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Cooler screens

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Re: Cooler screens

#221

Post by ElevenLathe »

shaftway wrote: post #170
ballenf wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's really surprising is that there are no humans at Walgreens who can call out obviously bullshit customer surveys knowing that they're wrong. The company behaves like a zombie with no one really in control. The emperor really has no clothes, but customer surveys say otherwise.

There are no incentives for anyone to do so. One VP introduces this idea, does "case studies" designed to make it look good, rolls it out, distorts the statistics to show that it's a win, collects a bonus, and then moves on. A second VP recognizes that it's bogus, removes the program, distorts the statistics to show that it's a win, collects a bonus, and then moves on. If a third VP were to pop up and point out that…

This insight has caused me to essentially be blackpilled at my BigCorp job: Nothing means anything. No one is even trying to do a good job, and naively trying to do so one's self will probably just result in a PIP aka being fired.

Re: Cooler screens

#222

Post by cancerhacker »

jw_cook wrote: post #147

In an internet full of low-effort outrage hot takes, I have to say I love (and miss) this kind of writing style that's polemical but witty and restrained. One of my favorite quotes: > "Age-old advertising technology would use the context that you are in front of the ice cream door as a trigger to display the ice cream through the door. In the era of the Cooler Screen, though, the ice cream itself is hidden safely out…

It was at that point that I realized that the whole thing is just training us for a future in which we are displayed the item of our choice - a tea, piping hot Darjeeling or Lapsang Souchong - as just out of reach until we interact with the machine and are then blessed by it cautiously, tentatively and maybe even lovingly dispensing to us a tasteless brown liquid that is guaranteed to be almost but not quite entirely unlike tea.

(Can we claim Hitchhiker's Guide as Prior Art for all this nonsense?)

Re: Cooler screens

#223

Post by cancerhacker »

scarby2 wrote: post #206
queuebert wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would pay a hefty sum for AR glasses that enabled real-life adblock.

replace all ads with positive affirmations or a nature scene and you probably have a multi-billion dollar company.

I added a trivial css filter for my browser, that sets blur to images who's alt text contains the name of a particular public figure, and it's an absolute joy to not have to see some things anymore. I know it's there, but it's much more easily avoidable.

Re: Cooler screens

#224

Post by wlonkly »

nuancebydefault wrote: post #183

When I read the title of this post, Cooler Screens, I expected it were about screens that somehow were -- literally and/or figuratively -- cooler. Alas, it appears to be a not-so-cool Walgreens idea that came into practice. PS Where does the weird name, Walgreens, come from? Maybe the name originated from the same 'great mind' having this 'cool' idea?

Walgreen was the last name of the founder. At some point the apostrophe went missing.

Re: Cooler screens

#225

Post by SergeAx »

I had to google what the author is talking about. It is rich animated advertising surfaces mounted on top of food retail refrigerator doors. How atrocious, and no uBlock to turn it off.

Re: Cooler screens

#226

Post by ddingus »

I was surprised at how much I dislike these things!

When I find them, I pretty much avoid that establishment from then on.

One would think the brightly colored labels on the products is advertising enough!

Re: Cooler screens

#227

Post by sleepybrett »

Jiocus wrote: post #220
sleepybrett wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to work digital signage in retail, though almost no refrigeration. And yes usually we backed our signs with normal small form factor pcs. Mac minis, nucs, raspberry-pis. We were demoed these screens by one of those display providers (probably Planar) probably 8 years back... If these are the 'transparent' door displays my understanding is that they are essentially just normal displays without backlights/or tha…

I also worked in digital signage a few years back. We had a similar kind of refrigerator in our office, likely with an LG screen. The door/screen was transparent glass like the old fashioned ones and a layer of LCD. The upside of that kind of design is that the see-through door still works if the screen is off. And of course, you actually would see the real contents of the refrigerator once it's digital signage conte…

probably more readable though. With the displays at the time you could see through even the blacks it was like 50% transparent when displaying a totally black screen. Means you could see through it but the images you put on the display needed to be fairly simple and .. id dunno 'blocky' because depending on what was behind the glass it could get very visually confused.

Re: Cooler screens

#228

Post by inemesitaffia »

cancerhacker wrote: post #223
scarby2 wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

replace all ads with positive affirmations or a nature scene and you probably have a multi-billion dollar company.

I added a trivial css filter for my browser, that sets blur to images who's alt text contains the name of a particular public figure, and it's an absolute joy to not have to see some things anymore. I know it's there, but it's much more easily avoidable.

We know who it is

Re: Cooler screens

#229

Post by thih9 »

the_gipsy wrote: post #28
thih9 wrote: post #7

To be fair, this technology could have been introduced in a way that benefits the customer. Some products are smaller than the others, making them harder to spot. Having a well organized and clearly visible directory that is also a guiding system might help. Then again, stores like this are already doing their best to confuse, with those screens or without. No reason to believe screens have been introduced to help th…

There is basically nothing that would net improve UX here. Amazing that they managed to raise millions.

Again, I feel like improving discoverability / readability could be it.

E.g. I like reading ingredients of various products. I’d be happy to look at them on a giant screen somehow, as opposed to reading small text while holding a freezing item.

Similar with showing price per weight, total numbers of inventory (so that I know that there are 5 ice creams available), etc.

But yes, this won’t happen, we’ll get ads instead.

Re: Cooler screens

#230

Post by erhaetherth »

ElevenLathe wrote: post #221
shaftway wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are no incentives for anyone to do so. One VP introduces this idea, does "case studies" designed to make it look good, rolls it out, distorts the statistics to show that it's a win, collects a bonus, and then moves on. A second VP recognizes that it's bogus, removes the program, distorts the statistics to show that it's a win, collects a bonus, and then moves on. If a third VP were to pop up and point out that…

This insight has caused me to essentially be blackpilled at my BigCorp job: Nothing means anything. No one is even trying to do a good job, and naively trying to do so one's self will probably just result in a PIP aka being fired.

Big tech is BS in exactly the way parent poster described but "doing a good job" doesn't usually get you PIP'd AFAICT. Just means you stay the same level for not rushing out half-baked features and very, very slowly people will realize you don't suck but it still won't help you get promo.
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