The Need for Uncompromising Data in a World Full of Apps

 The Most Data-Intrusive Sites Locally Revealed 

by Anna Liza VB

 CONSUMER RIGHTS REGARDING RETURNS MUST BE SIMPLIFIED 

When buyers don’t get what they want, what is the best recourse of action?

 

 

An example of online shopping dissatisfaction is when product quality does not meet consumer expectations. The photo shows supposedly a mini-table when assembled, but can't make its way through fulfillment, because of its unsteady structure and mini-parts; hence the need to outsource a service provider to fix the item bought online.

 

EVER SINCE THE THRIVE OF E-COMMERCE, a good number of consumers probably would have thought that shopping is made easy, since now, one does not have to go outside, take a chance on the weather, make it through the snail traffic just to buy an item or load up on a grocery haul.

Admittingly, the goals of door-to-door delivery for e-commerce platforms are actually a sweet concoction of idealism and best-effort help on the economy-- to treat customers like royalty while earning profits on the side.  At least these are what can be assumed via the positioning of most e-commerce sites around the time of the pandemic.

 

But it is never without falter, remiss, or misgivings. And the fault sometimes is not in the app but in the very sellers or merchants of prestigious local shopping sites, which this writer actually has come to learn about.  

 

THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM

The faults in the falter, just to clarify, and be concrete about local shopping experiences, are in seizing up on the actual items received by a customer, and the way returns are handled by a merchant.

Below are the weaknesses of e-commerce shopping sites that can be attributed to their massive contact points to reach the customer and the bias of sellers in ensuring customer satisfaction when it comes to product returns and quality.

 

THE PRODUCT POSTS  DO NOT MATCH CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS. 

      Product posts from the point of view of a shopper must not only be picture-perfect but detail-oriented as possible.   But while shopping is supposed to be for the need or enjoyment of customers, some sellers, unfortunately, post products that they cannot deliver.

 

Hence sharing an example, of online shopping circumstances:  

>>>>  A shaded, tent tarpaulin order, which did not arrive, and what came instead was a t-shirt.

 

>>>> In another instance,  a shirt also came that did not fall within my order-scope, but was delivered nevertheless.

 

>>>> In another example, was an order of a mini-rice cooker but what came actually was a vague plastic part that looked like a a gadget stand.

 

>>>> Also to share another online retail experience, is when a table has been ordered from a local shopping site, supposedly a second-hand unused item that instantly crumbled once assembled, hence the need for further repair to make the ordered item functional.

 

WHAT WOKE REALLY MEANS IN MEDIA

It’s not what you know, it’s who you know that counts. 

There is a word in the millennial language that can actually sum up all things that a media practitioner must be in life: Woke. To be aware, to come in awareness; to be informed, or be in tune with the latest issues and be woke, is an outright necessity at work-- without it, a media man could be said in old “kasabihan”, “natutulog sa pansitan”. 

To be woke is both a sense and a skill. Many times, it requires a lot of experience and basic to thorough research to be in a state of “woke”. 

Sorry but woke may sound like another word when a letter is changed from “o” to “a”, which can relate to the opposite of being woke. 

But in practice, woke signifies that one has risen from a state of unknowing, or in simple terms to be challenged and act on that FOMO (fear of missing out mode) and thus be woke. 

 Whew, what youth speak one has to learn to be woke and provoke others’ awareness of words and issues that matter. 

In the industry, one must not presume inclusivity in circles unless you are woke of who knows who, and who knows what. 

The former refers to connections and clout. The latter can be referred to as the beat or to exposure to a certain niche that one has grown into knowing, with such skill and expertise. It cannot be understated that a media man must work independently without the influence of outsiders enough to persuade or affect his/her work. 

But in the reality of things, when one is woke, there is normalcy in not knowing the circles that your colleague may have to show preset clout and influence that can affect one’s future or work fulfillment.

Short of saying, you need to be woke to accept there is “palakasan”. 

You need to be woke to accept there is "envelopmental gifting". 

But that does not mean everyone works against the persistence and good legacy of media as an industry.

One cannot undermine that such wokeness can lead one to perceive the existence of bias among the industry naysayers, players, and game-changers. After all, an old-timer cannot derelict a duty to impose independence yet, ostracize a circle of “friends and supporters” who helped build a name from the ground up or ensure continuity of work in their current titles. 

What I am sharing is that a media worker must know there is favoritism, bias, or “priorities” in giving work assignments, positions, and titles, or in giving benefits in paper and reality. 

The media industry can do better if it does away with all its biases. And break away from its own hierarchy of clout that gives favor to the one who pays more for a name, a space, or can afford to invite an advertiser in exchange for a byline in the guise of being branded, “content-driven” or “client commissioned”. 

There is favor when one sees none of fairness in giving work to the true media practitioner/s.

Let's Talk Superlatives: Deep Fakes, Superfakes and the Big Dipper

 Know our social economy before trusting any.

On one end of the social media spectrum, is an era of superlatives-- from promises to hopes and wealth sail builders, blogs, and sites of individuals wanting to be known, wanting to be rich, and wanting to connect.  On the other, it's all trappings of the super fakes.

It would sound so idealistic to simply trust read-on articles and news we see online. 

That news of unemployment slump, a millionth earning newbie businesses that young kids are trying to help resuscitate the economy. 

