I ordered wrong.
Bopping about the region, my wife and I stopped for ‘food as fuel.’ As we often do, I ordered a ‘combo meal’ with an extra sandwich and discount drink (since neither of us needs a full order of fries). The cost: $13.47.
While eating I notices the special promotions at the counter and an ad piece at our table. Had I ordered the two sandwiches for $ 5.00 special, two $ 1.00 drinks and the $ 1.00 medium fries (in honor of a rare Cardinal victory), I could have gotten the exact same food for $ 8.00 plus 66¢ tax – saving $ 4.81.
Then, I realized, the restaurant’s computer let me make that profitable mistake.
Analyzing a fast food order to determine the lowest possible cost for the items desired is pretty basic. As in part of a microsecond in processing time basic. And, no one would complain if the display flipped from $13.47 to $ 8.66.
True, a knowledgeable worker at the counter could also suggest the best pricing option, but, well, “knowledgeable fast food worker” normally constitutes an oxymoron. (Most restaurants include signs next to the deep fryers saying WARNING – HOT.)
The bottom line? Most all of the new technology interacting with consumers helps business profits, not us.
Self-order kiosks put the workload on customers, saving labor (and introducing a new place for overpriced ordering).
Loyalty programs offer the rare free bagel or $ 1.00 off a $100.00 grocery bill in exchange for a tremendous amount of person-specific marketable data vacuumed into the system.
From the weekend’s news coverage…
Any purchase you make that uses your Gmail account will be logged by Google, according to a discovery recently made recently by a Reddit user. The user uncovered that Google is keeping tabs on any purchase that uses your Gmail account. Google also tracks purchases made via Google Pay or via the Google Play store…
But it’s not clear what else Google may be using the information for, as pointed out by BleepingComputer, a publication that covers information security and technology. [FOX NEWS]
Remember that 2002 Steven Spielberg movie, Minority Report?
John is seemingly followed everywhere he goes in the city by ads screaming his name, shouting for his attention… We’re not quite there yet, though both Japanese Company NEC and IBM are currently developing personalized billboards [INDEPENDENT]
And, as I witnessed, Alexa listens to every word in our bedroom and somehow sends advertising e-mails for products she thinks I need.
So, is it too much to ask that in a world were all of us have been commoditized as data, as advertising targets, that technology ought to have saved me that $ 4.81?
Privacy died a quiet death. Give me something in her memory, please.
Glenn