Archive for the ‘could_do_better’ Category
My Wren Kitchen – The Issues
Many things went wrong with the kitchen I bought from Wren Living: If you’re here because you’re thinking of buying a kitchen from Wren then may I suggest that you first try out their customer support and see if you like it. Dial 0345 127 7008 the choose option 2 then option 3 then option 1. […]
Filed under: could_do_better, grumble | 3 Comments
Tags: appliances, damage, delivery, extractor, hob, kitchen, living, microwave, service, support, worktop, Wren
My Wren Kitchen – Overview
I bought a new kitchen from Wren Living this April for delivery in late July. It’s the most expensive thing I’ve ever bought that wasn’t an entire house. Many things went wrong. I shouldn’t have bought my appliances from Wren. I shouldn’t have bought my wooden worktop from Wren. I’m writing this because I felt […]
Filed under: could_do_better, grumble | 1 Comment
Tags: customer, kitchen, living, service, support, Wren
A/B Testing Into Mediocrity
I’ve been noticing that lots of the services I use online have been getting worse. My friends have been complaining too. I think I know why. A/B testing is a great way for product managers to make decisions based on data (rather than their own gut feel). But what happens when A/B testing meets the […]
Filed under: could_do_better, grumble, technology | 1 Comment
Tags: A/B, product management, testing, user experience, UX
TL;DR Anybody wanting a high spec laptop that isn’t from Apple is probably getting a low end model with small RAM and HDD and upgrading themselves to big RAM and SSD. This skews the sales data, so the OEMs see a market where nobody buys big RAM and SSD, from which they incorrectly infer that nobody […]
Filed under: could_do_better, technology | 2 Comments
Tags: apple, Chromebook, data, Intel, laptop, lenovo, MacBook, OODA, RAM, ssd
TL;DR Apple and Google have both launched laptops in the past few days that are both amazing and seriously flawed. If only somebody could make a machine that has the best of both worlds. MacBook The leaks were pretty much spot on, so in the end the new MacBook brought few surprises. I really want […]
Filed under: could_do_better, technology | 2 Comments
Tags: apple, Canonical, Chromebook, ChromeOS, google, laptop, MacBook, Pixel, Pixel2, Ubuntu, USB-C
I got my Lenovo X230 when I started with CohesiveFT almost 18 months ago. I’ve generally been very happy with it, but the cracks are starting to show – literally: Not as robust I’ve had a succession of ThinkPads – T20[1], T41, X60T, X201T, a loaner X220 from the good people at Bromium, and now my […]
Filed under: could_do_better, review | 11 Comments
Tags: lenovo, X230
Yesterday I wrote about how Google Wallet is even worse than PayPal. A quick reminder: When I buy stuff on PayPal I don’t have to pretend to have a billing address in a different country. They’re quite happy for me to use my UK issued card for payments to US suppliers. I don’t recall ever […]
Filed under: could_do_better, grumble | Leave a Comment
Tags: dicks, fail, fraud, geolocation, google, LTE, Nexus 7, payments, paypal, Play, resolution, store, wallet
I’ve seen a ton of bad news stories about PayPal over the last few years – here are just the top three from my payments tag on pinboard.in. I’ve even run afoul of their over sensitive fraud detection myself in the last couple of months (whilst trying to buy Club Penguin subscriptions for my kids whilst […]
Filed under: could_do_better, grumble | 2 Comments
Tags: fail, fraud, geolocation, google, LTE, Nexus 7, payments, paypal, Play, resolution, store
Indistinguishable from fraud
I came across this tweet yesterday: It was timely, as I was in the midst of sorting out a foreign exchange transaction that had gone wrong. I’d sent $250 to a recipient in the US, and only $230 had shown up in their account (and then their bank had charged them $12 for the privilege […]
Filed under: could_do_better, grumble | 3 Comments
Tags: banking, charges, fees, financial services, fraud, FX, international, payments, spreads
Magic teabags
I’m a creature of habit, and like a cup of green and Earl Grey[1] to start my day and a Red Bush (aka Rooibos) mid afternoon. Approximately nowhere that I go has the tea that I like to drink, so I take along my own stash. This means that I often find myself asking for a […]
Filed under: could_do_better, grumble | 3 Comments
Tags: EasyJet, heath and safety, hot water, magic, tea, tea bag, teabag
Chris Swan's Weblog 