Hug a sales person...buy retail. Comment by David Batzofin

                                               
Is modern technology trying to make hermits us?
It would seem to be that way!
Slowly but surely our daily interaction with actual retail sales people is being eroded almost as quickly as the icebergs are melting and the ozone is decreasing. The world seems to be very concerned about the latter but not so interested in the former.
It started innocently enough when the banks introduced ATM banking. THEY said would make OUR banking experience easier and faster. In order for them to force us to use the machines they levied a hefty fee on using over the counter banking.
And was it simpler, better or faster? I have my doubts.
Drive all the way to your local ATM to find a sign saying “Sorry out of order” and see how you feel about this miracle of modern technology.
Or lately it seems that if you forget your pin code you can just blow the machine out of the wall and take it home with you!
And don’t forget all the card scams that we have been warned about. I fell prey to this scam when a “helpful” member of the public standing behind me in a queue swapped my card. Luckily they were unable to get my pin number but it cost me money to get a new card. (Should the banks not offer replacement cards for free?)
Actually I do find that using an ATM allows me to draw money when I have to and therefore it works for me.
Several of my friends and colleagues have been doing online shopping that seems to the next step in the evolutionary chain of technology. As I don’t posses a credit card I have never had the need to try this form of shopping.
But for me shopping is a tactile experience and I enjoy seeing and handling the product that I am about to buy. The interaction with the sales staff allows me to get their input on my particular choice. But recently when my bank offered a really good online deal for a LCD TV I decided that it was time for me to try this for myself.
What I experienced was frustration, anger and eventually disappointment. 
Frustration because I was asked for a security number my wife knew nothing about. Anger because the customer care line (“We are experiencing high call volumes and we may take in excess of 10 minutes to answer your call!”) rang for 45 minutes before it was answered. As a result all the units were sold before I could sort out the ‘missing’ security number.
The fact that I was not able to buy online did not really upset me aside from having to stay up until midnight.
It allowed me to go into a couple of chain stores and do some comparative shopping.
Then, having made a choice I was able to pack the tv into my care and bring it home immediately.
Hug a sales person and buy retail