To Marketing and Customer Service Departments of American Corporations:
- If an ad for your product is in a popup, sticky post, unskippable video, or any other crap that blocks my viewing of the content I seek, I develop an instant dislike for your company & product, and I’ve never in my life purposely clicked on one of these ads or decided to buy based on one.
- If I call your customer support line, I’m not doing it to check my balance, make a payment online, or do any of the other 20 things I can easily do on your website. It’s because there’s a problem with your service or my bill that requires me to waste my time with a phone call. Making me navigate a series of useless menus only wastes more of my time and increases my already elevated frustration level.
- I realize auto-renew subscriptions are the new popular thing with businesses, which is fine if it’s something I intend to use on a regular basis. However, if I must search 15 minutes for a cancellation link on your website, or even worse, call a customer support line to end it, you can be sure I will NEVER sign up for your subscription again. BTW, if it’s an annually renewed subscription, sending me an email prior to the charge is a good way to keep me as a customer.
- There are millions of websites out there where I can view free content, so if you require me to give my email or create a username/password before viewing content, I will just go elsewhere. I don’t care if it’s free. I don’t want to get on another mailing list, and I don’t want another username/password to remember.
- We are all suffering from app fatique. Unless you offer a service I will use regularly, just let me browse your website. I’ll use two fingers to zoom in if I can’t see an option. And please, if I browse your site, do not take me automatically to your app, even if it’s installed, unless I can do everything in the app that I can do on your website.
- Please do not auto-sign me up for a newsletter. Only add me to a mailing list if I add my email in an obvious location, validated by clicking a link in a confirmation email. Of the times I’ve clicked ‘Unsubscribe,’ 99.99% of the time the reason is that I never signed up for the mailing.
- If your business can charge my card in minutes, it shouldn’t take 7-10 business days to refund my money. This goes doubly for banks, who usually have the most sophisticated technology and security available. In an age of instant emails, texts, Venmo/Pay Pal, and other lightning-fast technology, the float scam is up.
Blog Link: https://educationdojo.com/articles/2025/07/random-thoughts-on-business-pet-peeves/
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Nailed it perfectly!!!…As I enter my email address to be allowed to say this…😉..
Ha ha…yes on the email. I tried removing that setting once in the WordPress software and got so much spam, it pretty much negated the comments feature.
Especially enjoy talking to some third world country customer service representative with marginal English language skills. As a seasoned citizen with hearing difficulties I find myself with zero patience for the ensuing conversation. I’ll usually ask for a supervisor or a rep with better English skills. Of course I’ve already had to wait on hold long enough to grow a beard.
A guy could win the presidency on that platform. Or…earn the right and support for a kingdom.
What you said Joe!!
I understand people get paid with advertising on their blogs or site but when there are sooooo many jumping ads and banners etc, it becomes impossible to read. Maybe it was a good article but I won’t read it now.
Between navigating thru a menu for a phone call just to argue with someone (which part of that time is spent asking them to repeat what they said) and the constant push for “visit our website” or “get our app!” is just maddening! And don’t get me started on obnoxious hold music….
And I’d swear some websites make it a pain to navigate (especially on a phone!) because “you should get the app” instead. If I wanted the d*mn app, I’d already have it thank you very much.
Haha, good rant, feel better now! 😉
Trisha