But in the doldrums of these social media frenzy to be known, be seen, and those "get rich" schemes, the reality abides in the imperfection of numbers, the roughness of fakes, and the lucidness of people's images who try to be perfect and yet cannot achieve real distinct connection online. 

This is what I call the abyss of social media where an economy thrives in hopes and prospects, but it is trapped in the middle by a conglomerate of disjointed interests.

The first of fakes. The promise of investments.

In the era of micro investors, it is the small-time investors and businesses "trying hards" or "copycats" who would jump right at the opportunity to earn some, earn small, or earn try so as not to let time waste in times of pandemic. 

But investments that give real "big" results and earnings are not really happening, and most are not at all life-changing, offering only coin-purse returns that cannot even help families recuperate from losses after years of joblessness.  

Here I won't mention the specific businesses. 

But there are plenty out there that ordinary moms and dads often try, with a big-bite promise of investing in small packages.  

From light luxury to branded goods, all these are attractive investments for salary earners even before the pandemic kicked in. 

But the truth is, this is a dead-end approach to investing. 

Despite the flaunting of being a multi-billion dollar industry globally, branded luxury does not promise good resale for ordinary investors in times of the great "no earn" pandemic.  

All investments seem to have been dragged into a dumpsite of nothingness, almost worthless. 

And all one could do is keep them without the promise of turning these investments into cash, the often lure of light to heavy luxury items in the market is that these items have good resale value and can be turned into cash in times of drought. 

For light luxury buyers, investing in light to pricey jewelry is not a golden promise to rely on as these are items that have become commonplace and hard to dispose of, and no outlets to receive them as second hands. Preloved luxury thus is not a good term investment for the micro-investing moms and dads who want to delve into the promise of a life of luxury.  

In a sense, this false sense of assurance that one is investing in the good ones with one's precious money and earnings would only go to waste in a social economy that values likes, influence, and followers and not the truths behind branded luxuries.  

The second of fakes. A deeper fake, businesses that run for show-and-tell bragging, but do not serve with a genuine interest for customers.

The second kind of fakes in business is the one that applies to customer relations and business imaging.

In our current state of the economy where social media serves as the front of new and upcoming businesses, even for the brick and mortar kind of businesses, some owners who run their businesses do so for that simple brag-and-drop approach of imposing their status as business owners and solidifying influence. But their hook? They would not hesitate to drop or turn away their customers who do not fit into their bill of prospects or likings.

This kind of business does not show genuine interest in customers. They shun new customers or reply impolitely in the face of callousness.  

They would screen clients as if they are the masters of censorship and true intentions. 

Business owners or managers or staff of this kind of deep fake customer relations integrity would turn down buyers and inquiries that do not ring a bell of prestige or do not present a deep pocket arrive at their doorsteps upon inquiry. 

Some of these businesses include those in the leasing business of commercial spaces, bazaars, etc. 

Even prior to the onset of the pandemic, business owners in this niche are the hardest knocks, offering a no-glance approach, no-response to inquiries even when they prompt invites for lessees through their below-the-line advertising and frequent social media postings.

These kinds of fakes can be leveled as business posturing. The owners simply want to be known for being business owners but would not actually want to open their doors to customers of the "lesser kind" of lesser names or pockets.  A real super fake in business.

And the third kind of fake is the big dipper business. 

In the social economy where businesses thrive because of creativity in advertising and marketing, the big dipper businesses are the kind that lures moms and dads to try, yet once in, these are the businesses that simply eat up their investments and hard-earned money without a promise of tangible returns. 

This kind of business simply gulps down on one's investments much to the heartache of ordinary investors and business starters. 

Entrepreneurs who wallow in big dipper businesses must be helped out by the necessary agencies to recover, and recuperate.  Otherwise, having a business would simply be an ordeal for small to medium business players, starters, and dreamers who have not yet experienced true profits and joy of having a good running business but merely a fake verse of social media and business enterprise centering on personality, stardom, and much influence harking.

You Won’t Need to Guess This E-Commerce App That Kicks Subscribers Out Without Notice

 Of all the e-commerce apps available, this one is the most mysterious.  It is one of the pioneers in the industry, with the premise of giving its customers the opportunity to sell their old items and earn extra income from them.

But despite the many reviews written about it, this online selling site that targets nanays mostly as its customer base does not have fair, responsive customer service that attends to online complaints of buyers.

All customers would get is to interact with the allotted email address or through their method of leaving a  message on their feedback or review form.  

But the thing is, this site, cannot hold its own mettle when it comes to fair mediation, and customers and sellers would be left without proper redress of grievance when there is a disagreement or dispute.

You wait as a customer and without notice, this e-commerce app would simply kick out the subscriber anytime they want, without prior advice or respect for the content posted by the subscriber who expected this site to be a “fair marketplace” for all.  It seems their team leans towards non-resolution to low-resolution of feedback.

Too bad, this site has all the noteworthy promises of being a service-oriented online platform, with clarity of direction on how it wants to position its e-commerce in the market. 

But with the kind of customer service they have in handling complaints, it would be so unexpecting that this used-to-be popular site, may lack the necessary customer handling skills to fix issues hurled against it.

You don’t have to guess which e-commerce app this is. Round and about you read about them.  Until you move along to a better app.