Marketing and the art of the sale !

OK. I'll be the first one to admit, in order to use the rest of this article as any basis for conversation, you are asking marketing genuises to not put their best product foot forward. They get paid to make you think you absolutely have to have their junk or their service and you will not be a fit human being without it.

Here's the issue as I see it.

Most Marketing is a big fat lie. They (ad agencies) call it sales techniques.

I call it lying to sell Junk.

It's not a stretch, it's not a fib, it's not a shading of the truth, it's a big fat lie.

Here's why I think like that.

1. Yelling the name of a car or product or dealership 74 times in the course of a commercial along with the phone number, does not create urgency in the mind of the consumer. It does not create "impressions". It just invites the gullible to buy a product that they now cannot forget even if they wanted to. Similar to having a song stuck in your head.
2. No one really has a shape anywhere remotely close to the shape of any supermodel or anywhere close the shape of any magazine model or porn star. Out of all the women I know, not one of them has ever spent $100,000 on the necessary plastic surgery it takes to create this illusion. The problem is that our daughters think they are "fat" when they don't look like some surgically enhanced, photoshopped, airbrushed version of the real person.
3. It does not matter if you call in the next ten minutes or 10 hours. You'll still get the same deal as anybody else who calls in from their trailer park to order the junk they saw on the informercial at 3am. The technology does not exist which allows ad agencies to control call centers based on when a commercial ran in your time zone on your cable outlet. Also on a related note: If a commercial says "Wait, that's not all- we'll double your order, etc", then the crap you are ordering is not worth anywhere near their "value price" in the first place. When they say "that's a 75$ value", what they really means is we tried to sell it for 75$ and nobody would even come close to this junk for that price so we had to cut the price in half in order to sell it to you. Guess what? The markup is still more than 99%. Plastic caulk edgers can be made from any cool-whip lid for nothing. Molded plastic, while not free, is never worth more than a couple of cents by the time you see it on an infomercial.
4. Just because it says "New and Improved" on the box, does not mean the product is new and improved. Most of the time, the packaging is what is new and improved. Anytime you see these words it really means that the manufacturer had to figure out a way to raise the price somehow, so they reduced the amount in the container by 1% and increased the price by 5%. Now, that is a new and improved box and a new and improved price , and the product is "Old and the same". Don't fall for that one either. Their is really no value in the words "Lifetime Guarantee" either, unless it is from one the three companies that will probably be around in ten years. If you buy a widget from "Aqueduct sales" with a lifetime guarantee, it will not help you when they go out of business 2 weeks from now. No company= No guarantee. Put the guarantee on a box and take a dump in it. You will then have a guaranteed box of crap.
5. No One has ever ran through a meadow of three foot tall grass into their lovers arms. Too many stickers, burrs, insects, uneven ground and broken glass. Nobody ever runs through a meadow with freshly washed hair, only to have it get all hot and sweaty and need to be washed again to remove the junk in it from the sweat.
6. The offer you saw advertised on TV at the car dealership has never been used or offered.. No one ever gets Cash back. The money is added and applied to the price of the car. There is no deal. the price of the car was increased by the amount of the incentive in most cases, Or they want a bigger down payment and have a higher interest rate than you want or the "bank" wants the payments extended longer, or you have to buy an extra warranty. There is no DEAL. There is no "Boss" in the back approving your car deal or purchase. The salesman went to the candy machine. They leave you sitting in the room with the door closed on purpose to make you sweat, to get you to be emotionally invested in the car. Walk away, fast. . Come back in an hour and ask if they are ready to really deal. You will get better results. Trust me
7. No matter how cool it may look on TV, trust me, never and I mean never, dance your way down a NY city street looking at your shadow, while listening to your music device. It is an invitation to a mugging. And you will look stupid.
8. A very low percentage of people who join the military (like less than one half of one percent) ever get to fly an airplane, command a large ship, fly a jet, fire a major weapon system, carry a cool sword and dress up in the cool blue uniform. Most of the time you join, you work your butt off doing mundane things, you wait and then you get out. Nobody ever climbs cool mountains all by themselves, flies a jet for the fun of it, or just applies to be a sub commander and walks right into the job. All of those jobs are taken by people who have dedicated their lives to being the best at their craft as they can be. You will peel potatoes and empty garbage cans just like you would be doing in your home town, only you will do it in Podunkviklle aboard a ship somewhere or on a remote base in a hostile country.
9. There is not a product made on this planet that will get red kool aid out of white carpeting. No matter how many times Billy Mays says so, OXY-CLEAN or whatever junk anybody is selling on TV, the red stain is there to stay even if you had a towel and some of that crap ready as soon as you spilled it. The are only three methods for getting it out. One, the carpet must be treated with a stain blocker like scotchguard or something like it, Two, Cover it up with a throw rug (or try to bl;each it out and when the first two fails(and they will, believe me) , replace the carpet. Same for magic glue (yeah right), 50 machine washings, The last car polish you will ever need and any of the rest of the junk in this category. Two words. Barbie - Unrealistic. Two more words . GIJOE- Gay.
10. A mop is a mop. A broom is a broom. A spray nozzle is a spray nozzle. Nothing they do to it and no color they make it will ever make it worth $19.99. Ever. Even if they say order in the next ten minutes and we'll double your order for free, keep in mind that they are selling a plastic broom handle, with plastic bristles for $10 each. It just ain't worth it. No air purifier is worth three easy payments of 69$. Why would you pay $300 for a fan ? A rubber tip on the end of a rubber broom don't make it worth $29.95

