It’s a very common dark pattern. But I think weaponized incompetence is more contextually appropriate in a relationship where two people are supposedly cooperating.
In a bureaucracy, I would just call it bureaucratic friction. The complaints department is only open the first Wednesday of the month from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. that kind of thing
Or there was a class action lawsuit, register here via mail handwritten letter, and we will mail you a check for your $0.20 rebate. It’s very competent, it’s not pretending not to to be competent, they’re just putting up enough barriers that barely anybody would do it, and even if they do do it they probably will forget about it, or fill it in correctly. Adding lots of friction
Or you can sign up for a subscription service with a credit card online, but to cancel it, you have to call, or visit the office, or write a real letter. That’s very competent. They’re not pretending they can’t do it. They just won’t do it. Dark pattern right there. Corporate friction
There’s a store near us that almost always has some kind of sale going on. The catch is it isn’t immediate savings - you have to fill out and send in a rebate form. If you manage to do that, they send you “store credit” as a physical piece of paper you have to remember to bring to the store. I often wonder what percent of rebates never get submitted or used. Probably pretty high.
I had a laugh the other day because one of their competitors was advertising an “instant savings, no waiting for rebates” sale.
Almost any big discount chain where I live does “buy 19, get one free!” thing, preying upon people who see free and switch off thinking. Another big chain opened a few years ago here. They loterally advertise you are free to take only what you need, cuz their promotions are for aingle products.
It’s a very common dark pattern. But I think weaponized incompetence is more contextually appropriate in a relationship where two people are supposedly cooperating.
In a bureaucracy, I would just call it bureaucratic friction. The complaints department is only open the first Wednesday of the month from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. that kind of thing
Or there was a class action lawsuit, register here via mail handwritten letter, and we will mail you a check for your $0.20 rebate. It’s very competent, it’s not pretending not to to be competent, they’re just putting up enough barriers that barely anybody would do it, and even if they do do it they probably will forget about it, or fill it in correctly. Adding lots of friction
Or you can sign up for a subscription service with a credit card online, but to cancel it, you have to call, or visit the office, or write a real letter. That’s very competent. They’re not pretending they can’t do it. They just won’t do it. Dark pattern right there. Corporate friction
There’s a store near us that almost always has some kind of sale going on. The catch is it isn’t immediate savings - you have to fill out and send in a rebate form. If you manage to do that, they send you “store credit” as a physical piece of paper you have to remember to bring to the store. I often wonder what percent of rebates never get submitted or used. Probably pretty high.
I had a laugh the other day because one of their competitors was advertising an “instant savings, no waiting for rebates” sale.
Lmao this is like that Nathan For You episode where customers had to hike up a mountain to send their rebate 😂
Don’t give them any ideas lol
Almost any big discount chain where I live does “buy 19, get one free!” thing, preying upon people who see free and switch off thinking. Another big chain opened a few years ago here. They loterally advertise you are free to take only what you need, cuz their promotions are for aingle products.
And fuck me, it works, at least on me.
Edit: Just noticed…3 days ago, dammit :|