Bug List

One important skill of entrepreneurs is opportunity identification, the ability to figure out an assess the unmet needs of others. For this assignment, here is a compiled list of 20 inconveniences I encounter regularly ("products that don't work right, services that leave me disappointed, and aspects of my day-to-day life that aren't quite up to snuff").

Just a fair warning: it might sound like I'm ranting about cute mild annoyances, because I am. Hopefully you can benefit from my irritation by finding it amusing if not eye-opening.


1. There are never enough vegetarian options at any dining establishment, ever. Despite what everyone thinks: no, salad is not satisfying as a standalone meal and definitely is not enough of an 'option'... especially for a vegetarian who doesn't even like salad! Just having a single veggie dish in select restaurants is not enough of an accommodation, considering meat-eaters get so many. The root of this problem might be simple ignorance or misunderstanding when considering the needs of all people, since whenever this problem is addressed, it is usually met with "Uh, if not salad, then what are you supposed to eat? Isn't lettuce the only thing? Or does fish count? And is being a vegan the same as being vegetarian?"

2. The same graphic tees for men are not available in women's. This constantly has me looking like a fool wearing (and shopping for) Star Wars or superhero shirts in the 'smallest of male sizes possible' (which, by the way, still go halfway to my knees and fit like a baggy shapeless rectangle). I think shirts should be available in all sizes across all platforms: just the same assortments of shirts available in all men's sizes, all women's sizes, and all children's sizes conveniently together organized by design. 

3. Canvas, UF Outlook exchange, and every other schoolwork platform times out way too quickly and automatically logs me off so I have to constantly sign back in. I can understand why it does this during longer periods, but this happens even in that small time where I switch tabs to check something or if I turn away from my keyboard to use a calculator for the homework problem. I'm sure this quirk exists for a good reason to ensure the security of the users and our grades, but sometimes I don't want to have to stop working to click the screen every three minutes just to remind it I'm still there.

4. There is barely a selection of favorable books available in the market for my preference. Trust me, I'm not even picky when it comes to reading. I assume this problem exists because publishers think the young adult genre is something that requires a bland cookie-cutter main character, some sort of love interest setup (mostly of the triangular assortment, if you know what I mean), and a formulaic plot that's been done in every other young adult novel prior.

5. Taco Bell always gets my order wrong when substituting an ingredient or leaving one out, even after I ask them a second time to make sure. I can only guess as to why this happens, probably muscle memory forcing them to make the same order ad forget special instruction. Maybe they're too busy multitasking, even after being reminded.

6. In any given month, Pandora has dozens of different sponsors who pay to advertise between songs, but the app doesn't know how to shuffle advertises, so it only ever plays the same exact one long video in a row over and over after every other song. Either this is the result of a programming accident or it's a smart marketing technique that involves brainwashing listeners to memorize the commercial.

7. Shampoo and conditioner bottles that come together never run out at the same time. This might happen because the people in charge of hair-washing product production don't realize that when you "wash, rinse, and repeat", people tend to use way less conditioner than shampoo, which is why one bottle always outlasts the other and we are always running out of one in the shower when we need it most while the other is full.

8. Male colognes mysteriously never have a particular scent associated with their names. How am I supposed to know what "Bravery" smells like? Just tell the truth and call it "Cucumber Melon". Same with shampoos, lotions, and any personal care products, really. I can't really offer an explanation for this other than perhaps it's a distinguishing factor department store brands use.

9. Sprint is practically the opposite of everything it advertises to be. Sprint offers overseas service for those who buy their unlimited plan, but that doesn't work (as proven by my summer vacation), which is no surprise considering it hardly works anywhere in the United States. There are blocked areas inside my own house that get absolutely no signal. This is probably the result of a competitive market that forces them to keep their remaining customers trapped through contract while reeling in new ones through false promises.

