Herd

A lot of people know the cost of everything and the value of nothing...

I completely agree.

In an effort to help others, here is a summary of the article as I understood it:

Loyalty cards from supermarkets and other merchants do nothing to instill loyalty. Doing things that provide value to others is how you build loyalty. For example, Zappos linking their customers to their competitors when out of stock of a desired shoe, or the author providing his users with a data export feature from his application.

Hope that helps. If it did, feel free to give a quick upvote.

I think the writer initially started out with the idea of what makes a brand/company more attractive to it's clients and are able to retain their loyalty while the others are just a part of the herd. But he deviated a lot from the topic and mentioned his product "Draft". I checked out https://draftin.com/ , it is for sure very simple to use, but I am not sure it is useful for most people. This could have a more suited title in "Are Loyalty points really buying Loyalty?"

Tipping actually started as a way to establish priority in a queue--being served first at a bar, being able to make a song request to the guy performing, etc. It happened before you were served, as a way to signal that you care enough about your service to pay more, so you should be prioritized. (The clatter of coins in a tip jar was the original "bell" one would ring for service.) The modern concept that's most similar is "business class" on an airline--simple, good

The concept diverged from its original purpose as queues became fixed by company policies (could you imagine anything other than FIFO-order at a McDonalds?), companies grew until the people you'd tip got separated from the people who decide who gets served and how well (the maitre d' is not the waiter), etc.

Tipping isn't patronizing; it's a cost-sharing mechanism. You don't have to like it, but you shouldn't mistake what it is.

For some people, tipping isn't patronizing but part of their minimum wage.

For others, it's an indication that their service was appreciated.

For yet others (NYC I'm looking at you!) it's considered a right: "Would you like change?"

Personally, I tip 10% as a rule. But if the service I receive is appalling, I'll withold it. And if the service is excellent, I'll tip more. And I'll only ever tip by card if I can't make it in cash - I trust leaving cash on the table for my server to be a lot more likely to go specifically to them than any house "pool" system...

But those examples are not going far enough to be truly remarkable. They're still not putting the customer's interests ahead of their own.

With Citi, how about instead of making giving your rewards to charity an option, make it the only option? That would be remarkable.

What if KLM instead emailed me saying "we found a cheaper/more pleasant flight than the one you've already booked with us. Click here and we'll automatically change your reservation and refund you the difference, no fees." That would be remarkable.

I think your analogy is a bit flawed. The local Boy Scout troop would love to have such a promotion if the rewards were achievable. 10,000 sandwiches to earn one free sandwich is obviously ludicrous but if it was more like "When the group buys 100 sandwiches, Subway will cater your next pack meeting", then the kids/parents would be all over that.

The implication that people care about GNU Hurd amuses me. I have nothing against it, but at this point, it's fairly clear that Hurd lost the kernel battle.

And I thought the same thing (about it being Hurd).