and interact with non-human systems. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2018, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173/51 "2018-04-11T17:28:51Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I’d wager it’s because “The filters are useless and expensive to replace.” Actually, my guess is that the filters are AWESOME and clog almost instantly because their well water has a lot of minerals in it that get filtered out. French Press don’t care about no minerals. Yes and yes. ---
**Author:** ![amaguri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2018, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173/52 "2018-04-11T22:10:40Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Are self checkouts the new “What’s the deal with airline food?” Maybe it’s because I had a brief stint working as the self checkout person at a grocery store, but I almost never have issues with them. You scan the item, you put it in the bag. Don’t set your coat, purse, child, etc on the platform. seems like some stores handle this way better than others. our local grocery store has a great, reasonably fast system that rarely causes problems. wal-mart had a pretty decent system that they recently changed for whatever reason and it is much, much slower. so much slower that you’re not sure if something has actually scanned so you try to scan it again but, whoops, it actually did scan the first time so now you have to wait for someone to come over and void an item (but there are 4 other people using self-checkouts that have the same problem so the wait might be a little long!) ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2018, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173/53 "2018-04-12T00:18:32Z")
Apple pay almost always works for me. It’s a bonus that I can easily do it one-handed, since the other hand is often holding a wiggling 2-year-old at the checkout. Taking a card or money out of a wallet is very difficult to do one handed. Self checkouts work well if most of the things have a barcode and they fit in the bagging area. But they don’t have to work well for every customer. If they work well for some, that still makes the checkout process faster (or cheaper) for everyone, since fewer employees can check out more people. Just recently I used a self-checkout at Walmart and it didn’t care about the weight sensor. Seems like a major improvement to me. Maybe the solution is to just disconnect that part. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2018, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173/54 "2018-04-12T00:26:20Z")
I looked at the owner’s manual for my car not long after I got it. It said, “… put the key in, turn it back and forth six times, then select the desired option with the lock switch.” I just absolutely despise the automatic door locking feature. If I want my doors locked, I have a button that will make that happen. The feature (on another car) has in fact inconvenienced me more than once. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2018, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173/55 "2018-04-12T00:43:41Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Imagine having a migraine and having to turn on all the lights from your bedroom to wherever the meds are and finding out that the blister pack _requires_ a scissors to open. [Here’s](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4Xik5k7JKjQ/V_PBv9DcRVI/AAAAAAAAFsg/YZCKEMSNSYc-1lxjvXQ9-iqZoYsOcqU1wCLcB/s1600/20161004_094405.jpg) the sumatriptan I get from OptumRx. It cannot be opened without a scissors. Not something I want to do at 2 in the morning, being woken up by a throbbing headache. More times that I can count I’ve convinced myself “I’ll be find by morning” and go back to bed. Of course, I’m never fine by morning. > > For this reason I keep Maxalt-MLT nearby. The packages are easy to open and it dissolves in your mouth so I can keep it by my bed. Wake up, pop one in my mouth, go back to bed. > > Granted, this is an issue more about this specific product than blister packs in general. However, there’s a handful of youtube videos and angry blog/message board posts about these specific blister packs. Why don’t you just transfer them all to a pill bottle when you get the blister pack? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2018, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173/56 "2018-04-12T02:41:53Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Imagine having a migraine and having to turn on all the lights from your bedroom to wherever the meds are and finding out that the blister pack _requires_ a scissors to open. [Here’s](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4Xik5k7JKjQ/V_PBv9DcRVI/AAAAAAAAFsg/YZCKEMSNSYc-1lxjvXQ9-iqZoYsOcqU1wCLcB/s1600/20161004_094405.jpg) the sumatriptan I get from OptumRx. It cannot be opened without a scissors. Not something I want to do at 2 in the morning, being woken up by a throbbing headache. More times that I can count I’ve convinced myself “I’ll be find by morning” and go back to bed. Of course, I’m never fine by morning. > > For this reason I keep Maxalt-MLT nearby. The packages are easy to open and it dissolves in your mouth so I can keep it by my bed. Wake up, pop one in my mouth, go back to bed. > > Granted, this is an issue more about this specific product than blister packs in general. However, there’s a handful of youtube videos and angry blog/message board posts about these specific blister packs. Nurses hate those scissors-required unit dose packages too. A thumb tab is adequate. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2018, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173/57 "2018-04-12T02:43:12Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Why don’t you just transfer them all to a pill bottle when you get the blister pack? Because, like I said earlier, the tablet may crumble easily, and some medications are packaged in a gas other than room air to reduce their decomposition. Others are extremely moisture-sensitive. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2018, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173/58 "2018-04-12T14:47:03Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I am reading this as cynical tongue-in-cheek. I manage web projects, including one we did for the federal government for 40M users, and my UX guys say the whole idea is to make a system with a flow that is based on how people think, behave, and interact with non-human systems. “Cynical”, yes. “tongue-in-cheek”, not at all. “Bad UX design” is also UX design. The fine principles your UX designers espouse are often just words. When a UX designer says “people don’t do that” to a suggestion about an alternate workflow, you’ll know what I’m talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2018, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173/59 "2018-04-12T15:51:01Z")
I love self-checkouts! I don’t even mind doing produce with them. Probably because, from working in a grocery store, I have a lot of the PLU’s memorized. The only problem I have with them is that they are too slow. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2018, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173/60 "2018-04-12T18:28:42Z")
I have no real problem with self-checkouts and use them most of the time because human teller lines are usually clogged. I ‘outrun’ the checkout display constantly, but usually it catches up without serious problems (like, the total is still $0.00 when I hit ‘pay’, yet it still charges me money). I’ve also figured out how to enter PLU codes (go me) so about the only time somebody has to come over is to enter an age verification. No big deal. And I’m pretty sure the weight check thing is to make sure you don’t try to slip things into your bag without paying for them. Run ten items across the scanner, with the two most expensive ones UPC up - who would know? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convenience-products-and-services-that-do-the-opposite/812173.md?page=4)