Recently, USPS failed to deliver a package to me on the date the package was supposed to be delivered. The excuse? The driveway was blocked. I get my mail in a cluster mailbox. The driveway was not blocked.
USPS again: USPS stated that a priority package was delivered to my friend when actually the package was scanned as delivered but hasn't shown up at the house.
Amazon, 3rd Partner Vendor (this event happened twice): I ordered a semi-rare item. The vendor then tried to get me to cancel my order rather than cancelling themselves.
Here's what annoys me. It isn't, in fact, the delay in delivery or even the item being unavailable. With the second USPS issue, I'm somewhat irritated that I paid for priority shipping that didn't come through. But hey, delays happen! Life is life.
With Amazon, sure I'm upset at not getting items I was looking forward to--but again, that kind of thing happens all the time on eBay. Life is life.
What makes me grind my teeth is acting as if the consumer is at fault, did something wrong.
Here's an analogy:
I go to the local grocery store. The deli counter is advertising fried chicken at 1/2 price. I get my number, I put in an order, and I wait.
It turns out the deli counter doesn't have any more fried chicken. Maybe, the counter legitimately ran out. Maybe, the sign is a day old. Maybe, the counter put up the sign deliberately to lure in customers.
That is, perhaps the deli counter is honestly overworked. But maybe it is also incompetent. And maybe it is actually maliciously deceitful.
In the moment, the reason hardly matters. All the deli counter has to say to me is, "We don't have any more fried chicken. We'll take down the sign. Sorry." And, if the business is a decent one, "Would you like salmon at 1/2 price?"
That's not what is happening. USPS actually called me the first time and told me, in sum, that I should be more understanding of how difficult things are for USPS right now. I didn't care. I wasn't upset by the late delivery. I thought USPS shouldn't make untrue claims about delivery conditions. Or charge me for a service it can't deliver on.
With Amazon third-party vendors, the matter is worse. Wanting me to cancel for their failure (non-deliberate or deliberate) is the equivalent of the deli counter saying, "Rescind that order! Take it back! No, no, no, no, you can't ask for that. Really, you ought to apologize for asking."
Seriously? Seriously!?
If a business can't do something, simply stating, "We can't do that right now" is less horrible to me than claiming it can be done, not following through, and then behaving as if I messed up in some way because I requested what the business offered.
I can be civil about mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes! But I do expect businesses not to lie.
As Mike states on Last Man Standing, "The Free Market is the greatest thing that happened to this planet. But it only works if there's some moral compass to it."
I'm not currently going to name the horrible intranet system that my employer bought that has not only failed to deliver but is causing ongoing problems with time, privacy, efficiency, retention, and money (the list is longer but I will stop here) for staff, students, and everyone else. (Prior systems, even the new online course system, caused momentary difficulties but not continual and wide-ranging ones.)
I am going to reference a statement from a higher-up, which statement (sent out this fall) suggests that the issue is not the new system but the implementation:
"As colleges strengthen their understanding of the PRODUCT'S environment, they are modifying configurations and identifying issues that have slowed operations. PRODUCT itself is also working to update the program and improve functionality."
In other words, the community colleges bought a bad product but employees should stop complaining and understand that the product needs time to improve itself--on someone else's dime. Various departments have already reacted with letters to the board. I think there is a real fear that subsequent financial repercussions could dribble down to harm employees and students--in which case, a lawsuit may follow.
It is events like these that make me wonder if we live in an Age of Bullies--not because bullies haven't always existed but because our social-media-impacted cultural climate gives them so many ways to excuse themselves. (I guess I should be relieved USPS, Amazon, and the higher-up didn't try to blame AI, but that kind of excuse is coming...)
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