8 ms·

I sympathize with the article's criticism of all those things it mentioned but someone's gotta like it (gas stations, cigarettes, junk food, bible versus, lawye

I sympathize with the article's criticism of all those things it mentioned but someone's gotta like it (gas stations, cigarettes, junk food, bible versus, lawyers, etc), otherwise it wouldn't be everywhere, and probably a whole lot of someones, perhaps even the majority of people.

kevingadd 3y ago
"otherwise it wouldn't be everywhere" is not reasoning that holds up in practice. Startups pitch investors a compelling argument for why they're going to be the next big thing, then spend millions (or billions) on scaling up and out in order to prepare for the inevitable hockeystick growth that is going to ensue. So we may just be seeing some point in the "spend and grow" phase of the startup that precedes it collapsing when it turns out nobody actually wants to play video games at a urinal.
scythe 3y ago
In the case of the toilet games, I would expect the real goal is to (subtly) induce men to pay attention while they urinate, to prevent what is referred to in radonc as a "geometric miss".
ahoy 3y ago
The appeal of cigs/junkfood/etc is obvious. No one enjoys the autoplaying video ads at the gas pump.
- jrochkind1 3y ago
  A tangent, but what i still can't believe is that at gas stations like WaWa or Royal Farms that have made-to-order food inside, why can't you order the food at the screen on the pump (and pay for it!), to pick it up inside after you're done pumping? I keep expecting this to be a thing, haven't seen it yet.
  - munificent 3y ago
    The screen isn't there for your benefit. It's for the ads.
    - jrochkind1 3y ago
      Don't they want to sell me food though?
      - munificent 3y ago
        Possibly yes, possibly no. It depends a lot on the margins. I wouldn't be surprised if food is a loss leader to get you in the door to make other higher-margin impulse purchases. In that case, letting you order food at the pump is an anti-goal because you'll complete the transaction before you're surrounded by other impulse buys.
        night862 3y ago
        It isn’t like that at Wawa. The reason they don’t take your food order from the gas station screen is because presumably they would have to serve you at the gas pump, which is not something they will do. You can just use the app to order if you want. They also won’t bring your online/app order to the gas pump, you have to be parked in a regular spot. There’s also the concern of updating the menu on the gas pump which (for Wawa) is a non-trivial problem.
  - stametseater 3y ago
    My guess is they want people to leave the pump and park elsewhere in the lot before getting food, to free up the pump for somebody else buying gas. For many people, ordering food is painfully slow and indecisive affair so it probably makes sense to move it away from the pumps.
  - pbj1968 3y ago
    This actually seems like a good idea. Show the ad but have a “place order” button on the screen. They’ve already got your credit card information…
gibspaulding 3y ago
Nobody has to like those things, they just have to pay for them. I might think a gas stations sign is an eyesore, but if it makes me glance at my gas gague and decide to stop, then it's served it's purpose.
kurisufag 3y ago
I actually really enjoy the huge >ARE YOU GOING TO HELL? FIND OUT AT godsalvation.online! >CALL RON, AMERICA'S BEST DIVORCE LAWYER! >etc. billboards. They make reality seem a lot more authentic, and I'd be sad if they went away.

kevingadd 3y ago

"otherwise it wouldn't be everywhere" is not reasoning that holds up in practice. Startups pitch investors a compelling argument for why they're going to be the next big thing, then spend millions (or billions) on scaling up and out in order to prepare for the inevitable hockeystick growth that is going to ensue. So we may just be seeing some point in the "spend and grow" phase of the startup that precedes it collapsing when it turns out nobody actually wants to play video games at a urinal.

scythe 3y ago

In the case of the toilet games, I would expect the real goal is to (subtly) induce men to pay attention while they urinate, to prevent what is referred to in radonc as a "geometric miss".

ahoy 3y ago

The appeal of cigs/junkfood/etc is obvious. No one enjoys the autoplaying video ads at the gas pump.

jrochkind1 3y ago
A tangent, but what i still can't believe is that at gas stations like WaWa or Royal Farms that have made-to-order food inside, why can't you order the food at the screen on the pump (and pay for it!), to pick it up inside after you're done pumping? I keep expecting this to be a thing, haven't seen it yet.
- munificent 3y ago
  The screen isn't there for your benefit. It's for the ads.
  - jrochkind1 3y ago
    Don't they want to sell me food though?
    - munificent 3y ago
      Possibly yes, possibly no. It depends a lot on the margins. I wouldn't be surprised if food is a loss leader to get you in the door to make other higher-margin impulse purchases. In that case, letting you order food at the pump is an anti-goal because you'll complete the transaction before you're surrounded by other impulse buys.
      - night862 3y ago
        It isn’t like that at Wawa. The reason they don’t take your food order from the gas station screen is because presumably they would have to serve you at the gas pump, which is not something they will do. You can just use the app to order if you want. They also won’t bring your online/app order to the gas pump, you have to be parked in a regular spot. There’s also the concern of updating the menu on the gas pump which (for Wawa) is a non-trivial problem.
- stametseater 3y ago
  My guess is they want people to leave the pump and park elsewhere in the lot before getting food, to free up the pump for somebody else buying gas. For many people, ordering food is painfully slow and indecisive affair so it probably makes sense to move it away from the pumps.
- pbj1968 3y ago
  This actually seems like a good idea. Show the ad but have a “place order” button on the screen. They’ve already got your credit card information…

gibspaulding 3y ago

Nobody has to like those things, they just have to pay for them. I might think a gas stations sign is an eyesore, but if it makes me glance at my gas gague and decide to stop, then it's served it's purpose.

kurisufag 3y ago

I actually really enjoy the huge >ARE YOU GOING TO HELL? FIND OUT AT godsalvation.online! >CALL RON, AMERICA'S BEST DIVORCE LAWYER! >etc. billboards. They make reality seem a lot more authentic, and I'd be sad if they went away.