6 ms·

I might buy a pixel 5 just for this feature...I waited 30 min on the line for just to make a doctor appointment recently. Wait time are fucking absurd for some

I might buy a pixel 5 just for this feature...I waited 30 min on the line for just to make a doctor appointment recently. Wait time are fucking absurd for some of these services since Covid, especially with banks and medical offices.

MattGaiser 6y ago
Phones for booking are absurd. Phones for food ordering are absurd.
- bitwize 6y ago
  Alternate history fiction idea: Telegraphy was expanded to allow individuals to make asynchronous communications without an intermediary. Replacing telephones, for the most part, are machines like an ASR-33 teletype with a receiver for voice calls, on which people can do things like instantly place orders or book travel -- in a pre-WWII setting.
- grogenaut 6y ago
  Tell that to my plumber. The plumbers with nice automated systems still use people to pressure you. And you're paying for those systems and people in your bill. One of them quoted me $2500 for 2 faucets. The local dude did it next day for $350. Those ads at football games and fancy systems and trucks don't provide revenue or better service. So I'll deal with the crazy dude who's likely cutting a wall or soldering something talking to me on bluetooth. Also with a lot of these people, they can't really schedule, stuff is just a queue. This dude is definitely a queue.
  - Scoundreller 6y ago
    I remember asking one of the $350-type contractors if they've heard of the Travelling Salesman Problem... it seemed like they could use the knowledge. Dunno if my explanation changed anything, but its their mileage not mine (except indirectly it is). Le sigh.
    - XargonEnder 6y ago
      What's the traveling salesman problem for a plumber?
      - Scoundreller 6y ago
        You have a series of calls to respond to. Doing FIFO may be “fair”, but resulted in more time spent travelling rather than responding to calls.
        grogenaut 6y ago
        Or you can service a small region and spend little time driving. That's what this guy does. Stays in a 10 mile radius. His phone is constantly blowing up.
- kzrdude 6y ago
  As soon as you want a special order, phone for food is the quickest way to order. In some of my local resturants I skip the service fee the website adds, too, that way.
- supertrope 6y ago
  The problem is that there has to be a better alternative, and it has to be better for the businesses implementing it, and the switching cost must be low.
  - ratww 6y ago
    There is a better alternative already: WhatsApp is probably the #1 way of ordering food in lot of 3rd world countries and also in part of Europe.
- phonphreak 6y ago
  Why? Making a phone call removes middlemen from the process. When I order food over the phone, the only people who need to take a cut of the transaction are the restaurant and maybe the credit card company if I don't pay cash. I can also be confident that my tips are going to the person whose hand I place them in. When I order online, there are umpteen different companies taking my data and the restaurant's money, and they often obscure where fees and tips go. To me, it seems absurd to involve so many parties in such a simple transaction. The experience is also usually fungible. Talking to someone doesn't take longer or introduce more error in my experience, so I usually prefer it because there are less externalities and fewer complexities. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.
  - Nition 6y ago
    You also don't have to sign up anywhere or give your email address for a phone order.
    - gowld 6y ago
      You have to give your phone number, which is worse.
      - tolbish 6y ago
        The main difference is that when you place an order with Door Dash or Uber Eats, you get put on a marketing spam email list by default.
  - ratww 6y ago
    ...or you can contact the restaurant via text message, WhatsApp, etc, and have all the benefits of both phone and online ordering.
  - gowld 6y ago
    Literally the purpose of a phone call is to reach a middleman. Using computer agents avoids the middleman. If the restaurant runs a website, there's no "umpteen different companies taking my data".
- Polylactic_acid 6y ago
  No alternative exists that doesn't have huge downsides. The main contenders are privacy invasive proprietary apps which take huge cuts of the sale. And then you have restaurants own websites which if they exist, are super clunky and require typing payment details rather than paying on pickup.
- mlinsey 6y ago
  For booking complex, non-fungible services (like Doctor's appointments, plumbers, etc) phones are great for high-bandwidth communication for follow-up questions, triage, etc. Phones also allow a certain element of salesmanship which doesn't come through on a form, which a big reason why service providers like them.
supertrope 6y ago
I’m waiting for the day my doctor’s office puts a calendar link on their website and lets you directly request an appointment. So far they bought one of those EMRs with a website that allows you to send a “secure message.”
- jacques_chester 6y ago
  > So far they bought one of those EMRs with a website that allows you to send a “secure message.” HIPAA fines are fearsome. Medical IT is heavily weighted towards creating parallel systems that don't touch the rest of the world.
- nyczomg 6y ago
  They should get on Zocdoc (shameless plug - I work there). Not having to wait on hold with a doctor's office is one of our main selling points for patients.