'Stars" and their problems

Lately, there has been a lot in the news about so-called "stars" and their associated problems.

• This one is getting divorced
• That one is in rehab for drug abuse (insert addiction here)
• This one has been arrested
• That one has a car accident
• This one drops (or almost drops) a baby
• That one had a motorcycle accident

Now, like anybody else, I feel somewhat sorry that people (in general) have problems. I am not a mean spirited person. Not one atomic piece of me has total ignorance of the problems in the word. But, and this is a big but, why should I care about what happens to some rich media created playboy or girl?

Some big contract athlete making way too much money has a problem and somehow I am supposed to need to pray for them to recover, get better or rediscover their center?

Give me a break.

I have my own set of problems, just like you do and because I am neither rich nor famous, no front page stories are written about me or anyone I (or you for that matter) know, when life beats the crap out of us.

Who cares? And why in the world should I give a moments thought to any of it.

There is no need to worry about "stars" and their problems.

Either they will figure it out, like we have to, or they will pay someone to figure it out for them. There is a luxury we don't have. My family doesn't have a team of lawyers at the ready waiting to solve our problems. I'll bet neither does yours.

In an era of hundred million dollar contracts for athletes and multimillion dollar contracts for movie stars, and 300 million dollar CEO's, I am supposed to waste a breath thinking about Ken Lay, or Ben Rothlisberger, or Jessica Simpson or Brittany Spears or any of them?

Not very damn likely. Michael Jackson will keep grabbing his crotch no matter what I do, his sister will keeep showing the world her boobs at every opportunity, OJ did get off, athletes are basically out of control all over the world and the flakes in Hollywood will be as flaky as ever and nothing I do or say will make one damn bit of difference to the outcome.

So who cares?

I didn't watch OJ, I could care less about the Enron or MCI executives and the stupid moron who rides the fastest motorcycle on the planet, without a helmet, is nothing more than a rich organ donor if you ask me.

You want to feel sorry for someone, feel sorry for the families and victims of these idiots.

They are the ones that have to answer all the stupid questions. - bigmike

And now ....the news !!!

This just in : (and these are actual uncredited news stories)

Somehow all of this junk qualifies as Top News on 06/15/2006. I don't get it.

None of this junk is news.

WARNING - If you are looking for real opinion or real facts in this post, you are wasting your time. There is satire and sarcasm in these stories, mostly supplied by me.

FYI- The satire is not factual, although, based on the content of the stories, it probably could be.

• President Bush makes fun of crippled reporter. Film at 11. (Go figure !!)

President Bush, who often teases members of the White House press corps, apologized Wednesday after he poked fun at a reporter for wearing sunglasses without realizing they were needed for vision loss.

It is reported that the President changed his nickname for the reporter from "Tall guy" to "Oopsiee". This has been unverified.

