1. Bug: Old people that drive
really slowly and/or are oblivious while driving.
Why: People
still need to commute regardless of their age, so older people still need to
drive. With their advanced age comes slower reaction times and less spatial awareness
so, when they drive, it is at a much slower speed where they can perceive what’s
going on around them better.
2.
Bug: When fast-food workers forget to add sauce to the bag or remove/add
things you specified during the order.
Why: Fast food workers are usually working in a very fast-paced
environment that values efficiency over accuracy. Many times, the person taking
your order is not the person bagging it so there is a chance that there is a disconnect
or miscommunication between the two individuals. Lack of interest and overall
disregard for the accuracy of your order is also a common reason.
3.
Bug: When listening to music on your phone and you accidentally
close the music streaming app while closing apps in the multitasking menu.
Why: This tends to happen because closing apps in the multitasking
menu has become a mindless task where we just quickly swipe the apps closed as
quickly as possible. In this routine one usually does it quickly and without paying
much attention, so the music streaming app is closed many times as a result.
4.
Bug: Having to constantly untangle headphone wires.
Why: Most people just stuff their headphones into a pocket or bag.
This causes the relatively thin wires to tangle and make the whole thing a ball
of tangled wires that is a hassle to untangle the next time they are used.
5.
Bug: Living with people that don’t know how to pick up after
themselves.
Why: Some people were just raised in a household where they had
someone do everything for them. So, when they start to live on their own or
with other people they aren’t used to picking up after themselves because they
have become accustomed to having someone else do it for them.
6.
Bug: Plastic grocery bags that rip and tear when you put anything
into them.
Why: Making the bags out of the thinnest and/or lowest quality
plastic is the cheapest option for the business. Businesses don’t want to spend money
on a product that is extremely disposable and used for such a short time. Also,
with the recent efforts to be more environmentally conscious, grocers have
shifted to bags with less plastic to have a reduced impact on the amount of
plastic waste they produce.
7.
Bug: People who chew food with their mouth open.
Why: Some people are oblivious to it because when they eat, they are
not called out on it. Other times it is because they were raised differently,
and it wasn’t something they were taught.
8.
Bug: Drivers not using their turn signals when they switch lanes.
Many drivers don’t indicate because they are too lazy, or they don’t
think they need to indicate when they switch lanes.
9.
Bug: Professors spending an entire lecture reading off of pre-made
slides verbatim.
Why: Many professors find it acceptable to just read off of slides
during lecture because they are pre-made and therefore require no additional
effort to teach the material. Laziness is a cause but so is having content that
is very straight forward and does not require more elaboration.
10. Bug: ordering a meal online to be picked up
and they start making it when you arrive.
Why: Many restaurants do not have an effective way to complete both
in-store and online orders, therefore, they pile up and are only done when the
customer arrives and complains.
11. Bug: Apple discontinuing MagSafe chargers for
their laptops.
Why: Apple wants to transition all their laptops to USB-C so they
discontinued the MagSafe charger in favor of 4 USB-C ports that can act as charging
ports. Faster and multi-purpose, the USB-C ports made more sense than keeping a
legacy charging system.
12. Bug: Dryers that never fully
dry your clothes the first time.
Why: Many people put too many wet clothes together in one dryer
load and therefore make it extremely hard to fully dry all the clothes. Also, many
older dryers may have faulty heating systems that cause heat loss and more wet
clothes.
13. Bug: People who send multiple texts instead of
just one longer, more complete message.
Why: Many people prefer to send messages in short bursts rather
than wait and compose a message that articulates all their thoughts in a longer
message. It is also more time-efficient in certain situations to send a few
quick texts than a long, drawn-out text.
14. Bug: Clothes that run bigger/smaller than their
listed size of common sizing norms.
Why: Many clothing companies use their own standard of measurements
and templates. This practice makes inconsistencies in the sizing of clothes common
as well as the clothing company cutting costs in production leading to loss of
quality and sizing accuracy.
15. Bug: People who park extremely close to your vehicle
and make it impossible to open the door or leave.
Why: Many drivers have little to no regard for the people around
them. So, many will park anywhere they can even if it inconveniences the people
parked next to them.
16. Bug: Public transportation that is never on
time.
Why: Many times, the overall public transportation system is
inefficient and ill-equipped. Therefore, inconsistencies in the scheduled
arrival times and actual times are inevitable.
17. Bug: People who bring young children to movie
theaters or performances/concerts.
Why: Many times, the parents or caretakers want to attend the event,
but they were not able to find a babysitter for the child. So, their only
option is to bring the child with them if they still want to attend.
18. Bug: Professors that include trick questions
in their exams.
Why: Many professors believe that adding trick questions to an
exam is a good way of rewarding students that are able to pay attention and not
fall for the trick.
19. Bug: People that call at inappropriate times. (late
at night/super early morning)
Why: Many people think that the reason that they are calling you
is extremely important, so they do not see a problem with calling you at that
hour.
20. Bug: Restaurant workers that mispronounce/misspell
even phonetically simple names.
Why: Some
workers may genuinely have a hard time pronouncing a name even if it is
phonetically simple. Others, do not care enough to even make an attempt so they
do the bare minimum which results in extreme pronunciations and spellings.
Reflection:
To be honest, I did struggle a little with coming up with 20 unique things that
bug me. I consider myself a pretty easy-going guy, so I usually don’t spend
much time listing things that bother me. I do have to say that this exercise
really shows you how many things you let bother you even though you recognize
why they happen. I think the skill of identifying problems and their causes can
be extremely valuable to an entrepreneur and makes this assignment very
interesting from an entrepreneurial standpoint.