MattGaiser 6y ago

Phones for booking are absurd. Phones for food ordering are absurd.

bitwize 6y ago
Alternate history fiction idea: Telegraphy was expanded to allow individuals to make asynchronous communications without an intermediary. Replacing telephones, for the most part, are machines like an ASR-33 teletype with a receiver for voice calls, on which people can do things like instantly place orders or book travel -- in a pre-WWII setting.
grogenaut 6y ago
Tell that to my plumber. The plumbers with nice automated systems still use people to pressure you. And you're paying for those systems and people in your bill. One of them quoted me $2500 for 2 faucets. The local dude did it next day for $350. Those ads at football games and fancy systems and trucks don't provide revenue or better service. So I'll deal with the crazy dude who's likely cutting a wall or soldering something talking to me on bluetooth. Also with a lot of these people, they can't really schedule, stuff is just a queue. This dude is definitely a queue.
- Scoundreller 6y ago
  I remember asking one of the $350-type contractors if they've heard of the Travelling Salesman Problem... it seemed like they could use the knowledge. Dunno if my explanation changed anything, but its their mileage not mine (except indirectly it is). Le sigh.
  - XargonEnder 6y ago
    What's the traveling salesman problem for a plumber?
    - Scoundreller 6y ago
      You have a series of calls to respond to. Doing FIFO may be “fair”, but resulted in more time spent travelling rather than responding to calls.
      - grogenaut 6y ago
        Or you can service a small region and spend little time driving. That's what this guy does. Stays in a 10 mile radius. His phone is constantly blowing up.
kzrdude 6y ago
As soon as you want a special order, phone for food is the quickest way to order. In some of my local resturants I skip the service fee the website adds, too, that way.
supertrope 6y ago
The problem is that there has to be a better alternative, and it has to be better for the businesses implementing it, and the switching cost must be low.
- ratww 6y ago
  There is a better alternative already: WhatsApp is probably the #1 way of ordering food in lot of 3rd world countries and also in part of Europe.
phonphreak 6y ago
Why? Making a phone call removes middlemen from the process. When I order food over the phone, the only people who need to take a cut of the transaction are the restaurant and maybe the credit card company if I don't pay cash. I can also be confident that my tips are going to the person whose hand I place them in. When I order online, there are umpteen different companies taking my data and the restaurant's money, and they often obscure where fees and tips go. To me, it seems absurd to involve so many parties in such a simple transaction. The experience is also usually fungible. Talking to someone doesn't take longer or introduce more error in my experience, so I usually prefer it because there are less externalities and fewer complexities. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.
- Nition 6y ago
  You also don't have to sign up anywhere or give your email address for a phone order.
  - gowld 6y ago
    You have to give your phone number, which is worse.
    - tolbish 6y ago
      The main difference is that when you place an order with Door Dash or Uber Eats, you get put on a marketing spam email list by default.
- ratww 6y ago
  ...or you can contact the restaurant via text message, WhatsApp, etc, and have all the benefits of both phone and online ordering.
- gowld 6y ago
  Literally the purpose of a phone call is to reach a middleman. Using computer agents avoids the middleman. If the restaurant runs a website, there's no "umpteen different companies taking my data".
Polylactic_acid 6y ago
No alternative exists that doesn't have huge downsides. The main contenders are privacy invasive proprietary apps which take huge cuts of the sale. And then you have restaurants own websites which if they exist, are super clunky and require typing payment details rather than paying on pickup.
mlinsey 6y ago
For booking complex, non-fungible services (like Doctor's appointments, plumbers, etc) phones are great for high-bandwidth communication for follow-up questions, triage, etc. Phones also allow a certain element of salesmanship which doesn't come through on a form, which a big reason why service providers like them.

supertrope 6y ago

I’m waiting for the day my doctor’s office puts a calendar link on their website and lets you directly request an appointment. So far they bought one of those EMRs with a website that allows you to send a “secure message.”

jacques_chester 6y ago
> So far they bought one of those EMRs with a website that allows you to send a “secure message.” HIPAA fines are fearsome. Medical IT is heavily weighted towards creating parallel systems that don't touch the rest of the world.
nyczomg 6y ago
They should get on Zocdoc (shameless plug - I work there). Not having to wait on hold with a doctor's office is one of our main selling points for patients.