A few weeks ago I wrote about rage rooms in Coding matters: Debugging with a hammer. That was a new idea for me. This week I learned another new term: Annoyance Economy. I’ve lived through it many times, but I didn’t know it had a fancy name.
My (totally unproven) theory is this: the Annoyance Economy is the reason rage rooms exist. You can only take so much.
Press 1 for rage
Have you ever spent hours trying to get a fee reversed? Or cancel an account? We all joke that companies make it hard on purpose. Well … they do. And it’s called the Annoyance Economy.
According to the Groundwork Collaborative in the US, this is part of a corporate business model. There’s big money in our frustration. Companies make it so hard to unsubscribe or get help that we give up. They keep our money. We keep our stress. (And write blog posts about it!)
It happens in South Africa too. In 2023, the National Consumer Tribunal fined Vodacom R1 million for making cancellations painful, and for charging big penalty fees.
And then there’s the SABC TV licence. To cancel it, you need an affidavit. An affidavit! No wonder 80% of households have stopped paying. That includes the chair of the portfolio committee on communications and digital technologies.
The system is down
Some annoyances are not planned. They are just old systems that refuse to die. We all know the line that strikes fear in every South African heart: “The system is down”.
My worst experiences have been with government departments and government systems. It’s been a topic of many blog posts. I’m not sure who makes money from this. Maybe no-one. Maybe the staff just enjoy making us suffer.
SARS can actually profit from bad processes. I’ve had this happen more than once:
- I must submit a return between two dates.
- The system breaks. I phone SARS.
- The consultant says I will get feedback in 60 working days. Read that again: 60 working days! That’s almost 3 months!
- I explain that the deadline will pass before then. I will get a penalty.
- The consultant says I can apply later to reverse the penalty. That will also take 60 working days.
I always find some strange workaround. But not everyone does. And getting a SARS penalty reversed is a gamble that you are not guaranteed to win. Sometimes it’s easier to pay, even when you’re right.
I want a human
Companies claim that their new AI bots will “improve customer service”. Has anyone experienced this improved service? It either answers the wrong question, or repeats itself over and over. And then you struggle to reach a real human.
One person claimed that it helps to lose your temper. If you use "colourful" language, the bot will route you to a real human. I haven’t tried that yet, but I’m willing to test it. It sounds more effective than a rage room.
The Annoyance Club
It’s even worse for online apps. Companies will do anything to get, and keep, your attention. They track you. They poke you. They annoy you. And they never want to let you go.
The first rule of Annoyance Club is that you can’t leave Annoyance Club.
Not without a complete digital detox.
Has the Annoyance Economy sent your blood pressure soaring? Feel free to vent your frustration.