• George Washington is going to haunt a Starbucks?

The historic Maryland Inn, a fixture of Annapolis since the 18th century when George Washington was a customer, is likely getting a 21st-century Starbucks coffee shop.

It is reported that the Starbucks is being built at the request of the ghost of George Washington who is reported to have said " There is just no good way to get caffiene in here, because I am dead". This is also unverified.

• Funds for Iraq run low. The 20 billion given to Irag so far may run out within months.

Time and money are running out on the US-directed reconstruction effort in Iraq.
The main conduit for American rebuilding aid - the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund (IRRF) - is scheduled to close at the end of this year. Almost all the cash Congress has allocated for the fund, some $20 billion in all, has been spent, or will be, in coming months.

A senior Iraqui official said on Wednesday that " We have done the best we could with the funds we were given. After all with the price of explosives being so high, it is very hard to stretch a dollar and make good IED's nowdays on the money of yesterday. Everything is more expensive that it was under Saddam. Even the avergae cost of a bribe to the ministry of wasting money is up 200 % since 2002". This is unverified as well.

Man, I am just so underwhelmed with the quality of reporting and the content of the news. No wonder most people under 25 think "The Daily Show - with Jon Stewart", is a real news show.

Scary Customer Service Facts

Here are some scary facts about what poor service can do to you or your business.


Knowledge is power !

• Most business people think they have few dissatisfied customers because most do not complain.

1. Think of your own record as a consumer and as a complainer. How often have you been dissatisfied with a product, a service, a meal in a restaurant, or a wait in line?
2. How often have you complained to the management, the manufacturer, or the retailer?

• A recent study indicated that the average business never hears from 96 percent of its unhappy customers.

1. While 96 percent of the unhappy customers do not complain to you, they do let off steam and spread their dissatisfaction with the product or service.
2. They complain to other customers and potential customers -family, friends, associates at work and anyone else who will listen.
3. They feel wronged and frustrated and want to talk about it.

• For every complaint received the average business has another 26 customers with problems, at least six of which are serious.

1. Customers who have problems and complain are giving you a chance to keep their business.
2. An unhappy customer cannot be kept quiet. However, you can regain their support-by solving complaints quickly.
3. These customers may not only come back, but it will give them something positive to talk about.
4. Surveys show that you can win back between 54 and 70 percent of these complainers by resolving their complaints.
5. According to consumer surveys, a person who has had an unpleasant experience with a business will tell 9 or 10 other people.

• Approximately 13 percent will tell more than 20 other people.

1. This negative word-of-mouth can be very harmful to a business.
2. In today's complex marketplace more and more consumers are basing their purchasing decisions on the advice of people they know.
3. Results indicate that up to 95 percent of this group will become loyal customers again if their complaints are handled well and promptly.
4. An unhappy customer cannot be kept quiet, However, you can regain their support-by solving complaints quickly.
5. These customers may not only come back, but it will give them something positive to talk about.

• It is 13 times more expensive to attract new customers than it is to keep your current ones !

A copy of these facts and more like them are at the University of Michigan Extension and can be found at : http://web1.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/modtd/33209845.html

WE Love Wal-Mart because (let me count the ways)

This post is my anthem as to why I think Wal-Mart has lost their focus and is now nothing more than a big ole cash register, and that is all they seem to care about.

They are a money machine and a stock price, an ROI if you will. Nothing more and nothing less. The cha-ching is all that matters.

WE Love Wal-Mart because :

...Americans love to stand in long ass lines (on any typical night - not Christmas !)

...We love to be annoyed by the overhead speakers so loud and so frequent that you can't have a conversation with the person next to you

...We love the "bong bong " We're sorry ..security announcement and an old person pawing through our stuff to make sure we paid for it, because the security tag never gets de-activated by the over worked cashiers!

...We also love ignoring the announcement to see if the fat person at the door will get off her lazy butt and chase you down to your car and how many times they will yell "SIR" at you when you just don't respond to their screaming!!

...We love hearing the employees bitch about how rotten it is to work there because of the slavedriver management, and then also hear how they have "gotten them" with the latest scams to get even.

