Interesting article by Adaptive Path’s Peter Merholz (@peterme) on the inherent impoliteness of putting a display panel between a customer and a sales associate.

He also talks about how Apple Stores disrupt this entire model by enabling *every* store employee to be his/her own Point of Sale (via tablets, iPhones and http://squareup.com)

I think this problem becomes even more relevant to customer service “transactions”. If you’ve ever stood idly for what feels like an eternity while a Hotel receptionist furiously taps on a keyboard to confirm your reservation, you know what I’m talking about.

Duuudes. Chillax! If you want loyalty, you need engagement. You know what’s a killer move to build engagement with ‘the digital consumer’ (we’ve got that poor sucker’s brain in a jar in our lab, and we’ve already scanned it into our MacBooks)? You know what really builds marketing synergies, and drives brand equity? Social media!! We’ve got it–let’s let people ask President Obama questions!! On Twitter!! Look: think about it: it’ll only take a day, and you’ll be seen as a hero. It’s perception over reality — and that’s what it’s always been about.

HAHAHA This is funny because it sounds exactly like something *I* would say!

…Wait a minute, this actually really sad.

This pretty much sums up how I solve ALL my problems. I mean if I were to edit this flowchart and replace “Peggy” with “My Wife” and “Pete Campbell” with “A dude named Carl” this would be spot on.