Author Archives: jik

Is it really so hard to sell a pair of jeans?

When I need to buy a new pair of jeans, I walk into the store, find a pair of Levi’s with a 34-inch waist and a 30-inch inseam, pay for it, and walk out. Seems simple, right? So why doesn’t Target sell Levi’s in my size at their Watertown, MA store? So why doesn’t Target… Read More »

Turning off startup animation and sound on an HTC Windows Mobile phone (AT&T 8525)

After AT&T acquired Cingular, they released a software upgrade for the 8525, one of their Windows Mobile devices. In the upgrade, they added an extraordinarily annoying boot-time animation to the phone. When you power on, you see an animated picture of the Cingular “flying bars” and then the AT&T logo. It wouldn’t bo so bad… Read More »

Coining a new phrase

While discussing with my wife a product which is so poorly designed that it’s an absolute marvel that it made it to into manufacturing: “The team that designed this was definitely a few monkeys short of infinity.”

Why not to donate to The March of Dimes

On November 26, I contacted The March of Dimes through a form on their Web site, asking them to remove me from their postal mailing list. (This was not because of a specific grievance against The March of Dimes; I’m trying to get us removed from all mailing lists to reduce wasted time dealing with… Read More »

Bad customer service is bad for business

Shortly after I went after Sprint for horrendously bad customer service, their CEO stepped down as the company was about to announce yet another bad quarter. Shortly after I went after Motorola for horrendously bad customer service and deceptive marketing, their CEO was replaced after the company announced another bad quarter. This is not coincidence.