The Bug List

1. Careless mail carriers ( throwing packages around): WHY? The root cause of broken/damaged packages due to mail carriers throwing them around thoughtlessly is laziness. The deliverer does not have a personal reason to care about the product. While there are many videos of carriers being caught in the act of throwing around packages, most of the time there is no footage to hold them accountable. 

2. Shampoo/conditioner bottles with pumps are not the correct amount and leads to way too much product in the hair/ having to buy bottles more frequently. WHY? I have had this gripe with shampoo bottles for a while, but it was not until after this assignment that I realized why they were designed this way. Likely, it is in the company's best interest to over-portion their product as it leads to more frequent purchases from the consumer. 

3. Sprint phone service is terrible. Being one of my only friends with Sprint, it is frustrating to see everyone having reception in reasonable areas except for me. WHY? Sprint has poor coverage and its a "you get what you pay for" case.

4. When on the phone (Sprint) I can not use data. This is extremely inconvenient as I have to hang up the phone to look up directions/places to eat/etc. WHY? This again is a case of you get what you pay for. 

5. I drive a lot for my job and getting off at a rest stop is always a gamble in terms of how horrifyingly disgusting it is. WHY? There are some really great rest stops out there, and then there are some that make you wish car bathrooms were a thing. There needs to be some sort of app or website that will rate all of the rest stops in distance in terms of quality. 

6. Accidentally "liking" old posts when scrolling through somebody's social media feed. WHY? Everybody experiences the curiosity of scrolling deep into somebody's profile and accidentally notifying them that you were doing such. There needs to be some sort of extension that will make you confirm a "like" when a post is more than X days old. 

7. I always have my phone on silent and I am always losing my phone. Finding my phone is always a struggle as calling it from another phone is not an option. WHY? I obviously consciously put my phone on silent, but there is no way to turn the sound back on unless you are holding it. 

8. Going to a self checkout lane and having to deal with "unrecognized item in the bagging area" x20. WHY? The technology of self checkout is fairly recent and needs to be updated. The machines are not updated to human behavior, as in if there is the slightest delay in putting an item in a bag, the machine will blair repeated messages at you.

9. I like to support companies that are ethical, but it is hard to tell which ones are. WHY? Smaller companies don't receive the press that bigger ones do if they act ethical or unethical so it is hard for consumers to tell if they wish to support a company. 

10. My internet constantly goes out and I need to unplug the router and let it reset. WHY? The internet is interrupted and there is no invention that will unplug the router and reset it for you.  

11. Facebook always brings embarrassing old posts to light. WHY? Of course they do it in the name of bringing back old memories, but there should be an extension that will delete posts there are past X days old if one wishes. 

12. Everyone has experienced the struggle of not knowing where to go to dinner. WHY? Indecisiveness and a false sense of it being 'polite' not to give a direct answer lead to a never ending circle of "I don't care whatever you want".

13. The gamble of getting a terrible landlord when moving. WHY? It is not the easiest thing to contact the previous renters and ask about the landlord. This leading to getting stuck in a lease with a landlord who refuses to do anything.

14. Watching my little sister play softball constantly makes me want to play but I can never organize enough people for a game.  WHY? We have passed the age where organized sports was an easy signup and you take fore granted how great that was. 

15. Having to scroll past dozens of products on amazon because they have too little reviews to put trust in them.  WHY? There is no feature on amazon that allows you to sort by most reviewed. 

16. Missing a day from your favorite series, or the new release of a movie you have been dying to see and then having it ruined with spoilers plastered on every site you go to.  WHY? It is human nature to want to discuss things you are excited about but there would be a universal blocker for all sites with keywords you want to avoid so that you do not have a show/movie spoiled for you. 

17. I am a huge Disney addict but it is so hard to tell how busy it is. WHY? While wait times for rides are posted, it still does not offer the most accurate tell of how busy the entire park is. 

18.  Dealing with unequal sound level on websites/tv. WHY? The sound level should be an equal level across all websites/commercials/etc. 

19. Listening to the radio while driving and having a heart attack when a station plays abrupt sirens.  WHY? Sounds on the radio should be regulated as they could potentially startle someone and cause an accident.

20. Seeing an outfit you like either in someone's online post or in real life and not being able to find out where it is from. WHY? There is no direct way to find out the details of an outfit without searching the internet for hours. 

REFLECTION: I definitely did not have the easiest time with this exercise. At first, you do think you'll finish it with ease because of how often I find things to complain about, but I quickly learned that this was going to be a time consuming exercise that really pushed my brain to think about specific problems. While this exercise was frustrating, I definitely see how it could be of value. The ability to recognize widely shared problems is the key to thinking like an entrepreneur.