reesesWeb

Why are we still waiting on hold? Why, when I call the DMV, the tax board, the bank, computer hardware support, the car rental company, or anyone other than my Mom, do I spend five, ten, fifteen, even forty minutes on hold?

Sure, I understand the Erlang formula, and how you can't have n resources on hand to handle n support requests. Sure, I understand the lower n sub r is, the lower your costs are, the higher your profits are, and possibly the lower the cost of goods/taxes/whatever are for the customer.

I understand that, and while it's annoying that I cannot expect to BE SERVED RIGHT NOW, it's a basic economic constraint. It's better to make me wait than to pay an extra few million dollars a year on mostly-idle resources.

I've used Amazon zShops/Marketplace for a while, at least since '99 or so. Up until very recently, I've had very good luck. I used it mostly for out-of-print books, but also occasionally for what appeared to be a good deal on a book I was going to buy anyway. "Hmm, $30 or $50, guess I'll take the $30!" Sure, you miss free shipping, but sometimes you have to be cheap.

No. Time. To. Post. Del.icio.us. Eating. Up. All. Web. Time.

I think I was talking about this sort of thing before.

• Deep-Fried Twinkie Onna Stick
• Teriyaki Ostrich Onna Stick
• Deep-Fried Reuben Onna Stick
• Alligator Sausage Onna Stick
• Macaroni And Cheese Onna Stick

Can you guess where I was? I couldn't brave the Deep Fried Snickers Bar Onna Stick, or else you'd know for sure.