I tell you, this whole “living in a first world nation” thing is really tough!
Yesterday I went to my local ATM to get some cash. It was a Diebold one, incidentally. Everything went smoothly: I entered my PIN (“Bosco”), chose “Fast Cash”, “$20”, and then I got the money.
But then, something poppy happened: an ad on the screen. Now, don’t worry: there have been ads on ATMs for a long time and that’s not what bugged me, no. This ad actually required me to do something in order to get my card and receipt. It was a credit card offer, and I needed to explicitly press “No, thank you” (like I’d say “thank you” to a machine) in order to continue. Ladies and gents this, essentially, was the equivalent of a pop-up ad.
It really bothered me. The ads that appear while the ATM is idle, or while it’s dispensing money, no longer bug me. But this was a bit more only because I had to do something in order to make it go away – worse, I wouldn’t get my card if I didn’t. That’s pretty lousy. And it just felt like it was only a matter of time before it was a loud, annoying video ad too (these ATMs are running on Windows… which also creeps me out.)
Anyway, I guess Chase is hurting for money or something because they needed to do this.
Posted in Technology
Merle November 23, 2006, 2:55 am
You should complain. Bank of America has magical animated, colour ads with sound that blares out as if to attract vagrants who might attack you for your money. It’s just great. But having to press something to continue? I would go into the bank, ask to speak with the manager, and say “I’ve been with you for X years but if these ads continue I’m going to (insert direct competitor)”.
Steve A November 23, 2006, 3:31 pm
Holy MOLY! I agree with Merle. If I started seeing ads when I was attempting to access my dinero, I’d be MIGHTY pissed!
Ciao,