10. Hair ties are never the right size. They fit on your wrists fine, but when it comes to actually tying hair in a ponytail, winding it around in two loops is too loose and slips off, but three loops is way too tight and pulls your hair right off your scalp. I think we have this problem because nobody has put in the effort to find out the statistically average hair-thickness of most people in order to find that perfect width that hair ties should be.

11. Clothing store sizes vary depending on brand. The same label corresponds to different sizes in different brands rather than following some sort of universalized size chart. This error is due to a lack of coordination among retailers and brands who take no cooperation or consideration from one another.

12. The McDonald's ice cream machine is always broken. The reason this happens is either because the company gives little regard for customer satisfaction in comparison to the money they'd save not replacing the machines, or they think this negative public perception is enough publicity to keep them relative through reputation-destroying memes.

13. Ladies pockets are always too small or aren't even really there. Many jeans have fake stitched in pockets for decoration, and jeggings don't have any at all. For pants that do have pockets, they're so tight you can barley stick your fingers in. This is probably a tactic of the fashion industry to create dependency on purses, which brings them in even more money selling them to pocket-less ladies.

14. The phone brightness is too bright even on the lowest setting. I guess this is because they never expected this to be so much of a problem after introducing 'night shift', but it still is. Now my screen is burning my eyes in the dark and it's orange too.

15. Movie trailers always show the best parts of the movies. Then the actual movie is a disappointing letdown when watched in theaters because the best parts were over-hyped in the three-minute trailer and everything else is just downhill. This is probably because moviemakers want to gain maximum ticket-buyers and so they put their best stuff forward in advertising and don't care what the audience thinks during or after the show once the non-refundable ticket sales have already been made.

16. Sometimes food products have uneven serving sizes. Most people don't follow the serving size suggestions anyways, but it is strange that some packages list having "3.5 servings per container" as if anyone would want the disappointment of only getting .5 satisfaction from that leftover incomplete serving at the end. I guess manufacturers mean well in trying to cram as much food in the package as possible but don't want to alter the sizes of their product to accommodate whole numbers.

17. Chip bags are more than half empty. It would help the consumer if they put more chips in, but if companies are too stingy, then at least don't remind us how much we're getting cheated out of by keeping the bag so big and full of air. Smaller bags would still fit all the chips while using less plastic and helping the environment due to less waste. Maybe they do this to make the bags appear bigger to unsuspecting shoppers, but really all you have to do is jiggle the bag to learn the truth that it feels like a full balloon with three paperclips inside.

18. You can purchase sliced fruit in wrapped plastic at the store when buying the whole fruit would be more fresh, use way less preservatives, and use less packaging waste. Peeled bananas and oranges don't need extra casing, because they already had natural grown covers! Maybe stores do this to appeal to the fraction of the population that is too lazy to cut fruit instead.

19. Apartments in Gainesville do not live up to the promises they tell you when you take a tour. When they show you a model apartment, understand that this is not the house you will be given once you sign a lease, no matter what they promise. Also, half of the amenities they claim will never be for use. They delete all their bad reviews due to 'false claims', so really there's no way of knowing your surprise home until you actually unlock the door. They do this to save money by not upgrading units, fixing problems, refurbishing amenities, providing maintenance, or doing anything productive to the upkeeping of the complex... while still getting money off of changing rent rates (always in their favor) and outrageous overages.

20. I have to pay hundreds of dollars for each textbook that is required of me (which we never end up using—but that's a separate complaint), but they only get bought back for like $20 even though some stay unopened in mint condition. I guess they extremely deflate buyback prices to make an even larger (albeit unfair) profit. Though tuition, rent, and money going to supplies are already wild as they are, so it shouldn't be this hard to get rid of aforementioned supplies.

I promise I'm not as nitpicky as this post makes me seem. In reality, it took me an embarrassingly long time to compile this list and I really had to dig through my brain for this one. I'm not much of a complainer, but I do have to admit, it was nice to rant about the little things for once.