...We love to be treated rudely by red-shirted people who could give a crap less about those "annoying customers".

...We love to see one cashier for 35 check out lanes.

...We love to wait for 25 extra minutes at midnight because "The registers do this automatically, nothing we can do SIR !!!"

...We are thrilled with digging into a shipping crate 5 feet deep full of crappy DVD's in the middle of an aisle

...There is nothing better than dodging a cart full of speeding teenagers coming straight at you on Saturday night is there ?

...We need the exercise of dodging all the pallets and boxes stacked everywhere

...We like being run down by the stock people who move all the pallets and stock around

...We love arrogant managers. I like being told "I just don't understand".

...We love walking 5 acres back to our car after they locked the door we came in two hours ago, (and we stood in line for an hour of that time)

...We are thrilled to have a cashier tell us what we have to do with products that are bought and paid for

...We like being called "Sir" or "Ma'am" in the loudest voice possible by the fat person sitting on their butt at the door.

...We love standing in line (twice if you smoke) to get gigarettes in the 10 items or less line and then being told they won't ring up your other stuff because you have too many items in your cart, even though the only line you can buy them in is the 10 item or less line.

...Americans just adore a good stiff stupid corporate policy !!

and finally the number one reason we love Wal-Mart


...We adore playing "obstacle course" driving around the 500 shopping carts all over the parking lot while one scruffy teen-ager with a cart machine tries to wrangle them all with a cart machine 6 city blocks long.

What's not to love ? I mean 20 acres of shopping a whole afternoon killed and you get to experience a whole different culture in your own home town ?

Finally somebody got it right !

Finally someone says it right !!!

You probably missed it in the rush of news last week, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American.

So an Australian dentist wrote the following to let everyone know what an American is, so they would know when they found one:

An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German,Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese,Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani, or Afghan. An American may also be a Cherokee, Osage,Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.

An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses. An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.

An American is from the most prosperous land in the history of the world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each person the pursuit of happiness.

An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need.When Afghanistan was overrun by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country. As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan.

Americans welcome the best, the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best athletes. But they also welcome the least.The national symbol of America, The Statue of Liberty,welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built America.

Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11, 2001 earning a better life for their families. I've been told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 other countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists.

So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and every bloodthirsty tyrant in the history of the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself. Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom.

Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American. Pass this around the World.

This is why me and Wal-Mart don't get along !

Me and Wal-Mart in my town have a long history (mostly an unfriendly one) and maybe I am a bit overbearing about it, but ..... and I do mean but, they are a global multinational company that wants you to believe that they have good products, policies and service. Their marketing would have you believe that they are a bunch of down home country boys and girls just looking to sell stuff to us folks at good prices. What a load.

Here is but one small missive of why we do not get along.

Stop being so customer unfriendly and get in your stores to see what the affect of the polices you put into practice has on your customers, not to mention your employees.

Here's 5 good ones. I could not believe this, all in one night, again. I hate to gripe, however I can't believe you want it to be this way.

If you don'twant it to be that way, do something about it. My assumption is that you want it to be this way, or it wouldn't be.

5 Reasons why me and Wal-Mart don't get along !!!

1. Cigarettes are only available in one line. OK. I get that. Then you made that line 15 items or less. Smooth moronic stupid move. Now if you want groceries and intend to buy cigarettes, you have to stand in your long , slow lines twice. If you don't really want to sell cigarettes, get out of the business. If you do want to sell them, dedicate one line for that item only (or drinks or gum or end caps stuff whatever or a kiosk). But to purposefully piss people off , and then blame it on the government is insane and a chickens*** way to do business.

2. This store is a Supercenter. Act like it. You have , what ?, 25 check out lanes? I've never seen more than 6-7 open. Ridiculous long lines always. Frustrated cashiers. Pissed off customers (including me). Put some of those folks who are walking around doing nothing to work helping customers get out of your stores. Open check out lanes on demand. Be flexible and customer friendly. Trust me, in this location, you are not. When every line snakes out into the aisles, open more registers. Cross train everybody to be service oriented. You need help here. They don't get it.

