Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!intek01!mark
From: mark@intek01.UUCP (Mark McWiggins)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Underuse of existing technology
Message-ID: <293@intek01.UUCP>
Date: 2 May 88 19:35:27 GMT
References: <3bbda74b.44e6@apollo.uucp>
Reply-To: mark@intek01.UUCP (Mark McWiggins)
Organization: Intek, Inc., Bellevue WA
Lines: 24
Summary: Peter Nelson: right on!  (horrible examples)

It continually amazes me how far away we are from using the technology
we have.  The local phone company and the two banks I've dealt with
in the past year all had clerks WRITE THE INFO ON SLIPS OF PAPER FOR
SOMEONE ELSE TO KEY IN LATER when I dealt with them.  This morning
I went to the bank to stop payment on a check, and the teller could
get a list of the checks that had been paid out of my account, but could
NOT get the list sorted and could NOT search for a specific check!

Most ridiculous/amazing of all: one recent Friday night I was in the
local Safeway about 10 p.m.  The computer system hooked up to the check
stands SHUT DOWN THE CHECK STANDS COMPLETELY FOR FIVE MINUTES to run a
report!

I made a point of looking for the vendor of the system, and Guess Who?
Hint: "Machines should work, customers should stand around and tap
their feet while the ice cream melts." :)



-- 

Mark McWiggins			UUCP:		uunet!intek01!mark
DISCLAIMER: I could be wrong.	INTERNET:	intek01!mark@uunet.uu.net
						(206) 641-5014