I Don't Always Want a Choice

When I read Patty’s post “It’s Just Too Complicated” I knew immediately that I’d be putting aside the other posts I’ve been working on and write this one. She’s so right about technology – originally it was supposed to make our lives simpler, and the longer we go, the less that’s true. Well, it is convenient to take decent pictures with a phone, I’ll admit, but that might be the only place I’ve seen improvement. 

·         I rarely see my friends; we post and email.

·         I've got multiple email accounts and various devices that all need to be checked and charged on a regular basis, or they die.  

·         Tasks that used to be done by an administrative person at work aren’t – we do them all ourselves.

·         People expect everything to be done immediately because “I sent it to you 3 minutes ago.”

·         I can’t even take a roll of film to the store and be surprised by what comes back.

Anyway, she’s right. And I wanted to start with that, because saying Patty is right always makes her happy.

The thing that drives me nuts is having too much choice. I know this is America, with all its freedoms and options and possibilities, but I honestly do not need that to extend to the toothpaste aisle at Target. If there are going to be a hundred different options for toothpaste, whose job it is to clean and whiten my teeth (and I actually do the work on that, by the way) they need to put in a little kiosk at the end of the aisle where I can put in my preferences, including flavor, color, stripes or no, along with my price limits and what my desired outcome is – no cavities, whiter teeth, plaque control – then save it to my profile. And every time I visit that aisle it could simply recognize me and launch the right product into my cart. THERE’s a good use of technology.

I can handle lots of choices when it comes to my food, because there’s something to work with there. If I don’t want sodium or HFCS, then I can tell which items meet my criteria. But on the toilet paper aisle, what is there to go by? It’s all the same color. If you squeeze packages, they’re a lot alike. They’re packaged with 4, 8, 12, or more rolls. Some of those are “double” rolls. Do I really require such variety?? Am I supposed to decide based on creepy cartoon bears in the ads (sorry, advertising friends)? And try sending your spouse to make THAT kind of decision. It’s a guaranteed phone call from aisle 12.

We recently got a dog. It had been several years since our last one, and visiting the dog food aisle – and the pet store, for that matter – was almost too much to bear. I mean, you can’t even ask the dog if she prefers liver, chicken, or beef stew…so why have so many options?

Because shopping for consumables can be so exhausting, I have gladly welcomed In-N-Out Burger to my list of favorite places. I’m not big on fast food, especially going someplace I’m not familiar with, because the menus are bigger than my car and can be completely overwhelming. No wonder the order is wrong so often! If you drive up to In-N-Out, you can have a hamburger, a slight variation called a cheeseburger, or one of those with double meat/cheese. That’s it. Top it like you want, of course, add fries or a drink, and you’re rolling up to the window. They call these items what they are. And they’re made right in the window where you can watch while in the covered, shady drive-through. It’s beautiful in its simplicity.

When it comes to political candidates, beer and shoes, give me choices. But for toiletries and other household necessities, I’d love to see the In-N-Out approach. Then maybe I wouldn’t have to walk three miles in a big box to find everything I need.