085 - Spokes
There needs to be a word for this - maybe there is. It’s akin to “shrinkflation,” (a term so seldom used it didn’t occur to me when I composed my set of three pieces for piccolo & piano - Three ‘flations [Conflation / Deflation / Inflation]), but that’s not really it.
The robot mower I’ve mentioned before has tires that sometimes slip and slide, can have difficulty climbing a hill, and have been known to sit & spin & dig divits in the yard. I was standing in the yard with customer service about a different unrelated issue watching it do this very thing and when I complained to the representative on the phone about it he helpfully informed me they had better tires if I wanted to purchase them. These better tires are spoked wheels with spikes instead of paddles on them and they won’t give me any problems. I bought the wheels and, sure enough, I’ve had almost no issues with the mower getting stuck ever since. Which begs the question…
…why the hell weren’t these obviously superior wheels standard in the first place? I would've gladly paid more for the mower in the first place to have not had so many issues with it getting stuck. In fact, I had no clue such tires even existed and if it hadn’t been for the fact that I was literally on the phone and just happened mention the issue I still wouldn’t know about them. How many other customers are like me, fixing their stuck robomowers when it’s unnecessary?
That seems to be the new way - when you buy something your not really getting the best version of it, you’re getting a hamstrung version. You want it to work better? Pay for upgrades.
It’s like a pre-shrunk shrinkflation, if you want it un-shrunk you’ve gotta pony up some more bucks.