3.A box of discounted DVD's and Cheap DVD's is a good idea. Putting it into a 5 foot wide by 5 foot deep box is stupid. No one under 5 foot five can get into it. How can you sell them if you can't reach them ? How can we see what is in the bottom ? How many do you think you didn't sell, CAUSE YOU CAN"T GET TO THEM ! Geez !!

4.Have you ever heard of pagers? they were invented 25 years ago. Or walkie talkies ? Or cell phones? Do away with the extremely loud and very annoying overhead microphone system ! It is not `cache to not be able to hold a conversation with someone right next to you because the loud ass speakers over your head go off every two minutes. It really makes me see RED !

5.No cashier ever gets all the security tags to be turned off. I don't even bother stopping at the front door anymore when your official mechanical voice tells me to. Screw it. Train your people, get better technology, fix the problem, whatever it takes, cause I'll make you chase me to my car every time until you do.

The Service that Customers expect

Customers today are a pretty smart bunch. In the last 30 or so years a shift has taken place in the restaurant industry, which should be recognized and responded to.

One of the many major changes that have taken place is in the customer's service expectations. Customers have come to understand a pretty basic principle. "They need us a whole lot more than we need them. There is a tough amount of competition nowdays.

Customers today are better educated and better informed than at any other point in history. Specifically, they know a lot about the industry and they also know what it takes to get what you want. They have learned to "Vote with their feet" when the experience they have in any restaurant doesn't meet their needs.

If they feel like you neither want nor need their business, trust me, they'll go somewhere else and most of the time you will never know it because they will never tell you. They just simply will never come back.

Rising "BAD SERVICE" awareness has evolved into "BAD SERVICE" intolerance.

Customers just will not accept it.

Hundreds of chain restaurants are now operated in cities where only a dozen may have existed before 1960. With so much competition in our industry, it's not hard to imagine that customers think of some restaurants as "good restaurants" and some as "bad restaurants". They also know if you are one of the latter, they can and will go somewhere else to eat.

So, what are customers expecting you to provide every day, beyond the basics?

Forty years ago, it was revolutionary idea to have inside bathrooms and air-conditioning in your store. Today if you do not have these things, you also don't have customers. These were major marketing initiatives in the 60's and 70's and today they are minimum table stakes.

Without these, you don't even get to be in the game. Today's consumer demands you provide the basics just to get them in the door. They also expect to receive your undivided attention, outstanding courtesy and a pleasant place to eat. They care enough about atmosphere and a stress free environment that if it is not provided they just won’t come back. They understand that if you don't provide these things and exhibit a friendly "Glad to see you" mentality, someone else will.

This is our challenge. Make the customer feel like we are glad to see them, make them feel like we want their business and make them feel like we want them to return.

Keep these things in mind as you think about how your customers see you.

BAD SERVICE happens all by itself, GOOD SERVICE and good relationships with our customers has to be managed. It takes planning, real training and effort.

Marketing is not the answer unless you also deliver the promise. We can say we are "Committed to excellence" or strive to provide a "Spotlessly clean restaurant with a friendly environment", but if we don't also deliver on that promise, it will mean nothing.

It's not what you say; it's what you do that counts to customers. If you don't deliver on your promises, the results you achieve will reflect it.

Customers know when you are listening. They want to be able to talk with you about their experience. Most people just want someone to know when something went wrong. If you spend almost no time talking with your customers, you will never know how they feel about your restaurant. If you respond to a customer with a low level of concern and an answer full of excuses and policies, they'll know you weren't really listening to begin with.

Customers know when you are listening and when you are just making excuses.

The fact is all of us are consumers. All of us are affected by and make decisions about where we shop and where we eat based on these kinds of things. Every one of us could stand and tell a story about the last restaurant with "BAD SERVICE" that we just will not go back to.

Think about it and ask yourself one question. The answer will amaze you.


When is the last time you went anywhere and had too much GOOD SERVICE?

What is customer Service ?

30 or 40 years ago when you wanted service, you asked for it and it was delivered.

Not perfectly and not quickly, but you really had no other choice. Machines didn't wait on you in a never ending drive to improve efficiency, people did.

We were not "irrationally exhuberant" about getting a meal or buying shoes.

