Technology with Forced Consent
I was thinking about now often that technology is required to complete A task I was at the bank and another customer wanted to see a teller to withdraw cash. The door greeter motioned to the set of ATMs. This was strange to me because the customer specifically asked to see a teller to get cash. I avoid going in the bank and try to do all my transactions online or at the ATM. EXCEPT when I need a specific combination of bills that is not available at the ATM. I will be honest, I will make two ATM transactions to avoid getting $50s. Most places I use cash at do not have change for more than a twenty. I stood in the line behind this customer as they stood their ground and asked to see a teller. My favorite line was something about this is a bank and it has money that customers put in and should be able to take out however deemed fit. I have to agree.
Next, this is actually a pet peeve of mine is having to use the ordering ginormous screens for food. First, gross - those screens are touchscreens. Second, stop making submenus to things that do not make sense or are hard to find. Third, let me order on my phone at least I know where that has been. The problem is that it is still faster to have a real person place the order and answer questions. Sometimes there is simply not an option on the ginormous screen for some options. Mostly sucks.
I went on a cruise and Medallions were used like human AirTags from unlocking doors to getting drinks/food delivered to being counted as onboard/offboard after shore excursions. I have to say that I hated the thought of being tracked everywhere. It goes against my natural less is more nature. I was on vacation to have less technology not more. The more time passed the more I found the value of this technology. We ordered food and drinks while standing on one deck and ended up returning to our room. Shortly after our ordered items arrived at the room. No need to stand in lines or waiting area for food to be ready. I found having to scan about to go on shore excursions annoying until our booked excursion returned over an hour later than expected which was past the ships departure time and they knew exactly who they needed to wait for before leaving.
Airports have a similar situation as touch screens have become the norm for checking in. I have to say if I can’t checkin on my phone the kiosk it not going to be of any help to me and I will have to talk to an agent. Bag tags still have to be verified before sending the luggage to the back workings of the airport. I am happy that Pre-check and Clear exist as I travel frequently enough to love the less than 5 minute security adventure. I also enjoy not having to take out my multiple laptops and other devices to get scanned. That alone it worth the price and effort. Do you know the repeated statement from the gate agent to put up your brightness all the way up before scanning your phone based boarding pass? That is because of me. I have a privacy screen on my phone that those scanners are not friends with at all. The agents give that all knowing look when I roll up. It is okay because my watch is the backup.
Speaking of flying. I was on a flight recently where the onboard entertainment was adorned with my name - no thanks, no need. Next, I was asked to login to my account - hard pass. I did find in tiny print the option to use a guest account. Yes. Perfect.
Which brings me to the free wifi discussion ( or paid flight wifi). I have a phone that is known as the quiet phone. It is for emergency texts only. On a recent outing, a connection to wifi was needed and the question was where is the VPN. Ummmm… it is the quiet phone it has nothing. Which made me think about how much tech is required for basic actions like viewing menus.
Is there a good balance?