Dark Pattern Parking Services and Fees

Photo courtesy photos-public-domain.com

The latest trend in paid parking is that you must pay using your cell phone.  This practice of not providing an alternative method, such as a lot attendant or a machine to collect payment is quite annoying.  This is especially true when you need to install an app to make the payment.  I currently have 5 different parking apps because everybody seems to have their own app.  Text-based and web interfaces aren't much better, often requiring account creation, two-factor authorization, and credit card information gathering, just to park in a lot.

The worst part of the practice of phone payment is the service fee that is added above and beyond the posted rate.  This is an ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT hidden fee.  When there is no other option or method to pay, the posted price should be the total price charged.  Please, parking folks, stop this dark pattern and just post the entire rate, including any service fees.

 

Kudos to Carbonite. Underneath the password box on their login page, they include a reminder of their password rules to help users remember what their password might be for the site.

Looking forward to more sites providing this information that we have wanted for years!

Marketers love the false dichotomy. Here I am faced with the classic dilemma for the $2 cable that I just purchased on ebay - pay $2.99 to Allstate or go out and find my own protection plan. Wow, that second option sounds like a lot of work. Maybe paying the $2.99 would be a better use of my time.

If only I could think of some third option where I don't pay $2.99 or find my own plan...

The other one I like is when you go to a website for some cause like animal cruelty. When you go to click on the X to close the browser tab, a pop-up appears with the choices of either "Donate now" or "Close tab - I don't care about abandoned puppies".

 

 

I get so many e-mails from Carbonite, but am always glad when they find a great reason to send me yet another one. Thank goodness they alerted me to their World Backup Day sale. I didn't even know about this important holiday, but now I can ask my company to add it to our annual holiday schedule. And I'll be sure to add a computer to my subscription at 30% off.

Why It's Delicious

I'm glad the Stouffer's website explained to me all the reasons that their Macaroni & Cheese is delicious. My favorite is that the trays are made with 30% recycled plastic. There's nothing like the taste of good-ole recycled plastic.

Dominion Energy Security Theater Failures

I recently had to go through the nine circles of hell to pay my utility bill online.  What kind of sadistic individuals work for the utility company and fear that countless numbers of hackers want to hack my energy bill?  Oh no, they hacked in and paid my bill for me!

Here is a short list of the unnecessarily difficult hoops I had to jump through as a returning customer who was made to re-validate my credentials to access my account and pay my bill.

• I was required to enter a new password.  After entering my first attempt at a new password, it was rejected because it did not follow the undisclosed password rules.  Oh wait, the password rules were available, just difficult to find.  They were shown as a popup box while typing the password and disappeared when you finished typing.  My bad.  To make it less confusing to the user, why not show the rules all the time or have a help icon that shows the rules when you click or hover over it?  Also, the password is rejected only after you submit the entire form, instead of telling you instantly if the password is OK by using client-side validation.
  
• Matching the stated password rules is not enough, there is extra undocumented validation.  In addition to the specific stated rules (use lowercase, uppercase, number, special character), Dominion also performs a library check to see if you have any "words" in your password string anywhere.  Long passphrases, a commonly password approach, is not permitted.  Also, don't try using Bite#Me3Dominon! as your password.  It passes the bulleted list of rules, but will be flagged by the dictionary checker.
• You have to enter your password twice, and you are not allowed to paste it from another window (like, say, from your bank site).  If you use a random  password generator, like the one in Bitwarden, you will still have to copy the password manually on the Dominion form.  And given the unnecessarily complex rules, it will be something difficult to type in like XN^t&j5m7e4M*q.  This is more of an exercise of your reading and typing skills than actual useful security.
•  The rule against copy and pasting in your credentials also applies to entering your bank account information for paying your bill.  You will need to type in your account number manually, and you will need to do it twice.  They have a second confirmation entry to make sure you didn't screw it up the first time.  And, get this, to add some more skills challenges, you can't see the account number while you are typing it in (twice).  It is hidden like a password entry.  There is a "show me" icon you can click on, but it only shows the account number field as long as you hold down your mouse click on "show me" icon.  As soon as you release the mouse click, the account number is hidden again.  No looking at the number while you are typing it in, and you can't compare what you typed in the first or second validation entry box.

It took me so long to fill out this form, I used extra energy and my payment was late, resulting in a late fee.  Maybe that was their strategy!

Cuisinart Customer Service Rocks!

I was pleasantly surprised by the results of my customer service claim with Cuisinart (a Conair company).

My two year old Cuisinart Coffee Maker recently started to leak.  It was a slow leak but became apparent when there was a puddle of water accumulating on the counter.  While looking for troubleshooting advice in the user manual I was reminded that there was a three year warranty on the product.  I called the Cuisinart customer service phone number listed in the manual, and after describing the situation, and concluding that the leak was inside the main unit itself and not the replaceable water reservoir, they agreed to replace the entire thing.  I was told that I would have the replacement unit within 70-10 business days.  I received it in only three days.  

 Kudos to Cuisinart on the great customer service!