If you needed a suit, you went to a tailor and had one made or went to a mens store and had one fitted. If you needed to cash a check on Friday night, you went to a grocery store or a bar where they knew you and probably also knew you were coming. If you were hungry and were not at home, you would go to the local restaurant and sit down and get waited on, because that was the way things were , ....back in the day. Shoes came from shoe stores, Watches came from watch shops, sporting equipment came from sporting goods strores and every one of these places had one thing in common.

Can you guess what it was ? ......People waited on you and not machines.

Now days you can go to super WallyMega World, buy all of your stuff, pay for it at an automated checkout and never have to speak to another human being during the entire time.

They said when computers were invented and made popular that it would be the beginning of the paperless office. They didn't project it would be the end of human contact though.

Think about it.

You wake up in the morning to an automated clock radio, have coffee from an automated maker, read the news on-line or watch headline news, get in you creature comfort car with cup holders for your coffee, drive to where ever you work, talk on the phone all the way in to the office, answer voice mails, answer emails, fullfill request for your paperless time, zip through a drive for lunch where the motto is "service in 60 seconds or less !", eat , finish up at work, go to the filing station and pay at the pump for your gasoline, stop at the supermarket for milk and tonites dinner, pay for it at the automated self service cashier and go home, lock your car with the beeper on your key ring, see if your DVR recorded all your favorite shoes, pop pizza in the oven and you concievably could have went through this entire day with very little interation with any other human being ! We were efficient though weren't we?

Then we sit and around and bitch about how someone who served us at the restaurant we went out to on Friday night was "rude" to us. We do not even know how to communicate to one another anymore and we expect good service at restaurants?

How can I help you?

How can I help you? You ever hear these words in a restaurant or C-Store? You walk up to the counter or you sit down in the restaurant or call someplace and the first thing they say to you is "....How can I help you?" Then, in the flash of an eye, you get put on hold or interrupted or told "I don't handle that". Next !

Wait a minute, did you want to help me or not? I haven't even finshed explaining to you what it is I want yet and already you are yelling next ! Give a me the common courtesy of your undivided attention and try to figure out how to help me solve my friggin problem !

Why do people say things like this anyhow? It means no more than the usual "How are you?" greeting that you get from most folks when you first see them. If you answer this phrase as it is asked, they look at you like you just ran over their foot with their car. They don't really want to know, they just want to hear you say fine. Irks me to no end. You don't want to know , don't ask.

Here's another one. There are about 300 million people in the USA (estimate). Most of those people are born here, educated here, work here, vacation here, retire here and die here. Almost all of them speak English (in varying degrees). Yet, when you call some place, the automated menu says "To continue in English, press one". Like I need to know what language to speak in , in my own country?

I am not insensitive to non-English speakers. Whenever I can I try to learn conversational phrases in the language of the area in order to be able to communicate in the language of the people around me, or I take somebody who can translate for me. Why on gods earth then do I need the phone company to ask me if I want to continue in English?

Assume I want English, I live in America, ask If I want to communicate in another language. "To continue in Espanola, press dos". Seems pretty ignorant to ask the high 99 % majority of the people who call if they want to communicate in the predominate language in the country you are in. If I was in Japan, I wouldn't expect for the voice prompt to say, to continue in Japanese, press one, I would expect the message to be in Japanese, because I am in JAPAN !!! - duh!

You ask me , we have went too far to the left in our cultural sensitivity.

Oh I'm sorry, you don't speak English or you are deaf, don't worry, I'll talk louder !

Here is another stupid decision, where we are busy trying to be all things to all people and never to risk offending anyone with our products, goods or services.

I'll bet almost everyone in America has used a drive thru ATM. Most people have used them more than the inside of the bank. I am sure there is a segmant in America who has never used anything but an ATM. The access to the keypad is designed so that you can use it from your car. The drivers side of the car is usually the side you transact your business from.

If all of that is true, then why pray tell are there braille indicators on the keypads at a drive thru ATM? Who is ever going to use that particular function anyhow? Is this designed for the legally blind yet totally functional driver who will occasionally need to go to the ATM late one night who does not want to get out of the car because the seeing eye dog is afraid of the dark?

What the heck is this all about anyhow?

How did we become such a society of idiots anyhow?