Abney Associates

Source

What do email and GPS have in common? Besides both being on my mind lately, they are two of many examples of how companies turn great technology innovations into a pain in the butt.

As the use of technology becomes more mainstream, I’ve noticed an increasing number of incidents in which companies use tech poorly, either because of ignorance, lack of experience or the involvement of others, such as lawyers who are so concerned with lawsuits that they insist on limitations that end up interfering with what would have been an excellent customer experience. The result is that what is supposed to be a customer benefit instead creates frustration and antagonizes those very customers they are trying to serve.

One of the most frustrating implementations of technology is from companies that want to keep in contact with us via email. The proper approach would be to ask you, as a customer, if you want to receive email, give you the option of the type of content and frequency, and then verify your email address. Many companies do this, but many others choose to bombard you with email without asking and then make it your responsibility to opt out.

Some companies just assume you want to hear from them multiple times a week and assume you have little else to do but read their messages. Even worse, some companies send email to those who never signed up in the first place and have had no prior business relationship, technically a violation of law.

I have a very simple personal Gmail address, just six letters. (I signed up on the day Gmail was introduced). I thought I was lucky, but after all these years it’s become a nuisance. For whatever reasons, many people use my email address to register at an online site or use it when making purchases. Because many businesses never bother to confirm the address, I get all of their email correspondence.

A recent example: I began receiving four emails a day from a retailer called Destination XL, a New England-based co