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> It seems that a lot of companies are these days are trying to hack their customers instead of treating them right. This is true, and frankly really well put.

> It seems that a lot of companies are these days are trying to hack their customers instead of treating them right. This is true, and frankly really well put. But I think it has its limits. Rite Aid and similar stores have an extremely tenuous "relationship" with their customers already. The pharmacy in the back might, but the overwhelming bulk of their revenue comes from the snacks and sundries they sell to people walking by, and frankly those people don't care any more about the store than it does about them. I mean, it's cynical, but there's social value in having Just Another Faceless Junk Store on every corner. We don't want to be "treated right" as an independent variable, we want the drink cooler and sunscreen to be trivially available and we'll walk into whatever door we see. In that world, "hacking your customers" is the only feasible path to growth. I share the upthread concern as to whether this is effective, I just don't see a way for these stores to avoid going down that path if it does work.

Chinjut 6y ago
There's something horrific about running a society in such a way that the Just Another Faceless Junk Store on every corner is so worried about chasing growth that it decides to "hack its customers instead of treating them right".
potta_coffee 6y ago
"Hacking your customers" may not be a feasible path to growth if the customers don't like, especially they already lack any kind of loyalty to the business. I used to pop in there now and again because there's a location next to my house, but I won't be going back.
csb6 6y ago
> In that world, "hacking your customers" is the only feasible path to growth. I share the upthread concern as to whether this is effective, I just don't see a way for these stores to avoid going down that path if it does work. Maybe this is a reason to reorient our economy to focus on the well-being of its citizens as opposed to efficiency improvements in their monetization. If growth in sales/revenue/whatever wasn’t the goal, then the economy could focus on providing necessary services instead of “hacking” customers in order to sell more junk. The economy would be focused around giving people what they need as opposed to maximizing consumption.

Chinjut 6y ago

There's something horrific about running a society in such a way that the Just Another Faceless Junk Store on every corner is so worried about chasing growth that it decides to "hack its customers instead of treating them right".

potta_coffee 6y ago

"Hacking your customers" may not be a feasible path to growth if the customers don't like, especially they already lack any kind of loyalty to the business. I used to pop in there now and again because there's a location next to my house, but I won't be going back.

csb6 6y ago

> In that world, "hacking your customers" is the only feasible path to growth. I share the upthread concern as to whether this is effective, I just don't see a way for these stores to avoid going down that path if it does work. Maybe this is a reason to reorient our economy to focus on the well-being of its citizens as opposed to efficiency improvements in their monetization. If growth in sales/revenue/whatever wasn’t the goal, then the economy could focus on providing necessary services instead of “hacking” customers in order to sell more junk. The economy would be focused around giving people what they need as opposed to maximizing consumption.